The amount of information and the volume of ‘information tare’

A distinction is suggested between the notions ‘information tare’, the role of which is played by the signals or letters forming the message, and ‘information’, which may be contained in such messages. It is shown that Shannon's definition of the amount of information is, in fact, the definition of the volume of information tare, whereas the amount of information itself may be measured as the volume of information tare of the maximally compact message used for its recording. This allows one to express both the volume of information tare, H, and the amount of information, B, in the same units of measurement–bits–and for any message B≤H. Some consequences of these views are analysed.     

An observer’s information dynamics: Acquisition of information and the origin of the cognitive dynamics

Conventional information science considers an information process, but traditionally uses the probability measure for random states and Shannon’s entropy as the uncertainty function of these states.This paper presents a new approach, based on an integral information measure of the random process.An entropy functional (EF) on the trajectories of the process accumulates and encodes the process’ inner connections between the information states.The application of a variation principle (VP) to the EF determines the process’ information path functional (IPF), whose extremal trajectories describe the informational dynamics of this process.Information dynamics with the VP invariant relations evaluate the information content of a random process, expose its information code and reveal a conserved (hidden) information, produced at an acquisition of the process information.By introducing both objective and subjective information observers, we consider the observers information cognitive dynamics and neurodynamics, based on the EF–IPF approach.The universal nature of information process’ dynamics and regularities, discovered in the information observers, have many applications not only in cognitive and intelligent systems, but also in different biological, social and economic systems.     

Short- and long-term effects of students’ self-directed metacognitive prompts on navigation behavior and learning performance

This study seeks to promote learning in computer-based learning environments utilizing students’ self-directed metacognitive prompts. Such prompts are based on the idea of instructing students to design their own metacognitive scaffolds and learn with them afterward. In a pre-post experimental design, students in the experimental group (n = 35) were instructed to configure their own metacognitive prompts before learning whereas students in the control group (n = 35) learned without prompts. Log file analysis of navigation behavior indicates that students who learned with their individually designed, self-directed prompts visited relevant webpages significantly more often and spent a longer time on them compared with students in the control group. Moreover, participants in the experimental group attained better transfer performance immediately after learning. The long-term effect in transfer performance was even greater in a follow-up learning session conducted after three weeks without any instructional support in either group. These results are consistent with theories of metacognition and self-regulated learning and indicate that self-directed prompts can lead to sustainable effects.     

Improving the Quality of Conforming Triangular Meshes by Topological Clean up and DSI

A new method as a post-processing step is presented to improve the shape quality of triangular meshes, which uses a topological clean up procedure and discrete smoothing interpolate (DSI) algorithm together. This method can improve the angle distribution of mesh element. while keeping the resulting meshes conform to the predefined constraints which are inputted as a PSLG.1 Introduction Triangular mesh is very useful in manyapplications, especially in numerical simulationssuch as finite elem…     

Influences of data filtering on human–computer interaction by gaze-contingent display and eye-tracking applications

We describe an interactive gaze-contingent display (GCD) applied to clinical applications; the system uses a simple texture hole to inhibit peripheral vision, to test and stress overt mechanisms of visual searching in normal subjects. The correct use of GCD in vision research is affected by tremor of the hole, due to system noise, nystagmus, eye blinking, calibration and subject reactivity. These issues compromise the execution of task. In order to obtain a stable GCD hole, we implemented a predictive gaze-contingent display (PGCD), fitting through dispersion of fixations and modulating a filter. The paper describes the PGCD and compare it with the common technique, providing evidence that humans fit exploration based on the characteristics of the computer system; in particular we found significant difference applying PGCD or a simple finite impulse response filter. We suggest that a correct human–computer interaction applied to neuropsychological context must be developed taking in consideration both technical point of view and human behavior.     

Road safety communication effectiveness: the roles of emotion and information in motorists’ ability to detect vulnerable road users

Cognition, Technology & Work - This study aimed to investigate the impact of the emotional and informational components of road safety communication on the motorists’ ability to detect...     

ADAS at work: assessing professional bus drivers’ experience and acceptance of a narrow navigation system

Cognition, Technology & Work - Due to the argued benefits of passenger comfort, cost savings, and road safety, the bus sector is showing increasing interest in advanced driver-assistance...     

