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

Science.gov (United States)

2014-08-01

multitasks using healthy control and SM with diagnosed mTBI. Approach: Inter-rater reliability and assessment of training requirements for expert...developers piloted the revised multitask assessment in a healthy population to assess IRR. Given the an- ticipated variability in task performance between...1 AD_________________ Award Number: Contract W81XWH-12-2-0070 TITLE: Annual Report: The Assessment of Military Multitasking

Choice in multitasking: How delays in the primary task turn a rational into an irrational multitasker

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Katidioti, Ioanna; Taatgen, Niels

2014-01-01

Objective: The objective was to establish the nature of choice in cognitive multitasking. Background: Laboratory studies of multitasking suggest people are rational in their switch choices regarding multitasking, whereas observational studies suggest they are not. Threaded cognition theory predicts

Multitasking: Productivity Effects and Gender Differences

OpenAIRE

Thomas Buser; Noemi Peter

2011-01-01

We examine how multitasking affects performance and check whether women are indeed better at multitasking. Subjects in our experiment perform two different tasks according to three treatments: one where they perform the tasks sequentially, one where they are forced to multitask, and one where they can freely organize their work. Subjects who are forced to multitask perform significantly worse than those forced to work sequentially. Surprisingly, subjects who can freely organize their own sche...

Task Speed and Accuracy Decrease When Multitasking

Science.gov (United States)

Lin, Lin; Cockerham, Deborah; Chang, Zhengsi; Natividad, Gloria

2016-01-01

As new technologies increase the opportunities for multitasking, the need to understand human capacities for multitasking continues to grow stronger. Is multitasking helping us to be more efficient? This study investigated the multitasking abilities of 168 participants, ages 6-72, by measuring their task accuracy and completion time when they…

Multitasking behaviors of osteopathic medical students.

Science.gov (United States)

Shah, Ankit V; Mullens, Dustin J; Van Duyn, Lindsey J; Januchowski, Ronald P

2014-08-01

To the authors' knowledge, few studies have investigated the relationship between electronic media multitasking by undergraduate and graduate students during lecture and their academic performance, and reports that have looked into this behavior have neglected to investigate factors that may influence students' multitasking during lecture. To determine the extent to which medical students multitask during lecture; the types of multitasking; the frequency of multitasking and factors that influence frequency; and the correlation between multitasking and knowledge acquisition as assessed by a postlecture quiz. A 1-page survey assessing students' multitasking behavior was administered to 125 second-year students at Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine and collected at the onset of a standard 50-minute lecture. On completion of the 50-minute lecture, an unannounced 10-question multiple-choice quiz was given to assess knowledge acquisition during those lectures. On a separate date, after a standard 50-minute lecture, a second quiz was administered. The 1-page survey revealed that 98% of students check e-mail, 81% use social media, and 74% study for another class. Students spent the most time studying for another class (23 minutes) followed by using social media (13 minutes) and checking e-mail (7 minutes). The most influential factors behind multitasking were examination schedule (91%), lecturer (90%), and the number of lectures in the day (65%). The mean score for quiz 1 (the day after an examination) was 75%, and the mean score for quiz 2 (the day before an examination) was 60%. Multitasking during lecture is prominent among medical students, and examination schedule is the most influential factor. Although a robust drop in mean score on a lecture-based, unannounced quiz was identified 1 day before a scheduled examination, the effect from multitasking on this process remains unclear. © 2014 The American Osteopathic Association.

Multitasking Web Searching and Implications for Design.

Science.gov (United States)

Ozmutlu, Seda; Ozmutlu, H. C.; Spink, Amanda

2003-01-01

Findings from a study of users' multitasking searches on Web search engines include: multitasking searches are a noticeable user behavior; multitasking search sessions are longer than regular search sessions in terms of queries per session and duration; both Excite and AlltheWeb.com users search for about three topics per multitasking session and…

Multitasking: productivity effects and gender differences

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Buser, T.; Peter, N.

2011-01-01

We examine how multitasking affects performance and check whether women are indeed better at multitasking. Subjects in our experiment perform two different tasks according to three treatments: one where they perform the tasks sequentially, one where they are forced to multitask, and one where they

[Multitasking: An Asset or a “Time Trap”? Overview of Media Multitasking in Children and Adolescents].

Science.gov (United States)

Frölich, Jan; Lehmkuhl, Gerd

2018-03-05

The development of modern digital media, especially smartphones, has contributed to a fundamental change in the leisure activities and communication practices of adolescents. Besides the technical possibilities, the amount of multitasking, i.e., the parallel use of several media alone or in combination with nonmedia activities, has gained in importance. This article addresses the bidirectional relationships between multitasking and cognitive processes, consequences for performance, and the potentially negative effects on psychosocial health. This review article is based on a Medline research involving studies and reviews published on multitasking in digital media since 2000 concerning adolescents and adults. Multitasking is involved in specific neuropsychological processes of the frontal cortex and, in part, the corpus striatum. Up to an individually defined level and an objectively defined performance capacity, multitasking does not necessarily haven a negative impact on the quality of work. However, if excessive individual or objective stress occurs, especially in very young children, respective reactions and negative consequences for psychosocial health occur. According to present research results, multitasking should not be exercised in tasks requiring complex cognitive conditions. Many further studies will be required to assess the relationship between multitasking and specific psychiatric diseases, especially addictive disorders and ADHD, but also its useful implementation in educational settings has to be explored.

Predictors of media multitasking in Chinese adolescents.

Science.gov (United States)

Yang, Xiaohui; Zhu, Liqi

2016-12-01

We examined predictors of media multitasking in Chinese adolescents from 3 contexts: characteristics of the media user, types of media use and family media contexts. Three hundred and twenty adolescents, 11-18 years of age, completed questionnaires to measure media use, impulsivity, sensation seeking, time management disposition and family media environment. The results showed that media multitasking was positively correlated with age and total media use time. Participants with high levels of impulsivity and sensation seeking reported more multitasking behaviour. Multitasking was negatively correlated with time management. Children from media-oriented families often engage in more multitasking. What's more, social networking sites use and music use can mediate the effect of individual and family factors on media multitasking. © 2015 International Union of Psychological Science.

Intelligence, Working Memory, and Multitasking Performance

Science.gov (United States)

Colom, Roberto; Martinez-Molina, Agustin; Shih, Pei Chun; Santacreu, Jose

2010-01-01

Multitasking performance is relevant in everyday life and job analyses highlight the influence of multitasking over several diverse occupations. Intelligence is the best single predictor of overall job performance and it is also related to individual differences in multitasking. However, it has been shown that working memory capacity (WMC) is…

Multitasking as a choice: a perspective.

Science.gov (United States)

Broeker, Laura; Liepelt, Roman; Poljac, Edita; Künzell, Stefan; Ewolds, Harald; de Oliveira, Rita F; Raab, Markus

2018-01-01

Performance decrements in multitasking have been explained by limitations in cognitive capacity, either modelled as static structural bottlenecks or as the scarcity of overall cognitive resources that prevent humans, or at least restrict them, from processing two tasks at the same time. However, recent research has shown that individual differences, flexible resource allocation, and prioritization of tasks cannot be fully explained by these accounts. We argue that understanding human multitasking as a choice and examining multitasking performance from the perspective of judgment and decision-making (JDM), may complement current dual-task theories. We outline two prominent theories from the area of JDM, namely Simple Heuristics and the Decision Field Theory, and adapt these theories to multitasking research. Here, we explain how computational modelling techniques and decision-making parameters used in JDM may provide a benefit to understanding multitasking costs and argue that these techniques and parameters have the potential to predict multitasking behavior in general, and also individual differences in behavior. Finally, we present the one-reason choice metaphor to explain a flexible use of limited capacity as well as changes in serial and parallel task processing. Based on this newly combined approach, we outline a concrete interdisciplinary future research program that we think will help to further develop multitasking research.

Individual differences in multitasking ability and adaptability.

Science.gov (United States)

Morgan, Brent; D'Mello, Sidney; Abbott, Robert; Radvansky, Gabriel; Haass, Michael; Tamplin, Andrea

2013-08-01

The aim of this study was to identify the cognitive factors that predictability and adaptability during multitasking with a flight simulator. Multitasking has become increasingly prevalent as most professions require individuals to perform multiple tasks simultaneously. Considerable research has been undertaken to identify the characteristics of people (i.e., individual differences) that predict multitasking ability. Although working memory is a reliable predictor of general multitasking ability (i.e., performance in normal conditions), there is the question of whether different cognitive faculties are needed to rapidly respond to changing task demands (adaptability). Participants first completed a battery of cognitive individual differences tests followed by multitasking sessions with a flight simulator. After a baseline condition, difficulty of the flight simulator was incrementally increased via four experimental manipulations, and performance metrics were collected to assess multitasking ability and adaptability. Scholastic aptitude and working memory predicted general multitasking ability (i.e., performance at baseline difficulty), but spatial manipulation (in conjunction with working memory) was a major predictor of adaptability (performance in difficult conditions after accounting for baseline performance). Multitasking ability and adaptability may be overlapping but separate constructs that draw on overlapping (but not identical) sets of cognitive abilities. The results of this study are applicable to practitioners and researchers in human factors to assess multitasking performance in real-world contexts and with realistic task constraints. We also present a framework for conceptualizing multitasking adaptability on the basis of five adaptability profiles derived from performance on tasks with consistent versus increased difficulty.

Center of Excellence for Applied Mathematical and Statistical Research in support of development of multicrop production monitoring capability

Science.gov (United States)

Woodward, W. A.; Gray, H. L.

1983-01-01

Efforts in support of the development of multicrop production monitoring capability are reported. In particular, segment level proportion estimation techniques based upon a mixture model were investigated. Efforts have dealt primarily with evaluation of current techniques and development of alternative ones. A comparison of techniques is provided on both simulated and LANDSAT data along with an analysis of the quality of profile variables obtained from LANDSAT data.

Managerial multitasking in the mutual fund industry

OpenAIRE

Agarwal, Vikas; Ma, Linlin; Mullally, Kevin

2015-01-01

We examine the determinants and consequences of mutual fund managers simultaneously managing multiple funds. Well-performing managers multitask by taking over poorly performing funds or launching new funds. Subsequent to multitasking, funds run by managers prior to multitasking (i.e., incumbent funds) experience performance deterioration while the performance of the acquired funds improves. Multitasking increases the assets of fund companies but results in a wealth transfer from shareholders ...

Is Multitask Deep Learning Practical for Pharma?

Science.gov (United States)

Ramsundar, Bharath; Liu, Bowen; Wu, Zhenqin; Verras, Andreas; Tudor, Matthew; Sheridan, Robert P; Pande, Vijay

2017-08-28

Multitask deep learning has emerged as a powerful tool for computational drug discovery. However, despite a number of preliminary studies, multitask deep networks have yet to be widely deployed in the pharmaceutical and biotech industries. This lack of acceptance stems from both software difficulties and lack of understanding of the robustness of multitask deep networks. Our work aims to resolve both of these barriers to adoption. We introduce a high-quality open-source implementation of multitask deep networks as part of the DeepChem open-source platform. Our implementation enables simple python scripts to construct, fit, and evaluate sophisticated deep models. We use our implementation to analyze the performance of multitask deep networks and related deep models on four collections of pharmaceutical data (three of which have not previously been analyzed in the literature). We split these data sets into train/valid/test using time and neighbor splits to test multitask deep learning performance under challenging conditions. Our results demonstrate that multitask deep networks are surprisingly robust and can offer strong improvement over random forests. Our analysis and open-source implementation in DeepChem provide an argument that multitask deep networks are ready for widespread use in commercial drug discovery.

Intimacy and Smartphone Multitasking-A New Oxymoron?

Science.gov (United States)

Amichai-Hamburger, Yair; Etgar, Shir

2016-12-01

This study investigated the relationship between smartphone multitasking and romantic intimacy. Participants currently in a romantic relationship (N = 128; 98 women; M age = 26.7 years, SD = 4.3) filled out two sets of questionnaires: The Emotional Intimacy Scale, measuring romantic intimacy, and the mobile phone interference in life scale, measuring multitasking on a smartphone. Participants filled out each questionnaire twice, once in relation to themselves and once in relation to their partner (for the partner questionnaire, statements were altered from the first person to the third person singular, he/she instead of I). Results suggested that only the partners' smartphone multitasking scores were negatively related to ratings of romantic intimacy, whereas participants' own smartphone multitasking scores were not related to ratings of romantic intimacy. These results can be explained by the actor-observer asymmetry, suggesting that participants attributed their multitasking behaviors to situations, but attributed their partners multitasking behaviors to behavior patterns or intentionality. This research suggests that smartphone multitasking has a negative association with face-to-face interactions. People should attend to the costs of smartphone use during face-to-face interactions. © The Author(s) 2016.

Media multitasking and behavioral measures of sustained attention.

Science.gov (United States)

Ralph, Brandon C W; Thomson, David R; Seli, Paul; Carriere, Jonathan S A; Smilek, Daniel

2015-02-01

In a series of four studies, self-reported media multitasking (using the media multitasking index; MMI) and general sustained-attention ability, through performance on three sustained-attention tasks: the metronome response task (MRT), the sustained-attention-to-response task (SART), and a vigilance task (here, a modified version of the SART). In Study 1, we found that higher reports of media multitasking were associated with increased response variability (i.e., poor performance) on the MRT. However, in Study 2, no association between reported media multitasking and performance on the SART was observed. These findings were replicated in Studies 3a and 3b, in which we again assessed the relation between media multitasking and performance on both the MRT and SART in two large online samples. Finally, in Study 4, using a large online sample, we tested whether media multitasking was associated with performance on a vigilance task. Although standard vigilance decrements were observed in both sensitivity (A') and response times, media multitasking was not associated with the size of these decrements, nor was media multitasking associated with overall performance, in terms of either sensitivity or response times. Taken together, the results of the studies reported here failed to demonstrate a relation between habitual engagement in media multitasking in everyday life and a general deficit in sustained-attention processes.

SYRUS: Understanding and Predicting Multitasking Performance

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Oswald, Frederick L; Hambrick, D. Z; Jones, L. A; Ghumman, Sonia S

2007-01-01

.... Fourth, related to the previous point, a summarization of our initial empirical work on multitasking, based on college-student participants who engaged in a computerized multitasking performance task...

Multitasking in the University Classroom

Science.gov (United States)

Burak, Lydia

2012-01-01

Although research evidence indicates that multitasking results in poorer learning and poorer performance, many students engage with text messaging, Facebook, internet searching, emailing, and instant messaging, while sitting in university classrooms. Research also suggests that multitasking may be related to risk behaviors. This study's purpose…

Wildland fire limits subsequent fire occurrence

Science.gov (United States)

Sean A. Parks; Carol Miller; Lisa M. Holsinger; Scott Baggett; Benjamin J. Bird

2016-01-01

Several aspects of wildland fire are moderated by site- and landscape-level vegetation changes caused by previous fire, thereby creating a dynamic where one fire exerts a regulatory control on subsequent fire. For example, wildland fire has been shown to regulate the size and severity of subsequent fire. However, wildland fire has the potential to influence...

Media multitasking and failures of attention in everyday life.

Science.gov (United States)

Ralph, Brandon C W; Thomson, David R; Cheyne, James Allan; Smilek, Daniel

2014-09-01

Using a series of online self-report measures, we examine media multitasking, a particularly pervasive form of multitasking, and its relations to three aspects of everyday attention: (1) failures of attention and cognitive errors (2) mind wandering, and (3) attentional control with an emphasis on attentional switching and distractibility. We observed a positive correlation between levels of media multitasking and self-reports of attentional failures, as well as with reports of both spontaneous and deliberate mind wandering. No correlation was observed between media multitasking and self-reported memory failures, lending credence to the hypothesis that media multitasking may be specifically related to problems of inattention, rather than cognitive errors in general. Furthermore, media multitasking was not related with self-reports of difficulties in attention switching or distractibility. We offer a plausible causal structural model assessing both direct and indirect effects among media multitasking, attentional failures, mind wandering, and cognitive errors, with the heuristic goal of constraining and motivating theories of the effects of media multitasking on inattention.

Gender differences in multitasking reflect spatial ability.

Science.gov (United States)

Mäntylä, Timo

2013-04-01

Demands involving the scheduling and interleaving of multiple activities have become increasingly prevalent, especially for women in both their paid and unpaid work hours. Despite the ubiquity of everyday requirements to multitask, individual and gender-related differences in multitasking have gained minimal attention in past research. In two experiments, participants completed a multitasking session with four gender-fair monitoring tasks and separate tasks measuring executive functioning (working memory updating) and spatial ability (mental rotation). In both experiments, males outperformed females in monitoring accuracy. Individual differences in executive functioning and spatial ability were independent predictors of monitoring accuracy, but only spatial ability mediated gender differences in multitasking. Menstrual changes accentuated these effects, such that gender differences in multitasking (and spatial ability) were eliminated between males and females who were in the menstrual phase of the menstrual cycle but not between males and females who were in the luteal phase. These findings suggest that multitasking involves spatiotemporal task coordination and that gender differences in multiple-task performance reflect differences in spatial ability.

Multitasking, working memory and remembering intentions

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Robert H Logie

2010-02-01

Full Text Available Multitasking refers to the performance of a range of tasks that have to be completed within a limited time period. it differs from dual task paradigms in that tasks are performed not in parallel, but by interleaving, switching from one to the other. it differs also from task switching paradigms in that the time scale is very much longer, multiple different tasks are involved, and most tasks have a clear end point. Multitasking has been studied extensively with particular sets of experts such as in aviation and in the military, and impairments of multitasking performance have been studied in patients with frontal lobe lesions. Much less is known as to how multitasking is achieved in healthy adults who have not had specific training in the necessary skills. This paper will provide a brief review of research on everyday multitasking, and summarise the results of some recent experiments on simulated everyday tasks chosen to require advance and on-line planning, retrospective memory, prospective memory, and visual, spatial and verbal short-term memory.

Neural sources of performance decline during continuous multitasking.

Science.gov (United States)

Al-Hashimi, Omar; Zanto, Theodore P; Gazzaley, Adam

2015-10-01

Multitasking performance costs have largely been characterized by experiments that involve two overlapping and punctuated perceptual stimuli, as well as punctuated responses to each task. Here, participants engaged in a continuous performance paradigm during fMRI recording to identify neural signatures associated with multitasking costs under more natural conditions. Our results demonstrated that only a single brain region, the superior parietal lobule (SPL), exhibited a significant relationship with multitasking performance, such that increased activation in the multitasking condition versus the singletasking condition was associated with higher task performance (i.e., least multitasking cost). Together, these results support previous research indicating that parietal regions underlie multitasking abilities and that performance costs are related to a bottleneck in control processes involving the SPL that serves to divide attention between two tasks. Copyright © 2015. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Can You Multitask? Evidence and Limitations of Task Switching and Multitasking in Emergency Medicine.

Science.gov (United States)

Skaugset, L Melissa; Farrell, Susan; Carney, Michele; Wolff, Margaret; Santen, Sally A; Perry, Marcia; Cico, Stephen John

2016-08-01

Emergency physicians work in a fast-paced environment that is characterized by frequent interruptions and the expectation that they will perform multiple tasks efficiently and without error while maintaining oversight of the entire emergency department. However, there is a lack of definition and understanding of the behaviors that constitute effective task switching and multitasking, as well as how to improve these skills. This article reviews the literature on task switching and multitasking in a variety of disciplines-including cognitive science, human factors engineering, business, and medicine-to define and describe the successful performance of task switching and multitasking in emergency medicine. Multitasking, defined as the performance of two tasks simultaneously, is not possible except when behaviors become completely automatic; instead, physicians rapidly switch between small tasks. This task switching causes disruption in the primary task and may contribute to error. A framework is described to enhance the understanding and practice of these behaviors. Copyright © 2015 American College of Emergency Physicians. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Neuroticism Negatively Affects Multitasking Performance through State Anxiety

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Poposki, Elizabeth M; Oswald, Frederick L; Chen, Hubert T

2009-01-01

.... Results supported the hypothesis that neuroticism, but not the other personality characteristics measured, significantly predicts performance at multitasking, and that this relationship is mediated by state anxiety experienced during multitasking. Implications for the impact of personality and anxiety on multitasking performance are discussed.

Impairments of Motor Function While Multitasking in HIV.

Science.gov (United States)

Kronemer, Sharif I; Mandel, Jordan A; Sacktor, Ned C; Marvel, Cherie L

2017-01-01

Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) became a treatable illness with the introduction of combination antiretroviral therapy (CART). As a result, patients with regular access to CART are expected to live decades with HIV. Long-term HIV infection presents unique challenges, including neurocognitive impairments defined by three major stages of HIV-associated neurocognitive disorders (HAND). The current investigation aimed to study cognitive and motor impairments in HIV using a novel multitasking paradigm. Unlike current standard measures of cognitive and motor performance in HIV, multitasking increases real-world validity by mimicking the dual motor and cognitive demands that are part of daily professional and personal settings (e.g., driving, typing and writing). Moreover, multitask assessments can unmask compensatory mechanisms, normally used under single task conditions, to maintain performance. This investigation revealed that HIV+ participants were impaired on the motor component of the multitask, while cognitive performance was spared. A patient-specific positive interaction between motor performance and working memory recall was driven by poor HIV+ multitaskers. Surprisingly, HAND stage did not correspond with multitask performance and a variety of commonly used assessments indicated normal motor function among HIV+ participants with poor motor performance during the experimental task. These results support the use of multitasks to reveal otherwise hidden impairment in chronic HIV by expanding the sensitivity of clinical assessments used to determine HAND stage. Future studies should examine the capability of multitasks to predict performance in personal, professional and health-related behaviors and prognosis of patients living with chronic HIV.

Impairments of Motor Function While Multitasking in HIV

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Cherie L. Marvel

2017-04-01

Full Text Available Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV became a treatable illness with the introduction of combination antiretroviral therapy (CART. As a result, patients with regular access to CART are expected to live decades with HIV. Long-term HIV infection presents unique challenges, including neurocognitive impairments defined by three major stages of HIV-associated neurocognitive disorders (HAND. The current investigation aimed to study cognitive and motor impairments in HIV using a novel multitasking paradigm. Unlike current standard measures of cognitive and motor performance in HIV, multitasking increases real-world validity by mimicking the dual motor and cognitive demands that are part of daily professional and personal settings (e.g., driving, typing and writing. Moreover, multitask assessments can unmask compensatory mechanisms, normally used under single task conditions, to maintain performance. This investigation revealed that HIV+ participants were impaired on the motor component of the multitask, while cognitive performance was spared. A patient-specific positive interaction between motor performance and working memory recall was driven by poor HIV+ multitaskers. Surprisingly, HAND stage did not correspond with multitask performance and a variety of commonly used assessments indicated normal motor function among HIV+ participants with poor motor performance during the experimental task. These results support the use of multitasks to reveal otherwise hidden impairment in chronic HIV by expanding the sensitivity of clinical assessments used to determine HAND stage. Future studies should examine the capability of multitasks to predict performance in personal, professional and health-related behaviors and prognosis of patients living with chronic HIV.

Multitasking Teachers: Mistake or Missing Link?

Science.gov (United States)

Eisenwine, Marilyn J.; Hadley, Nancy J.

2011-01-01

This article presents case studies involving graduate students who exhibited multitasking behaviors during their university courses, and explores how those behaviors functioned in their own classrooms. Though these university students appeared to be inattentive, their multitasking proved to be indicative of creativity and flexibility in their…

Small Group Multitasking in Literature Classes

Science.gov (United States)

Baurain, Bradley

2007-01-01

Faced with the challenge of teaching American literature to large, multilevel classes in Vietnam, the writer developed a flexible small group framework called "multitasking". "Multitasking" sets up stable task categories which rotate among small groups from lesson to lesson. This framework enabled students to work cooperatively…

Structural neural correlates of multitasking: A voxel-based morphometry study.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Rui-Ting; Yang, Tian-Xiao; Wang, Yi; Sui, Yuxiu; Yao, Jingjing; Zhang, Chen-Yuan; Cheung, Eric F C; Chan, Raymond C K

2016-12-01

Multitasking refers to the ability to organize assorted tasks efficiently in a short period of time, which plays an important role in daily life. However, the structural neural correlates of multitasking performance remain unclear. The present study aimed at exploring the brain regions associated with multitasking performance using global correlation analysis. Twenty-six healthy participants first underwent structural brain scans and then performed the modified Six Element Test, which required participants to attempt six subtasks in 10 min while obeying a specific rule. Voxel-based morphometry of the whole brain was used to detect the structural correlates of multitasking ability. Grey matter volume of the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) was positively correlated with the overall performance and time monitoring in multitasking. In addition, white matter volume of the anterior thalamic radiation (ATR) was also positively correlated with time monitoring during multitasking. Other related brain regions associated with multitasking included the superior frontal gyrus, the inferior occipital gyrus, the lingual gyrus, and the inferior longitudinal fasciculus. No significant correlation was found between grey matter volume of the prefrontal cortex (Brodmann Area 10) and multitasking performance. Using a global correlation analysis to examine various aspects of multitasking performance, this study provided new insights into the structural neural correlates of multitasking ability. In particular, the ACC was identified as an important brain region that played both a general and a specific time-monitoring role in multitasking, extending the role of the ACC from lesioned populations to healthy populations. The present findings also support the view that the ATR may influence multitasking performance by affecting time-monitoring abilities. © 2016 The Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences and John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd.

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.

Mental juggling: when does multitasking impair reading comprehension?

Science.gov (United States)

Cho, Kit W; Altarriba, Jeanette; Popiel, Maximilian

2015-01-01

The present study investigated the conditions under which multitasking impairs reading comprehension. Participants read prose passages (the primary task), some of which required them to perform a secondary task. In Experiment 1, we compared two different types of secondary tasks (answering trivia questions and solving math problems). Reading comprehension was assessed using a multiple-choice test that measured both factual and conceptual knowledge. The results showed no observable detrimental effects associated with multitasking. In Experiment 2, the secondary task was a cognitive load task that required participants to remember a string of numbers while reading the passages. Performance on the reading comprehension test was lower in the cognitive load conditions relative to the no-load condition. The present study delineates the conditions under which multitasking can impair or have no effect on reading comprehension. These results further our understanding of our capacity to multitask and have practical implications in our technologically advanced society in which multitasking has become commonplace.

I want to media multitask and I want to do it now: Individual differences in media multitasking predict delay of gratification and system-1 thinking.

Science.gov (United States)

Schutten, Dan; Stokes, Kirk A; Arnell, Karen M

2017-01-01

Media multitasking, the concurrent use of multiple media forms, has been shown to be related to greater self-reported impulsivity and less self-control. These measures are both hallmarks of the need for immediate gratification which has been associated with fast, intuitive 'system-1' decision making, as opposed to more deliberate and effortful 'system-2' decision making. In Study 1, we used the Cognitive Reflection Task (CRT) to examine whether individuals who engage heavily in media multitasking differ from those who are light media multitaskers in their degree of system-1 versus system-2 thinking. In Study 2 we examined whether heavy and light media multitaskers differ in delay of gratification, using the delay discounting measure which estimates the preference for smaller immediate rewards, relative to larger delayed rewards in a hypothetical monetary choice task. We found that heavy media multitaskers were more likely than light media multitaskers to endorse intuitive, but wrong, decisions on the CRT indicating a greater reliance on 'system-1' thinking. Heavy media multitaskers were also willing to settle for less money immediately relative to light media multitaskers who were more willing to wait for the larger delayed reward. These results suggest that heavy media multitaskers have a reactive decision-making style that promotes current desires (money, ease of processing) at the expense of accuracy and future rewards. These findings highlight the potential for heavy media multitaskers to be at risk for problematic behaviors associated with delay discounting - behaviors such as substance abuse, overeating, problematic gambling, and poor financial management.

Allocating fuel breaks to optimally protect structures in the wildland-urban interface

Science.gov (United States)

Avi Bar-Massada; Volker C. Radeloff; Susan I. Stewart

2011-01-01

Wildland fire is a major concern in the wildland-urban interface (WUI), where human structures intermingle with wildland vegetation. Reducing wildfire risk in the WUI is more complicated than in wildland areas, owing to interactions between spatial patterns of housing and wildland fuels. Fuel treatments are commonly applied in wildlands surrounding WUI communities....

Wildland fire decision support system air quality tools

Science.gov (United States)

Sim Larkin; Tim Brown; Pete Lahm; Tom Zimmerman

2010-01-01

Smoke and air quality information have an important role in wildland fire decisionmaking that is reinforced in the 2009 "Guidance for Implementation of Federal Wildland Fire Management Policy." A key intent of the guidance is to allow consideration and use of the full range of strategic and tactical options that are available in the response to every wildland...

Review of the health effects of wildland fire smoke on wildland firefighters and the public

Science.gov (United States)

Olorunfemi Adetona; Timothy E. Reinhardt; Joe Domitrovich; George Broyles; Anna M. Adetona; Michael T. Kleinman; Roger D. Ottmar; Luke P. Naeher

2016-01-01

Each year, the general public and wildland firefighters in the US are exposed to smoke from wildland fires. As part of an effort to characterize health risks of breathing this smoke, a review of the literature was conducted using five major databases, including PubMed and MEDLINE Web of Knowledge, to identify smoke components that present the highest hazard potential,...

Healthy Adult Ageing: Multitasking Abilities and the Impact of Interruptions

OpenAIRE

Nevay, Robyn

2013-01-01

The ability to multitask plays a significant role within everyday life. This experiment investigated whether multitasking abilities are impaired in healthy adult ageing. Neuropsychological literature has shown that patients with frontal lobe damage are impaired in their ability to multitask on tests designed to assess cognitive functions used in real-life multitasking situations. Age-related reductions in brain volume are most pronounced in the frontal lobes. Therefore, it’s assumed that olde...

Multitasking Information Behaviour in Public Libraries: A Survey Study

Science.gov (United States)

Spink, Amanda; Alvarado-Albertorio, Frances; Narayan, Bhuva; Brumfield, Jean; Park, Minsoo

2007-01-01

Multitasking information behaviour is the human ability to handle the demands of multiple information tasks concurrently. When we multitask, we work on two or more tasks and switch between those tasks. Multitasking is the way most of us deal with the complex environment we all live in, and recent studies show that people often engage in…

Media Multitasking among American Youth: Prevalence, Predictors and Pairings

Science.gov (United States)

Foehr, Ulla G.

2006-01-01

In the past, multitasking was a juggling act performed by busy adults, as they tried to manage jobs, chores, carpools, and PTA meetings. But recently, teens and tweens have turned into the real experts at multitasking, as their lives become chock-full of organized activities. For them, multitasking has simply become a way of life: "If I couldn't…

Wildland fire and organic discourse: Negotiating place and leisure identity in a changing wildland urban inteface

Science.gov (United States)

Joseph G. Champ; Daniel R. Williams; Katie Knotek

2009-01-01

A lack of research on the conceptual intersection of leisure, place and wildland fire and its role in identity prompted this exploratory study. The purpose of this research was to gather evidence regarding how people negotiate identities under the threat of wildland fire. Qualitative interviews with 16 homeowners and recreationists who value leisure activities in...

Chemical composition of wildland fire emissions

Science.gov (United States)

Shawn P. Urbanski; Wei Min Hao; Stephen Baker

2009-01-01

Wildland fires are major sources of trace gases and aerosol, and these emissions are believed to significantly influence the chemical composition of the atmosphere and the earth's climate system. The wide variety of pollutants released by wildland fire include greenhouse gases, photochemically reactive compounds, and fine and coarse particulate matter. Through...

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\\...

The influence of positive vs. negative affect on multitasking.

Science.gov (United States)

Morgan, Brent; D'Mello, Sidney K

2016-10-01

Considerable research has investigated how affect influences performance on a single task; however, little is known about the role of affect in complex multitasking environments. In this paper, 178 participants multitasked in a synthetic work environment (SYNWORK) consisting of memory, visual monitoring, auditory monitoring, and math tasks. Participants multitasked for a 3-min baseline phase (MT1), following which they were randomly assigned to watch one of three affect-induction videos: positive, neutral, or negative. Participants then resumed multitasking for two additional critical phases (MT2, MT3; 3min each). In MT2, performance of the positive and neutral conditions was statistically equivalent and higher than the negative condition. In MT3, the positive condition performed better than the negative condition, with the neutral condition not significantly different from the other two. The differences in overall multitasking scores were largely driven by errors in the Math task (the most cognitively demanding task) in MT2 and the Memory task in MT3. These findings have implications for how positive and negative affective states influence processing in a cognitively demanding multitasking environment. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

An Implementing Strategy for Improving Wildland Fire Environmental Literacy

Science.gov (United States)

McCalla, M. R.; Andrus, D.; Barnett, K.

2007-12-01

Wildland fire is any planned or unplanned fire which occurs in wildland ecosystems. Wildland fires affect millions of acres annually in the U.S. An average of 5.4 million acres a year were burned in the U.S. between 1995 and 2004, approximately 142 percent of the average burned area between 1984 and 1994. In 2005 alone, Federal agencies spent nearly $1 billion on fire suppression and state and local agencies contributed millions more. Many Americans prefer to live and vacation in relatively remote surroundings, (i.e., woods and rangelands). These choices offer many benefits, but they also present significant risks. Most of North America is fire-prone and every day developed areas and home sites are extending further into natural wildlands, which increases the chances of catastrophic fire. In addition, an abundance of accumulated biomass in forests and rangelands and persistent drought conditions are contributing to larger, costlier wildland fires. To effectively prevent, manage, suppress, respond to, and recover from wildland fires, fire managers, and other communities which are impacted by wildland fires (e.g., the business community; healthcare providers; federal, state, and local policymakers; the media; the public, etc.) need timely, accurate, and detailed wildland fire weather and climate information to support their decision-making activities. But what are the wildland fire weather and climate data, products, and information, as well as information dissemination technologies, needed to reach out and promote wildland fire environmental literacy in these communities? The Office of the Federal Coordinator for Meteorological Services and Supporting Research (OFCM) conducted a comprehensive review and assessment of weather and climate needs of providers and users in their wildland fire and fuels management activities. The assessment has nine focus areas, one of which is environmental literacy (e.g., education, training, outreach, partnering, and collaboration

Chapter 7. Assessing soil factors in wildland improvement programs

Science.gov (United States)

Arthur R. Tiedemann; Carlos F. Lopez

2004-01-01

Soil factors are an important consideration for successful wildland range development or improvement programs. Even though many soil improvement and amelioration practices are not realistic for wildlands, their evaluation is an important step in selection of adapted plant materials for revegetation. This chapter presents information for wildland managers on: the...

Multitasking with Smartphones in the College Classroom

Science.gov (United States)

Grinols, Anne Bradstreet; Rajesh, Rishi

2014-01-01

Although the concept of multitasking itself is under debate, smartphones do enable users to divert attention from the task at hand to nongermane matters. As smartphone use becomes pervasive, extending into our classrooms, educators are concerned that they are becoming a major distraction. Does multitasking with smartphones impede learning? Can…

Robust visual tracking via multi-task sparse learning

KAUST Repository

Zhang, Tianzhu; Ghanem, Bernard; Liu, Si; Ahuja, Narendra

2012-01-01

In this paper, we formulate object tracking in a particle filter framework as a multi-task sparse learning problem, which we denote as Multi-Task Tracking (MTT). Since we model particles as linear combinations of dictionary templates

Single-task fMRI overlap predicts concurrent multitasking interference.

Science.gov (United States)

Nijboer, Menno; Borst, Jelmer; van Rijn, Hedderik; Taatgen, Niels

2014-10-15

There is no consensus regarding the origin of behavioral interference that occurs during concurrent multitasking. Some evidence points toward a multitasking locus in the brain, while other results imply that interference is the consequence of task interactions in several brain regions. To investigate this issue, we conducted a functional MRI (fMRI) study consisting of three component tasks, which were performed both separately and in combination. The results indicated that no specific multitasking area exists. Instead, different patterns of activation across conditions could be explained by assuming that the interference is a result of task interactions. Additionally, similarity in single-task activation patterns correlated with a decrease in accuracy during dual-task conditions. Taken together, these results support the view that multitasking interference is not due to a bottleneck in a single "multitasking" brain region, but is a result of interactions between concurrently running processes. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Media multitasking behavior: concurrent television and computer usage.

Science.gov (United States)

Brasel, S Adam; Gips, James

2011-09-01

Changes in the media landscape have made simultaneous usage of the computer and television increasingly commonplace, but little research has explored how individuals navigate this media multitasking environment. Prior work suggests that self-insight may be limited in media consumption and multitasking environments, reinforcing a rising need for direct observational research. A laboratory experiment recorded both younger and older individuals as they used a computer and television concurrently, multitasking across television and Internet content. Results show that individuals are attending primarily to the computer during media multitasking. Although gazes last longer on the computer when compared to the television, the overall distribution of gazes is strongly skewed toward very short gazes only a few seconds in duration. People switched between media at an extreme rate, averaging more than 4 switches per min and 120 switches over the 27.5-minute study exposure. Participants had little insight into their switching activity and recalled their switching behavior at an average of only 12 percent of their actual switching rate revealed in the objective data. Younger individuals switched more often than older individuals, but other individual differences such as stated multitasking preference and polychronicity had little effect on switching patterns or gaze duration. This overall pattern of results highlights the importance of exploring new media environments, such as the current drive toward media multitasking, and reinforces that self-monitoring, post hoc surveying, and lay theory may offer only limited insight into how individuals interact with media.

Review of vortices in wildland fire

Science.gov (United States)

Jason M. Forthofer; Scott L. Goodrick

2011-01-01

Vortices are almost always present in the wildland fire environment and can sometimes interact with the fire in unpredictable ways, causing extreme fire behavior and safety concerns. In this paper, the current state of knowledge of the interaction of wildland fire and vortices is examined and reviewed. A basic introduction to vorticity is given, and the two common...

Preface: Special issue on wildland fires

Science.gov (United States)

Alistair M. S. Smith; James A. Lutz; Chad M. Hoffman; Grant J. Williamson; Andrew T. Hudak

2018-01-01

Wildland fires are a critical Earth-system process that impacts human populations in each settled continent [1,2]. Wildland fires have often been stated as being essential to human life and civilization through the impacts on land clearance, agriculture, and hunting, with fire as a phenomenon serving a key role in the development of agricultural and industrial...

The Impact of Media Multitasking on Learning

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Jennifer; Lin, Lin; Robertson, Tip

2012-01-01

While multitasking is not a new concept, it has received increasing attention in recent years with the development of new media and technologies. Recent trends appear to suggest that multitasking is on the rise among the younger generation. The purpose of the study is to determine if students obtain more or less information in multitasking…

The Effects of Workload Transitions in a Multitasking Environment

Science.gov (United States)

2016-09-13

Workload Transitions in a Multitasking Environment 5b. GRANT NUMBER 5c. PROGRAM ELEMENT NUMBER 6. AUTHOR(S) 5d. PROJECT NUMBER Margaret A. Bowers...DISTRIBUTION STATEMENT A: Approved for public release. The Effects of Workload Transitions in a Multitasking Environment Margaret A. Bowers1,2, James C...well as performance in a complex multitasking environment. The results of the NASA TLX and shortened DSSQ did not provide support for the position

Climate Change, Wildland Fires and Public Health

Science.gov (United States)

Climate change is contributing to an increase in the severity of wildland fires. The annual acreage burned in the U.S. has risen steadily since 1985, and the fire season has lengthened. Wildland fires impair air quality by producing massive quantities of particulate air polluta...

Media multitasking and memory: Differences in working memory and long-term memory.

Science.gov (United States)

Uncapher, Melina R; K Thieu, Monica; Wagner, Anthony D

2016-04-01

Increasing access to media in the 21st century has led to a rapid rise in the prevalence of media multitasking (simultaneous use of multiple media streams). Such behavior is associated with various cognitive differences, such as difficulty filtering distracting information and increased trait impulsivity. Given the rise in media multitasking by children, adolescents, and adults, a full understanding of the cognitive profile of media multitaskers is imperative. Here we investigated the relationship between chronic media multitasking and working memory (WM) and long-term memory (LTM) performance. Four key findings are reported (1) heavy media multitaskers (HMMs) exhibited lower WM performance, regardless of whether external distraction was present or absent; (2) lower performance on multiple WM tasks predicted lower LTM performance; (3) media multitasking-related differences in memory reflected differences in discriminability rather than decision bias; and (4) attentional impulsivity correlated with media multitasking behavior and reduced WM performance. These findings suggest that chronic media multitasking is associated with a wider attentional scope/higher attentional impulsivity, which may allow goal-irrelevant information to compete with goal-relevant information. As a consequence, heavy media multitaskers are able to hold fewer or less precise goal-relevant representations in WM. HMMs' wider attentional scope, combined with their diminished WM performance, propagates forward to yield lower LTM performance. As such, chronic media multitasking is associated with a reduced ability to draw on the past--be it very recent or more remote--to inform present behavior.

The relationship between media multitasking and executive function in early adolescents

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Baumgartner, S.; Weeda, W.; van der Heijden, L.; Huizinga, M.

2013-01-01

Media multitasking is an ever more popular form of media consumption, in particular among youth. The increasing prevalence of media multitasking is concerning because frequent media multitasking may be negatively related to children’s cognitive control abilities (i.e. executive function). This study

Individual differences in media multitasking and performance on the n-back.

Science.gov (United States)

Ralph, Brandon C W; Smilek, Daniel

2017-02-01

A number of studies have recently examined the link between individual differences in media multitasking (using the MMI) and performance on working memory paradigms. However, these studies have yielded mixed results. Here we examine the relation between media multitasking and one particular working memory paradigm-the n-back (2- and 3-back)-improving upon previous research by (a) treating media multitasking as a continuous variable and adopting a correlational approach as well as (b) using a large sample of participants. First, we found that higher scores on the MMI were associated with a greater proportion of omitted trials on both the 2-back and 3-back, indicating that heavier media multitaskers were more disengaged during the n-back. In line with such a claim, heavier media multitaskers were also more likely to confess to responding randomly during various portions of the experiment, and to report media multitasking during the experiment itself. Importantly, when controlling for the relation between MMI scores and omissions, higher scores on the MMI were associated with an increase in false alarms, but not with a change in hits. These findings refine the extant literature on media multitasking and working memory performance (specifically, performance on the n-back), and suggest that media multitasking may be related to the propensity to disengage from ongoing tasks.

On supertaskers and the neural basis of efficient multitasking.

Science.gov (United States)

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

2015-06-01

The present study used brain imaging to determine the neural basis of individual differences in multitasking, the ability to successfully perform at least two attention-demanding tasks at once. Multitasking is mentally taxing and, therefore, should recruit the prefrontal cortex to maintain task goals when coordinating attentional control and managing the cognitive load. To investigate this possibility, we used functional neuroimaging to assess neural activity in both extraordinary multitaskers (Supertaskers) and control subjects who were matched on working memory capacity. Participants performed a challenging dual N-back task in which auditory and visual stimuli were presented simultaneously, requiring independent and continuous maintenance, updating, and verification of the contents of verbal and spatial working memory. With the task requirements and considerable cognitive load that accompanied increasing N-back, relative to the controls, the multitasking of Supertaskers was characterized by more efficient recruitment of anterior cingulate and posterior frontopolar prefrontal cortices. Results are interpreted using neuropsychological and evolutionary perspectives on individual differences in multitasking ability and the neural correlates of attentional control.

Concurrent multitasking : From neural activity to human cognition

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Nijboer, Menno

2016-01-01

Multitasking has become an important part of our daily lives. This delicate juggling act between several activities occurs when people drive, when they are working, and even when they should be paying attention in the classroom. While multitasking is typically considered as something to avoid, there

Teaching and evaluating multitasking ability in emergency medicine residents - what is the best practice?

Science.gov (United States)

Heng, Kenneth Wj

2014-01-01

Multitasking is an essential skill to develop during Emergency Medicine (EM) residency. Residents who struggle to cope in a multitasking environment risk fatigue, stress, and burnout. Improper management of interruption has been causally linked with medical errors. Formal teaching and evaluation of multitasking is often lacking in EM residency programs. This article reviewed the literature on multitasking in EM to identify best practices for teaching and evaluating multitasking amongst EM residents. With the advancement in understanding of what multitasking is, deliberate attempts should be made to teach residents pitfalls and coping strategies. This can be taught through a formal curriculum, role modeling by faculty, and simulation training. The best way to evaluate multitasking ability in residents is by direct observation. The EM Milestone Project provides a framework by which multitasking can be evaluated. EM residents should be deployed in work environments commiserate with their multitasking ability and their progress should be graduated after identified deficiencies are remediated.

A Multitasking General Executive for Compound Continuous Tasks

Science.gov (United States)

Salvucci, Dario D.

2005-01-01

As cognitive architectures move to account for increasingly complex real-world tasks, one of the most pressing challenges involves understanding and modeling human multitasking. Although a number of existing models now perform multitasking in real-world scenarios, these models typically employ customized executives that schedule tasks for the…

Monthly Optimal Reservoirs Operation for Multicrop Deficit Irrigation under Fuzzy Stochastic Uncertainties

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Liudong Zhang

2014-01-01

Full Text Available An uncertain monthly reservoirs operation and multicrop deficit irrigation model was proposed under conjunctive use of underground and surface water for water resources optimization management. The objective is to maximize the total crop yield of the entire irrigation districts. Meanwhile, ecological water remained for the downstream demand. Because of the shortage of water resources, the monthly crop water production function was adopted for multiperiod deficit irrigation management. The model reflects the characteristics of water resources repetitive transformation in typical inland rivers irrigation system. The model was used as an example for water resources optimization management in Shiyang River Basin, China. Uncertainties in reservoir management shown as fuzzy probability were treated through chance-constraint parameter for decision makers. Necessity of dominance (ND was used to analyse the advantages of the method. The optimization results including reservoirs real-time operation policy, deficit irrigation management, and the available water resource allocation could be used to provide decision support for local irrigation management. Besides, the strategies obtained could help with the risk analysis of reservoirs operation stochastically.

Media multitasking is associated with symptoms of depression and social anxiety.

Science.gov (United States)

Becker, Mark W; Alzahabi, Reem; Hopwood, Christopher J

2013-02-01

We investigated whether multitasking with media was a unique predictor of depression and social anxiety symptoms. Participants (N=318) completed measures of their media use, personality characteristics, depression, and social anxiety. Regression analyses revealed that increased media multitasking was associated with higher depression and social anxiety symptoms, even after controlling for overall media use and the personality traits of neuroticism and extraversion. The unique association between media multitasking and these measures of psychosocial dysfunction suggests that the growing trend of multitasking with media may represent a unique risk factor for mental health problems related to mood and anxiety. Further, the results strongly suggest that future research investigating the impact of media use on mental health needs to consider the role that multitasking with media plays in the relationship.

Multitasking in multiple sclerosis: can it inform vocational functioning?

Science.gov (United States)

Morse, Chelsea L; Schultheis, Maria T; McKeever, Joshua D; Leist, Thomas

2013-12-01

To examine associations between multitasking ability defined by performance on a complex task integrating multiple cognitive domains and vocational functioning in multiple sclerosis (MS). Survey data collection. Laboratory with referrals from an outpatient clinic. Community-dwelling individuals with MS (N=30) referred between October 2011 and June 2012. Not applicable. The modified Six Elements Test (SET) to measure multitasking ability, Fatigue Severity Scale to measure fatigue, several neuropsychological measures of executive functioning, and vocational status. Among the sample, 60% of individuals have reduced their work hours because of MS symptoms (cutback employment group) and 40% had maintained their work hours. Among both groups, SET performance was significantly associated with performance on several measures of neuropsychological functioning. Individuals in the cutback employment group demonstrated significantly worse overall performance on the SET (P=.041). Logistic regression was used to evaluate associations between SET performance and vocational status, while accounting for neuropsychological performance and fatigue. The overall model was significant (χ(2)3=8.65, P=.032), with fatigue [Exp(B)=.83, P=.01] and multitasking ability [Exp(B)=.60, P=.043] retained as significant predictors. Multitasking ability may play an important role in performance at work for individuals with MS. Given that multitasking was associated with vocational functioning, future efforts should assess the usefulness of incorporating multitasking ability into rehabilitation planning. Copyright © 2013 American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Connectivity patterns in cognitive control networks predict naturalistic multitasking ability.

Science.gov (United States)

Wen, Tanya; Liu, De-Cyuan; Hsieh, Shulan

2018-06-01

Multitasking is a fundamental aspect of everyday life activities. To achieve a complex, multi-component goal, the tasks must be subdivided into sub-tasks and component steps, a critical function of prefrontal networks. The prefrontal cortex is considered to be organized in a cascade of executive processes from the sensorimotor to anterior prefrontal cortex, which includes execution of specific goal-directed action, to encoding and maintaining task rules, and finally monitoring distal goals. In the current study, we used a virtual multitasking paradigm to tap into real-world performance and relate it to each individual's resting-state functional connectivity in fMRI. While did not find any correlation between global connectivity of any of the major networks with multitasking ability, global connectivity of the lateral prefrontal cortex (LPFC) was predictive of multitasking ability. Further analysis showed that multivariate connectivity patterns within the sensorimotor network (SMN), and between-network connectivity of the frontoparietal network (FPN) and dorsal attention network (DAN), predicted individual multitasking ability and could be generalized to novel individuals. Together, these results support previous research that prefrontal networks underlie multitasking abilities and show that connectivity patterns in the cascade of prefrontal networks may explain individual differences in performance. Copyright © 2018 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

You Say Multitasking Like It's a Good Thing

Science.gov (United States)

Abaté, Charles J.

