Examining the sociocultural context of insomnia among Latinx adults: A three-paper dissertation

The purpose of this three-paper dissertation is to examine the influence of different social processes on insomnia symptoms among Latinx adults. Qualitative and quantitative methods were used in an effort to adequately capture the complex ways in which these processes impact insomnia symptoms in this population. Given that insomnia is more prevalent among women than men and that previous studies suggest different gender patterns in the influence of social processes on mental health exist, each paper includes an exploratory aim that investigates potential gender differences in the associations it examines. Paper 1 uses thematic content analysis to explore how Latinx adults with chronic insomnia describe the social processes through which social ties impact their lived experience of insomnia. Paper 2 tests the independent and synergistic effects of family and friend social support and social strain on insomnia symptoms. Lastly, Paper 3 builds upon previous studies demonstrating a positive association between acculturation stress and insomnia symptoms among Latinx adults by examining two emotion-focused coping strategies (i.e., brooding and alcohol use) as potential mechanisms driving this association. Taken together, the findings from these three papers suggest there may be a need for mental health providers to evaluate and address social processes when diagnosing and treating insomnia among Latinx adults

Speech and gesture interfaces for squad-level human-robot teaming

As the military increasingly adopts semi-autonomous unmanned systems for military operations, utilizing redundant and intuitive interfaces for communication between Soldiers and robots is vital to mission success. Currently, Soldiers use a common lexicon to verbally and visually communicate maneuvers between teammates. In order for robots to be seamlessly integrated within mixed-initiative teams, they must be able to understand this lexicon. Recent innovations in gaming platforms have led to advancements in speech and gesture recognition technologies, but the reliability of these technologies for enabling communication in human robot teaming is unclear. The purpose for the present study is to investigate the performance of Commercial-Off-The-Shelf (COTS) speech and gesture recognition tools in classifying a Squad Level Vocabulary (SLV) for a spatial navigation reconnaissance and surveillance task. The SLV for this study was based on findings from a survey conducted with Soldiers at Fort Benning, GA. The items of the survey focused on the communication between the Soldier and the robot, specifically in regards to verbally instructing them to execute reconnaissance and surveillance tasks. Resulting commands, identified from the survey, were then converted to equivalent arm and hand gestures, leveraging existing visual signals (e.g. U.S. Army Field Manual for Visual Signaling). A study was then run to test the ability of commercially available automated speech recognition technologies and a gesture recognition glove to classify these commands in a simulated intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance task. This paper presents classification accuracy of these devices for both speech and gesture modalities independently. © 2014 SPIE

Diseño de los precios de transferencia como estrategia para la evaluación de la gestión

Para mantener la competitividad empresarial, cada vez más las compañías desarrollan estrategias corporativas dirigidas hacia la optimización de los recursos y la mejora de la rentabilidad del capital invertido. El diseño de los precios de transferencia que mejor se adaptan bajo estructuras descentralizadas es un aspecto clave en la búsqueda de la eficacia de la organización, ya que la elección de una sistemática inapropiada puede conducir a la aplicación de medidas de desempeño inadecuadas y contribuir a la generación de conflictos entre las unidades. En el presente trabajo se realiza un análisis de los conceptos y metodologías de precios de transferencia para situar el problema de la determinación del precio de transferencia en el contexto de la eficacia económica de los recursos bajo el control de los gerentes. Las conclusiones que se derivan de este trabajo son las siguientes: a) la dificultad de plantear un método como válido para todas las situaciones, y b) la metodología de determinación del precio de transferencia según el coste de oportunidad es la más adecuada para motivar las transacciones internas y dirigirlas hacia la maximización de resultados de la organización como un todo

Comparison of Multiple Physiological Sensors to Classify Operator State in Adaptive Automation Systems

Automating tasks alleviates operator resources to be delegated to other demands, but the cost is often situation awareness. In contrast, complete manual control of a system opens the door for greater human error. Therefore, an ideal situation would require the development of an adaptive system in which automation can be triggered based on performance of a particular task, time spent on the task, or perhaps physiological response. The latter pertains to the goal for this particular study. Electroencephalogram (EEG), electrocardiogram (ECG), and eye tracking measures were recorded during six multi-tasking scenarios to assess if any one single measure is best suited for future implementation as an automation invocation. EEG showed the greatest potential for that purpose. Copyright 2010 by Human Factors and Ergonomics Society, Inc. All rights reserved

Analysis Of Multiple Physiological Sensor Data

Physiological measures offer many benefits to psychological research including objective, non-intrusive assessment of affective and cognitive states. However, this utility is limited by analysis techniques available for testing data recorded by multiple physiological sensors. The present paper presents one set of data that was attained from a repeated measures design with a nominal independent variable for analysis. Specifically, the International Affective Picture System (IAPS; Lang, Bradley, & Cuthbert, 2008), a series of images known to convey seven different emotions, was presented to participants while measures of their neurological activity (Electroencephalogram; EEG), heart rate (Electrocardiogram; ECG), skin conductance (Galvanic Skin Respond; GSR), and pupillary response were taken. Subsequently, a discussion of statistics available for analyzing responses attained from the various sensors is presented. Such statistics include correlation, ANOVA, MANOVA, regression, and discriminant function analysis. The details on design limitations are addressed and recommendations are given for employing each statistical option. © 2011 Springer-Verlag

Comparison Of Multiple Physiological Sensors To Classify Operator State In Adaptive Automation Systems

Automating tasks alleviates operator resources to be delegated to other demands, but the cost is often situation awareness. In contrast, complete manual control of a system opens the door for greater human error. Therefore, an ideal situation would require the development of an adaptive system in which automation can be triggered based on performance of a particular task, time spent on the task, or perhaps physiological response. The latter pertains to the goal for this particular study. Electroencephalogram (EEG), electrocardiogram (ECG), and eye tracking measures were recorded during six multi-tasking scenarios to assess if any one single measure is best suited for future implementation as an automation invocation. EEG showed the greatest potential for that purpose. Copyright 2010 by Human Factors and Ergonomics Society, Inc. All rights reserved

Impact Of Automation And Task Load On Unmanned System Operator\u27S Eye Movement Patterns

Eye tracking under naturalistic viewing conditions may provide a means to assess operator workload in an unobtrusive manner. Specifically, we explore the use of a nearest neighbor index of workload calculated using eye fixation patterns obtained from operators navigating an unmanned ground vehicle under different task loads and levels of automation. Results showed that fixation patterns map to the operator\u27s experimental condition suggesting that systematic eye movements may characterize each task. Further, different methods of calculating the workload index are highly correlated, r(46) = .94, p = .01. While the eye movement workload index matches operator reports of workload based on the NASA TLX, the metric fails on some instances. Interestingly, these departure points may relate to the operator\u27s perceived attentional control score. We discuss these results in relation to automation triggers for unmanned systems. © 2009 Springer

Soldier-Robot Teams: Six Years Of Research

US Army researchers and support contractors are involved in a multi-year effort to understand the impact of human-robot interaction (HRI) and teaming for unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) and unmanned ground vehicles (UGV) in future and current Army conflicts. The purpose of this paper is to summarize human-robotic principles derived from these programs. The principles cover both problems and solutions evaluated over the more than six years of experimentation. We discuss the implications of Soldier teaming, survivability, multitasking, automation and the importance of individual differences for HRI. Mitigation strategies related to individual differences and training regimens are discussed. We also explicate results related to multimodal interfaces and adaptive systems