bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
What Makes a Manual Look Easy to Use?
Authors: Angiolillo Joel S. , Roberts Linda A. 
Published: January 2012

What makes a customer manual look attractive and easy to use? How do typeface, margins, tabs, color, style of headings, and so on, contribute to this perception? We believe that a manual that looks hard to use may discourage users from even trying to use it. Why struggle to make a manual accurate, well-written, and complete if users never turn to it in the first place? In the study reported here, eighteen subjects ranked six different customer manuals on nineteen dimensions, for example, use of color and overall attractiveness. The manuals were actual production manuals that were written to be used by full-time administrators of complicated electronic equipment. Analyses of the data clearly show that those features that help the user to find information (i.e., tabs, headings, and an impression of good organization) are important in determining judgments of perceived ease of use.
Allowing for Human Factors in Computerized Procedure Design
Authors: Dien Yves , Montmayeul René , Beltranda Guy 
Published: January 2012

This paper addresses the way in which EDF allows for human factor aspects in the design of procedures to be run on the computerized work stations of its future nuclear power plants. Based on the issues at stake and the allowance methods involved, it outlines the design points on which human factors have impact.
Identifying the Temporal Patterning Confusions in Audio Displays: Developing Guidelines for Complex Audio Displays
Authors: Gerth Jeffrey M. 
Published: January 2012

Current guidelines and recommendations for auditory displays suggest that human auditory discrimination performance is limited and that auditory displays should be used only for alarm and alerting signals. Auditory warnings are likely to be confused even when their spectra are very different. Reducing confusion between warnings should increase the number of auditory signals which can be presented. The present research investigated the ability of human listeners to discriminate sounds varying in temporal patterning in several sound categories. Although overall accuracy was 92 percent across the 45 dissimilar sound sequences, 7 sequences were found to be easily confused and accounted for 64 percent of the total errors made by listeners, regardless of sound category. According to subject reports, multiple simultaneously presented temporally patterned sounds within each sound category were not perceived as multiple sources but rather were fused into a single complex temporal pattern. Implications for developing complex audio displays by increasing the number and complexity of sounds and planned continuing research are also discussed.
Psychosocial Work Strain of Maintenance Personnel during Annual Outage and Normal Operation in a Nuclear Power Plant
Authors: Jacobsson Lena , Svensson Ola 
Published: January 2012

The present study evaluates psychosocial work demands during the annual outage for a maintenance work group in a nuclear power plant. The study is based on a stress paradigm and it has been asserted that increased work strain would have a negative effect on performance. Nineteen workers, aged 20–55 years, participated in the study. The subjects filled out a questionnaire comparing work strain during annual outage and normal operation. During the outage period a 3-shift 24-hour work schedule, including nightwork, was used (working hours during normal operation was 07–16). Increased demands on concentration and vigilance, increased time pressure and strain on social relations within the group were found to characterize work during annual outage. Interestingly, for specific work tasks an association was found between the risk of making errors and high psychological workload. Increased work strain, shiftwork including nightwork and reduced social support are important psychosocial risk factors that might contribute to human error during the outage period.
Human Factors Research on Future Automotive Instrumentation: A Progress Report
Authors: Green Paul , Williams Marie , Serafin Colleen , Paelke Gretchen 
Published: January 2012

This paper describes a 2–1/2 year project concerning human factors and future driver-information systems. The project goals are to (1) develop human factors guidelines, (2) devise test methods for safety and ease of use, and (3) develop a model that predicts driver performance when using these systems. A literature review has been completed and focus groups that identified driver needs have been conducted. In addition, a method was developed to select the most beneficial systems using accident reduction, congestion relief, and driver needs/wants as the criteria. Consequently, car phones, navigation, traffic information, vehicle monitoring, and hazard warning systems were selected for further study. Preliminary versions of each have been designed and laboratory tests are in progress. Usability tests in a driving simulator and on the road are scheduled.
Can Decision Analysis Define the Goals of Training?
Authors: Cohen Marvin S. 
Published: January 2012

