Level Of Information Integration Research Articles

Evaluation of a Decision-Based Invocation Strategy for Adaptive Support for Air Traffic Control

Air traffic controller workload is a limiting factor in the current air traffic management system. Adaptive support systems have the potential to balance controller workload and gain acceptance as they provide support during times of need. Challenges in the design of adaptive support systems are to decide when and how to trigger support. The goal of this study is to gain empirical insights into these challenges through a human-in-the-loop experiment, featuring a simplified air traffic control environment in which a novel triggering mechanism uses the quality of the controller's decisions to determine when support is needed. The designed system seeks to prevent high workload conditions by providing resolution advisories when the controller exceeds a threshold of “self-complicating” decisions. Results indicate that the new system is indeed capable of increasing the efficiency and safety compared to full manual control without intervention. More adaptive support, however, increased the frustration of participants, decreased acceptance, and did not result in improved workload ratings. These findings suggest that, unless we can better infer human intent in complex work environments, adaptive support at the level of decision-making is problematic. A potentially more fruitful direction is to provide support at the level of information integration, with full decision-making authority with the human.

Common Microscale and Macroscale Principles of Connectivity in the Human Brain.

The brain requires efficient information transfer between neurons and large-scale brain regions. Brain connectivity follows predictable organizational principles. At the cellular level, larger supragranular pyramidal neurons have larger, more branched dendritic trees, more synapses, and perform more complex computations; at the macroscale, region-to-region connections display a diverse architecture with highly connected hub areas facilitating complex information integration and computation. Here, we explore the hypothesis that the branching structure of large-scale region-to-region connectivity follows similar organizational principles as the neuronal scale. We examine microscale connectivity of basal dendritic trees of supragranular pyramidal neurons (300+) across 10 cortical areas in five human donor brains (1 male, 4 female). Dendritic complexity was quantified as the number of branch points, tree length, spine count, spine density, and overall branching complexity. High-resolution diffusion-weighted MRI was used to construct white matter trees of corticocortical wiring. Examining complexity of the resulting white matter trees using the same measures as for dendritic trees shows heteromodal association areas to have larger, more complex white matter trees than primary areas (p < 0.0001) and macroscale complexity to run in parallel with microscale measures, in terms of number of inputs (r = 0.677, p = 0.032), branch points (r = 0.797, p = 0.006), tree length (r = 0.664, p = 0.036), and branching complexity (r = 0.724, p = 0.018). Our findings support the integrative theory that brain connectivity follows similar principles of connectivity at neuronal and macroscale levels and provide a framework to study connectivity changes in brain conditions at multiple levels of organization.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Within the human brain, cortical areas are involved in a wide range of processes, requiring different levels of information integration and local computation. At the cellular level, these regional differences reflect a predictable organizational principle with larger, more complexly branched supragranular pyramidal neurons in higher order regions. We hypothesized that the 3D branching structure of macroscale corticocortical connections follows the same organizational principles as the cellular scale. Comparing branching complexity of dendritic trees of supragranular pyramidal neurons and of MRI-based regional white matter trees of macroscale connectivity, we show that macroscale branching complexity is larger in higher order areas and that microscale and macroscale complexity go hand in hand. Our findings contribute to a multiscale integrative theory of brain connectivity.

Peripheral Neural Interface.

Peripheral nervous system, widely spread in the whole body, is the important bridge for the transmission of neural signals. Signals from the central nervous system (brain and spinal cord) are transmitted to different parts of the body by the peripheral nerves, while along the way they also feedback all kinds of sensory information. Certain level of information integration and processing also occurs in the system. It has been shown that neural signals could be extracted from the distal end of the stump, indicating that the bridge is still effective after limb damage or amputation, which is the neurophysiological basis for the research and development of peripheral nerve interface for the prosthetic system.

