Accuracy and quickness criterion-based driving skill metric for human adaptive mechatronics system

Previous studies on driving skill algorithm have combined tracking error and time related variables into algorithm formulation. This method however does not include a car orientation and lateral speed information as an integral part of the algorithm. Two new variables are introduced into the algorithm structure, namely, orientation angle and lateral speed. Nine participants were carefully recruited for a driving test to validate the algorithm. A simulated driving environment was specifically devised for this experiment. A driving track used in this experiment was segmented into five different severities for data analysis. Two fundamental goals have led to the collection and subsequent analysis of the data. The first is analysing the variables in relation to the driving task. The second involves data analysis being further extended into analysing the algorithm performance over estimating the driving skill index. The results reveal that the proposed variables are well correlated with the driving task, and improvement in algorithm performance is found to be almost double compared to the previous algorithm

Extending Social Learning Theories to Collectivist Cultures: The Effect of Behavior Modeling Training, Service Orientation and Language Skills on Service Skills and Behaviors

Although previous research has suggested that training approaches using behavior modeling yield better results than lecture-based approaches, these assumptions have not been tested in collectivist cultures. This study examined the effects of these alternative training methods for service knowledge and service behavior with a field experiment involving 117 Russian hotel employees. Despite no previous exposure to behavior modeling and no cultural context for service, the behavioral modeling training approach relative to the lecture-based approach yielded higher levels of both service knowledge and behavior. Since the setting was an English speaking hotel, difference in language ability were also considered and behavioral modeling was found to be a more effective training approach regardless of English ability. It also appears that service orientation is positively associated with both knowledge and behavior. The results indicate behavior modeling may be most helpful to those employees least predisposed to service or with lower language abilities

Achievement goals and motivational responses in tennis: Does the context matter?

Objectives: This study examined: (a) whether athletes’ goal orientations differ across training and competition; (b) whether goal orientations predict effort, enjoyment, and psychological skill use differently in training and competition; and (c) whether goal orientations predict perceived improvement in training and perceived performance in competition. Method: Participants were 116 competitive tennis players (mean age = 19.99, SD = 5.82), who completed questionnaires measuring goal orientations, effort, enjoyment, and psychological skill use in training and competition, perceived improvement in training, and perceived performance in competition. Results: Dependent t-tests revealed that athletes reported higher task orientation in training than in competition and higher ego orientation in competition than in training, while Pearson product-moment correlations revealed a high cross-contextual consistency for both task and ego goal orientations between training and competition. Regression analyses indicated that task orientation predicted positively effort, enjoyment, self-talk, and goal setting in both contexts, perceived improvement in training, and perceived performance in competition. An interaction effect also emerged whereby ego orientation predicted positively effort in competition only when task orientation was low or average. Conclusions: The findings suggest that goal orientations may differ between training and competition; task orientation is the goal that should be promoted in both contexts; and the context may affect the relationship between goal orientations and effort, enjoyment, and goal setting

After-school sport for children: Implications of a task-involving motivational climate

It could be argued that youth sport is one of the most pervasive and popular activities engaging girls and boys in their “free time ” in contemporary American society. Youth sports are those involving young people between the ages of 6 to 18 years that are adult organized and/or supervised. After-school youth sports encompass extracurricular (interscholastic) athletic activities, agency-sponsored community sports (e.g., Little League), club sports, and recreational sport programs organized by recreation departments. Less than 20 years ago, it was estimated that 25 million out of approximately 47 million youngsters participated in some type of organized/supervised youth sport in the United States. Today, participation estimates suggest that 47 million boys and girls (from what census data indicate to be a population of close to 52 million) have joined, at one point or another, an after-school sport program (Ewing & Seefeldt, 2002). Although more boys still engage in after-school sport than girls, the greater involvement of females in sport over the past two decades has certainly contributed to the observed increase in overall participation percentages. With respect to other issues of diversity, the world of after-school sport is multi-racial/ethnic with young people from various cultural backgrounds represented among participants. Females o

Toward a Theory of Learner-Centered Training Design: An Integrative Framework of Active Learning

[Excerpt] The goal of this chapter, therefore, is to develop an integrative conceptual framework of active learning, and we do this by focusing on three primary issues. First, we define the active learning approach and contrast it to more traditional, passive instructional approaches. We argue that the active learning approach can be distinguished from not only more passive approaches to instruction but also other forms of experiential learning based on its use of formal training components to systematically influence trainees\u27 cognitive, motivational, and emotion self-regulatory processes. Second, we examine how specific training components can be used to influence each of these process domains. Through a review of prior research, we extract core training components that cut across different active learning interventions, map these components onto specific process domains, and consider the role of individual differences in shaping the effects of these components (aptitude-treatment interactions [ATIs]). A final issue examined in this chapter concerns the outcomes associated with the active learning approach. Despite its considerable versatility, the active learning approach is not the most efficient or effective means of responding to all training needs. Thus, we discuss the impact of the active learning approach on different types of learning outcomes in order to identify the situations under which it is likely to demonstrate the greatest utility. We conclude the chapter by highlighting research and practical implications of our integrated framework, and we outline an agenda for future research on active learning

Distributed Learning System Design: A New Approach and an Agenda for Future Research

This article presents a theoretical framework designed to guide distributed learning design, with the goal of enhancing the effectiveness of distributed learning systems. The authors begin with a review of the extant research on distributed learning design, and themes embedded in this literature are extracted and discussed to identify critical gaps that should be addressed by future work in this area. A conceptual framework that integrates instructional objectives, targeted competencies, instructional design considerations, and technological features is then developed to address the most pressing gaps in current research and practice. The rationale and logic underlying this framework is explicated. The framework is designed to help guide trainers and instructional designers through critical stages of the distributed learning system design process. In addition, it is intended to help researchers identify critical issues that should serve as the focus of future research efforts. Recommendations and future research directions are presented and discussed