Successful Task Completion Research Articles

Parameter Identification of Hydraulic Manipulators Considering Physical Feasibility and Control Stability

In the challenging applications of hydraulic robots, control performance in the full workspace is required for successful task completion. The model-based controller of the hydraulic manipulator is an effective means to improve control performance. However, most of the existing identification methods rely on least squares or weighted least squares, which may lead to the physically infeasible parameters. Although the physical feasibility of inertial parameters can be solved by the linear matrix inequality, physical feasibility and prior knowledge constraints of hydraulic parameters, such as bulk modulus and valve port coefficients, have not been considered in the identification process. Parameters that do not satisfy constraints will affect system stability in the model-based controller. In this paper, an identification framework is proposed, which integrates inertial, friction, hydraulic parameters physical feasibility. Compared with the non-identified parameters, the ratio of tracking error to maximum velocity with the proposed method is reduced by 50%-56%. Compared with the least squares identification, the control stability in the full workspace is guaranteed. The proposed method is applicable to serial hydraulic manipulators with arbitrary degrees of freedom and is supported by experimental analysis of a hydraulic manipulator.

Usability testing of a website through different devices: a task-based approach in a public university setting in Bangladesh

Purpose This study aims to investigate the usability of a public university website for measuring its efficiency, users’ satisfaction or anxiety while searching for and retrieving information through different devices. Design/methodology/approach A task-based approach was adopted for the study. Twenty-eight participants were asked to complete 11 information-searching tasks on the website. The participants were divided into two groups. The tasks were carried out by members of each group, using desktop and mobile devices in a rotating fashion. Volunteers observed the participants' actions and recorded information regarding their productivity, time usage (using a timer), satisfaction or annoyance while performing each task. Finally, based on the use of the devices, a comparison was established between the participants' performance accuracy, efficiency and anxiety. Findings The study provides an overview of a task-based user experience carried out on the university website using a combination of qualitative and quantitative research methods. According to the results, participants' satisfaction levels were generally high, and their anxiety levels were low while completing the tasks on a mobile device. In comparison to the desktop, it took less time overall to complete all tasks. On the other hand, using a desktop computer (97.1%) resulted in better task completion success rates for participants than using a mobile device (85.7%). Originality/value No previous task-based evaluation study of this kind has been conducted to assess the usability of any university website in Bangladesh.

The collaboration of social group work and the arts: skills and examples from twenty-five years of teaching and practice

ABSTRACT There is a long tradition of collaboration in both social work and the arts. Drawing on twenty-five years of teaching, practice, and writing at the intersection of social group work and the arts, this article provides a discussion of skills in building collaboration for social practice focused on balancing group process with successful artistic task completion. Skills and concepts that intersect social group work and artistic practice are delineated and examples of these skills and concepts in practice are cited.

Dopamine receptor activation regulates reward expectancy signals during cognitive control in primate prefrontal neurons

Dopamine neurons respond to reward-predicting cues but also modulate information processing in the prefrontal cortex essential for cognitive control. Whether dopamine controls reward expectation signals in prefrontal cortex that motivate cognitive control is unknown. We trained two male macaques on a working memory task while varying the reward size earned for successful task completion. We recorded neurons in lateral prefrontal cortex while simultaneously stimulating dopamine D1 receptor (D1R) or D2 receptor (D2R) families using micro-iontophoresis. We show that many neurons predict reward size throughout the trial. D1R stimulation showed mixed effects following reward cues but decreased reward expectancy coding during the memory delay. By contrast, D2R stimulation increased reward expectancy coding in multiple task periods, including cueing and memory periods. Stimulation of either dopamine receptors increased the neurons’ selective responses to reward size upon reward delivery. The differential modulation of reward expectancy by dopamine receptors suggests that dopamine regulates reward expectancy necessary for successful cognitive control.

A Novel System for the Device-Based Measurement of Physical Activity, Sedentary Behavior, and Sleep (Motus): Usability Evaluation.