2008-01-01

"Multitasking" has developed a certain mantra in our culture, and according to this widely held axiom, people in general and students in particular, can and do function productively and learn efficiently doing several things at once. There also seems to be an unshakable conviction that young students excel in a multitasking environment.…

Robust visual tracking via structured multi-task sparse learning

KAUST Repository

Zhang, Tianzhu; Ghanem, Bernard; Liu, Si; Ahuja, Narendra

2012-01-01

In this paper, we formulate object tracking in a particle filter framework as a structured multi-task sparse learning problem, which we denote as Structured Multi-Task Tracking (S-MTT). Since we model particles as linear combinations of dictionary

Deadlines in space: Selective effects of coordinate spatial processing in multitasking.

Science.gov (United States)

Todorov, Ivo; Del Missier, Fabio; Konke, Linn Andersson; Mäntylä, Timo

2015-11-01

Many everyday activities require coordination and monitoring of multiple deadlines. One way to handle these temporal demands might be to represent future goals and deadlines as a pattern of spatial relations. We examined the hypothesis that spatial ability, in addition to executive functioning, contributes to individual differences in multitasking. In two studies, participants completed a multitasking session in which they monitored four digital clocks running at different rates. In Study 1, we found that individual differences in spatial ability and executive functions were independent predictors of multiple-task performance. In Study 2, we found that individual differences in specific spatial abilities were selectively related to multiple-task performance, as only coordinate spatial processing, but not categorical, predicted multitasking, even beyond executive functioning and numeracy. In both studies, males outperformed females in spatial ability and multitasking and in Study 2 these sex differences generalized to a simulation of everyday multitasking. Menstrual changes moderated the effects on multitasking, in that sex differences in coordinate spatial processing and multitasking were observed between males and females in the luteal phase of the menstrual cycle, but not between males and females at menses. Overall, these findings suggest that multiple-task performance reflects independent contributions of spatial ability and executive functioning. Furthermore, our results support the distinction of categorical versus coordinate spatial processing, and suggest that these two basic relational processes are selectively affected by female sex hormones and differentially effective in transforming and handling temporal patterns as spatial relations in the context of multitasking.

A national cohesive wildland fire management strategy

Science.gov (United States)

Forest Service U.S. Department of Agriculture; Office of Wildland Fire Coordination. Department of the Interior

2011-01-01

Addressing wildfire is not simply a fire management, fire operations, or wildland-urban interface problem - it is a larger, more complex land management and societal issue. The vision for the next century is to: Safely and effectively extinguish fire, when needed; use fire where allowable; manage our natural resources; and as a Nation, live with wildland fire. Three...

Characterizing sources of emissions from wildland fires

Science.gov (United States)

Roger D. Ottmar; Ana Isabel Miranda; David V. Sandberg

2009-01-01

Smoke emissions from wildland fire can be harmful to human health and welfare, impair visibility, and contribute to greenhouse gas emissions. The generation of emissions and heat release need to be characterized to estimate the potential impacts of wildland fire smoke. This requires explicit knowledge of the source, including size of the area burned, burn period,...

Single-task fMRI overlap predicts concurrent multitasking interference

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Nijboer, Menno; Borst, Jelmer; van Rijn, Hedderik; Taatgen, Niels

2014-01-01

There is no consensus regarding the origin of behavioral interference that occurs during concurrent multitasking. Some evidence points toward a multitasking locus in the brain, while other results imply that interference is the consequence of task interactions in several brain regions. To

Cognitive Ageing: The Effects of Disruption on Multitasking Abilities in Healthy Adults

OpenAIRE

Barnes, Jenna

2013-01-01

The ability to multitask is an incredibly important aspect of everyday life and it is thought that the cognitive processes used for multitasking are mediated by the frontal lobes (Stuss & Alexander, 2000). Patients with frontal lobe damage have been shown to be impaired in their ability to multitask, despite having normal IQ’s. It is thought that as human adult’s age, the frontal lobes deteriorate, so there is a possibility that that multitasking skills will also be impaired in older adults. ...

The consequences of media multitasking for youth: a review

NARCIS (Netherlands)

van der Schuur, W.A.; Baumgartner, S.E.; Sumter, S.R.; Valkenburg, P.M.

2015-01-01

The increasing prevalence of media multitasking among youth has raised concerns regarding its negative effects on youths’ functioning. Although the number of empirical studies on the consequences of media multitasking for youth has grown rapidly, there has been no attempt to integrate theory with

Cognitive predictors of a common multitasking ability: Contributions from working memory, attention control, and fluid intelligence.

Science.gov (United States)

Redick, Thomas S; Shipstead, Zach; Meier, Matthew E; Montroy, Janelle J; Hicks, Kenny L; Unsworth, Nash; Kane, Michael J; Hambrick, D Zachary; Engle, Randall W

2016-11-01

Previous research has identified several cognitive abilities that are important for multitasking, but few studies have attempted to measure a general multitasking ability using a diverse set of multitasks. In the final dataset, 534 young adult subjects completed measures of working memory (WM), attention control, fluid intelligence, and multitasking. Correlations, hierarchical regression analyses, confirmatory factor analyses, structural equation models, and relative weight analyses revealed several key findings. First, although the complex tasks used to assess multitasking differed greatly in their task characteristics and demands, a coherent construct specific to multitasking ability was identified. Second, the cognitive ability predictors accounted for substantial variance in the general multitasking construct, with WM and fluid intelligence accounting for the most multitasking variance compared to attention control. Third, the magnitude of the relationships among the cognitive abilities and multitasking varied as a function of the complexity and structure of the various multitasks assessed. Finally, structural equation models based on a multifaceted model of WM indicated that attention control and capacity fully mediated the WM and multitasking relationship. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved).

Multitasking during social interactions in adolescence and early adulthood.

Science.gov (United States)

Mills, Kathryn L; Dumontheil, Iroise; Speekenbrink, Maarten; Blakemore, Sarah-Jayne

2015-11-01

Multitasking is part of the everyday lives of both adolescents and adults. We often multitask during social interactions by simultaneously keeping track of other non-social information. Here, we examined how keeping track of non-social information impacts the ability to navigate social interactions in adolescents and adults. Participants aged 11-17 and 22-30 years old were instructed to carry out two tasks, one social and one non-social, within each trial. The social task involved referential communication, requiring participants to use social cues to guide their decisions, which sometimes required taking a different perspective. The non-social task manipulated cognitive load by requiring participants to remember non-social information in the form of one two-digit number (low load) or three two-digit numbers (high load) presented before each social task stimulus. Participants showed performance deficits when under high cognitive load and when the social task involved taking a different perspective, and individual differences in both trait perspective taking and working memory capacity predicted performance. Overall, adolescents were less adept at multitasking than adults when under high cognitive load. These results suggest that multitasking during social interactions incurs performance deficits, and that adolescents are more sensitive than adults to the effects of cognitive load while multitasking.

Multitasking in older adults with type 2 diabetes: A cross-sectional analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Rucker, Jason L; McDowd, Joan M; Mahnken, Jonathan D; Burns, Jeffrey M; Sabus, Carla H; Britton-Carpenter, Amanda J; Utech, Nora B; Kluding, Patricia M

2017-01-01

Deficits in the ability to multitask contribute to gait abnormalities and falls in many at-risk populations. However, it is unclear whether older adults with type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM) also demonstrate impairments in multitasking. The purpose of this study was to compare multitasking performance in cognitively intact older adults with and without DM and explore its relationship to measures of gait and functional ability. We performed a cross-sectional analysis of 40 individuals aged 60 and older with type 2 DM and a matched group of 40 cognitively intact older adults without DM. Multitasking was examined via the ambulatory Walking and Remembering Test (WART) and seated Pursuit Rotor Test (PRT). Self-selected normal and fast walking speed and stride length variability were quantitatively measured, and self-reported functional ability was assessed via the Late Life Function and Disability Index (LLFDI). Participants with DM walked slower and took more steps off path when multitasking during the WART. No between-group differences in multitasking performance were observed on the PRT. Multitasking performance demonstrated little correlation with gait and functional ability in either group. Older adults with DM appear to perform poorly on an ambulatory measure of multitasking. However, we analyzed a relatively small, homogenous sample of older adults with and without type 2 DM and factors such as peripheral neuropathy and the use of multiple comparisons complicate interpretation of the data. Future research should explore the interactions between multitasking and safety, fall risk, and function in this vulnerable population. Clinicians should recognize that an array of factors may contribute to gait and physical dysfunction in older adults with type 2 diabetes, and be prepared to assess and intervene appropriately.

Training conquers multitasking costs by dividing task representations in the frontoparietal-subcortical system.

Science.gov (United States)

Garner, K G; Dux, Paul E

2015-11-17

Negotiating the information-rich sensory world often requires the concurrent management of multiple tasks. Despite this requirement, humans are thought to be poor at multitasking because of the processing limitations of frontoparietal and subcortical (FP-SC) brain regions. Although training is known to improve multitasking performance, it is unknown how the FP-SC system functionally changes to support improved multitasking. To address this question, we characterized the FP-SC changes that predict training outcomes using an individual differences approach. Participants (n = 100) performed single and multiple tasks in pre- and posttraining magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) sessions interspersed by either a multitasking or an active-control training regimen. Multivoxel pattern analyses (MVPA) revealed that training induced multitasking improvements were predicted by divergence in the FP-SC blood oxygen level-dependent (BOLD) response patterns to the trained tasks. Importantly, this finding was only observed for participants who completed training on the component (single) tasks and their combination (multitask) and not for the control group. Therefore, the FP-SC system supports multitasking behavior by segregating constituent task representations.

Wildfire, wildlands, and people: understanding and preparing for wildfire in the wildland-urban interface - a Forests on the Edge report

Science.gov (United States)

S. M. Stein; J. Menakis; M. A. Carr; S. J. Comas; S. I. Stewart; H. Cleveland; L. Bramwell; V. C. Radeloff

2013-01-01

Fire has historically played a fundamental ecological role in many of America's wildland areas. However, the rising number of homes in the wildland-urban interface (WUI), associated impacts on lives and property from wildfire, and escalating costs of wildfire management have led to an urgent need for communities to become "fire-adapted." We present maps...

The Effect of Multitasking to Faculty Members' Academic Works

Science.gov (United States)

Baran, Bahar

2013-01-01

Faculty members in higher education institutions which technology produced in and used actively try to overcome simultaneous one more works because of their intensive works and responsibilities. This study associated simultaneously doing one more academic works to multitasking. Multitasking may have a detrimental effect on academic works since it…

Built structure identification in wildland fire decision support

Science.gov (United States)

David E. Calkin; Jon D. Rieck; Kevin D. Hyde; Jeffrey D. Kaiden

2011-01-01

Recent ex-urban development within the wildland interface has significantly increased the complexity and associated cost of federal wildland fire management in the United States. Rapid identification of built structures relative to probable fire spread can help to reduce that complexity and improve the performance of incident management teams. Approximate structure...

78 FR 14351 - Wildland Fire Executive Council; Renewal

Science.gov (United States)

2013-03-05

... to provide advice on the coordinated national level wildland fire policy leadership, direction, and program oversight in support to the Wildland Fire Leadership Council. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms... the Fish and Wildlife Act of 1956 (16 U.S.C. 742a- 742j), the Federal Land Policy and Management Act...

Taking on Multitasking

Science.gov (United States)

Rekart, Jerome L.

2011-01-01

Multitasking impedes learning and performance in the short-term and may affect long-term memory and retention. The implications of these findings make it critical that educators and parents impress upon students the need to focus and reduce extraneous stimuli while studying or reading. Course-based quizzes and tests can be used for more than…

Multitasking in older adults with type 2 diabetes: A cross-sectional analysis.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jason L Rucker

Full Text Available Deficits in the ability to multitask contribute to gait abnormalities and falls in many at-risk populations. However, it is unclear whether older adults with type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM also demonstrate impairments in multitasking. The purpose of this study was to compare multitasking performance in cognitively intact older adults with and without DM and explore its relationship to measures of gait and functional ability.We performed a cross-sectional analysis of 40 individuals aged 60 and older with type 2 DM and a matched group of 40 cognitively intact older adults without DM. Multitasking was examined via the ambulatory Walking and Remembering Test (WART and seated Pursuit Rotor Test (PRT. Self-selected normal and fast walking speed and stride length variability were quantitatively measured, and self-reported functional ability was assessed via the Late Life Function and Disability Index (LLFDI.Participants with DM walked slower and took more steps off path when multitasking during the WART. No between-group differences in multitasking performance were observed on the PRT. Multitasking performance demonstrated little correlation with gait and functional ability in either group.Older adults with DM appear to perform poorly on an ambulatory measure of multitasking. However, we analyzed a relatively small, homogenous sample of older adults with and without type 2 DM and factors such as peripheral neuropathy and the use of multiple comparisons complicate interpretation of the data. Future research should explore the interactions between multitasking and safety, fall risk, and function in this vulnerable population. Clinicians should recognize that an array of factors may contribute to gait and physical dysfunction in older adults with type 2 diabetes, and be prepared to assess and intervene appropriately.

Multitasking domain decomposition fast Poisson solvers on the Cray Y-MP

Science.gov (United States)

Chan, Tony F.; Fatoohi, Rod A.

1990-01-01

The results of multitasking implementation of a domain decomposition fast Poisson solver on eight processors of the Cray Y-MP are presented. The object of this research is to study the performance of domain decomposition methods on a Cray supercomputer and to analyze the performance of different multitasking techniques using highly parallel algorithms. Two implementations of multitasking are considered: macrotasking (parallelism at the subroutine level) and microtasking (parallelism at the do-loop level). A conventional FFT-based fast Poisson solver is also multitasked. The results of different implementations are compared and analyzed. A speedup of over 7.4 on the Cray Y-MP running in a dedicated environment is achieved for all cases.

Is Media Multitasking Good for Cybersecurity? Exploring the Relationship Between Media Multitasking and Everyday Cognitive Failures on Self-Reported Risky Cybersecurity Behaviors

Science.gov (United States)

Murphy, Karen

2018-01-01

Abstract The current study focused on how engaging in media multitasking (MMT) and the experience of everyday cognitive failures impact on the individual's engagement in risky cybersecurity behaviors (RCsB). In total, 144 participants (32 males, 112 females) completed an online survey. The age range for participants was 18 to 43 years (M = 20.63, SD = 4.04). Participants completed three scales which included an inventory of weekly MMT, a measure of everyday cognitive failures, and RCsB. There was a significant difference between heavy media multitaskers (HMM), average media multitaskers (AMM), and light media multitaskers (LMM) in terms of RCsB, with HMM demonstrating more frequent risky behaviors than LMM or AMM. The HMM group also reported more cognitive failures in everyday life than the LMM group. A regression analysis showed that everyday cognitive failures and MMT acted as significant predictors for RCsB. These results expand our current understanding of the relationship between human factors and cybersecurity behaviors, which are useful to inform the design of training and intervention packages to mitigate RCsB. PMID:29638157

Is Media Multitasking Good for Cybersecurity? Exploring the Relationship Between Media Multitasking and Everyday Cognitive Failures on Self-Reported Risky Cybersecurity Behaviors.

Science.gov (United States)

Hadlington, Lee; Murphy, Karen

2018-03-01

The current study focused on how engaging in media multitasking (MMT) and the experience of everyday cognitive failures impact on the individual's engagement in risky cybersecurity behaviors (RCsB). In total, 144 participants (32 males, 112 females) completed an online survey. The age range for participants was 18 to 43 years (M = 20.63, SD = 4.04). Participants completed three scales which included an inventory of weekly MMT, a measure of everyday cognitive failures, and RCsB. There was a significant difference between heavy media multitaskers (HMM), average media multitaskers (AMM), and light media multitaskers (LMM) in terms of RCsB, with HMM demonstrating more frequent risky behaviors than LMM or AMM. The HMM group also reported more cognitive failures in everyday life than the LMM group. A regression analysis showed that everyday cognitive failures and MMT acted as significant predictors for RCsB. These results expand our current understanding of the relationship between human factors and cybersecurity behaviors, which are useful to inform the design of training and intervention packages to mitigate RCsB.

Technology consumption and cognitive control: Contrasting action video game experience with media multitasking.

Science.gov (United States)

Cardoso-Leite, Pedro; Kludt, Rachel; Vignola, Gianluca; Ma, Wei Ji; Green, C Shawn; Bavelier, Daphne

2016-01-01

Technology has the potential to impact cognition in many ways. Here we contrast two forms of technology usage: (1) media multitasking (i.e., the simultaneous consumption of multiple streams of media, such a texting while watching TV) and (2) playing action video games (a particular subtype of video games). Previous work has outlined an association between high levels of media multitasking and specific deficits in handling distracting information, whereas playing action video games has been associated with enhanced attentional control. Because these two factors are linked with reasonably opposing effects, failing to take them jointly into account may result in inappropriate conclusions as to the impacts of technology use on attention. Across four tasks (AX-continuous performance, N-back, task-switching, and filter tasks), testing different aspects of attention and cognition, we showed that heavy media multitaskers perform worse than light media multitaskers. Contrary to previous reports, though, the performance deficit was not specifically tied to distractors, but was instead more global in nature. Interestingly, participants with intermediate levels of media multitasking sometimes performed better than both light and heavy media multitaskers, suggesting that the effects of increasing media multitasking are not monotonic. Action video game players, as expected, outperformed non-video-game players on all tasks. However, surprisingly, this was true only for participants with intermediate levels of media multitasking, suggesting that playing action video games does not protect against the deleterious effect of heavy media multitasking. Taken together, these findings show that media consumption can have complex and counterintuitive effects on attentional control.

Status of wildland fire prevention evaluation in the United States.

Science.gov (United States)

Larry Doolittle; Linda R. Donoghue

1991-01-01

Presents findings of an assessment of the evaluation of wildland prevention efforts by all U.S. Wildland fire management agencies, and offers recommendations for improvements in prevention valuation techniques and procedures.

Manitoba Health's emerging work on wildland fire smoke

Science.gov (United States)

Jeffrey Joaquin; Darlene Oshanski

2015-01-01

Smoke caused by wildland fire events is an important public health issue, involving major risks to the health of people and the environment. Smoke from wildland fires can travel hundreds of kilometers, affecting air quality far from the flames. Through a partnership with Health Canada, Manitoba Health's Office of Disaster Management (ODM) has undertaken a number...

Wildland Fire Management Plan for Brookhaven National Laboratory

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Green,T.

2009-10-23

This Wildland Fire Management Plan (FMP) for Brookhaven National Lab (BNL) updates the 2003 plan incorporating changes necessary to comply with DOE Order 450.1 and DOE P 450.4, Federal Wildland Fire Management Policy and Program Review; Wildland and Prescribed Fire Management Policy and implementation Procedures Reference Guide. This current plan incorporates changes since the original draft of the FMP that result from new policies on the national level. This update also removes references and dependence on the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service and Department of the Interior, fully transitioning Wildland Fire Management responsibilities to BNL. The Department of Energy policy for managing wildland fires requires that all areas, managed by the DOE and/or its various contractors, that can sustain fire must have a FMP that details fire management guidelines for operational procedures associated with wild fire, operational, and prescribed fires. Fire management plans provide guidance on fire preparedness, fire prevention, wildfire suppression, and the use of controlled, 'prescribed' fires and mechanical means to control the amount of available combustible material. Values reflected in the BNL Wildland FMP include protecting life and public safety; Lab properties, structures and improvements; cultural and historical sites; neighboring private and public properties; and endangered, threatened, and species of concern. Other values supported by the plan include the enhancement of fire-dependent ecosystems at BNL. This FMP will be reviewed periodically to ensure the fire program advances and evolves with the missions of the DOE and BNL. This Fire Management Plan is presented in a format that coverers all aspects specified by DOE guidance documents which are based on the national template for fire management plans adopted under the National Fire Plan. The DOE is one of the signatory agencies on the National Fire Plan. This FMP is to be used and implemented for the

On Hardy's paradox, weak measurements, and multitasking diagrams

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Meglicki, Zdzislaw

2011-01-01

We discuss Hardy's paradox and weak measurements by using multitasking diagrams, which are introduced to illustrate the progress of quantum probabilities through the double interferometer system. We explain how Hardy's paradox is avoided and elaborate on the outcome of weak measurements in this context. -- Highlights: → Hardy's paradox explained and eliminated. → Weak measurements: what is really measured? → Multitasking diagrams: introduced and used to discuss quantum mechanical processes.

Balancing Structural and Temporal Constraints in Multitasking Contexts

OpenAIRE

Salvucci, Dario D.; Kujala, Tuomo

2016-01-01

Recent research has shown that when people multitask, both the subtask structure and the temporal constraints of the component tasks strongly influence people’s task-switching behavior. In this paper, we propose an integrated theoretical account and associated computational model that aims to quantify how people balance structural and temporal constraints in everyday multitasking. We validate the theory using data from an empirical study in which drivers performed a vi...

Bilingualism as a Model for Multitasking.

Science.gov (United States)

Poarch, Gregory J; Bialystok, Ellen

2015-03-01

Because both languages of bilinguals are constantly active, bilinguals need to manage attention to the target language and avoid interference from the non-target language. This process is likely carried out by recruiting the executive function (EF) system, a system that is also the basis for multitasking. In previous research, bilinguals have been shown to outperform monolinguals on tasks requiring EF, suggesting that the practice using EF for language management benefits performance in other tasks as well. The present study examined 203 children, 8-11 years old, who were monolingual, partially bilingual, bilingual, or trilingual performing a flanker task. Two results support the interpretation that bilingualism is related to multitasking. First, bilingual children outperformed monolinguals on the conflict trials in the flanker task, confirming previous results for a bilingual advantage in EF. Second, the inclusion of partial bilinguals and trilinguals set limits on the role of experience: partial bilingual performed similarly to monolinguals and trilinguals performed similarly to bilinguals, suggesting that degrees of experience are not well-calibrated to improvements in EF. Our conclusion is that the involvement of EF in bilingual language processing makes bilingualism a form of linguistic multitasking.

Multi-task Vector Field Learning.

Science.gov (United States)

Lin, Binbin; Yang, Sen; Zhang, Chiyuan; Ye, Jieping; He, Xiaofei

2012-01-01

Multi-task learning (MTL) aims to improve generalization performance by learning multiple related tasks simultaneously and identifying the shared information among tasks. Most of existing MTL methods focus on learning linear models under the supervised setting. We propose a novel semi-supervised and nonlinear approach for MTL using vector fields. A vector field is a smooth mapping from the manifold to the tangent spaces which can be viewed as a directional derivative of functions on the manifold. We argue that vector fields provide a natural way to exploit the geometric structure of data as well as the shared differential structure of tasks, both of which are crucial for semi-supervised multi-task learning. In this paper, we develop multi-task vector field learning (MTVFL) which learns the predictor functions and the vector fields simultaneously. MTVFL has the following key properties. (1) The vector fields MTVFL learns are close to the gradient fields of the predictor functions. (2) Within each task, the vector field is required to be as parallel as possible which is expected to span a low dimensional subspace. (3) The vector fields from all tasks share a low dimensional subspace. We formalize our idea in a regularization framework and also provide a convex relaxation method to solve the original non-convex problem. The experimental results on synthetic and real data demonstrate the effectiveness of our proposed approach.

Anodal tDCS applied during multitasking training leads to transferable performance gains.

Science.gov (United States)

Filmer, Hannah L; Lyons, Maxwell; Mattingley, Jason B; Dux, Paul E

2017-10-11

Cognitive training can lead to performance improvements that are specific to the tasks trained. Recent research has suggested that transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) applied during training of a simple response-selection paradigm can broaden performance benefits to an untrained task. Here we assessed the impact of combined tDCS and training on multitasking, stimulus-response mapping specificity, response-inhibition, and spatial attention performance in a cohort of healthy adults. Participants trained over four days with concurrent tDCS - anodal, cathodal, or sham - applied to the left prefrontal cortex. Immediately prior to, 1 day after, and 2 weeks after training, performance was assessed on the trained multitasking paradigm, an untrained multitasking paradigm, a go/no-go inhibition task, and a visual search task. Training combined with anodal tDCS, compared with training plus cathodal or sham stimulation, enhanced performance for the untrained multitasking paradigm and visual search tasks. By contrast, there were no training benefits for the go/no-go task. Our findings demonstrate that anodal tDCS combined with multitasking training can extend to untrained multitasking paradigms as well as spatial attention, but with no extension to the domain of response inhibition.

Choice in multitasking: how delays in the primary task turn a rational into an irrational multitasker.

Science.gov (United States)

Katidioti, Ioanna; Taatgen, Niels A

2014-06-01

The objective was to establish the nature of choice in cognitive multitasking. Laboratory studies of multitasking suggest people are rational in their switch choices regarding multitasking, whereas observational studies suggest they are not. Threaded cognition theory predicts that switching is opportunistic and depends on availability of cognitive resources. A total of 21 participants answered e-mails by looking up information (similar to customer service employees) while being interrupted by chat messages. They were free to choose when to switch to the chat message. We analyzed the switching behavior and the time they needed to complete the primary mail task. When participants are faced with a delay in the e-mail task, they switch more often to the chat task at high-workload points. Choosing to switch to the secondary task instead of waiting makes them slower. It also makes them forget the information in the e-mail task half of the time, which slows them down even more. When many cognitive resources are available, the probability of switching from one task to another is high. This does not necessarily lead to optimal switching behavior. Potential applications of this research include the minimization of delays in task design and the inability or discouragement of switching in high-workload moments.

Investigating the relationship between media multitasking and processes involved in task-switching.

Science.gov (United States)

Alzahabi, Reem; Becker, Mark W; Hambrick, David Z

2017-11-01

Although multitasking with media has increased dramatically in recent years (Rideout, Foehr, & Roberts, 2010), the association between media multitasking and cognitive performance is poorly understood. In addition, the literature on the relationship between media multitasking and task-switching, one measure of cognitive control, has produced mixed results (Alzahabi & Becker, 2013; Minear et al., 2013; Ophir, Nass, & Wagner, 2009). Here we use an individual differences approach to investigate the relationship between media multitasking and task-switching performance by first examining the structure of task-switching and identifying the latent factors that contribute to switch costs. Participants performed a series of 3 different task-switching paradigms, each designed to isolate the effects of a specific putative mechanism (e.g., advanced preparation) related to task-switching performance, as well as a series of surveys to measure media multitasking and intelligence. The results suggest that task-switching performance is related to 2 somewhat independent factors, namely an advanced preparation factor and passive decay factor. In addition, multitasking with media was related to a faster ability to prepare for tasks, resulting in faster task-switching performance without a cost to accuracy. Media multitasking and intelligence were both unrelated to passive decay factors. These findings are consistent with a 2-component model of task-switching (Sohn & Anderson, 2001), as well as an automatic/executive framework of cognitive control (Schneider & Shiffrin, 1977). (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

Ranking Performance Measures in Multi-Task Agencies

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Christensen, Peter Ove; Sabac, Florin; Tian, Joyce

2010-01-01

We derive sufficient conditions for ranking performance evaluation systems in multi-task agency models (using both optimal and linear contracts) in terms of a second-order stochastic dominance (SSD) condition on the likelihood ratios. The SSD condition can be replaced by a variance-covariance mat......We derive sufficient conditions for ranking performance evaluation systems in multi-task agency models (using both optimal and linear contracts) in terms of a second-order stochastic dominance (SSD) condition on the likelihood ratios. The SSD condition can be replaced by a variance...

Domestic outsourcing and multitasking: How much do they really contribute?

Science.gov (United States)

Sullivan, Oriel; Gershuny, Jonathan

2013-09-01

The bulk of responsibility for domestic work and childcare in heterosexual couples falls on women. But the means they find to cope with this load, and how these means relate to the factors underpinning the division of labor are not often studied. Two much-cited ways of reducing overall work time are purchasing domestic assistance (outsourcing) and the multitasking of domestic/caring tasks. Using UK 2000/2001 time-use data (N=4196 couples), we find domestic outsourcing is related to having dependent children and to partners' resources, but has little impact on the total domestic/caring workload of either partner. Nor can outsourcing account for the reduction in women's unpaid labor with increasing economic resources. Wives spend more time multitasking than husbands, but their proportion of multitasked domestic time is similar, and is not affected by resources or dependent children. Domestic multitasking seems to be more related to opportunity (time at home) than to time pressure. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Media Multitasking across Generations: Simultaneous Mobile Internet and Television Usage Behaviors and Motives

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yuhmiin Chang

2015-07-01

Full Text Available Simultaneous mobile internet and television usage has been getting very popular. Few, if any, studies explicated generational differences in this type of media multitasking behaviors. This study is the first to examine whether different generations have different behaviors and motives in the mobile internet-television media multitasking context. A national face-to-face survey with the probability proportional to size random sampling method was employed. The results showed that Web generation was most likely to perform mobile internet-television media multitasking behavior, followed by X generation and Baby Boomer generation. Web generation paid most attention to the contents on the mobile Internet, X generation focused their attention on either television or mobile internet, and Baby Boomer generation paid most attention to the contents on television. The results also showed that the motives driving mobile internet-television media multitasking behavior were the same across generations, including “habit and convenience” and “cognition and status.” All these findings supported the proposed theory of cross generation media multitasking behavior and the proposed method of analyzing the motives driving media multitasking behaviors.

Multitasking, myter og medier

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Aagaard, Jesper

2014-01-01

. Eleverne drages mod distraktion som møl mod en flamme. I denne artikel vil jeg argumentere for, at den moderne brug af informationsteknologi (IT) udfordrer klassiske psykologiske begreber som opmærksomhed og multitasking. For forstå brugen af IT, anbefaler jeg derfor et analytisk perspektivskifte, der...

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…

Enhancement of multitasking performance and neural oscillations by transcranial alternating current stimulation.

Science.gov (United States)

Hsu, Wan-Yu; Zanto, Theodore P; van Schouwenburg, Martine R; Gazzaley, Adam

2017-01-01

Multitasking is associated with the generation of stimulus-locked theta (4-7 Hz) oscillations arising from prefrontal cortex (PFC). Transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS) is a non-invasive brain stimulation technique that influences endogenous brain oscillations. Here, we investigate whether applying alternating current stimulation within the theta frequency band would affect multitasking performance, and explore tACS effects on neurophysiological measures. Brief runs of bilateral PFC theta-tACS were applied while participants were engaged in a multitasking paradigm accompanied by electroencephalography (EEG) data collection. Unlike an active control group, a tACS stimulation group showed enhancement of multitasking performance after a 90-minute session (F1,35 = 6.63, p = 0.01, ηp2 = 0.16; effect size = 0.96), coupled with significant modulation of posterior beta (13-30 Hz) activities (F1,32 = 7.66, p = 0.009, ηp2 = 0.19; effect size = 0.96). Across participant regression analyses indicated that those participants with greater increases in frontal theta, alpha and beta oscillations exhibited greater multitasking performance improvements. These results indicate frontal theta-tACS generates benefits on multitasking performance accompanied by widespread neuronal oscillatory changes, and suggests that future tACS studies with extended treatments are worth exploring as promising tools for cognitive enhancement.

Enhancement of multitasking performance and neural oscillations by transcranial alternating current stimulation.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Wan-Yu Hsu

Full Text Available Multitasking is associated with the generation of stimulus-locked theta (4-7 Hz oscillations arising from prefrontal cortex (PFC. Transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS is a non-invasive brain stimulation technique that influences endogenous brain oscillations. Here, we investigate whether applying alternating current stimulation within the theta frequency band would affect multitasking performance, and explore tACS effects on neurophysiological measures. Brief runs of bilateral PFC theta-tACS were applied while participants were engaged in a multitasking paradigm accompanied by electroencephalography (EEG data collection. Unlike an active control group, a tACS stimulation group showed enhancement of multitasking performance after a 90-minute session (F1,35 = 6.63, p = 0.01, ηp2 = 0.16; effect size = 0.96, coupled with significant modulation of posterior beta (13-30 Hz activities (F1,32 = 7.66, p = 0.009, ηp2 = 0.19; effect size = 0.96. Across participant regression analyses indicated that those participants with greater increases in frontal theta, alpha and beta oscillations exhibited greater multitasking performance improvements. These results indicate frontal theta-tACS generates benefits on multitasking performance accompanied by widespread neuronal oscillatory changes, and suggests that future tACS studies with extended treatments are worth exploring as promising tools for cognitive enhancement.

The developing brain in a multitasking world.

Science.gov (United States)

Rothbart, Mary K; Posner, Michael I

2015-03-01

To understand the problem of multitasking, it is necessary to examine the brain's attention networks that underlie the ability to switch attention between stimuli and tasks and to maintain a single focus among distractors. In this paper we discuss the development of brain networks related to the functions of achieving the alert state, orienting to sensory events, and developing self-control. These brain networks are common to everyone, but their efficiency varies among individuals and reflects both genes and experience. Training can alter brain networks. We consider two forms of training: (1) practice in tasks that involve particular networks, and (2) changes in brain state through such practices as meditation that may influence many networks. Playing action video games and multitasking are themselves methods of training the brain that can lead to improved performance but also to overdependence on media activity. We consider both of these outcomes and ideas about how to resist overdependence on media. Overall, our paper seeks to inform the reader about what has been learned about attention that can influence multitasking over the course of development.

Wildland fire emissions, carbon, and climate: Emission factors

Science.gov (United States)

Shawn Urbanski

2014-01-01

While the vast majority of carbon emitted by wildland fires is released as CO2, CO, and CH4, wildland fire smoke is nonetheless a rich and complex mixture of gases and aerosols. Primary emissions include significant amounts of CH4 and aerosol (organic aerosol and black carbon), which are short-lived climate forcers. In addition to CO2 and short-lived climate forcers,...

A multitasking general executive for compound continuous tasks.

Science.gov (United States)

Salvucci, Dario D

2005-05-06

As cognitive architectures move to account for increasingly complex real-world tasks, one of the most pressing challenges involves understanding and modeling human multitasking. Although a number of existing models now perform multitasking in real-world scenarios, these models typically employ customized executives that schedule tasks for the particular domain but do not generalize easily to other domains. This article outlines a general executive for the Adaptive Control of Thought-Rational (ACT-R) cognitive architecture that, given independent models of individual tasks, schedules and interleaves the models' behavior into integrated multitasking behavior. To demonstrate the power of the proposed approach, the article describes an application to the domain of driving, showing how the general executive can interleave component subtasks of the driving task (namely, control and monitoring) and interleave driving with in-vehicle secondary tasks (radio tuning and phone dialing). 2005 Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc.

Multitasking the code ARC3D. [for computational fluid dynamics

Science.gov (United States)

Barton, John T.; Hsiung, Christopher C.

1986-01-01

The CRAY multitasking system was developed in order to utilize all four processors and sharply reduce the wall clock run time. This paper describes the techniques used to modify the computational fluid dynamics code ARC3D for this run and analyzes the achieved speedup. The ARC3D code solves either the Euler or thin-layer N-S equations using an implicit approximate factorization scheme. Results indicate that multitask processing can be used to achieve wall clock speedup factors of over three times, depending on the nature of the program code being used. Multitasking appears to be particularly advantageous for large-memory problems running on multiple CPU computers.

Time takes space: selective effects of multitasking on concurrent spatial processing.

Science.gov (United States)

Mäntylä, Timo; Coni, Valentina; Kubik, Veit; Todorov, Ivo; Del Missier, Fabio

2017-08-01

Many everyday activities require coordination and monitoring of complex relations of future goals and deadlines. Cognitive offloading may provide an efficient strategy for reducing control demands by representing future goals and deadlines as a pattern of spatial relations. We tested the hypothesis that multiple-task monitoring involves time-to-space transformational processes, and that these spatial effects are selective with greater demands on coordinate (metric) than categorical (nonmetric) spatial relation processing. Participants completed a multitasking session in which they monitored four series of deadlines, running on different time scales, while making concurrent coordinate or categorical spatial judgments. We expected and found that multitasking taxes concurrent coordinate, but not categorical, spatial processing. Furthermore, males showed a better multitasking performance than females. These findings provide novel experimental evidence for the hypothesis that efficient multitasking involves metric relational processing.

Short-term mindfulness intervention reduces the negative attentional effects associated with heavy media multitasking.

Science.gov (United States)

Gorman, Thomas E; Green, C Shawn

2016-04-18

Recent research suggests that frequently switching between various forms of media (i.e. 'media multitasking') is associated with diminished attentional abilities, a disconcerting result given the prevalence of media multitasking in today's society. In the present study, we sought to investigate the extent to which the deficits associated with frequent media multitasking can be temporarily ameliorated via a short-term mindfulness intervention previously shown to produce beneficial effects on the attentional abilities of normally functioning individuals. Consistent with previous work, we found: (1) that heavy media multitaskers showed generally poorer attentional abilities than light media multitaskers and (2) that all participants showed benefits from the short-term mindfulness intervention. Furthermore, we found that the benefits of the short-term mindfulness intervention were not equivalently large across participants. Instead, these benefits were disproportionately large in the heavy media multitaskers. While the positive outcomes were short-lived, this opens the possibility of performing long-term interventions with the goal of realizing lasting gains in this population.

Media Multitasking and Cognitive, Psychological, Neural, and Learning Differences.

Science.gov (United States)

Uncapher, Melina R; Lin, Lin; Rosen, Larry D; Kirkorian, Heather L; Baron, Naomi S; Bailey, Kira; Cantor, Joanne; Strayer, David L; Parsons, Thomas D; Wagner, Anthony D

2017-11-01

American youth spend more time with media than any other waking activity: an average of 7.5 hours per day, every day. On average, 29% of that time is spent juggling multiple media streams simultaneously (ie, media multitasking). This phenomenon is not limited to American youth but is paralleled across the globe. Given that a large number of media multitaskers (MMTs) are children and young adults whose brains are still developing, there is great urgency to understand the neurocognitive profiles of MMTs. It is critical to understand the relation between the relevant cognitive domains and underlying neural structure and function. Of equal importance is understanding the types of information processing that are necessary in 21st century learning environments. The present review surveys the growing body of evidence demonstrating that heavy MMTs show differences in cognition (eg, poorer memory), psychosocial behavior (eg, increased impulsivity), and neural structure (eg, reduced volume in anterior cingulate cortex). Furthermore, research indicates that multitasking with media during learning (in class or at home) can negatively affect academic outcomes. Until the direction of causality is understood (whether media multitasking causes such behavioral and neural differences or whether individuals with such differences tend to multitask with media more often), the data suggest that engagement with concurrent media streams should be thoughtfully considered. Findings from such research promise to inform policy and practice on an increasingly urgent societal issue while significantly advancing our understanding of the intersections between cognitive, psychosocial, neural, and academic factors. Copyright © 2017 by the American Academy of Pediatrics.

Multiobjective Multifactorial Optimization in Evolutionary Multitasking.

Science.gov (United States)

Gupta, Abhishek; Ong, Yew-Soon; Feng, Liang; Tan, Kay Chen

2016-05-03

In recent decades, the field of multiobjective optimization has attracted considerable interest among evolutionary computation researchers. One of the main features that makes evolutionary methods particularly appealing for multiobjective problems is the implicit parallelism offered by a population, which enables simultaneous convergence toward the entire Pareto front. While a plethora of related algorithms have been proposed till date, a common attribute among them is that they focus on efficiently solving only a single optimization problem at a time. Despite the known power of implicit parallelism, seldom has an attempt been made to multitask, i.e., to solve multiple optimization problems simultaneously. It is contended that the notion of evolutionary multitasking leads to the possibility of automated transfer of information across different optimization exercises that may share underlying similarities, thereby facilitating improved convergence characteristics. In particular, the potential for automated transfer is deemed invaluable from the standpoint of engineering design exercises where manual knowledge adaptation and reuse are routine. Accordingly, in this paper, we present a realization of the evolutionary multitasking paradigm within the domain of multiobjective optimization. The efficacy of the associated evolutionary algorithm is demonstrated on some benchmark test functions as well as on a real-world manufacturing process design problem from the composites industry.

Doing many things at a time: Lack of power decreases the ability to multitask.

Science.gov (United States)

Cai, Ran Alice; Guinote, Ana

2017-09-01

Three studies investigated the effects of power on the ability to pursue multiple, concomitant goals, also known as multitasking. It was predicted that powerless participants will show lower multitasking ability than control and powerful participants. Study 1 focused on self-reported ability to multitask in a sample of executives and subordinate employees. Studies 2 and 3 investigated the ability to dual-task and to switch between tasks, respectively, using dual-task and task-switching paradigms. Across the studies, powerless individuals were less able to effectively multitask compared with control and powerful participants, suggesting that the detrimental effects of lack of power extend beyond single-task environments, shown in past research, into multitasking environments. Underlying mechanisms are discussed. © 2017 The British Psychological Society.

Multi-population genomic prediction using a multi-task Bayesian learning model.

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Liuhong; Li, Changxi; Miller, Stephen; Schenkel, Flavio

2014-05-03

Genomic prediction in multiple populations can be viewed as a multi-task learning problem where tasks are to derive prediction equations for each population and multi-task learning property can be improved by sharing information across populations. The goal of this study was to develop a multi-task Bayesian learning model for multi-population genomic prediction with a strategy to effectively share information across populations. Simulation studies and real data from Holstein and Ayrshire dairy breeds with phenotypes on five milk production traits were used to evaluate the proposed multi-task Bayesian learning model and compare with a single-task model and a simple data pooling method. A multi-task Bayesian learning model was proposed for multi-population genomic prediction. Information was shared across populations through a common set of latent indicator variables while SNP effects were allowed to vary in different populations. Both simulation studies and real data analysis showed the effectiveness of the multi-task model in improving genomic prediction accuracy for the smaller Ayshire breed. Simulation studies suggested that the multi-task model was most effective when the number of QTL was small (n = 20), with an increase of accuracy by up to 0.09 when QTL effects were lowly correlated between two populations (ρ = 0.2), and up to 0.16 when QTL effects were highly correlated (ρ = 0.8). When QTL genotypes were included for training and validation, the improvements were 0.16 and 0.22, respectively, for scenarios of the low and high correlation of QTL effects between two populations. When the number of QTL was large (n = 200), improvement was small with a maximum of 0.02 when QTL genotypes were not included for genomic prediction. Reduction in accuracy was observed for the simple pooling method when the number of QTL was small and correlation of QTL effects between the two populations was low. For the real data, the multi-task model achieved an

Vectorization and multitasking with a Monte-Carlo code for neutron transport problems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chauvet, Y.

1985-04-01

This paper summarizes two improvements of a Monte Carlo code by resorting to vectorization and multitasking techniques. After a short presentation of the physical problem to solve and a description of the main difficulties to produce an efficient coding, this paper introduces the vectorization principles employed and briefly describes how the vectorized algorithm works. Next, measured performances on CRAY 1S, CYBER 205 and CRAY X-MP are compared. The second part of this paper is devoted to multitasking technique. Starting from the standard multitasking tools available with FORTRAN on CRAY X-MP/4, a multitasked algorithm and its measured speed-ups are presented. In conclusion we prove that vector and parallel computers are a great opportunity for such Monte Carlo algorithms

Analysing initial attack on wildland fires using stochastic simulation.

Science.gov (United States)

Jeremy S. Fried; J. Keith Gilless; James. Spero

2006-01-01

Stochastic simulation models of initial attack on wildland fire can be designed to reflect the complexity of the environmental, administrative, and institutional context in which wildland fire protection agencies operate, but such complexity may come at the cost of a considerable investment in data acquisition and management. This cost may be well justified when it...

"Women Are Better Than Men"-Public Beliefs on Gender Differences and Other Aspects in Multitasking.

Science.gov (United States)

Szameitat, André J; Hamaida, Yasmin; Tulley, Rebecca S; Saylik, Rahmi; Otermans, Pauldy C J

2015-01-01

Reports in public media suggest the existence of a stereotype that women are better at multitasking than men. The present online survey aimed at supporting this incidental observation by empirical data. For this, 488 participants from various ethnic backgrounds (US, UK, Germany, the Netherlands, Turkey, and others) filled out a self-developed online-questionnaire. Results showed that overall more than 50% of the participants believed in gender differences in multitasking abilities. Of those who believed in gender differences, a majority of 80% believed that women were better at multitasking. The main reasons for this were believed to be an evolutionary advantage and more multitasking practice in women, mainly due to managing children and household and/or family and job. Findings were consistent across the different countries, thus supporting the existence of a widespread gender stereotype that women are better at multitasking than men. Further questionnaire results provided information about the participants' self-rated own multitasking abilities, and how they conceived multitasking activities such as childcare, phoning while driving, and office work.

"Women Are Better Than Men"-Public Beliefs on Gender Differences and Other Aspects in Multitasking.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

André J Szameitat

Full Text Available Reports in public media suggest the existence of a stereotype that women are better at multitasking than men. The present online survey aimed at supporting this incidental observation by empirical data. For this, 488 participants from various ethnic backgrounds (US, UK, Germany, the Netherlands, Turkey, and others filled out a self-developed online-questionnaire. Results showed that overall more than 50% of the participants believed in gender differences in multitasking abilities. Of those who believed in gender differences, a majority of 80% believed that women were better at multitasking. The main reasons for this were believed to be an evolutionary advantage and more multitasking practice in women, mainly due to managing children and household and/or family and job. Findings were consistent across the different countries, thus supporting the existence of a widespread gender stereotype that women are better at multitasking than men. Further questionnaire results provided information about the participants' self-rated own multitasking abilities, and how they conceived multitasking activities such as childcare, phoning while driving, and office work.

An Exploratory Study to Measure Excessive Involvement in Multitasking Interaction with Smart Devices.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Yubo; Rau, Pei-Luen Patrick

2016-06-01

This study developed a scale measuring excessive involvement in multitasking interaction with smart devices. An online questionnaire was designed and surveyed in a sample of 380 respondents. The sample was split into two groups for exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis, respectively. A four-factor structure was identified with an acceptable goodness of fit. The first two factors, "Obsession and neglect" and "Problematic control," described the obsessive feelings, neglect behaviors, and behavior control problems accompanied by excessive multitasking interaction with smart devices. The latter two factors, "Multitasking preference" and "Polychronic orientation," referred to multitaskers' preference of engaging in multiple media use or interaction tasks rather than a single task from the time orientation perspective. The four-factor structure indicates that excessive involvement in multitasking interaction with smart devices shares some similarities with other behavioral addiction types, but demonstrates uniqueness compared with excessive engagement in single media use.

The Impact of Multitasking Learning Environments in the Middle Grades

Science.gov (United States)

Drinkwine, Timothy

2013-01-01

This research study considers the status of middle school students in the 21st century in terms of their tendency to multitask in their daily lives and the overall influence this multitasking has on teaching and learning environments. Student engagement in the learning environment and students' various learning styles are discussed as primary…

MTGAN: Speaker Verification through Multitasking Triplet Generative Adversarial Networks

OpenAIRE

Ding, Wenhao; He, Liang

2018-01-01

In this paper, we propose an enhanced triplet method that improves the encoding process of embeddings by jointly utilizing generative adversarial mechanism and multitasking optimization. We extend our triplet encoder with Generative Adversarial Networks (GANs) and softmax loss function. GAN is introduced for increasing the generality and diversity of samples, while softmax is for reinforcing features about speakers. For simplification, we term our method Multitasking Triplet Generative Advers...

Relationships of multitasking, physicians' strain, and performance: an observational study in ward physicians.

Science.gov (United States)

Weigl, Matthias; Müller, Andreas; Sevdalis, Nick; Angerer, Peter

2013-03-01

Simultaneous task performance ("multitasking") is common in hospital physicians' work and is implicated as a major determinant for enhanced strain and detrimental performance. The aim was to determine the impact of multitasking by hospital physicians on their self reported strain and performance. A prospective observational time-and-motion study in a Community Hospital was conducted. Twenty-seven hospital physicians (surgical and internal specialties) were observed in 40 full-shift observations. Observed physicians reported twice on their self-monitored strain and performance during the observation time. Associations of observed multitasking events and subsequent strain and performance appraisals were calculated. About 21% of the working time physicians were engaged in simultaneous activities. The average time spent in multitasking activities correlated significantly with subsequently reported strain (r = 0.27, P = 0.018). The number of instances of multitasking activities correlated with self-monitored performance to a marginally significant level (r = 0.19, P = 0.098). Physicians who engage in multitasking activities tend to self-report better performance but at the cost of enhanced psychophysical strain. Hence, physicians do not perceive their own multitasking activities as a source for deficient performance, for example, medical errors. Readjustment of workload, improved organization of work for hospital physicians, and training programs to improve physicians' skills in dealing with multiple clinical demands, prioritization, and efficient task allocation may be useful avenues to explore to reduce the potentially negative impact of simultaneous task performance in clinical settings.

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

NARCIS (Netherlands)

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

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.

Chapter 15. Plant pathology and managing wildland plant disease systems

Science.gov (United States)

David L. Nelson

2004-01-01

Obtaining specific, reliable knowledge on plant diseases is essential in wildland shrub resource management. However, plant disease is one of the most neglected areas of wildland resources experimental research. This section is a discussion of plant pathology and how to use it in managing plant disease systems.

