The Utility of Mobile Phones for Health Among Women Living with HIV in Urban Malawi

The use of mobile phones are becoming ubiquitous with growing interest by healthcare providers to utilize mobile phone technology for various health-related applications, called mHealth. This is especially true in low-income countries such as those in sub-Saharan Africa. When implementing mHealth applications, it is important to understand the dynamic social, cultural and environmental factors where mHealth will be implemented to ensure that interventions developed are effective. A qualitative study to explore the sociotechnical factors experienced by women participating in an HIV support group in urban Malawi was conducted to enhance our understanding of women’s experience with mobile phone use and its implications on their health. Ten individual interviews and one focus group interview were completed with women, using narrative methods and a sociotechnical view to inform data analysis. Narrative structural and thematic analysis were used to analyze the individual interview data, and thematic analysis was used to analyze the focus group interview data. This study offers valuable insights into the sociotechnical factors impacting mobile phone use and its implications on health within this urban context. Findings are discussed under four main areas: 1. Health-related activities and tasks; 2. Social related activities and tasks; 3. Income generation activities and tasks; and 4. Technical challenges. Implications for policy discussed include the scaling up of programs incorporating mobile phones in sub-Saharan Africa as part of the HIV prevention and treatment plan and partnering with NGO’s and churches to leverage funding and existing community based resources. Implications for future research include an opportunity for further theory development around community health frameworks that are sensitive to the African world view of person and community in addition to further exploring the utility of mobile phone technology in enhancing health outcomes for people living with HIV

Einsatz mikrobiologischer Präparate zur Regulierung von Schadinsekten und Krankheiten an Erdbeeren

Im organischen Erdbeeranbau sind bodenbürtige Krankheiten, z. B. Verticillium-Welke und Rhizomfäule, ein wachsendes Problem. Auch im konventionellen Anbau ist eine Bekämpfung der Verticillium-Welke nur bedingt möglich, da keine effizienten Pflanzenschutzmittel verfügbar sind. Aus diesem Grund sollte untersucht werden, ob Mikroorganismen zur Regulierung von bodenbürtigen Krankheiten an Erdbeeren verwendet werden können. Hierfür wurden 98 Mikroorganismen, davon 68 Bakterien und 26 Pilze, in in vitro Tests gegen die Verticillium-Welke (V. albo-atrum, V. dahliae), die Rhizomfäule (Phytophthora cactorum) und die Rote Wurzelfäule getestet. In einem mehrstufigen Selektionsprozess wurden von den 98 Mikroorganismen 15 Mikroorganismen für weitere Laborversuche ausgewählt. Als Selektionskriterien wurden u.a. das antagonistische Potential, die Kombinierbarkeit und die Marktverfügbarkeit berücksichtigt. Die fünfzehn Mikroorganismen, die die vorgegebenen Kriterien erfüllten, wurden in weiteren Kompatibilitätstest getestet. Anschließend wurden vier Mikroorganismen ausgewählt: zwei Trichoderma (T. atroviride P1 und T. harzianum T58), ein entomopathogener Pilz (Metarhizium anisopliae Ma43) und ein Bakterium (Bacillus subtilis FZB24). Diese Antagonisten wurden in Gewächshaus- und Freilandversuche an zwei Erdbeersorten (Honeoye und Sonata) in mit V. dahliae und P. cactorum inokulierter Erde getestet. Weder in Gewächshaus- noch in Freilandversuchen konnten auch nach künstlicher Inokulation des Bodens mit den zwei Pathogenen reproduzierbare Krankheitssymptome hervorgerufen werden. Damit konnte keine klare Aussage zur befallsreduzierenden Wirkung der antagonistischen Mikroorganismen getroffen werden. Allerdings wurde in Gewächshausversuchen mit V. dahliae inokulierter Erde bei der Sorte Honeoye ein positiver Einfluss der Antagonisten auf unterschiedliche Wachstumsparameter beobachtet. Die Ergebnisse zum Einfluss der Antagonisten auf die Mikrosklerotien, die Überdauerungsformen von V. dahliae, waren widersprüchlich. Nur in Freilandversuchen wurde eine Reduktion der Mikrosklerotien durch pilzliche Antagonisten erreicht

Operators’ Adaption to Unreliability of Alarm Systems: A Performance and Eye-Tracking Analysis

