Lower task persistence in smokers with schizophrenia as compared to non-psychiatric control smokers.

One contributing factor to difficulty in quitting smoking may be task persistence, which can be viewed as a behavioral manifestation of distress tolerance, and describes the act of persisting in a difficult or effortful task. Task persistence was assessed in smokers with schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorder (SZ/SA; N = 71) and non-psychiatric controls (N = 78) before a quit attempt. These data support the hypothesis that smokers with SZ/SA display less task persistence than do non-psychiatric controls when persistence is measured via mirror tracing and a 2-item persistence measure. Lower persistence may partially explain the reduced smoking cessation successes of smokers with SZ/SA as compared to the general population. These data also replicate findings regarding relationships between histories of ability to quit smoking and task persistence and expand them to a new population of smokers. The absence of a diagnostic status by length of previous abstinence interaction suggests that the contribution of task persistence to smoking cessation is similar for smokers with and without schizophrenia. Future studies should evaluate the ability of task persistence to predict abstinence from cigarettes prospectively among smokers with schizophrenia. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Intraindividual variability is related to cognitive change in older adults: Evidence for within-person coupling.

In this study, the authors addressed the longitudinal nature of intraindividual variability over 3 years. A sample of 304 community-dwelling older adults, initially between the ages of 64 and 92 years, completed 4 waves of annual testing on a battery of accuracy- and latency-based tests covering a wide range of cognitive complexity. Increases in response-time inconsistency on moderately and highly complex tasks were associated with increasing age, but there were significant individual differences in change across the entire sample. The time-varying covariation between cognition and inconsistency was significant across the 1-year intervals and remained stable across both time and age. On occasions when intraindividual variability was high, participants' cognitive performance was correspondingly low. The strength of the coupling relationship was greater for more fluid cognitive domains such as memory, reasoning, and processing speed than for more crystallized domains such as verbal ability. Variability based on moderately and highly complex tasks provided the strongest prediction. These results suggest that intraindividual variability is highly sensitive to even subtle changes in cognitive ability. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Transfer of task-switching training in older age: The role of verbal processes.

This study investigated the influence of verbal self-instructions (VSI) on the transfer of task-switching training in older adults (56–78 years). We applied an internally cued switching paradigm in a pretest–training–posttest design. Training-related improvements were not modulated by VSI. Transfer (the pretest–posttest reduction of switch costs) was most pronounced when participants applied the VSI at posttest after practicing the switching task without VSI. The results indicate that in contrast to transfer of executive control training, transfer of (verbal) strategy training seems to be limited and that VSI is most beneficial when the task-switching abilities are already well practiced. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Development of intuitions about support beyond infancy.

In a series of 3 experiments modeled after infant studies, 3- to- 6-year-old children’s intuitive knowledge about support was assessed. Different objects were shown either sufficiently supported or not. Children had to predict whether a block would remain standing on a platform upon release or make perceptual judgments about the possibility of a shown block-on-platform configuration. Overall, performance was strongly age-related and independent of task context. Sensitivity for the amount of contact between object and support was clearly evidenced for each of the age-groups tested and was almost perfect in 5- and 6-year-olds. By contrast, sensitivity for the proportion of an object’s volume positioned over the support was only marginally reliable in 3-year-olds and still far from perfect in 6-year-olds. It is concluded that basic intuitions about support undergo distinct developmental change beyond infancy and are not yet fully developed in kindergartners. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Combining cognitive and visual distraction: Less than the sum of its parts

Driver distraction has become a leading cause of motor-vehicle crashes. Although visual and cognitive distraction has been studied extensively, relatively little research has addressed their combined effects on drivers’ behavior. To fill this gap, a medium-fidelity simulator study examined the driver behavior before, during and after three types of distraction. Driving without distraction was compared to visual distraction, cognitive distraction, and combined visual and cognitive distraction. The results show that the visual and combined distraction both impaired vehicle control and hazard detection and resulted in frequent, long off-road glances. The combined distraction was less detrimental than visual distraction alone. Cognitive distraction made steering less smooth, but improved lane maintenance. All distractions caused gaze concentration and slow saccades when drivers looked at the roadway, and cognitive and combined distraction increased blink frequency. Steering neglect, under-compensation, and over-compensation were three typical steering failures that were differentially associated with the different distractions: steering neglect and over-compensation with visual distraction and under-compensation with cognitive distraction. Overall, visual distraction interferes with driving performance more than cognitive distraction, and visual distraction dominates the performance decrements during combined distraction. These results suggest that minimizing visual demand is particularly important in the design of in-vehicle systems and in the development of distraction countermeasures.     

