Evaluation of contrast metrics for liquid‐crystal displays under different viewing conditions

Abstract— A psychophysical experiment was carried out to assess the perceptual contrast on a large‐sized liquid‐crystal display (LCD) under nine phases of viewing conditions. Based on the results, six contrast models employing different color attributes or the index of just‐noticeable difference (JND) were developed. Their performances were also tested by the visual data of the nine phases, which indicated that the model C_Q employing CIECAM02 brightness gives the best performance in predicting visual data under different viewing conditions among those models. A preprocessing step was also proposed to utilize the contrast model C_Q conveniently in the practical contrast evaluation of LCDs.     

Human error identification in human reliability assessment. Part 2: Detailed comparison of techniques

This is the second part of a two-part review of human error identification (HEI) approaches in human reliability assessment (HRA). Part 1 reviewed the probabilistic risk assessment (PRA) context in which HRA occurs, and then detailed 12 HEI techniques which have evolved in the field of HRA. Part 2 attempts to compare the way these techniques perform against a range of criteria relevant to HEI theoretical and empirical validity, and practical usefulness in applied HRA. It is hoped that these comparisons will help assessors in the selection of techniques for practical applications. The comparisons also point to research and development needs in the area of applied HEI.     

On the fit of models to covariances and methodology to the Bulletin..

Notes that 7 of the 10 top-cited articles in the Psychological Bulletin deal with methodological topics. One of these is the P. M. Bentler and D. G. Bonett (1980) article on the assessment of fit in covariance structure models. Some context is provided on the popularity of this article. In addition, a citation study of methodology articles appearing in the Bulletin since 1978 was carried out. It verified that publications in design, evaluation, measurement, and statistics continue to be important to psychological research. Some thoughts are offered on the role of the journal in making developments in these areas more accessible to psychologists. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

黄冈市农村卫生人才培养的现状与对策

本文采取问卷调查和文献查阅相结合的方式,对黄冈市卫生专业技术人员队伍现状进行了调查和分析,剖析了黄冈市农村卫生人才培养的方法和经验,提出了切实可行的农村卫生人才培养的对策与建议。     

雷达模拟器目标威胁度评估方法研究

研究雷达模拟器目标威胁度的准确评估问题,是辅助操作手对空中目标进行打击的重要依据.威胁度普通雷达是难以探测的.由于目标的速度、距离等随机性强,具体数据难以确定.针对威胁度评估问题,多限于权重分析、聚类分析等方法,对难以确定的参数有较大依赖.为解决上述问题,提出应用效能指数的方法来确定未知目标对雷达阵地的威胁度,根据雷达能够获取的数据,得出判断矩阵,实现对雷达所测数据的分析,并评估目标的威胁度.上述方法可用于雷达模拟器,能够灵活地根据情况调整威胁度评估方法.实验结果表明,方法能够较好地在某些属性未知的情况下,可对目标威胁度进行准确评估,证明改进方法为威胁度评估提供了有效依据.     

基于Virtools的虚拟现实技术及在特种设备教学中的应用

本文以电梯为研究对象,运用虚拟现实技术建立电梯虚拟样机,开发了一种电梯零部件识别系统用于电梯司机的考核。现行的考核方式存在过程繁琐、成绩统计困难等问题,就这些问题提出了合理的解决方案,并将方案应用于开发的系统中。该系统是虚拟现实技术在特种设备领域的全新应用,构建的虚拟电梯完整地呈现了真实的电梯,而且可以从多角度观察其结构的每个细节,方便教学与考核。系统结合SolidWorks、3Dmax、Virtools等软件,以触摸选择为主要的操作方式,具有优良的操作性与交互性,且投资少、开发周期短。     

An evaluation of the performance of an automated procedure for comparative modelling of protein tertiary structure

