Strategies for Managing Cognitive Load and Enhancing Motivation in E-Learning

Cognitive load and motivation are two factors that have been established as mediators of learning. It has been established that learners who experience low cognitive loads and are highly motivated to succeed in learning. Since e-learning is becoming a very popular means of delivering learning, there needs to be established strategies to ensure that learners learn. This study sought to look at the various means that have been used in e-learning studies to manage cognitive load and enhance motivation through the analysis of literature. Use of metaphorical interfaces, hypertext, sequencing, and fading of learning content, use of transient information, and adaptation of the problem-solving support were the strategies that have been used in e-learning studies to manage cognitive load. Motivation has been enhanced through the use of motivational messages and adaptive navigational support and pedagogical agents.

Expectations and Needs of Socially Disadvantaged Patients for Navigational Support of Primary Health Care Services

Background: Primary healthcare is the main entry to the health care system for most of the population, even for specialized care. In 2014, it was estimated that about 25% of the population in Quebec (Canada) did not have a regular primary healthcare provider. In 2017, after the introduction of a centralized waiting list to enroll unattached patients with a family doctor, nearly 540,000 patients, many of whom were socially disadvantaged, remained on the list. Socially disadvantaged patients often have more health problems, more complex care needs, and more difficult to accommodate life situations (e.g. two or more jobs, no work accommodation, care responsibilities, low income, lack of social network). They can also lack the skills needed to navigate a constantly evolving and complex healthcare system and, consequently, misuse the system. To overcome this problem, a partnership of health system managers, family physician leaders, community agents, and researchers designed, implemented, and evaluated a navigational support initiative. This study aimed to describe and understand the expectations and needs of socially disadvantaged patients towards navigational support interventions to improve their access to healthcare. Methods: A descriptive qualitative study rooted in an international multi-site participatory study (IMPACT) was conducted with socially disadvantaged patients. Semi-structured individual face-to-face and telephone interviews were conducted with patients recruited at universal public primary health care clinics in Montérégie, some of whom received the evaluated navigational service. A thematic analysis was performed using NVivo 11 software. Results: Sixteen patients living in socially deprived contexts were recruited. Three main expectations of patients for navigational support were identified: communication expectations (support to understand providers and to be understood by them, provision of communication tips, and help to improve communication between providers); relational expectations (emotional or psychosocial support); and pragmatic expectations (information on available community resources, information about the clinic, tips and tools for medical appointments, and physical support to navigate the health care system).Conclusions: Our study contributes to the literature by identifying the many expectations socially disadvantaged patients have related to navigational services. This information can be used for navigational intervention design.

CURRENT PROBLEMS AND FUTURE TRENDS OF GEODETIC AND NAVIGATIONAL SUPPORT OF GEOLOGY AND GEOPHYSICS

The article overviews the current state and problems of geodetic, navigational and timing maintenance of geological and geophysical survey. Innovation trends and perspectives of the technologies’ modernization are considered. The main problems of geodetic, navigational and timing maintenance considered in the article are: old normative and technical documents on this kind of works in Russia, coordinate systems transformations problems, necessity of GNSS-devices adaptation for the specific conditions of geology/geophysics. The main ways of modernization of geodetic, navigational and timing maintenance considered in the paper are: adding newest GNSS technologies (PPP/RTPPP method; new GNSS as Galileo and BeiDou; special services etc.); adding INS/GNSS devices; machine vision systems; remote sensing technologies including UAVs and lidar measurements. The examples of the first steps of using this technologies and methods are given. The main conclusion about the importance of the creation of the common technical documentation base was made.

