The Effects of Age and Working Memory Demands on Automation-Induced Complacency

Complacency refers to a type of automation use expressed as insufficient monitoring and verification of automated functions. Previous studies have attempted to identify the age-related factors that influence complacency during interaction with automation. However, little is known about the role of age-related differences in working memory capacity and its connection to complacent behaviors. The current study examined whether working memory demand of an automated task and age-related differences in cognitive ability influence complacency. Working memory demand was manipulated in the task with two degrees of automation (i.e., information and decision). A younger and older age group was included to observe the effects of differences in working memory capacity on performance in a targeting task using an automated aid. The results of the study show that younger and older adults did not significantly differ in complacent behavior for information or decision automation. Also, individual differences in working memory capacity did not predict complacency in the automated task. However, these findings do not disprove the role of working memory in automation-induced complacency. Both age groups were more complacent with automation that had less working memory demand. Our findings suggest systems that utilize both higher and lower degrees of automation could limit overdependence. These results provide implications for the design of automated interfaces

Inhibition of corrosion driven delamination on iron by smart-release bentonite cation-exchange pigments studied using a scanning Kelvin probe technique

Low-cost, environmentally friendly, cation exchange pigments derived from naturally occurring bentonite clay are shown to significantly enhance resistance to corrosion-driven cathodic delamination in organic coatings adherent to iron surfaces. A scanning Kelvin probe (SKP) is used to study the delamination kinetics of pigmented and unpigmented poly-vinyl-butyral (PVB)-based coatings applied to polished iron substrates. The bentonite clay is used both in its native form and exhaustively exchanged with a range of divalent alkali earth and trivalent rare earth metal cations. For the best performing divalent cation-exchanged pigment, the dependence of coating delamination rate on pigment volume fraction is determined and compared with that of a conventional strontium chromate (SrCrO4) inhibitor. An inhibition mechanism is proposed for the bentonite pigments whereby underfilm cation release and subsequent precipitation of sparingly soluble hydroxides reduces the conductivity of the underfilm electrolyte

Mental Fitness and the Lifelong Learning Movement

Educational Objectives 1. To identify the functional benefits of continued mental activity 2. To examine the role of Lifelong Learning Institutes in later life 3. To describe the motivations of participants in lifelong learnin

De-adhesion at the Organic Coating/Metal Interface in Aqueous Media

De-adhesion, or delamiilation, may occur along six different planes in the interfacial regions of a metal/organic coating system: (a) in the metal (anodic undermining), (b) at the metal/interfacial oxide boundary, (c) within the interfacial oxide, (d) within a pretreatment layer or conversion coating, (e) at the organic coating/interfacial oxide boundary, (f) within the polymer coating. The plane along which delamination occurs is a function of the system and environmental conditions. Five areas where extensive research is required are outlined: studies of the interfacial oxide, nature of the coating/interfacial oxide bond, non-destructive methods for locating bulk water aggregation at the interface, understanding the effects of ions on delamination during cathodic treatment, and understanding the factors which control the generation of a high pH in a region delaminated by a cathodic process