A 3-D model of a protein can be constructed from its amino acidsequence and the 3-D structures of one or more homologues byannealing three sets of fragments: the structurally conservedregions, structurally variable regions and the side chains.The method encoded in the computer program COMPOSER was assessedby generating 3-D models of eight proteins whose crystal structuresare already known and for which 3-D structures of homologuesare available. In the structurally conserved regions, differencesbetween modelled and X-ray structures are smaller than the differencesbetween the X-ray structures of the modelled protein and thehomologues used to build the model. When several homologuesare used, the contributions of the known structures are weighted,preferably by the square of sequence similarity; this is especiallyimportant when the similarities of the homologues to the modelledstructure differ greatly. The ‘collar’ extensionapproach, in which a similar region of different length in ahomologue is used to extend the framework, can result in a moreaccurate model. If known homologues comprise more than one relatedgroup of proteins and they are both distantly related to theunknown, then alignment of the sequence to be modelled witheach group of homologues facilitates identification of structurallyconserved regions of the unknown and leads to an improved model.Models have root mean square differences (r.m.s.d.s) with thestructures defined by X-ray analysis of between 0.73 and 1.56Å for all C atoms, for seven of the eight models. Forthe model of mucor pepsin, where the closest homologue has 33%sequence identity and 20% of the residues are in structurallyvariable regions, the r.m.s.d. for the framework region is 1.71Å and the r.m.s.d. for all C atoms is 3.47 Â.     

Gerontechnology acceptance by elderly Hong Kong Chinese: a senior technology acceptance model (STAM)

The purpose of this study was to develop and test a senior technology acceptance model (STAM) aimed at understanding the acceptance of gerontechnology by older Hong Kong Chinese people. The proposed STAM extended previous technology acceptance models and theories by adding age-related health and ability characteristics of older people. The proposed STAM was empirically tested using a cross-sectional questionnaire survey with a sample of 1012 seniors aged 55 and over in Hong Kong. The result showed that STAM was strongly supported and could explain 68% of the variance in the use of gerontechnology. For older Hong Kong Chinese, individual attributes, which include age, gender, education, gerontechnology self-efficacy and anxiety, and health and ability characteristics, as well as facilitating conditions explicitly and directly affected technology acceptance. These were better predictors of gerontechnology usage behaviour (UB) than the conventionally used attitudinal factors (usefulness and ease of use).

Practitioner Summary: Previous studies have not given much consideration to age-related health and associated abilities when examining acceptance of technology by the ageing population. By encompassing conventional technology acceptance constructs together with age-related health and ability characteristics, the present study was able to identify more factors affecting gerontechnology acceptance by older Hong Kong Chinese.     

Utility of stereoscopic displays for indirect-vision driving and robot teleoperation

The effectiveness of an active shutter-glasses stereoscopic display (SD) and a passive polarised SD was evaluated in a live robot-teleoperation task and a simulated indirect-vision driving task in various terrains. Overall, participants completed their tasks significantly faster with the SDs in three-dimensional (3D) mode than with the SDs in the baseline 2D mode. They also navigated more accurately with the SDs in 3D mode. When the effectiveness of the two types of SDs was examined separately, results showed that the active shutter-glasses SD resulted in faster responses and task completion times than the passive polarised SD, though most of the differences failed to reach statistical significance. Perceived workload when interacting with the two SD systems did not differ significantly between the active versus passive display types or between the 3D and 2D modes of operation; however, participants reported more severe discomfort after interacting with the passive polarised SD.     

Good ergonomics and team diversity reduce absenteeism and errors in car manufacturing

Prior research suggests that ergonomics work design and mixed teams (in age and gender) may compensate declines in certain abilities of ageing employees. This study investigates simultaneous effects of both team level factors on absenteeism and performance (error rates) over one year in a sample of 56 car assembly teams (N = 623). Results show that age was related to prolonged absenteeism and more mistakes in work planning, but not to overall performance. In comparison, high-physical workload was strongly associated with longer absenteeism and increased error rates. Furthermore, controlling for physical workload, age diversity was related to shorter absenteeism, and the presence of females in the team was associated with shorter absenteeism and better performance. In summary, this study suggests that both ergonomics work design and mixed team composition may compensate age-related productivity risks in manufacturing by maintaining the work ability of older employees and improving job quality.