Differences in Multitask Resource Reallocation After Change in Task Values.

Science.gov (United States)

Matton, Nadine; Paubel, Pierre; Cegarra, Julien; Raufaste, Eric

2016-12-01

The objective was to characterize multitask resource reallocation strategies when managing subtasks with various assigned values. When solving a resource conflict in multitasking, Salvucci and Taatgen predict a globally rational strategy will be followed that favors the most urgent subtask and optimizes global performance. However, Katidioti and Taatgen identified a locally rational strategy that optimizes only a subcomponent of the whole task, leading to detrimental consequences on global performance. Moreover, the question remains open whether expertise would have an impact on the choice of the strategy. We adopted a multitask environment used for pilot selection with a change in emphasis on two out of four subtasks while all subtasks had to be maintained over a minimum performance. A laboratory eye-tracking study contrasted 20 recently selected pilot students considered as experienced with this task and 15 university students considered as novices. When two subtasks were emphasized, novices focused their resources particularly on one high-value subtask and failed to prevent both low-value subtasks falling below minimum performance. On the contrary, experienced people delayed the processing of one low-value subtask but managed to optimize global performance. In a multitasking environment where some subtasks are emphasized, novices follow a locally rational strategy whereas experienced participants follow a globally rational strategy. During complex training, trainees are only able to adjust their resource allocation strategy to subtask emphasis changes once they are familiar with the multitasking environment. © 2016, Human Factors and Ergonomics Society.

A consideration of collective memory in African American attachment to wildland recreation places

Science.gov (United States)

Cassandra Y. Johnson

1998-01-01

This study examines the effect of race on place attachment to wildland areas. It is generally assumed that African Americans have a more negative impression of wildlands, compared to white ethnic groups. Studies from past decades report that blacks show less aesthetic preference for wildland, unstructured environments and are also less environmentally aware than whites...

Multi-task feature selection in microarray data by binary integer programming.

Science.gov (United States)

Lan, Liang; Vucetic, Slobodan

2013-12-20

A major challenge in microarray classification is that the number of features is typically orders of magnitude larger than the number of examples. In this paper, we propose a novel feature filter algorithm to select the feature subset with maximal discriminative power and minimal redundancy by solving a quadratic objective function with binary integer constraints. To improve the computational efficiency, the binary integer constraints are relaxed and a low-rank approximation to the quadratic term is applied. The proposed feature selection algorithm was extended to solve multi-task microarray classification problems. We compared the single-task version of the proposed feature selection algorithm with 9 existing feature selection methods on 4 benchmark microarray data sets. The empirical results show that the proposed method achieved the most accurate predictions overall. We also evaluated the multi-task version of the proposed algorithm on 8 multi-task microarray datasets. The multi-task feature selection algorithm resulted in significantly higher accuracy than when using the single-task feature selection methods.

Measuring wildland fire leadership: the crewmember perceived leadership scale

Science.gov (United States)

Alexis L. Waldron; David P. Schary; Bradley J. Cardinal

2015-01-01

The aims of this research were to develop and test a scale used to measure leadership in wildland firefighting using two samples of USA wildland firefighters. The first collection of data occurred in the spring and early summer and consisted of an online survey. The second set of data was collected towards late summer and early fall (autumn). The second set of...

Symbolic meanings of wildland fire: A study of residents in the U.S

Science.gov (United States)

Travis B. Paveglio; Matthew S. Carroll; James D. Absher; William Robinson

2010-01-01

This study uses symbolic interactionism as a basis for understanding the salience and fundamental meanings of wildland fire to wildland–urban interface (WUI) residents. It contributes to an understanding of how WUI residents actually view wildland fire, its role in forest ecosystems, and its attendant risks for human settlements. Three focus groups were conducted with...

Take a Break: Examining College Students' Media Multitasking Activities and Motivations during Study- or Work-Related Tasks

Science.gov (United States)

Kononova, Anastasia G.; Yuan, Shupei

2017-01-01

A survey (N = 524) examined how frequently college students engage in multitasking with social media, texting/instant messaging (IM), and music while studying/working and what motivates them to multitask with each medium. Four out of five participants multitasked with Facebook and texting/IM, and two out of three multitasked with music. Habit was…

Older Adult Multitasking Performance Using a Gaze-Contingent Useful Field of View.

Science.gov (United States)

Ward, Nathan; Gaspar, John G; Neider, Mark B; Crowell, James; Carbonari, Ronald; Kaczmarski, Hank; Ringer, Ryan V; Johnson, Aaron P; Loschky, Lester C; Kramer, Arthur F

2018-03-01

Objective We implemented a gaze-contingent useful field of view paradigm to examine older adult multitasking performance in a simulated driving environment. Background Multitasking refers to the ability to manage multiple simultaneous streams of information. Recent work suggests that multitasking declines with age, yet the mechanisms supporting these declines are still debated. One possible framework to better understand this phenomenon is the useful field of view, or the area in the visual field where information can be attended and processed. In particular, the useful field of view allows for the discrimination of two competing theories of real-time multitasking, a general interference account and a tunneling account. Methods Twenty-five older adult subjects completed a useful field of view task that involved discriminating the orientation of lines in gaze-contingent Gabor patches appearing at varying eccentricities (based on distance from the fovea) as they operated a vehicle in a driving simulator. In half of the driving scenarios, subjects also completed an auditory two-back task to manipulate cognitive workload, and during some trials, wind was introduced as a means to alter general driving difficulty. Results Consistent with prior work, indices of driving performance were sensitive to both wind and workload. Interestingly, we also observed a decline in Gabor patch discrimination accuracy under high cognitive workload regardless of eccentricity, which provides support for a general interference account of multitasking. Conclusion The results showed that our gaze-contingent useful field of view paradigm was able to successfully examine older adult multitasking performance in a simulated driving environment. Application This study represents the first attempt to successfully measure dynamic changes in the useful field of view for older adults completing a multitasking scenario involving driving.

Wildland Fire Management Plan for Brookhaven National Laboratory

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schwager, K.; Green, T. M.

2014-01-01

The DOE policy for managing wildland fires requires that all areas managed by DOE and/or Its various contractors which can sustain fire must have a FMP that details fire management guidelines for operational procedures associated with wildland fire, operational, and prescribed fires. FMPs provide guidance on fire preparedness, fire prevention, wildfire suppression, and the use of controlled ''prescribed'' fires and mechanical means to control the amount of available combustible material. Values reflected in the BNL Wildland FMP include protecting life and public safety; Lab properties, structures and improvements; cultural and historical sites; neighboring private and public properties; and endangered, threatened, and species of concern. Other values supported by the plan include the enhancement of fire-dependent ecosystems at BNL. The plan will be reviewed periodically to ensure fire program advances and will evolve with the missions of DOE and BNL.

Wildland Fire Management Plan for Brookhaven National Laboratory

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Schwager, K.; Green, T. M.

2014-10-01

The DOE policy for managing wildland fires requires that all areas managed by DOE and/or Its various contractors which can sustain fire must have a FMP that details fire management guidelines for operational procedures associated with wildland fire, operational, and prescribed fires. FMPs provide guidance on fire preparedness, fire prevention, wildfire suppression, and the use of controlled ''prescribed'' fires and mechanical means to control the amount of available combustible material. Values reflected in the BNL Wildland FMP include protecting life and public safety; Lab properties, structures and improvements; cultural and historical sites; neighboring private and public properties; and endangered, threatened, and species of concern. Other values supported by the plan include the enhancement of fire-dependent ecosystems at BNL. The plan will be reviewed periodically to ensure fire program advances and will evolve with the missions of DOE and BNL.

A technical review of flexible endoscopic multitasking platforms.

Science.gov (United States)

Yeung, Baldwin Po Man; Gourlay, Terence

2012-01-01

Further development of advanced therapeutic endoscopic techniques and natural orifice translumenal endoscopic surgery (NOTES) requires a powerful flexible endoscopic multitasking platform. Medline search was performed to identify literature relating to flexible endoscopic multitasking platform from year 2004-2011 using keywords: Flexible endoscopic multitasking platform, NOTES, Instrumentation, Endoscopic robotic surgery, and specific names of various endoscopic multitasking platforms. Key articles from articles references were reviewed. Flexible multitasking platforms can be classified as either mechanical or robotic. Purely mechanical systems include the dual channel endoscope (DCE) (Olympus), R-Scope (Olympus), the EndoSamurai (Olympus), the ANUBIScope (Karl-Storz), Incisionless Operating Platform (IOP) (USGI), and DDES system (Boston Scientific). Robotic systems include the MASTER system (Nanyang University, Singapore) and the Viacath (Hansen Medical). The DCE, the R-Scope, the EndoSamurai and the ANUBIScope have integrated visual function and instrument manipulation function. The IOP and DDES systems rely on the conventional flexible endoscope for visualization, and instrument manipulation is integrated through the use of a flexible, often lockable, multichannel access device. The advantage of the access device concept is that it allows optics and instrument dissociation. Due to the anatomical constrains of the pharynx, systems are designed to have a diameter of less than 20 mm. All systems are controlled by traction cable system actuated either by hand or by robotic machinery. In a flexible system, this method of actuation inevitably leads to significant hysteresis. This problem will be accentuated with a long endoscope such as that required in performing colonic procedures. Systems often require multiple operators. To date, the DCE, the R-Scope, the IOP, and the Viacath system have data published relating to their application in human. Alternative forms of

The Relationship between Media Multitasking and Executive Function in Early Adolescents

Science.gov (United States)

Baumgartner, Susanne E.; Weeda, Wouter D.; van der Heijden, Lisa L.; Huizinga, Mariëtte

2014-01-01

The increasing prevalence of media multitasking among adolescents is concerning because it may be negatively related to goal-directed behavior. This study investigated the relationship between media multitasking and executive function in 523 early adolescents (aged 11-15; 48% girls). The three central components of executive functions (i.e.,…

Examining the sources of public support for wildland fire policies

Science.gov (United States)

J.D. Absher; J.J. Vaske

2007-01-01

Recent severe wildfires have reinforced the need for successful mitigation strategies to be coordinated across all levels of government that address the needs and concerns of homeowners who live in the wildland/urban interface (WUI). Despite the growing body of social science literature on agency-initiated wildland fire policies and homeowner mitigation strategies,...

Differences in Multitask Resource Reallocation After Change in Task Values

OpenAIRE

Matton , Nadine; Paubel , Pierre-Vincent; Cegarra , Julien; Raufaste , Éric

2016-01-01

International audience; Objective The objective was to characterize multitask resource reallocation strategies when managing subtasks with various assigned values.Background When solving a resource conflict in multitasking, Salvucci and Taatgen predict a globally rational strategy will be followed that favors the most urgent subtask and optimizes global performance. However, Katidioti and Taatgen identified a locally rational strategy that optimizes only a subcomponent of the whole task, lead...

A neuropsychological investigation of multitasking in HIV infection: implications for everyday functioning.

Science.gov (United States)

Scott, J Cobb; Woods, Steven Paul; Vigil, Ofilio; Heaton, Robert K; Schweinsburg, Brian C; Ellis, Ronald J; Grant, Igor; Marcotte, Thomas D

2011-07-01

A subset of individuals with HIV-associated neurocognitive impairment experience related deficits in "real world" functioning (i.e., independently performing instrumental activities of daily living [IADL]). While performance-based tests of everyday functioning are reasonably sensitive to HIV-associated IADL declines, questions remain regarding the extent to which these tests' highly structured nature fully captures the inherent complexities of daily life. The aim of this study was to assess the predictive and ecological validity of a novel multitasking measure in HIV infection. Participants included 60 individuals with HIV infection (HIV+) and 25 demographically comparable seronegative adults (HIV-). Participants were administered a comprehensive neuropsychological battery, questionnaires assessing mood and everyday functioning, and a novel standardized test of multitasking, which involved balancing the demands of four interconnected performance-based functional tasks (i.e., financial management, cooking, medication management, and telephone communication). HIV+ individuals demonstrated significantly worse overall performance, fewer simultaneous task attempts, and increased errors on the multitasking test as compared to the HIV- group. Within the HIV+ sample, multitasking impairments were modestly associated with deficits on standard neuropsychological measures of executive functions, episodic memory, attention/working memory, and information processing speed, providing preliminary evidence for convergent validity. More importantly, multivariate prediction models revealed that multitasking deficits were uniquely predictive of IADL dependence beyond the effects of depression and global neurocognitive impairment, with excellent sensitivity (86%), but modest specificity (57%). Taken together, these data indicate that multitasking ability may play an important role in successful everyday functioning in HIV+ individuals. PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights

Egocentric daily activity recognition via multitask clustering.

Science.gov (United States)

Yan, Yan; Ricci, Elisa; Liu, Gaowen; Sebe, Nicu

2015-10-01

Recognizing human activities from videos is a fundamental research problem in computer vision. Recently, there has been a growing interest in analyzing human behavior from data collected with wearable cameras. First-person cameras continuously record several hours of their wearers' life. To cope with this vast amount of unlabeled and heterogeneous data, novel algorithmic solutions are required. In this paper, we propose a multitask clustering framework for activity of daily living analysis from visual data gathered from wearable cameras. Our intuition is that, even if the data are not annotated, it is possible to exploit the fact that the tasks of recognizing everyday activities of multiple individuals are related, since typically people perform the same actions in similar environments, e.g., people working in an office often read and write documents). In our framework, rather than clustering data from different users separately, we propose to look for clustering partitions which are coherent among related tasks. In particular, two novel multitask clustering algorithms, derived from a common optimization problem, are introduced. Our experimental evaluation, conducted both on synthetic data and on publicly available first-person vision data sets, shows that the proposed approach outperforms several single-task and multitask learning methods.

The Moving Edge: Perspectives on the Southern Wildland-Urban Interface

Science.gov (United States)

Martha C. Monroe; Alison W. Bowers; L. Annie Hermansen

2003-01-01

To better understand the wildland-urban interface across the 13 Southern States and to identify issues to be covered in the USDA Forest Service report, "Human Influences on Forest Ecosystems: The Southern Wildland-Urban Interface Assessment," 12 focus groups were conducted in 6 of the Southern States in May and June 2000. The groups were guided through a...

Laptop Multitasking Hinders Classroom Learning for Both Users and Nearby Peers

Science.gov (United States)

Sana, Faria; Weston, Tina; Cepeda, Nicholas J.

2013-01-01

Laptops are commonplace in university classrooms. In light of cognitive psychology theory on costs associated with multitasking, we examined the effects of in-class laptop use on student learning in a simulated classroom. We found that participants who multitasked on a laptop during a lecture scored lower on a test compared to those who did not…

Modeling regional-scale wildland fire emissions with the wildland fire emissions information system

Science.gov (United States)

Nancy H.F. French; Donald McKenzie; Tyler Erickson; Benjamin Koziol; Michael Billmire; K. Endsley; Naomi K.Y. Scheinerman; Liza Jenkins; Mary E. Miller; Roger Ottmar; Susan Prichard

2014-01-01

As carbon modeling tools become more comprehensive, spatial data are needed to improve quantitative maps of carbon emissions from fire. The Wildland Fire Emissions Information System (WFEIS) provides mapped estimates of carbon emissions from historical forest fires in the United States through a web browser. WFEIS improves access to data and provides a consistent...

Higher media multi-tasking activity is associated with smaller gray-matter density in the anterior cingulate cortex.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kep Kee Loh

Full Text Available Media multitasking, or the concurrent consumption of multiple media forms, is increasingly prevalent in today's society and has been associated with negative psychosocial and cognitive impacts. Individuals who engage in heavier media-multitasking are found to perform worse on cognitive control tasks and exhibit more socio-emotional difficulties. However, the neural processes associated with media multi-tasking remain unexplored. The present study investigated relationships between media multitasking activity and brain structure. Research has demonstrated that brain structure can be altered upon prolonged exposure to novel environments and experience. Thus, we expected differential engagements in media multitasking to correlate with brain structure variability. This was confirmed via Voxel-Based Morphometry (VBM analyses: Individuals with higher Media Multitasking Index (MMI scores had smaller gray matter density in the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC. Functional connectivity between this ACC region and the precuneus was negatively associated with MMI. Our findings suggest a possible structural correlate for the observed decreased cognitive control performance and socio-emotional regulation in heavy media-multitaskers. While the cross-sectional nature of our study does not allow us to specify the direction of causality, our results brought to light novel associations between individual media multitasking behaviors and ACC structure differences.

“Women Are Better Than Men”–Public Beliefs on Gender Differences and Other Aspects in Multitasking

Science.gov (United States)

Szameitat, André J.; Hamaida, Yasmin; Tulley, Rebecca S.; Saylik, Rahmi; Otermans, Pauldy C. J.

2015-01-01

Reports in public media suggest the existence of a stereotype that women are better at multitasking than men. The present online survey aimed at supporting this incidental observation by empirical data. For this, 488 participants from various ethnic backgrounds (US, UK, Germany, the Netherlands, Turkey, and others) filled out a self-developed online-questionnaire. Results showed that overall more than 50% of the participants believed in gender differences in multitasking abilities. Of those who believed in gender differences, a majority of 80% believed that women were better at multitasking. The main reasons for this were believed to be an evolutionary advantage and more multitasking practice in women, mainly due to managing children and household and/or family and job. Findings were consistent across the different countries, thus supporting the existence of a widespread gender stereotype that women are better at multitasking than men. Further questionnaire results provided information about the participants’ self-rated own multitasking abilities, and how they conceived multitasking activities such as childcare, phoning while driving, and office work. PMID:26479359

Wildland fire emissions, carbon, and climate: U.S. emissions inventories

Science.gov (United States)

Narasimhan K. Larkin; Sean M. Raffuse; Tara M. Strand

2014-01-01

Emissions from wildland fire are both highly variable and highly uncertain over a wide range of temporal and spatial scales. Wildland fire emissions change considerably due to fluctuations from year to year with overall fire season severity, from season to season as different regions pass in and out of wildfire and prescribed fire periods, and from day to day as...

On Hardy's paradox, weak measurements, and multitasking diagrams

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Meglicki, Zdzislaw, E-mail: gustav@indiana.edu [Indiana University, Office of the Vice President for Information Technology, 601 E. Kirkwood Ave., Room 116, Bloomington, IN 47405-1223 (United States)

2011-07-04

We discuss Hardy's paradox and weak measurements by using multitasking diagrams, which are introduced to illustrate the progress of quantum probabilities through the double interferometer system. We explain how Hardy's paradox is avoided and elaborate on the outcome of weak measurements in this context. -- Highlights: → Hardy's paradox explained and eliminated. → Weak measurements: what is really measured? → Multitasking diagrams: introduced and used to discuss quantum mechanical processes.

Can Teens Really Do It All?: Techno-Multitasking, Learning, and Performance

Science.gov (United States)

Bradley, Karen

2011-01-01

Many adults and students today think of themselves as excellent multitaskers--switching from task to task or from task to play in a nanosecond. Yet the pings and tweets their devices emit interrupt them in ways that are more problematic than they think. One of the powerful myths in the culture today is that multitasking is efficient for work or…

Automation trust and attention allocation in multitasking workspace.

Science.gov (United States)

Karpinsky, Nicole D; Chancey, Eric T; Palmer, Dakota B; Yamani, Yusuke

2018-07-01

Previous research suggests that operators with high workload can distrust and then poorly monitor automation, which has been generally inferred from automation dependence behaviors. To test automation monitoring more directly, the current study measured operators' visual attention allocation, workload, and trust toward imperfect automation in a dynamic multitasking environment. Participants concurrently performed a manual tracking task with two levels of difficulty and a system monitoring task assisted by an unreliable signaling system. Eye movement data indicate that operators allocate less visual attention to monitor automation when the tracking task is more difficult. Participants reported reduced levels of trust toward the signaling system when the tracking task demanded more focused visual attention. Analyses revealed that trust mediated the relationship between the load of the tracking task and attention allocation in Experiment 1, an effect that was not replicated in Experiment 2. Results imply a complex process underlying task load, visual attention allocation, and automation trust during multitasking. Automation designers should consider operators' task load in multitasking workspaces to avoid reduced automation monitoring and distrust toward imperfect signaling systems. Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Multitasking Abilities in Adolescents With 22q11.2 Deletion Syndrome: Results From an Experimental Ecological Paradigm.

Science.gov (United States)

Schneider, Maude; Eliez, Stephan; Birr, Julie; Menghetti, Sarah; Debbané, Martin; Van der Linden, Martial

2016-03-01

The 22q11.2 deletion syndrome (22q11.2DS) is associated with cognitive and functional impairments and increased risk for schizophrenia. We characterized multitasking abilities of adolescents with 22q11.2DS using an experimental naturalistic setting and examined whether multitasking impairments were associated with real-world functioning and negative symptoms. Thirty-nine adolescents (19 with 22q11.2DS and 20 controls) underwent the Multitasking Evaluation for Adolescents. Real-world functioning and clinical symptoms were assessed in participants with 22q11.2DS. Adolescents with 22q11.2DS performed poorly in the multitasking evaluation. Our data also suggest that multitasking abilities are related to adaptive functioning in the practical domain and negative symptoms. This study shows that adolescents with 22q11.2DS are characterized by multitasking impairments, which may be relevant for several aspects of the clinical phenotype.

Estimates of wildland fire emissions

Science.gov (United States)

Yongqiang Liu; John J. Qu; Wanting Wang; Xianjun Hao

2013-01-01

Wildland fire missions can significantly affect regional and global air quality, radiation, climate, and the carbon cycle. A fundamental and yet challenging prerequisite to understanding the environmental effects is to accurately estimate fire emissions. This chapter describes and analyzes fire emission calculations. Various techniques (field measurements, empirical...

Lung function changes in wildland firefighters working at prescribed burns.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Adetona, Olorunfemi; Hall, Daniel, B.; Naeher, L,P.

2011-10-01

Although decline in lung function across workshift has been observed in wildland firefighters, measurements have been restricted to days when they worked at fires. Consequently, such results could have been confounded by normal circadian variation associated with lung function. We investigated the across-shift changes in lung function of wildland firefighters, and the effect of cumulative exposure on lung function during the burn season.

Tension and robustness in multitasking cellular networks.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jeffrey V Wong

Full Text Available Cellular networks multitask by exhibiting distinct, context-dependent dynamics. However, network states (parameters that generate a particular dynamic are often sub-optimal for others, defining a source of "tension" between them. Though multitasking is pervasive, it is not clear where tension arises, what consequences it has, and how it is resolved. We developed a generic computational framework to examine the source and consequences of tension between pairs of dynamics exhibited by the well-studied RB-E2F switch regulating cell cycle entry. We found that tension arose from task-dependent shifts in parameters associated with network modules. Although parameter sets common to distinct dynamics did exist, tension reduced both their accessibility and resilience to perturbation, indicating a trade-off between "one-size-fits-all" solutions and robustness. With high tension, robustness can be preserved by dynamic shifting of modules, enabling the network to toggle between tasks, and by increasing network complexity, in this case by gene duplication. We propose that tension is a general constraint on the architecture and operation of multitasking biological networks. To this end, our work provides a framework to quantify the extent of tension between any network dynamics and how it affects network robustness. Such analysis would suggest new ways to interfere with network elements to elucidate the design principles of cellular networks.

Attitudes of Tertiary Students towards Multitasking on Facebook: A Comparative Analysis

OpenAIRE

Taiwo, Oyekan

2014-01-01

Multitasking activities on Facebook have become very popular with the increased popularity of Facebook throughout the world. The present study aims to explore the attitudes of Eastern Mediterranean University students’ towards multitasking activities on Facebook. In this study, quantitative methodology has been favored. 150 students studying at the three faculties (Communication, Architecture and Engineering) of the Eastern Mediterranean University constitute the sample of the study. Data ...

The development of multitasking in children aged 7-12years: Evidence from cross-sectional and longitudinal data.

Science.gov (United States)

Yang, Tian-Xiao; Xie, Weizhen; Chen, Chu-Sheng; Altgassen, Mareike; Wang, Ya; Cheung, Eric F C; Chan, Raymond C K

2017-09-01

This study investigated the development of multitasking ability across childhood. A sample of 65 typically developing children aged 7, 9, and 11years completed two multitasking tests across three time points within a year. Cross-sectional and longitudinal data consistently indicated continuous linear growth in children's multitasking ability. By the age of 12years, children could effectively perform a simple multitasking scenario comprising six equally important tasks, although their ability to strategically organize assorted tasks with varied values and priorities in a complex multitasking setting had not reached proficiency yet. Cognitive functions underlying a complex multitasking scenario varied in their developmental trajectories. Retrospective memory developed continuously from 7 to 12years of age, suggesting its supporting role in the development of multitasking. Planning skills developed slowly and showed practice effects for older children but not for younger children. The ability to adhere to plans also developed slowly, and children of all age groups benefited from practice. This study offers a preliminary benchmark for future comparison with clinical populations and may help to inform the development of targeted interventions. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

The effect of mild motion sickness and sopite syndrome on multitasking cognitive performance.

Science.gov (United States)

Matsangas, Panagiotis; McCauley, Michael E; Becker, William

2014-09-01

In this study, we investigated the effects of mild motion sickness and sopite syndrome on multitasking cognitive performance. Despite knowledge on general motion sickness, little is known about the effect of motion sickness and sopite syndrome on multitasking cognitive performance. Specifically, there is a gap in existing knowledge in the gray area of mild motion sickness. Fifty-one healthy individuals performed a multitasking battery. Three independent groups of participants were exposed to two experimental sessions. Two groups received motion only in the first or the second session, whereas the control group did not receive motion. Measurements of motion sickness, sopite syndrome, alertness, and performance were collected during the experiment Only during the second session, motion sickness and sopite syndrome had a significant negative association with cognitive performance. Significant performance differences between symptomatic and asymptomatic participants in the second session were identified in composite (9.43%), memory (31.7%), and arithmetic (14.7%) task scores. The results suggest that performance retention between sessions was not affected by mild motion sickness. Multitasking cognitive performance declined even when motion sickness and soporific symptoms were mild. The results also show an order effect. We postulate that the differential effect of session on the association between symptomatology and multitasking performance may be related to the attentional resources allocated to performing the multiple tasks. Results suggest an inverse relationship between motion sickness effects on performance and the cognitive effort focused on performing a task. Even mild motion sickness has potential implications for multitasking operational performance.

Model comparisons for estimating carbon emissions from North American wildland fire

Science.gov (United States)

Nancy H.F. French; William J. de Groot; Liza K. Jenkins; Brendan M. Rogers; Ernesto Alvarado; Brian Amiro; Bernardus De Jong; Scott Goetz; Elizabeth Hoy; Edward Hyer; Robert Keane; B.E. Law; Donald McKenzie; Steven G. McNulty; Roger Ottmar; Diego R. Perez-Salicrup; James Randerson; Kevin M. Robertson; Merritt. Turetsky

2011-01-01

Research activities focused on estimating the direct emissions of carbon from wildland fires across North America are reviewed as part of the North American Carbon Program disturbance synthesis. A comparison of methods to estimate the loss of carbon from the terrestrial biosphere to the atmosphere from wildland fires is presented. Published studies on emissions from...

Multitasking During Degraded Speech Recognition in School-Age Children.

Science.gov (United States)

Grieco-Calub, Tina M; Ward, Kristina M; Brehm, Laurel

2017-01-01

Multitasking requires individuals to allocate their cognitive resources across different tasks. The purpose of the current study was to assess school-age children's multitasking abilities during degraded speech recognition. Children (8 to 12 years old) completed a dual-task paradigm including a sentence recognition (primary) task containing speech that was either unprocessed or noise-band vocoded with 8, 6, or 4 spectral channels and a visual monitoring (secondary) task. Children's accuracy and reaction time on the visual monitoring task was quantified during the dual-task paradigm in each condition of the primary task and compared with single-task performance. Children experienced dual-task costs in the 6- and 4-channel conditions of the primary speech recognition task with decreased accuracy on the visual monitoring task relative to baseline performance. In all conditions, children's dual-task performance on the visual monitoring task was strongly predicted by their single-task (baseline) performance on the task. Results suggest that children's proficiency with the secondary task contributes to the magnitude of dual-task costs while multitasking during degraded speech recognition.

Learning approach and its relationship to type of media use and frequency of media-multitasking

OpenAIRE

Law, Anna; Stock, Rosemary

2017-01-01

Research has demonstrated that learning is impaired if students multitask with media while encountering new information. However, some have gone further, and suggested that media-multitasking (as a general activity) may have a negative impact on cognitive control processes. If this were the case, students who are heavy media-multitaskers generally would have difficulties with goal-directed behaviour, and organising their time effectively to meet their learning goals. The study described here ...

The Effects of Interruption Task Complexity and Interruptions on Student Multitasking

OpenAIRE

Tan, Jiun Yi

2013-01-01

Students commonly multitask while studying. The ubiquitous use of laptops and computers has facilitated this phenomenon and even changed the nature of multitasking in studying environments. Interruptions have an undeniable presence in these everyday studying environments and there are growing concerns about their potential to disrupt both performance and the learning process. Since interruptions are unavoidable, it is useful to identify the features that make some interruptions more disruptiv...

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

Science.gov (United States)

2015-11-01

preliminary validity of the Walking and Remembering Test. Journal of geriatric physical therapy . 2009;32(1):2-9. 23. Mancini M, Salarian A, Carlson-Kuhta P...MacMillan), American Physical Therapy Association (APTA) 2014 Annual conference, Charlotte, NC 88 August 18-21, 2014 (paper) A novel dual...Multitasking Performance for Mild TBI. Federal Section, American Physical Therapy Association’s Combined Section Meeting, (Weightman, Scherer, McCulloch

Multi-task feature learning by using trace norm regularization

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jiangmei Zhang

2017-11-01

Full Text Available Multi-task learning can extract the correlation of multiple related machine learning problems to improve performance. This paper considers applying the multi-task learning method to learn a single task. We propose a new learning approach, which employs the mixture of expert model to divide a learning task into several related sub-tasks, and then uses the trace norm regularization to extract common feature representation of these sub-tasks. A nonlinear extension of this approach by using kernel is also provided. Experiments conducted on both simulated and real data sets demonstrate the advantage of the proposed approach.

Delayed enhancement of multitasking performance: Effects of anodal transcranial direct current stimulation on the prefrontal cortex.

Science.gov (United States)

Hsu, Wan-Yu; Zanto, Theodore P; Anguera, Joaquin A; Lin, Yung-Yang; Gazzaley, Adam

2015-08-01

The dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) has been proposed to play an important role in neural processes that underlie multitasking performance. However, this claim is underexplored in terms of direct causal evidence. The current study aimed to delineate the causal involvement of the DLPFC during multitasking by modulating neural activity with transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) prior to engagement in a demanding multitasking paradigm. The study is a single-blind, crossover, sham-controlled experiment. Anodal tDCS or sham tDCS was applied over left DLPFC in forty-one healthy young adults (aged 18-35 years) immediately before they engaged in a 3-D video game designed to assess multitasking performance. Participants were separated into three subgroups: real-sham (i.e., real tDCS in the first session, followed by sham tDCS in the second session 1 h later), sham-real (sham tDCS first session, real tDCS second session), and sham-sham (sham tDCS in both sessions). The real-sham group showed enhanced multitasking performance and decreased multitasking cost during the second session, compared to first session, suggesting delayed cognitive benefits of tDCS. Interestingly, performance benefits were observed only for multitasking and not on a single-task version of the game. No significant changes were found between the first and second sessions for either the sham-real or the sham-sham groups. These results suggest a causal role of left prefrontal cortex in facilitating the simultaneous performance of more than one task, or multitasking. Moreover, these findings reveal that anodal tDCS may have delayed benefits that reflect an enhanced rate of learning. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Public webinar: Wildland Fire Sensors Challenge

Science.gov (United States)

This multi-agency challenge seeks a field-ready prototype system capable of measuring constituents of smoke, including particulates, carbon monoxide, ozone, and carbon dioxide, over the wide range of levels expected during wildland fires. The prototype system should be accurate, ...

Wildland economics: theory and practice

Science.gov (United States)

Pete Morton

2000-01-01

Since passage of the Wilderness Act, economists have derived the total economic valuation framework for estimating wildland benefits. Over the same time period, policies adopted by public land management agencies have been slow to internalize wilderness economics into management decisions. The lack of spatial resolution and modeler bias associated with the FORPLAN...

Resource allocation for wildland fire suppression planning using a stochastic program

Science.gov (United States)

Alex Taylor Masarie

2011-01-01

Resource allocation for wildland fire suppression problems, referred to here as Fire-S problems, have been studied for over a century. Not only have the many variants of the base Fire-S problem made it such a durable one to study, but advances in suppression technology and our ever-expanding knowledge of and experience with wildland fire behavior have required almost...

Quantifying physical characteristics of wildland fuels using the fuel characteristic classification system.

Science.gov (United States)

Cynthia L. Riccardi; Susan J. Prichard; David V. Sandberg; Roger D. Ottmar

2007-01-01

Wildland fuel characteristics are used in many applications of operational fire predictions and to understand fire effects and behaviour. Even so, there is a shortage of information on basic fuel properties and the physical characteristics of wildland fuels. The Fuel Characteristic Classification System (FCCS) builds and catalogues fuelbed descriptions based on...

Nurses' perceptions of multitasking in the emergency department: effective, fun and unproblematic (at least for me) – a qualitative study.

Science.gov (United States)

Forsberg, Helena Hvitfeldt; Muntlin Athlin, Åsa; von Thiele Schwarz, Ulrica

2015-04-01

The aim was to understand how multitasking is experienced by registered nurses and how it relates to their everyday practice in the emergency department. Interviews with open-ended questions were conducted with registered nurses (n = 9) working in one of two included emergency departments in Sweden. Data were analyzed using Schilling's structured model for qualitative content analysis. Three core concepts related to multitasking emerged from the interviews: 'multitasking - an attractive prerequisite for ED care'; 'multitasking implies efficiency' and 'multitasking is not stressful'. From these core concepts an additional theme emerged: '… and does not cause errors – at least for me', related to patient safety. This study shows how the patient load and the unreflected multitasking that follows relate to nurses' perceived efficiency and job satisfaction. It also shows that the relationship between multitasking and errors is perceived to be mediated by whom the actor is, and his or her level of experience. Findings from this study add value to the discourse on multitasking and the emergency department context, as few studies go beyond examining the quantitative aspect of interruptions and multitasking and how it is experienced by the staff in their everyday practice. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Adolescents' Interaction with Wildlands in Lekki Conservation ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

African Journal of Sustainable Development ... nature centres, wildlands and parks have become potent medium for recreation as well as generating knowledge and awareness about the environment, sustainability and conservation. Thus ...

Media multitasking is associated with distractibility and increased prefrontal activity in adolescents and young adults.

Science.gov (United States)

Moisala, M; Salmela, V; Hietajärvi, L; Salo, E; Carlson, S; Salonen, O; Lonka, K; Hakkarainen, K; Salmela-Aro, K; Alho, K

2016-07-01

The current generation of young people indulges in more media multitasking behavior (e.g., instant messaging while watching videos) in their everyday lives than older generations. Concerns have been raised about how this might affect their attentional functioning, as previous studies have indicated that extensive media multitasking in everyday life may be associated with decreased attentional control. In the current study, 149 adolescents and young adults (aged 13-24years) performed speech-listening and reading tasks that required maintaining attention in the presence of distractor stimuli in the other modality or dividing attention between two concurrent tasks. Brain activity during task performance was measured using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). We studied the relationship between self-reported daily media multitasking (MMT), task performance and brain activity during task performance. The results showed that in the presence of distractor stimuli, a higher MMT score was associated with worse performance and increased brain activity in right prefrontal regions. The level of performance during divided attention did not depend on MMT. This suggests that daily media multitasking is associated with behavioral distractibility and increased recruitment of brain areas involved in attentional and inhibitory control, and that media multitasking in everyday life does not translate to performance benefits in multitasking in laboratory settings. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Everyday Multitasking Abilities in Older HIV+ Adults: Neurobehavioral Correlates and the Mediating Role of Metacognition.

Science.gov (United States)

Fazeli, P L; Casaletto, K B; Woods, S P; Umlauf, A; Scott, J C; Moore, D J

2017-12-01

The prevalence of older adults living with HIV is rising, as is their risk for everyday functioning problems associated with neurocognitive dysfunction. Multitasking, the ability to maintain and carry out subgoals in support of a larger goal, is a multidimensional skill ubiquitous during most real-life tasks and associated with prefrontal networks that are vulnerable in HIV. Understanding factors associated with multitasking will improve characterization of HIV-associated neurocognitive disorders. Metacognition is also associated with frontal systems, is impaired among individuals with HIV, and may contribute to multitasking. Ninety-nine older (≥50 years) adults with HIV completed: the Everyday Multitasking Test (MT), a performance-based measure during which participants concurrently attempt four everyday tasks (e.g., medication management) within a time limit; a comprehensive neuropsychological battery; measures of metacognition regarding their MT performance (e.g., metacognitive knowledge and online awareness). Better global neuropsychological performance (i.e., average T-score across all domains) was associated with better Everyday MT total scores (rho = 0.34; p multitasking, and metacognition of task performance was a pathway through which successful multitasking occurred. Interventions aimed at modifying metacognition to improve daily functioning may be warranted among older adults with HIV. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Improving multitasking assessment in healthy older adults using a prop-based version of the Breakfast task.

Science.gov (United States)

Kosowicz, Maria; MacPherson, Sarah E

2017-01-01

Computerized cognitive assessment is becoming increasingly more common in clinical neuropsychological assessment and cognitive neuropsychological research. A number of computerized tasks now exist to assess multitasking abilities that are essential for everyday tasks such as cooking, shopping, or driving, but little is known about whether these tasks are appropriate for assessing older adults' multitasking. The present study directly compared age effects on multitasking when assessed using a computerized and a prop-based version of Craik and Bialystok's ( 2006 ) Breakfast task. Twenty participants aged 18 to 24 years and 20 participants aged 60 to 79 years were assessed on both versions of the Breakfast task. While age-related decrements in multitasking performance were found using the computerized task, significant age differences were not found on the majority of measures when the prop-based version was administered. The results suggest that age-related deficits in multitasking will be less when more contextualized, noncomputer based tasks are used.

Understanding and Visualizing Multitasking and Task Switching Activities: A Time Motion Study to Capture Nursing Workflow.

Science.gov (United States)

Yen, Po-Yin; Kelley, Marjorie; Lopetegui, Marcelo; Rosado, Amber L; Migliore, Elaina M; Chipps, Esther M; Buck, Jacalyn

2016-01-01

A fundamental understanding of multitasking within nursing workflow is important in today's dynamic and complex healthcare environment. We conducted a time motion study to understand nursing workflow, specifically multitasking and task switching activities. We used TimeCaT, a comprehensive electronic time capture tool, to capture observational data. We established inter-observer reliability prior to data collection. We completed 56 hours of observation of 10 registered nurses. We found, on average, nurses had 124 communications and 208 hands-on tasks per 4-hour block of time. They multitasked (having communication and hands-on tasks simultaneously) 131 times, representing 39.48% of all times; the total multitasking duration ranges from 14.6 minutes to 109 minutes, 44.98 minutes (18.63%) on average. We also reviewed workflow visualization to uncover the multitasking events. Our study design and methods provide a practical and reliable approach to conducting and analyzing time motion studies from both quantitative and qualitative perspectives.

Rewarding Multitasking: Negative Effects of an Incentive on Problem Solving under Divided Attention

Science.gov (United States)

Wieth, Mareike B.; Burns, Bruce D.

2014-01-01

Research has consistently shown negative effects of multitasking on tasks such as problem solving. This study was designed to investigate the impact of an incentive when solving problems in a multitasking situation. Incentives have generally been shown to increase problem solving (e.g., Wieth & Burns, 2006), however, it is unclear whether an…

Neuroticism Negatively Affects Multitasking Performance through State Anxiety

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Poposki, Elizabeth M; Oswald, Frederick L; Chen, Hubert T

2009-01-01

.... Though past research has demonstrated that cognitive predictors correlate positively with multitasking performance, there is reason to believe that non-cognitive factors are likely to predict such performance as well...

Ecological Relevance Determines Task Priority in Older Adults' Multitasking.

Science.gov (United States)

Doumas, Michail; Krampe, Ralf Th

2015-05-01

Multitasking is a challenging aspect of human behavior, especially if the concurrently performed tasks are different in nature. Several studies demonstrated pronounced performance decrements (dual-task costs) in older adults for combinations of cognitive and motor tasks. However, patterns of costs among component tasks differed across studies and reasons for participants' resource allocation strategies remained elusive. We investigated young and older adults' multitasking of a working memory task and two sensorimotor tasks, one with low (finger force control) and one with high ecological relevance (postural control). The tasks were performed in single-, dual-, and triple-task contexts. Working memory accuracy was reduced in dual-task contexts with either sensorimotor task and deteriorated further under triple-task conditions. Postural and force performance deteriorated with age and task difficulty in dual-task contexts. However, in the triple-task context with its maximum resource demands, older adults prioritized postural control over both force control and memory. Our results identify ecological relevance as the key factor in older adults' multitasking. © The Author 2013. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of The Gerontological Society of America. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Rapid growth of the US wildland-urban interface raises wildfire risk

Science.gov (United States)

Volker C. Radeloff; David P. Helmers; H. Anu Kramer; Miranda H. Mockrin; Patricia M. Alexandre; Avi Bar-Massada; Van Butsic; Todd J. Hawbaker; Sebastián Martinuzzi; Alexandra D. Syphard; Susan I. Stewart

2018-01-01

The wildland-urban interface (WUI) is the area where houses and wildland vegetation meet or intermingle, and where wildfire problems are most pronounced. Here we report that the WUI in the United States grew rapidly from 1990 to 2010 in terms of both number of new houses (from 30.8 to 43.4 million; 41% growth) and land area (from 581,000 to 770,000 km2...

Canadian Wildland Fire Strategy: A vision for an innovative and integrated approach to managing the risks

Science.gov (United States)

Canadian Wildland Fire Strategy Project Management Team

2006-01-01

The Canadian Wildland Fire Strategy (CWFS) provides a vision for a new, innovative, and integrated approach to wildland fire management in Canada. It was developed under the auspices of the Canadian Council of Forest Ministers and seeks to balance the social, ecological, and economic aspects of wildland fire through a risk management framework that emphasizes hazard...

Training multitasking in a virtual supermarket: a novel intervention after stroke.

Science.gov (United States)

Rand, Debbie; Weiss, Patrice L Tamar; Katz, Noomi

2009-01-01

To explore the potential of the VMall, a virtual supermarket running on a video-capture virtual reality system, as an intervention tool for people who have multitasking deficits after stroke. Poststroke, 4 participants received ten 60-min sessions over 3 weeks using the VMall. The intervention focused on improving multitasking while the participant was engaged in a virtual shopping task. Instruments included the Multiple Errands Test-Hospital Version (MET-HV) in a real mall and in the VMall. Participants achieved improvements ranging from 20.5% to 51.2% for most of the MET-HV measures performed in a real shopping mall and in the VMall. The data support the VMall's potential as a motivating and effective intervention tool for the rehabilitation of people poststroke who have multitasking deficits during the performance of daily tasks. However, because the sample was small, additional intervention studies with the VMall should be conducted.

The Effects of Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS on Multitasking Throughput Capacity

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Justin Nelson

2016-11-01

Full Text Available Background: Multitasking has become an integral attribute associated with military operations within the past several decades. As the amount of information that needs to be processed during these high level multitasking environments exceeds the human operators’ capabilities, the information throughput capacity reaches an asymptotic limit. At this point, the human operator can no longer effectively process and respond to the incoming information resulting in a plateau or decline in performance. The objective of the study was to evaluate the efficacy of a non-invasive brain stimulation technique known as transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS applied to a scalp location over the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (lDLPFC to improve information processing capabilities during a multitasking environment. Methods: The study consisted of 20 participants from Wright-Patterson Air Force Base (16 male and 4 female with an average age of 31.1 (SD = 4.5. Participants were randomly assigned into two groups, each consisting of eight males and two females. Group one received 2mA of anodal tDCS and group two received sham tDCS over the lDLPFC on their testing day. Results: The findings indicate that anodal tDCS significantly improves the participants’ information processing capability resulting in improved performance compared to sham tDCS. For example, the multitasking throughput capacity for the sham tDCS group plateaued near 1.0 bits/s at the higher baud input (2.0 bits/s whereas the anodal tDCS group plateaued near 1.3 bits/s. Conclusion: The findings provided new evidence that tDCS has the ability to augment and enhance multitasking capability in a human operator. Future research should be conducted to determine the longevity of the enhancement of transcranial direct current stimulation on multitasking performance, which has yet to be accomplished.

The Effects of Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS) on Multitasking Throughput Capacity.

Science.gov (United States)

Nelson, Justin; McKinley, Richard A; Phillips, Chandler; McIntire, Lindsey; Goodyear, Chuck; Kreiner, Aerial; Monforton, Lanie

2016-01-01

Background: Multitasking has become an integral attribute associated with military operations within the past several decades. As the amount of information that needs to be processed during these high level multitasking environments exceeds the human operators' capabilities, the information throughput capacity reaches an asymptotic limit. At this point, the human operator can no longer effectively process and respond to the incoming information resulting in a plateau or decline in performance. The objective of the study was to evaluate the efficacy of a non-invasive brain stimulation technique known as transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) applied to a scalp location over the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (lDLPFC) to improve information processing capabilities during a multitasking environment. Methods: The study consisted of 20 participants from Wright-Patterson Air Force Base (16 male and 4 female) with an average age of 31.1 (SD = 4.5). Participants were randomly assigned into two groups, each consisting of eight males and two females. Group one received 2 mA of anodal tDCS and group two received sham tDCS over the lDLPFC on their testing day. Results: The findings indicate that anodal tDCS significantly improves the participants' information processing capability resulting in improved performance compared to sham tDCS. For example, the multitasking throughput capacity for the sham tDCS group plateaued near 1.0 bits/s at the higher baud input (2.0 bits/s) whereas the anodal tDCS group plateaued near 1.3 bits/s. Conclusion: The findings provided new evidence that tDCS has the ability to augment and enhance multitasking capability in a human operator. Future research should be conducted to determine the longevity of the enhancement of transcranial direct current stimulation on multitasking performance, which has yet to be accomplished.

"Surgery interrupted": The effect of multitasking on cognitive and technical tasks in medical students.

Science.gov (United States)

Evans, C H; Schneider, E; Shostrom, V; Schenarts, P J

2017-02-01

Today's medical learners are Millennials, and reportedly, multitasking pros. We aim to evaluate effect of multitasking on cognitive and technical skills. 16 medical students completed a mock page and laceration closure separately on day 1 and day 13, and in parallel on day 14. Suturing was graded using GRS and mock pages scored. Total time, suturing and loading times, and percent correct on mock page were compared. Percent correct on mock page improved from days 1-13 and 14 (p multitasking results in longer times to complete the complex component of the technical task. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Making Sense of Multitasking: Key Behaviours

Science.gov (United States)

Judd, Terry

2013-01-01

Traditionally viewed as a positive characteristic, there is mounting evidence that multitasking using digital devices can have a range of negative impacts on task performance and learning. While the cognitive processes that cause these impacts are starting to be understood and the evidence that they occur in real learning contexts is mounting, the…

The relationship between internet-gaming experience and executive functions measured by virtual environment compared with conventional laboratory multitasks.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yong-Quan Chen

Full Text Available The aim of this study was to investigate if individuals with frequent internet gaming (IG experience exhibited better or worse multitasking ability compared with those with infrequent IG experience. The individuals' multitasking abilities were measured using virtual environment multitasks, such as Edinburgh Virtual Errands Test (EVET, and conventional laboratory multitasks, such as the dual task and task switching. Seventy-two young healthy college students participated in this study. They were split into two groups based on the time spent on playing online games, as evaluated using the Internet Use Questionnaire. Each participant performed EVET, dual-task, and task-switching paradigms on a computer. The current results showed that the frequent IG group performed better on EVET compared with the infrequent IG group, but their performance on the dual-task and task-switching paradigms did not differ significantly. The results suggest that the frequent IG group exhibited better multitasking efficacy if measured using a more ecologically valid task, but not when measured using a conventional laboratory multitasking task. The differences in terms of the subcomponents of executive function measured by these task paradigms were discussed. The current results show the importance of the task effect while evaluating frequent internet gamers' multitasking ability.

Using an Activity to Simulate the Dangers of Multitasking with Technology while Walking

Science.gov (United States)

Lazaros, Edward J.; Xu, Renmei; Londt, Susan

2012-01-01

People are increasingly trying to multitask while walking. Text messaging while walking is a significant area for concern. The number of text messages sent is expected to be more than 8 trillion in 2012. Texting is becoming so commonplace that people use this technology while engaged in other activities. The dangers of multitasking have hit the…

Cougar space use and movements in the wildland-urban landscape of western Washington

Science.gov (United States)

Kertson, B.N.; Spencer, R.D.; Marzluff, J.M.; Hepinstall-Cymerman, Jeffrey; Grue, C.E.

