Contending with Complexity: The Development and Use of Scaled Worlds as Research Tools

1998 ◽  
Vol 42 (3) ◽  
pp. 254-257 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brian D. Ehret ◽  
Susan S. Kirschenbaum ◽  
Wayne D. Gray
Keyword(s):  
Task Performance ◽  
Information Flow ◽  
Real World ◽  
Task Environment ◽  
Research Project ◽  
Critical Elements ◽  
Research Tools ◽  
Scaled World

Complex, real-world behavior takes place in complex, real-world environments. Efforts to study cognition in such environments can be hampered by difficulty in accurately tracking information flow. This problem may be tackled by studying task performance in the context of a scaled world—an abstracted version of the task environment designed to elucidate information flow while maintaining the critical elements ofthat environment. Scaled worlds are discussed in the context of our current research, Project NEMO.

Scaled Worlds as Research Tools: A Demonstration

1998 ◽  
Vol 42 (16) ◽  
pp. 1157-1157
Author(s):  
Brian D. Ehret
Keyword(s):  
Task Performance ◽  
Information Flow ◽  
Dynamic Environments ◽  
Task Environment ◽  
Complex Dynamic ◽  
Situation Assessment ◽  
Critical Elements ◽  
Research Tools ◽  
Scaled World

Efforts to study cognition in complex, dynamic environments can be hampered by difficulty in accurately tracking information flow. This problem can be tackled by studying task performance in the context of a scaled world—an abstracted version of the task environment designed to elucidate information flow while maintaining the critical elements of that environment. This demonstration will illustrate a scaled world developed for research on submariner situation assessment and is a companion to Ehret, Kirschenbaum and Gray, “Contending with Complexity: The Development and Use of Scaled Worlds as Research Tools” (this volume).

scholarly journals Comparison of Dexterous Task Performance in Virtual Reality and Real-World Environments

2021 ◽  
Vol 2 ◽  
Author(s):  
Janell S. Joyner ◽  
Monifa Vaughn-Cooke ◽  
Heather L. Benz
Keyword(s):  
Virtual Reality ◽  
Activities Of Daily Living ◽  
Task Performance ◽  
Real World ◽  
Daily Living ◽  
Task Environment ◽  
User Performance ◽  
Environment Design ◽  
Testing Environment ◽  
User Training

Virtual reality is being used to aid in prototyping of advanced limb prostheses with anthropomorphic behavior and user training. A virtual version of a prosthesis and testing environment can be programmed to mimic the appearance and interactions of its real-world counterpart, but little is understood about how task selection and object design impact user performance in virtual reality and how it translates to real-world performance. To bridge this knowledge gap, we performed a study in which able-bodied individuals manipulated a virtual prosthesis and later a real-world version to complete eight activities of daily living. We examined subjects' ability to complete the activities, how long it took to complete the tasks, and number of attempts to complete each task in the two environments. A notable result is that subjects were unable to complete tasks in virtual reality that involved manipulating small objects and objects flush with the table, but were able to complete those tasks in the real world. The results of this study suggest that standardization of virtual task environment design may lead to more accurate simulation of real-world performance.

scholarly journals Betweenness centrality for temporal multiplexes

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Silvia Zaoli ◽  
Piero Mazzarisi ◽  
Fabrizio Lillo
Keyword(s):  
Information Flow ◽  
Real World ◽  
Betweenness Centrality ◽  
Temporal Structure ◽  
Shortest Paths ◽  
Single Layer ◽  
Distance Metric ◽  
Definition Of

AbstractBetweenness centrality quantifies the importance of a vertex for the information flow in a network. The standard betweenness centrality applies to static single-layer networks, but many real world networks are both dynamic and made of several layers. We propose a definition of betweenness centrality for temporal multiplexes. This definition accounts for the topological and temporal structure and for the duration of paths in the determination of the shortest paths. We propose an algorithm to compute the new metric using a mapping to a static graph. We apply the metric to a dataset of $$\sim 20$$ ∼ 20 k European flights and compare the results with those obtained with static or single-layer metrics. The differences in the airports rankings highlight the importance of considering the temporal multiplex structure and an appropriate distance metric.

scholarly journals How Does Physical Demand Affect Cognitive Performance? Interference Between Outdoor Running And Narrative Memory

2018 ◽  
Vol 62 (1) ◽  
pp. 237-241
Author(s):  
Samantha L. Epling ◽  
Graham K. Edgar ◽  
Paul N. Russell ◽  
William S. Helton
Keyword(s):  
High Risk ◽  
Task Performance ◽  
Cognitive Performance ◽  
Real World ◽  
Dual Task ◽  
Memory Task ◽  
Search And Rescue ◽  
Dual Tasking ◽  
Physical Demand ◽  
Dual Task Paradigm

Dual-tasking situations are common in military, firefighting, search and rescue, and other high risk operations. Cognitive and physical demands can occur at the same time, but little is known about the specific demands of real world tasks or how they might interfere with one another. It is well known that attempting simultaneous tasks will divide and divert attention, but to what extent? In this experiment, a narrative memory task was paired with an outdoor running task, and as expected, memory task performance declined when participants were asked to run at the same time. It is suggested that more cognitively demanding physical tasks be used within this dual-task paradigm for a better understanding of the human cognitive resource structure, i.e., how and why certain tasks interfere.

scholarly journals Co-creating real-world research skills

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 120-127
Author(s):  
Julie Prescott ◽  
Duncan Cross ◽  
Pippa Iliff
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Real World ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Setting Time ◽  
Research Project ◽  
Research Skills ◽  
Open Environment ◽  
Support Time ◽  
Shared Ownership

