2,375 research outputs found
An investigation into usability and exclusivity issues of digital programmable thermostats
This is the pre-print version of the Article - Copyright @ 2011 Taylor & FrancisWith nearly 60% of domestic energy consumption relating to space heating, the interaction between users and their heating controls is crucial in reducing consumption. Yet, many heating controls are complex and exclude people due to the demands placed upon their capabilities in terms of vision, reach, dexterity and thinking. This study explores the scale of and reasons for user exclusion in relation to digital programmable thermostats. The Exclusion Calculator was used to estimate the percentage of the population excluded from the use of three products. Full user testing was then conducted to elicit specific usability problems of the devices. The participants were a group of 14 younger users (aged 24–44) and 10 older users (aged 62–75). The exclusion calculations underestimated the actual exclusion significantly for both age ranges (p<0.05). None of the older users were able to complete the programming of the thermostats. Additionally, the cognitive demands of these systems were considered using a subjective workload assessment method, based on the NASA Task Load Index, and were found to be excessive. In conclusion, this study makes recommendations to facilitate the design of more inclusive digital programmable thermostats. It is argued that such changes could result in reductions in domestic heat energy consumption.This work is funded by the ESPRC and Buro Happold
An Extraordinary Scattered Broad Emission Line in a Type 2 QSO
An infrared-selected, narrow-line QSO has been found to exhibit an
extraordinarily broad Halpha emission line in polarized light. Both the extreme
width (35,000 km/sec full-width at zero intensity) and 3,000 km/sec redshift of
the line centroid with respect to the systemic velocity suggest emission in a
deep gravitational potential. An extremely red polarized continuum and partial
scattering of the narrow lines at a position angle common to the broad-line
emission imply extensive obscuration, with few unimpeded lines of sight to the
nucleus.Comment: 4 pages, 1 figure, to appear in the Astrophysical Journal Letter
Will Washington Provide Its Own Feedstocks for Biofuels?
The study finds that Washington State’s field corn, sugar beet and canola production could satisfy only a small percentage of the State’s annual gasoline or diesel consumption. Linear programming projections for 2008 showed a relatively close match between projected and actual production. Projections for 2009-2011 showed no increase in the State’s capacity to increase biofuel crop feedstocks. In comparison to crop feedstocks, Washington’s total annual lignocellulosic biomass is abundant. However, only a fraction of the biomass could be converted to biofuel due to high costs of collection and processing, competing markets for some biomass, and limitations in current technology.biofuels, biofuel feedstocks, canola, cellulosic inventories, grain corn, linear programming, Washington State
Oceanographic and biological influences on recruitment of benthic invertebrates to hard substrata on the Oregon shelf
Author Posting. © The Author(s), 2018. This is the author's version of the work. It is posted here under a nonexclusive, irrevocable, paid-up, worldwide license granted to WHOI. It is made available for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science 208 (2018): 1-8, doi:10.1016/j.ecss.2018.04.037.The number of anthropogenic substrata in the ocean – structures like oil rigs and offshore
renewable energy generators – is increasing. These structures provide hard-bottom habitat in
areas previously dominated by sand or mud, so they have the potential to alter species
distributions or serve as “stepping-stones” between other hard-bottom habitats. It is thus
important to understand what factors influence the composition and abundance of benthic fauna
recruiting at these sites. We examined recruitment to hard substrata (fouling panels) deployed on
sand at various distances from a large rocky reef (~60 m isobath) on the southern Oregon coast
in 2014 – 2015. Recruitment was dominated by the acorn barnacle Hesperibalanus hesperius.
