Research on the key perception points in the process of e-book selection

Purpose This paper aims to propose some suggestions for libraries and other digital reading service institutions to improve the utilization rate of e-books, based on the theoretical and empirical analysis of the perception behaviour characteristics of e-book selection under the allocation of limited cognitive resources. Design/methodology/approach From the perspective of key perception points, this paper studies the key perception points of selecting e-books through the experimental method and explores the influence of subject factors (users’ characteristics, users’ needs) on users’ e-book perception behaviour. Findings College students have selective attention in the process of selecting e-books. They will choose some important contents of e-books, such as title, book introduction, author, catalogue, reader comments, others’ recommendations, read leaderboard, to perceive and there is an obvious difference in perception intensity. Different personal traits and reading needs have a great influence on users’ perception points. Libraries and other digital reading service institutions should provide promotion information based on key perception points of e-books, develop personalized e-book service and promotion and optimize the expression of key perception points of e-books. Originality/value This paper presents a valuable study attempting to introduce cognitive resource theory into the field of digital reading service, which proves that users also have limited cognitive resource allocation in the process of selecting digital books.

Theories of Vigilance and the Prospect of Cognitive Restoration

Effectively mitigating the vigilance decrement (the decrease in performance on tasks requiring sustained attention over time) is one of the most important human factors problems studied today. Despite this, the underlying theory of vigilance and its failings are still disputed. The two primary theories espoused by researchers today are a cognitive resource theory of vigilance and a mindlessness theory of vigilance. This literature review examines the literature investigating points of conflict between these theories, revealing that the majority of experimental research supports a cognitive resource theory of vigilance. Additionally, we examine research investigating the effect of active rest breaks on cognitive and affective restoration. The literature available on cognitive restoration does not support the suggestion that active rest breaks help restore vigilance-relevant cognitive resources more effectively than passive rest breaks. The research does however, support the proposition that more active rest breaks can reduce stress and increase affect. The potential for increasing worker well-being with more active breaks warrants additional research.

Conflict Monitoring or Multi-tasking? Tracking Within-Task Performance in Single-item and Multi-item Stroop Tasks

Cognitive control is applied in situations that require overriding a habitual and automatic response. The conflict monitoring hypothesis posits a control system responsible for detecting conflicting occasions and adapting to them, leading to performance improvement, regardless of how stimuli are presented. Here we evaluate this prediction in two versions of one of the most popular tasks in cognitive control, namely the Stroop task. We hypothesized that nearby-items interference combines with task interference to transform the multi-item version into a multi-task that defies control adaptation. Adopting an alternative methodology tracking within-task performance, we compared the classical multi-item version of the Stroop task and its single-item counterpart in adults and children. Our results indicated a within-task performance decline only in the multi-item version of the task, in both incongruent and neutral conditions, modulated by the presumed maturity of the control system. Our findings are interpreted as evidence of cognitive overload due to capacity limitations, as proposed by cognitive resource theory. These results challenge the conflict monitoring hypothesis and its recent extension, and they also raise substantial concerns regarding the calculation and use of indices of interference based on the commonly used multi-item version of the Stroop task.