CITY FEED

Crowdsourcing implies user collaboration and engagement, which fosters a renewal of city governance processes. In this article, we address a subset of crowdsourcing, named citizen-sourcing, where citizens interact with authorities collaboratively and actively. Many systems have experimented citizen-sourcing in city governance processes; however, their maturity levels are mixed. In order to focus on the service maturity, we introduce a city service maturity framework that contains five levels of service support and two levels of information integration. As an example, we introduce CITY FEED, which implements citizen-sourcing in city issue management process. In order to support such process, CITY FEED supports all levels of the maturity framework (publishing, transacting, interacting, collaborating, and evaluating) and integrates related information relationally and heterogeneously. In order to integrate heterogeneous information, it implements a threefold feed deduplication mechanism based on the geographic, text semantic, and image similarities of feeds. Currently, CITY FEED is in a pilot stage.

Teaching and Learning Information Synthesis: An Intervention and Rubric Based Assessment

The purpose of this research was to determine how information synthesis skills can be taught effectively, and to discover how the level of synthesis in student writing can be effectively measured. The intervention was an information synthesis lesson that broke down the synthesis process into sequenced tasks. Researchers created a rubric which they used to assess a student’s level of information synthesis demonstrated in their final research essays. A form of counting analysis was also created to see if other methods could help in measuring synthesis. Findings from the rubric analysis revealed that students appear to benefit from the synthesis lesson. The level of synthesis, however, remains low overall. In addition, the study also showed that the different measures of synthesis established were able to identify different levels of information integration. Discovering effective ways to measure and teach synthesis continues to be essential in helping students become information literate.

EVALUATION OF INFORMATION INTEGRATION IN SUPPLY CHAIN: A CASE STUDY OF AUTOMOTIVE SECTOR

Abstract This paper presents an exploratory research that analyses the level of information integration of automotive industry of Campinas region, Sao Paulo State, Brazil. It considers the availability of adequate Information Technology, the extension and the intensity of information exchange among enterprises. Groups are identified through hierarchical cluster analysis taking into account four different indicators: perception of the Information Technology availability, extension of information exchange and intensity of information exchange with supplier and costumers. The main conclusions are: does not exist correlation among the four indicators, and availability of Information Technology is necessary but not a sufficient condition for promoting supply chain information integration.

Usability of Multi-Scale Interfaces for 3D Workbench Displays

We consider that multi-scale visualization interfaces support users to view different levels of scales simultaneously and to understand large-scale, complex 3D information in 3D display environments. This article presents a user evaluation on three multi-scale interfaces on a 3D workbench display: focus + context (f + c), fixed f + c, and overview + detail (o + d). The interfaces differ in terms of (1) window arrangement and (2) positioning of detailed information relative to the user. Our goal is to identify the effect of these interface differences in large scale information visualization on a 3D workbench. To address the usability of the interfaces for a wide range of applications, we designed two tasks that differ by the level of information integration and cognitive demand. The evaluation results suggest that focus-based interfaces (i.e., the f + c and fixed f + c interfaces) are useful for tasks that require tight coupling between information layers and the o + d interface is useful for tasks performed in a densely populated information space. In terms of interface design on a 3D workbench, it is important to provide an up-close view of the current region of interest for fast scene navigation and an easy way to change viewing direction to see the 3D information from more comfortable directions. The detailed design guidelines based on the evaluation analysis are presented in this article.

Enhancing information flow in a retail supply chain using RFID and the EPC network

RFID technology and the Electronic Product Code (EPC) network have attracted considerable interest from businesses and academics in recent years. The interest is even stronger in the retail industry where firms such as Best Buy, Wal-Mart, Tesco, Target and Metro AG are capitalizing on the potential of these technologies. Based on a field study conducted in a three-layer retail supply chain, this paper tests several scenarios integrating Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology and the EPC network and evaluates, in a laboratory setting, their potential as enablers of information flow within a retail supply chain. Using an open-loop adoption strategy, our preliminary results indicate that RFID technology and the EPC network (i) hold some potential that can be grasped through Business Process Management (BPM), (ii) enable the synchronization of information flow with product flow in a given supply chain, and thus, (iii) provide a better level of information integration between supply chain members. The results suggest that these new waves of information technology (IT) could in fact provide end-to-end information flow between supply chain members.