An appealing goal in the training of decision makers is the development of formal reasoning skills based on decision analysis. Such techniques are applicable to virtually any problem and are guaranteed to be formally consistent. Behavioral evidence regarding “heuristics and biases,” however, suggests that deviations from such methods are systematic, hard to eliminate, and characteristic of both novices and experts in a number of real-world domains. Would training in formal methods to avoid biases (if it were possible) produce an improvement in the quality of decision making? There are reasons to believe that it would not. “Biases” may in fact be inescapable by-products of the knowledge structures and problem-solving methods that make experienced decision makers effective. Inconsistencies in judgments and choices (1) may simply not matter much in real-world domains; (2) may be corrected in dynamic environments; and (3) may be offset in any case by the advantages of effective use of decision-maker knowledge. Moreover, the identification of biases based on the current experimental literature may itself be mistaken, due to incomplete or otherwise inadequate models. Effective performance in most domains is the result of (a) a reportoire of recognition-based responses, and (b) a set of meta-recognitional strategies that facilitate recognition and validate the results. In training based on these concepts, “errors” are avoided by acquiring and making the most effective use of domain knowledge, and by adapting to feedback, changes in the situation, and shortcomings in one's current approach as they appear.
PC-Based System for Thermal Image Identification Training
Authors: LaFollette Robert , Horger John , Kane Barbara O' 
Published: January 2012

The U.S. Army's CECOM Center for Night Vision and Electro-Optics (C2NVEO) has been conducting a series of human perception tests to complement results of field tests. The perception tests score military observers on their ability to identify and recognize simulated thermal images of combat vehicles. The results of these tests are used to develop and refine the Night Vision FLIR Performance Model (FLIR90/ACQUIRE) which predicts range performance for human target acquisition using different sensor designs. During the analysis of an early group of tests it became apparent that observers needed to be trained to equal levels of competence before taking the tests. For this purpose, we created a software package designed to teach observers about thermal signatures and to help the observer become more familiar with the target set used in our tests. In the following months we trained and tested dozens of soldiers and civilians with various backgrounds. These training and testing sessions provided a large database of observations for analysis. The paper includes discussions of the simulation techniques used to produce the test and training imagery and a description of the software package used for training. Conclusions are discussed in light of the patterns of learning achieved by the training and some implications for the human perception of tactical targets.
A Method to Measure Discomfort of Static, Submaximal Force Exertion
Authors: Daams Brechtje J. 
Published: January 2012

The degree of discomfort during force exertion is little investigated in literature. In daily life, however, comfort is an important aspect when using or operating products. It would therefore be useful for designers to know about the subjective experience of (dis)comfort during the exertion of submaximal forces by users of products. No standard measurement methods were found in literature. Two experiments have been carried out, using different methods. The first experiment was combined with the measurement of endurance time at different force levels and in four different postures. Subjects were asked every half minute to rate the discomfort they experienced on a five-point scale. Alas, the results generated by this method were found to be not sufficiently reproducible. The second experiment was set up in such a manner as to prevent subjects thinking explicitly about their feelings. This time, only one posture was investigated (pushing with the arm) and a spontaneous change of posture was taken as an indication of discomfort. The time to the first change increased consistently with lower force levels and these results proved to be sufficiently reproducible. Therefore this measurement method is recommended to get an idea about the level of discomfort experienced by subjects. A formula is given to indicate the relation found between the force level and the median of the time to the first change of hand.
Human Factors Issues for Resolving Adverse Effects of Human Work Underload and Workload Transitions in Advanced Transportation Systems
Authors: Ryan Thomas G. 
Published: January 2012

A workshop was conducted in which the specific purpose was to build on earlier work by the National Research Council, Federal Government agencies, and the larger human factors community to: (1) clarify human factors issues pertaining to degraded performance in advanced transportation systems due to human work underload and workload transition; and (2) develop strategies for resolving these issues. The workshop affirmed that: (1) work underload and workload transition are issues that will have to be addressed by designers of human-automation operating configurations, if cost, performance, safety, and user acceptability are to be optimized, (2) human function allocation models, standards, and guidelines which go beyond simple capability approaches will be needed to preclude or seriously diminish the work underload and workload transition problems, and (3) the issues identified during the workshop, need resolution if these models, standards, and guidelines are to be achieved.
Comparison of Simulation and Field Legibility Distances for Symbol Highway Signs
Authors: Greene Frances A. , Huchingson R. Dale , Koppa Rodger J. 
Published: January 2012

Past laboratory studies of warning symbol traffic signs have underestimated legibility distances by as much as a factor of two when compared with field studies. For this research, six warning symbol signs were investigated in both a field and laboratory setting using a group of older (over age 65) and young drivers. In the two settings, legibility distance, defined as the distance at which the sign is correctly identified, was collected. As a major part of this research, a new laboratory simulation technique was developed – a methodology which optimizes factors criticized in earlier studies, thus increasing fidelity. Previously reported large within-subject variability, evident in both age groups, was found to diminish contributions of experimental variables (Greene, Koppa, Zellner, and Congleton, 1994). Correlation coefficients between laboratory and field legibility distances were computed and appear very promising. The newly developed laboratory simulation was a successful first step in correcting problems associated with laboratory studies of the past.
Emotions Matter: User Empathy in the Product Development Process
Authors: Dandavate Uday , Sanders Elizabeth B.-N. , Stuart Susan 
Published: January 2012

