Predictability improves dual-task performance: the effects of explicit and implicit learning

Predictability is increasingly recognized as an important principle in perception and motor learning. The pursuit of increased predictability seems to one of the main goals that the human system pursues. Therefore, providing predictability in one of the most challenging situations that humans face, namely multitasking, a promising line of research. In this thesis the impact of predictability was systematically investigated in five experiments. In the first four experiments predictability was achieved by implementing a repeating pattern in one task, or both tasks. Participants acquired knowledge of these patterns either explicitly or implicitly in several training sessions, under single-task or dual-task conditions. We tested whether this increased predictability helped dual-task performance after the training sessions. The results suggest that predictability is helpful for dual-task performance, although the benefits are confined to the predictable task itself. In a fifth experiment we focused on providing between task predictability, which led to a large performance improvement in both tasks, prompting the discussion about what constitutes a task, in the sense of when can two tasks be perceived as a single task comprising both, a theoretical problem we tried to tackle in one of the articles. Explanations for the findings, theoretical implications, methodological issues and suggestions for future research are given in the general discussio

Towards a model of information behaviour of a information provider: a mixed methods study.

Not much is not known about the totality of information behaviours of information providers from among the plethora of library and information science literature. This research aims to describe, categorise and devise a representation of information workers experiences as they engage in information behaviours in a health information provider organisation in Scotland. The organisation is a typical example of an information services provider where decision makers constantly strive to improve the quality of their information outputs by attempting to understand the information behaviours of their employees and respond to changes in the external information environment. A model of information behaviour becomes a useful tool for understanding what goes on within the information provider organisation. With pragmatism as its philosophical tether, the qualitatively-driven sequential mixed methods study uses critical incident interviewing within Heideggerian phenomenology and then a questionnaire survey to capture value-adding information behaviours, feeling states as outcomes of information behaviour, and perceptions of internal impact of information behaviour. The research subjects are invited to participate in a respondent validation workshop where a model of provider information behaviour is co-created. The findings reveal 3 core information behaviour types (information acquisition behaviour, information production behaviour and information dissemination behaviour) and 2 associated information behaviour types (multitasking and collaborative information behaviours) in a non-linear relationship. Several positive and negative feelings are identified together with information workers perceptions of how their information behaviours impact on the internal information environment of their organisation. The core and associated information behaviours are further categorised and their subtypes are validated on returning to the research participants. Recommendations for practice and further research include introducing Web 2.0 technologies in the provider organisation to enhance information dissemination, reviewing the value of some information activities in the provider organisation, investigating the mechanism of the information behaviour trigger, and further research on the role of feelings and individual characteristics before and after information interactions. The findings provide insights of information interactions of an information provider that make a significant contribution to LIS knowledge

Towards Vivencia: A dance training methodology that generates a peak performative state through the ritualisation of actions

This thesis establishes the basis for a dance training methodology entitled Towards Vivencia, which aims to allow performers to modify their initial state of being in order to achieve peak performative experiences through the ritualisation of their actions. This practice as research draws from theoretical investigation and, primarily from the author’s current professional practice as a choreographer/director and from his background in different somatic practices such as martial arts, sports, and contemporary dance. The findings apply a new working term for the peak performative state the author associates with performance presence: vivencia, to refer to this particular state, as well as the experience that remains engraved in the performer’s existence as a result of an episode of extreme awareness of praxis during the continuous present moment in performance. The examination of whirling dervish dance and research on ritual behavior explain the process of ritualisation as an elaboration of the neurobiological propulsion towards constructing temporal communities. The way in which ritualising can be used to reify abstract concepts such as vivencia is explored. By contextualising what constitutes performance training and by analysing the methododology certain other directors and choreographers have employed to train performers, this research distils, condenses and reconstructs selected elements from dance training as well as from selected acting methodologies and adapts, synthesises and applies these for the purposes of Towards Vivencia. The last three chapters of this thesis, together with the videos that accompany it, form the kernel of a training methodology aimed at ritualising action in performance whose objective is to render the concept of vivencia real

