Attention and automation: New perspectives on mental underload and performance

There is considerable evidence in the ergonomics literature that automation can significantly reduce operator mental workload. Furthermore, reducing mental workload is not necessarily a good thing, particularly in cases where the level is already manageable. This raises the issue of mental underload, which can be at least as detrimental to performance as overload. However, although it is widely recognized that mental underload is detrimental to performance, there are very few attempts to explain why this may be the case. It is argued in this paper that, until the need for a human operator is completely eliminated, automation has psychological implications relevant in both theoretical and applied domains. The present paper reviews theories of attention, as well as the literature on mental workload and automation, to synthesize a new explanation for the effects of mental underload on performance. Malleable attentional resources theory proposes that attentional capacity shrinks to accommodate reductions in mental workload, and that this shrinkage is responsible for the underload effect. The theory is discussed with respect to the applied implications for ergonomics research.     

Does the domain of technology impact user trust? Investigating trust in automation across different consumer-oriented domains in young adults,military, and older adults

Trust has been shown to be a determinant of automation usage and reliance. Thus, understanding the factors that affect trust in automation has been a focus of much research. Despite the increased appearance of automation in consumer-oriented domains, the majority of research examining human-automation trust has occurred in highly specialised domains (e.g. flight management, military) and with specific user groups. We investigated trust in technology across three different groups (young adults, military, and older adults), four domains (consumer electronics, banking, transportation, and health), two stages of automation (information and decision automation), and two levels of automation reliability (low and high). Our findings suggest that trust varies on an interaction of domain of technology, reliability, stage, and user group.     

Electrical conduction in discontinuous metal films: A discussion

The conduction mechanism in discontinuous metal films, which consist of discrete islands on an insulating substrate, has not yet been fully and satisfactorily explained.The most popular theory to appear in the literature is that of tunnelling between islands with an electrostatic activation energy associated with single island charging. This review examines various aspects of the theory critically and with respect to the many varied experimental results. A prime objective of the review is to provoke new approaches to the problem, and several rather speculative suggestions are included to this end. Weaknesses in accepted theory and experimental progress are identified, and positive proposals are made for future research. In particular the roles of contact structures and percolation processes have been neglected for too long.     

Highly cited non-journal publications in political science,economics and psychology: a first exploration

In this study we show that it is possible to identify top-cited publications other than Web of Science (WoS) publications, particularly non-journal publications, within fields in the social and behavioral sciences. We analyzed references in publications that were themselves highly cited, with at least one European address. Books represent between 62 (psychology) and 81% (political science) of the non-WoS references, journal articles 15–24%. Books (economics, political science) and manuals (psychology) account for the most highly cited publications. Between 50 (psychology, political science) and 71% (economics) of the top-ranked most cited publications originated from the US versus between 18 (economics) and 38% (psychology) from Europe. Finally, it is discussed how the methods and procedures of the study can be optimized.     

Fitting of experimental data to the Granato-Lücke model

A new, direct and more accurate method than the usual Granato—Lücke plot is given, for the fitting of the experimental data to the theory. Some results reported in the literature are analysed and it is shown that all the aspects of the theory must be taken into account in order to obtain meaningful results for the several dislocation parameters.On leave from Comisión Nacional de Energía Atómica, DtO. Materiales, Buenos Aires, Argentina.     

The dynamics of audience applause

The study of social identity and crowd psychology looks at how and why individual people change their behaviour in response to others. Within a group, a new behaviour can emerge first in a few individuals before it spreads rapidly to all other members. A number of mathematical models have been hypothesized to describe these social contagion phenomena, but these models remain largely untested against empirical data. We used Bayesian model selection to test between various hypotheses about the spread of a simple social behaviour, applause after an academic presentation. Individuals'' probability of starting clapping increased in proportion to the number of other audience members already ‘infected’ by this social contagion, regardless of their spatial proximity. The cessation of applause is similarly socially mediated, but is to a lesser degree controlled by the reluctance of individuals to clap too many times. We also found consistent differences between individuals in their willingness to start and stop clapping. The social contagion model arising from our analysis predicts that the time the audience spends clapping can vary considerably, even in the absence of any differences in the quality of the presentations they have heard.     

Multi-Parameter One-Sided Monitoring Tests

Multi-parameter one-sided hypothesis test problems arise naturally in many applications. We are particularly interested in effective tests for monitoring multiple quality indices in forestry products. Our search reveals that there are many effective statistical methods in the literature for normal data, and that they can easily be used to test hypotheses regarding parameter values permitting asymptotically normal estimators. We find that the classical likelihood ratio test is unsatisfactory, because to control the size, it must cope with the least favorable distributions at the cost of power. In this article, we find a novel way to slightly ease the size control, obtaining a much more powerful test. Simulation confirms that the new test retains good control of the Type I error and is markedly more powerful than the likelihood ratio test as well as many competitors based on normal data. The new method performs well in the context of monitoring multiple quality indices.     