2011-01-01

The wildland-urban interface lies at the confluence of human-dominated and wild landscapes, creating a number of management and conservation challenges. Because wildlife ecology, behavior, and evolution at this interface are shaped by both natural and human phenomena, this requires greater understanding of how diverse factors affect ecosystem and population processes. We illustrate the challenge of understanding and managing a frequent and often undesired inhabitant of the wildland-urban landscape, the cougar (Puma concolor). In wildland and residential areas of western Washington State, USA, we captured and radiotracked 27 cougars to model space use and understand the role of landscape features in interactions (sightings, encounters, and depredations) between cougars and humans. Resource utilization functions (RUFs) identified cougar use of areas with features that were probably attractive to prey, influential on prey vulnerability, and associated with limited or no residential development. Early-successional forest (+), conifer forest (+), distance to road (-), residential density (-), and elevation (-) were significant positive and negative predictors of use for the population, whereas use of other landscape features was highly variable. Space use and movement rates in wildland and residential areas were similar because cougars used wildland-like forest patches, reserves, and corridors in residential portions of their home range. The population RUF was a good predictor of confirmed cougar interactions, with 72% of confirmed reports occurring in the 50% of the landscape predicted to be medium-high and high cougar use areas. We believe that there is a threshold residential density at which the level of development modifies the habitat but maintains enough wildland characteristics to encourage moderate levels of cougar use and maximize the probability of interaction. Wildlife managers trying to reduce interactions between cougars and people should incorporate

Pareto-path multitask multiple kernel learning.

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Cong; Georgiopoulos, Michael; Anagnostopoulos, Georgios C

2015-01-01

A traditional and intuitively appealing Multitask Multiple Kernel Learning (MT-MKL) method is to optimize the sum (thus, the average) of objective functions with (partially) shared kernel function, which allows information sharing among the tasks. We point out that the obtained solution corresponds to a single point on the Pareto Front (PF) of a multiobjective optimization problem, which considers the concurrent optimization of all task objectives involved in the Multitask Learning (MTL) problem. Motivated by this last observation and arguing that the former approach is heuristic, we propose a novel support vector machine MT-MKL framework that considers an implicitly defined set of conic combinations of task objectives. We show that solving our framework produces solutions along a path on the aforementioned PF and that it subsumes the optimization of the average of objective functions as a special case. Using the algorithms we derived, we demonstrate through a series of experimental results that the framework is capable of achieving a better classification performance, when compared with other similar MTL approaches.

A Naturalistic Investigation of Media Multitasking While Studying and the Effects on Exam Performance

Science.gov (United States)

Patterson, Michael C.

2017-01-01

The present study investigated the use of multiple digital media technologies, including social networking platforms, by students while preparing for an examination (media multitasking) and the subsequent effects on exam performance. The level of media multitasking (number of simultaneous media technologies) and duration of study were used as…

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.

Multitasking a three-dimensional Navier-Stokes algorithm on the Cray-2

Science.gov (United States)

Swisshelm, Julie M.

1989-01-01

A three-dimensional computational aerodynamics algorithm has been multitasked for efficient parallel execution on the Cray-2. It provides a means for examining the multitasking performance of a complete CFD application code. An embedded zonal multigrid scheme is used to solve the Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes equations for an internal flow model problem. The explicit nature of each component of the method allows a spatial partitioning of the computational domain to achieve a well-balanced task load for MIMD computers with vector-processing capability. Experiments have been conducted with both two- and three-dimensional multitasked cases. The best speedup attained by an individual task group was 3.54 on four processors of the Cray-2, while the entire solver yielded a speedup of 2.67 on four processors for the three-dimensional case. The multiprocessing efficiency of various types of computational tasks is examined, performance on two Cray-2s with different memory access speeds is compared, and extrapolation to larger problems is discussed.

Ranking Performance Measures in Multi-Task Agencies

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Christensen, Peter Ove; Sabac, Florin; Tian, Joyce

We derive sufficient conditions for ranking performance evaluation systems in multi-task agency models using both optimal and linear contracts in terms of a second-order stochastic dominance (SSD) condition on the likelihood ratios. The SSD condition can be replaced by a variance-covariance matrix...

Suburban immigrants to wildlands disrupt honest signaling in ultra-violet plumage

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Angela Tringali

2015-06-01

Full Text Available Urbanization changes habitat in a multitude of ways, including altering food availability. Access to human-provided food can change the relationship between body condition and honest advertisements of fitness, which may result in changes to behavior, demography, and metapopulation dynamics. We compared plumage color, its relationship with body condition and feather growth, and use as signal of dominance between a suburban and a wildland population of Florida Scrub-Jay (Aphelocoma coerulescens. Although plumage color was not related to body condition at either site, suburban birds had plumage with a greater proportion of total reflectance in the ultra-violet (UV and peak reflectance at shorter wavelengths. Despite the use of plumage reflectance as a signal of dominance among individuals in the wildlands, we found no evidence of status signaling at the suburban site. However, birds emigrating from the suburban site to the wildland site tended to be more successful at acquiring breeder status but less successful at reproducing than were immigrants from an adjacent wildland site, suggesting that signaled and realized quality differ. These differences in signaling content among populations could have demographic effects at metapopulation scales and may represent an evolutionary trap whereby suburban immigrants are preferred as mates even though their reproductive success relative to effort is lower.

Mobile Learning: Can Students Really Multitask?

Science.gov (United States)

Coens, Joke; Reynvoet, Bert; Clarebout, Geraldine

2011-01-01

The advent of mobile learning offers opportunities for students to do two things at once in an educational context: learning while performing another activity. The main aim of the reported studies is to address the effect of multitasking on learning with a mobile device. Two experiments were set up to examine the effect of performing a secondary…

Assessing wildfire exposure in the Wildland-Urban Interface area of the mountains of central Argentina.

Science.gov (United States)

Argañaraz, J P; Radeloff, V C; Bar-Massada, A; Gavier-Pizarro, G I; Scavuzzo, C M; Bellis, L M

2017-07-01

Wildfires are a major threat to people and property in Wildland Urban Interface (WUI) communities worldwide, but while the patterns of the WUI in North America, Europe and Oceania have been studied before, this is not the case in Latin America. Our goals were to a) map WUI areas in central Argentina, and b) assess wildfire exposure for WUI communities in relation to historic fires, with special emphasis on large fires and estimated burn probability based on an empirical model. We mapped the WUI in the mountains of central Argentina (810,000 ha), after digitizing the location of 276,700 buildings and deriving vegetation maps from satellite imagery. The areas where houses and wildland vegetation intermingle were classified as Intermix WUI (housing density > 6.17 hu/km 2 and wildland vegetation cover > 50%), and the areas where wildland vegetation abuts settlements were classified as Interface WUI (housing density > 6.17 hu/km 2 , wildland vegetation cover planning aimed at reducing wildfire risk in WUI communities. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Impact of Different Personal Protective Clothing on Wildland Firefighters' Physiological Strain

OpenAIRE

Carballo-Leyenda, Belén; Villa, José G.; López-Satué, Jorge; Rodríguez-Marroyo, Jose A.

2017-01-01

Wildfire firefighting is an extremely demanding occupation performed under hot environment. The use of personal protective clothing (PPC) is needed to protect subjects from the thermal exposure. However, the additional use of PPC may increase the wildland firefighters' physiological strain, and consequently limit their performance. The aim of this study was to analyze the effect of four different PPC on the physiological strain of wildland firefighters under moderate conditions (30?C and 30% ...

Multi-tasking and Arduino : why and how?

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Feijs, L.M.G.; Chen, L.L.; Djajadiningrat, T.; Feijs, L.M.G.; Fraser, S.; Hu, J.; Kyffin, S.; Steffen, D.

2013-01-01

In this article I argue that it is important to develop experiential prototypes which have multi-tasking capabilities. At the same time I show that for embedded prototype software based on the popular Arduino platform this is not too difficult. The approach is explained and illustrated using

Semi-Supervised Multitask Learning for Scene Recognition.

Science.gov (United States)

Lu, Xiaoqiang; Li, Xuelong; Mou, Lichao

2015-09-01

Scene recognition has been widely studied to understand visual information from the level of objects and their relationships. Toward scene recognition, many methods have been proposed. They, however, encounter difficulty to improve the accuracy, mainly due to two limitations: 1) lack of analysis of intrinsic relationships across different scales, say, the initial input and its down-sampled versions and 2) existence of redundant features. This paper develops a semi-supervised learning mechanism to reduce the above two limitations. To address the first limitation, we propose a multitask model to integrate scene images of different resolutions. For the second limitation, we build a model of sparse feature selection-based manifold regularization (SFSMR) to select the optimal information and preserve the underlying manifold structure of data. SFSMR coordinates the advantages of sparse feature selection and manifold regulation. Finally, we link the multitask model and SFSMR, and propose the semi-supervised learning method to reduce the two limitations. Experimental results report the improvements of the accuracy in scene recognition.

The multitasking framework: the effects of increasing workload on acute psychobiological stress reactivity.

Science.gov (United States)

Wetherell, Mark A; Carter, Kirsty

2014-04-01

A variety of techniques exist for eliciting acute psychological stress in the laboratory; however, they vary in terms of their ease of use, reliability to elicit consistent responses and the extent to which they represent the stressors encountered in everyday life. There is, therefore, a need to develop simple laboratory techniques that reliably elicit psychobiological stress reactivity that are representative of the types of stressors encountered in everyday life. The multitasking framework is a performance-based, cognitively demanding stressor, representative of environments where individuals are required to attend and respond to several different stimuli simultaneously with varying levels of workload. Psychological (mood and perceived workload) and physiological (heart rate and blood pressure) stress reactivity was observed in response to a 15-min period of multitasking at different levels of workload intensity in a sample of 20 healthy participants. Multitasking stress elicited increases in heart rate and blood pressure, and increased workload intensity elicited dose-response increases in levels of perceived workload and mood. As individuals rarely attend to single tasks in real life, the multitasking framework provides an alternative technique for modelling acute stress and workload in the laboratory. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Multitasking information behavior, information task switching and anxiety: An exploratory study

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Alexopoulou, Peggy; Kotsopoulou, Anastasia

2015-01-01

Multitasking information behavior involves multiple forms of information searching such as library and Web search. Few researchers, however, have explored multitasking information behavior and information task switching in libraries in conjunction with psychological variables. This study explored this behavior in terms of anxiety under time pressure. This was an exploratory case study. Participant searched information for three unrelated everyday life information topics during a library visit, in a timeframe of one hour. The data collection tools used were: diary, observation, interview, and the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory test. Participant took the Trait-anxiety test before the library visit to measure anxiety level as a personal characteristic. She also took State-anxiety test before, during and after the library visit to measure anxiety levels regarding the information seeking behavior. The results suggested that participant had high levels of anxiety at the beginning of the multitasking information behavior. The reason for that was the concern about the performance as well as the identification of the right resources. During the multitasking information behavior, participant still had anxiety to find the right information. The levels of anxiety, however, were less due to library’s good organized structure. At the end of the information seeking process, the levels of anxiety dropped significant and therefore calm and safety returned. Finally, participant searched information for topics that were more important and for which she had prior knowledge When people, under time pressure, have access to well organized information, the levels of anxiety might decrease

Multitask TSK fuzzy system modeling by mining intertask common hidden structure.

Science.gov (United States)

Jiang, Yizhang; Chung, Fu-Lai; Ishibuchi, Hisao; Deng, Zhaohong; Wang, Shitong

2015-03-01

The classical fuzzy system modeling methods implicitly assume data generated from a single task, which is essentially not in accordance with many practical scenarios where data can be acquired from the perspective of multiple tasks. Although one can build an individual fuzzy system model for each task, the result indeed tells us that the individual modeling approach will get poor generalization ability due to ignoring the intertask hidden correlation. In order to circumvent this shortcoming, we consider a general framework for preserving the independent information among different tasks and mining hidden correlation information among all tasks in multitask fuzzy modeling. In this framework, a low-dimensional subspace (structure) is assumed to be shared among all tasks and hence be the hidden correlation information among all tasks. Under this framework, a multitask Takagi-Sugeno-Kang (TSK) fuzzy system model called MTCS-TSK-FS (TSK-FS for multiple tasks with common hidden structure), based on the classical L2-norm TSK fuzzy system, is proposed in this paper. The proposed model can not only take advantage of independent sample information from the original space for each task, but also effectively use the intertask common hidden structure among multiple tasks to enhance the generalization performance of the built fuzzy systems. Experiments on synthetic and real-world datasets demonstrate the applicability and distinctive performance of the proposed multitask fuzzy system model in multitask regression learning scenarios.

Multitasking information behavior, information task switching and anxiety: An exploratory study

Science.gov (United States)

Alexopoulou, Peggy; Kotsopoulou, Anastasia

2015-02-01

Multitasking information behavior involves multiple forms of information searching such as library and Web search. Few researchers, however, have explored multitasking information behavior and information task switching in libraries in conjunction with psychological variables. This study explored this behavior in terms of anxiety under time pressure. This was an exploratory case study. Participant searched information for three unrelated everyday life information topics during a library visit, in a timeframe of one hour. The data collection tools used were: diary, observation, interview, and the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory test. Participant took the Trait-anxiety test before the library visit to measure anxiety level as a personal characteristic. She also took State-anxiety test before, during and after the library visit to measure anxiety levels regarding the information seeking behavior. The results suggested that participant had high levels of anxiety at the beginning of the multitasking information behavior. The reason for that was the concern about the performance as well as the identification of the right resources. During the multitasking information behavior, participant still had anxiety to find the right information. The levels of anxiety, however, were less due to library's good organized structure. At the end of the information seeking process, the levels of anxiety dropped significant and therefore calm and safety returned. Finally, participant searched information for topics that were more important and for which she had prior knowledge When people, under time pressure, have access to well organized information, the levels of anxiety might decrease.

Multitasking information behavior, information task switching and anxiety: An exploratory study

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Alexopoulou, Peggy, E-mail: p.alexopoulou@lboro.ac.uk, E-mail: an-kotsopoulou@yahoo.com; Kotsopoulou, Anastasia, E-mail: p.alexopoulou@lboro.ac.uk, E-mail: an-kotsopoulou@yahoo.com [City Unity College, Thiseos 15-17, Athens, 105 62 (Greece)

2015-02-09

Multitasking information behavior involves multiple forms of information searching such as library and Web search. Few researchers, however, have explored multitasking information behavior and information task switching in libraries in conjunction with psychological variables. This study explored this behavior in terms of anxiety under time pressure. This was an exploratory case study. Participant searched information for three unrelated everyday life information topics during a library visit, in a timeframe of one hour. The data collection tools used were: diary, observation, interview, and the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory test. Participant took the Trait-anxiety test before the library visit to measure anxiety level as a personal characteristic. She also took State-anxiety test before, during and after the library visit to measure anxiety levels regarding the information seeking behavior. The results suggested that participant had high levels of anxiety at the beginning of the multitasking information behavior. The reason for that was the concern about the performance as well as the identification of the right resources. During the multitasking information behavior, participant still had anxiety to find the right information. The levels of anxiety, however, were less due to library’s good organized structure. At the end of the information seeking process, the levels of anxiety dropped significant and therefore calm and safety returned. Finally, participant searched information for topics that were more important and for which she had prior knowledge When people, under time pressure, have access to well organized information, the levels of anxiety might decrease.

Aviation-Related Wildland Firefighter Fatalities--United States, 2000-2013.

Science.gov (United States)

Butler, Corey R; O'Connor, Mary B; Lincoln, Jennifer M

2015-07-31

Airplanes and helicopters are integral to the management and suppression of wildfires, often operating in high-risk, low-altitude environments. To update data on aviation-related wildland firefighting fatalities, identify risk factors, and make recommendations for improved safety, CDC's National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) analyzed reports from multiple data sources for the period 2000-2013. Among 298 wildland firefighter fatalities identified during 2000-2013, 78 (26.2%) were aviation-related occupational fatalities that occurred during 41 separate events involving 42 aircraft. Aircraft crashes accounted for 38 events. Pilots, copilots, and flight engineers represented 53 (68%) of the aviation-related fatalities. The leading causes of fatal aircraft crashes were engine, structure, or component failure (24%); pilot loss of control (24%); failure to maintain clearance from terrain, water, or objects (20%); and hazardous weather (15%). To reduce fatalities from aviation-related wildland firefighting activities, stringent safety guidelines need to be followed during all phases of firefighting, including training exercises. Crew resource management techniques, which use all available resources, information, equipment, and personnel to achieve safe and efficient flight operations, can be applied to firefighting operations.

Marketing Nature-Oriented Tourism or Rural Development and Wildlands Management in Developing Countries: A Bibliography

Science.gov (United States)

C. Denise Ingram; Patrick B. Durst

1987-01-01

Annotated bibliography that specifically links tourism marketing and wildlands management. The bibliography is divided into five sections: Information Sources, Wildlands Management, Planning and Development, Tourism Impacts, Marketing and Promotion.Indexed by author and geographical location.

The Effect of Mild Motion Sickness and Sopite Syndrome on Multitasking Cognitive Performance

Science.gov (United States)

2013-03-01

useful as a predictor of performance in occupations such as pilot , where demands on multitasking are presumably high.” 33 It is interesting to assess...Council Committee on Selection and Training of Aircraft Pilots , Executive Subcommittee. Washington, D.C. Wendt, G. R. (1951). Vestibular functions. In S...public release; distribution is unlimited THE EFFECT OF MILD MOTION SICKNESS AND SOPITE SYNDROME ON MULTITASKING COGNITIVE PERFORMANCE by

Measurement and Evidence of Computer-Based Task Switching and Multitasking by "Net Generation" Students

Science.gov (United States)

Judd, Terry; Kennedy, Gregor

2011-01-01

Logs of on-campus computer and Internet usage were used to conduct a study of computer-based task switching and multitasking by undergraduate medical students. A detailed analysis of over 6000 individual sessions revealed that while a majority of students engaged in both task switching and multitasking behaviours, they did so less frequently than…

An observational study on how situational factors influence media multitasking with TV: the role of genres, dayparts, and social viewing

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Voorveld, H.A.M.; Viswanathan, V.

2015-01-01

This study responds to the need for research on individuals' media multitasking behavior using observational data. Media multitasking can have a profound impact on media processing and effects. However, we have little knowledge on when people are likely to engage in media multitasking and,

Wildland fire risk and social vulnerability in the Southeastern United States: An exploratory spatial data analysis approach

Science.gov (United States)

Cassandra Johnson Gaither; Neelam C. Poudyal; Scott Goodrick; J. M. Bowker; Sparkle L Malone; Jianbang. Gan

2011-01-01

The southeastern U.S. is one of the more wildland fire prone areas of the country and also contains some of the poorest or most socially vulnerable rural communities. Our project addresses wildland fire risk in this part of the U.S and its intersection with social vulnerability. We examine spatial association between high wildland fire prone areas which also rank high...

Assessing the Role and Impact of Geospatial Data for Wildland Fire Management Decisions

Science.gov (United States)

Klein, E. A.; Lev, S. M.

2016-12-01

The 2015 Wildland and Fire Science and Technology Task Force Final Report, produced by the National Science and Technology Council, Committee on Environment, Natural Resources, and Sustainability, Subcommittee on Disaster Reduction, highlighted the increasing frequency of large wildfires and the growing demand for science to inform critical resource decisions to manage, mitigate, respond to, and recover from wildland fires. Federal spending on fire suppression from 2005-2015 has more than doubled despite policy changes that prioritize the mitigation of fire risks through the use of fuel treatments, prescribed fire, and management of naturally occurring wildfires to protect life and property. Fire suppression policies over the last century have created forests primed for severe fire, and in the face of a changing climate, the benefits of re-introducing fire into once fire-resilient ecosystems are clear. There are a range of complex factors and regional variation associated with wildland fire risk that complicate our understanding and effective management of this hazard. Data derived from Earth-observing (EO) systems and networks are a crucial input for managers when making decisions about fire suppression and fuel management. EO data can also be used to develop pre- and post-fire metrics that can aid in the evaluating the effectiveness of wildland fire management decisions. A value-tree method for mapping the role of EO systems and networks in delivering societal benefit through key Federal objectives related to wildland fire management will be presented. The value-tree methodology utilizes input from subject matter experts to assess the availability and usability of data and data products and to evaluate the impact of individual EO data inputs for achieving wildland fire management objectives. The results provide a qualitative assessment of the value of the data for the objectives described and identify critical gaps and continuity issues associated with

Life cycle analysis of multi-crop lignocellulosic material (perennial grasses) for bioethanol production in western Canada : a review.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Tripathy, A. [Saskatchewan Univ., Saskatoon, SK (Canada). Dept. of Agricultural and Bioresource Engineering; Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Saskatoon Research Centre, Saskatoon, SK (Canada). Bioproducts and Bioprocessing; Panigrahi, S. [Saskatchewan Univ., Saskatoon, SK (Canada). Dept. of Agricultural and Bioresource Engineering; Mupondwa, E.K. [Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Saskatoon Research Centre, Saskatoon, SK (Canada). Bioproducts and Bioprocessing

2009-07-01

This paper presented a life cycle assessment of multi-crop lignocellulosic biomass to determine the environmental performance of a bioethanol biorefinery in western Canada. The study investigated the economic aspects of the ethanol fuel system such as biorefinery operating costs and possible improvements in biorefinery economics resulting from pretreatment, hydrolysis, and fermentation processes. The eco-efficiency was determined by comparing economic parameters with selected environmental parameters. The study also compared the efficiency of the lignoce lulosic biorefinery with grain-based dry milling ethanol plants that produce ethanol as well as dried grains and solubles used as animal feed. The study showed that the choice of feedstock and location of the biorefinery is very important. The location should be carefully chosen where there is no water shortage. Various low valued lignocellulosic energy crops such as switch grass, alfalfa, and other perennial grasses can grow in marginal or pasture land and can decrease production costs considerably, thus improving the economic viability of biorefineries. The use of co-products can also add value to the process and can decrease the cost of ethanol production. tabs., figs.

Hyperbaric Oxygen Environment Can Enhance Brain Activity and Multitasking Performance.

Science.gov (United States)

Vadas, Dor; Kalichman, Leonid; Hadanny, Amir; Efrati, Shai

2017-01-01

Background: The Brain uses 20% of the total oxygen supply consumed by the entire body. Even though, multitasking), the oxygen supply is shifted from one brain region to another, via blood perfusion modulation. The aim of the present study was to evaluate whether a hyperbaric oxygen (HBO) environment, with increased oxygen supply to the brain, will enhance the performance of complex and/or multiple activities. Methods: A prospective, double-blind randomized control, crossover trial including 22 healthy volunteers. Participants were asked to perform a cognitive task, a motor task and a simultaneous cognitive-motor task (multitasking). Participants were randomized to perform the tasks in two environments: (a) normobaric air (1 ATA 21% oxygen) (b) HBO (2 ATA 100% oxygen). Two weeks later participants were crossed to the alternative environment. Blinding of the normobaric environment was achieved in the same chamber with masks on while hyperbaric sensation was simulated by increasing pressure in the first minute and gradually decreasing to normobaric environment prior to tasks performance. Results: Compared to the performance at normobaric conditions, both cognitive and motor single tasks scores were significantly enhanced by HBO environment ( p Multitasking performance was also significantly enhanced in HBO environment ( p = 0.006 for the cognitive part and p = 0.02 for the motor part). Conclusions: The improvement in performance of both single and multi-tasking while in an HBO environment supports the hypothesis which according to, oxygen is indeed a rate limiting factor for brain activity. Hyperbaric oxygenation can serve as an environment for brain performance. Further studies are needed to evaluate the optimal oxygen levels for maximal brain performance.

Integrative analysis of multiple diverse omics datasets by sparse group multitask regression

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dongdong eLin

2014-10-01

Full Text Available A variety of high throughput genome-wide assays enable the exploration of genetic risk factors underlying complex traits. Although these studies have remarkable impact on identifying susceptible biomarkers, they suffer from issues such as limited sample size and low reproducibility. Combining individual studies of different genetic levels/platforms has the promise to improve the power and consistency of biomarker identification. In this paper, we propose a novel integrative method, namely sparse group multitask regression, for integrating diverse omics datasets, platforms and populations to identify risk genes/factors of complex diseases. This method combines multitask learning with sparse group regularization, which will: 1 treat the biomarker identification in each single study as a task and then combine them by multitask learning; 2 group variables from all studies for identifying significant genes; 3 enforce sparse constraint on groups of variables to overcome the ‘small sample, but large variables’ problem. We introduce two sparse group penalties: sparse group lasso and sparse group ridge in our multitask model, and provide an effective algorithm for each model. In addition, we propose a significance test for the identification of potential risk genes. Two simulation studies are performed to evaluate the performance of our integrative method by comparing it with conventional meta-analysis method. The results show that our sparse group multitask method outperforms meta-analysis method significantly. In an application to our osteoporosis studies, 7 genes are identified as significant genes by our method and are found to have significant effects in other three independent studies for validation. The most significant gene SOD2 has been identified in our previous osteoporosis study involving the same expression dataset. Several other genes such as TREML2, HTR1E and GLO1 are shown to be novel susceptible genes for osteoporosis, as confirmed

Multitasking During Simulated Car Driving: A Comparison of Young and Older Persons

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Konstantin Wechsler

2018-06-01

Full Text Available Human multitasking is typically studied by repeatedly presenting two tasks, either sequentially (task switch paradigms or overlapping in time (dual-task paradigms. This is different from everyday life, which typically presents an ever-changing sequence of many different tasks. Realistic multitasking therefore requires an ongoing orchestration of task switching and dual-tasking. Here we investigate whether the age-related decay of multitasking, which has been documented with pure task-switch and pure dual-task paradigms, can also be quantified with a more realistic car driving paradigm. 63 young (20–30 years of age and 61 older (65–75 years of age participants were tested in an immersive driving simulator. They followed a car that occasionally slowed down and concurrently executed a mixed sequence of loading tasks that differed with respect to their sensory input modality, cognitive requirements and motor output channel. In two control conditions, the car-following or the loading task were administered alone. Older participants drove more slowly, more laterally and more variably than young ones, and this age difference was accentuated in the multitask-condition, particularly if the loading task took participants’ gaze and attention away from the road. In the latter case, 78% of older drivers veered off the road and 15% drove across the median. The corresponding values for young drivers were 40% and 0%, respectively. Our findings indicate that multitasking deteriorates in older age not only in typical laboratory paradigms, but also in paradigms that require orchestration of dual-tasking and task switching. They also indicate that older drivers are at a higher risk of causing an accident when they engage in a task that takes gaze and attention away from the road.

Systems thinking and wildland fire management

Science.gov (United States)

Matthew P. Thompson; Christopher J. Dunn; David E. Calkin

2017-01-01

A changing climate, changing development and land use patterns, and increasing pressures on ecosystem services raise global concerns over growing losses associated with wildland fires. New management paradigms acknowledge that fire is inevitable and often uncontrollable, and focus on living with fire rather than attempting to eliminate it from the landscape. A notable...

Does multitasking mediate the relationships between episodic memory, attention, executive functions and apathetic manifestations in traumatic brain injury?

Science.gov (United States)

Arnould, Annabelle; Rochat, Lucien; Dromer, Emilie; Azouvi, Philippe; Van der Linden, Martial

2018-03-01

Apathy is frequently described in patients with traumatic brain injury (TBI); its negative consequences particularly affect functional independence. Among apathetic manifestations, lack of initiative and lack of interest have mainly been associated with cognitive impairments. However, few studies have been conducted to precisely identify the underlying cognitive processes. Our aims were (1) to determine the best predictor of apathy from among several cognitive processes, including episodic memory and attention/executive mechanisms and multitasking, and (2) to examine to what extent multitasking could mediate the relationships between specific cognitive processes and lack of initiative/interest. Seventy participants (34 patients with TBI matched with 36 control participants) were given a questionnaire to assess anxio-depressive symptoms, four tasks to assess specific cognitive processes, and one task to assess real-life multitasking. Participants' relatives completed an apathy questionnaire. Multitasking, as assessed by the number of goals not achieved, was the only significant predictor of apathetic manifestations. In addition, the mediation analyses revealed that multitasking performance mediated the relationships between verbal episodic memory and lack of initiative/interest, whereas executive and attentional functions were only indirectly related to lack of initiative/interest due to their significant impacts on multitasking. These results shed new light on the aetiology of apathetic manifestations in patients with TBI, indicating how specific cognitive deficits are expressed in real-life multitasking, and consequently, how they may lead to the development and/or maintenance of apathetic manifestations. © 2016 The British Psychological Society.

Residents' responses to wildland fire programs: a review of cognitive and behavioral studies

Science.gov (United States)

James D. Absher; Jerry J. Vaske; Lori B. Shelby

2009-01-01

A compilation and summary of four research studies is presented. They were aimed at developing a theoretical and practical understanding of homeowners’ attitudes and behaviors in the wildland-urban interface (WUI) in relation to the threat from wildland fires. Individual studies focused on models and methods that measured (1) value orientations (patterns of basic...

Science Matters Special Edition: Wildland Fire Science

Science.gov (United States)

EPA is applying its extensive expertise in air quality science to the study of wildland fires to help states and communities that are impacted. This issue of Science Matters newsletter highlights some of the research projects under way by EPA and partners.

Connected yet Distracted: Multitasking among College Students

Science.gov (United States)

Mokhtari, Kouider; Delello, Julie; Reichard, Carla

2015-01-01

In this study, 935 undergraduate college students from a regional four-year university responded to an online time-diary survey asking them to report their multitasking habits and practices while engaged in four main activities: reading voluntarily for fun, reading for academic purposes, watching television (TV), and using the Internet. Results…

An Initial Investigation of Factors Affecting Multi-Task Performance

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Branscome, Tersa A; Swoboda, Jennifer C; Fatkin, Linda T

2007-01-01

This report presents the results of the first in a series of investigations designed to increase fundamental knowledge and understanding of the factors affecting multi-task performance in a military environment...

On-site wildland activity choices among African Americans and White Americans in the rural south: implications for management

Science.gov (United States)

Cassandra Y. Johnson; J. Michael Bowker

1999-01-01

Johnson and Bowker compare wildland activity choices for a sample of rural African Americans and Whites who visited wildland settings in and around the Apalachicola National Forest. The authors also look at intra-racial (same race, different gender) variations for activity participation. This research extends previous research focused on the visit/not visit wildland...

Training conquers multitasking costs by dividing task representations in the frontoparietal-subcortical system

OpenAIRE

Garner, K. G.; Dux, Paul E.

2015-01-01

The problem of how the brain undertakes multiple tasks concurrently is one of the oldest in psychology and neuroscience. Although successful negotiation of the rich sensory world clearly requires the ongoing management of multiple tasks, humans show substantial multitasking impairments in the laboratory and everyday life. Fortunately, training facilitates multitasking. However, until now, the neural mechanisms driving this functional adaptation were not understood. Here, in a large-scale huma...

Media Multitasking across Generations: Simultaneous Mobile Internet and Television Usage Behaviors and Motives

OpenAIRE

Yuhmiin Chang

2015-01-01

Simultaneous mobile internet and television usage has been getting very popular. Few, if any, studies explicated generational differences in this type of media multitasking behaviors. This study is the first to examine whether different generations have different behaviors and motives in the mobile internet-television media multitasking context. A national face-to-face survey with the probability proportional to size random sampling method was employed. The results showed that Web generation ...

The causal effect of multitasking on work-related mental health: The more you do, the worse you feel

OpenAIRE

Pikos, Anna Katharina

2017-01-01

This paper analyses whether there is a causal relationship between work-related mental health problems and multitasking, the number of tasks performed at work. The data comes from two cross sectional surveys on the German working population. The empirical strategies uses technological change as an instrument for multitasking. In the first stage, the introduction of new production and information technologies is associated with increases in multitasking. Production technology adoption has larg...

Multitasking and microtasking experience on the NA S Cray-2 and ACF Cray X-MP

Science.gov (United States)

Raiszadeh, Farhad

1987-01-01

The fast Fourier transform (FFT) kernel of the NAS benchmark program has been utilized to experiment with the multitasking library on the Cray-2 and Cray X-MP/48, and microtasking directives on the Cray X-MP. Some performance figures are shown, and the state of multitasking software is described.

Rapid growth of the US wildland-urban interface raises wildfire risk.

Science.gov (United States)

Radeloff, Volker C; Helmers, David P; Kramer, H Anu; Mockrin, Miranda H; Alexandre, Patricia M; Bar-Massada, Avi; Butsic, Van; Hawbaker, Todd J; Martinuzzi, Sebastián; Syphard, Alexandra D; Stewart, Susan I

2018-03-27

The wildland-urban interface (WUI) is the area where houses and wildland vegetation meet or intermingle, and where wildfire problems are most pronounced. Here we report that the WUI in the United States grew rapidly from 1990 to 2010 in terms of both number of new houses (from 30.8 to 43.4 million; 41% growth) and land area (from 581,000 to 770,000 km 2 ; 33% growth), making it the fastest-growing land use type in the conterminous United States. The vast majority of new WUI areas were the result of new housing (97%), not related to an increase in wildland vegetation. Within the perimeter of recent wildfires (1990-2015), there were 286,000 houses in 2010, compared with 177,000 in 1990. Furthermore, WUI growth often results in more wildfire ignitions, putting more lives and houses at risk. Wildfire problems will not abate if recent housing growth trends continue.

On the effects of multimodal information integration in multitasking.

Science.gov (United States)

Stock, Ann-Kathrin; Gohil, Krutika; Huster, René J; Beste, Christian

2017-07-07

There have recently been considerable advances in our understanding of the neuronal mechanisms underlying multitasking, but the role of multimodal integration for this faculty has remained rather unclear. We examined this issue by comparing different modality combinations in a multitasking (stop-change) paradigm. In-depth neurophysiological analyses of event-related potentials (ERPs) were conducted to complement the obtained behavioral data. Specifically, we applied signal decomposition using second order blind identification (SOBI) to the multi-subject ERP data and source localization. We found that both general multimodal information integration and modality-specific aspects (potentially related to task difficulty) modulate behavioral performance and associated neurophysiological correlates. Simultaneous multimodal input generally increased early attentional processing of visual stimuli (i.e. P1 and N1 amplitudes) as well as measures of cognitive effort and conflict (i.e. central P3 amplitudes). Yet, tactile-visual input caused larger impairments in multitasking than audio-visual input. General aspects of multimodal information integration modulated the activity in the premotor cortex (BA 6) as well as different visual association areas concerned with the integration of visual information with input from other modalities (BA 19, BA 21, BA 37). On top of this, differences in the specific combination of modalities also affected performance and measures of conflict/effort originating in prefrontal regions (BA 6).

Naturalistic Assessment of Executive Function and Everyday Multitasking in Healthy Older Adults

Science.gov (United States)

McAlister, Courtney; Schmitter-Edgecombe, Maureen

2013-01-01

Everyday multitasking and its cognitive correlates were investigated in an older adult population using a naturalistic task, the Day Out Task. Fifty older adults and 50 younger adults prioritized, organized, initiated and completed a number of subtasks in a campus apartment to prepare for a day out (e.g., gather ingredients for a recipe, collect change for a bus ride). Participants also completed tests assessing cognitive constructs important in multitasking. Compared to younger adults, the older adults took longer to complete the everyday tasks and more poorly sequenced the subtasks. Although they initiated, completed, and interweaved a similar number of subtasks, the older adults demonstrated poorer task quality and accuracy, completing more subtasks inefficiently. For the older adults, reduced prospective memory abilities were predictive of poorer task sequencing, while executive processes and prospective memory were predictive of inefficiently completed subtasks. The findings suggest that executive dysfunction and prospective memory difficulties may contribute to the age-related decline of everyday multitasking abilities in healthy older adults. PMID:23557096

The wildland-urban interface raster dataset of Catalonia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Fermín J. Alcasena

2018-04-01

Full Text Available We provide the wildland urban interface (WUI map of the autonomous community of Catalonia (Northeastern Spain. The map encompasses an area of some 3.21 million ha and is presented as a 150-m resolution raster dataset. Individual housing location, structure density and vegetation cover data were used to spatially assess in detail the interface, intermix and dispersed rural WUI communities with a geographical information system. Most WUI areas concentrate in the coastal belt where suburban sprawl has occurred nearby or within unmanaged forests. This geospatial information data provides an approximation of residential housing potential for loss given a wildfire, and represents a valuable contribution to assist landscape and urban planning in the region. Keywords: Wildland-urban interface, Wildfire risk, Urban planning, Human communities, Catalonia

Risk complexity and the wildland firefighter

Science.gov (United States)

Ivan Pupulidy

2012-01-01

Between 2000 and 2010 the US Forest Service and the Department of the Interior experienced 82 wildland fire fatalities. Our most recent organizational focus has been to eliminate fatalities. The chief of the USFS, in a letter to all employees, asked us to "suspend disbelief" with regard to the concept of a "zero fatality organization". This plea...

Threaded cognition: an integrated theory of concurrent multitasking.

Science.gov (United States)

Salvucci, Dario D; Taatgen, Niels A

2008-01-01

The authors propose the idea of threaded cognition, an integrated theory of concurrent multitasking--that is, performing 2 or more tasks at once. Threaded cognition posits that streams of thought can be represented as threads of processing coordinated by a serial procedural resource and executed across other available resources (e.g., perceptual and motor resources). The theory specifies a parsimonious mechanism that allows for concurrent execution, resource acquisition, and resolution of resource conflicts, without the need for specialized executive processes. By instantiating this mechanism as a computational model, threaded cognition provides explicit predictions of how multitasking behavior can result in interference, or lack thereof, for a given set of tasks. The authors illustrate the theory in model simulations of several representative domains ranging from simple laboratory tasks such as dual-choice tasks to complex real-world domains such as driving and driver distraction. (c) 2008 APA, all rights reserved

Hyperbaric Oxygen Environment Can Enhance Brain Activity and Multitasking Performance

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dor Vadas

2017-09-01

Full Text Available Background: The Brain uses 20% of the total oxygen supply consumed by the entire body. Even though, <10% of the brain is active at any given time, it utilizes almost all the oxygen delivered. In order to perform complex tasks or more than one task (multitasking, the oxygen supply is shifted from one brain region to another, via blood perfusion modulation. The aim of the present study was to evaluate whether a hyperbaric oxygen (HBO environment, with increased oxygen supply to the brain, will enhance the performance of complex and/or multiple activities.Methods: A prospective, double-blind randomized control, crossover trial including 22 healthy volunteers. Participants were asked to perform a cognitive task, a motor task and a simultaneous cognitive-motor task (multitasking. Participants were randomized to perform the tasks in two environments: (a normobaric air (1 ATA 21% oxygen (b HBO (2 ATA 100% oxygen. Two weeks later participants were crossed to the alternative environment. Blinding of the normobaric environment was achieved in the same chamber with masks on while hyperbaric sensation was simulated by increasing pressure in the first minute and gradually decreasing to normobaric environment prior to tasks performance.Results: Compared to the performance at normobaric conditions, both cognitive and motor single tasks scores were significantly enhanced by HBO environment (p < 0.001 for both. Multitasking performance was also significantly enhanced in HBO environment (p = 0.006 for the cognitive part and p = 0.02 for the motor part.Conclusions: The improvement in performance of both single and multi-tasking while in an HBO environment supports the hypothesis which according to, oxygen is indeed a rate limiting factor for brain activity. Hyperbaric oxygenation can serve as an environment for brain performance. Further studies are needed to evaluate the optimal oxygen levels for maximal brain performance.

Prefrontal Cortex Structure Predicts Training-Induced Improvements in Multitasking Performance.

Science.gov (United States)

Verghese, Ashika; Garner, K G; Mattingley, Jason B; Dux, Paul E

2016-03-02

The ability to perform multiple, concurrent tasks efficiently is a much-desired cognitive skill, but one that remains elusive due to the brain's inherent information-processing limitations. Multitasking performance can, however, be greatly improved through cognitive training (Van Selst et al., 1999, Dux et al., 2009). Previous studies have examined how patterns of brain activity change following training (for review, see Kelly and Garavan, 2005). Here, in a large-scale human behavioral and imaging study of 100 healthy adults, we tested whether multitasking training benefits, assessed using a standard dual-task paradigm, are associated with variability in brain structure. We found that the volume of the rostral part of the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) predicted an individual's response to training. Critically, this association was observed exclusively in a task-specific training group, and not in an active-training control group. Our findings reveal a link between DLPFC structure and an individual's propensity to gain from training on a task that taps the limits of cognitive control. Cognitive "brain" training is a rapidly growing, multibillion dollar industry (Hayden, 2012) that has been touted as the panacea for a variety of disorders that result in cognitive decline. A key process targeted by such training is "cognitive control." Here, we combined an established cognitive control measure, multitasking ability, with structural brain imaging in a sample of 100 participants. Our goal was to determine whether individual differences in brain structure predict the extent to which people derive measurable benefits from a cognitive training regime. Ours is the first study to identify a structural brain marker-volume of left hemisphere dorsolateral prefrontal cortex-associated with the magnitude of multitasking performance benefits induced by training at an individual level. Copyright © 2016 the authors 0270-6474/16/362638-08$15.00/0.

Dedicated workspaces: Faster resumption times and reduced cognitive load in sequential multitasking

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jeuris, Steven; Bardram, Jakob Eyvind

2016-01-01

Studies show that virtual desktops have become a widespread approach to window management within desktop environments. However, despite their success, there is no experimental evidence of their effect on multitasking. In this paper, we present an experimental study incorporating 16 participants...... to perform the same tasks. Results show that adopting virtual desktops as dedicated workspaces allows for faster task resumption (10 s faster on average) and reduced cognitive load during sequential multitasking. Within our experiment the majority of users already benefited from using dedicated workspaces...

A Systematic Approach for Engagement Analysis Under Multitasking Environments

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Guangfan; Leddo, John; Xu, Roger; Richey, Carl; Schnell, Tom; McKenzie, Frederick; Li, Jiang

2011-01-01

An overload condition can lead to high stress for an operator and further cause substantial drops in performance. On the other extreme, in automated systems, an operator may become underloaded; in which case, it is difficult for the operator to maintain sustained attention. When an unexpected event occurs, either internal or external to the automated system, a disengaged operation may neglect, misunderstand, or respond slowly/inappropriately to the situation. In this paper, we discuss a systematic approach monitor for extremes of cognitive workload and engagement in multitasking environments. Inferences of cognitive workload ar engagement are based on subjective evaluations, objective performance measures, physiological signals, and task analysis results. The systematic approach developed In this paper aggregates these types of information collected under the multitasking environment and can provide a real-time assessment or engagement.

Polychronicity and multitasking: a diary study at work

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Kirchberg, D.M.; Roe, R.A.; van Eerde, W.

2015-01-01

Polychronicity and multitasking have been described as being indispensible in work today because they enable people to use their time flexibly and effectively. We conducted a diary study among 93 employees during the mornings and evenings of 5 consecutive workdays (n = 418 observations). The study

Threaded cognition : An integrated theory of concurrent multitasking

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Salvucci, Dario D.; Taatgen, Niels A.

The authors propose the idea of threaded cognition, an integrated theory of concurrent multitasking-that is, performing 2 or more tasks at once. Threaded cognition posits that streams of thought can be represented as threads of processing coordinated by a serial procedural resource and executed

Measured performances on vectorization and multitasking with a Monte Carlo code for neutron transport problems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chauvet, Y.

1985-01-01

This paper summarized two improvements of a real production code by using vectorization and multitasking techniques. After a short description of Monte Carlo algorithms employed in neutron transport problems, the authors briefly describe the work done in order to get a vector code. Vectorization principles are presented and measured performances on the CRAY 1S, CYBER 205 and CRAY X-MP compared in terms of vector lengths. The second part of this work is an adaptation to multitasking on the CRAY X-MP using exclusively standard multitasking tools available with FORTRAN under the COS 1.13 system. Two examples are presented. The goal of the first one is to measure the overhead inherent to multitasking when tasks become too small and to define a granularity threshold, that is to say a minimum size for a task. With the second example they propose a method that is very X-MP oriented in order to get the best speedup factor on such a computer. In conclusion they prove that Monte Carlo algorithms are very well suited to future vector and parallel computers

Reading while Watching Video: The Effect of Video Content on Reading Comprehension and Media Multitasking Ability

Science.gov (United States)

Lin, Lin; Lee, Jennifer; Robertson, Tip

2011-01-01

Media multitasking, or engaging in multiple media and tasks simultaneously, is becoming an increasingly popular phenomenon with the development and engagement in social media. This study examines to what extent video content affects students' reading comprehension in media multitasking environments. One hundred and thirty university students were…

Multi-Task Convolutional Neural Network for Pose-Invariant Face Recognition

Science.gov (United States)

Yin, Xi; Liu, Xiaoming

2018-02-01

This paper explores multi-task learning (MTL) for face recognition. We answer the questions of how and why MTL can improve the face recognition performance. First, we propose a multi-task Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) for face recognition where identity classification is the main task and pose, illumination, and expression estimations are the side tasks. Second, we develop a dynamic-weighting scheme to automatically assign the loss weight to each side task, which is a crucial problem in MTL. Third, we propose a pose-directed multi-task CNN by grouping different poses to learn pose-specific identity features, simultaneously across all poses. Last but not least, we propose an energy-based weight analysis method to explore how CNN-based MTL works. We observe that the side tasks serve as regularizations to disentangle the variations from the learnt identity features. Extensive experiments on the entire Multi-PIE dataset demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed approach. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first work using all data in Multi-PIE for face recognition. Our approach is also applicable to in-the-wild datasets for pose-invariant face recognition and achieves comparable or better performance than state of the art on LFW, CFP, and IJB-A datasets.

[Ecological validity and multitasking environments in the evaluation of the executive functions].

Science.gov (United States)

Bombín-González, Igor; Cifuentes-Rodríguez, Alicia; Climent-Martínez, Gema; Luna-Lario, Pilar; Cardas-Ibáñez, Jaione; Tirapu-Ustárroz, Javier; Díaz-Orueta, Unai

2014-07-16

Evaluation of executive functions is a major issue of neuropsychological assessment, due to the role displayed by these on a cognitive, behavioural and emotional level, and the implication of these functions in daily life functioning. In order to perform a reliable assessment, the strategy traditionally followed for the evaluation of executive functions has been their atomization in different cognitive subprocesses, which is useful in a clinical or a research context. However, in clinical practice it is frequently artificial to disintegrate a global and complex cognitive process, such as executive functions, in a variety of related components; thus, tests designed according to these theoretical processes have low value in clinical procedures (diagnosis, rehabilitation design) due to their poor correspondence with the subject's or patient's clinical reality. The aims of the present work are to revise the concept of ecological validity applied to the evaluation of executive functions, and to perform a critical review of executive functions assessment by means of multitask paradigms as a way to increase the ecological validity and predictive value of the subject's functional performance. After a historical journey around the (low) ecological validity of single-task tests, and the bet in favour of a multitask paradigm for the evaluation of executive functions, up-to-date existing multitask tests are presented meticulously (with their respective advantages and disadvantages). Finally, concrete recommendations about how to develop multitask tests in the future are presented, attending to concrete parameters related to the context, tasks, objectives, rules and scoring.

Using social science to understand and improve wildland fire organizations: an annotated reading list

Science.gov (United States)

Gregory Larson; Vita Wright; Cade Spaulding; Kelly Rossetto; Georgi Rausch; Andrea Richards; Stephanie Durnford

2007-01-01

The wildland fire community has spent the past decade trying to understand and account for the role of human factors in wildland fire organizations. Social research that is relevant to managing fire organizations can be found in disciplines such as social psychology, management, and communication. However, such research has been published primarily for scientific and...

Scientific and social challenges for the management of fire-prone wildland-urban interfaces

Science.gov (United States)

Gill, A. Malcolm; Stephens, Scott L.

2009-09-01

At their worst, fires at the rural-urban or wildland-urban interface cause tragic loss of human lives and homes, but mitigating these fire effects through management elicits many social and scientific challenges. This paper addresses four interconnected management challenges posed by socially disastrous landscape fires. The issues concern various assets (particularly houses, human life and biodiversity), fuel treatments, and fire and human behaviours. The topics considered are: 'asset protection zones'; 'defensible space' and urban fire spread in relation to house ignition and loss; 'stay-or-go' policy and the prediction of time available for safe egress and the possible conflict between the creation of defensible space and wildland management objectives. The first scientific challenge is to model the effective width of an asset protection zone of an urban area. The second is to consider the effect of vegetation around a house, potentially defensible space, on fire arrival at the structure. The third scientific challenge is to present stakeholders with accurate information on rates of spread, and where the fire front is located, so as to allow them to plan safe egress or preparation time in their particular circumstances. The fourth scientific challenge is to be able to predict the effects of fires on wildland species composition. Associated with each scientific challenge is a social challenge: for the first two scientific challenges the social challenge is to co-ordinate fuel management within and between the urban and rural or wildland sides of the interface. For the third scientific challenge, the social challenge is to be aware of, and appropriately use, fire danger information so that the potential for safe egress from a home can be estimated most accurately. Finally, the fourth social challenge is to for local residents of wildland-urban interfaces with an interest in biodiversity conservation to understand the effects of fire regimes on biodiversity, thereby

Scientific and social challenges for the management of fire-prone wildland-urban interfaces

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gill, A Malcolm; Stephens, Scott L

2009-01-01

At their worst, fires at the rural-urban or wildland-urban interface cause tragic loss of human lives and homes, but mitigating these fire effects through management elicits many social and scientific challenges. This paper addresses four interconnected management challenges posed by socially disastrous landscape fires. The issues concern various assets (particularly houses, human life and biodiversity), fuel treatments, and fire and human behaviours. The topics considered are: 'asset protection zones'; 'defensible space' and urban fire spread in relation to house ignition and loss; 'stay-or-go' policy and the prediction of time available for safe egress and the possible conflict between the creation of defensible space and wildland management objectives. The first scientific challenge is to model the effective width of an asset protection zone of an urban area. The second is to consider the effect of vegetation around a house, potentially defensible space, on fire arrival at the structure. The third scientific challenge is to present stakeholders with accurate information on rates of spread, and where the fire front is located, so as to allow them to plan safe egress or preparation time in their particular circumstances. The fourth scientific challenge is to be able to predict the effects of fires on wildland species composition. Associated with each scientific challenge is a social challenge: for the first two scientific challenges the social challenge is to co-ordinate fuel management within and between the urban and rural or wildland sides of the interface. For the third scientific challenge, the social challenge is to be aware of, and appropriately use, fire danger information so that the potential for safe egress from a home can be estimated most accurately. Finally, the fourth social challenge is to for local residents of wildland-urban interfaces with an interest in biodiversity conservation to understand the effects of fire regimes on biodiversity, thereby

78 FR 13372 - Wildland Fire Executive Council Meeting Schedule

Science.gov (United States)

2013-02-27

... Governance; (3) Barriers and Critical Success Factors related to the Cohesive Strategy; (4) Regional Action... leadership, direction, and program oversight in support of the Wildland Fire Leadership Council. Questions...