A new integrated model for multitasking during web searching

Investigating multitasking information behaviour, particularly while using the web, has become an increasingly important research area. People s reliance on the web to seek and find information has encouraged a number of researchers to investigate the characteristics of information seeking behaviour and the web seeking strategies used. The current research set out to explore multitasking information behaviour while using the web in relation to people s personal characteristics, working memory, and flow (a state where people feel in control and immersed in the task). Also investigated were the effects of pre-determined knowledge about search tasks and the artefact characteristics. In addition, the study also investigated cognitive states (interactions between the user and the system) and cognitive coordination shifts (the way people change their actions to search effectively) while multitasking on the web. The research was exploratory using a mixed method approach. Thirty University students participated; 10 psychologists, 10 accountants and 10 mechanical engineers. The data collection tools used were: pre and post questionnaires, pre-interviews, a working memory test, a flow state scale test, audio-visual data, web search logs, think aloud data, observation, and the critical decision method. Based on the working memory test, the participants were divided into two groups, those with high scores and those with lower scores. Similarly, participants were divided into two groups based on their flow state scale tests. All participants searched information on the web for four topics: two for which they had prior knowledge and two more without prior knowledge. The results revealed that working memory capacity affects multitasking information behaviour during web searching. For example, the participants in the high working memory group and high flow group had a significantly greater number of cognitive coordination and state shifts than the low working memory group and low flow group. Further, the perception of task complexity was related to working memory capacity; those with low memory capacity thought task complexity increased towards the end of tasks for which they had no prior knowledge compared to tasks for which they had prior knowledge. The results also showed that all participants, regardless of their working memory capacity and flow level, had the same the first frequent cognitive coordination and cognitive state sequences: from strategy to topic. In respect of disciplinary differences, accountants rated task complexity at the end of the web seeking procedure to be statistically less significant for information tasks with prior knowledge compared to the participants from the other disciplines. Moreover, multitasking information behaviour characteristics such as the number of queries, web search sessions and opened tabs/windows during searches has been affected by the disciplines. The findings of the research enabled an exploratory integrated model to be created, which illustrates the nature of multitasking information behaviour when using the web. One other contribution of this research was to develop new more specific and closely grounded definitions of task complexity and artefact characteristics). This new research may influence the creation of more effective web search systems by placing more emphasis on our understanding of the complex cognitive mechanisms of multitasking information behaviour when using the web

How does rumination impact cognition? A first mechanistic model.

Rumination is a process of uncontrolled, narrowly-foused neg- ative thinking that is often self-referential, and that is a hall- mark of depression. Despite its importance, little is known about its cognitive mechanisms. Rumination can be thought of as a specific, constrained form of mind-wandering. Here, we introduce a cognitive model of rumination that we devel- oped on the basis of our existing model of mind-wandering. The rumination model implements the hypothesis that rumina- tion is caused by maladaptive habits of thought. These habits of thought are modelled by adjusting the number of memory chunks and their associative structure, which changes the se- quence of memories that are retrieved during mind-wandering, such that during rumination the same set of negative memo- ries is retrieved repeatedly. The implementation of habits of thought was guided by empirical data from an experience sam- pling study in healthy and depressed participants. On the ba- sis of this empirically-derived memory structure, our model naturally predicts the declines in cognitive task performance that are typically observed in depressed patients. This study demonstrates how we can use cognitive models to better un- derstand the cognitive mechanisms underlying rumination and depression

Augmenting Learning Activities with Contextual Information Scent

Students often have information needs while carrying out a multitude of learning activities at universities. When information is needed for investigating a problem, the student may interrupt the work and switch to an information seeking task. As Internet connectivity becomes ubiquitous, searching information has been routinized and integrated in the learning experience. However, information needs are not always fully recognized, or they can not be well articulated. A MOOC student may perceive a video to be difficult, but fails to express what information can be helpful. Sometimes it is improper to interrupt the learning task for searching information, especially when social factors are concerned, e.g. in a seminar talk. These situations create research potentials for making ambient information cues, hereafter referred to as contextual information scent (CIS), available to address students' situational information needs in learning activities. The CIS is designed to combine context-awareness with information seeking, ambient interaction as well as serendipitous encounter. In this thesis, we investigate the CIS mainly in collaborative learning activities. We explore three different contexts: conversation, groupware interaction and video content for MOOC learning. RaindropSearch investigates capturing conversational words as CIS for building search queries, while the TileSearch triggers Web searches based on group discussions and retrieved image and Wikipedia results as CIS for serendipitous interactions. These two explorations both focus on conversation context and provide initial insights into the CIS design practice. Next, we present MeetHub Search, which includes three CIS components based on text interactions in a groupware. Our last prototype, the BOOC Player employs textbook pages as CIS and links them to MOOC videos during the course of collaborative video viewing. All prototypes show how we manipulated design parameters to reduce distraction, increase relevance and ensure timeliness. The studies also exhibit the influence of group dynamics on the use of CIS. We finally extend our research scope to individual MOOC learning and summarize the design insights obtained from MOOC analytics. The contributions of this thesis are summarized as (1) a dedicated research framework derived from both research literature and requirement analysis for recognizing the design challenges, design principles and design space of CIS. The framework lays the foundation for us to explore different contexts in this thesis, where we generated (2) design implications that identify the key attributes of CIS. Last but not least, we employed (3) a variety of evaluation methodologies in this thesis for assessing the usability as well as the benefit and appeal of CIS