Exploring Visual Short-Term Memory in Ensembles via Change Detection

This item is only available electronically.Detecting changes in our visual environment is fundamental to our everyday functioning, for example navigating safely in traffic. Change detection is often quick and precise, with people able to capture meaning of a scene in under a second. However, people can fail to detect significant visual changes when a disruption occurs between views (Simons & Ambinder, 2005). It remains unclear just how much the finer visual details matter for detecting change in scenes. To explore whether people are more sensitive to changes in the summary, or details in natural scenes, we explored short-term visual working memory by manipulating change-size across two change detection experiments. Participants (n = 30) were presented with arrays and its summarised image average for 150ms with a blank 300ms mask in between. Confidence ratings for participant certainty in the change occurring was also investigated. Contrary to predictions, participants were better at discriminating changes in the summary statistic averages than detailed arrays. However, performance increased with proportion of change size and confidence as predicted. It was concluded change size and image representation does affect change detection, and more visual detail is not always necessary to detecting change - spare representations are not so sparse after all.Thesis (B.PsychSc(Hons)) -- University of Adelaide, School of Psychology, 201

An integrated approach to export performance assessments

The importance of export performance measurement has long been acknowledged in the literature and various conceptualisations of export-related behaviours have been linked to performance variables. From a research perspective, such emphasis on performance aims to explain why some firms are more successful than others in the export front and seeks to develop empirically-based guidelines on how exporters could perform better than they do. From a business perspective, sound measurement of export performance is essential for managers to be able to evaluate the impact of their decision making and therefore assess the extent to which their firms' export objectives have been attained. [Continues.

Economy Class Stroke Syndrome: Case Report and Review of the Literature

AbstractObjectives. Venous thromboembolism associated with travelling, or economy class syndrome, is increasingly recognised as a sequence of long haul flights and so paradoxical cerebral embolism through a patent foramen ovale.Materials and methods. We present a new case of economy class stroke syndrome and review of the literature using MEDLINE search.Results. Literature review identified 12 additional cases. In most of them, stroke occurred in close approximation with landing of the aircraft following a long-haul flight. Venous thromboembolism was present in 58%, while a patent foramen ovale was diagnosed with contrast echocardiography in all but one case. Our case presented with severe left hemispheric stroke, and significant delay, two days after a long-haul flight.Conclusions. The small number of reported cases indicates either the rarity of this entity or unawareness of its existence. The true incidence of this condition remains unknown. However, because of treatment implications such as the need to treat venous thromboembolism or close the patent foramen ovale, clinicians should be aware of this entity

Towards Urban Mining—Estimating the Potential Environmental Benefits by Applying an Alternative Construction Practice. A Case Study from Switzerland

Modern cities emerged as the main accumulator for primary and waste materials. Recovery of both types from buildings after demolition/disassembly creates a secondary material stream that could relieve pressure from primary resources. Urban mining represents this circular approach, and its application depends on redefining current construction practice. Through the life cycle assessment (LCA) methodology and assuming primary resources as step zero of urban mining, this study estimates the impacts and benefits of conventional versus a circular construction practice applied to various buildings with different parameters and the country-level environmental potential savings that could be achieved through this switch in construction practice—using the increase of the residential building stock in Switzerland between 2012 and 2016 as a case study and key values from the experimental unit “Urban Mining and Recycling”, designed by Werner Sobek with Dirk E. Hebel and Felix Heisel and installed inside the NEST (Next Evolution in Sustainable Building Technologies) research building on the Empa campus in Switzerland. The results exhibit lower total impacts (at least 16% in each examined impact category) at building level and resulting benefits (i.e., 68–117 kt CO$_{2}$-Eq) at country level over five years, which can be further reduced/increased respectively by using existing or recycled components, instead of virgin materials

TRADITIONAL TEACHING METHODS VS. TEACHING THROUGH THE APPLICATION OF INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGIES IN THE ACCOUNTING FIELD: QUO VADIS?

Much emphasis has been placed in the higher education literature, to the understanding of the manner and process of providing education in the accounting discipline. Specifically, the emphasis on using innovative teaching practices such as information and communication technologies, the Internet as well as various computer programs, simulations, case studies on real and virtual work environments, have been investigated in an attempt to understand current demands and move the discipline forward. Following a thorough review of the relevant literature, this study aims to identify and present different views and research findings on the key issue of teaching accounting, internationally. The findings suggest that despite the availability of the former teaching practices, students mainly prefer personalized teacher-centered methods; they also recommend the aforementioned practices as ancillary tools to the traditional method, rather than key learning tools in the courses taken. These findings have obvious implications for the design of accounting course curricula by professional bodies and/or Higher Education Institutions in order to help graduates meet and adapt to the demands for professional competency development in the accounting field

Immediate Hemodynamic Effect of the Additional Use of the SCD EXPRESS™ Compression System in Patients with Venous Ulcers Treated with the Four-layer Compression Bandaging System

ObjectivesTo test the hypothesis that the SCD EXPRESS™ intermittent pneumatic compression applied in combination with a four-layer bandage in patients with venous ulcers increases popliteal vein volume flow and velocity.DesignTwenty limbs of 18 patients with venous leg ulcers were studied, median age 76 years. The Total Volume Flow (TVF) and the Peak Systolic Velocity (PSV) were recorded in the popliteal vein using duplex ultrasonography. Measurements were made (i) without bandage, (ii) with four layer bandage and (iii) following the application of the SCD Compression System on top of a four-layer bandage for at least 15 minutes.ResultsThe median VCSS was 17 (range, 12–22) while the median VSDS for reflux was 4.5 (range, 1–7.5). The median TVF was 71mL/min (inter-quartile range 57–101) without bandage, 112 (IQR 89–148) with four-layer bandage and 291 (IQR 241–392) with the addition of the SCD System (P<.001, Wilcoxon signed ranks test). The median PSV was 8.4cm/sec (IQR 6.8–14) without bandage, 13 (9.0–19) with four-layer bandage and 27 (21–31) with the addition of the SCD System (P<.001, Wilcoxon signed ranks test). Both TVF and PSV increased slightly with the addition of the four-layer bandage. However, with the addition of the SCD System these parameters increased three fold.ConclusionsThe SCD EXPRESS Compression System accelerates venous flow in the legs of patients with venous ulcers already treated with a four-layer bandage. The combination of four-layer compression with the SCD System on healing venous ulcers needs to be tested by a clinical effectiveness study