Investigating Multitasking in High-Functioning Adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorders Using the Virtual Errands Task

Science.gov (United States)

Rajendran, Gnanathusharan; Law, Anna S.; Logie, Robert H.; van der Meulen, Marian; Fraser, Diane; Corley, Martin

2011-01-01

Using a modified version of the Virtual Errands Task (VET; McGeorge et al. in "Presence-Teleop Virtual Environ" 10(4):375-383, 2001), we investigated the executive ability of multitasking in 18 high-functioning adolescents with ASD and 18 typically developing adolescents. The VET requires multitasking (Law et al. in "Acta Psychol" 122(1):27-44,…

Multitask Classification Hypothesis Space With Improved Generalization Bounds.

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Cong; Georgiopoulos, Michael; Anagnostopoulos, Georgios C

2015-07-01

This paper presents a pair of hypothesis spaces (HSs) of vector-valued functions intended to be used in the context of multitask classification. While both are parameterized on the elements of reproducing kernel Hilbert spaces and impose a feature mapping that is common to all tasks, one of them assumes this mapping as fixed, while the more general one learns the mapping via multiple kernel learning. For these new HSs, empirical Rademacher complexity-based generalization bounds are derived, and are shown to be tighter than the bound of a particular HS, which has appeared recently in the literature, leading to improved performance. As a matter of fact, the latter HS is shown to be a special case of ours. Based on an equivalence to Group-Lasso type HSs, the proposed HSs are utilized toward corresponding support vector machine-based formulations. Finally, experimental results on multitask learning problems underline the quality of the derived bounds and validate this paper's analysis.

Psychobiological responses to critically evaluated multitasking.

Science.gov (United States)

Wetherell, Mark A; Craw, Olivia; Smith, Kenny; Smith, Michael A

2017-12-01

In order to understand psychobiological responses to stress it is necessary to observe how people react to controlled stressors. A range of stressors exist for this purpose; however, laboratory stressors that are representative of real life situations provide more ecologically valid opportunities for assessing stress responding. The current study assessed psychobiological responses to an ecologically valid laboratory stressor involving multitasking and critical evaluation. The stressor elicited significant increases in psychological and cardiovascular stress reactivity; however, no cortisol reactivity was observed. Other socially evaluative laboratory stressors that lead to cortisol reactivity typically require a participant to perform tasks that involve verbal responses, whilst standing in front of evaluative others. The current protocol contained critical evaluation of cognitive performance; however, this was delivered from behind a seated participant. The salience of social evaluation may therefore be related to the response format of the task and the method of evaluation. That is, the current protocol did not involve the additional vulnerability associated with in person, face-to-face contact, and verbal delivery. Critical evaluation of multitasking provides an ecologically valid technique for inducing laboratory stress and provides an alternative tool for assessing psychological and cardiovascular reactivity. Future studies could additionally use this paradigm to investigate those components of social evaluation necessary for eliciting a cortisol response.

The Problem State : A Cognitive Bottleneck in Multitasking

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Borst, Jelmer P.; Taatgen, Niels A.; van Rijn, Hedderik

The main challenge for theories of multitasking is to predict when and how tasks interfere. He re, we focus on interference related to the problem state. a directly accessible intermediate representation of the current state of a task. On the basis of Salvucci and Taatgen's (2008) threaded cognition

The Simulations of Wildland Fire Smoke PM25 in the NWS Air Quality Forecasting Systems

Science.gov (United States)

Huang, H. C.; Pan, L.; McQueen, J.; Lee, P.; ONeill, S. M.; Ruminski, M.; Shafran, P.; Huang, J.; Stajner, I.; Upadhayay, S.; Larkin, N. K.

2017-12-01

The increase of wildland fire intensity and frequency in the United States (U.S.) has led to property loss, human fatality, and poor air quality due to elevated particulate matters and surface ozone concentrations. The NOAA/National Weather Service (NWS) built the National Air Quality Forecast Capability (NAQFC) based on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Community Multi-scale Air Quality (CMAQ) Modeling System driven by the NCEP North American Mesoscale Forecast System meteorology to provide ozone and fine particulate matter (PM2.5) forecast guidance publicly. State and local forecasters use the NWS air quality forecast guidance to issue air quality alerts in their area. The NAQFC PM2.5 predictions include emissions from anthropogenic and biogenic sources, as well as natural sources such as dust storms and wildland fires. The wildland fire emission inputs to the NAQFC is derived from the NOAA National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Service Hazard Mapping System fire and smoke detection product and the emission module of the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) BlueSky Smoke Modeling Framework. Wildland fires are unpredictable and can be ignited by natural causes such as lightning or be human-caused. It is extremely difficult to predict future occurrences and behavior of wildland fires, as is the available bio-fuel to be burned for real-time air quality predictions. Assumptions of future day's wildland fire behavior often have to be made from older observed wildland fire information. The comparisons between the NAQFC modeled PM2.5 and the EPA AirNow surface observation show that large errors in PM2.5 prediction can occur if fire smoke emissions are sometimes placed at the wrong location and/or time. A configuration of NAQFC CMAQ-system to re-run previous 24 hours, during which wildland fires were observed from satellites has been included recently. This study focuses on the effort performed to minimize the error in NAQFC PM2.5 predictions

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.

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

Impact of Different Personal Protective Clothing on Wildland Firefighters' Physiological Strain.

Science.gov (United States)

Carballo-Leyenda, Belén; Villa, José G; López-Satué, Jorge; Rodríguez-Marroyo, Jose A

2017-01-01

Wildfire firefighting is an extremely demanding occupation performed under hot environment. The use of personal protective clothing (PPC) is needed to protect subjects from the thermal exposure. However, the additional use of PPC may increase the wildland firefighters' physiological strain, and consequently limit their performance. The aim of this study was to analyze the effect of four different PPC on the physiological strain of wildland firefighters under moderate conditions (30°C and 30% RH). Eight active and healthy wildland firefighters performed a submaximal walking test wearing a traditional short sports gear and 4 different PPC. The materials combination (viscose, Nomex, Kevlar, P-140 and fire resistant cotton) used during the PPC manufacturing process was different. During all tests, to simulate a real scenario subjects wore a backpack pump (20 kg). Heart rate, respiratory gas exchange, gastrointestinal temperature, blood lactate concentration, perceived exertion and temperature and humidity underneath the PPC were recorded throughout tests. Additionally, parameters of heat balance were estimated. Wearing a PPC did not cause a significant increase in the subjects' physiological response. The gastrointestinal temperature increment, the relative humidity of the microclimate underneath the PPC, the sweat residue in PPC, the sweat efficiency, the dry heat exchange and the total clothing insulation were significantly affected according to the PPC fabric composition. These results suggest that the PPC composition affect the moisture management. This might be taken into account to increase the wildland firefighters' protection in real situations, when they have to work close to the flames.

Impact of Different Personal Protective Clothing on Wildland Firefighters' Physiological Strain

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Belén Carballo-Leyenda

2017-08-01

Full Text Available Wildfire firefighting is an extremely demanding occupation performed under hot environment. The use of personal protective clothing (PPC is needed to protect subjects from the thermal exposure. However, the additional use of PPC may increase the wildland firefighters' physiological strain, and consequently limit their performance. The aim of this study was to analyze the effect of four different PPC on the physiological strain of wildland firefighters under moderate conditions (30°C and 30% RH. Eight active and healthy wildland firefighters performed a submaximal walking test wearing a traditional short sports gear and 4 different PPC. The materials combination (viscose, Nomex, Kevlar, P-140 and fire resistant cotton used during the PPC manufacturing process was different. During all tests, to simulate a real scenario subjects wore a backpack pump (20 kg. Heart rate, respiratory gas exchange, gastrointestinal temperature, blood lactate concentration, perceived exertion and temperature and humidity underneath the PPC were recorded throughout tests. Additionally, parameters of heat balance were estimated. Wearing a PPC did not cause a significant increase in the subjects' physiological response. The gastrointestinal temperature increment, the relative humidity of the microclimate underneath the PPC, the sweat residue in PPC, the sweat efficiency, the dry heat exchange and the total clothing insulation were significantly affected according to the PPC fabric composition. These results suggest that the PPC composition affect the moisture management. This might be taken into account to increase the wildland firefighters' protection in real situations, when they have to work close to the flames.

Digital forestry in the wildland urban interface

Science.gov (United States)

Michael C. Wimberly; Yangjian Zhang; John A. Stanturf

2006-01-01

Growing human populations have led to the expansion of the Wildland-Urban interface (WUI) across the southeastern United States. The juxtaposition of buildings, infrastructure, and forests in the WUI creates challenges for natural resource managers. The presence of flammable vegetation, high rates of human-caused ignitions and high building densities combine to...

Digital forestry in the wildland-urban interface

Science.gov (United States)

Michael C. Wimberly; Yangjian Zhang; John A. Stanturf

2006-01-01

Growing human populations have led to the expansion of the Wildland-Urban Interface (WUI) across the southeastern United States. The juxtaposition of buildings, infrastructure. and forests in the WUI creates challenges for natural resource managers. The presence of flammable vegetation. high rates of human-caused ignitions and high building densities combine to...

Feature selection for domain knowledge representation through multitask learning

CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

Rosman, Benjamin S

2014-10-01

Full Text Available represent stimuli of interest, and rich feature sets which increase the dimensionality of the space and thus the difficulty of the learning problem. We focus on a multitask reinforcement learning setting, where the agent is learning domain knowledge...

Measured performances on vectorization and multitasking with a Monte Carlo code for neutron transport problems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chauvet, Y.

1985-01-01

This paper summarized two improvements of a real production code by using vectorization and multitasking techniques. After a short description of Monte Carlo algorithms employed in our neutron transport problems, we briefly describe the work we have done in order to get a vector code. Vectorization principles will be presented and measured performances on the CRAY 1S, CYBER 205 and CRAY X-MP compared in terms of vector lengths. The second part of this work is an adaptation to multitasking on the CRAY X-MP using exclusively standard multitasking tools available with FORTRAN under the COS 1.13 system. Two examples will be presented. The goal of the first one is to measure the overhead inherent to multitasking when tasks become too small and to define a granularity threshold, that is to say a minimum size for a task. With the second example we propose a method that is very X-MP oriented in order to get the best speedup factor on such a computer. In conclusion we prove that Monte Carlo algorithms are very well suited to future vector and parallel computers. (orig.)

Cognitive structure, flexibility, and plasticity in human multitasking-An integrative review of dual-task and task-switching research.

Science.gov (United States)

Koch, Iring; Poljac, Edita; Müller, Hermann; Kiesel, Andrea

2018-06-01

Numerous studies showed decreased performance in situations that require multiple tasks or actions relative to appropriate control conditions. Because humans often engage in such multitasking activities, it is important to understand how multitasking affects performance. In the present article, we argue that research on dual-task interference and sequential task switching has proceeded largely separately using different experimental paradigms and methodology. In our article we aim at organizing this complex set of research in terms of three complementary research perspectives on human multitasking. One perspective refers to structural accounts in terms of cognitive bottlenecks (i.e., critical processing stages). A second perspective refers to cognitive flexibility in terms of the underlying cognitive control processes. A third perspective emphasizes cognitive plasticity in terms of the influence of practice on human multitasking abilities. With our review article we aimed at highlighting the value of an integrative position that goes beyond isolated consideration of a single theoretical research perspective and that broadens the focus from single experimental paradigms (dual task and task switching) to favor instead a view that emphasizes the fundamental similarity of the underlying cognitive mechanisms across multitasking paradigms. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2018 APA, all rights reserved).

Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory Wildland Fire Management Environmental Assessment

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Irving, John S

2003-04-01

DOE prepared an environmental assessment (EA)for wildland fire management activities on the Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory (INEEL) (DOE/EA-1372). The EA was developed to evaluate wildland fire management options for pre-fire, fire suppression, and post fire activities. Those activities have an important role in minimizing the conversion of the native sagebrush steppe ecosystem found on the INEEL to non-native weeds. Four alternative management approaches were analyzed: Alternative 1 - maximum fire protection; Alternative 2 - balanced fire protection; Alternative 2 - balanced fire protection; Alternative 3 - protect infrastructure and personnel; and Alternative 4 - no action/traditional fire protection.

76 FR 79205 - Wildland Fire Executive Council Meeting Schedule

Science.gov (United States)

2011-12-21

....), the National Wildlife Refuge System improvement Act of 1997 (16 U.S.C. 668dd-668ee), and the National... leadership, direction, and program oversight in support of the Wildland Fire Leadership Council. Questions...

78 FR 33432 - Wildland Fire Executive Council Meeting Schedule

Science.gov (United States)

2013-06-04

...), the National Wildlife Refuge System improvement Act of 1997 (16 U.S.C. 668dd-668ee), and the National... leadership, direction, and program oversight in support of the Wildland Fire Leadership Council. Questions...

77 FR 18851 - Wildland Fire Executive Council Meeting Schedule

Science.gov (United States)

2012-03-28

...), the National Wildlife Refuge System improvement Act of 1997 (16 U.S.C. 668dd-668ee), and the National... leadership, direction, and program oversight in support of the Wildland Fire Leadership Council. Questions...

77 FR 35420 - Wildland Fire Executive Council Meeting Schedule

Science.gov (United States)

2012-06-13

...), the National Wildlife Refuge System improvement Act of 1997 (16 U.S.C. 668dd-668ee), and the National... leadership, direction, and program oversight in support of the Wildland Fire Leadership Council. Questions...

Describing wildland surface fuel loading for fire management: A review of approaches, methods and systems

Science.gov (United States)

Robert E. Keane

2013-01-01

Wildland fuelbeds are exceptionally complex, consisting of diverse particles of many sizes, types and shapes with abundances and properties that are highly variable in time and space. This complexity makes it difficult to accurately describe, classify, sample and map fuels for wildland fire research and management. As a result, many fire behaviour and effects software...

Dealing with media distractions: An observational study of computer-based multitasking among children and adults in the Netherlands

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Baumgartner, S.E.; Sumter, S.R.

2017-01-01

The aim of this observational study was to investigate differences in computer-based multitasking among children and adults. Moreover, the study investigated how attention problems are related to computer-based multitasking and how these individual differences interact with age. Computer-based

Threaded Cognition: An Integrated Theory of Concurrent Multitasking

Science.gov (United States)

Salvucci, Dario D.; Taatgen, Niels A.

2008-01-01

The authors propose the idea of threaded cognition, an integrated theory of concurrent multitasking--that is, performing 2 or more tasks at once. Threaded cognition posits that streams of thought can be represented as threads of processing coordinated by a serial procedural resource and executed across other available resources (e.g., perceptual…

The global wilderness seminar for government agencies: a meeting at the crossroads of wildlands stewardship

Science.gov (United States)

Nancy Roeper; Peter Landres; Don Fisher

2006-01-01

Two days before the 8th World Wilderness Congress began in Alaska, nearly 200 government wildlands managers from 17 countries met to share ideas about common challenges and to explore ways to improve wildland stewardship globally. The goal for this Global Wilderness Seminar for Government Agencies was to lay the foundation for an operating peer network of government...

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.

A method for ensemble wildland fire simulation

Science.gov (United States)

Mark A. Finney; Isaac C. Grenfell; Charles W. McHugh; Robert C. Seli; Diane Trethewey; Richard D. Stratton; Stuart Brittain

2011-01-01

An ensemble simulation system that accounts for uncertainty in long-range weather conditions and two-dimensional wildland fire spread is described. Fuel moisture is expressed based on the energy release component, a US fire danger rating index, and its variation throughout the fire season is modeled using time series analysis of historical weather data. This analysis...

Multitasking in non-computerised and computerised versions of the Breakfast Task in healthy adult aging

OpenAIRE

Kozlowska, Maria Teresa

2010-01-01

Older adults demonstrate poor performance on standard executive tests. However, age-related deficits have been found only on a number of more realistic executive tests. The present study investigated age effects in multitasking, requiring a range of executive, as well as non-executive, cognitive functions. Previous study by Craik and Bialystok (2006) showed impaired performance of older adults on a computerised multitasking test, which simulated cooking breakfast. Participants were instructed...

Young and Older Adults' Gender Stereotype in Multitasking.

Science.gov (United States)

Strobach, Tilo; Woszidlo, Alesia

2015-01-01

In the present study, we investigated discrepancies between two components of stereotyping by means of the popular notion that women are better at multitasking behaviors: the cognitive structure in individuals (personal belief) and the perceived consensus regarding certain beliefs (perceived belief of groups). With focus on this notion, we examined whether there was empirical evidence for the stereotype's existence and whether and how it was shared among different age groups. Data were collected from 241 young (n = 129) and older (n = 112) German individuals. The reported perceptions of gender effects at multitasking were substantial and thus demonstrated the existence of its stereotype. Importantly, in young and older adults, this stereotype existed in the perception of attributed characteristics by members of a collective (perceived belief of groups). When contrasting this perceived belief of groups and the personal belief, older adults showed a similar level of conformation of the gender stereotype while young adults were able to differentiate between these perspectives. Thus, young adults showed a discrepancy between the stereotype's components cognitive structure in individuals and perceived consensus regarding certain beliefs.

Further Development of the Assessment of Military Multitasking Performance: Iterative Reliability Testing.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Margaret M Weightman

Full Text Available The Assessment of Military Multitasking Performance (AMMP is a battery of functional dual-tasks and multitasks based on military activities that target known sensorimotor, cognitive, and exertional vulnerabilities after concussion/mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI. The AMMP was developed to help address known limitations in post concussive return to duty assessment and decision making. Once validated, the AMMP is intended for use in combination with other metrics to inform duty-readiness decisions in Active Duty Service Members following concussion. This study used an iterative process of repeated interrater reliability testing and feasibility feedback to drive modifications to the 9 tasks of the original AMMP which resulted in a final version of 6 tasks with metrics that demonstrated clinically acceptable ICCs of > 0.92 (range of 0.92-1.0 for the 3 dual tasks and > 0.87 (range 0.87-1.0 for the metrics of the 3 multitasks. Three metrics involved in recording subject errors across 2 tasks did not achieve ICCs above 0.85 set apriori for multitasks (0.64 and above 0.90 set for dual-tasks (0.77 and 0.86 and were not used for further analysis. This iterative process involved 3 phases of testing with between 13 and 26 subjects, ages 18-42 years, tested in each phase from a combined cohort of healthy controls and Service Members with mTBI. Study findings support continued validation of this assessment tool to provide rehabilitation clinicians further return to duty assessment methods robust to ceiling effects with strong face validity to injured Warriors and their leaders.

Memory and multitasking performance during acute allergic inflammation in seasonal allergic rhinitis.

Science.gov (United States)

Trikojat, K; Buske-Kirschbaum, A; Plessow, F; Schmitt, J; Fischer, R

2017-04-01

In previous research, patients with seasonal allergic rhinitis (SAR) showed poorer school and work performance during periods of acute allergic inflammation, supporting the idea of an impact of SAR on cognitive functions. However, the specific cognitive domains particularly vulnerable to inflammatory processes are unclear. In this study, the influence of SAR on memory and multitasking performance, as two potentially vulnerable cognitive domains essential in everyday life functioning, was investigated in patients with SAR. Non-medicated patients with SAR (n = 41) and healthy non-allergic controls (n = 42) performed a dual-task paradigm and a verbal learning and memory test during and out of symptomatic allergy periods (pollen vs. non-pollen season). Disease-related factors (e.g. symptom severity, duration of symptoms, duration of disease) and allergy-related quality of life were evaluated as potential influences of cognitive performance. During the symptomatic allergy period, patients showed (1) poorer performance in word list-based learning (P = 0.028) and (2) a general slowing in processing speed (P multitasking. Yet, typical parameters indicating specific multitasking costs were not affected. A significant negative association was found between learning performance and duration of disease (r = -0.451, P = 0.004), whereas symptom severity (r = 0.326; P = 0.037) and quality of life (r = 0.379; P = 0.015) were positively associated with multitasking strategy. Our findings suggest that SAR has a differentiated and complex impact on cognitive functions, which should be considered in the management of SAR symptoms. They also call attention to the importance of selecting sensitive measures and carefully interpreting cognitive outcomes. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Wildland Fire: Health Effects and Public Health Outreach: Southeast Regional Partnership for Planning and Sustainability (SERPPAS) Webinar

Science.gov (United States)

The expanding wildland-urban interface and the proximity of prescribed fires undertaken by the Department of Defense is bringing the source of wildland fires close to densely populated areas in the Southeast. The presentation is an informational webinar to representatives of SERP...

Wildland Fire Induced Heating of Dome 375 Perma-Con®

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Flores, Eugene Michael [Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)

2016-08-09

AET-1 was tasked by ADEM with determining the temperature rise in the drum contents of drums stored in the Dome 375 Perma-Con® at TA-54 given a wildland fire. The wildland fire causes radiative and convective heating on the Perma-Con® exterior. The wildland fire time histories for the radiative and convective heating environment were provided to AET-1 by EES-16. If the calculated temperature rise results in a drum content temperature over 40 °C, then ADEM desires a design solution to ensure the peak temperature remains below 40 °C. An axi-symmetric FE simulation was completed to determine the peak temperature of the contents of a drum stored in the Dome 375 Perma-Con® during a wildland fire event. Three wildland fire time histories for the radiative and convective heat transfer were provided by EES-16 and were inputs for the FE simulation. The maximum drum content temperature reached was found to be 110 °C while using inputs from the SiteG_2ms_4ign_wind_from_west.xlsx time history input and not including the SWB in the model. Including the SWB in the results in a peak drum content temperature of 61 °C for the SiteG_2ms_4ign_wind_from_west.xlsx inputs. EES-16 decided that by using fuel mitigation efforts, such as mowing the grass and shrubs near the Perma-Con® they could reduce the shrub/grass fuel loading near the Perma-Con® from 1.46 kg/m² to 0.146 kg/m² and by using a less conservative fuel loading for the debris field inside the Dome 375 perimeter, reducing it from 0.58 kg/m2 to 0.058 kg/m² in their model. They also greatly increased the resolution of their radiation model and increased the accuracy of their model’s required convergence value. Using this refined input the maximum drum content temperature was found to be 28 °C with no SWB present in the model. Additionally, this refined input model was modified to include worst case emissivity values for the concrete, drum and Perma-Con® interior, along with adding a

Multitasking for flows about multiple body configurations using the chimera grid scheme

Science.gov (United States)

Dougherty, F. C.; Morgan, R. L.

1987-01-01

The multitasking of a finite-difference scheme using multiple overset meshes is described. In this chimera, or multiple overset mesh approach, a multiple body configuration is mapped using a major grid about the main component of the configuration, with minor overset meshes used to map each additional component. This type of code is well suited to multitasking. Both steady and unsteady two dimensional computations are run on parallel processors on a CRAY-X/MP 48, usually with one mesh per processor. Flow field results are compared with single processor results to demonstrate the feasibility of running multiple mesh codes on parallel processors and to show the increase in efficiency.

An operating environment with multitasking capabilities for radiochemistry autosynthesizers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Feliu, A.L.

1991-01-01

The proliferation of positron emission tomography centers during recent years has stimulated intensive efforts to develop reliable and efficient devices for automating radiopharmaceutical syntheses. In order to expedite the design and operation of fully automated synthesizers, a graphical process control scheme featuring a simple method for the end-user to reconfigure the software was recently suggested. The flexibility and user-friendliness of this scheme were demonstrated with an application package to operate a commercially-available autosynthesizer. This methodology is now extended to include multitasking capabilities. To evaluate the multitasking concept, the demonstration program AUTOMATE was created to simulate independent operation of four autosynthesizers. With AUTOMATE, a chemist could easily supervise one routine synthesis whole ''warming up'' another synthesizer or conducting a research experiment. The graphical approach provides the simplicity of manual control, instant status information, and a choice between ''hands-on'' or unattended operations. The potential utility of AUTOMATE in the laboratory is discussed. (author)

A community in the wildland-urban interface

Science.gov (United States)

María Cecilia Ciampoli Halaman

2013-01-01

Communities located in the wildland-urban interface undergo a process of transformation until they can guard against fires occurring in the area. This study analyzed this process for the Estación neighborhood in the city of Esquel, Chubut Province, Argentina. The analysis was performed by comparing the level of danger diagnosed for each neighborhood home in 2004 with...

Understanding social complexity within the wildland urban interface: A new species of human habitation? Environmental Management

Science.gov (United States)

Travis B. Paveglio; Pamela J. Jakes; Matthew S. Carroll; Daniel R. Williams

2009-01-01

The lack of knowledge regarding social diversity in the Wildland Urban Interface (WUI) or an in-depth understanding of the ways people living there interact to address common problems is concerning, perhaps even dangerous, given that community action is necessary for successful wildland fire preparedness and natural resource management activities. In this article, we...

Research Shows Health Impacts and Economic Costs of Wildland Fires

Science.gov (United States)

Researchers at EPA and colleagues at NC State University, the University of Sydney and the University of Tasmania are advancing the science of understanding the public health burden associated with wildland fires.

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

Science.gov (United States)

Cheng, Jingyuan; An, Qi; Yang, Junfeng

2006-09-01

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

Locomotor Adaptation Improves Balance Control, Multitasking Ability and Reduces the Metabolic Cost of Postural Instability

Science.gov (United States)

Bloomberg, J. J.; Peters, B. T.; Mulavara, A. P.; Brady, R. A.; Batson, C. D.; Miller, C. A.; Ploutz-Snyder, R. J.; Guined, J. R.; Buxton, R. E.; Cohen, H. S.

2011-01-01

During exploration-class missions, sensorimotor disturbances may lead to disruption in the ability to ambulate and perform functional tasks during the initial introduction to a novel gravitational environment following a landing on a planetary surface. The overall goal of our current project is to develop a sensorimotor adaptability training program to facilitate rapid adaptation to these environments. We have developed a unique training system comprised of a treadmill placed on a motion-base facing a virtual visual scene. It provides an unstable walking surface combined with incongruent visual flow designed to enhance sensorimotor adaptability. Greater metabolic cost incurred during balance instability means more physical work is required during adaptation to new environments possibly affecting crewmembers? ability to perform mission critical tasks during early surface operations on planetary expeditions. The goal of this study was to characterize adaptation to a discordant sensory challenge across a number of performance modalities including locomotor stability, multi-tasking ability and metabolic cost. METHODS: Subjects (n=15) walked (4.0 km/h) on a treadmill for an 8 -minute baseline walking period followed by 20-minutes of walking (4.0 km/h) with support surface motion (0.3 Hz, sinusoidal lateral motion, peak amplitude 25.4 cm) provided by the treadmill/motion-base system. Stride frequency and auditory reaction time were collected as measures of locomotor stability and multi-tasking ability, respectively. Metabolic data (VO2) were collected via a portable metabolic gas analysis system. RESULTS: At the onset of lateral support surface motion, subj ects walking on our treadmill showed an increase in stride frequency and auditory reaction time indicating initial balance and multi-tasking disturbances. During the 20-minute adaptation period, balance control and multi-tasking performance improved. Similarly, throughout the 20-minute adaptation period, VO2 gradually

What Happens When We Switch Tasks : Pupil Dilation in Multitasking

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Katidioti, Ioanna; Borst, Jelmer P.; Taatgen, Niels A.

2014-01-01

Interruption studies typically focus on external interruptions, even though self-interruptions occur at least as often in real work environments. In this article, we therefore contrast external interruptions with self-interruptions. Three multitasking experiments were conducted, in which we examined

A new virtual-reality training module for laparoscopic surgical skills and equipment handling: can multitasking be trained? A randomized controlled trial.

Science.gov (United States)

Bongers, Pim J; Diederick van Hove, P; Stassen, Laurents P S; Dankelman, Jenny; Schreuder, Henk W R

2015-01-01

During laparoscopic surgery distractions often occur and multitasking between surgery and other tasks, such as technical equipment handling, is a necessary competence. In psychological research, reduction of adverse effects of distraction is demonstrated when specifically multitasking is trained. The aim of this study was to examine whether multitasking and more specifically task-switching can be trained in a virtual-reality (VR) laparoscopic skills simulator. After randomization, the control group trained separately with an insufflator simulation module and a laparoscopic skills exercise module on a VR simulator. In the intervention group, insufflator module and VR skills exercises were combined to develop a new integrated training in which multitasking was a required competence. At random moments, problems with the insufflator appeared and forced the trainee to multitask. During several repetitions of a different multitask VR skills exercise as posttest, performance parameters (laparoscopy time, insufflator time, and errors) were measured and compared between both the groups as well with a pretest exercise to establish the learning effect. A face-validity questionnaire was filled afterward. University Medical Centre Utrecht, The Netherlands. Medical and PhD students (n = 42) from University Medical Centre Utrecht, without previous experience in laparoscopic simulation, were randomly assigned to either intervention (n = 21) or control group (n = 21). All participants performed better in the posttest exercises without distraction of the insufflator compared with the exercises in which multitasking was necessary to solve the insufflator problems. After training, the intervention group was significantly quicker in solving the insufflator problems (mean = 1.60Log(s) vs 1.70Log(s), p = 0.02). No significant differences between both the groups were seen in laparoscopy time and errors. Multitasking has negative effects on the laparoscopic performance. This study suggests

A portable system for characterizing wildland fire behavior

Science.gov (United States)

Bret Butler; D. Jimenez; J. Forthofer; K. Shannon; Paul Sopko

2010-01-01

A field deployable system for quantifying energy and mass transport in wildland fires is described. The system consists of two enclosures: The first is a sensor/data logger combination package that allows characterization of convective/radiant energy transport in fires. This package contains batteries, a programmable data logger, sensors, and other electronics. The...

A synopsis of large or disastrous wildland fires

Science.gov (United States)

Robert E. Martin; David B. Sapsis

1995-01-01

Wildland fires have occurred for centuries in North America and other selected countries and can be segregated into three periods: prehistoric (presuppression) fires, suppression period fires, and fire management period fires. Prehistoric fires varied in size and damage but were probably viewed fatalistically. Suppression period fires were based on policy that excluded...

The health impacts and economic value of wildland fire episodes in the U.S.: 2008-2012.

Science.gov (United States)

Fann, Neal; Alman, Breanna; Broome, Richard A; Morgan, Geoffrey G; Johnston, Fay H; Pouliot, George; Rappold, Ana G

2018-01-01

Wildland fires degrade air quality and adversely affect human health. A growing body of epidemiology literature reports increased rates of emergency departments, hospital admissions and premature deaths from wildfire smoke exposure. Our research aimed to characterize excess mortality and morbidity events, and the economic value of these impacts, from wildland fire smoke exposure in the U.S. over a multi-year period; to date no other burden assessment has done this. We first completed a systematic review of the epidemiologic literature and then performed photochemical air quality modeling for the years 2008 to 2012 in the continental U.S. Finally, we estimated the morbidity, mortality, and economic burden of wildland fires. Our models suggest that areas including northern California, Oregon and Idaho in the West, and Florida, Louisiana and Georgia in the East were most affected by wildland fire events in the form of additional premature deaths and respiratory hospital admissions. We estimated the economic value of these cases due to short term exposures as being between $11 and $20B (2010$) per year, with a net present value of $63B (95% confidence intervals $6-$170); we estimate the value of long-term exposures as being between $76 and $130B (2010$) per year, with a net present value of $450B (95% confidence intervals $42-$1200). The public health burden of wildland fires-in terms of the number and economic value of deaths and illnesses-is considerable. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Personal PM2.5 exposure among wildland firefighters working at prescribed forest burns in southeastern United States

Science.gov (United States)

O Adetona; K Dunn; Gary Achtemeier; A Stock; L Naeher

2011-01-01

Wildland firefighters are primarily responsible forwildfire suppression in wildlands, including forests, grasslands, and brush, but also engage in prescribed burning. Prescribed burns, as opposed to wildfires, are intentionally set by firefighters and are used as a land management tool for improving forage value of the forests, and reducing wildfire hazard and...

Support for Multitasking and background Awareness Using Interactive Peripheral Displays

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

MacIntyre, Blair; Mynatt, Elizabeth Diane; Voida, Stephen

2001-01-01

n this paper, we describe Kimura, an augmented office environment to support common multitasking practices. Previous systems, such as Rooms, limit users by constraining the interaction to the desktop monitor. In Kimura, we leverage interactive projected peripheral displays to support the perusal...

Investigating the prevalence and predictors of media multitasking across countries

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Voorveld, H.A.M.; Segijn, C.M.; Ketelaar, P.E.; Smit, E.G.

2014-01-01

This study provides insight into the prevalence and predictors of different forms of media multitasking across different countries. Results of a survey of 5,973 participants from six countries (the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, the Netherlands, Spain, and France) demonstrated that

Multi-task learning for cross-platform siRNA efficacy prediction: an in-silico study.

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Qi; Xu, Qian; Zheng, Vincent W; Xue, Hong; Cao, Zhiwei; Yang, Qiang

2010-04-10

Gene silencing using exogenous small interfering RNAs (siRNAs) is now a widespread molecular tool for gene functional study and new-drug target identification. The key mechanism in this technique is to design efficient siRNAs that incorporated into the RNA-induced silencing complexes (RISC) to bind and interact with the mRNA targets to repress their translations to proteins. Although considerable progress has been made in the computational analysis of siRNA binding efficacy, few joint analysis of different RNAi experiments conducted under different experimental scenarios has been done in research so far, while the joint analysis is an important issue in cross-platform siRNA efficacy prediction. A collective analysis of RNAi mechanisms for different datasets and experimental conditions can often provide new clues on the design of potent siRNAs. An elegant multi-task learning paradigm for cross-platform siRNA efficacy prediction is proposed. Experimental studies were performed on a large dataset of siRNA sequences which encompass several RNAi experiments recently conducted by different research groups. By using our multi-task learning method, the synergy among different experiments is exploited and an efficient multi-task predictor for siRNA efficacy prediction is obtained. The 19 most popular biological features for siRNA according to their jointly importance in multi-task learning were ranked. Furthermore, the hypothesis is validated out that the siRNA binding efficacy on different messenger RNAs(mRNAs) have different conditional distribution, thus the multi-task learning can be conducted by viewing tasks at an "mRNA"-level rather than at the "experiment"-level. Such distribution diversity derived from siRNAs bound to different mRNAs help indicate that the properties of target mRNA have important implications on the siRNA binding efficacy. The knowledge gained from our study provides useful insights on how to analyze various cross-platform RNAi data for uncovering

Multi-task learning for cross-platform siRNA efficacy prediction: an in-silico study

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Xue Hong

2010-04-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Gene silencing using exogenous small interfering RNAs (siRNAs is now a widespread molecular tool for gene functional study and new-drug target identification. The key mechanism in this technique is to design efficient siRNAs that incorporated into the RNA-induced silencing complexes (RISC to bind and interact with the mRNA targets to repress their translations to proteins. Although considerable progress has been made in the computational analysis of siRNA binding efficacy, few joint analysis of different RNAi experiments conducted under different experimental scenarios has been done in research so far, while the joint analysis is an important issue in cross-platform siRNA efficacy prediction. A collective analysis of RNAi mechanisms for different datasets and experimental conditions can often provide new clues on the design of potent siRNAs. Results An elegant multi-task learning paradigm for cross-platform siRNA efficacy prediction is proposed. Experimental studies were performed on a large dataset of siRNA sequences which encompass several RNAi experiments recently conducted by different research groups. By using our multi-task learning method, the synergy among different experiments is exploited and an efficient multi-task predictor for siRNA efficacy prediction is obtained. The 19 most popular biological features for siRNA according to their jointly importance in multi-task learning were ranked. Furthermore, the hypothesis is validated out that the siRNA binding efficacy on different messenger RNAs(mRNAs have different conditional distribution, thus the multi-task learning can be conducted by viewing tasks at an "mRNA"-level rather than at the "experiment"-level. Such distribution diversity derived from siRNAs bound to different mRNAs help indicate that the properties of target mRNA have important implications on the siRNA binding efficacy. Conclusions The knowledge gained from our study provides useful insights on how to

WRIS: a resource information system for wildland management

Science.gov (United States)

Robert M. Russell; David A. Sharpnack; Elliot Amidon

1975-01-01

WRIS (Wildland Resource Information System) is a computer system for processing, storing, retrieving, updating, and displaying geographic data. The polygon, representing a land area boundary, forms the building block of WRIS. Polygons form a map. Maps are digitized manually or by automatic scanning. Computer programs can extract and produce polygon maps and can overlay...

Young and older adults’ gender stereotype in multitasking

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tilo eStrobach

2015-12-01

Full Text Available In the present study, we investigated discrepancies between two components of stereotyping by means of the popular notion that women are better at multitasking behaviors: the cognitive structure in individuals (personal belief and the perceived consensus regarding certain beliefs (perceived belief of groups. With focus on this notion, we examined whether there was empirical evidence for the stereotype’s existence and whether and how it was shared among different age groups. Data were collected from 241 young (n = 129 and older (n = 112 German individuals. The reported perceptions of gender effects at multitasking were substantial and thus demonstrated the existence of its stereotype. Importantly, in young and older adults, this stereotype existed in the perception of attributed characteristics by members of a collective (perceived belief of groups. When contrasting this perceived belief of groups and the personal belief, older adults showed a similar level of conformation of the gender stereotype while young adults were able to differentiate between these perspectives. Thus, young adults showed a discrepancy between the stereotype’s components cognitive structure in individuals and perceived consensus regarding certain beliefs.

Robust visual tracking via multi-task sparse learning

KAUST Repository

Zhang, Tianzhu

2012-06-01

In this paper, we formulate object tracking in a particle filter framework as a multi-task sparse learning problem, which we denote as Multi-Task Tracking (MTT). Since we model particles as linear combinations of dictionary templates that are updated dynamically, learning the representation of each particle is considered a single task in MTT. By employing popular sparsity-inducing p, q mixed norms (p D; 1), we regularize the representation problem to enforce joint sparsity and learn the particle representations together. As compared to previous methods that handle particles independently, our results demonstrate that mining the interdependencies between particles improves tracking performance and overall computational complexity. Interestingly, we show that the popular L 1 tracker [15] is a special case of our MTT formulation (denoted as the L 11 tracker) when p q 1. The learning problem can be efficiently solved using an Accelerated Proximal Gradient (APG) method that yields a sequence of closed form updates. As such, MTT is computationally attractive. We test our proposed approach on challenging sequences involving heavy occlusion, drastic illumination changes, and large pose variations. Experimental results show that MTT methods consistently outperform state-of-the-art trackers. © 2012 IEEE.

Dynamic, continuous multitasking training leads to task-specific improvements but does not transfer across action selection tasks

Science.gov (United States)

Bender, Angela D.; Filmer, Hannah L.; Naughtin, Claire K.; Dux, Paul E.

2017-12-01

The ability to perform multiple tasks concurrently is an ever-increasing requirement in our information-rich world. Despite this, multitasking typically compromises performance due to the processing limitations associated with cognitive control and decision-making. While intensive dual-task training is known to improve multitasking performance, only limited evidence suggests that training-related performance benefits can transfer to untrained tasks that share overlapping processes. In the real world, however, coordinating and selecting several responses within close temporal proximity will often occur in high-interference environments. Over the last decade, there have been notable reports that training on video action games that require dynamic multitasking in a demanding environment can lead to transfer effects on aspects of cognition such as attention and working memory. Here, we asked whether continuous and dynamic multitasking training extends benefits to tasks that are theoretically related to the trained tasks. To examine this issue, we asked a group of participants to train on a combined continuous visuomotor tracking task and a perceptual discrimination task for six sessions, while an active control group practiced the component tasks in isolation. A battery of tests measuring response selection, response inhibition, and spatial attention was administered before and immediately after training to investigate transfer. Multitasking training resulted in substantial, task-specific gains in dual-task ability, but there was no evidence that these benefits generalized to other action control tasks. The findings suggest that training on a combined visuomotor tracking and discrimination task results in task-specific benefits but provides no additional value for untrained action selection tasks.

Task errors by emergency physicians are associated with interruptions, multitasking, fatigue and working memory capacity: a prospective, direct observation study.

Science.gov (United States)

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

2018-01-09

Interruptions and multitasking have been demonstrated in experimental studies to reduce individuals' task performance. These behaviours are frequently used by clinicians in high-workload, dynamic clinical environments, yet their effects have rarely been studied. To assess the relative contributions of interruptions and multitasking by emergency physicians to prescribing errors. 36 emergency physicians were shadowed over 120 hours. All tasks, interruptions and instances of multitasking were recorded. Physicians' working memory capacity (WMC) and preference for multitasking were assessed using the Operation Span Task (OSPAN) and Inventory of Polychronic Values. Following observation, physicians were asked about their sleep in the previous 24 hours. Prescribing errors were used as a measure of task performance. We performed multivariate analysis of prescribing error rates to determine associations with interruptions and multitasking, also considering physician seniority, age, psychometric measures, workload and sleep. Physicians experienced 7.9 interruptions/hour. 28 clinicians were observed prescribing 239 medication orders which contained 208 prescribing errors. While prescribing, clinicians were interrupted 9.4 times/hour. Error rates increased significantly if physicians were interrupted (rate ratio (RR) 2.82; 95% CI 1.23 to 6.49) or multitasked (RR 1.86; 95% CI 1.35 to 2.56) while prescribing. Having below-average sleep showed a >15-fold increase in clinical error rate (RR 16.44; 95% CI 4.84 to 55.81). WMC was protective against errors; for every 10-point increase on the 75-point OSPAN, a 19% decrease in prescribing errors was observed. There was no effect of polychronicity, workload, physician gender or above-average sleep on error rates. Interruptions, multitasking and poor sleep were associated with significantly increased rates of prescribing errors among emergency physicians. WMC mitigated the negative influence of these factors to an extent. These

Robust visual tracking via structured multi-task sparse learning

KAUST Repository

Zhang, Tianzhu

2012-11-09

In this paper, we formulate object tracking in a particle filter framework as a structured multi-task sparse learning problem, which we denote as Structured Multi-Task Tracking (S-MTT). Since we model particles as linear combinations of dictionary templates that are updated dynamically, learning the representation of each particle is considered a single task in Multi-Task Tracking (MTT). By employing popular sparsity-inducing lp,q mixed norms (specifically p∈2,∞ and q=1), we regularize the representation problem to enforce joint sparsity and learn the particle representations together. As compared to previous methods that handle particles independently, our results demonstrate that mining the interdependencies between particles improves tracking performance and overall computational complexity. Interestingly, we show that the popular L1 tracker (Mei and Ling, IEEE Trans Pattern Anal Mach Intel 33(11):2259-2272, 2011) is a special case of our MTT formulation (denoted as the L11 tracker) when p=q=1. Under the MTT framework, some of the tasks (particle representations) are often more closely related and more likely to share common relevant covariates than other tasks. Therefore, we extend the MTT framework to take into account pairwise structural correlations between particles (e.g. spatial smoothness of representation) and denote the novel framework as S-MTT. The problem of learning the regularized sparse representation in MTT and S-MTT can be solved efficiently using an Accelerated Proximal Gradient (APG) method that yields a sequence of closed form updates. As such, S-MTT and MTT are computationally attractive. We test our proposed approach on challenging sequences involving heavy occlusion, drastic illumination changes, and large pose variations. Experimental results show that S-MTT is much better than MTT, and both methods consistently outperform state-of-the-art trackers. © 2012 Springer Science+Business Media New York.

Carnivore use of avocado orchards across an agricultural-wildland gradient

Science.gov (United States)

Nogeire, Theresa M.; Davis, Frank W.; Duggan, Jennifer M.; Crooks, Kevin R.; Boydston, Erin E.

2013-01-01

Wide-ranging species cannot persist in reserves alone. Consequently, there is growing interest in the conservation value of agricultural lands that separate or buffer natural areas. The value of agricultural lands for wildlife habitat and connectivity varies as a function of the crop type and landscape context, and quantifying these differences will improve our ability to manage these lands more effectively for animals. In southern California, many species are present in avocado orchards, including mammalian carnivores. We examined occupancy of avocado orchards by mammalian carnivores across agricultural-wildland gradients in southern California with motion-activated cameras. More carnivore species were detected with cameras in orchards than in wildland sites, and for bobcats and gray foxes, orchards were associated with higher occupancy rates. Our results demonstrate that agricultural lands have potential to contribute to conservation by providing habitat or facilitating landscape connectivity.

Fuels planning: science synthesis and integration: social issues fact sheet 19: Impacts of wildland fire on communities

Science.gov (United States)

Rocky Mountain Research Station USDA Forest Service

2007-01-01

Large fires can result in a series of disasters for individuals and communities in the wildland-urban interface. They create significant disruptions to ongoing social processes, result in large financial losses, and lead to expensive restoration activities. By being aware of the impacts of wildland fire on local residents, fire managers can bring added value to them...

Driving and Multitasking : The Good, the Bad, and the Dangerous

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Nijboer, Menno; Borst, Jelmer P; van Rijn, Dirk; Taatgen, Niels A

2016-01-01

Previous research has shown that multitasking can have a positive or a negative influence on driving performance. The aim of this study was to determine how the interaction between driving circumstances and cognitive requirements of secondary tasks affect a driver's ability to control a car. We

Hubungan Multitasking Teknologi Informasi Terhadap Produktivitas Kerja (Studi Kasus: Mahasiswa ITS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Galang Arga Marendha

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Pada era globalisasi saat ini cara hidup individu umumnya para remaja dan dewasa yang selalu bergerak cepat dalam mendapatkan informasi terbaru agar tidak tertinggal dari yang lain memungkinkan melakukan pekerjaan secara bersamaan. Mayoritas dari individu-individu menganggap melakukan banyak pekerjaan sekaligus dapat digunakan sebagai solusi yang tepat. Dengan kemajuan teknologi saat ini dan perilaku seperti itu, banyak sekali contoh pekerjaan yang dilakukan secara bersama-sama seperti halnya mengirim e-mail saat sedang menonton televisi maupun membuat laporan saat rapat. Teknologi informasi tersebut merupakan komponen yang mendukung peningkatan produktivitas kerja. Dalam hasil dari penelitian ini didapatkan perbandingan antara skenario 1 dengan 2 dan skenario 1 dengan 3 berpengaruh terhadap produktivitas kerja karena adanya penambahan tugas me-resume video dan mengerjakan 10 soal matematika, sedangkan perbandingan skenario 2 dengan skenario 3 didapatkan dari hasil wawancara terhadap responden bahwa tidak adanya pengaruh pada produktivitas kerja dikarenakan penambahan tugas me-resume video skenario 2 lebih sulit dari tugas me-resume video skenario 3 serta penambahan 10 soal matematika tidak menjadi masalah dalam pengerjaan skenario 3. Dalam hasil hubungan multitasking teknologi informasi skenario 1 didapatkan hasil 33,1% terhadap produktivitas kerja, kemudian hubungan multitasking teknologi informasi skenario 2 didapatkan hasil 23,6% terhadap produktivitas kerja, dan hubungan multitasking teknologi informasi skenario 3 didapatkan hasil 24,8% terhadap produktivitas kerja. Sehingga dari pengerjaan skenario 2 dan 3 produktivitas kerja responden menurun dikarenakan adanya tambahan kuantitas pengerjaan.

Perspectives of Spatial Scale in a Wildland Forest Epidemic

Science.gov (United States)

W.W. Dillon; S.E. Haas; D.M. Rizzo; R.K. Meentemeyer

2014-01-01

The challenge of observing interactions between plant pathogens, their hosts, and environmental heterogeneity across multiple spatial scales commonly limits our ability to understand and manage wildland forest epidemics. Using the forest pathogen Phytophthora ramorum as a case study, we established 20 multiscale field sites to analyze how host-...

