A Mixed Methodology Study of the Effects of Age, Touchscreens, New Technology, Automation, and Interactions on Pilot Performance

This study examined the effects of age on new technology, touchscreens, automation, and the interaction with pilot performance. Touchscreens have been introduced on the aviation flight deck, combining all pilot tasks in one device in multiple locations. This study is one of the first to examine pilots, touchscreens and age. Previous studies focused on vibration, turbulence, interfaces, ergonomics, and location for incorporating them on the flight deck. This was conducted as an online survey with pilots that have worked with touchscreens in flight operations. The results found that age has an effect on pilots interacting and working with touchscreens. This effect was found with pilots age 60 and above, but there were issues within all age groups interacting and working with touchscreens. Finding the information or path was one issue, as well as layout, design and interface mentioned by all age groups. More training, using actual touchscreens or training devices exactly replicating them, and repetition were stated as ways to alleviate these issues. The amount of touch sensitivity and pressure that are needed to interact and accomplish tasks was another issue that was stated. There is a misunderstanding in some pilots about the differences in devices and touchscreens, capacitive and resistive touch, and the reasons for this. Some pilots that understood the differences still wanted a capacitive touchscreen, like personal devices. The researcher noted that completion of the entire survey from the participants increased as the age increased and the youngest age category had the highest dropout rate

Preliminary space mission design under uncertainty

This paper proposes a way to model uncertainties and to introduce them explicitly in the design process of a preliminary space mission. Traditionally, a system margin approach is used in order to take them into account. In this paper, Evidence Theory is proposed to crystallise the inherent uncertainties. The design process is then formulated as an Optimisation Under Uncertainties (OUU). Three techniques are proposed to solve the OUU problem: (a) an evolutionary multi-objective approach, (b) a step technique consisting of maximising the belief for different levels of performance, and (c) a clustering method that firstly identifes feasible regions. The three methods are applied to the BepiColombo mission and their effectiveness at solving the OUU problem are compared

Geometry of effective Hamiltonians

We give a complete geometrical description of the effective Hamiltonians common in nuclear shell model calculations. By recasting the theory in a manifestly geometric form, we reinterpret and clarify several points. Some of these results are hitherto unknown or unpublished. In particular, commuting observables and symmetries are discussed in detail. Simple and explicit proofs are given, and numerical algorithms are proposed, that improve and stabilize common methods used today.Comment: 1 figur

Nursing Contamination: Wearing Scrubs in Public

Nurses are frequently seen in public in their “scrubs,” which could mean that contaminated clothing is being brought into the community, thereby posing an infection risk. The purpose of this study is to investigate if and which contaminants are present on the fabrics and the actions nurses are taking to eliminate contamination risks. Eleven scrub tops were worn on hospital units over one twelve-hour shift. The contaminated scrubs and three control tops were then swabbed and used to inoculate agar plates. After incubation, colonies were counted, streaked onto nutrient and Mannitol-salt agar for isolation, and incubated. Using API Staph strips and Gram staining, the bacteria were identified. The nurses also completed a short survey on laundering and scrub care. All scrub tops, except the controls, were contaminated with multiple species of bacteria including Staphylococcus species. Responses to the survey showed that no two nurses washed their scrubs in the same manner and many wear them in public. The results determined that bacteria can survive on clothing and pose the possibility of transmission throughout the hospital and public venues. The survey results indicate a need for employer laundering policies, public awareness of the risk for transmission of disease from contaminated clothing, and stricter regulations about employees wearing scrubs outside of health care facilities

Advanced Practice Nurse Intervention and Heart Failure Readmissions

Heart failure (HF) is one of the main reasons for hospitalizations and readmissions. A local hospital collaborated with a skilled nursing facility (SNF) in 2012 with the goal of reducing systolic HF readmissions. This collaboration consisted of having an Advanced Practice Nurse (APN) who specializes in cardiac care follow up with all patients discharged from the hospital to the SNF with a diagnosis of systolic HF. The practice-focused question for this project addressed whether early follow-up and continuity of care by a cardiac APN would decrease hospital readmission within 30 days in patients with systolic HF who are discharged to a SNF. This project evaluated the effectiveness of this intervention using the Donabedian quality framework. The Donabedian quality framework consists of 3 concepts: structure, process, and outcome. Sources of evidence were obtained through the electronic medical record systems at both facilities. Total of 1,009 patients were seen by the cardiac APN from 2012 to 2016. Results showed a steady decline in readmissions from 47% to 6%. This supported the conclusion that collaboration between hospitals and SNFs post hospital discharge is essential to improve the management and readmissions of HF. Specialized APNs, such as the cardiac APN in this study, may be more effective in the management and coordination of care for a specific patient population. Implications of this successful collaboration include better working relationships between nonaffiliated health care facilities, improved patient care outcomes, decreased readmissions for HF patients, and an improved community health care system

Display of Multi-Attribute Data Using a Presentation Description Language

In order to make large applications that manage multi-attribute data usable, they must have an effective user interface. Application data and data relationships must be displayed in a manner that is useful for a particular user while still following principles of user interface design. A User Interface Management System (UIMS) is an application independent data presentation system which isolates the interface portion of the application and can allow a high level of customization. A presentation description language can be used to control the UIMS and allow maximum flexibility. This thesis investigates a UIMS controlled by a language that allows a user to easily describe the application data and data relationships at a high level of abstraction. The UIMS uses this language to structure application data and augment it with properties. A rule-based system then uses the augmented data along with graphical design knowledge to determine the content, layout and details of the interface used to display the data. Finally, a graphical interface is generated to present the data. A system to provide this functionality was designed and implemented. Experiences with the system showed this approach to be valid and provided ideas for future work