This case study considers a students-as-partners’ research project that aimed to develop technologically-driven tools to enhance teaching and learning in higher education. It focuses on how the project enabled student participants to gain real world research skills and experience. We present reflections from both a student and a staff perspective and propose START (Support, Time, Adapt, Risks, Trust) as an approach to engage students to gain real-world research skills. Support refers to providing support for skills gaps and learning in an applied setting. Time refers to providing time to settle into the project and develop confidence, including realistic timeframes and deadlines. Adapt refers to giving students the space to develop not only the required skills but also the tools to develop their own abilities and confidence through a supportive, flexible and open environment. Risks refers to taking risks for example in terms of roles, responsibilities and leadership. Trust refers to providing guidance and encouragement that will allow students to achieve on their own and take shared ownership.

scholarly journals Multi-Dimensional Human Workload Assessment for Supervisory Human–Machine Teams

2019 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 146-170
Author(s):  
Jamison Heard ◽  
Julie A. Adams
Keyword(s):  
Unmanned Aerial Vehicles ◽  
Task Performance ◽  
Real World ◽  
High Stress ◽  
Critical Component ◽  
Aerial Vehicles ◽  
Multiple Dimensions ◽  
Stress Environments

Humans commanding and monitoring robots’ actions are used in various high-stress environments, such as the Predator or MQ-9 Reaper remotely piloted unmanned aerial vehicles. The presence of stress and potential costly mistakes in these environments places considerable demands and workload on the human supervisors, which can reduce task performance. Performance may be augmented by implementing an adaptive workload human–machine teaming system that is capable of adjusting based on a human’s workload state. Such a teaming system requires a human workload assessment algorithm capable of estimating workload along multiple dimensions. A multi-dimensional algorithm that estimates workload in a supervisory environment is presented. The algorithm performs well in emulated real-world environments and generalizes across similar workload conditions and populations. This algorithm is a critical component for developing an adaptive human–robot teaming system that can adapt its interactions and intelligently (re-)allocate tasks in dynamic domains.

scholarly journals Using Local Research as a Phenomenon in the Classroom

2020 ◽  
Vol 82 (9) ◽  
pp. 614-618
Author(s):  
Lily Apedaile
Keyword(s):  
Science Education ◽  
High School Students ◽  
Real World ◽  
Model Building ◽  
Learning Experience ◽  
Natural World ◽  
School Students ◽  
Research Project ◽  
K 12 ◽  
Local Research

Model-based inquiry, inquiry-based learning, and phenomenon are all popular terms in K–12 science education right now. Science education in our public education system is rapidly changing due to the implementation of the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS). These standards ask teachers to move away from direct instruction to having students develop their understanding of the natural world through guided-learning activities. Under NGSS, students are expected to develop this understanding through one of the main scientific practices, model building, which requires a complex, real-world phenomenon to drive the learning experience. Phenomena work best in the classroom when they apply to students’ lives and pique their interest. Finding such phenomena can be hard – especially finding ones that have not already been thoroughly explained on the internet. A great way to find a complex, real-world phenomenon that will interest students is to partner with a local research lab to bring part of their research project into the classroom. This article lays out a process for bringing a local research project into the classroom and designing NGSS-aligned curricula around this project to create a more authentic learning experience for high school students.

scholarly journals Real-World Media Multitasking Shows Few Effects on Lab-Based Volitional Multitasking Performance

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jesus Lopez ◽  
Joseph M Orr
Keyword(s):  
Task Performance ◽  
Performance Measures ◽  
Real World ◽  
Secondary Task ◽  
Primary Task ◽  
Self Report ◽  
Media Multitasking ◽  
Desktop Computer ◽  
Opposite Pattern ◽  
Computer Environment

Media multitasking (e.g., listening to podcasts while studying) has been linked to decreased executive functioning. However, the tasks used to establish this finding do not approximate a real-world volitional multitasking environment. A novel experimental framework was designed to mimic a desktop computer environment where a “popup” associated with a secondary task would occasionally appear. Participants could select the popup and perform a difficult word stem completion trial or ignore the popup and continue performing the primary task which consisted of math problems. We predicted that individuals who are more impulsive, more frequent media multitaskers, and individuals who prefer to multitask(quantified with self-report questionnaires) would be more distracted by the popups, choose to perform the secondary task more often, and be slower to return to the primary task compared to those who media multitask to a lesser degree. We found that as individuals media multitask to a greater extent, they are slower to return to the previous (primary) task set and are slower to complete the primary task overall whether a popup was present or not, among other task performance measures. Our findings suggest that overall, more frequent media multitaskers show a marginal decrease in task performance, including an increased return cost, but those who prefer to multitask show the opposite pattern of effects with some performance measures. Impulsivity was not found to influence any task performance measures. Further iterations of this paradigm are necessary to elucidate the relationship between media multitasking and task performance, if one exists.

scholarly journals From "Clueless" to "Completed": A Review of The Essential Guide to Doing Your Research Project

2014 ◽  
Author(s):  
Angela Yehl
Keyword(s):  
Mixed Methods ◽  
Sample Size ◽  
Real World ◽  
Mixed Methods Research ◽  
Research Project ◽  
Political Processes ◽  
Evaluative Research

O'Leary (2010) has written her book for the student; however, she delves beyond the "how to" of most introductory research texts. The author works to ground students in the theoretical and foundational aspects of qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods research, in addition to providing "real world" advice and common scenarios often encountered in the field. From determining an appropriate sample size to navigating political processes in evaluative research, O'Leary stays grounded in the practical, often re-emphasizing the importance of "doability" in planning and conducting any type of research.

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