Low-Cost Open Source Ultrasound-Sensing Based Navigational Support for the Visually Impaired

Nineteen million Americans have significant vision loss. Over 70% of these are not employed full-time, and more than a quarter live below the poverty line. Globally, there are 36 million blind people, but less than half use white canes or more costly commercial sensory substitutions. The quality of life for visually impaired people is hampered by the resultant lack of independence. To help alleviate these challenges this study reports on the development of a low-cost, open-source ultrasound-based navigational support system in the form of a wearable bracelet to allow people with the lost vision to navigate, orient themselves in their surroundings and avoid obstacles when moving. The system can be largely made with digitally distributed manufacturing using low-cost 3-D printing/milling. It conveys point-distance information by utilizing the natural active sensing approach and modulates measurements into haptic feedback with various vibration patterns within the four-meter range. It does not require complex calibrations and training, consists of the small number of available and inexpensive components, and can be used as an independent addition to traditional tools. Sighted blindfolded participants successfully demonstrated the device for nine primary everyday navigation and guidance tasks including indoor and outdoor navigation and avoiding collisions with other pedestrians.

Low-Cost Open Source Ultrasound-Sensing Based Navigational Support for Visually Impaired

Nineteen million Americans have significant vision loss. Over 70% of these are not employed full-time, and more than a quarter live below the poverty line. Globally, there are 36 million blind people, but less than half use white canes or more costly commercial sensory substitutions. The quality of life for visually impaired people is hampered by the resultant lack of independence. To help alleviate these challenges this study reports on the development of a low-cost (<$24), open-source navigational support system to allow people with the lost vision to navigate, orient themselves in their surroundings and avoid obstacles when moving. The system can be largely made with digitally distributed manufacturing using low-cost 3-D printing/milling. It conveys point-distance information by utilizing the natural active sensing approach and modulates measurements into haptic feedback with various vibration patterns within the distance range of 3 m. The developed system allows people with lost vision to solve the primary tasks of navigation, orientation, and obstacle detection (>20 cm stationary, moving up to 0.5 m/s) to ensure their safety and mobility. Sighted blindfolded participants successfully demonstrated the device for eight primary everyday navigation and guidance tasks including indoor and outdoor navigation and avoiding collisions with other pedestrians.

Enhancing Environmental Engagement with Natural Language Interfaces for In-Vehicle Navigation Systems

Four on-road studies were conducted in the Clifton area of Nottingham, UK, aiming to explore the relationships between driver workload and environmental engagement associated with ‘active’ and ‘passive’ navigation systems. In a between-subjects design, a total of 61 experienced drivers completed two experimental drives comprising the same three routes (with overlapping sections), staged one week apart. Drivers were provided with the navigational support of a commercially-available navigation device (‘satnav’), an informed passenger (a stranger with expert route knowledge), a collaborative passenger (an individual with whom they had a close, personal relationship) or a novel interface employing a conversational natural language ‘NAV-NLI’ (Navigation Natural Language Interface). The NAV-NLI was created by curating linguistic intercourse extracted from the earlier conditions and delivering this using a ‘Wizard-of-Oz’ technique. This term describes a research experiment in which subjects interact with a computer system that they believe to be autonomous, but which is actually being operated or partially operated by an unseen human being. The different navigational methods were notable for their varying interactivity and the preponderance of environmental landmark information within route directions. Participants experienced the same guidance on each of the two drives to explore changes in reported and observed behaviour. Results show that participants who were more active in the navigation task (collaborative passenger or NAV-NLI) demonstrated enhanced environmental engagement (landmark recognition, route-learning and survey knowledge) allowing them to reconstruct the route more accurately post-drive, compared to drivers using more passive forms of navigational support (SatNav or informed passenger). Workload measures (the Tactile Detection Task (TDT) and the National Aeronautical and Space Administration Task Load Index (NASA-TLX)) indicated no differences between conditions, although SatNav users and collaborative passenger drivers reported lower workload during their second drive. The research demonstrates clear benefits and potential for a navigation system employing two-way conversational language to deliver instructions. This could help support a long-term perspective in the development of spatial knowledge, enabling drivers to become less reliant on the technology and begin to re-establish associations between viewing an environmental feature and the related navigational manoeuvre.