Enhancing Information Flow in a Retail Supply Chain Using RFID and the EPC Network: A Proof-of-Concept Approach

RFID technology and the Electronic Product Code (EPC) network have attracted considerable interest from businesses and academics in recent years. The interest is even stronger in the retail industry where firms such as Best Buy, Wal-Mart, Tesco, Target and Metro AG are capitalizing on the potential of these technologies. Based on a field study conducted in a three-layer retail supply chain, this paper tests several scenarios integrating Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology and the EPC network and evaluates, in a laboratory setting, their potential as enablers of information flow within a retail supply chain. Using an “openloop” adoption strategy, our preliminary results indicate that RFID technology and the EPC network (i) hold some potential that can be grasped through Business Process Management (BPM), (ii) enable the synchronization of information flow with product flow in a given supply chain, and thus, (iii) provide a better level of information integration between supply chain members. The results suggest that these “new waves” of information technology (IT) could in fact provide end-to-end information flow between supply chain members.

The neural implementation of multi-attribute decision making: A parametric fMRI study with human subjects

Decision making is not a unitary entity but involves rather a series of interdependent processes. Decisions entail a choice between two or more alternatives. Within the complex series of decisional processes, at least two levels can be differentiated: a first level of information integration (process level) and a second level of information interpretation (control level), leading to a subsequent motor response or cognitive process. The aim of this study was to investigate the neural network of these decisional processes. In a single trial fMRI study, we implemented a simple decision-making task, where subjects had to decide between two alternatives represented on five attributes. The similarity between the two alternatives was varied systematically in order to achieve a parametric variation of decisional effort. For easy trials, the two alternatives differed significantly in several attributes, whereas for difficult trials, the two alternatives differed only in small details. The results show a distributed neural network related to decisional effort. By means of time course analysis different subprocesses within this network could be differentiated: regions subserving the integration of the presented information (premotor areas and superior parietal lobe) and regions subserving the interpretation of this information (frontolateral and frontomedial cortex, anterior insula, and caudate) as well as a region in the inferior frontal junction updating task rules.

Scheduling of FMSs with information delays: A simulation study

Practitioners and academicians throughout the world recognize the crucial role played by flexibility within manufacturing organizations, especially those engaged in small batch manufacture. However, although the concept of flexibility has begun to attract increased attention, its interaction with information integration and automation has not captured due attention. For example, it almost always has been assumed that a real-time control mechanism is available for exploiting routing flexibility on the shop floor. While this may be true for FMSs, it generally is not so for the vast majority of conventional manufacturing systems with varying levels of information integration and automation. The lack of a fully integrated and automated control mechanism within such semi-automated flexible manufacturing systems (SAFMSs) would eventually cause delays in the availability of shop status information. In this paper, we study the impact that defined modes of information delay have on the performance of a hypothetical SAFMS through detailed simulation experiments. Given that the level of routing flexibility is a controllable design parameter, our interest is in determining the impact that information delays have on decisions pertaining to the selection of appropriate levels of routing flexibility. To highlight the impact of information delays within the SAFMS, the Taguchi experimental design procedure is adopted as a performance evaluation and analysis vehicle, using makespan as a measure of performance. Simulation results indicate the presence of a system specific tolerance limit, operation below which minimizes performance loss.

Automating information transfer in manufacturing systems

International competition is dictating the need for increased levels of information integration in manufacturing industry, whereby the responsiveness and efficiency of systems can be advanced. This article outlines the relative roles of various standards and initiatives (including MAP/TOP, IGES, PDES/STEP and EDIF) and associated major research programmes aimed at facilitating manufacturing systems integration.