Reality-based interaction affecting mental workload in virtual reality mental arithmetic training

ABSTRACT

The concept of digital game-based learning (DGBL) evolves rapidly together with technological enhancements of virtual reality (VR) and smart phones. However, the mental workload (MWL) that VR-training applications demand and motivational qualities originating from user experience (UX) should be identified in order to create effective and enjoyable training/learning challenges that fit with individual users’ capabilities. This study examined the effects of reality-based interaction (RBI) and VR on measures of student motivation and MWL, in a mental arithmetic game for secondary school pupils. In a randomised controlled trial with sixty school children, a mental arithmetic game was tested with three different interaction and two different presentation methods – VR RBI, VR head-mounted-display tapping and tablet flick-gesture. Results found a significant effect of RBI on MWL but no differences in enjoyment of training were found between VR-experience and tablet training-experience. In fact, adding the gaming-context to the mental arithmetic task created an enjoyable, motivating experience regardless of presentation or interaction-style.     

Micro- and macroergonomic changes in mental workload and medication safety following the implementation of new health IT

Health information technology (IT) is a promising way to achieve safer medication management in the delivery of healthcare. However, human factors/ergonomics dictates that in order to make the complex, cognitive work of healthcare delivery safer, health IT must properly support human cognition. This means, for example, that new health IT must reduce, not increase, workload during safety-critical tasks. The present study was the first to quantitatively assess the short- and long-term impact of bar coded medication administration (BCMA) IT on nurses' mental workload as well as on perceived medication safety. One-hundred seventy registered nurses across 3 dissimilar clinical units at an academic, freestanding pediatric hospital in the Midwest US participated in surveys administered before, 3 months after, and 12 months after the hospital implemented BCMA. Nurses rated their external mental workload (interruptions, divided attention, being rushed) and internal mental workload (concentration, mental effort) during medication administration tasks as well as the likelihood of each of three medication safety events: medication administration errors, medication errors on the clinical unit, and clinical unit-level adverse drug events. Clinical unit differences were assessed. Findings generally confirmed the hypothesis that external but not internal mental workload was associated with the perceived likelihood of a medication safety event. Comparisons of mental workload from pre- to post-BCMA revealed statistically significant changes in the critical care unit only. Medication safety appeared to improve over the long term in the hematology/oncology unit only. In the critical care and medical/surgical units, medication safety exhibited short-term improvements that were eliminated over time. Changes in mental workload and medication safety, two classically microergonomic constructs, were deeply embedded in macroergonomic phenomena. These included the fit between the BCMA system and the nature of nursing work, the process of BCMA implementation, and BCMA interactions with concurrent changes occurring in the hospital. Findings raise questions about achieving sustainable performance improvement with health IT as well as the balance between micro- and macroergonomic approaches to studying technology change.Relevance to industryDesigners must consider how technology changes cognitive work, including mental workload. Hospitals and other implementers of technology must ensure that new technology fits its users, their tasks, and the context of use, which may entail tailoring implementation, for example, to specific clinical units. Evaluators must look over time to assess both changes in cognitive work and implementation issues. Healthcare practitioners must also recognize that new technology means a complex transformation to an already complex sociotechnical system, which calls for a macroergonomic approach to design and analysis.     

构建S3C4510B嵌入式系统的开发应用平台

利用三星公司生产的S3CA510B这款32位ARM7TDMI单片机构建一个应用系统，利用开发软件ARM SDT v2．51，在开发应用系统上实现存储器地址重映射、中断控制、串行通信、液晶、键盘接口。在此基础上，在S3CA510B上嵌入操作系统μC／OS-Ⅱ，用于液晶、键盘接口和多任务管理，为32住单片机的进一步开发应用构造了一个平台。     

Safe and effective navigation of autonomous robots in hazardous environments

The development of autonomous mobile machines to perform useful tasks in real work environments is currently being impeded by concerns over effectiveness, commercial viability and, above all, safety. This paper introduces a case study of a robotic excavator to explore a series of issues around system development, navigation in unstructured environments, autonomous decision making and changing the behaviour of autonomous machines to suit the prevailing demands of users. The adoption of the Real-Time Control Systems (RCS) architecture (Albus, 1991) is proposed as a universal framework for the development of intelligent systems. In addition it is explained how the use of Partially Observable Markov Decision Processes (POMDP) (Kaelbling et al., 1998) can form the basis of decision making in the face of uncertainty and how the technique can be effectively incorporated into the RCS architecture. Particular emphasis is placed on ensuring that the resulting behaviour is both task effective and adequately safe, and it is recognised that these two objectives may be in opposition and that the desired relative balance between them may change. The concept of an autonomous system having “values” is introduced through the use of utility theory. Limited simulation results of experiments are reported which demonstrate that these techniques can create intelligent systems capable of modifying their behaviour to exhibit either ‘safety conscious’ or ‘task achieving’ personalities.     

用Boltzmann网络解任务安排问题

本文提出了一种解任务安排问题的Ｂｏｌｔｚｍａｎｎ网络算法，已在Ｔｒａｎｓｐｕｔｅｒ多处理机系统上并行模拟实现，该算法具有优化程度高，运算速度快等特点．     

Optimal task allocation in hypercube multiprocessor ensembles

Criteria are established to determine the optimal policy for allocating a set of uniform tasks onto a multiprocessor hypercube ensemble. It is shown that the optimal policy depends on the ratio of computation to intertask communication required by the distributed program, and that based on this ratio, tasks should be placed either all on one processor or uniformly distributed over the largest possible hypercube.     

Workload Distribution in Fault Simulation

Simulation at the gate level is computationally very expensive.Parallel processing is one technique to reduce simulation time.Possessing knowledge of the distribution of computational activity insimulation can aid in parallelizing it efficiently. We present a newcharacterization of the distribution of the computational workload infault simulation. An empirical analysis shows that the workloaddistribution is circuit specific, and is largely independent of thevector set being simulated. An inexpensive method to predict theworkload distribution is also discussed.     

基于软件总线的星载系统软件结构的研究与设计

针对目前国内外星载系统软件可重构性较差的问题，提出了一种基于软件总线的星载系统软件结构。首先，介绍了软件总线和软构件的结构。其次，阐述了星载实时多任务操作系统中混合任务调度算法的设计。最后，对这个混合任务调度算法的正确性给出了证明。     

综合联机指令系统及其应用

介绍了综合联机指令系统的业务功能、处理流程和软件架构,并举例说明了该系统的应用。     

Groupwork and computers: task type and children's performance

Abstract In the majority of British primary schools, children use the computer in groups of two or three. This is partly due to the lack of resources, that is, most classrooms still only have one or two computers to share between around 30 children. Groupwork on computers is also justified for pedagogic reasons. Previous research comparing children working in groups or alone has revealed an advantage for children working in groups although the work undertaken has generally been problem solving tasks. This investigation examined the performance of pairs and individual 6-year old children on a drill and practice program using a pre-test, intervention, post-test design. In comparison to the problem solving evidence, individuals were found to have a significant advantage over pairs during the computer-based task.