For the majority of the study period in 2014, an anti-cyclonic eddy was present near the
deployment sites. However, anomalously high recruitment of H. hesperius during August – early
October 2014 coincided with dissipation of the eddy, slower bottom currents, and a positive
convergence index, suggesting that H. hesperius larvae from the adjacent area may have been
accumulated and retained near our study sites. Other sessile species, including hydroids and
bryozoans, recruited to the fouling panels in low abundances, and most of these species have
long-range dispersal and fast growth. Mobile invertebrates observed on the fouling panels
included gastropods and nudibranchs, most of which also have long-range dispersal and fast
growth, and are predators as adults. Thus, a community with two trophic levels assembled on the
fouling panels in a relatively short time period (<12 weeks). None of the common hard-bottom
species from the adjacent rocky reef recruited to the panels, suggesting that there is a specialized
assemblage of species that can exploit hard-bottom habitats surrounded by sandy plains. Our
results raise many questions about the influences of dispersal and oceanographic conditions on
recruitment to hard substrata.This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation Graduate
Research Fellowship Program under Grant No. DGE-0829517. YL is partially supported by the Dr. George
Grice Postdoctoral Scholarship from Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, with support from
NSF grant #1634965
Distributions of microplastics and larger anthropogenic debris in Norfolk Canyon, Baltimore Canyon, and the adjacent continental slope (Western North Atlantic Margin, USA)
Development of a technology adoption and usage prediction tool for assistive technology for people with dementia
This article is available open access through the publisher’s website at the link below. Copyright @ The Authors 2013.In the current work, data gleaned from an assistive technology (reminding technology), which has been evaluated with people with Dementia over a period of several years was retrospectively studied to extract the factors that contributed to successful adoption. The aim was to develop a prediction model with the capability of prospectively assessing whether the assistive technology would be suitable for persons with Dementia (and their carer), based on user characteristics, needs and perceptions. Such a prediction tool has the ability to empower a formal carer to assess, through a very limited amount of questions, whether the technology will be adopted and used.EPSR
Invertebrate communities on historical shipwrecks in the western Atlantic : relation to islands
Author Posting. © The Author(s), 2017. This is the author's version of the work. It is posted here under a nonexclusive, irrevocable, paid-up, worldwide license granted to WHOI. It is made available for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Marine Ecology Progress Series 566 (2017): 17-29, doi:10.3354/meps12058.Shipwrecks can be considered island-like habitats on the seafloor. We investigated the fauna of eight historical shipwrecks off the east coast of the U.S. to assess whether species distribution patterns on the shipwrecks fit models from classical island theory. Invertebrates on the shipwrecks included both sessile (sponges, anemones, hydroids) and motile (crustaceans, echinoderms) species. Invertebrate communities were significantly different among wrecks. The size and distance between wrecks influenced the biotic communities, much like on terrestrial islands. However, while wreck size influenced species richness (alpha diversity), distance to the nearest wreck influenced community composition (beta diversity). Alpha and beta diversity on the shipwrecks were thus influenced by different abiotic factors. We found no evidence of either nested patterns or non-random co-occurrence of morphotypes, suggesting that the taxa on a given shipwreck were randomly selected from the available taxon pool. Species present on the shipwrecks generally had one of two reproductive modes: most motile or solitary sessile species had long-duration planktotrophic larvae, while most encrusting or colonial sessile species had short-duration lecithotrophic larvae and underwent asexual reproduction by budding as adults. Short-duration larvae may recruit to their natal shipwreck, allowing them to build up dense populations and dominate the wreck surfaces. A high degree of dominance was indeed observed on the wrecks, with up to 80% of the fauna being accounted for by the most common species alone. By comparing the shipwreck communities to known patterns of succession in shallow water, we hypothesize that the shipwrecks are in a stage of mid-succession.This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship Program under Grant No. DGE-0829517. Funding for this project was supplied by the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM), under contract to CSA Ocean Sciences, Inc. (contract M10PC00100) in partnership with the National Oceanographic 377 Partnership Program
The Moderating Relationship of Spirituality on Negative Life Events and Psychological Adjustment
The authors used a path model to examine how spirituality moderates relationships between negative life experiences and psychological adjustment, operationalized for this study as levels of depression and anxiety. Results suggest that spirituality provides a significant moderating effect for both depression and anxiety. The moderating effect was stronger for depression than for anxiety
Clinical Behaviors for Addressing Religious/Spiritual Issues: Do We Practice What We Preach?
To determine if counselors integrate clinical behaviors for addressing religious/spiritual issues in counseling consistent with their ratings of the importance of such behaviors, the authors conducted a national survey of American Counseling Association (ACA) members. Seventy-eight ACA members rated the importance of and frequency with which they engaged in a set of 30 clinical behaviors that were identified in the existing literature as addressing religious/spiritual issues within counseling. Results indicated possible disparities between importance and frequency ratings. Potential barriers to counselors' utilization of religious and spiritually directed clinical behaviors were identified
- …