The communicative construction of safety in wildland firefighting (Proceedings)

Science.gov (United States)

Jody Jahn

2012-01-01

This dissertation project used a two-study mixed methods approach, examining the communicative accomplishment of safety from two perspectives: high reliability organizing (Weick, Sutcliffe, & Obstfeld 1999), and safety climate (Zohar 1980). In Study One, 27 firefighters from two functionally similar wildland firefighting crews were interviewed about their crew-...

Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory Wildland Fire Management Environmental Assessment - April 2003

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Irving, J.S.

2003-04-30

DOE prepared an environmental assessment (EA)for wildland fire management activities on the Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory (INEEL) (DOE/EA-1372). The EA was developed to evaluate wildland fire management options for pre-fire, fire suppression, and post fire activities. Those activities have an important role in minimizing the conversion of the native sagebrush steppe ecosystem found on the INEEL to non-native weeds. Four alternative management approaches were analyzed: Alternative 1 - maximum fire protection; Alternative 2 - balanced fire protection; Alternative 2 - balanced fire protection; Alternative 3 - protect infrastructure and personnel; and Alternative 4 - no action/traditional fire protection.

A new virtual-reality training module for laparoscopic surgical skills and equipment handling: can multitasking be trained? A randomized controlled trial

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Bongers, P.J.; van Hove, P.D.; Stassen, L.P.S.; Schreuder, HWR; Dankelman, J.

Objective During laparoscopic surgery distractions often occur and multitasking between surgery and other tasks, such as technical equipment handling, is a necessary competence. In psychological research, reduction of adverse effects of distraction is demonstrated when specifically multitasking is

An operating environment with multitasking capabilities for radiochemistry autosynthesizers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Feliu, A.L.

1990-01-01

AUTOMATE is an operating environment which has been developed for control of commercially available autosynthesizers of radiopharmaceuticals. The software is a user-friendly multitasking system with graphical display, compatible with standard 80x86 personal computers running MS-DOS. Up to four autosynthesizers may be controlled with the software simultaneously. Applications for both routine use and research are discussed

An Investigation of Factors Affecting Multi-Task Performance in an Immersive Environment

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Branscome, Teresa A; Grynovicki, Jock O

2007-01-01

This report presents the results of a study included in a series of investigations designed to increase fundamental knowledge and understanding of the factors affecting multi-task performance in a military environment...

Electronic data processing codes for California wildland plants

Science.gov (United States)

Merton J. Reed; W. Robert Powell; Bur S. Bal

1963-01-01

Systematized codes for plant names are helpful to a wide variety of workers who must record the identity of plants in the field. We have developed such codes for a majority of the vascular plants encountered on California wildlands and have published the codes in pocket size, using photo-reductions of the output from data processing machines. A limited number of the...

Assessing fire risk in the wildland-urban interface.

Science.gov (United States)

Robert G. Haight; David T. Cleland; Roger B. Hammer; Volker B. Radeloff; T. Scott Rupp

2004-01-01

Identifying areas of the wildland-urban interface (WUI) that are prone to severe wildfire is an important step in prioritizing fire prevention and preparedness projects. Our objective is to determine at a regional scale the relative risk of severe wildfire in WUI areas and the numbers of people and houses in high-risk areas. For a study area in northern lower Michigan...

Uncertainty and risk in wildland fire management: A review

Science.gov (United States)

Matthew P. Thompson; Dave E. Calkin

2011-01-01

Wildland fire management is subject to manifold sources of uncertainty. Beyond the unpredictability of wildfire behavior, uncertainty stems from inaccurate/missing data, limited resource value measures to guide prioritization across fires and resources at risk, and an incomplete scientific understanding of ecological response to fire, of fire behavior response to...

Wildland fire in ecosystems: fire and nonnative invasive plants

Science.gov (United States)

Kristin Zouhar; Jane Kapler Smith; Steve Sutherland; Matthew L. Brooks

2008-01-01

This state-of-knowledge review of information on relationships between wildland fire and nonnative invasive plants can assist fire managers and other land managers concerned with prevention, detection, and eradication or control of nonnative invasive plants. The 16 chapters in this volume synthesize ecological and botanical principles regarding relationships between...

Wildland-urban interface resident's views on risk and attribution

Science.gov (United States)

Patricia J. Cohn; Daniel R. Williams; Matthew S. Carroll

2008-01-01

Catastrophic wildfires that impact human communities have become increasingly common in recent years. To reduce the potential for damage to human communities, wildland-urban interface (WUI) residents have been encouraged to perform mitigation or fire-safing measures around their homes and communities. Yet homeowners have not wholeheartedly adopted these measures, even...

Motivation to comply with task rules and multitasking performance: The role of need for cognitive closure and goal importance.

Science.gov (United States)

Szumowska, Ewa; Kossowska, Małgorzata; Roets, Arne

2018-01-01

In three studies, we examined the role task rules play in multitasking performance. We postulated that rules should be especially important for individuals highly motivated to have structure and clear answers, i.e., those high on need for cognitive closure (NFC). High NFC should thus be related to greater compliance with task rules. Specifically, given high goal importance, NFC should be more strongly related to a multitasking strategy when multitasking is imposed by the rules, and to a mono-tasking strategy when monotasking is imposed by the rules. This should translate into better multitasking or mono-tasking performance, depending on condition. Overall, the results were supportive as NFC was related to a more mono-tasking strategy in the mono-tasking condition (Studies 1 and 2 only) and more dual-tasking strategy in the dual-tasking condition (Studies 1-3). This translated into respective differences in performance. The effects were significant only when goal importance was high (Study 1) and held when cognitive ability was controlled for (Study 2).

Experiences and results multitasking a hydrodynamics code on global and local memory machines

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mandell, D.

1987-01-01

A one-dimensional, time-dependent Lagrangian hydrodynamics code using a Godunov solution method has been multimasked for the Cray X-MP/48, the Intel iPSC hypercube, the Alliant FX series and the IBM RP3 computers. Actual multitasking results have been obtained for the Cray, Intel and Alliant computers and simulated results were obtained for the Cray and RP3 machines. The differences in the methods required to multitask on each of the machines is discussed. Results are presented for a sample problem involving a shock wave moving down a channel. Comparisons are made between theoretical speedups, predicted by Amdahl's law, and the actual speedups obtained. The problems of debugging on the different machines are also described

Carnivore use of avocado orchards across an agricultural-wildland gradient.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Theresa M Nogeire

Full Text Available Wide-ranging species cannot persist in reserves alone. Consequently, there is growing interest in the conservation value of agricultural lands that separate or buffer natural areas. The value of agricultural lands for wildlife habitat and connectivity varies as a function of the crop type and landscape context, and quantifying these differences will improve our ability to manage these lands more effectively for animals. In southern California, many species are present in avocado orchards, including mammalian carnivores. We examined occupancy of avocado orchards by mammalian carnivores across agricultural-wildland gradients in southern California with motion-activated cameras. More carnivore species were detected with cameras in orchards than in wildland sites, and for bobcats and gray foxes, orchards were associated with higher occupancy rates. Our results demonstrate that agricultural lands have potential to contribute to conservation by providing habitat or facilitating landscape connectivity.

From leaves to landscape: A multiscale approach to assess fire hazard in wildland-urban interface areas.

Science.gov (United States)

Ghermandi, Luciana; Beletzky, Natacha A; de Torres Curth, Mónica I; Oddi, Facundo J

2016-12-01

The overlapping zone between urbanization and wildland vegetation, known as the wildland urban interface (WUI), is often at high risk of wildfire. Human activities increase the likelihood of wildfires, which can have disastrous consequences for property and land use, and can pose a serious threat to lives. Fire hazard assessments depend strongly on the spatial scale of analysis. We assessed the fire hazard in a WUI area of a Patagonian city by working at three scales: landscape, community and species. Fire is a complex phenomenon, so we used a large number of variables that correlate a priori with the fire hazard. Consequently, we analyzed environmental variables together with fuel load and leaf flammability variables and integrated all the information in a fire hazard map with four fire hazard categories. The Nothofagus dombeyi forest had the highest fire hazard while grasslands had the lowest. Our work highlights the vulnerability of the wildland-urban interface to fire in this region and our suggested methodology could be applied in other wildland-urban interface areas. Particularly in high hazard areas, our work could help in spatial delimitation policies, urban planning and development of plans for the protection of human lives and assets. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

User assistance for multitasking with interruptions on a mobile device

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Nagata, S.F.

2006-01-01

Issues users have with use of the web on a mobile device can be attributed to difficulties with the mobile interface. A major challenge that we address is improving the user experience for handling of interruptions and multitasking when using the web in a mobile context. The usability issues with a

User Assistance for Multitasking with Interruptions on a Mobile Device

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Nagata, S.F.

2006-01-01

Issues users have with use of the web on a mobile device can be attributed to difficulties with the mobile interface. A major challenge that we address is improving the user experience for handling of interruptions and multitasking when using the web in a mobile context. The usability issues with a

Young and Older Adults' Gender Stereotype in Multitasking

OpenAIRE

Strobach, Tilo; Woszidlo, Alesia

2015-01-01

In the present study, we investigated discrepancies between two components of stereotyping by means of the popular notion that women are better at multitasking behaviors: the cognitive structure in individuals (personal belief) and the perceived consensus regarding certain beliefs (perceived belief of groups). With focus on this notion, we examined whether there was empirical evidence for the stereotype’s existence and whether and how it was shared among different age groups. Data were collec...

Social science to improve fuels management: a synthesis of research on the impacts of wildland fires on communities

Science.gov (United States)

Stephen F. McCool; James Burchfield; Daniel R. Williams; Matt Carroll; Patricia Cohn; Yoshitaka Kumagai; Tam Ubben

2007-01-01

A series of syntheses were commissioned by the U.S. Forest Service to aid in fuels mitigation project planning. Focusing on research on the social impacts of wildland fire, this synthesis explores decisions and actions taken by communities before, during, and after a wildland fire to minimize its impacts. It then synthesizes the research studying (1) the consequences...

Multitasking capacities in persons diagnosed with schizophrenia: a preliminary examination of their neurocognitive underpinnings and ability to predict real world functioning.

Science.gov (United States)

Laloyaux, Julien; Van der Linden, Martial; Levaux, Marie-Noëlle; Mourad, Haitham; Pirri, Anthony; Bertrand, Hervé; Domken, Marc-André; Adam, Stéphane; Larøi, Frank

2014-07-30

Difficulties in everyday life activities are core features of persons diagnosed with schizophrenia and in particular during multitasking activities. However, at present, patients׳ multitasking capacities have not been adequately examined in the literature due to the absence of suitable assessment strategies. We thus recently developed a computerized real-life activity task designed to take into account the complex and multitasking nature of certain everyday life activities where participants are required to prepare a room for a meeting. Twenty-one individuals diagnosed with schizophrenia and 20 matched healthy controls completed the computerized task. Patients were also evaluated with a cognitive battery, measures of symptomatology and real world functioning. To examine the ecological validity, 14 other patients were recruited and were given the computerized version and a real version of the meeting preparation task. Results showed that performance on the computerized task was significantly correlated with executive functioning, pointing to the major implication of these cognitive processes in multitasking situations. Performance on the computerized task also significantly predicted up to 50% of real world functioning. Moreover, the computerized task demonstrated good ecological validity. These findings suggest the importance of evaluating multitasking capacities in patients diagnosed with schizophrenia in order to predict real world functioning. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Reducing Community Vulnerability to Wildland Fires in Southern California

Science.gov (United States)

Keeley, J. E.

2010-12-01

In the US fires are not treated like other hazards such as earthquakes but rather as preventable through landscape fuel treatments and aggressive fire suppression. In southern California extreme fire weather has made it impossible to control all fires and thus loss of homes and lives is a constant threat to communities. There is growing evidence that indicate we are not likely to ever eliminate fires on these landscapes. Thus, it is time to reframe the fire problem and think of fires like we do with other natural hazards such as earthquakes. We do not attempt to stop earthquakes, rather the primary emphasis is on altering human infrastructure in ways that minimize community vulnerability. In other words we need to change our approach from risk elimination to risk management. This approach means we accept that we cannot eliminate fires but rather learn to live with fire by communities becoming more fire adapted. We potentially can make great strides in reducing community vulnerability by finding those factors with high impacts and are sensitive to changes in management. Presently, decision makers have relatively little guidance about which of these is likely to have the greatest impact. Future reductions in fire risk to communities requires we address both wildland and urban elements that contribute to destructive losses. Damage risk or D is determined by: D = f (I, S, E, G, H) where I = the probability of a fire starting in the landscape S = the probability of the fire reaching a size sufficient to reach the urban environment E = probability of it encroaching into the urban environment G = probability of fire propagating within the built environment H = probability of a fire, once within the built environment, resulting in the destruction of a building. In southern California, reducing I through more strategic fire prevention has potential for reducing fire risk. There are many ignition sources that could be reduced, such as replacing power line ignitions with

Controls on carbon consumption during Alaskan wildland fires

Science.gov (United States)

Eric S. Kasischke; Elizabeth E. Hoy

2012-01-01

A method was developed to estimate carbon consumed during wildland fires in interior Alaska based on medium-spatial scale data (60 m cell size) generated on a daily basis. Carbon consumption estimates were developed for 41 fire events in the large fire year of 2004 and 34 fire events from the small fire years of 2006-2008. Total carbon consumed during the large fire...

78 FR 59949 - Wildland Fire Executive Council Meeting Schedule

Science.gov (United States)

2013-09-30

... Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1701 et. seq), the National Wildlife Refuge System improvement Act of 1997 (16 U.S.C. 668dd-668ee), and the National Forest Management Act of 1976... provide advice on coordinated national-level wildland fire policy and to provide leadership, direction...

78 FR 65698 - Wildland Fire Executive Council Meeting Schedule

Science.gov (United States)

2013-11-01

... Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1701 et. seq), the National Wildlife Refuge System improvement Act of 1997 (16 U.S.C. 668dd-668ee), and the National Forest Management Act of 1976... provide advice on coordinated national-level wildland fire policy and to provide leadership, direction...

Fire hazards at the urban-wildland interface: what the public expects

Science.gov (United States)

Cortner, Hanna J.; Gardner, Philip D.; Taylor, Jonathan G.

1990-01-01

Urban-wildland issues have become among the most contentious and problematic issues for forest managers. Using data drawn from surveys conducted by the authors and others, this article discusses how public knowledge and perceptions of fire policies and fire hazards change over time, the kinds of policy responses homeowners prefer as a way of preventing fire hazards at the urban-wildland interface, and how citizens view their own obligations as participants in interface issues. These data show that public attitudes toward fire have changed significantly over the past two decades and that educating the public about fire and the managers' use of fire can have positive effects on behavior. Yet, modifying the individual's behavior in regard to interface fire risks must also deal with important issues of individual incentives, the distribution of costs, and unanticipated policy impacts.

Measurements of convective and radiative heating in wildland fires

Science.gov (United States)

David Frankman; Brent W. Webb; Bret W. Butler; Daniel Jimenez; Jason M. Forthofer; Paul Sopko; Kyle S. Shannon; J. Kevin Hiers; Roger D. Ottmar

2012-01-01

Time-resolved irradiance and convective heating and cooling of fast-response thermopile sensors were measured in 13 natural and prescribed wildland fires under a variety of fuel and ambient conditions. It was shown that a sensor exposed to the fire environment was subject to rapid fluctuations of convective transfer whereas irradiance measured by a windowed sensor was...

Urban users of wildland areas as forest fire risks

Science.gov (United States)

William S. Folkman

1979-01-01

A telephone survey of 1500 households in metropolitan Los Angeles and San Francisco was made to (1) determine extent of wildland use by residents of the two metropolitan areas, reasons for non-use, and the characteristics of users; (2) describe and analyze activities, knowledge, and attitudes of users which may contribute to their fire risk; and (3) assess selected...

Managing wildland fires: integrating weather models into fire projections

Science.gov (United States)

Anne M. Rosenthal; Francis Fujioka

2004-01-01

Flames from the Old Fire sweep through lands north of San Bernardino during late fall of 2003. Like many Southern California fires, the Old Fire consumed susceptible forests at the urban-wildland interface and spread to nearby city neighborhoods. By incorporating weather models into fire perimeter projections, scientist Francis Fujioka is improving fire modeling as a...

Demographic trends, the wildland-urban interface, and wildfire management

Science.gov (United States)

Roger B. Hammer; Susan I. Stewart; Volker C. Radeloff

2009-01-01

In this article, we provide an overview of the demographic trends that have impacted and will continue to impact the "wicked" wildfire management problem in the United States, with particular attention to the emergence of the wildland-urban interface (WUI). Although population growth has had an impact on the emergence of the WUI, the deconcentration of...

Wildland fire emissions, carbon, and climate: Modeling fuel consumption

Science.gov (United States)

Roger D. Ottmar

2014-01-01

Fuel consumption specifies the amount of vegetative biomass consumed during wildland fire. It is a two-stage process of pyrolysis and combustion that occurs simultaneously and at different rates depending on the characteristics and condition of the fuel, weather, topography, and in the case of prescribed fire, ignition rate and pattern. Fuel consumption is the basic...

Integrating models to predict regional haze from wildland fire.

Science.gov (United States)

D. McKenzie; S.M. O' Neill; N. Larkin; R.A. Norheim

2006-01-01

Visibility impairment from regional haze is a significant problem throughout the continental United States. A substantial portion of regional haze is produced by smoke from prescribed and wildland fires. Here we describe the integration of four simulation models, an array of GIS raster layers, and a set of algorithms for fire-danger calculations into a modeling...

Examining the impact of age and multitasking on motorcycle conspicuity.

Science.gov (United States)

Ledbetter, Jonathan L; Boyce, Michael W; Fekety, Drea K; Sawyer, Ben; Smither, Janan A

2012-01-01

This poster presents a study to assess one's ability to detect motorcycles under different conditions of conspicuity while performing a secondary visual load task. Previous research in which participants were required to detect motorcycles revealed differences in age (young adults/older adult) as well as differences associated with motorcycle conspicuity conditions. Past research has specifically found motorcycles with headlights ON and modulating headlights (flashing) to be more conspicuous than motorcycles with headlights OFF within traffic conditions. The present study seeks to provide more information on the effects of multitasking on motorcycle conspicuity and safety. The current study seeks to determine the degree to which multitasking limits the conspicuity of a motorcycle within traffic. We expect our results will indicate main effects for distraction task, age, gender, motorcycle lighting conditions, and vehicular DRLs on one's ability to effectively detect a motorcycle. The results have implications for motorcycle safety in general and through this research, a better understanding of motorcycle conspicuity can be established so as to minimize the risk involved with motorcycle operation.

Reading Performances between Novices and Experts in Different Media Multitasking Environments

Science.gov (United States)

Lin, Lin; Robertson, Tip; Lee, Jennifer

2009-01-01

This experimental study investigated connections between subject expertise and multitasking ability among college students. One hundred thirty college students participated in the study. Participants were assessed on their subject expertise and reading tasks under three conditions: (a) reading only (silence condition), (b) reading with a video…

Multi-tasking uncovers right spatial neglect and extinction in chronic left-hemisphere stroke patients.

Science.gov (United States)

Blini, Elvio; Romeo, Zaira; Spironelli, Chiara; Pitteri, Marco; Meneghello, Francesca; Bonato, Mario; Zorzi, Marco

2016-11-01

Unilateral Spatial Neglect, the most dramatic manifestation of contralesional space unawareness, is a highly heterogeneous syndrome. The presence of neglect is related to core spatially lateralized deficits, but its severity is also modulated by several domain-general factors (such as alertness or sustained attention) and by task demands. We previously showed that a computer-based dual-task paradigm exploiting both lateralized and non-lateralized factors (i.e., attentional load/multitasking) better captures this complex scenario and exacerbates deficits for the contralesional space after right hemisphere damage. Here we asked whether multitasking would reveal contralesional spatial disorders in chronic left-hemisphere damaged (LHD) stroke patients, a population in which impaired spatial processing is thought to be uncommon. Ten consecutive LHD patients with no signs of right-sided neglect at standard neuropsychological testing performed a computerized spatial monitoring task with and without concurrent secondary tasks (i.e., multitasking). Severe contralesional (right) space unawareness emerged in most patients under attentional load in both the visual and auditory modalities. Multitasking affected the detection of contralesional stimuli both when presented concurrently with an ipsilesional one (i.e., extinction for bilateral targets) and when presented in isolation (i.e., left neglect for right-sided targets). No spatial bias emerged in a control group of healthy elderly participants, who performed at ceiling, as well as in a second control group composed of patients with Mild Cognitive Impairment. We conclude that the pathological spatial asymmetry in LHD patients cannot be attributed to a global reduction of cognitive resources but it is the consequence of unilateral brain damage. Clinical and theoretical implications of the load-dependent lack of awareness for contralesional hemispace following LHD are discussed. Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Measuring the relationship between interruptions, multitasking and prescribing errors in an emergency department: a study protocol.

Science.gov (United States)

Raban, Magdalena Z; Walter, Scott R; Douglas, Heather E; Strumpman, Dana; Mackenzie, John; Westbrook, Johanna I

2015-10-13

Interruptions and multitasking are frequent in clinical settings, and have been shown in the cognitive psychology literature to affect performance, increasing the risk of error. However, comparatively less is known about their impact on errors in clinical work. This study will assess the relationship between prescribing errors, interruptions and multitasking in an emergency department (ED) using direct observations and chart review. The study will be conducted in an ED of a 440-bed teaching hospital in Sydney, Australia. Doctors will be shadowed at proximity by observers for 2 h time intervals while they are working on day shift (between 0800 and 1800). Time stamped data on tasks, interruptions and multitasking will be recorded on a handheld computer using the validated Work Observation Method by Activity Timing (WOMBAT) tool. The prompts leading to interruptions and multitasking will also be recorded. When doctors prescribe medication, type of chart and chart sections written on, along with the patient's medical record number (MRN) will be recorded. A clinical pharmacist will access patient records and assess the medication orders for prescribing errors. The prescribing error rate will be calculated per prescribing task and is defined as the number of errors divided by the number of medication orders written during the prescribing task. The association between prescribing error rates, and rates of prompts, interruptions and multitasking will be assessed using statistical modelling. Ethics approval has been obtained from the hospital research ethics committee. Eligible doctors will be provided with written information sheets and written consent will be obtained if they agree to participate. Doctor details and MRNs will be kept separate from the data on prescribing errors, and will not appear in the final data set for analysis. Study results will be disseminated in publications and feedback to the ED. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission

Media multitasking and the role of task relevance in background advertising processing

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Smit, E.G.; Segijn, C.M.; van de Giessen, W.; Wottrich, V.M.; Vandeberg, L.; Voorveld, H.A.M.; Zabkar, V.; Eisend, M.

2017-01-01

People are increasingly combining multiple media simultaneously (e.g., checking Facebook while watching television, listening to the radio while reading). Simultaneously using multiple media with different screens, audio sources, and content is referred to as media multitasking (Chinchanachokchai et

Research on rapid agile metrology for manufacturing based on real-time multitask operating system

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Jihong; Song, Zhen; Yang, Daoshan; Zhou, Ji; Buckley, Shawn

1996-10-01

Rapid agile metrology for manufacturing (RAMM) using multiple non-contact sensors is likely to remain a growing trend in manufacturing. High speed inspecting systems for manufacturing is characterized by multitasks implemented in parallel and real-time events which occur simultaneously. In this paper, we introduce a real-time operating system into RAMM research. A general task model of a class-based object- oriented technology is proposed. A general multitask frame of a typical RAMM system using OPNet is discussed. Finally, an application example of a machine which inspects parts held on a carrier strip is described. With RTOS and OPNet, this machine can measure two dimensions of the contacts at 300 parts/second.

Enhancement of multitasking performance and neural oscillations by transcranial alternating current stimulation

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Hsu, W.Y.; Zanto, T.P.; van Schouwenburg, M.R.; Gazzaley, A.

2017-01-01

Multitasking is associated with the generation of stimulus-locked theta (4–7 Hz) oscillations arising from prefrontal cortex (PFC). Transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS) is a non-invasive brain stimulation technique that influences endogenous brain oscillations. Here, we investigate

Remote Sensing of Wildland Fire-Induced Risk Assessment at the Community Level.

Science.gov (United States)

Ahmed, M Razu; Rahaman, Khan Rubayet; Hassan, Quazi K

2018-05-15

Wildland fires are some of the critical natural hazards that pose a significant threat to the communities located in the vicinity of forested/vegetated areas. In this paper, our overall objective was to study the structural damages due to the 2016 Horse River Fire (HRF) that happened in Fort McMurray (Alberta, Canada) by employing primarily very high spatial resolution optical satellite data, i.e., WorldView-2. Thus, our activities included the: (i) estimation of the structural damages; and (ii) delineation of the wildland-urban interface (WUI) and its associated buffers at certain intervals, and their utilization in assessing potential risks. Our proposed method of remote sensing-based estimates of the number of structural damages was compared with the ground-based information available from the Planning and Development Recovery Committee Task Force of Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo (RMWB); and found a strong linear relationship (i.e., r² value of 0.97 with a slope of 0.97). Upon delineating the WUI and its associated buffer zones at 10 m, 30 m, 50 m, 70 m and 100 m distances; we found existence of vegetation within the 30 m buffers from the WUI for all of the damaged structures. In addition, we noticed that the relevant authorities had removed vegetation in some areas between 30 m and 70 m buffers from the WUI, which was proven to be effective in order to protect the structures in the adjacent communities. Furthermore, we mapped the wildland fire-induced vulnerable areas upon considering the WUI and its associated buffers. Our analysis revealed that approximately 30% of the areas within the buffer zones of 10 m and 30 m were vulnerable due to the presence of vegetation; in which, approximately 7% were burned during the 2016 HRF event that led the structural damages. Consequently, we suggest to remove the existing vegetation within these critical zones and also monitor the region at a regular interval in order to reduce the wildland fire-induced risk.

Position-aware deep multi-task learning for drug-drug interaction extraction.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhou, Deyu; Miao, Lei; He, Yulan

2018-05-01

A drug-drug interaction (DDI) is a situation in which a drug affects the activity of another drug synergistically or antagonistically when being administered together. The information of DDIs is crucial for healthcare professionals to prevent adverse drug events. Although some known DDIs can be found in purposely-built databases such as DrugBank, most information is still buried in scientific publications. Therefore, automatically extracting DDIs from biomedical texts is sorely needed. In this paper, we propose a novel position-aware deep multi-task learning approach for extracting DDIs from biomedical texts. In particular, sentences are represented as a sequence of word embeddings and position embeddings. An attention-based bidirectional long short-term memory (BiLSTM) network is used to encode each sentence. The relative position information of words with the target drugs in text is combined with the hidden states of BiLSTM to generate the position-aware attention weights. Moreover, the tasks of predicting whether or not two drugs interact with each other and further distinguishing the types of interactions are learned jointly in multi-task learning framework. The proposed approach has been evaluated on the DDIExtraction challenge 2013 corpus and the results show that with the position-aware attention only, our proposed approach outperforms the state-of-the-art method by 0.99% for binary DDI classification, and with both position-aware attention and multi-task learning, our approach achieves a micro F-score of 72.99% on interaction type identification, outperforming the state-of-the-art approach by 1.51%, which demonstrates the effectiveness of the proposed approach. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

No A 4 U: The Relationship between Multitasking and Academic Performance

Science.gov (United States)

Junco, Reynol; Cotten, Shelia R.

2012-01-01

The proliferation and ease of access to information and communication technologies (ICTs) such as Facebook, text messaging, and instant messaging has resulted in ICT users being presented with more real-time streaming data than ever before. Unfortunately, this has also resulted in individuals increasingly engaging in multitasking as an information…

Spatial products available for identifying areas of likely wildfire ignitions using lightning location data-Wildland Fire Assessment System (WFAS)

Science.gov (United States)

Paul Sopko; Larry Bradshaw; Matt Jolly

2016-01-01

The Wildland Fire Assessment System (WFAS, www.wfas.net) is a one-stop-shop giving wildland fire managers the ability to assess fire potential ranging in scale from national to regional and temporally from 1 to 5 days. Each day, broad-area maps are produced from fire weather station and lightning location networks. Three products are created using 24 hour...

HD-MTL: Hierarchical Deep Multi-Task Learning for Large-Scale Visual Recognition.

Science.gov (United States)

Fan, Jianping; Zhao, Tianyi; Kuang, Zhenzhong; Zheng, Yu; Zhang, Ji; Yu, Jun; Peng, Jinye

2017-02-09

In this paper, a hierarchical deep multi-task learning (HD-MTL) algorithm is developed to support large-scale visual recognition (e.g., recognizing thousands or even tens of thousands of atomic object classes automatically). First, multiple sets of multi-level deep features are extracted from different layers of deep convolutional neural networks (deep CNNs), and they are used to achieve more effective accomplishment of the coarseto- fine tasks for hierarchical visual recognition. A visual tree is then learned by assigning the visually-similar atomic object classes with similar learning complexities into the same group, which can provide a good environment for determining the interrelated learning tasks automatically. By leveraging the inter-task relatedness (inter-class similarities) to learn more discriminative group-specific deep representations, our deep multi-task learning algorithm can train more discriminative node classifiers for distinguishing the visually-similar atomic object classes effectively. Our hierarchical deep multi-task learning (HD-MTL) algorithm can integrate two discriminative regularization terms to control the inter-level error propagation effectively, and it can provide an end-to-end approach for jointly learning more representative deep CNNs (for image representation) and more discriminative tree classifier (for large-scale visual recognition) and updating them simultaneously. Our incremental deep learning algorithms can effectively adapt both the deep CNNs and the tree classifier to the new training images and the new object classes. Our experimental results have demonstrated that our HD-MTL algorithm can achieve very competitive results on improving the accuracy rates for large-scale visual recognition.

Multi-Task Vehicle Detection with Region-of-Interest Voting.

Science.gov (United States)

Chu, Wenqing; Liu, Yao; Shen, Chen; Cai, Deng; Hua, Xian-Sheng

2017-10-12

Vehicle detection is a challenging problem in autonomous driving systems, due to its large structural and appearance variations. In this paper, we propose a novel vehicle detection scheme based on multi-task deep convolutional neural networks (CNN) and region-of-interest (RoI) voting. In the design of CNN architecture, we enrich the supervised information with subcategory, region overlap, bounding-box regression and category of each training RoI as a multi-task learning framework. This design allows the CNN model to share visual knowledge among different vehicle attributes simultaneously, thus detection robustness can be effectively improved. In addition, most existing methods consider each RoI independently, ignoring the clues from its neighboring RoIs. In our approach, we utilize the CNN model to predict the offset direction of each RoI boundary towards the corresponding ground truth. Then each RoI can vote those suitable adjacent bounding boxes which are consistent with this additional information. The voting results are combined with the score of each RoI itself to find a more accurate location from a large number of candidates. Experimental results on the real-world computer vision benchmarks KITTI and the PASCAL2007 vehicle dataset show that our approach achieves superior performance in vehicle detection compared with other existing published works.

Multi-task transfer learning deep convolutional neural network: application to computer-aided diagnosis of breast cancer on mammograms

Science.gov (United States)

Samala, Ravi K.; Chan, Heang-Ping; Hadjiiski, Lubomir M.; Helvie, Mark A.; Cha, Kenny H.; Richter, Caleb D.

2017-12-01

Transfer learning in deep convolutional neural networks (DCNNs) is an important step in its application to medical imaging tasks. We propose a multi-task transfer learning DCNN with the aim of translating the ‘knowledge’ learned from non-medical images to medical diagnostic tasks through supervised training and increasing the generalization capabilities of DCNNs by simultaneously learning auxiliary tasks. We studied this approach in an important application: classification of malignant and benign breast masses. With Institutional Review Board (IRB) approval, digitized screen-film mammograms (SFMs) and digital mammograms (DMs) were collected from our patient files and additional SFMs were obtained from the Digital Database for Screening Mammography. The data set consisted of 2242 views with 2454 masses (1057 malignant, 1397 benign). In single-task transfer learning, the DCNN was trained and tested on SFMs. In multi-task transfer learning, SFMs and DMs were used to train the DCNN, which was then tested on SFMs. N-fold cross-validation with the training set was used for training and parameter optimization. On the independent test set, the multi-task transfer learning DCNN was found to have significantly (p  =  0.007) higher performance compared to the single-task transfer learning DCNN. This study demonstrates that multi-task transfer learning may be an effective approach for training DCNN in medical imaging applications when training samples from a single modality are limited.

Reading About the Flu Online: How Health-Protective Behavioral Intentions Are Influenced by Media Multitasking, Polychronicity, and Strength of Health-Related Arguments.

Science.gov (United States)

Kononova, Anastasia; Yuan, Shupei; Joo, Eunsin

2017-06-01

As health organizations increasingly use the Internet to communicate medical information and advice (Shortliffe et al., 2000; World Health Organization, 2013), studying factors that affect health information processing and health-protective behaviors becomes extremely important. The present research applied the elaboration likelihood model of persuasion to explore the effects of media multitasking, polychronicity (preference for multitasking), and strength of health-related arguments on health-protective behavioral intentions. Participants read an online article about influenza that included strong and weak suggestions to engage in flu-preventive behaviors. In one condition, participants read the article and checked Facebook; in another condition, they were exposed only to the article. Participants expressed greater health-protective behavioral intentions in the media multitasking condition than in the control condition. Strong arguments were found to elicit more positive behavioral intentions than weak arguments. Moderate and high polychronics showed greater behavioral intentions than low polychronics when they read the article in the multitasking condition. The difference in intentions to follow strong and weak arguments decreased for moderate and high polychronics. The results of the present study suggest that health communication practitioners should account for not only media use situations in which individuals typically read about health online but also individual differences in information processing, which puts more emphasis on the strength of health-protective suggestions when targeting light multitaskers.

Risk assessments using the Strain Index and the TLV for HAL, Part II: Multi-task jobs and prevalence of CTS.

Science.gov (United States)

Kapellusch, Jay M; Silverstein, Barbara A; Bao, Stephen S; Thiese, Mathew S; Merryweather, Andrew S; Hegmann, Kurt T; Garg, Arun

2018-02-01

The Strain Index (SI) and the American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists (ACGIH) threshold limit value for hand activity level (TLV for HAL) have been shown to be associated with prevalence of distal upper-limb musculoskeletal disorders such as carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS). The SI and TLV for HAL disagree on more than half of task exposure classifications. Similarly, time-weighted average (TWA), peak, and typical exposure techniques used to quantity physical exposure from multi-task jobs have shown between-technique agreement ranging from 61% to 93%, depending upon whether the SI or TLV for HAL model was used. This study compared exposure-response relationships between each model-technique combination and prevalence of CTS. Physical exposure data from 1,834 workers (710 with multi-task jobs) were analyzed using the SI and TLV for HAL and the TWA, typical, and peak multi-task job exposure techniques. Additionally, exposure classifications from the SI and TLV for HAL were combined into a single measure and evaluated. Prevalent CTS cases were identified using symptoms and nerve-conduction studies. Mixed effects logistic regression was used to quantify exposure-response relationships between categorized (i.e., low, medium, and high) physical exposure and CTS prevalence for all model-technique combinations, and for multi-task workers, mono-task workers, and all workers combined. Except for TWA TLV for HAL, all model-technique combinations showed monotonic increases in risk of CTS with increased physical exposure. The combined-models approach showed stronger association than the SI or TLV for HAL for multi-task workers. Despite differences in exposure classifications, nearly all model-technique combinations showed exposure-response relationships with prevalence of CTS for the combined sample of mono-task and multi-task workers. Both the TLV for HAL and the SI, with the TWA or typical techniques, appear useful for epidemiological studies and surveillance

Assessing Wildland Fire Risk Transmission to Communities in Northern Spain

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Fermín J. Alcasena

2017-01-01

Full Text Available We assessed potential economic losses and transmission to residential houses from wildland fires in a rural area of central Navarra (Spain. Expected losses were quantified at the individual structure level (n = 306 in 14 rural communities by combining fire model predictions of burn probability and fire intensity with susceptibility functions derived from expert judgement. Fire exposure was estimated by simulating 50,000 fire events that replicated extreme (97th percentile historical fire weather conditions. Spatial ignition probabilities were used in the simulations to account for non-random ignitions, and were estimated from a fire occurrence model generated with an artificial neural network. The results showed that ignition probability explained most of spatial variation in risk, with economic value of structures having only a minor effect. Average expected loss to residential houses from a single wildfire event in the study area was 7955€, and ranged from a low of 740 to the high of 28,725€. Major fire flow-paths were analyzed to understand fire transmission from surrounding municipalities and showed that incoming fires from the north exhibited strong pathways into the core of the study area, and fires spreading from the south had the highest likelihood of reaching target residential structures from the longest distances (>5 km. Community firesheds revealed the scale of risk to communities and extended well beyond administrative boundaries. The results provided a quantitative risk assessment that can be used by insurance companies and local landscape managers to prioritize and allocate investments to treat wildland fuels and identify clusters of high expected loss within communities. The methodological framework can be extended to other fire-prone southern European Union countries where communities are threatened by large wildland fires.

Smoke management guide for prescribed and wildland fire: 2001 edition.

Science.gov (United States)

Colin C. Hardy; Roger D. Ottmar; Janice L Peterson; John E. Core; Paula Seamon

2001-01-01

The National Wildfire Coordinating Group's (NWCG) Fire Use Working Team has assumed overall responsibility for sponsoring the development and production of this revised Smoke Management Guide for Prescribed and Wildland Fire (the "Guide"). The Mission Statement for the Fire Use Working Team includes the need to coordinate and advocate the use of fire to...

Wildlife preservation and recreational use: Conflicting goals of wildland management

Science.gov (United States)

David N. Cole; Richard L. Knight

1991-01-01

Large tracts of wildland in North America have been set aside as wilderness areas and national parks. More than 200 million acres (88 million ha) of such lands have been formally designated in Canada and the United States (Eidsvik 1989). The primary goal of these designations is the preservation of undisturbed natural conditions and processes.

EyeFrame: Real-time memory aid improves human multitasking via domain-general eye tracking procedures

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

P. eTaylor

2015-09-01

Full Text Available OBJECTIVE: We developed an extensively general closed-loop system to improve human interaction in various multitasking scenarios, with semi-autonomous agents, processes, and robots. BACKGROUND: Much technology is converging toward semi-independent processes with intermittent human supervision distributed over multiple computerized agents. Human operators multitask notoriously poorly, in part due to cognitive load and limited working memory. To multitask optimally, users must remember task order, e.g., the most neglected task, since longer times not monitoring an element indicates greater probability of need for user input. The secondary task of monitoring attention history over multiple spatial tasks requires similar cognitive resources as primary tasks themselves. Humans can not reliably make more than ~2 decisions/s. METHODS: Participants managed a range of 4-10 semi-autonomous agents performing rescue tasks. To optimize monitoring and controlling multiple agents, we created an automated short term memory aid, providing visual cues from users' gaze history. Cues indicated when and where to look next, and were derived from an inverse of eye fixation recency. RESULTS: Contingent eye tracking algorithms drastically improved operator performance, increasing multitasking capacity. The gaze aid reduced biases, and reduced cognitive load, measured by smaller pupil dilation. CONCLUSIONS: Our eye aid likely helped by delegating short-term memory to the computer, and by reducing decision making load. Past studies used eye position for gaze-aware control and interactive updating of displays in application-specific scenarios, but ours is the first to successfully implement domain-general algorithms. Procedures should generalize well to: process control, factory operations, robot control, surveillance, aviation, air traffic control, driving, military, mobile search and rescue, and many tasks where probability of utility is predicted by duration since last

Ventilation of Animal Shelters in Wildland Fire Scenarios

Science.gov (United States)

Bova, A. S.; Bohrer, G.; Dickinson, M. B.

2009-12-01

The effects of wildland fires on cavity-nesting birds and bats, as well as fossorial mammals and burrow-using reptiles, are of considerable interest to the fire management community. However, relatively little is known about the degree of protection afforded by various animal shelters in wildland fire events. We present results from our ongoing investigation, utilizing NIST’s Fire Dynamics Simulator (FDS) and experimental data, of the effectiveness of common shelter configurations in protecting animals from combustion products. We compare two sets of simulations with observed experimental results. In the first set, wind tunnel experiments on single-entry room ventilation by Larsen and Heiselberg (2008) were simulated in a large domain resolved into 10 cm cubic cells. The set of 24 simulations comprised all combinations of incident wind speeds of 1,3 and 5 m/s; angles of attack of 0, 45, 90 and 180 degrees from the horizontal normal to the entrance; and temperature differences of 0 and 10 degrees C between the building interior and exterior. Simulation results were in good agreement with experimental data, thus providing a validation of FDS code for further ventilation experiments. In the second set, a cubic simulation domain of ~1m on edge and resolved into 1 cm cubic cells, was set up to represent the experiments by Ar et al. (2004) of wind-induced ventilation of woodpecker cavities. As in the experiments, we simulated wind parallel and perpendicular to the cavity entrance with different mean forcing velocities, and monitored the rates of evacuation of a neutral-buoyancy tracer from the cavity. Simulated ventilation rates in many, though not all, cases fell within the range of experimental data. Reasons for these differences, which include vagueness in the experimental setup, will be discussed. Our simulations provide a tool to estimate the viability of an animal in a shelter as a function of the shelter geometry and the fire intensity. In addition to the above

The Biswell symposium: fire issues and solutions in urban interface and wildland ecosystems; February 15-17, 1994; Walnut Creek, California

Science.gov (United States)

David R. Weise; Robert E. Martin

1995-01-01

These proceedings summarize the results of a symposium designed to address current issues about wildfire and prescribed fire in both the wildland-urban interface and in wildlands. Thirty-eight invited oral papers and 23 poster papers describing the issues and state-of-the-art solutions to technical, biological, and social challenges currently facing land and fire...

An analysis on Wildland Urban Interface in North Sardinia

Science.gov (United States)

Arca, B.; Pellizzaro, G.; Canu, A.; Pintus, G. V.; Ferrara, R.; Duce, P.

2012-04-01

Climate variability and drought, typical of the Mediterranean climate, together with different anthropogenic disturbances (modifications of land use, deforestation, grazing, forest fires, etc.) makes the Mediterranean basin ecosystems extremely sensitive and vulnerable. In the last three decades, an increasing number of fires threatening the wildland urban interface (WUI) was observed. In Sardinia, this phenomenon is particularly evident in tourist and coastal areas where a large number of resorts is built within and surrounded by Mediterranean vegetation that is highly prone to events of wildfire. In these situations, the related risk of damage for villages, tourist resorts, other human activities and people is elevated especially in summer when the presence of human people is highest and meteorological conditions are extreme. In addition, fire can have significant effect on the hydrological response of the WUI causing the intensification of the erosive processes. Therefore, the development of planning policies is required in order to implement strategies to prevent and reduce wildfire and soil erosion risk in wildland urban interface areas. The main aims of this work are i) to assess presence and characteristics of wildland urban interface in a touristic areas of North Sardinia and ii) to evaluate fire danger and soil erosion risk in the studied area. The study was carried out in a coastal area located in North Sardinia, characterized by strong touristic development in the last thirty years. In that area, the characterization and mapping of the WUI were performed. In addition several simulation were carried out by the Farsite fire area simulator with the aim to study the spatial pattern of the fire danger factors in the vegetated areas closer to the WUI. Finally, maps of soil erosion were produced for the identification of the areas at high erosion risk in the WUI. This work is supported by MIIUR - Metodologie e indicatori per la valutazione del rischio di

Vectorized and multitasked solution of the few-group neutron diffusion equations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zee, S.K.; Turinsky, P.J.; Shayer, Z.

1989-01-01

A numerical algorithm with parallelism was used to solve the two-group, multidimensional neutron diffusion equations on computers characterized by shared memory, vector pipeline, and multi-CPU architecture features. Specifically, solutions were obtained on the Cray X/MP-48, the IBM-3090 with vector facilities, and the FPS-164. The material-centered mesh finite difference method approximation and outer-inner iteration method were employed. Parallelism was introduced in the inner iterations using the cyclic line successive overrelaxation iterative method and solving in parallel across lines. The outer iterations were completed using the Chebyshev semi-iterative method that allows parallelism to be introduced in both space and energy groups. For the three-dimensional model, power, soluble boron, and transient fission product feedbacks were included. Concentrating on the pressurized water reactor (PWR), the thermal-hydraulic calculation of moderator density assumed single-phase flow and a closed flow channel, allowing parallelism to be introduced in the solution across the radial plane. Using a pinwise detail, quarter-core model of a typical PWR in cycle 1, for the two-dimensional model without feedback the measured million floating point operations per second (MFLOPS)/vector speedups were 83/11.7. 18/2.2, and 2.4/5.6 on the Cray, IBM, and FPS without multitasking, respectively. Lower performance was observed with a coarser mesh, i.e., shorter vector length, due to vector pipeline start-up. For an 18 x 18 x 30 (x-y-z) three-dimensional model with feedback of the same core, MFLOPS/vector speedups of --61/6.7 and an execution time of 0.8 CPU seconds on the Cray without multitasking were measured. Finally, using two CPUs and the vector pipelines of the Cray, a multitasking efficiency of 81% was noted for the three-dimensional model

Identifying beneficial task relations for multi-task learning in deep neural networks

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bingel, Joachim; Søgaard, Anders

2017-01-01

Multi-task learning (MTL) in deep neural networks for NLP has recently received increasing interest due to some compelling benefits, including its potential to efficiently regularize models and to reduce the need for labeled data. While it has brought significant improvements in a number of NLP...

Examining the Effects of Distractive Multitasking with Peripheral Computing in the Classroom

Science.gov (United States)

Puente, Jaime E.

2017-01-01

The growing use of information and communication technologies (ICTs) in college campuses has dramatically increased the potential for multitasking among students who have to juggle classes, school assignments, work, and recreational activities. These students believe that they have become more efficient by performing two or more tasks…

Design of multitasking and windows software for beam diagnostic system on HIRFL

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nie Zhenpeng; Shen Zhiqing; Xu Xiangyang; Zheng Jianping; Tang Jingyu; Dong Jinmei

2002-01-01

An introduction is given to the design idea and method of multitasking and Windows software for beam diagnostic system on HIRFL. The testing result is presented in the end. The software has many advantages such as powerful function, visual display, high reliability and friendly interface, etc

Transfer and Multi-task Learning in QSAR Modeling: Advances and Challenges

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rodolfo S. Simões

2018-02-01

Full Text Available Medicinal chemistry projects involve some steps aiming to develop a new drug, such as the analysis of biological targets related to a given disease, the discovery and the development of drug candidates for these targets, performing parallel biological tests to validate the drug effectiveness and side effects. Approaches as quantitative study of activity-structure relationships (QSAR involve the construction of predictive models that relate a set of descriptors of a chemical compound series and its biological activities with respect to one or more targets in the human body. Datasets used to perform QSAR analyses are generally characterized by a small number of samples and this makes them more complex to build accurate predictive models. In this context, transfer and multi-task learning techniques are very suitable since they take information from other QSAR models to the same biological target, reducing efforts and costs for generating new chemical compounds. Therefore, this review will present the main features of transfer and multi-task learning studies, as well as some applications and its potentiality in drug design projects.

Approximate entropy: a new evaluation approach of mental workload under multitask conditions

Science.gov (United States)

Yao, Lei; Li, Xiaoling; Wang, Wei; Dong, Yuanzhe; Jiang, Ying

2014-04-01

There are numerous instruments and an abundance of complex information in the traditional cockpit display-control system, and pilots require a long time to familiarize themselves with the cockpit interface. This can cause accidents when they cope with emergency events, suggesting that it is necessary to evaluate pilot cognitive workload. In order to establish a simplified method to evaluate cognitive workload under a multitask condition. We designed a series of experiments involving different instrument panels and collected electroencephalograms (EEG) from 10 healthy volunteers. The data were classified and analyzed with an approximate entropy (ApEn) signal processing. ApEn increased with increasing experiment difficulty, suggesting that it can be used to evaluate cognitive workload. Our results demonstrate that ApEn can be used as an evaluation criteria of cognitive workload and has good specificity and sensitivity. Moreover, we determined an empirical formula to assess the cognitive workload interval, which can simplify cognitive workload evaluation under multitask conditions.

A Multi-task Principal Agent Model for Knowledge Contribution of Enterprise Staff

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Chengyi LE

2016-10-01

Full Text Available According to the different behavior characteristics of knowledge contribution of enterprise employees, a multi-task principal-agent relationship of knowledge contribution between enterprise and employees is established based on principal-agent theory, analyzing staff’s knowledge contribution behavior of knowledge creation and knowledge participation. Based on this, a multi-task principal agent model for knowledge contribution of enterprise staff is developed to formulate the asymmetry of information in knowledge contribution Then, a set of incentive measures are derived from the theoretic model, aiming to prompt the knowledge contribution in enterprise. The result shows that staff’s knowledge creation behavior and positive participation behavior can influence and further promote each other Enterprise should set up respective target levels of both knowledge creation contribution and knowledge participation contribution and make them irreplaceable to each other. This work contributes primarily to the development of the literature on knowledge management and principal-agent theory. In addition, the applicability of the findings will be improved by further empirical analysis.

A Four-Level Hierarchy for Organizing Wildland Stream Resource Information

Science.gov (United States)

Harry Parrott; Daniel A. Marion; R. Douglas Perkinson

1989-01-01

An analysis of current USDA Forest Service methods of collecting and using wildland stream resource data indicates that required information can be organized into a four-level hierarchy. Information at each level is tiered with information at the preceding level. Level 1 is the ASSOCIATION, which is differentiated by stream size and flow regime. Level 2, STREAM TYPE,...