Dieser Beitrag ist mit Zustimmung des Rechteinhabers aufgrund einer (DFG geförderten) Allianz- bzw. Nationallizenz frei zugänglich.This publication is with permission of the rights owner freely accessible due to an Alliance licence and a national licence (funded by the DFG, German Research Foundation) respectively.Operators in complex environments are supported by alarm-systems that indicate when to shift attention to certain tasks. As alarms are not perfectly reliable, operators have to select appropriate strategies of attention allocation in order to compensate for unreliability and maintain overall performance. This study investigates how humans adapt to differing alarm-reliabilities. Within a multi-tasking flight simulation, participants were randomly assigned to four alarm-reliability conditions (68.75%, 75%, 87.5%, 93.75%), and a manual control group. In experimental conditions, one out of three subtasks was supported by an alarm-system. Compared to manual control, all experimental groups benefited from alarms in the supported task, with best results for the highest reliability condition. However, analyses of performance and eye-tracking data revealed that the benefit of the lowest reliability group was associated with an increased attentional effort, a more demanding attention allocation strategy, and a declined relative performance in a non-supported task. Results are discussed in the context of recent research

Human Performance Consequences of Automated Decision Aids in States of Sleep Loss

Dieser Beitrag ist mit Zustimmung des Rechteinhabers aufgrund einer (DFG geförderten) Allianz- bzw. Nationallizenz frei zugänglich.This publication is with permission of the rights owner freely accessible due to an Alliance licence and a national licence (funded by the DFG, German Research Foundation) respectively.Objective: The authors investigated how human performance consequences of automated decision aids are affected by the degree of automation and the operator’s functional state. Background: As research has shown, decision aids may not only improve performance but also lead to new sorts of risks. Whereas knowledge exists about the impact of system characteristics (e.g., reliability) on human performance, little is known about how these performance consequences are moderated by the functional state of operators. Method: Participants performed a simulated supervisory process control task with one of two decision aids providing support for fault identification and management. One session took place during the day, and another one took place during the night after a prolonged waking phase of more than 20 hr. Results: Results showed that decision aids can support humans effectively in maintaining high levels of performance, even in states of sleep loss, with more highly automated aids being more effective than less automated ones. Furthermore, participants suffering from sleep loss were found to be more careful in interaction with the aids, that is, less prone to effects of complacency and automation bias. However, cost effects arose that included a decline in secondary-task performance and an increased risk of return-to-manual performance decrements. Conclusion: Automation support can help protect performance after a period of extended wakefulness. In addition, operators suffering from sleep loss seem to compensate for their impaired functional state by reallocating resources and showing a more attentive behavior toward possible automation failures. Application: Results of this research can inform the design of automation, especially decision aids

Misuse of Automation: The Impact of System Experience on Complacency and Automation Bias in Interaction with Automated Aids

Dieser Beitrag ist mit Zustimmung des Rechteinhabers aufgrund einer (DFG geförderten) Allianz- bzw. Nationallizenz frei zugänglich.This publication is with permission of the rights owner freely accessible due to an Alliance licence and a national licence (funded by the DFG, German Research Foundation) respectively.The study investigates how complacency and automation bias effects in interaction with automated aids are moderated by system experience. Participants performed a supervisory control task supported by an aid for fault identification and management. Groups differed with respect to how long they worked with the aid until eventually an automation failure occurred, and whether this failure was the first or second one the participants were exposed to. Results show that negative experiences, i.e., automation failures, entail stronger effects on subjective trust in automation as well as the level of complacency and automation bias than positive experiences (correct recommendations of the aid). Furthermore, results suggest that commission errors may be due to three different sorts of effects: (1) a withdrawal of attention in terms of incomplete cross-checks of information, (2) an active discounting of contradictory system information, and (3) an inattentive processing of contradictory information analogue to a “looking-but-not-seeing” effect

Human Performance Consequences of Automated Decision Aids : The Impact of Degree of Automation and System Experience

Dieser Beitrag ist mit Zustimmung des Rechteinhabers aufgrund einer (DFG geförderten) Allianz- bzw. Nationallizenz frei zugänglich.This publication is with permission of the rights owner freely accessible due to an Alliance licence and a national licence (funded by the DFG, German Research Foundation) respectively.Two experiments are reported that investigate to what extent performance consequences of automated aids are dependent on the distribution of functions between human and automation and on the experience an operator has with an aid. In the first experiment, performance consequences of three automated aids for the support of a supervisory control task were compared. Aids differed in degree of automation (DOA). Compared with a manual control condition, primary and secondary task performance improved and subjective workload decreased with automation support, with effects dependent on DOA. Performance costs include return-to-manual performance issues that emerged for the most highly automated aid and effects of complacency and automation bias, respectively, which emerged independent of DOA. The second experiment specifically addresses how automation bias develops over time and how this development is affected by prior experience with the system. Results show that automation failures entail stronger effects than positive experience (reliably working aid). Furthermore, results suggest that commission errors in interaction with automated aids can depend on three sorts of automation bias effects: (a) withdrawal of attention in terms of incomplete cross-checking of information, (b) active discounting of contradictory system information, and (c) inattentive processing of contradictory information analog to a “looking-but-not-seeing” effect