Evaluation of a sudden brake warning system: Effect on the response time of the following driver

This study used a video-based braking simulation dual task to carry out a preliminary evaluation of the effect of a sudden brake warning system (SBWS) in a leading passenger vehicle on the response time of the following driver. The primary task required the participants (N = 25, 16 females, full NZ license holders) to respond to sudden braking manoeuvres of a lead vehicle during day and night driving, wet and dry conditions and in rural and urban traffic, while concurrently performing a secondary tracking task using a computer mouse. The SBWS in the lead vehicle consisted of g-force controlled activation of the rear hazard lights (the rear indicators flashed), in addition to the standard brake lights. Overall, the results revealed that responses to the braking manoeuvres of the leading vehicles when the hazard lights were activated by the warning system were 0.34 s (19%) faster compared to the standard brake lights. The SBWS was particularly effective when the simulated braking scenario of the leading vehicle did not require an immediate and abrupt braking response. Given this, the SBWS may also be beneficial for allowing smoother deceleration, thus reducing fuel consumption. These preliminary findings justify a larger, more ecologically valid laboratory evaluation which may lead to a naturalistic study in order to test this new technology in ‘real world’ braking situations.     

Geometrically Non-Linear Rapid Heating of Temperature-Dependent Circular FGM Plates

Based on the uncoupled thermoelasticity assumptions, axisymmetric thermally induced vibrations of a circular plate made of functionally graded materials (FGMs) are analyzed. Each thermomechanical property of the circular plate is assumed to be functions of temperature and thickness coordinate. Solution of the transient one-dimensional heat conduction equation with the arbitrary type of time-dependent boundary conditions is carried out employing the central finite difference method combined with the Crank–Nicolson time marching scheme. Afterwards, with the establishment of the associated Hamilton's principle and the accountancy of the von Kármán type of geometrical non-linearity, the motion equations are obtained with the aid of the conventional multi-term Ritz method. The solution of highly coupled non-linear motion equations is obtained utilizing a hybrid iterative Newton–Raphson–Newmark scheme. After validating the developed computer code, some parametric studies are accomplished to show the influences of various involved parameters. It is shown that temperature dependency, geometrical non-linearity, plate thickness, power law index, and the type of thermal in-plane and out-of-plane mechanical boundary conditions, all affect the temporal evolution of plate characteristics.     

Continuity and change in interorganizational project practices: The Dutch shipbuilding industry, 1950–2010

The Dutch shipbuilding industry has a longstanding tradition in project-based production. Recently, industry actors have acknowledged a serious misfit between interorganizational project practices, defined as behaviors related to collaboration, and interorganizational project demands, defined as environmental conditions. This misfit leads to a weaker competitive position due to higher communication and production costs, and longer production times. However, the causes of this misfit remain unclear. Among project researchers there is a growing awareness that history has a major influence on contemporary practices in interorganizational projects, suggesting that some of the causes of the present-day misfit may be rooted in the past. This paper studies historical developments of interorganizational project practices in Dutch shipbuilding projects, in order to understand to what extent contemporary misfit in project practices is rooted in the past and results from path dependencies and lock-ins. We answer the following research question: How did interorganizational project practices and demands in the Dutch shipbuilding industry develop between 1950 and 2010 and to what extent do these developments help us understand the current misfit between project practices and demands? Our results show that a web of self-reinforcing mechanisms at least partially explains the current misfit in the Dutch shipbuilding industry. This paper answers to the conceptual call by Sydow et al. (2009) and supplements path dependence literature by showing that self-reinforcing mechanisms causing path dependence can be separated analytically, but are intertwined empirically.     

Influence of store dimensions and auxiliary volume configuration on the performance of medium-sized solar combisystems

To increase the fractional energy savings achieved with solar thermal combisystems the store volume may be increased. Installation of large stores in single-family houses is, however, often limited by space constraints. In this article the influence of the store dimensions, as well as internal and external auxiliary volume configurations, are investigated for large solar water stores by annual dynamic TRNSYS simulations. The results show that store sizes up to 4 m³ may be used in solar heating systems with 30 m² collector area. It is further shown that well-insulated stores are rather insensitive to the geometry. Stores deviating from the conventional dimensions still yield high fractional energy savings. Furthermore, the simulations show that the performance of an internal auxiliary volume configuration in most cases exceeds that of a solution with an external auxiliary unit. The practical limitations of very thin auxiliary volumes must, however, be further investigated.     

并行设计耦合任务集的识别方法

并行设计中强调多种知识的有效集成，耦合任务是一组具有相互依赖关系的任务的集合，它正反映了这种知识集成的要求，它对设计时间和质量均有着关键的影响。通过对耦合任务集的识别可以为合理分配设计资源、在效规划设计过程、科学组建集成开发队伍提供参考。本文在建立设计过程图的基础上提出了识别耦合任务集的有效方法。