The reason why some products get intimately linked with people's lives, while others do not, remains a mystery to most consumer products researchers and designers. A shift in thinking from a focus on the rational to the more emotional domains will help us to understand those uniquely human traits that are responsible for people's liking, using, and wanting to live with the products we design. The gap in the methods and tools available to product development researchers and practitioners is centered upon the emotional domain. This gap exists throughout most of the product development process, both for generative as well as evaluative research. We propose that researchers and practitioners working on product development teams attend to improving their ability to recognize and address the feelings of product users—in particular, the feelings that users have about owning and using products. The success of such products in the future will depend upon the degree to which we learn how to empathize with the product users very early in the product development process.
Factors Influencing the Perceived Urgency of Auditory Stimuli
Authors: Irwin Robert D. , Weber Daniel L. 
Published: January 2012

The interaction among two spectral and two temporal dimensions that contribute to urgency was investigated by conducting a discrimination experiment. Discrimination performance for each dimension was evaluated when a second dimension (i.e., dimension not being discriminated) was subject to no variation, correlated variation, and uncorrelated variability. For the pair of spectral dimensions and the pair of temporal dimensions, variation on the second dimension produces facilitation in the correlated condition and interference in the uncorrelated condition. No influence occurs for other pairings. The implications of these results were confirmed in a multi-dimensional scaling (MDS) experiment examining the pitch, perceived repetition rate, and urgency of sounds. The data obtained from the pitch and perceived repetition rate conditions indicate that the spectral dimensions determine the pitch of sounds and the temporal dimensions determine the perceived repetition rate of sounds. The data obtained from the urgency conditions indicate all four dimensions influence urgency and frequency is the most salient.
Usability Design Considerations in Providing Computer Support for Health Informatics
Authors: Rogers Michelle , Caldwell Barrett , Marmet Gottlieb John , Brennan Patricia Flatley 
Published: January 2012

A primary goal of the HeartCare research project is to apply human factors design principles to the usability of an information technology implementation for home use by recovering coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) patients. It attempts to provide patients direct access to the information regarding their recovery, support self-monitoring, motivation and home management of their readjustment after surgery. The WebTV commercial product is used as the implementation instrument. The WebTV interface has proposed several questions that are not addressed by traditional user interface guidelines. Screen size, font size and navigation are a few areas that require new design approaches reflecting the limitations of TV displays. Nursing advisory panel interviews will also be conducted in order to estimate the amount to time, knowledge and clinical experience needed to respond to the information flow on the network. We will also be documenting the design process to identify system implementation requirements.
Estimating Compliance with the 15-Second Rule for Driver-Interface Usability and Safety
Authors: Green Paul 
Published: January 2012

This paper describes SAE J2365 (Recommended Practice for Calculating the Time to Complete In-Vehicle Navigation and Route Guidance Tasks), a draft procedure to estimate if the requirements of SAE J2364 (Navigation Function Access) are met. Application of these practices will enhance the safety, ease of use, and customer convenience of driver interfaces. SAE J2364 specifies that drivers should not be allowed to perform navigation-system tasks in a moving vehicle that take more than 15 seconds to complete when measured staticly. Tasks are defined to start when the driver's hands begin to move from the steering wheel and end when feedback from the final-switch actuation is processed. The 11-step calculation procedure of J2365 involves determining exactly how each task (e.g., destination entry) is carried out, developing a pseudo-code description of the goals and methods used, determining the associated elemental tasks, and adding up the task times. Elemental times [reaching for a device, keying (cursor, letter, space, enter), mental activity, searching, etc.] were derived from the Keystroke-Level Model (Card, Moran, and Newell, 1983) in the human-computer interaction literature, specific automotive studies of navigation data entry (Manes, Green, and Hunter, 1998), and MTM-1 (Barnes, 1968).
Sequencing and comparative genomic analysis of 1227 Felis catus cDNA sequences enriched for developmental, clinical and nutritional phenotypes
Authors: Irizarry Kristopher J , Malladi Sukhaswami B , Gao Xiangming , Mitsouras Katherine , Melendez Lynda , Burris Patricia A , Brockman Jeffrey A , Al-Murrani Samer W 
Published: January 2012

