Effects of coherent,integrated, and context-dependent adaptable user interfaces on operators’ situation awareness,performance, and workload

Cognition, Technology & Work - Nautical traffic management in The Netherlands is shifting from local traffic control to corridor traffic management. Current traffic management systems do not...     

The impact of technological,organizational and environmental characteristics on electronic collaboration and relationship performance in international customer–supplier relationships

The literature suggests that advances in information and communication technologies have been a major driver of the restructuring of multinational enterprises and their cross-border supply chain management. However, the role of information technology usage for collaboration and its antecedents and performance implications in cross-border exchange relationships have not been clearly specified. In response to this claim, this study examines the determinants of electronic collaboration (E-collaboration) and its outcomes for suppliers with regard to their international customers. Drawing on an empirical foundation of 240 Taiwanese-based electronics equipment manufacturers, we test the effects of technological, organizational and environmental dimensions on E-collaboration and its impact on relationship performance in international exchange. The findings on the pertinence of E-collaboration in international customer–supplier relationships are presented and discussed.     

Effects of particle–fluid coupling on particle transport and capture in a magnetophoretic microsystem

A numerical analysis is presented of the effects of particle–fluid coupling on the transport and capture of magnetic particles in a microfluidic system under the influence of an applied magnetic field. Particle motion is predicted using a computational fluid dynamic CFD-based Lagrangian–Eulerian approach that takes into account dominant particle forces as well as two-way particle–fluid coupling. Two dimensionless groups are introduced that characterize particle capture, one that scales the magnetic and hydrodynamic forces on the particle and another that scales the distance to the magnetic field source. An analysis is preformed to parameterize capture efficiency with respect to the dimensionless numbers for both one-way and two-way particle–fluid coupling. For one-way coupling, in which the flow field is uncoupled from particle motion, correlations are developed that provide insight into system performance towards optimization. The difference in capture efficiency for one-way versus two-way coupling is analyzed and quantified. The analysis demonstrates that one-way coupling, in the dilute limit, provides a conservative estimate of capture efficiency in that it overpredicts the magnetic force needed to ensure particle capture as compared with a more rigorous fully coupled analysis. In two-way coupling there is a cooperative effect between the magnetic force and a particle-induced fluidic force that enhances capture efficiency. Thus, while one-way coupling is useful for rapid parametric screening of particle capture performance, more accurate predictions require two-way particle–fluid coupling. This is especially true when considering higher capture efficiencies and/or higher particle concentrations.     

Investigation on pressure drop characteristic and mass transfer performance of gas–liquid flow in micro-channels

Pressure drop characteristics and mass transfer performance of gas–liquid two-phase flow in micro-channels with different surface wettabilities were experimentally investigated. Side-entry T micro-channel mixers made of glass and polydimethylsiloxane were tested. Frictional pressure drop was found to decrease as the hydrophobicity of the channel surface increased. The flow patterns observed in the experiment were classified as slug flow and continuous gas phase flows. The modified Hagen–Poiseuille equation and Lockhart–Martinelli model were developed to predict the pressure drop for these two types of flow, respectively. The effect of surface wettability was heuristically incorporated in the present models which can correlate well the experimental results. Mass transfer performance was studied by the physical absorption of oxygen into de-ionized water. The results show that the volumetric mass transfer coefficients in hydrophobic micro-channels are generally higher than those in hydrophilic ones. The empirical correlations of overall volumetric mass transfer coefficients were proposed.     

Effects of cognition demand,mode of interactivity and brand anthropomorphism on gamers’ brand attention and memory in advergames

This paper explores how game and message related characteristics of interactivity and brand anthropomorphism interact each other with gamers' cognition demand (high cognition versus low cognition demand) to influence gamers' brand attention, brand recall, and brand recognition in advergames. The mixed-measures experimental design study revealed that in high cognition demand game play, gamers' brand attention, recognition, and recall are low, in comparison with low cognition demand game. However, in high cognition demand condition, gamers exposed to brand interactivity game (versus no interactivity and game interactivity) showed higher brand attention and memory. The results also showed that gamers’ brand anthropomorphism works as a boundary condition which further shapes the above-said effects.     

Effects of Luminosity Contrast and Stimulus Duration on User Performance and Preference in a P300-Based Brain–Computer Interface

Brain–computer interfaces (BCI) have potential to provide a new channel of communication and control for people with severe motor disabilities. Although many empirical studies exist, few have specifically evaluated the impact of contributing factors on user performance and perception in BCI applications, especially for users with motor disabilities. This article reports the effects of luminosity contrast and stimulus duration on user performance and usage preference in a P300-based BCI application, P300 Speller. Ten participants with neuromuscular disabilities (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and cerebral palsy) and 10 able-bodied participants were asked to spell six 10-character phrases in the P300 Speller. The overall accuracy was 76.5% for the able-bodied participants and 26.8% for participants with motor disabilities. The results showed that luminosity contrast and stimulus duration have significant effects on user performance. In addition, participants preferred high luminosity contrast with middle or short stimulus duration. However, these effects on user performance and preference varied for participants with and without motor disabilities. The results also indicated that although most participants with motor disabilities can establish BCI control, BCI illiteracy does exist. These results of the study should provide insights into the future research of the BCI systems, especially the real-world applicability of the BCI applications as a nonmuscular communication and control system for people with severe motor disabilities.     