Absence of DOA Effect but No Proper Test of the Lumberjack Effect

Objective: The aim was to evaluate the relevance of the critique offered by Jamieson and Skraaning (2019) regarding the applicability of the lumberjack effect of human–automation interaction to complex real-world settings. Background: The lumberjack effect, based upon a meta-analysis, identifies the consequences of a higher degree of automation—to improve performance and reduce workload—when automation functions as intended, but to degrade performance more, as mediated by a loss of situation awareness (SA) when automation fails. Jamieson and Skraaning provide data from a process control scenario that they assert contradicts the effect. Approach: We analyzed key aspects of their simulation, measures, and results which we argue limit the strength of their conclusion that the lumberjack effect is not applicable to complex real-world systems. Results: Our analysis revealed limits in their inappropriate choice of automation, the lack of a routine performance measure, support for the lumberjack effect that was actually provided by subjective measures of the operators, an inappropriate assessment of SA, and a possible limitation of statistical power. Conclusion: We regard these limitations as reasons to temper the strong conclusions drawn by the authors, of no applicability of the lumberjack effect to complex environments. Their findings should be used as an impetus for conducting further research on human–automation interaction in these domains. Applications: The collective findings of both Jamieson and Skraaning and our study are applicable to system designers and users in deciding upon the appropriate level of automation to deploy.Peer Reviewe

Human Performance Consequences of Stages and Levels of Automation: An Integrated Meta-Analysis

Dieser Beitrag ist mit Zustimmung des Rechteinhabers aufgrund einer (DFG geförderten) Allianz- bzw. Nationallizenz frei zugänglich.This publication is with permission of the rights owner freely accessible due to an Alliance licence and a national licence (funded by the DFG, German Research Foundation) respectively.Objective: We investigated how automation-induced human performance consequences depended on the degree of automation (DOA). Background: Function allocation between human and automation can be represented in terms of the stages and levels taxonomy proposed by Parasuraman, Sheridan, and Wickens. Higher DOAs are achieved both by later stages and higher levels within stages. Method: A meta-analysis based on data of 18 experiments examines the mediating effects of DOA on routine system performance, performance when the automation fails, workload, and situation awareness (SA). The effects of DOA on these measures are summarized by level of statistical significance. Results: We found (a) a clear automation benefit for routine system performance with increasing DOA, (b) a similar but weaker pattern for workload when automation functioned properly, and (c) a negative impact of higher DOA on failure system performance and SA. Most interesting was the finding that negative consequences of automation seem to be most likely when DOA moved across a critical boundary, which was identified between automation supporting information analysis and automation supporting action selection. Conclusion: Results support the proposed cost–benefit trade-off with regard to DOA. It seems that routine performance and workload on one hand, and the potential loss of SA and manual skills on the other hand, directly trade off and that appropriate function allocation can serve only one of the two aspects. Application: Findings contribute to the body of research on adequate function allocation by providing an overall picture through quantitatively combining data from a variety of studies across varying domains

Water taste and odor (T&O): challenges, gaps and solutions from a perspective of the WaterTOP network.

Aesthetic aspects of drinking water, such as Taste and Odor (T&O), have significant effects on consumer perceptions and acceptability. Solving unpleasant water T&O episodes in water supplies is challenging, since it requires expertise and know-how in diagnosis, evaluation of impacts and implementation of control measures. We present gaps, challenges and perspectives to advance water T&O science and technology, by identifying key areas in sensory and chemical analysis, risk assessment and water treatment, as articulated by WaterTOP (COST Action CA18225), an interdisciplinary European and international network of researchers, experts, and stakeholders

Operators׳ adaptation to imperfect automation – Impact of miss-prone alarm systems on attention allocation and performance

Operators in complex environments are often supported by alarm systems that indicate when to shift attention to certain tasks. As alarms are not perfectly reliable, operators have to select appropriate strategies of attention allocation to compensate for unreliability and to maintain overall performance. This study explores how humans adapt to differing alarm reliabilities. Within a multi-task simulation consisting of a monitoring task and two other concurrent tasks, participants were assigned to one of five groups. In the manual control group none of the tasks was supported by an alarm system, whereas the four experimental groups were supported in the monitoring task by a miss-prone alarm system differing in reliability, i.e. 68.75%, 75%, 87.5%, 93.75%. Compared to the manual control group, all experimental groups benefited from the support by alarms, with best performance for the highest reliability condition. However, for the lowest reliability group the benefit was associated with an increased attentional effort, a more demanding attention allocation strategy, and a declined relative performance in a concurrent task. Results are discussed in the context of recent automation research