It is in the box! Improving the usability and benefits of surgical safety checklists – A feasibility study

Up to 50% of preventable hospital medical errors occur in or after visiting an operating theater in the United States. To address this issue, hospitals use a Surgical Safety Checklist (SSC), which can reduce complications and mortality rates when used systematically. To execute it, surgeons read aloud from a poster hanging on a wall. However, studies report usability issues with posters and often surgeons execute the checklist from memory, which can reduce completion rates at the expense of patient safety. We present a novel approach to increase the SSC's usability in view of improving patient safety. Our DigitalChecklistBox displays the SSC directly on a patient's surgical drape and enables surgeons to navigate through the checklist using hand gestures. Evaluated with 10 surgeons, it increased the checklist elements' readability and navigation and brought additional functionalities to limit the number of missed elements.     

Psychological influences on drivers’ yielding behavior at the crosswalk of intersections

Cognition, Technology & Work - Pedestrian safety is vital, especially when it comes to crossing at intersections. Setting pedestrian safety facilities is one of the solutions to provide a safer...     

Improving the Robustness of ‘Online Agglomerative Clustering Method’ Based on Kernel-Induce Distance Measures

Recently, an online agglomerative clustering method called AddC (I. D. Guedalia et al. Neural Comput. {\bf 11} (1999), 521--540) was proposed for nonstationary data clustering. Although AddC possesses many good attributes, a vital problem of that method is its sensitivity to noises, which limits its use in real-word applications. In this paper, based on \hbox{kernel-induced} distance measures, a robust online clustering (ROC) algorithm is proposed to remedy the problem of AddC. Experimental results on artificial and benchmark data sets show that ROC has better clustering performances than AddC, while still inheriting advantages such as clustering data in a single pass and without knowing the exact number of clusters beforehand.     

Improving the quality of vocational students’ collaboration and knowledge acquisition through instruction and joint reflection

International Journal of Computer-Supported Collaborative Learning - New societal demands call for schools to train students’ collaboration skills. However, research thus far has focused...     

Perfect aggregation of information in two-person multistage games with fixed sequence of moves and aggregated information on partner’s choice

Two-person multistage game with fixed sequence of moves is considered, under perfect information on existing history of the game and aggregated information on the current move of player 2. Having this information at each stage i, player 1 is the first to choose his move x(in1)(.); moreover, in the beginning of the game player 1 announces his strategy x(.)=(a(in1)(.),..., x(in)(.)) for n future stages. Given information regarding the choice of player 1 and history of the game, player 2 strives to maximize his payoff function via the strategy v=(v(in1), v(in2),..., v(inn)). In this paper the sufficient conditions of perfect aggregation, involving certain results from the theory of Lie groups, are provided for the game in question.     

The effects of 3D interface metaphor on older adults’ mobile navigation performance and subjective evaluation

Navigating vast information spaces through mobile interfaces has become a common activity in older adults' everyday lives. Studies suggested that interface metaphors could be used to facilitate users' metal model development and information processing when using mobile technologies. However, we know little about how metaphors affect older adults' mobile navigation behavior, and which user characteristics matter during this perceptual and cognitive process. To investigate this, a card interface with a 3D metaphor and a list interface without 3D metaphors were compared among twenty-two participants when performing four navigation tasks. User characteristics including demographic factors, technology experience, and user capabilities were examined. The participants' navigation performance and subjective evaluations were measured as the dependent variables. From the results, we recommend the list interface without 3D metaphors as a beneficial choice for older adults. It performed better in navigation performance, although the differences are not statistically significant. Moreover, navigation performance using the card interface with a 3D metaphor was significantly associated with participants' perceptual speed, thus this interface may be more sensitive to capability declines. Valuable insights into the older adults’ mobile navigation performance and preferences are discussed and important implications for the design of mobile navigation user interfaces are proposed based on the results.Relevance to industryThe experimental results propose a more beneficial way to present contents on a mobile user interface for older adults and provide valuable insights for the designers and industry to help them understand the older adults’ usage and perceptions towards the application of 3D metaphors when navigating with mobile interfaces.     

Improving the effect of fuzzy clustering on RBF network’s performance in terms of particle swarm optimization

This paper proposes a novel training algorithm for radial basis function neural networks based on fuzzy clustering and particle swarm optimization. So far, fuzzy clustering has proven to be a very efficient tool in designing such kind of networks. The motivation of the current work is to quantify the exact effect of fuzzy cluster analysis on the network’s performance and use it in order to substantially improve this performance. There are two key theoretical findings resulting from the present work. First, it is analytically proved that when the standard fuzzy c-means algorithm is used to generate the input space fuzzy partition, the main effect this partition imposes to the network’s square error (i.e. performance index) can be written down in terms of a distortion function that measures the ability of the partition to recreate the original data. Second, using the aforementioned distortion function, an upper bound of the network’s square error can be constructed. Then, the particle swarm optimization (PSO) is put in place to minimize the above upper bound and determine the network’s parameters. To further improve the accuracy, the basis function widths and the connection weights are fine-tuned by employing a steepest descent approach. The main experimental findings are: (a) the implementation of the PSO obtains a significant reduction of the square error while exhibiting a smooth dynamic behavior, (b) although the steepest descent further decreases the error it finally obtains smaller reduction rates, meaning that the strongest impact on the error reduction is provided by the PSO, and (c) the improved performance of the proposed network is demonstrated through an extensive comparison with other related methods using a 10-fold cross-validation analysis.     

