Driving automation: Learning from aviation about design philosophies

Full vehicle automation is predicted to be on British roads by 2030 (Walker et al., 2001). However, experience in aviation gives us some cause for concern for the 'drive-by-wire' car (Stanton and Marsden, 1996). Two different philosophies have emerged in aviation for dealing with the human factor: hard vs. soft automation, depending on whether the computer or the pilot has ultimate authority (Hughes and Dornheim, 1995). This paper speculates whether hard or soft automation provides the best solution for road vehicles, and considers an alternative design philosophy in vehicles of the future based on coordination and cooperation

Too Cool to Smoke : Using Puppets to Make Learning Fun

Introduction: According to the American Cancer Society, each day, more than 4,000 teens try cigarettes for the first time, and another 2,000 become daily smokers. One-half of these teens eventually will die from a smoking-related disease. [See PDF for complete abstract

Using A 360-Degree Appraisal Approach To Re-Design Advising Programs

Over the past 30 years, researchers have repeatedly demonstrated the need to improve academic advising.  Nonetheless, at many Universities academic advising remains a neglected endeavor—poorly measured, managed and rewarded.  This paper considers the implementation of an academic advising program which parallels the 360-Degree feedback approach drawn from the Human Resources Management discipline.  The details of the program are outlined and preliminary results of the program, which literally transformed academic advising at our institution, are discussed

Predicting pilot error on the flight deck: Validation of a new methodology and a multiple methods and analysts approach to enhancing error prediction sensitivity

The Human Error Template (HET) is a recently developed methodology for predicting designed induced pilot error. This article describes a validation study undertaken to compare the performance of HET against three contemporary Human Error Identification (HEI) approaches when used to predict pilot errors for an approach and landing task and also to compare individual analyst error predictions to an approach to enhancing error prediction sensitivity: the multiple analysts and methods approach, whereby multiple analyst predictions using a range of HEI technique are pooled. The findings indicate that, of the four methodologies used in isolation, analysts using the HET methodology offered the most accurate error predictions, and also that the multiple analysts and methods approach was more successful overall in terms of error prediction sensitivity than the three other methods but not the HET approach. The results suggest that when predicting design induced error, it is appropriate to use domain specific approaches and also a toolkit of different HEI approaches and multiple analysts in order to heighten error prediction sensitivity

A Reflection on the Development of a Community Education Program for Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus

The prevalence of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) in the United States has increased dramatically, in part, because of the emergence of community-associated MRSA. Recognizing that MRSA is an emerging health concern in the community, in August 2007, the Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services released guidelines that addressed the control and prevention of MRSA skin and soft tissue infections in non-healthcare settings. The Unified Health Command of Yellowstone County established a subcommittee to institute a mechanism for distributing the recommendations to the community. Educational toolkits and presentations were created for the schools of Yellowstone County based on these guidelines. This paper will look at the use of community collaboration to develop and disseminate educational materials. In addition, a reflection on the strengths and weaknesses of the process and the lessons learned will be included.Master of Public Healt

The Effect of Half Time Sports Drink Ingestion on Subsequent Half Performance in U16 Female Soccer Players during Consecutive Matches

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of halftime sports drink ingestion on second half performance in U16 female soccer players using GPS technology. While 12 players initially took part in the study, only six players were included in the analysis (age, 15.97±0.45 years; height, 159.62±5.35cm; body mass, 54.87±4.25; body mass index, 21.58±2.10 kg·m-2). In a double-blinded study design, twelve U16 female soccer players were randomly assigned to two groups (carbohydrate- sports drink or placebo). During half time of each game, players were provided with 500 ml of a drink and consumed the same liquid at halftime during all games of the first weekend, with the opposite beverage consumed during friendly matches on a subsequent weekend. Absolute running distance, distance covered per minute, distance covered in each of six velocity categories, and game load were tracked using GPS/HR during 2 games on 2 consecutive weekends. Distance covered at walking speed was significantly higher for the sports drink group (F = 11.026; p= .007), specifically in the second half. Consequently, sports drink influenced distance covered at low-intensity running speed (F= 7.275; p= .021), while placebo group decreased distance covered in the second half comparing to first half, supplementation group increased from first to second half. There were no significant changes between groups for any other speed velocities variables. Despite the lack of significance found between groups, this study found a decrease in performance from first half to second half at fast running (F = 6.807; p= 0.024), and high intensity running speed (F = 19.648; p≤.001). No significant results were found at distance covered per minute. This study conclude that sports drink ingestion have no benefit in preventing deterioration in performance, and overall sports drink did not influence youth female soccer players performance throughout a weekend of game