Transcranial direct current stimulation facilitates cognitive multi-task performance differentially depending on anode location and subtask.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Melissa eScheldrup

2014-09-01

Full Text Available There is a need to facilitate acquisition of real world cognitive multi-tasks that require long periods of training (e.g., air traffic control, intelligence analysis, medicine. Non-invasive brain stimulation – specifically transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS – has promise as a method to speed multi-task training. We hypothesized that during acquisition of the complex multi-task Space Fortress, subtasks that require focused attention on ship control would benefit from tDCS aimed at the dorsal attention network while subtasks that require redirection of attention would benefit from tDCS aimed at the right hemisphere ventral attention network. We compared effects of 30 min prefrontal and parietal stimulation to right and left hemispheres on subtask performance during the first 45 min of training. The strongest effects both overall and for ship flying (control and velocity subtasks were seen with a right parietal (C4 to left shoulder montage, shown by modeling to induce an electric field that includes nodes in both dorsal and ventral attention networks. This is consistent with the re-orienting hypothesis that the ventral attention network is activated along with the dorsal attention network if a new, task-relevant event occurs while visuospatial attention is focused (Corbetta et al., 2008. No effects were seen with anodes over sites that stimulated only dorsal (C3 or only ventral (F10 attention networks. The speed subtask (update memory for symbols benefited from an F9 anode over left prefrontal cortex. These results argue for development of tDCS as a training aid in real world settings where multi-tasking is critical.

Transcranial direct current stimulation facilitates cognitive multi-task performance differentially depending on anode location and subtask.

Science.gov (United States)

Scheldrup, Melissa; Greenwood, Pamela M; McKendrick, Ryan; Strohl, Jon; Bikson, Marom; Alam, Mahtab; McKinley, R Andy; Parasuraman, Raja

2014-01-01

There is a need to facilitate acquisition of real world cognitive multi-tasks that require long periods of training (e.g., air traffic control, intelligence analysis, medicine). Non-invasive brain stimulation-specifically transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS)-has promise as a method to speed multi-task training. We hypothesized that during acquisition of the complex multi-task Space Fortress, subtasks that require focused attention on ship control would benefit from tDCS aimed at the dorsal attention network while subtasks that require redirection of attention would benefit from tDCS aimed at the right hemisphere ventral attention network. We compared effects of 30 min prefrontal and parietal stimulation to right and left hemispheres on subtask performance during the first 45 min of training. The strongest effects both overall and for ship flying (control and velocity subtasks) were seen with a right parietal (C4, reference to left shoulder) montage, shown by modeling to induce an electric field that includes nodes in both dorsal and ventral attention networks. This is consistent with the re-orienting hypothesis that the ventral attention network is activated along with the dorsal attention network if a new, task-relevant event occurs while visuospatial attention is focused (Corbetta et al., 2008). No effects were seen with anodes over sites that stimulated only dorsal (C3) or only ventral (F10) attention networks. The speed subtask (update memory for symbols) benefited from an F9 anode over left prefrontal cortex. These results argue for development of tDCS as a training aid in real world settings where multi-tasking is critical.

Understanding Emergency Medicine Physicians Multitasking Behaviors Around Interruptions.

Science.gov (United States)

Fong, Allan; Ratwani, Raj M

2018-06-11

Interruptions can adversely impact human performance, particularly in fast-paced and high-risk environments such as the emergency department (ED). Understanding physician behaviors before, during, and after interruptions is important to the design and promotion of safe and effective workflow solutions. However, traditional human factors based interruption models do not accurately reflect the complexities of real-world environments like the ED and may not capture multiple interruptions and multitasking. We present a more comprehensive framework for understanding interruptions that is composed of three phases, each with multiple levels: Interruption Start Transition, Interruption Engagement, and Interruption End Transition. This three-phase framework is not constrained to discrete task transitions, providing a robust method to categorize multitasking behaviors around interruptions. We apply this framework in categorizing 457 interruption episodes. 457 interruption episodes were captured during 36 hours of observation. The interrupted task was immediately suspended 348 (76.1%) times. Participants engaged in new self-initiated tasks during the interrupting task 164 (35.9%) times and did not directly resume the interrupted task in 284 (62.1%) interruption episodes. Using this framework provides a more detailed description of the types of physician behaviors in complex environments. Understanding the different types of interruption and resumption patterns, which may have a different impact on performance, can support the design of interruption mitigation strategies. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

Ground-level air pollution changes during a boreal wildland mega-fire

Science.gov (United States)

Andrzej Bytnerowicz; Yu-Mei Hsu; Kevin Percy; Allan Legge; Mark E. Fenn; Susan Schilling; Witold Frączek; Diane Alexander

2016-01-01

The 2011 Richardson wildland mega-fire in the Athabasca Oil Sands Region (AOSR) in northern Alberta, Canada had large effects on air quality. At a receptor site in the center of the AOSR ambient PM2.5, O3, NO, NO2, SO2, NH3, HONO, HNO3...

Empirical insights into the frequency and nature of multitasking on Dutch trains

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Waerden, van der P.J.H.J.; Timmermans, H.J.P.; Neerven, van R.J.C.

2008-01-01

This paper describes a study of the frequency and nature of multitasking on Dutch trains. Based on field observations on intercity and regional trains descriptive and model analyses were carried out. It appears that the most occurring task was ‘doing nothing’, followed by ‘Talking socially’ and

High Functioning Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Novel Test of Multitasking

Science.gov (United States)

Mackinlay, Rachael; Charman, Tony; Karmiloff-Smith, Annette

2006-01-01

High functioning children with a diagnosis of autism or Asperger's syndrome (HF-ASD) often experience difficulties organising goal-directed actions in their day-to-day lives, requiring support to schedule daily activities. This study aimed to capture these everyday difficulties experimentally using multitasking, a methodology that taps into the…

Development of multitasking software running on IBM PC

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Krishnan, K.K.; Chhokra, R.S.; Gupta, P.B.

1992-01-01

A Real-Time Multitasking Executive (RTMEX) was developed to facilitate concurrent execution of a number of data acquisition and processing tasks for a dat data acquisition system employing two DOS-based PCs in a host-slave configuration. RTMEX consists of a pre-emptive scheduler and a set of inter-task communication/synchronization primitives. Integrated into RTMEX environment are a number of device drivers. A multilayer communication protocol was adopted to facilitate implementation of two logical channels for data and messages on a single physical media. (author). 3 refs. 1 fig

A multitasking behavioral control system for the Robotic All-Terrain Lunar Exploration Rover (RATLER)

Science.gov (United States)

Klarer, Paul

1993-01-01

An approach for a robotic control system which implements so called 'behavioral' control within a realtime multitasking architecture is proposed. The proposed system would attempt to ameliorate some of the problems noted by some researchers when implementing subsumptive or behavioral control systems, particularly with regard to multiple processor systems and realtime operations. The architecture is designed to allow synchronous operations between various behavior modules by taking advantage of a realtime multitasking system's intertask communications channels, and by implementing each behavior module and each interconnection node as a stand-alone task. The potential advantages of this approach over those previously described in the field are discussed. An implementation of the architecture is planned for a prototype Robotic All Terrain Lunar Exploration Rover (RATLER) currently under development and is briefly described.

Effects of two doses of glucose and a caffeine–glucose combination on cognitive performance and mood during multi-tasking

Science.gov (United States)

Scholey, Andrew; Savage, Karen; O'Neill, Barry V; Owen, Lauren; Stough, Con; Priestley, Caroline; Wetherell, Mark

2014-01-01

Background This study assessed the effects of two doses of glucose and a caffeine–glucose combination on mood and performance of an ecologically valid, computerised multi-tasking platform. Materials and methods Following a double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomised, parallel-groups design, 150 healthy adults (mean age 34.78 years) consumed drinks containing placebo, 25 g glucose, 60 g glucose or 60 g glucose with 40 mg caffeine. They completed a multi-tasking framework at baseline and then 30 min following drink consumption with mood assessments immediately before and after the multi-tasking framework. Blood glucose and salivary caffeine were co-monitored. Results The caffeine–glucose group had significantly better total multi-tasking scores than the placebo or 60 g glucose groups and were significantly faster at mental arithmetic tasks than either glucose drink group. There were no significant treatment effects on mood. Caffeine and glucose levels confirmed compliance with overnight abstinence/fasting, respectively, and followed the predicted post-drink patterns. Conclusion These data suggest that co-administration of glucose and caffeine allows greater allocation of attentional resources than placebo or glucose alone. At present, we cannot rule out the possibility that the effects are due to caffeine alone Future studies should aim at disentangling caffeine and glucose effects. PMID:25196040

Effects of two doses of glucose and a caffeine-glucose combination on cognitive performance and mood during multi-tasking.

Science.gov (United States)

Scholey, Andrew; Savage, Karen; O'Neill, Barry V; Owen, Lauren; Stough, Con; Priestley, Caroline; Wetherell, Mark

2014-09-01

This study assessed the effects of two doses of glucose and a caffeine-glucose combination on mood and performance of an ecologically valid, computerised multi-tasking platform. Following a double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomised, parallel-groups design, 150 healthy adults (mean age 34.78 years) consumed drinks containing placebo, 25 g glucose, 60 g glucose or 60 g glucose with 40 mg caffeine. They completed a multi-tasking framework at baseline and then 30 min following drink consumption with mood assessments immediately before and after the multi-tasking framework. Blood glucose and salivary caffeine were co-monitored. The caffeine-glucose group had significantly better total multi-tasking scores than the placebo or 60 g glucose groups and were significantly faster at mental arithmetic tasks than either glucose drink group. There were no significant treatment effects on mood. Caffeine and glucose levels confirmed compliance with overnight abstinence/fasting, respectively, and followed the predicted post-drink patterns. These data suggest that co-administration of glucose and caffeine allows greater allocation of attentional resources than placebo or glucose alone. At present, we cannot rule out the possibility that the effects are due to caffeine alone Future studies should aim at disentangling caffeine and glucose effects. © 2014 The Authors. Human Psychopharmacology: Clinical and Experimental published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Human influences on forest ecosystems: the southern wildland-urban interface assessment

Science.gov (United States)

Edward A. Macie; L. Annie Hermansen; [Editors

2002-01-01

This publication provides a review of critical wildland-urban interface issues, challenges, and needs for the Southern United States. Chapter topics include population and demographic trends; economic and tax issues; land use planning and policy; urban effects on forest ecosystems; challenges for forest resource management and conservation; social consequences of...

A null relationship between media multitasking and well-being.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Shui-I Shih

Full Text Available There is a rapidly increasing trend in media-media multitasking or MMM (using two or more media concurrently. In a recent conference, scholars from diverse disciplines expressed concerns that indulgence in MMM may compromise well-being and/or cognitive abilities. However, research on MMM's impacts is too sparse to inform the general public and policy makers whether MMM should be encouraged, managed, or minimized. The primary purpose of the present study was to develop an innovative computerized instrument--the Survey of the Previous Day (SPD--to quantify MMM as well as media-nonmedia and nonmedia-nonmedia multitasking and sole-tasking. The secondary purpose was to examine whether these indices could predict a sample of well-being related, psychosocial measures. In the SPD, participants first recalled (typed what they did during each hour of the previous day. In later parts of the SPD, participants analysed activities and their timing and duration for each hour of the previous day, while relevant recall was on display. Participants also completed the Media Use Questionnaire. The results showed non-significant relationship between tasking measures and well-being related measures. Given how little is known about the associations between MMM and well-being, the null results may offer some general reassurance to those who are apprehensive about negative impacts of MMM.

A Null Relationship between Media Multitasking and Well-Being

Science.gov (United States)

Shih, Shui-I

2013-01-01

There is a rapidly increasing trend in media-media multitasking or MMM (using two or more media concurrently). In a recent conference, scholars from diverse disciplines expressed concerns that indulgence in MMM may compromise well-being and/or cognitive abilities. However, research on MMM's impacts is too sparse to inform the general public and policy makers whether MMM should be encouraged, managed, or minimized. The primary purpose of the present study was to develop an innovative computerized instrument – the Survey of the Previous Day (SPD) – to quantify MMM as well as media-nonmedia and nonmedia-nonmedia multitasking and sole-tasking. The secondary purpose was to examine whether these indices could predict a sample of well-being related, psychosocial measures. In the SPD, participants first recalled (typed) what they did during each hour of the previous day. In later parts of the SPD, participants analysed activities and their timing and duration for each hour of the previous day, while relevant recall was on display. Participants also completed the Media Use Questionnaire. The results showed non-significant relationship between tasking measures and well-being related measures. Given how little is known about the associations between MMM and well-being, the null results may offer some general reassurance to those who are apprehensive about negative impacts of MMM. PMID:23691236

Reducing Misses and Near Misses Related to Multitasking on the Electronic Health Record: Observational Study and Qualitative Analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Ratanawongsa, Neda; Matta, George Y; Bohsali, Fuad B; Chisolm, Margaret S

2018-02-06

Clinicians' use of electronic health record (EHR) systems while multitasking may increase the risk of making errors, but silent EHR system use may lower patient satisfaction. Delaying EHR system use until after patient visits may increase clinicians' EHR workload, stress, and burnout. We aimed to describe the perspectives of clinicians, educators, administrators, and researchers about misses and near misses that they felt were related to clinician multitasking while using EHR systems. This observational study was a thematic analysis of perspectives elicited from 63 continuing medical education (CME) participants during 2 workshops and 1 interactive lecture about challenges and strategies for relationship-centered communication during clinician EHR system use. The workshop elicited reflection about memorable times when multitasking EHR use was associated with "misses" (errors that were not caught at the time) or "near misses" (mistakes that were caught before leading to errors). We conducted qualitative analysis using an editing analysis style to identify codes and then select representative themes and quotes. All workshop participants shared stories of misses or near misses in EHR system ordering and documentation or patient-clinician communication, wondering about "misses we don't even know about." Risk factors included the computer's position, EHR system usability, note content and style, information overload, problematic workflows, systems issues, and provider and patient communication behaviors and expectations. Strategies to reduce multitasking EHR system misses included clinician transparency when needing silent EHR system use (eg, for prescribing), narrating EHR system use, patient activation during EHR system use, adapting visit organization and workflow, improving EHR system design, and improving team support and systems. CME participants shared numerous stories of errors and near misses in EHR tasks and communication that they felt related to EHR

Wildland fire emissions, carbon, and climate: Science overview and knowledge needs

Science.gov (United States)

William T. Sommers; Rachel A. Loehman; Colin C. Hardy

2014-01-01

Wildland fires have influenced the global carbon cycle for 420 million years of Earth history, interacting with climate to define vegetation characteristics and distributions, trigger abrupt ecosystem shifts, and move carbon among terrestrial and atmospheric pools. Carbon dioxide (CO2) is the dominant driver of ongoing climate change and the principal emissions...

Modeling the protection afforded by burrows, cavities, and roosts during wildland surface fires

Science.gov (United States)

Anthony Bova; Matthew Dickinson

2009-01-01

Wildland surface fires produce many toxic and irritating compounds, such as formaldehyde and acrolein, and harmful gases such as carbon monoxide. Several factors influence the degree of protection offered by animal shelters against combustion products and heat.

Is stump sprout treatment necessary to effectively control Phytophthora ramorum in California's wildlands?

Science.gov (United States)

Yana Valachovic; Richard Cobb; David Rizzo; Brendan Twieg; Chris Lee; Radoslaw Glebocki

2013-01-01

In California, wildland hosts that support sporulation of Phytophthora ramorum, such as California bay laurel (Umbellularia californica (Hook. & Arn.) Nutt.) and tanoak (Notholithocarpus densiflorus (Hook. & Arn.) Manos, Cannon & S.H. Oh), also develop prolific basal sprouts following...

WILDLAND FIRE MANAGEMENT: Improved Planning Will Help Agencies Better Identify Fire-Fighting Preparedness Needs

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Hill, Barry

2002-01-01

Each year, wildland fires on federal lands burn millions of acres of forests, grasslands, and desert, and federal land management agencies expend hundreds of millions of dollars to fight these fires...

NACP Integrated Wildland and Cropland 30-m Fuel Characteristics Map, U.S.A., 2010

Data.gov (United States)

National Aeronautics and Space Administration — ABSTRACT: The data set provides a 30-m comprehensive fuelbed characteristics map for both the wildland and cropland areas of the conterminous United States (CONUS)...

SWAT-MODSIM-PSO optimization of multi-crop planning in the Karkheh River Basin, Iran, under the impacts of climate change.

Science.gov (United States)

Fereidoon, Majid; Koch, Manfred

2018-07-15

Agriculture is one of the environmental/economic sectors that may adversely be affected by climate change, especially, in already nowadays water-scarce regions, like the Middle East. One way to cope with future changes in absolute as well as seasonal (irrigation) water amounts can be the adaptation of the agricultural crop pattern in a region, i.e. by planting crops which still provide high yields and so economic benefits to farmers under such varying climate conditions. To do this properly, the whole cascade starting from climate change, effects on hydrology and surface water availability, subsequent effects on crop yield, agricultural areas available, and, finally, economic value of a multi-crop cultivation pattern must be known. To that avail, a complex coupled simulation-optimization tool SWAT-LINGO-MODSIM-PSO (SLMP) has been developed here and used to find the future optimum cultivation area of crops for the maximization of the economic benefits in five irrigation-fed agricultural plains in the south of the Karkheh River Basin (KRB) southwest Iran. Starting with the SWAT distributed hydrological model, the KR-streamflow as well as the inflow into the Karkheh-reservoir, as the major storage of irrigation water, is calibrated and validated, based on 1985-2004 observed discharge data. In the subsequent step, the SWAT-predicted streamflow is fed into the MODSIM river basin Decision Support System to simulate and optimize the water allocation between different water users (agricultural, environmental, municipal and industrial) under standard operating policy (SOP) rules. The final step is the maximization of the economic benefit in the five agricultural plains through constrained PSO (particle swarm optimization) by adjusting the cultivation areas (decision variables) of different crops (wheat, barley, maize and "others"), taking into account their specific prizes and optimal crop yields under water deficiency, with the latter computed in the LINGO

LANDFIRE: A nationally consistent vegetation, wildland fire, and fuel assessment

Science.gov (United States)

Rollins, Matthew G.

2009-01-01

LANDFIRE is a 5-year, multipartner project producing consistent and comprehensive maps and data describing vegetation, wildland fuel, fire regimes and ecological departure from historical conditions across the United States. It is a shared project between the wildland fire management and research and development programs of the US Department of Agriculture Forest Service and US Department of the Interior. LANDFIRE meets agency and partner needs for comprehensive, integrated data to support landscape-level fire management planning and prioritization, community and firefighter protection, effective resource allocation, and collaboration between agencies and the public. The LANDFIRE data production framework is interdisciplinary, science-based and fully repeatable, and integrates many geospatial technologies including biophysical gradient analyses, remote sensing, vegetation modelling, ecological simulation, and landscape disturbance and successional modelling. LANDFIRE data products are created as 30-m raster grids and are available over the internet at www.landfire.gov, accessed 22 April 2009. The data products are produced at scales that may be useful for prioritizing and planning individual hazardous fuel reduction and ecosystem restoration projects; however, the applicability of data products varies by location and specific use, and products may need to be adjusted by local users.

Longitudinal assessment of chemotherapy-induced alterations in brain activation during multitasking and its relation with cognitive complaints.

Science.gov (United States)

Deprez, Sabine; Vandenbulcke, Mathieu; Peeters, Ronald; Emsell, Louise; Smeets, Ann; Christiaens, Marie-Rose; Amant, Frederic; Sunaert, Stefan

2014-07-01

To examine whether cognitive complaints after treatment for breast cancer are associated with detectable changes in brain activity during multitasking. Eighteen patients who were scheduled to receive chemotherapy performed a functional magnetic resonance imaging multitasking task in the scanner before the start of treatment (t1) and 4 to 6 months after finishing treatment (t2). Sixteen patients who were not scheduled to receive chemotherapy and 17 matched healthy controls performed the same task at matched intervals. Task difficulty level was adjusted individually to match performance across participants. Statistical Parametric Mapping 8 (SPM8) software was used for within-group, between-group, and group-by-time interaction image analyses. Voxel-based paired t tests revealed significantly decreased activation (P multitasking network of chemotherapy-treated patients, whereas no changes were noted in either of the control groups. At baseline, there were no differences between the groups. Furthermore, in contrast to controls, the chemotherapy-treated patients reported a significant increase in cognitive complaints (P multitasking-related brain activation. Moreover, a significant group-by-time interaction (P < .05) was found whereby chemotherapy-treated patients showed decreased activation and healthy controls did not. These results suggest that changes in brain activity may underlie chemotherapy-induced cognitive complaints. The observed changes might be related to chemotherapy-induced damage to the brain or reduced connectivity between brain regions rather than to changes in effort or changes in functional strategy. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first longitudinal study providing evidence for a relationship between longitudinal changes in cognitive complaints and changes in brain activation after chemotherapy. © 2014 by American Society of Clinical Oncology.

Development at the wildland-urban interface and the mitigation of forest-fire risk.

Science.gov (United States)

Spyratos, Vassilis; Bourgeron, Patrick S; Ghil, Michael

2007-09-04

This work addresses the impacts of development at the wildland-urban interface on forest fires that spread to human habitats. Catastrophic fires in the western United States and elsewhere make these impacts a matter of urgency for decision makers, scientists, and the general public. Using a simple fire-spread model, along with housing and vegetation data, we show that fire size probability distributions can be strongly modified by the density and flammability of houses. We highlight a sharp transition zone in the parameter space of vegetation flammability and house density. Many actual fire landscapes in the United States appear to have spreading properties close to this transition. Thus, the density and flammability of buildings should be taken into account when assessing fire risk at the wildland-urban interface. Moreover, our results highlight ways for regulation at this interface to help mitigate fire risk.

Production and efficiency of large wildland fire suppression effort: A stochastic frontier analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Katuwal, Hari; Calkin, David E; Hand, Michael S

2016-01-15

This study examines the production and efficiency of wildland fire suppression effort. We estimate the effectiveness of suppression resource inputs to produce controlled fire lines that contain large wildland fires using stochastic frontier analysis. Determinants of inefficiency are identified and the effects of these determinants on the daily production of controlled fire line are examined. Results indicate that the use of bulldozers and fire engines increase the production of controlled fire line, while firefighter crews do not tend to contribute to controlled fire line production. Production of controlled fire line is more efficient if it occurs along natural or built breaks, such as rivers and roads, and within areas previously burned by wildfires. However, results also indicate that productivity and efficiency of the controlled fire line are sensitive to weather, landscape and fire characteristics. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

NACP Integrated Wildland and Cropland 30-m Fuel Characteristics Map, U.S.A., 2010

Data.gov (United States)

National Aeronautics and Space Administration — The data set provides a 30-m comprehensive fuelbed characteristics map for both the wildland and cropland areas of the conterminous United States (CONUS) for 2010....

Econometric analysis of fire suppression production functions for large wildland fires

Science.gov (United States)

Thomas P. Holmes; David E. Calkin

2013-01-01

In this paper, we use operational data collected for large wildland fires to estimate the parameters of economic production functions that relate the rate of fireline construction with the level of fire suppression inputs (handcrews, dozers, engines and helicopters). These parameter estimates are then used to evaluate whether the productivity of fire suppression inputs...

A numerical study of atmospheric perturbations induced by heat from a wildland fire: sensitivity to vertical canopy structure and heat source strength

Science.gov (United States)

Michael T. Kiefer; Shiyuan Zhong; Warren E. Heilman; Joseph J. Charney; Xindi. Bian

2018-01-01

An improved understanding of atmospheric perturbations within and above a forest during a wildland fire has relevance to many aspects of wildland fires including fire spread, smoke transport and dispersion, and tree mortality. In this study, the ARPS-CANOPY model, a version of the Advanced Regional Prediction System (ARPS) model with a canopy parameterization, is...

Ideology and wildlands management: The case of Rondeau Provincial Park, Ontario

Science.gov (United States)

Mann, D. L.; Nelson, J. G.

1980-03-01

This is a critical examination of some of the basic concepts that have guided management of parks and related reserves, often termed wildlands. Study is focussed on Rondeau Provincial Park, Ontario, and on concepts such as wilderness, primeval forest, and the Carolinian forest. Deer culling and other management policies and practices have been based upon the idea that the highly valued sassafras, tulip, and other species of the Carolinian forest are decreasing due to browsing. Field mapping and analysis of historic vegetation records indicate that this trend is not in fact occurring. Historic research also reveals difficulties in defining the Carolinian or other perceived types of forest for management purposes. A major reassessment of ideology and management policy and practice seem to be required in Rondeau and other wildlands. Vague or general concepts such as wilderness or preservation should be strongly complemented and supported by more precise statements of objectives, a learning attitude, and experimentation and research. As a result of the technical uncertainties and value judgments frequently involved, management should also be based upon the expressed preferences and continuing involvement of citizens.

Should I Text or Call Here? A Situation-Based Analysis of Drivers' Perceived Likelihood of Engaging in Mobile Phone Multitasking.

Science.gov (United States)

Oviedo-Trespalacios, Oscar; Haque, Md Mazharul; King, Mark; Washington, Simon

2018-05-29

This study investigated how situational characteristics typically encountered in the transport system influence drivers' perceived likelihood of engaging in mobile phone multitasking. The impacts of mobile phone tasks, perceived environmental complexity/risk, and drivers' individual differences were evaluated as relevant individual predictors within the behavioral adaptation framework. An innovative questionnaire, which includes randomized textual and visual scenarios, was administered to collect data from a sample of 447 drivers in South East Queensland-Australia (66% females; n = 296). The likelihood of engaging in a mobile phone task across various scenarios was modeled by a random parameters ordered probit model. Results indicated that drivers who are female, are frequent users of phones for texting/answering calls, have less favorable attitudes towards safety, and are highly disinhibited were more likely to report stronger intentions of engaging in mobile phone multitasking. However, more years with a valid driving license, self-efficacy toward self-regulation in demanding traffic conditions and police enforcement, texting tasks, and demanding traffic conditions were negatively related to self-reported likelihood of mobile phone multitasking. The unobserved heterogeneity warned of riskier groups among female drivers and participants who need a lot of convincing to believe that multitasking while driving is dangerous. This research concludes that behavioral adaptation theory is a robust framework explaining self-regulation of distracted drivers. © 2018 Society for Risk Analysis.

WILDLAND FIRE MANAGEMENT PLAN FOR BROOKHAVEN NATIONAL LABORATORY.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

ENVIRONMENTAL AND WASTE MANAGEMENT SERVICES DIVISION

2003-09-01

This Wildland Fire Management Plan (FMP) for Brookhaven National Lab (BNL) and the Upton Ecological and Research Reserve (Upton Reserve) is based on the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (FWS) fire management planning procedures and was developed in cooperation with the Department of Energy (DOE) by Brookhaven Science Associates. As the Upton Reserve is contained within the BNL 5,265-acre site, it is logical that the plan applies to both the Upton Reserve and BNL. The Department of the Interior policy for managing wildland fires requires that all areas managed by FWS that can sustain fire must have an FMP that details fire management guidelines for operational procedures and specifies values to be protected or enhanced. Fire management plans provide guidance on fire preparedness, fire prevention, wildfire suppression, and the use of controlled, ''prescribed'' fires and mechanical means to control the amount of available combustible material. Values reflected in the BNL/Upton Reserve Wildland FMP include protecting life and public safety; Lab properties, structures and improvements; cultural and historical sites; neighboring private and public properties; and endangered and threatened species and species of concern. Other values supported by the plan include the enhancement of fire-dependent ecosystems at BNL and the Upton Reserve. This FMP will be reviewed periodically to ensure the fire program advances and evolves with the missions of FWS, BNL, and the Upton Reserve. This Fire Management Plan is a modified version of the Long Island National Wildlife Refuge Complex Fire plan (updated in 2000), which contains all FWS fire plan requirements and is presented in the format specified by the national template for fire management plans adopted under the National Fire Plan. The DOE is one of the signatory agencies on the National Fire Plan. FWS shall be, through an Interagency Agreement dated November 2000 (Appendix C), responsible for coordinating and

Linking primary production, climate and land use along an urban-wildland transect: a satellite view

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hu Yonghong; Jia Gensuo; Guo Huadong

2009-01-01

Variation of green vegetation cover influences local climate dynamics, exchange of water-heat between land and atmosphere, and hydrological processes. However, the mechanism of interaction between vegetation and local climate change in subtropical areas under climate warming and anthropogenic disturbances is poorly understood. We analyzed spatial-temporal trends of vegetation with moderate-resolution imaging spectroradiometer (MODIS) vegetation index datasets over three sections, namely urban, urban-rural fringe and wildland along an urban-wildland transect in a southern mega-city area in China from 2000-2008. The results show increased photosynthetic activity occurred in the wildland and the stable urban landscape in correspondence to the rising temperature, and a considerable decrease of vegetation activity in the urban-rural fringe area, apparently due to urban expansion. On analyzing the controlling factors of climate change and human drivers of vegetation cover change, we found that temperature contributed to vegetation growth more than precipitation and that rising temperature accelerated plant physiological activity. Meanwhile, human-induced dramatic modification of land cover, e.g. conversion of natural forest and cropland to built-up areas in the urban-rural fringe, has caused significant changes of green vegetation fraction and overall primary production, which may further influence local climate.

Metacognition of multitasking: How well do we predict the costs of divided attention?

Science.gov (United States)

Finley, Jason R; Benjamin, Aaron S; McCarley, Jason S

2014-06-01

Risky multitasking, such as texting while driving, may occur because people misestimate the costs of divided attention. In two experiments, participants performed a computerized visual-manual tracking task in which they attempted to keep a mouse cursor within a small target that moved erratically around a circular track. They then separately performed an auditory n-back task. After practicing both tasks separately, participants received feedback on their single-task tracking performance and predicted their dual-task tracking performance before finally performing the 2 tasks simultaneously. Most participants correctly predicted reductions in tracking performance under dual-task conditions, with a majority overestimating the costs of dual-tasking. However, the between-subjects correlation between predicted and actual performance decrements was near 0. This combination of results suggests that people do anticipate costs of multitasking, but have little metacognitive insight on the extent to which they are personally vulnerable to the risks of divided attention, relative to other people. PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2014 APA, all rights reserved.

A high speed multi-tasking, multi-processor telemetry system

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wu, Kung Chris [Univ. of Texas, El Paso, TX (United States)

1996-12-31

This paper describes a small size, light weight, multitasking, multiprocessor telemetry system capable of collecting 32 channels of differential signals at a sampling rate of 6.25 kHz per channel. The system is designed to collect data from remote wind turbine research sites and transfer the data via wireless communication. A description of operational theory, hardware components, and itemized cost is provided. Synchronization with other data acquisition systems and test data on data transmission rates is also given. 11 refs., 7 figs., 4 tabs.

Particle size-dependent radical generation from wildland fire smoke

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Leonard, Stephen S.; Castranova, Vince; Chen, Bean T.; Schwegler-Berry, Diane; Hoover, Mark; Piacitelli, Chris; Gaughan, Denise M.

2007-01-01

Firefighting, along with construction, mining and agriculture, ranks among the most dangerous occupations. In addition, the work environment of firefighters is unlike that of any other occupation, not only because of the obvious physical hazards but also due to the respiratory and systemic health hazards of smoke inhalation resulting from combustion. A significant amount of research has been devoted to studying municipal firefighters; however, these studies may not be useful in wildland firefighter exposures, because the two work environments are so different. Not only are wildland firefighters exposed to different combustion products, but their exposure profiles are different. The combustion products wildland firefighters are exposed to can vary greatly in characteristics due to the type and amount of material being burned, soil conditions, temperature and exposure time. Smoke inhalation is one of the greatest concerns for firefighter health and it has been shown that the smoke consists of a large number of particles. These smoke particles contain intermediates of hydrogen, carbon and oxygen free radicals, which may pose a potential health risk. Our investigation looked into the involvement of free radicals in smoke toxicity and the relationship between particle size and radical generation. Samples were collected in discrete aerodynamic particle sizes from a wildfire in Alaska, preserved and then shipped to our laboratory for analysis. Electron spin resonance was used to measure carbon-centered as well as hydroxyl radicals produced by a Fenton-like reaction with wildfire smoke. Further study of reactive oxygen species was conducted using analysis of cellular H 2 O 2 generation, lipid peroxidation of cellular membranes and DNA damage. Results demonstrate that coarse size-range particles contained more carbon radicals per unit mass than the ultrafine particles; however, the ultrafine particles generated more ·OH radicals in the acellular Fenton-like reaction. The

Error associated with model predictions of wildland fire rate of spread

Science.gov (United States)

Miguel G. Cruz; Martin E. Alexander

2015-01-01

How well can we expect to predict the spread rate of wildfires and prescribed fires? The degree of accuracy in model predictions of wildland fire behaviour characteristics are dependent on the model's applicability to a given situation, the validity of the model's relationships, and the reliability of the model input data (Alexander and Cruz 2013b#. We...

Wildland fire in ecosystems: effects of fire on soils and water

Science.gov (United States)

Daniel G. Neary; Kevin C. Ryan; Leonard F. DeBano

2005-01-01

This state-of-knowledge review about the effects of fire on soils and water can assist land and fire managers with information on the physical, chemical, and biological effects of fire needed to successfully conduct ecosystem management, and effectively inform others about the role and impacts of wildland fire. Chapter topics include the soil resource, soil physical...

Defining and predicting urban-wildland interface zones using a GIS-based model

Science.gov (United States)

Lawrence R. Gering; Angel V. Chun; Steve Anderson

2000-01-01

Resource managers are beginning to experience a deluge of management conflicts as urban population centers expand into formerly wildland settings. Fire suppression, recreational, watershed management, and traditional forest management practices are activities that have become contentious in many locales. A better understanding of the interface zone between these two...

Cognitive Workload and Psychophysiological Parameters During Multitask Activity in Helicopter Pilots

OpenAIRE

Gaetan , Sophie; Dousset , Erick; Marqueste , Tanguy; Bringoux , Lionel; Bourdin , Christophe; Vercher , Jean-Louis; Besson , Patricia

2015-01-01

International audience; BACKGROUND: Helicopter pilots are involved in a complex multitask activity, implying overuse of cognitive resources, which may result in piloting task impairment or in decision-making failure. Studies usually investigate this phenomenon in well-controlled, poorly ecological situations by focusing on the correlation between physiological values and either cognitive workload or emotional state. This study aimed at jointly exploring workload induced by a realistic simulat...

Experiment of X-MP CRAY multitasking with vectorial Monte Carlo algorithm

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chauvet, Y.

1984-08-01

After a short comparison between CRAY-1S and CRAY X-MP we present the main multitasking tools available with FORTRAN. Next we present the main characteristics of the algorithm used and the principles of its parallelization. At last we show the measured results on the two computers and we prove that tasks should be long enough to get a good speed-up factor [fr

Impacts on Water Management and Crop Production of Regional Cropping System Adaptation to Climate Change

Science.gov (United States)

Zhong, H.; Sun, L.; Tian, Z.; Liang, Z.; Fischer, G.

2014-12-01

China is one of the most populous and fast developing countries, also faces a great pressure on grain production and food security. Multi-cropping system is widely applied in China to fully utilize agro-climatic resources and increase land productivity. As the heat resource keep improving under climate warming, multi-cropping system will also shifting northward, and benefit crop production. But water shortage in North China Plain will constrain the adoption of new multi-cropping system. Effectiveness of multi-cropping system adaptation to climate change will greatly depend on future hydrological change and agriculture water management. So it is necessary to quantitatively express the water demand of different multi-cropping systems under climate change. In this paper, we proposed an integrated climate-cropping system-crops adaptation framework, and specifically focused on: 1) precipitation and hydrological change under future climate change in China; 2) the best multi-cropping system and correspondent crop rotation sequence, and water demand under future agro-climatic resources; 3) attainable crop production with water constraint; and 4) future water management. In order to obtain climate projection and precipitation distribution, global climate change scenario from HADCAM3 is downscaled with regional climate model (PRECIS), historical climate data (1960-1990) was interpolated from more than 700 meteorological observation stations. The regional Agro-ecological Zone (AEZ) model is applied to simulate the best multi-cropping system and crop rotation sequence under projected climate change scenario. Finally, we use the site process-based DSSAT model to estimate attainable crop production and the water deficiency. Our findings indicate that annual land productivity may increase and China can gain benefit from climate change if multi-cropping system would be adopted. This study provides a macro-scale view of agriculture adaptation, and gives suggestions to national

Synthetic Synchronisation: From Attention and Multi-Tasking to Negative Capability and Judgment

Science.gov (United States)

Stables, Andrew

2013-01-01

Educational literature has tended to focus, explicitly and implicitly, on two kinds of task orientation: the ability either to focus on a single task, or to multi-task. A third form of orientation characterises many highly successful people. This is the ability to combine several tasks into one: to "kill two (or more) birds with one…

Mapping Multi-Cropped Land Use to Estimate Water Demand Using the California Pesticide Reporting Database

Science.gov (United States)

Henson, W.; Baillie, M. N.; Martin, D.

2017-12-01

Detailed and dynamic land-use data is one of the biggest data deficiencies facing food and water security issues. Better land-use data results in improved integrated hydrologic models that are needed to look at the feedback between land and water use, specifically for adequately representing changes and dynamics in rainfall-runoff, urban and agricultural water demands, and surface fluxes of water (e.g., evapotranspiration, runoff, and infiltration). Currently, land-use data typically are compiled from annual (e.g., Crop Scape) or multi-year composites if mapped at all. While this approach provides information about interannual land-use practices, it does not capture the dynamic changes in highly developed agricultural lands prevalent in California agriculture such as (1) dynamic land-use changes from high frequency multi-crop rotations and (2) uncertainty in sub-annual crop distribution, planting times, and cropped areas. California has collected spatially distributed data for agricultural pesticide use since 1974 through the California Pesticide Information Portal (CalPIP). A method leveraging the CalPIP database has been developed to provide vital information about dynamic agricultural land use (e.g., crop distribution and planting times) and water demand issues in Salinas Valley, California, along the central coast. This 7 billion dollar/year agricultural area produces up to 50% of U.S. lettuce and broccoli. Therefore, effective and sustainable water resource development in the area must balance the needs of this essential industry, other beneficial uses, and the environment. This new tool provides a way to provide more dynamic crop data in hydrologic models. While the current application focuses on the Salinas Valley, the methods are extensible to all of California and other states with similar pesticide reporting. The improvements in representing variability in crop patterns and associated water demands increase our understanding of land-use change and

Organizational learning contributes to guidance for managing wildland fires for multiple objectives

Science.gov (United States)

Tom Zimmerman; Tim Sexton

2010-01-01

Since the inception of organized fire suppression in the early 1900s, wildland fire management has dramatically evolved in operational complexity; ecological significance; social, economic, and political magnitude; areas and timing of application; and recognition of potentially serious consequences. Throughout the past 100 years, fire management has matured from a...

Negativity Bias in Media Multitasking: The Effects of Negative Social Media Messages on Attention to Television News Broadcasts.

Science.gov (United States)

Kätsyri, Jari; Kinnunen, Teemu; Kusumoto, Kenta; Oittinen, Pirkko; Ravaja, Niklas

2016-01-01

Television viewers' attention is increasingly more often divided between television and "second screens", for example when viewing television broadcasts and following their related social media discussion on a tablet computer. The attentional costs of such multitasking may vary depending on the ebb and flow of the social media channel, such as its emotional contents. In the present study, we tested the hypothesis that negative social media messages would draw more attention than similar positive messages. Specifically, news broadcasts were presented in isolation and with simultaneous positive or negative Twitter messages on a tablet to 38 participants in a controlled experiment. Recognition memory, gaze tracking, cardiac responses, and self-reports were used as attentional indices. The presence of any tweets on the tablet decreased attention to the news broadcasts. As expected, negative tweets drew longer viewing times and elicited more attention to themselves than positive tweets. Negative tweets did not, however, decrease attention to the news broadcasts. Taken together, the present results demonstrate a negativity bias exists for social media messages in media multitasking; however, this effect does not amplify the overall detrimental effects of media multitasking.

Negativity Bias in Media Multitasking: The Effects of Negative Social Media Messages on Attention to Television News Broadcasts.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jari Kätsyri

Full Text Available Television viewers' attention is increasingly more often divided between television and "second screens", for example when viewing television broadcasts and following their related social media discussion on a tablet computer. The attentional costs of such multitasking may vary depending on the ebb and flow of the social media channel, such as its emotional contents. In the present study, we tested the hypothesis that negative social media messages would draw more attention than similar positive messages. Specifically, news broadcasts were presented in isolation and with simultaneous positive or negative Twitter messages on a tablet to 38 participants in a controlled experiment. Recognition memory, gaze tracking, cardiac responses, and self-reports were used as attentional indices. The presence of any tweets on the tablet decreased attention to the news broadcasts. As expected, negative tweets drew longer viewing times and elicited more attention to themselves than positive tweets. Negative tweets did not, however, decrease attention to the news broadcasts. Taken together, the present results demonstrate a negativity bias exists for social media messages in media multitasking; however, this effect does not amplify the overall detrimental effects of media multitasking.

Investigating the roles of touchscreen and physical control interface characteristics on driver distraction and multitasking performance.

Science.gov (United States)

2016-01-01

This study aimed to assess the potential of driver distraction, task performance, orientation of : attention, and perceived workload in a multitasking situation involving interaction with touchscreen : interface, compared to physical interface. Autho...

Salient value similarity, social trust, and attitudes toward wildland fire management strategies

Science.gov (United States)

Jerry J. Vaske; James D. Absher; Alan D. Bright

2007-01-01

Using the salient value similarity (SVS) model, we predicted that social trust mediated the relationship between SVS and attitudes toward prescribed burns and mechanical thinning. Data were obtained from a mail survey (n = 532) of Colorado residents living in the wildland-urban interface. Results indicated that respondents shared the same values as U...

Modeling fire susceptibility to delineate wildland-urban interface for municipal-scale fire risk management.

Science.gov (United States)

Whitman, Ellen; Rapaport, Eric; Sherren, Kate

2013-12-01

The wildland-urban interface (WUI) is the region where development meets and intermingles with wildlands. The WUI has an elevated fire risk due to the proximity of development and residents to wildlands with natural wildfire regimes. Existing methods of delineating WUI are typically applied over a large region, use proxies for risk, and do not consider site-specific fire hazard drivers. While these models are appropriate for federal and provincial risk management, municipal managers require models intended for smaller regions. The model developed here uses the Burn-P3 fire behavior model to model WUI from local fire susceptibility (FS) in two study communities. Forest fuel code (FFC) maps for the study communities were modified using remote sensing data to produce detailed forest edges, including ladder fuels, update data currency, and add buildings and roads. The modified FFC maps used in Burn-P3 produced bimodal FS distributions for each community. The WUI in these communities was delineated as areas within community bounds where FS was greater than or equal to -1 SD from the mean FS value ([Formula: see text]), which fell in the trough of the bimodal distribution. The WUI so delineated conformed to the definition of WUI. This model extends WUI modeling for broader risk management initiatives for municipal management of risk, as it (a) considers site-specific drivers of fire behavior; (b) models risk, represented by WUI, specific to a community; and, (c) does not use proxies for risk.

Does Place Attachment Predict Wildfire Mitigation and Preparedness? A Comparison of Wildland-Urban Interface and Rural Communities.

Science.gov (United States)

Anton, Charis E; Lawrence, Carmen

2016-01-01

Wildfires are a common occurrence in many countries and are predicted to increase as we experience the effects of climate change. As more people are expected to be affected by fires, it is important to increase people's wildfire mitigation and preparation. Place attachment has been theorized to be related to mitigation and preparation. The present study examined place attachment and wildfire mitigation and preparation in two Australian samples, one rural and one on the wildland-urban interface. The study consisted of 300 participants who responded to questionnaires about their place attachment to their homes and local areas, as well as describing their socio-demographic characteristics and wildfire mitigation and preparedness. Hierarchical regression showed that place attachment to homes predicted wildfire mitigation and preparedness in the rural sample but not in the wildland-urban interface sample. The results suggest that place attachment is a motivator for mitigation and preparation only for people living rurally. Reminding rural residents of their attachment to home at the beginning of wildfire season may result in greater mitigation and preparedness. Further research focusing on why attachment does not predict mitigation and preparedness in the wildland-urban interface is needed.

Driving and Multitasking: The Good, the Bad, and the Dangerous

OpenAIRE

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

2016-01-01

Previous research has shown that multitasking can have a positive or a negative influence on driving performance. The aim of this study was to determine how the interaction between driving circumstances and cognitive requirements of secondary tasks affect a driver's ability to control a car. We created a driving simulator paradigm where participants had to perform one of two scenarios: one with no traffic in the driver's lane, and one with substantial traffic in both lanes, some of which had ...

Multitask Learning-Based Security Event Forecast Methods for Wireless Sensor Networks

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hui He

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Wireless sensor networks have strong dynamics and uncertainty, including network topological changes, node disappearance or addition, and facing various threats. First, to strengthen the detection adaptability of wireless sensor networks to various security attacks, a region similarity multitask-based security event forecast method for wireless sensor networks is proposed. This method performs topology partitioning on a large-scale sensor network and calculates the similarity degree among regional subnetworks. The trend of unknown network security events can be predicted through multitask learning of the occurrence and transmission characteristics of known network security events. Second, in case of lacking regional data, the quantitative trend of unknown regional network security events can be calculated. This study introduces a sensor network security event forecast method named Prediction Network Security Incomplete Unmarked Data (PNSIUD method to forecast missing attack data in the target region according to the known partial data in similar regions. Experimental results indicate that for an unknown security event forecast the forecast accuracy and effects of the similarity forecast algorithm are better than those of single-task learning method. At the same time, the forecast accuracy of the PNSIUD method is better than that of the traditional support vector machine method.

CRI, 4-Processor VAX-11/780 Simulation of CRAY Multitasking System

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Werner, N.E.; Van Matre, S.W.

1988-01-01

1 - Description of program or function: CRI is a subroutine library and set of utilities which allow the use of a four-processor shared memory DEC VAX11/780-4 computer for parallel processing in a manner compatible with the present use of Cray Research, Inc.'s (CRI's) multitasking primitives on Cray computers. Included in the library are subroutines to perform resource initialization, task functions, lock operations, event signals, file sharing, and work queueing synchronization. 2 - Method of solution: A task consists of code and data that can be scheduled for execution on a CPU. Locks are the facility for monitoring critical regions of code. Events allow signaling between tasks; they have two states: cleared and posted. Posting an event allows all other tasks waiting on that event to resume execution. The CRI utilities consist of command procedures for creating the files needed to use the shared memory; for compiling and liking a multitasking program; for starting the logical processors on the physical processors after the time specified by submitting the job(s) to the selected generic batch queue and, optionally, interactively relinquishing control to the multiprocessor debugger; and for removing jobs from the batch queue and, optionally, un-mapping specified global sections from shared memory. CRIDEBUG utility does not work properly in this release

Wildland Fire Behaviour Case Studies and Fuel Models for Landscape-Scale Fire Modeling

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Paul-Antoine Santoni

2011-01-01

Full Text Available This work presents the extension of a physical model for the spreading of surface fire at landscape scale. In previous work, the model was validated at laboratory scale for fire spreading across litters. The model was then modified to consider the structure of actual vegetation and was included in the wildland fire calculation system Forefire that allows converting the two-dimensional model of fire spread to three dimensions, taking into account spatial information. Two wildland fire behavior case studies were elaborated and used as a basis to test the simulator. Both fires were reconstructed, paying attention to the vegetation mapping, fire history, and meteorological data. The local calibration of the simulator required the development of appropriate fuel models for shrubland vegetation (maquis for use with the model of fire spread. This study showed the capabilities of the simulator during the typical drought season characterizing the Mediterranean climate when most wildfires occur.

Mapping the Daily Progression of Large Wildland Fires Using MODIS Active Fire Data

Science.gov (United States)

Veraverbeke, Sander; Sedano, Fernando; Hook, Simon J.; Randerson, James T.; Jin, Yufang; Rogers, Brendan

2013-01-01

High temporal resolution information on burned area is a prerequisite for incorporating bottom-up estimates of wildland fire emissions in regional air transport models and for improving models of fire behavior. We used the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) active fire product (MO(Y)D14) as input to a kriging interpolation to derive continuous maps of the evolution of nine large wildland fires. For each fire, local input parameters for the kriging model were defined using variogram analysis. The accuracy of the kriging model was assessed using high resolution daily fire perimeter data available from the U.S. Forest Service. We also assessed the temporal reporting accuracy of the MODIS burned area products (MCD45A1 and MCD64A1). Averaged over the nine fires, the kriging method correctly mapped 73% of the pixels within the accuracy of a single day, compared to 33% for MCD45A1 and 53% for MCD64A1.

Relationships to place in wildland resources management: Developing an effective research approach

Science.gov (United States)

Neal Christensen; Alan Watson; James Burchfield

2007-01-01

This paper describes an approach to understanding human relationships with public lands and considering those relationships in the decision making process. This understanding is based on segmentation analysis to identify groups of local residents that have similar relationships to place (RTP) with a public wildland. The research described in this paper uses a mix of...