Exploring the relationship between information satisfaction and flow in the context of consumers’ online search

The study investigate the subjective aspect of consumers’ online information satisfaction within the frame of flow experience in two processes: ongoing and goal-directed information search. A total of 391 samples for ongoing processes and 415 samples for goal-directed processes obtained in this study were analyzed with structural equation modelling. Flow is conceptualized in the study with Enjoyment, Time Distortion, Curiosity, Perceived Control and Concentration dimensions. The results indicate that flow experience has significant effects on consumers’ online information satisfaction in both processes. Enjoyment, Time distortion, Curiosity and Perceived Control dimensions affect online information satisfaction positively in the ongoing process, which is largely carried out with hedonic urges. In addition to Enjoyment, Perceived Control and Concentration dimensions have positive and Curiosity dimension has negative effects in goal-directed online information satisfaction, which is largely carried out with utilitarian urges. In addition, the results indicate that Enjoyment, Time distortion and Curiosity dimensions have significantly stronger positive effects on online information satisfaction in ongoing search processes compared with goal-directed processes, and Concentration dimension has significantly stronger positive effects on online information satisfaction in goal-directed search processes compared with ongoing processes.     

Comments on ‘ A note on the calculation and placing of finite zeros ’

A novel dual adaptive controller for extremum control of stochastic and uncertain nonlinear Hammerstein systems is proposed. The design is based on the innovations dual control cost function originally developed for conventional adaptive control of linear systems. However, the design process is extensively modified and developed so as to cater for the extremum control scenario. This is a more challenging problem because the reference input is itself a nonlinear function of the unknown system parameters, rather than an independent and predefined external reference signal. As in all dual adaptive schemes, it leads to a control law that balances out the need for caution, due to parameter uncertainty, with the conflicting requirement of probing that acts to quickly reduce parameter uncertainty. The proposed controller's performance is analysed through extensive Monte Carlo simulation trials and compared with several other non-dual adaptive extremum controllers. It is shown that the novel extremum innovations dual controller is superior to other types of adaptive control systems that are based on a certainty equivalence assumption. In addition, a novel statistical measure is introduced that yields a more objective evaluation of the Monte Carlo simulation results.     

The effect of lighting conditions and use of headlights on drivers’ perception and appraisal of approaching vehicles at junctions

Use of Daytime Running Lights (DRL) is mandatory in many countries for motorcycles, and in some for cars. However, in developing countries, DRLs may be optional or compliance low. The effect of car or motorcycle headlights and lighting conditions on Malaysian drivers’ ability to perceive and judge the safety of pulling out was investigated. Stimuli were photographs depicting either daytime or nighttime taken at a T-junction with approaching vehicles with headlights on or off. Headlights improved drivers’ ability to perceive cars and motorcycles in the nighttime photographs but not the daytime photographs, although this could be due to the bright weather in the photographs. Drivers judged it less safe to pull out when approaching motorcycles had headlights on than off, regardless of the lighting conditions, supporting the utility of DRL for motorcycles. Headlights did not affect judgements for cars, questioning the utility of DRL for cars.

Practitioner Summary: The effect of headlights and lighting conditions on drivers’ ability to perceive and make judgements about the safety of pulling out was investigated. Daytime Running Lights influenced drivers’ decision-making about the safety of pulling out in front of motorcycles, illustrating the importance of having automatic headlights equipped.     

User-centred design of neogeography: the impact of volunteered geographic information on users' perceptions of online map ‘mashups’

This paper investigates the influence of presenting volunteered and professionally created geographic information to 101 wheelchair users through an interactive website that included information collected by wheelchair-using volunteers. The aim of this experiment was to understand the influence that (1) knowing a map-based website contains volunteered information and (2) actually including volunteered information within an online interactive map (a mashup) have on the perceived trust of the user, described in terms of quality and authority. Analysis using Kruskal–Wallis showed that judgements of currency were influenced by including geo-information from untrained volunteers (volunteered geographic information) within the mashup, but not influenced by the participant being told that the online map contained volunteered information. The participants appeared to make judgements based on what information they saw, rather than what they were told about the source of the information.