Effects of speed–accuracy instructions on oculomotor scanning and target recognition in a simulated baggage X-ray screening task

Visual search tasks are often carried out under high levels of time stress. Transportation security screeners, for example, face demands to achieve high levels of accuracy while maintaining rapid passenger throughput. An experiment examined the strategies by which operators regulate visual search performance under such conditions. Observers performed a simulated baggage-screening task under instructions to emphasise either response speed or accuracy. Behavioural measures and eye movements were recorded. Observers made fewer and briefer fixations under emphasise-speed than under emphasise-accuracy instructions. Losses in accuracy were produced by more frequent failures to fixate on targets and a decrease in the detection rate of non-fixated targets. The likelihood with which observers detected a fixated target was similar across speed–accuracy instructions. Results will inform efforts to model visual search in naturalistic tasks, allowing more accurate prediction of response times and error rate and may aid the design of training programmes and other interventions to improve search performance under stress.     

Effects of speed,motion type,and stimulus size on dynamic visual search: A study of radar human–machine interface

Human visual perception behavior in dynamic environments could be affected by the motion properties of stimuli. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of motion type, size, and speed of stimulus on visual search performance and visual comfort in both single- and double-target tasks. Twenty participants attended an experiment in which they finished two tasks at three speeds (low, medium, and high), in two motion types (flicker, uniform), with varied levels of stimulus size (small, medium, and large) on a display. The search time, accuracy, critical flicker frequency, visual comfort, and cognitive load were recorded to provide a comprehensive understanding of participants' visual preferences during the experiment.The results indicated the increasing speed would weaken participants performance on visual search tasks; Medium-sized stimuli were recommended considering search efficiency and cost-effectiveness; More importantly, the present study also found that flicker motion led to better task performance in the low-speed task, due to increased alertness and lead physiological arousal effects, which may imply the past studies have overstated the negative effects of flickering in dynamic environments.     

Examining the relationship between the Big Five,Grit and avoidance of automated communication scales in adults 40–65

Automated communication technologies (ACTs) have largely become commonplace in the day to day life. Although these technologies are widely used, there is a not insubstantial proportion of the population that prefers to avoid contact with ACTs. Recently, a scale was developed to assess dispositional avoidance of automated communication technologies. The current study provides validation of the scale in an older adult population and demonstrates that the avoidance of automated communication scale can be discriminated from personality measures, including the Big Five and Grit, and is predictive of avoidance of ACTs.     

SCAN 2000: GAMM-IMACS International Symposium on Scientific Computing,Computer Arithmetic,and Validated Numerics Interval 2000: International Conference on Interval Methods in Science and Engineering Karlsruhe,Germany, September 18–22, 2000

Conference Report

SCAN 2000: GAMM-IMACS International Symposium on Scientific Computing, Computer Arithmetic, and Validated Numerics Interval 2000: International Conference on Interval Methods in Science and Engineering Karlsruhe, Germany, September 18–22, 2000     

Special issue on Design,Test, Integration and Packaging of MEMS and MOEMS (DTIP 2015), held in Montpellier,France, April 27–30, 2015

Microsystem Technologies -     

Spatial–temporal land-use/land-cover dynamics and their impacts on surface temperature in Chongming Island of Shanghai,China

Land-use/land-cover (LULC) changes are occurring at rapid rates on the Chongming Island of Shanghai, China, giving rise to a major concern about environmental impacts. We herein carried out a sound analysis of the LULC dynamics, the conversions among different LULC classes, and land-surface temperature (LST) distribution using remote-sensing data from Landsat Multispectral Scanner (MSS), Thematic Mapper (TM), and Enhanced Thematic Mapper Plus (ETM+) time series spanning the last 35 years (1979–2014). Based on LULC class information and LST, we constructed a temperature/vegetation index space to study the temporal variability of thermal data, vegetation cover, and LULC. The results showed that the LULC change dynamics in Chongming Island have strongly impacted the LST in the recent decade. The spatial position conversion and quantitative change of vegetation cover totalled about 44.4% of LULC-type areas over the Island, and the comprehensive LULC dynamicity changed from 2.97 to 3.95 during the investigated period. Accordingly, significant LST changes took place in the portion of the Chongming Island showing normal temperature range, which accounted for 85.94% of the whole Island’s area as of 1 August 2000 and that decreased to 50.79% on 6 May 2009, while the surface extents under low- and with ultra-high-temperature ranges increased, respectively, both from 0 of 2000 to 6.67% and 0.41% of 2009. The results indicate that the pixel classes including vegetation cover, wetland, and waterbody, which have larger dynamicity and maximum change vector magnitudes, played a large role in alleviating the effect of the land-surface thermal environment, and were key driving factors contributing to the increasing trend of non-normal temperature range ratio over time. Our findings are expected to provide valuable information for decision-making regarding the development and construction of Chongming Island into an eco-region.