A modeling perspective on the culture of driving

Each driver is influenced by the collective behavior of other drivers. At the same time, each driver is also part of this collective, and thus influences others. Underlying many driver control and traffic safety programs are two implicit and related assumptions: that drivers are sensitive to the “culture of driving” around them and emulate it; and, that a small shift in the behavior of few might be amplified or snowball to a much larger effect resulting in a changed traffic environment or a modified culture of driving. The paper discusses possible mechanisms for the interactions between individuals, collectives, and culture, drawing on literature from social psychology, sociology, economics, communication, epidemiology, and other disciplines. Traffic behavior modeling could benefit from considering concepts developed in other social disciplines while providing challenging research issues and data sources for testing and developing those concepts.     

Network of the core: mapping and visualizing the core of scientific domains

In this article, we propose mapping and visualizing the core of scientific domains using social network analysis techniques derived from mathematical graph theory. In particular, the concept of Network of the Core is introduced which can be employed to visualize scientific domains by constructing a network among theoretical constructs, models, and concepts. A Network of the Core can be used to reveal hidden properties and structures of a research domain such as connectedness, centrality, density, structural equivalence, and cohesion, by modeling the casual relationship among theoretical constructs. Network of the Core concept can be used to explore the strengths and limitations of a research domain, and graphically and mathematically derive the number research hypotheses. The Network of the Core approach can be applied to any domain given that the investigator has a deep understanding of the area under consideration, a graphical or conceptual view (in the form of a network of association among the theoretical constructs and concepts) of the scientific domain can be obtained, and an underlying theory is available or can be constructed to support Network of the Core formation. Future research directions and several other issues related to the Network of the Core concept are also discussed.     

Creep in transforming polycrystalline materials

An extension, taking recovery into account, has been made of Poirier's (1982) theory of transformation plasticity, that is, the acceleration of creep due to the introduction of accommodation dislocations in the plastic relaxation of the misfit of domains of new phase formed during phase transformation. This enables more realisticc distinctionsto be made between situations where transformation plasticity may be a significant effect in the Earth and where it may not.     

Automated order picking systems and the links between design and performance: a systematic literature review

With new market developments and e-commerce, there is an increased use of and interest in automation for order picking. This paper presents a systematic review and content analysis of the literature. It has the purpose of understanding the relevant performance aspects for automated, or partly automated, OPSs and identifying the studied links between design and performance, i.e. identifying which combinations of design aspects and performance aspects have been studied in previous research. For this purpose, 74 papers were selected and reviewed. From the review, it is clear that there has been an increased number of papers dealing with the performance of automated, or partly automated, OPSs in recent years. Moreover, there are differences between the different OPS types, but, overall, the performance categories of throughput, lead time, and operational efficiency have received the most attention in the literature. The paper identifies links between design and performance that have been studied, as well as links that appear to be under-researched. For academics, this paper synthesises the current knowledge on the performance of automation in OPSs and identifies opportunities for future research. For practitioners, the paper provides knowledge that can support the decision-making process of automation in OPSs.     

Refined dynamic theory of multilayer shells and plates. Report 1. Initial hypotheses and relationships of the model

The problem of constructing a refined theory of multilayer shells and plates on the basis of hypotheses that account for the effect of inertial forces is formulated. The hypotheses are obtained by integrating equations of motion of a three-dimensional medium for assigned tangential components of the stress tensor of the classical theory of multilayer shells. Relationships of a model of the stress-strain state of the refined dynamic theory are derived in conformity with the hypotheses: the components of the displacement vector and the stress and strain tensors. All components take into account the effect of inertial forces; this distinguishes them from components obtained in cases where the same hypotheses as those for the theory of statics are introduced a priori for construction of refined theories of the dynamics of shells. Translated from Problemy Prochnosti, No. 5, pp. 91–99, May, 1996.     

Customer engagement behaviour on social commerce platforms: An empirical study

Web 2.0 applications and social media have transformed e-commerce into a new business paradigm, which is called social commerce. This development has changed the customers’ role and has empowered them by placing them in a unique position for influencing other buyers and providing guidance in purchasing decisions. Although a substantial amount of research has been conducted on customer behaviour, the understanding of the factors that influence customer engagement behaviour is limited, particularly in the social commerce context. This limitation is due to a lack of theoretical models for explaining such behaviour. In this study, the important factors that drive customer engagement on social commerce platforms are extracted from the literature. Drawing from social support theory, social presence theory, uses and gratifications theory, and the information system success model, we propose a new model for social commerce customer engagement. A survey-based empirical study with 203 respondents was conducted. The results demonstrated that customer engagement behaviour is strongly determined by social interaction, technological factors (interactivity and system quality), and motivational factors (hedonic and utilitarian motivations and perceived value). Among these factors, perceived value and social interaction had the most significant impacts on customer engagement behaviour on social commerce platforms. The theoretical and practical implications of the findings are discussed.     