AbstractBackgroundThe feline genome is valuable to the veterinary and model organism genomics communities because the cat is an obligate carnivore and a model for endangered felids. The initial public release of the Felis catus genome assembly provided a framework for investigating the genomic basis of feline biology. However, the entire set of protein coding genes has not been elucidated.ResultsWe identified and characterized 1227 protein coding feline sequences, of which 913 map to public sequences and 314 are novel. These sequences have been deposited into NCBI's genbank database and complement public genomic resources by providing additional protein coding sequences that fill in some of the gaps in the feline genome assembly. Through functional and comparative genomic analyses, we gained an understanding of the role of these sequences in feline development, nutrition and health. Specifically, we identified 104 orthologs of human genes associated with Mendelian disorders. We detected negative selection within sequences with gene ontology annotations associated with intracellular trafficking, cytoskeleton and muscle functions. We detected relatively less negative selection on protein sequences encoding extracellular networks, apoptotic pathways and mitochondrial gene ontology annotations. Additionally, we characterized feline cDNA sequences that have mouse orthologs associated with clinical, nutritional and developmental phenotypes. Together, this analysis provides an overview of the value of our cDNA sequences and enhances our understanding of how the feline genome is similar to, and different from other mammalian genomes.ConclusionsThe cDNA sequences reported here expand existing feline genomic resources by providing high-quality sequences annotated with comparative genomic information providing functional, clinical, nutritional and orthologous gene information.
A mixture framework for inferring ancestral gene orders
Authors: Zhang Yiwei , Hu Fei , Tang Jijun 
Published: January 2012

Abstract

Background
Inferring gene orders of ancestral genomes has the potential to provide detailed information about the recent evolution of species descended from them. Current popular tools to infer ancestral genome data (such as GRAPPA and MGR) are all parsimony-based direct optimization methods with the aim to minimize the number of evolutionary events. Recently a new method based on the approach of maximum likelihood is proposed. The current implementation of these direct optimization methods are all based on solving the median problems and achieve more accurate results than the maximum likelihood method. However, both GRAPPA and MGR are extremely time consuming under high rearrangement rates. The maximum likelihood method, on the contrary, runs much faster with less accurate results.

Results
We propose a mixture method to optimize the inference of ancestral gene orders. This method first uses the maximum likelihood approach to identify gene adjacencies that are likely to be present in the ancestral genomes, which are then fixed in the branch-and-bound search of median calculations. This hybrid approach not only greatly speeds up the direct optimization methods, but also retains high accuracy even when the genomes are evolutionary very distant.

Conclusions
Our mixture method produces more accurate ancestral genomes compared with the maximum likelihood method while the computation time is far less than that of the parsimony-based direct optimization methods. It can effectively deal with genome data of relatively high rearrangement rates which is hard for the direct optimization methods to solve in a reasonable amount of time, thus extends the range of data that can be analyzed by the existing methods.
A common variant of the MACC1 gene is significantly associated with overall survival in colorectal cancer patients
Authors: Lang Alois H , Geller-Rhomberg Simone , Winder Thomas , Stark Nicole , Gasser Klaus , Hartmann Bernd , Kohler Bertram , Grizelj Ina , Drexel Heinz , Muendlein Axel 
Published: January 2012

Abstract

Background
The newly discovered metastasis-associated in colon cancer-1 (MACC1) gene is a key regulator of the HGF/MET pathway. Deregulation of HGF/MET signaling is reported as a prognostic marker for tumorigenesis, early stage invasion, and metastasis. High expression levels of MACC1 have been associated with colon cancer metastasis and reduced survival. Potential links between the genetic diversity of the MACC1 locus and overall survival are unknown. We therefore investigated the association between MACC1 tagging single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and overall survival in a large cohort of colorectal cancer patients.

Methods
The study included 318 subjects with histopathologically proven colorectal cancer at the Academic Teaching Hospital Feldkirch, Austria. Survival data were provided by the federal agency for statistics in Austria. Genomic DNA was isolated from formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded specimens; six tagging SNPs (rs1990172, rs3114446, rs10275612, rs3095007, rs3095009, and rs7780032), capturing most of the common variants of the MACC1 locus, were genotyped by SNaPshot assays.

Results
Over a mean follow up period of 5.3 (± 1.0) years, 94 deaths were recorded. Carriers of the G-allele of SNP rs1990172 showed a significantly decreased overall survival (additive HR = 1.38 [1.05-1.82]; p = 0.023). Multivariate analysis adjusted for age and UICC tumor stage confirmed this result (HR = 1.49 [1.12-1.98]; p = 0.007). Other investigated genetic variants of the MACC1 gene were not significantly associated with overall survival (p-values > 0.05).

Conclusions
For the first time, our study investigated the influence of MACC1 tagging polymorphisms on overall survival suggesting SNP rs1990172 as a predictor for reduced overall survival in colorectal cancer patients. Further studies will be required to validate our findings.