Fast, scalable, Bayesian spike identification for multi-electrode arrays

We present an algorithm to identify individual neural spikes observed on high-density multi-electrode arrays (MEAs). Our method can distinguish large numbers of distinct neural units, even when spikes overlap, and accounts for intrinsic variability of spikes from each unit. As MEAs grow larger, it is important to find spike-identification methods that are scalable, that is, the computational cost of spike fitting should scale well with the number of units observed. Our algorithm accomplishes this goal, and is fast, because it exploits the spatial locality of each unit and the basic biophysics of extracellular signal propagation. Human intervention is minimized and streamlined via a graphical interface. We illustrate our method on data from a mammalian retina preparation and document its performance on simulated data consisting of spikes added to experimentally measured background noise. The algorithm is highly accurate

Moral enhancement: do means matter morally?

One of the reasons why moral enhancement may be controversial, is because the advantages of moral enhancement may fall upon society rather than on those who are enhanced. If directed at individuals with certain counter-moral traits it may have direct societal benefits by lowering immoral behavior and increasing public safety, but it is not directly clear if this also benefits the individual in question. In this paper, we will discuss what we consider to be moral enhancement, how different means may be used to achieve it and whether the means we employ to reach moral enhancement matter morally. Are certain means to achieve moral enhancement wrong in themselves? Are certain means to achieve moral enhancement better than others, and if so, why? More specifically, we will investigate whether the difference between direct and indirect moral enhancement matters morally. Is it the case that indirect means are morally preferable to direct means of moral enhancement and can we indeed pinpoint relevant intrinsic, moral differences between both? We argue that the distinction between direct and indirect means is indeed morally relevant, but only insofar as it tracks an underlying distinction between active and passive interventions. Although passive interventions can be ethical provided specific safeguards are put in place, these interventions exhibit a greater potential to compromise autonomy and disrupt identity

Up-regulation of endothelial delta-like 4 expression correlates with vessel maturation in bladder cancer.

PURPOSE: Angiogenesis and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) expression are associated with a poor outcome in bladder cancer. To understand more about the mechanisms, we studied the role of delta-like 4 (DLL4), an endothelial-specific ligand of the Notch signaling pathway, in bladder cancer angiogenesis. EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN: The expression of DLL4, CD34, and VEGF were studied in a cohort of 60 bladder tumors and 10 normal samples using quantitative PCR. In situ hybridization was used to study the pattern of DLL4 expression in 22 tumor and 9 normal samples. Serial sections were also stained for CD34 and alpha-smooth muscle actin (alpha-SMA) using conventional immunohistochemistry. RESULTS: The expression of DLL4 was significantly up-regulated in superficial (P < 0.01) and invasive (P < 0.05) bladder cancers. DLL4 expression significantly correlated with CD34 (P < 0.001) and VEGF (P < 0.001) expression. The in situ hybridization studies showed that DLL4 was highly expressed within bladder tumor vasculature. Additionally, DLL4 expression significantly correlated with vessel maturation as judged by periendothelial cell expression of alpha-SMA, 98.7% of DLL4-positive tumor vessels coexpressed alpha-SMA, compared with 64.5% of DLL4-negative tumor vessels (P < 0.001). High DLL4 expression may have prognostic value in superficial and invasive bladder. CONCLUSION: DLL4 expression is associated with vascular differentiation in bladder cancer; thus, targeting DLL4 may be a novel antiangiogenic therapy