Project Scheduling under Resource Constraints—Historical Review and Categorization of Procedures

Techniques for the management of resources in project-type planning and scheduling models have received increasing attention in recent years. Development of new procedures has occurred at a rapid rate, as evidenced by the growing tide of publications in the literature and widespread promotion of new “systems” for resource management by commercial organizations. The first previously-published survey of developments in this field was done by the author in 1966 and much has taken place since then. The development of new procedures has been so rapid, in fact, that it has been difficult to gauge both the existing state of the art and the trend in current developments. This paper is an attempt to categorize the existing procedures, define the state of the art and indicate the directions of continued progress.     

Human mismatches and preferences for automation

The research reported in this paper is concerned with gaining a better understanding of human factors issues in machining and the automation of manufacturing tasks. Mismatches between operators' performance and the requirements of machining tasks were experimentally studied with respect to the relationships with various human characteristics, including skill, age, work experience, self-confidence and trust. Twelve hypotheses concerning interrelationships between these characteristics were evaluated and important relationships established. It is considered that this increased knowledge of the rate of mismatches and an understanding of the causes is essential for the successful design of new working environments, machines and tasks. Much of this change to the working environment is likely to involve some degree of automation of the operators' tasks and so a second and important aspect of the study was designed to establish the extent to which preferred levels of automation were related to the same human characteristics. Four further hypotheses relating preferred levels of automation to skill, age, work experience, self-confidence and trust were tested with results that, in some cases, were unexpected and in others contradict the findings of previous research.     

Nonparametric adaptive age replacement with a one-cycle criterion

Age replacement of technical units has received much attention in the reliability literature over the last four decades. Mostly, the failure time distribution for the units is assumed to be known, and minimal costs per unit of time is used as optimality criterion, where renewal reward theory simplifies the mathematics involved but requires the assumption that the same process and replacement strategy continues over a very large (‘infinite’) period of time. Recently, there has been increasing attention to adaptive strategies for age replacement, taking into account the information from the process. Although renewal reward theory can still be used to provide an intuitively and mathematically attractive optimality criterion, it is more logical to use minimal costs per unit of time over a single cycle as optimality criterion for adaptive age replacement. In this paper, we first show that in the classical age replacement setting, with known failure time distribution with increasing hazard rate, the one-cycle criterion leads to earlier replacement than the renewal reward criterion. Thereafter, we present adaptive age replacement with a one-cycle criterion within the nonparametric predictive inferential framework. We study the performance of this approach via simulations, which are also used for comparisons with the use of the renewal reward criterion within the same statistical framework.     

Leveraging Values in Global Organizations: Premises,Paradoxes and Progress

In this focused issue on the theme of “Leveraging Values in Global Organizations”, we highlight several prevalent themes on national, organizational and individual values in the literature. We argue that many premises in the literature have been accepted as fact; yet there are still many avenues open to exploration. We present several paradoxes that are often overlooked or lead to inconsistencies in the literature on values. The five articles in this focused issue address these premises and paradoxes, presenting new challenges and opportunities, providing progress and paving the way for future research on leveraging values in global organizations. The selected articles explore values with respect to international alliances and subsidiaries of multinational organizations at the organizational level, among global managers at the group level, and among employees and inpatriates at the individual level of analysis. We trust that readers of this issue will agree that the articles provide novel insights into key issues in the established, yet dynamic, field of research on values in the context of global organizations.     

On the degree of interdisciplinarity of research programs: A quantitative assessment

It is widely maintained that the study of policy alternatives, particularly if they are associated with introducing new tehcnologies that may engender vast social and environmental repercussions, ought to be interdisciplinary. There is, however, much confusion in the literature as to what exactly is meant by the term interdisciplinary. In the present paper, we quantitatively assess the extent of interdisciplinarity of studies and of research programs. First, we propose several working definitions of the concept of interdisciplinarity. Second, we consider the construction of indicators that quantify these definitions. Third, as an example, we examine whether or not a given policy oriented research program is truly interdisciplinary.     

Advanced engineering and biomimetic materials for bone repair and regeneration

Over the past decade, there has been tremendous progress in developing advanced biomaterials for tissue repair and regeneration. This article reviews the frontiers of this field from two closely related areas, new engineering materials for bone substitution and biomimetic mineralization for bone-like nanocomposites. Rather than providing an exhaustive overview of the literature, we focus on several representative directions. We also discuss likely future trends in these areas, including synthetic biology-enabled biomaterials design and multifunctional implant materials for bone repair and regeneration.