Communicating about smoke from wildland fire: challenges and ways to address them

Science.gov (United States)

Christine S. Olsen; Danielle K. Mazzotta; Eric Toman; A. Paige. Fischer

2014-01-01

Wildland fire and associated management efforts are dominant topics in natural resource fields. Smoke from fires can be a nuisance and pose serious health risks and aggravate pre-existing health conditions. When it results in reduced visibility near roadways, smoke can also pose hazardous driving conditions and reduce the scenic value of vistas. Communicating about...

Weather, fuels, and topography impede wildland fire spread in western US landscapes

Science.gov (United States)

Lisa Holsinger; Sean A. Parks; Carol Miller

2016-01-01

As wildland fire activity continues to surge across the western US, it is increasingly important that we understand and quantify the environmental drivers of fire and how they vary across ecosystems. At daily to annual timescales, weather, fuels, and topography are known to influence characteristics such as area burned and fire severity. An understudied facet...

Emissions from laboratory combustion of wildland fuels: Emission factors and source profiles

Science.gov (United States)

L.-W. Anthony Chen; Hans Moosmuller; W. Patrick Arnott; Judith C. Chow; John G. Watson; Ronald A. Susott; Ronald E. Babbitt; Cyle E. Wold; Emily N. Lincoln; Wei Min Hao

2007-01-01

Combustion of wildland fuels represents a major source of particulate matter (PM) and light-absorbing elemental carbon (EC) on a national and global scale, but the emission factors and source profiles have not been well characterized with respect to different fuels and combustion phases. These uncertainties limit the accuracy of current emission inventories, smoke...

Deploying wildland fire suppression resources with a scenario-based standard response model

Science.gov (United States)

Robert G. Haight; Jeremy S. Fried

2007-01-01

Wildland fire managers deploy suppression resources to bases and dispatch them to fires to maximize the percentage of fires that are successfully contained before unacceptable costs and losses occur. Deployment is made with budget constraints and uncertainty about the daily number, location, and intensity of fires, all of which affect initial-attack success. To address...

Effect of music-based multitask training on cognition and mood in older adults.

Science.gov (United States)

Hars, Mélany; Herrmann, Francois R; Gold, Gabriel; Rizzoli, René; Trombetti, Andrea

2014-03-01

in a secondary analysis of a randomised controlled trial, we investigated whether 6 months of music-based multitask training had beneficial effects on cognitive functioning and mood in older adults. 134 community-dwellers aged ≥65 years at increased risk for falling were randomly assigned to either an intervention group (n = 66) who attended once weekly 1-h supervised group classes of multitask exercises, executed to the rhythm of piano music, or a control group with delayed intervention (n = 68) who maintained usual lifestyle habits, for 6 months. A short neuropsychological test battery was administered by an intervention-blinded neuropsychologist at baseline and Month 6, including the mini-mental state examination (MMSE), the clock-drawing test, the frontal assessment battery (FAB) and the hospital anxiety (HADS-A) and depression scale. intention-to-treat analysis showed an improvement in the sensitivity to interference subtest of the FAB (adjusted between-group mean difference (AMD), 0.12; 95% CI, 0.00 to 0.25; P = 0.047) and a reduction in anxiety level (HADS-A; AMD, -0.88; 95% CI, -1.73 to -0.05; P = 0.039) in intervention participants, as compared with the controls. Within-group analysis revealed an increase in MMSE score (P = 0.004) and a reduction in the number of participants with impaired global cognitive performance (i.e., MMSE score ≤23; P = 0.003) with intervention. six months of once weekly music-based multitask training was associated with improved cognitive function and decreased anxiety in community-dwelling older adults, compared with non-exercising controls. Studies designed to further delineate whether training-induced changes in cognitive function could contribute to dual-task gait improvements and falls reduction, remain to be conducted.

FMRI to probe sex-related differences in brain function with multitasking

OpenAIRE

Tschernegg, Melanie; Neuper, Christa; Schmidt, Reinhold; Wood, Guilherme; Kronbichler, Martin; Fazekas, Franz; Enzinger, Christian; Koini, Marisa

2017-01-01

Background Although established as a general notion in society, there is no solid scientific foundation for the existence of sex-differences in multitasking. Reaction time and accuracy in dual task conditions have an inverse relationship relative to single task, independently from sex. While a more disseminated network, parallel to decreasing accuracy and reaction time has been demonstrated in dual task fMRI studies, little is known so far whether there exist respective sex-related difference...

On Sparse Multi-Task Gaussian Process Priors for Music Preference Learning

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Nielsen, Jens Brehm; Jensen, Bjørn Sand; Larsen, Jan

In this paper we study pairwise preference learning in a music setting with multitask Gaussian processes and examine the effect of sparsity in the input space as well as in the actual judgments. To introduce sparsity in the inputs, we extend a classic pairwise likelihood model to support sparse...... simulation shows the performance on a real-world music preference dataset which motivates and demonstrates the potential of the sparse Gaussian process formulation for pairwise likelihoods....

Manifold regularized multitask feature learning for multimodality disease classification.

Science.gov (United States)

Jie, Biao; Zhang, Daoqiang; Cheng, Bo; Shen, Dinggang

2015-02-01

Multimodality based methods have shown great advantages in classification of Alzheimer's disease (AD) and its prodromal stage, that is, mild cognitive impairment (MCI). Recently, multitask feature selection methods are typically used for joint selection of common features across multiple modalities. However, one disadvantage of existing multimodality based methods is that they ignore the useful data distribution information in each modality, which is essential for subsequent classification. Accordingly, in this paper we propose a manifold regularized multitask feature learning method to preserve both the intrinsic relatedness among multiple modalities of data and the data distribution information in each modality. Specifically, we denote the feature learning on each modality as a single task, and use group-sparsity regularizer to capture the intrinsic relatedness among multiple tasks (i.e., modalities) and jointly select the common features from multiple tasks. Furthermore, we introduce a new manifold-based Laplacian regularizer to preserve the data distribution information from each task. Finally, we use the multikernel support vector machine method to fuse multimodality data for eventual classification. Conversely, we also extend our method to the semisupervised setting, where only partial data are labeled. We evaluate our method using the baseline magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography (FDG-PET), and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) data of subjects from AD neuroimaging initiative database. The experimental results demonstrate that our proposed method can not only achieve improved classification performance, but also help to discover the disease-related brain regions useful for disease diagnosis. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Yellow perch (Perca flavescens) mercury unaffected by wildland fires in northern Minnesota

Science.gov (United States)

Charlotte E. Riggs; Randall K. Kolka; Edward A. Nater; Emma L. Witt; Trent R. Wickman; Laurel G. Woodruff; Jason T. Butcher

2017-01-01

Wildland fire can alter mercury (Hg) cycling on land and in adjacent aquatic environments. In addition to enhancing local atmospheric Hg redeposition, fire can influence terrestrial movement of Hg and other elements into lakes via runoff from burned upland soil. However, the impact of fire on water quality and the accumulation of Hg in fish remain equivocal. We...

Management adaptation to fires in the wildland-urban risk areas in Spain

Science.gov (United States)

Gema Herrero-Corral

2013-01-01

Forest fires not only cause damage to ecosystems but also result in major socio-economic losses and in the worst cases loss of human life. Specifically, the incidence of fires in the overlapping areas between building structures and forest vegetation (wildland-urban interface, WUI) generates highly-complex emergencies due to the presence of people and goods....

Risk management: Core principles and practices, and their relevance to wildland fire

Science.gov (United States)

Matthew P. Thompson; Donald G. MacGregor; Dave Calkin

2016-01-01

The Forest Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture faces a future of increasing complexity and risk, pressing financial issues, and the inescapable possibility of loss of human life. These issues are perhaps most acute for wildland fire management, the highest risk activity in which the Forest Service engages. Risk management (RM) has long been put forth as an...

Differences in prefrontal blood oxygenation during an acute multitasking stressor in ecstasy polydrug users.

Science.gov (United States)

Roberts, C A; Wetherell, M A; Fisk, J E; Montgomery, C

2015-01-01

Cognitive deficits are well documented in ecstasy (3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine; MDMA) users, with such deficits being taken as evidence of dysregulation of the serotonin (5-hydroxytryptamine; 5-HT) system. More recently neuroimaging has been used to corroborate these deficits. The present study aimed to assess multitasking performance in ecstasy polydrug users, polydrug users and drug-naive individuals. It was predicted that ecstasy polydrug users would perform worse than non-users on the behavioural measure and this would be supported by differences in cortical blood oxygenation. In the study, 20 ecstasy-polydrug users, 17 polydrug users and 19 drug-naive individuals took part. On day 1, drug use history was taken and questionnaire measures were completed. On day 2, participants completed a 20-min multitasking stressor while brain blood oxygenation was measured using functional near infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS). There were no significant differences between the three groups on the subscales of the multitasking stressor. In addition, there were no significant differences on self-report measures of perceived workload (NASA Task Load Index). In terms of mood, ecstasy users were significantly less calm and less relaxed compared with drug-naive controls. There were also significant differences at three voxels on the fNIRS, indicating decreased blood oxygenation in ecstasy users compared with drug-naive controls at voxel 2 (left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex), voxel 14 and voxel 16 (right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex), and compared with polydrug controls at V14. The results of the present study provide support for changes in brain activation during performance of demanding tasks in ecstasy polydrug users, which could be related to cerebral vasoconstriction.

Social software e multitasking: un virus o una risorsa?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gisella Paoletti

2013-03-01

Full Text Available Il multitasking è una strategia di gestione delle risorse cognitive; consiste nello svolgere più di un compito contemporaneamente. In alcuni casi è inevitabile, altre volte no, ma sempre più spesso ci sentiamo costretti a cercare di fare più cose simultaneamente. Possiamo veramente dividere la nostra attenzione conscia tra due compiti impegnativi, come leggere e scrivere? In questo articolo si riportano risultati sperimentali che hanno dimostrato che il risparmio di tempo può essere illusorio e che la performance ha un decadimento rispetto alle situazioni in cui è possibile svolgere i compiti in sequenza.

Wildland fire emissions, carbon, and climate: Plume rise, atmospheric transport, and chemistry processes

Science.gov (United States)

Warren Heilman; Yongqiang Liu; Shawn Urbanski; Vladimir Kovalev; Robert Mickler

2014-01-01

This paper provides an overview and summary of the current state of knowledge regarding critical atmospheric processes that affect the distribution and concentrations of greenhouse gases and aerosols emitted from wildland fires or produced through subsequent chemical reactions in the atmosphere. These critical atmospheric processes include the dynamics of plume rise,...

Improving multi-tasking ability through action videogames.

Science.gov (United States)

Chiappe, Dan; Conger, Mark; Liao, Janet; Caldwell, J Lynn; Vu, Kim-Phuong L

2013-03-01

The present study examined whether action videogames can improve multi-tasking in high workload environments. Two groups with no action videogame experience were pre-tested using the Multi-Attribute Task Battery (MATB). It consists of two primary tasks; tracking and fuel management, and two secondary tasks; systems monitoring and communication. One group served as a control group, while a second played action videogames a minimum of 5 h a week for 10 weeks. Both groups returned for a post-assessment on the MATB. We found the videogame treatment enhanced performance on secondary tasks, without interfering with the primary tasks. Our results demonstrate action videogames can increase people's ability to take on additional tasks by increasing attentional capacity. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd and The Ergonomics Society. All rights reserved.

Forecasting wildland fire behavior using high-resolution large-eddy simulations

Science.gov (United States)

Munoz-Esparza, D.; Kosovic, B.; Jimenez, P. A.; Anderson, A.; DeCastro, A.; Brown, B.

2017-12-01

Wildland fires are responsible for large socio-economic impacts. Fires affect the environment, damage structures, threaten lives, cause health issues, and involve large suppression costs. These impacts can be mitigated via accurate fire spread forecast to inform the incident management team. To this end, the state of Colorado is funding the development of the Colorado Fire Prediction System (CO-FPS). The system is based on the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model enhanced with a fire behavior module (WRF-Fire). Realistic representation of wildland fire behavior requires explicit representation of small scale weather phenomena to properly account for coupled atmosphere-wildfire interactions. Moreover, transport and dispersion of biomass burning emissions from wildfires is controlled by turbulent processes in the atmospheric boundary layer, which are difficult to parameterize and typically lead to large errors when simplified source estimation and injection height methods are used. Therefore, we utilize turbulence-resolving large-eddy simulations at a resolution of 111 m to forecast fire spread and smoke distribution using a coupled atmosphere-wildfire model. This presentation will describe our improvements to the level-set based fire-spread algorithm in WRF-Fire and an evaluation of the operational system using 12 wildfire events that occurred in Colorado in 2016, as well as other historical fires. In addition, the benefits of explicit representation of turbulence for smoke transport and dispersion will be demonstrated.

Biotic and abiotic effects of human settlements in the wildland-urban interface

Science.gov (United States)

Avi Bar-Massada; Volker C. Radeloff; Susan I. Stewart

2014-01-01

The wildland-urban interface (WUI) is the area in which human settlements adjoin or intermix with ecosystems. Although research on the WUI has been focused on wildfire risk to settlements, we argue here that there is a need to quantify the extent of areas in which human settlements interact with adjoining ecosystems, regardless of their ability to support fire spread....

Perspectives from the Aldo Leopold Wilderness Research Institute: The Wildland Research institute

Science.gov (United States)

J. M. Bowker; H. Ken Cordell; Neelam C. Poudyal

2014-01-01

The Wildland Research Institute (WRi) at the University of Leeds (UK) came into being in October 2009. Its origins go back to a United Kingdom research councilfunded seminar series called Wilderness Britain? which ran between 1998 and 2000 and was coordinated from the University of Leeds. This opened up the wider debate on wilderness and rewilding in the UK and later...

Assessing values of air quality and visibility at risk from wildland fires.

Science.gov (United States)

Sue A. Ferguson; Steven J. McKay; David E. Nagel; Trent Piepho; Miriam L. Rorig; Casey Anderson; Lara. Kellogg

2003-01-01

To assess values of air quality and visibility at risk from wildland fire in the United States, we generated a 40-year database that includes twice daily values of wind, mixing height, and a ventilation index that is the product of windspeed and mixing height. The database provides the first nationally consistent map of surface wind and ventilation index. In addition,...

An Investigation of Factors Affecting Multi-Task Performance in an Immersive Environment

Science.gov (United States)

2007-12-01

in Team Sports . Personality and Individual Differences July 1998, 25 (1), 119- 128. Potosky, D. A Field Study of Computer Efficacy Beliefs as an...vacation I like to engage in active sports rather than just lie around. ____ 60. I’ll try anything once. ____ 61. I often feel unsure of myself...heart rate variability ( HRV ). • To identify non-invasive psychological and physiological measures of cognitive readiness in a multi-task environment

Bridging the divide between fire safety research and fighting fire safely: How do we convey research innovation to contribute more effectively to wildland firefighter safety?

Science.gov (United States)

Theodore Ted Adams; Bret W. Butler; Sara Brown; Vita Wright; Anne Black

2017-01-01

Creating a safe workplace for wildland firefighters has long been at the centre of discussion for researchers and practitioners. The goal of wildland fire safety research has been to protect operational firefighters, yet its contributions often fall short of potential because much is getting lost in the translation of peer-reviewed results to potential and intended...

Distinct aspects of frontal lobe structure mediate age-related differences in fluid intelligence and multitasking

Science.gov (United States)

Kievit, Rogier A.; Davis, Simon W.; Mitchell, Daniel J.; Taylor, Jason R.; Duncan, John; Tyler, Lorraine K.; Brayne, Carol; Bullmore, Ed; Calder, Andrew; Cusack, Rhodri; Dalgleish, Tim; Matthews, Fiona; Marslen-Wilson, William; Rowe, James; Shafto, Meredith; Campbell, Karen; Cheung, Teresa; Geerligs, Linda; McCarrey, Anna; Tsvetanov, Kamen; Williams, Nitin; Bates, Lauren; Emery, Tina; Erzinçlioglu, Sharon; Gadie, Andrew; Gerbase, Sofia; Georgieva, Stanimira; Hanley, Claire; Parkin, Beth; Troy, David; Allen, Jodie; Amery, Gillian; Amunts, Liana; Barcroft, Anne; Castle, Amanda; Dias, Cheryl; Dowrick, Jonathan; Fair, Melissa; Fisher, Hayley; Goulding, Anna; Grewal, Adarsh; Hale, Geoff; Hilton, Andrew; Johnson, Frances; Johnston, Patricia; Kavanagh-Williamson, Thea; Kwasniewska, Magdalena; McMinn, Alison; Norman, Kim; Penrose, Jessica; Roby, Fiona; Rowland, Diane; Sargeant, John; Squire, Maggie; Stevens, Beth; Stoddart, Aldabra; Stone, Cheryl; Thompson, Tracy; Yazlik, Ozlem; Barnes, Dan; Dixon, Marie; Hillman, Jaya; Mitchell, Joanne; Villis, Laura; Henson, Richard N.A.

2014-01-01

Ageing is characterized by declines on a variety of cognitive measures. These declines are often attributed to a general, unitary underlying cause, such as a reduction in executive function owing to atrophy of the prefrontal cortex. However, age-related changes are likely multifactorial, and the relationship between neural changes and cognitive measures is not well-understood. Here we address this in a large (N=567), population-based sample drawn from the Cambridge Centre for Ageing and Neuroscience (Cam-CAN) data. We relate fluid intelligence and multitasking to multiple brain measures, including grey matter in various prefrontal regions and white matter integrity connecting those regions. We show that multitasking and fluid intelligence are separable cognitive abilities, with differential sensitivities to age, which are mediated by distinct neural subsystems that show different prediction in older versus younger individuals. These results suggest that prefrontal ageing is a manifold process demanding multifaceted models of neurocognitive ageing. PMID:25519467

A methodology for determining operational priorities for prevention and suppression of wildland fires

Science.gov (United States)

F. Rodríguez y Silva; J.R. Molina Martínez; Armando González-Cabán

2014-01-01

Traditional uses of the forest (timber, forage) have been giving way to other uses more in demand (recreation, ecosystem services). An observable consequence of this process of forest land use conversion is an increase in more difficult and extreme wildfires. Wildland forest management and protection program budgets are limited, and managers are requesting help in...

Modality-specific, multitask locomotor deficits persist despite good recovery after a traumatic brain injury.

Science.gov (United States)

McFadyen, Bradford J; Cantin, Jean-François; Swaine, Bonnie; Duchesneau, Guylaine; Doyon, Julien; Dumas, Denyse; Fait, Philippe

2009-09-01

To study the effects of sensory modality of simultaneous tasks during walking with and without obstacles after moderate to severe traumatic brain injury (TBI). Group comparison study. Gait analysis laboratory within a postacute rehabilitation facility. Volunteer sample (N=18). Persons with moderate to severe TBI (n=11) (9 men, 3 women; age, 37.56+/-13.79 y) and a comparison group (n=7) of subjects without neurologic problems matched on average for body mass index and age (4 men, 3 women; age, 39.19+/-17.35 y). Not applicable. Magnitudes and variability for walking speeds, foot clearance margins (ratio of foot clearance distance to obstacle height), and response reaction times (both direct and as a relative cost because of obstacle avoidance). The TBI group had well-recovered walking speeds and a general ability to avoid obstacles. However, these subjects did show lower trail limb toe clearances (P=.003) across all conditions. Response reaction times to the Stroop tasks were longer in general for the TBI group (P=.017), and this group showed significant increases in response reaction times for the visual modality within the more challenging obstacle avoidance task that was not observed for control subjects. A measure of multitask costs related to differences in response reaction times between obstructed and unobstructed trials also only showed increased attention costs for the visual over the auditory stimuli for the TBI group (P=.002). Mobility is a complex construct, and the present results provide preliminary findings that, even after good locomotor recovery, subjects with moderate to severe TBI show residual locomotor deficits in multitasking. Furthermore, our results suggest that sensory modality is important, and greater multitask costs occur during sensory competition (ie, visual interference).

Managing competing demands through task-switching and multitasking: a multi-setting observational study of 200 clinicians over 1000 hours.

Science.gov (United States)

Walter, Scott R; Li, Ling; Dunsmuir, William T M; Westbrook, Johanna I

2014-03-01

To provide a detailed characterisation of clinicians' work management strategies. 1002.3 h of observational data were derived from three previous studies conducted in a teaching hospital in Sydney, Australia, among emergency department (ED) doctors (n=40), ward doctors (n=57) and ward nurses (n=104). The rates of task-switching (pausing a task to handle an incoming task) and multitasking (adding a task in parallel to an existing task) were compared in each group. Random intercepts logistic regression was used to determine factors significantly associated with clinicians' use of task-switching over multitasking and to quantify variation between individual clinicians. Task-switching rates were higher among ED doctors (6.0 per hour) than ward staff (2.2 and 1.8 per hour for doctors and nurses, respectively) and vice versa for multitasking rates (9.2 vs 17.3 and 14.1 per hour). Clinicians' strategy use was significantly related to the nature and complexity of work and to the person they were working with. In some settings, time of day, day of the week or previous chosen strategy affected a clinician's strategy. Independent of these factors, there was significant variation between individual clinicians in their use of strategies in a given situation (ED doctors p=0.04, ward staff p=0.03). Despite differences in factors associated with work management strategy use among ED doctors, ward doctors and ward nurses, clinicians in all settings appeared to prioritise certain types of tasks over others. Documentation was generally given low priority in all groups, while the arrival of direct care tasks tended to be treated with high priority. These findings suggest that considerations of safety may be implicit in task-switching and multitasking decisions. Although these strategies have been cast in a negative light, future research should consider their role in optimising competing quality and efficiency demands.

Wildfire Risk Assessment in a Typical Mediterranean Wildland-Urban Interface of Greece

Science.gov (United States)

Mitsopoulos, Ioannis; Mallinis, Giorgos; Arianoutsou, Margarita

2015-04-01

The purpose of this study was to assess spatial wildfire risk in a typical Mediterranean wildland-urban interface (WUI) in Greece and the potential effect of three different burning condition scenarios on the following four major wildfire risk components: burn probability, conditional flame length, fire size, and source-sink ratio. We applied the Minimum Travel Time fire simulation algorithm using the FlamMap and ArcFuels tools to characterize the potential response of the wildfire risk to a range of different burning scenarios. We created site-specific fuel models of the study area by measuring the field fuel parameters in representative natural fuel complexes, and we determined the spatial extent of the different fuel types and residential structures in the study area using photointerpretation procedures of large scale natural color orthophotographs. The results included simulated spatially explicit fire risk components along with wildfire risk exposure analysis and the expected net value change. Statistical significance differences in simulation outputs between the scenarios were obtained using Tukey's significance test. The results of this study provide valuable information for decision support systems for short-term predictions of wildfire risk potential and inform wildland fire management of typical WUI areas in Greece.

Wildfire risk assessment in a typical Mediterranean wildland-urban interface of Greece.

Science.gov (United States)

Mitsopoulos, Ioannis; Mallinis, Giorgos; Arianoutsou, Margarita

2015-04-01

The purpose of this study was to assess spatial wildfire risk in a typical Mediterranean wildland-urban interface (WUI) in Greece and the potential effect of three different burning condition scenarios on the following four major wildfire risk components: burn probability, conditional flame length, fire size, and source-sink ratio. We applied the Minimum Travel Time fire simulation algorithm using the FlamMap and ArcFuels tools to characterize the potential response of the wildfire risk to a range of different burning scenarios. We created site-specific fuel models of the study area by measuring the field fuel parameters in representative natural fuel complexes, and we determined the spatial extent of the different fuel types and residential structures in the study area using photointerpretation procedures of large scale natural color orthophotographs. The results included simulated spatially explicit fire risk components along with wildfire risk exposure analysis and the expected net value change. Statistical significance differences in simulation outputs between the scenarios were obtained using Tukey's significance test. The results of this study provide valuable information for decision support systems for short-term predictions of wildfire risk potential and inform wildland fire management of typical WUI areas in Greece.

Cross-domain and multi-task transfer learning of deep convolutional neural network for breast cancer diagnosis in digital breast tomosynthesis

Science.gov (United States)

Samala, Ravi K.; Chan, Heang-Ping; Hadjiiski, Lubomir; Helvie, Mark A.; Richter, Caleb; Cha, Kenny

2018-02-01

We propose a cross-domain, multi-task transfer learning framework to transfer knowledge learned from non-medical images by a deep convolutional neural network (DCNN) to medical image recognition task while improving the generalization by multi-task learning of auxiliary tasks. A first stage cross-domain transfer learning was initiated from ImageNet trained DCNN to mammography trained DCNN. 19,632 regions-of-interest (ROI) from 2,454 mass lesions were collected from two imaging modalities: digitized-screen film mammography (SFM) and full-field digital mammography (DM), and split into training and test sets. In the multi-task transfer learning, the DCNN learned the mass classification task simultaneously from the training set of SFM and DM. The best transfer network for mammography was selected from three transfer networks with different number of convolutional layers frozen. The performance of single-task and multitask transfer learning on an independent SFM test set in terms of the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) was 0.78+/-0.02 and 0.82+/-0.02, respectively. In the second stage cross-domain transfer learning, a set of 12,680 ROIs from 317 mass lesions on DBT were split into validation and independent test sets. We first studied the data requirements for the first stage mammography trained DCNN by varying the mammography training data from 1% to 100% and evaluated its learning on the DBT validation set in inference mode. We found that the entire available mammography set provided the best generalization. The DBT validation set was then used to train only the last four fully connected layers, resulting in an AUC of 0.90+/-0.04 on the independent DBT test set.

Software Defined Resource Orchestration System for Multitask Application in Heterogeneous Mobile Cloud Computing

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Qi Qi

2016-01-01

Full Text Available The mobile cloud computing (MCC that combines mobile computing and cloud concept takes wireless access network as the transmission medium and uses mobile devices as the client. When offloading the complicated multitask application to the MCC environment, each task executes individually in terms of its own computation, storage, and bandwidth requirement. Due to user’s mobility, the provided resources contain different performance metrics that may affect the destination choice. Nevertheless, these heterogeneous MCC resources lack integrated management and can hardly cooperate with each other. Thus, how to choose the appropriate offload destination and orchestrate the resources for multitask is a challenge problem. This paper realizes a programming resource provision for heterogeneous energy-constrained computing environments, where a software defined controller is responsible for resource orchestration, offload, and migration. The resource orchestration is formulated as multiobjective optimal problem that contains the metrics of energy consumption, cost, and availability. Finally, a particle swarm algorithm is used to obtain the approximate optimal solutions. Simulation results show that the solutions for all of our studied cases almost can hit Pareto optimum and surpass the comparative algorithm in approximation, coverage, and execution time.

Wildland fire as a self-regulating mechanism: the role of previous burns and weather in limiting fire progression.

Science.gov (United States)

Parks, Sean A; Holsinger, Lisa M; Miller, Carol; Nelson, Cara R

2015-09-01

Theory suggests that natural fire regimes can result in landscapes that are both self-regulating and resilient to fire. For example, because fires consume fuel, they may create barriers to the spread of future fires, thereby regulating fire size. Top-down controls such as weather, however, can weaken this effect. While empirical examples demonstrating this pattern-process feedback between vegetation and fire exist, they have been geographically limited or did not consider the influence of time between fires and weather. The availability of remotely sensed data identifying fire activity over the last four decades provides an opportunity to explicitly quantify-the ability of wildland fire to limit the progression of subsequent fire. Furthermore, advances in fire progression mapping now allow an evaluation of how daily weather as a top-down control modifies this effect. In this study, we evaluated the ability of wildland fire to create barriers that limit the spread of subsequent fire along a gradient representing time between fires in four large study areas in the western United States. Using fire progression maps in conjunction with weather station data, we also evaluated the influence of daily weather. Results indicate that wildland fire does limit subsequent fire spread in all four study areas, but this effect decays over time; wildland fire no longer limits subsequent fire spread 6-18 years after fire, depending on the study area. We also found that the ability of fire to regulate, subsequent fire progression was substantially reduced under extreme conditions compared to moderate weather conditions in all four study areas. This study increases understanding of the spatial feedbacks that can lead to self-regulating landscapes as well as the effects of top-down controls, such as weather, on these feedbacks. Our results will be useful to managers who seek to restore natural fire regimes or to exploit recent burns when managing fire.

Influence of absorption by environmental water vapor on radiation transfer in wildland fires

Science.gov (United States)

D. Frankman; B. W. Webb; B. W. Butler

2008-01-01

The attenuation of radiation transfer from wildland flames to fuel by environmental water vapor is investigated. Emission is tracked from points on an idealized flame to locations along the fuel bed while accounting for absorption by environmental water vapor in the intervening medium. The Spectral Line Weighted-sum-of-gray-gases approach was employed for treating the...

Wildland recreation in the rural South: an examination of marginality and ethnicity theory

Science.gov (United States)

Cassandra Y. Johnson; J. Michael Bowker; Donald B.K. English; Dreamal Worthen

1998-01-01

The ethnicity and marginality explanations of minority recreation participation provide the conceptual basis for the authors’ inquiry. These theories are examined for a sample of rural African-Americans and whites. Using logistic regression, the researchers test for black and while differences in: 1) visitation to wildland areas in general; 2) visitation to national...

Proceedings of the large wildland fires conference; May 19-23, 2014; Missoula, MT

Science.gov (United States)

Robert E. Keane; Matt Jolly; Russell Parsons; Karin Riley

2015-01-01

Large fires or "megafires" have been a major topic in wildland fire research and management for over a decade. There is great debate regarding the impacts of large fires. Many believe that they (1) are occurring too frequently, (2) are burning abnormally large areas, (3) cause uncharacteristically adverse ecological harm, and (4) must be suppressed at all...

Climate change effects on wildland fire risk in the Northeastern and Great Lakes states predicted by a downscaled multi-model ensemble

Science.gov (United States)

Kerr, Gaige Hunter; DeGaetano, Arthur T.; Stoof, Cathelijne R.; Ward, Daniel

2018-01-01

This study is among the first to investigate wildland fire risk in the Northeastern and the Great Lakes states under a changing climate. We use a multi-model ensemble (MME) of regional climate models from the Coordinated Regional Downscaling Experiment (CORDEX) together with the Canadian Forest Fire Weather Index System (CFFWIS) to understand changes in wildland fire risk through differences between historical simulations and future projections. Our results are relatively homogeneous across the focus region and indicate modest increases in the magnitude of fire weather indices (FWIs) during northern hemisphere summer. The most pronounced changes occur in the date of the initialization of CFFWIS and peak of the wildland fire season, which in the future are trending earlier in the year, and in the significant increases in the length of high-risk episodes, defined by the number of consecutive days with FWIs above the current 95th percentile. Further analyses show that these changes are most closely linked to expected changes in the focus region's temperature and precipitation. These findings relate to the current understanding of particulate matter vis-à-vis wildfires and have implications for human health and local and regional changes in radiative forcings. When considering current fire management strategies which could be challenged by increasing wildland fire risk, fire management agencies could adapt new strategies to improve awareness, prevention, and resilience to mitigate potential impacts to critical infrastructure and population.

A queueing model of pilot decision making in a multi-task flight management situation

Science.gov (United States)

Walden, R. S.; Rouse, W. B.

1977-01-01

Allocation of decision making responsibility between pilot and computer is considered and a flight management task, designed for the study of pilot-computer interaction, is discussed. A queueing theory model of pilot decision making in this multi-task, control and monitoring situation is presented. An experimental investigation of pilot decision making and the resulting model parameters are discussed.

Interruptions and multitasking in surgery: a multicentre observational study of the daily work patterns of doctors and nurses.

Science.gov (United States)

Bellandi, Tommaso; Cerri, Alessandro; Carreras, Giulia; Walter, Scott; Mengozzi, Cipriana; Albolino, Sara; Mastrominico, Eleonora; Renzetti, Fernando; Tartaglia, Riccardo; Westbrook, Johanna

2018-01-01

The aim of this study was to obtain baseline data on doctors' and nurses' work activities and rates of interruptions and multitasking to improve work organisation and processes. Data were collected in six surgical units with the WOMBAT (Work Observation Method by Activity Timing) tool. Results show that doctors and nurses received approximately 13 interruptions per hour, or one interruption every 4.5 min. Compared to doctors, nurses were more prone to interruptions in most activities, while doctors performed multitasking (33.47% of their time, 95% CI 31.84-35.17%) more than nurses (15.23%, 95% CI 14.24-16.25%). Overall, the time dedicated to patient care is relatively limited for both professions (37.21%, 95% CI 34.95-39.60% for doctors, 27.22%, 95% CI 25.18-29.60% for nurses) compared to the time spent for registration of data and professional communication, that accounts for two-thirds of doctors' time and nearly half of nurses' time. Further investigation is needed on strategies to manage job demands and professional communications. Practitioner Summary: This study offers further findings on the characteristics and frequency of multitasking and interruptions in surgery, with a comparison of how they affect doctors and nurses. Further investigation is needed to improve the management of job demands and communications according to the results.

A Mixed-Methods Study Investigating the Relationship between Media Multitasking Orientation and Grade Point Average

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Jennifer

2012-01-01

The intent of this study was to examine the relationship between media multitasking orientation and grade point average. The study utilized a mixed-methods approach to investigate the research questions. In the quantitative section of the study, the primary method of statistical analyses was multiple regression. The independent variables for the…

Risk terminology primer: Basic principles and a glossary for the wildland fire management community

Science.gov (United States)

Matthew P. Thompson; Tom Zimmerman; Dan Mindar; Mary Taber

2016-01-01

Risk management is being increasingly promoted as an appropriate method for addressing wildland fire management challenges. However, a lack of a common understanding of risk concepts and terminology is hindering effective application. In response, this General Technical Report provides a set of clear, consistent, understandable, and usable definitions for terms...

The applicability of a multitask boxing program using the BoxMaster ® for Parkinson’s disease

OpenAIRE

Domingos, Josefa; Loureiro, Rita; Godinho, Catarina; Dean, John; Ferreira, Joaquim J.

2016-01-01

Poster presented at the 4th World Parkinson Congress. Portland, Oregon, 20-23 September 2016 "Objective: To test the applicability of a multitasking boxing program using the BoxMaster® in individuals with Parkinson’s disease that combines motor, cognitive and vocal exercises." N/A

The wildland-urban interface raster dataset of Catalonia.

Science.gov (United States)

Alcasena, Fermín J; Evers, Cody R; Vega-Garcia, Cristina

2018-04-01

We provide the wildland urban interface (WUI) map of the autonomous community of Catalonia (Northeastern Spain). The map encompasses an area of some 3.21 million ha and is presented as a 150-m resolution raster dataset. Individual housing location, structure density and vegetation cover data were used to spatially assess in detail the interface, intermix and dispersed rural WUI communities with a geographical information system. Most WUI areas concentrate in the coastal belt where suburban sprawl has occurred nearby or within unmanaged forests. This geospatial information data provides an approximation of residential housing potential for loss given a wildfire, and represents a valuable contribution to assist landscape and urban planning in the region.

Covering the Homeland: National Guard Unmanned Aircraft Systems Support for Wildland Firefighting and Natural Disaster Events

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Moose, Robert G

2008-01-01

.... The 2007 fire season saw over 85,000 wildland fires consume more than 9.3 million acres. In Southern California alone wildfires forced over half a million people to evacuate their homes destroyed over 3,079 structures and caused...

Impact of Multitasking on Listening Effectiveness in the Learning Environment

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Alla Kushniryk

2012-12-01

Full Text Available This experimental study evaluated the impact of multitasking and social presence on students’ performances in the learning environment. In the first live-presenter group, the participants listened to a lecture in a face-to-face environment. In the second virtual-presenter group, the participants listened on their computers to a pre-recorded lecture. The participants of these groups listened to a lecture and simultaneously wrote responses to open-ended online survey questions. While the participants of the first two groups were multitasking, those in the third group completed listening and writing tasks sequentially. It was found that multitasking significantly decreased performances on both the listening and writing tasks. The experiment also uncovered that the degree of social presence did not affect students’ performances on the listening or writing tasks in the learning environment. The perceived degree of social presence was the same in the virtual- and live-presenter groups.La présente étude expérimentale évalue les conséquences de la multiplicité des tâches et de la présence sociale sur la performance des étudiants dans l’environnement d’apprentissage. Le premier groupe a assisté à une cours donnée par un conférencier sur place. Le deuxième groupe a écouté le cours préenregistrée à partir d’un ordinateur. Les participants de ces deux groupes ont répondu simultanément en ligne aux questions ouvertes d’un sondage. Alors que les participants des deux premiers groupes ont effectué des tâches multiples simultanément, ceux du troisième groupe ont d’abord écouté puis ont répondu au sondage de façon séquentielle. Les chercheurs ont découvert que le fait de réaliser des tâches multiples entraînent une baisse importante de la performance en ce qui a trait à l’écoute et à la rédaction des réponses. L’expérience a aussi permis de découvrir que la présence en classe n’influe pas sur la

The neural correlates of problem states : Testing fMRI predictions of a computational model of multitasking

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Borst, J.P.; Taatgen, N.A.; Stocco, A.; Van Rijn, D.H.

2010-01-01

Background: It has been shown that people can only maintain one problem state, or intermediate mental representation, at a time. When more than one problem state is required, for example in multitasking, performance decreases considerably. This effect has been explained in terms of a problem state

Effects of climate oscillations on wildland fire potential in the continental United States

Science.gov (United States)

Shelby A. Mason; Peter E. Hamlington; Benjamin D. Hamlington; W. Matt Jolly; Chad M. Hoffman

2017-01-01

The effects of climate oscillations on spatial and temporal variations in wildland fire potential in the continental U.S. are examined from 1979 to 2015 using cyclostationary empirical orthogonal functions (CSEOFs). The CSEOF analysis isolates effects associated with the modulated annual cycle and the El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO). The results show that, in early...

Hydrologic ramifications of an increased role of wildland fire across the rangeland-dry forest continuum

Science.gov (United States)

The increased role of wildland fire across the rangeland-dry forest continuum in the western United States (US) presents landscape-scale consequences relative runoff and erosion. Much of the Intermountain West now exists in a state in which rangeland and woodland wildfires stimulated by invasive che...

Gaze training enhances laparoscopic technical skill acquisition and multi-tasking performance: a randomized, controlled study.

Science.gov (United States)

Wilson, Mark R; Vine, Samuel J; Bright, Elizabeth; Masters, Rich S W; Defriend, David; McGrath, John S

2011-12-01

The operating room environment is replete with stressors and distractions that increase the attention demands of what are already complex psychomotor procedures. Contemporary research in other fields (e.g., sport) has revealed that gaze training interventions may support the development of robust movement skills. This current study was designed to examine the utility of gaze training for technical laparoscopic skills and to test performance under multitasking conditions. Thirty medical trainees with no laparoscopic experience were divided randomly into one of three treatment groups: gaze trained (GAZE), movement trained (MOVE), and discovery learning/control (DISCOVERY). Participants were fitted with a Mobile Eye gaze registration system, which measures eye-line of gaze at 25 Hz. Training consisted of ten repetitions of the "eye-hand coordination" task from the LAP Mentor VR laparoscopic surgical simulator while receiving instruction and video feedback (specific to each treatment condition). After training, all participants completed a control test (designed to assess learning) and a multitasking transfer test, in which they completed the procedure while performing a concurrent tone counting task. Not only did the GAZE group learn more quickly than the MOVE and DISCOVERY groups (faster completion times in the control test), but the performance difference was even more pronounced when multitasking. Differences in gaze control (target locking fixations), rather than tool movement measures (tool path length), underpinned this performance advantage for GAZE training. These results suggest that although the GAZE intervention focused on training gaze behavior only, there were indirect benefits for movement behaviors and performance efficiency. Additionally, focusing on a single external target when learning, rather than on complex movement patterns, may have freed-up attentional resources that could be applied to concurrent cognitive tasks.

Using National Ambient Air Quality Standards for fine particulate matter to assess regional wildland fire smoke and air quality management.

Science.gov (United States)

Schweizer, Don; Cisneros, Ricardo; Traina, Samuel; Ghezzehei, Teamrat A; Shaw, Glenn

2017-10-01

Wildland fire is an important ecological process in the California Sierra Nevada. Personal accounts from pre-20th century describe a much smokier environment than present day. The policy of suppression beginning in the early 20th century and climate change are contributing to increased megafires. We use a single particulate monitoring site at the wildland urban interface to explore impacts from prescribed, managed, and full suppression wildland fires from 2006 to 2015 producing a contextual assessment of smoke impacts over time at the landscape level. Prescribed fire had little effect on local fine particulate matter (PM 2.5 ) air quality with readings typical of similar non-fire times; hourly and daily good to moderate Air Quality Index (AQI) for PM 2.5 , maximum hourly concentrations 21-103 μg m -3 , and mean concentrations between 7.7 and 13.2 μg m -3 . Hourly and daily AQI was typically good or moderate during managed fires with 3 h and one day reaching unhealthy while the site remained below National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS), with maximum hourly concentrations 27-244 μg m -3 , and mean concentrations 6.7-11.7 μg m -3 . The large high intensity fire in this area created the highest short term impacts (AQI unhealthy for 4 h and very unhealthy for 1 h), 11 unhealthy for sensitive days, and produced the only annual value (43.9 μg m -3 ) over the NAAQS 98th percentile for PM 2.5 (35 μg m -3 ). Pinehurst remained below the federal standards for PM 2.5 when wildland fire in the local area was managed to 7800 ha (8-22% of the historic burn area). Considering air quality impacts from smoke using the NAAQS at a landscape level over time can give land and air managers a metric for broader evaluation of smoke impacts particularly when assessing ecologically beneficial fire. Allowing managers to control the amount and timing of individual wildland fire emissions can help lessen large smoke impacts to public health from a megafire

Wildland fire ash: Production, composition and eco-hydro-geomorphic effects

Science.gov (United States)

Bodi, Merche B.; Martin, Deborah; Balfour, Victoria N.; Santin, Cristina; Doerr, Stefan H.; Pereira, Paulo; Cerda, Artemi; Mataix-Solera, Jorge

2014-01-01

Fire transforms fuels (i.e. biomass, necromass, soil organic matter) into materials with different chemical and physical properties. One of these materials is ash, which is the particulate residue remaining or deposited on the ground that consists of mineral materials and charred organic components. The quantity and characteristics of ash produced during a wildland fire depend mainly on (1) the total burned fuel (i.e. fuel load), (2) fuel type and (3) its combustion completeness. For a given fuel load and type, a higher combustion completeness will reduce the ash organic carbon content, increasing the relative mineral content, and hence reducing total mass of ash produced. The homogeneity and thickness of the ash layer can vary substantially in space and time and reported average thicknesses range from close to 0 to 50 mm. Ash is a highly mobile material that, after its deposition, may be incorporated into the soil profile, redistributed or removed from a burned site within days or weeks by wind and water erosion to surface depressions, footslopes, streams, lakes, reservoirs and, potentially, into marine deposits.Research on the composition, properties and effects of ash on the burned ecosystem has been conducted on material collected in the field after wildland and prescribed fires as well as on material produced in the laboratory. At low combustion completeness (typically T  450 °C), most organic carbon is volatized and the remaining mineral ash has elevated pH when in solution. It is composed mainly of calcium, magnesium, sodium, potassium, silicon and phosphorous in the form of inorganic carbonates, whereas at T > 580 °C the most common forms are oxides. Ash produced under lower combustion completeness is usually darker, coarser, and less dense and has a higher saturated hydraulic conductivity than ash with higher combustion completeness, although physical reactions with CO2 and when moistened produce further changes in ash characteristics.As a new

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.

Multi-task pose-invariant face recognition.

Science.gov (United States)

Ding, Changxing; Xu, Chang; Tao, Dacheng

2015-03-01

Face images captured in unconstrained environments usually contain significant pose variation, which dramatically degrades the performance of algorithms designed to recognize frontal faces. This paper proposes a novel face identification framework capable of handling the full range of pose variations within ±90° of yaw. The proposed framework first transforms the original pose-invariant face recognition problem into a partial frontal face recognition problem. A robust patch-based face representation scheme is then developed to represent the synthesized partial frontal faces. For each patch, a transformation dictionary is learnt under the proposed multi-task learning scheme. The transformation dictionary transforms the features of different poses into a discriminative subspace. Finally, face matching is performed at patch level rather than at the holistic level. Extensive and systematic experimentation on FERET, CMU-PIE, and Multi-PIE databases shows that the proposed method consistently outperforms single-task-based baselines as well as state-of-the-art methods for the pose problem. We further extend the proposed algorithm for the unconstrained face verification problem and achieve top-level performance on the challenging LFW data set.

Goals, obstacles and effective strategies of wildfire mitigation programs in the Wildland-Urban Interface

Science.gov (United States)

Margaret A. Reams; Terry K. Haines; Cheryl R. Renner; Michael W. Wascom; Harish Kingre

2005-01-01

The dramatic expansion into the Wildland–Urban Interface (WUI) places property, natural assets, and human life at risk from wildfire destruction. The U.S. National Fire Plan encourages communities to implement laws and outreach programs for pre-fire planning to mitigate the risk to area residents. Starting in 2003, we surveyed the administrators of regulatory and...

Stochastic representation of fire behavior in a wildland fire protection planning model for California.

Science.gov (United States)

J. Keith Gilless; Jeremy S. Fried

1998-01-01

A fire behavior module was developed for the California Fire Economics Simulator version 2 (CFES2), a stochastic simulation model of initial attack on wildland fire used by the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. Fire rate of spread (ROS) and fire dispatch level (FDL) for simulated fires "occurring" on the same day are determined by making...

WRF-Fire: coupled weather-wildland fire modeling with the weather research and forecasting model

Science.gov (United States)

Janice L. Coen; Marques Cameron; John Michalakes; Edward G. Patton; Philip J. Riggan; Kara M. Yedinak

2012-01-01

A wildland fire behavior module (WRF-Fire) was integrated into the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) public domain numerical weather prediction model. The fire module is a surface fire behavior model that is two-way coupled with the atmospheric model. Near-surface winds from the atmospheric model are interpolated to a finer fire grid and used, with fuel properties...

Enhancing Soil Productivity Using a Multi-Crop Rotation and Beef Cattle Grazing

Science.gov (United States)

Şentürklü, Songül; Landblom, Douglas; Cihacek, Larry; Brevik, Eric

2016-04-01

. Crop yields were as follows for the 5 crop years in the study (2011-2015): (1) CC was 0.25, 10.5, 8.03, 1.53, and 7.22t/ha, (2) C silage was 4.08, 9.04, 9.91, 8.65, and 14.4 t/ha, (3) C grain was 1.04, 3.81, 6.09, 3.11, and 5.1 t/ha, (4) SF was 1.10, 1.96, 2.42, 1.31, and 2.29 t/ha, (5) PBY forage was 0.0, 7.68, 11.2, 9.3, and 8.72 t/ha. When cattle grazed annual forage crops (C, PBY, and CC), animal manure and trampling contributed to the overall improvement of soil fertility. These data suggest that the combined effect of a multi-crop rotation that includes animal grazing enhances soil fertility and subsequently crop yields, and animal production for a sustainable integrated agricultural system.

Simulation of a nuclear measurement system around a multi-task mode real-time monitor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

De Grandi, G.; Ouiguini, R.

1983-01-01

When debugging and testing material and software for the automation of systems, the non-availability of this last one states important logistic problems. A simulator of the system to be automatized, conceived around a multi-task mode real-time monitor, allowing the debugging of the software of automation without the physical presence of the system to be automatized, is proposed in the present report

EARTH, WIND AND FIRE: BUILDING METEOROLOGICALLY-SENSITIVE BIOGENIC AND WILDLAND FIRE EMISSION ESTIMATES FOR AIR QUALITY MODELS

Science.gov (United States)

Emission estimates are important for ensuring the accuracy of atmospheric chemical transport models. Estimates of biogenic and wildland fire emissions, because of their sensitivity to meteorological conditions, need to be carefully constructed and closely linked with a meteorolo...

An exploration of social-networking site use, multitasking, and academic performance among United States and European university students

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Karpinski, Aryn; Kirschner, Paul A.; Ozer, Ipek; Mellott, Jennifer; Ochwo, Pius

2018-01-01

Studies have shown that multitasking with technology, specifically using Social Networking Sites (SNSs), decreases both efficiency and productivity in an academic setting. This study investigates multitasking’s impact on the relationship between SNS use and Grade Point Average (GPA) in United

An Introduction to Multitasking and Texting: Prevalence and Impact on Grades and GPA in Marketing Classes

Science.gov (United States)

Clayson, Dennis E.; Haley, Debra A.

2013-01-01

This exploratory study looks at the phenomena of texting in a marketing education context. It outlines the difficulties of multitasking within two metacognitive models of learning and sets the stage for further research on the effects of texting within class. Students in marketing classes in two different universities were surveyed. They received…

Sociosexual orientation and multitasking influence the effect of sexual media content on involvement with a sexual character

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Boot, I.; Peter, J.; van Oosten, J.M.F.

2012-01-01

The aim of the present study was to investigate whether responses to sexual media depend on personal and situational factors. Specifically, we studied the role of sociosexual orientation (i.e., personal factor) and multitasking (i.e., situational factor) in the effects of sexual media content on