Device-based measurements of physical behavior, using the current methods, place a large burden on participants. The Motus system could reduce this burden by removing the necessity for in-person meetings, replacing diaries written on paper with digital diaries, and increasing the automation of feedback generation. This study aims to describe the development of the Motus system and evaluate its potential to reduce participant burden in a two-phase usability evaluation. Motus was developed around (1) a thigh-worn accelerometer with Bluetooth data transfer; (2) a smartphone app containing an attachment guide, a digital diary, and facilitating automated data transfer; (3) a cloud infrastructure for data storage; (4) an analysis software to generate feedback for participants; and (5) a web-based app for administrators. We recruited 19 adults with a mean age of 45 (SD 11; range 27-63) years, of which 11 were female, to assist in the two-phase evaluation of Motus. A total of 7 participants evaluated the usability of mockups for a smartphone app in phase 1. Participants interacted with the app while thinking aloud, and any issues raised were classified as critical, serious, or minor by observers. This information was used to create an improved and functional smartphone app for evaluation in phase 2. A total of 12 participants completed a 7-day free-living measurement with Motus in phase 2. On day 1, participants attempted 20 system-related tasks under observation, including registration on the study web page, reading the information letter, downloading and navigating the smartphone app, attaching an accelerometer on the thigh, and completing a diary entry for both work and sleep hours. Task completion success and any issues encountered were noted by the observer. On completion of the 7-day measurement, participants provided a rating from 0 to 100 on the System Usability Scale and participated in a semistructured interview aimed at understanding their experience in more detail. The task completion rate for the 20 tasks was 100% for 13 tasks, >80% for 4 tasks, and <50% for 3 tasks. The average rating of system usability was 86 on a 0-100 scale. Thematic analysis indicated that participants perceived the system as easy to use and remember, and subjectively pleasing overall. Participants with shift work reported difficulty with entering sleep hours, and 66% (8/12) of the participants experienced slow data transfer between the app and the cloud infrastructure. Finally, a few participants desired a greater degree of detail in the generated feedback. Our two-phase usability evaluation indicated that the overall usability of the Motus system is high in free-living. Issues around the system's slow data transfer, participants with atypical work shifts, and the degree of automation and detail of generated feedback should be addressed in future iterations of the Motus system. RR2-10.2196/35697.

Enhancing Safety in AI-Driven Cone Beam CT-based Online Adaptive Radiation Therapy: Development and Implementation of an Interdisciplinary Workflow

PurposeThe emerging online adaptive radiotherapy (OART) treatment strategy based on cone-beam computed tomography allows for real-time replanning according to a patient's current anatomy. However, implementing this procedure requires a new approach across the patient's care path and monitoring of the "black box" adaptation process. This study identifies high-risk failure modes (FMs) associated with AI-driven OART and proposes an interdisciplinary workflow to mitigate potential medical errors from highly automated processes, enhance treatment efficiency, and reduce the burden on clinicians. Materials and MethodsAn interdisciplinary working group was formed to identify safety concerns in each process step using failure mode and effects analysis (FMEA). Based on the FMEA results, the team designed standardized procedures and safety checklists to prevent errors and ensure successful task completion. The Risk Priority Numbers (RPNs) for the top twenty FMs were calculated before and after implementing the proposed workflow to evaluate its effectiveness. Three hundred seventy-four adaptive sessions across five treatment sites were performed, and each session was evaluated for treatment safety and FMEA assessment. ResultsThe OART workflow has four components, each with 4, 8, 13, and 4 sequentially executed tasks and safety checklists. Site-specific template preparation, which includes disease-specific physician directives and Intelligent Optimization Engine template testing, is one of the new procedures introduced. The interdisciplinary workflow significantly reduced the RPNs of the high-risk FMs, with an average decrease of 110 (maximum reduction of 305.5 and minimum reduction of 27.4). ConclusionThis study underscores the importance of addressing high-risk FMs associated with AI-driven OART and emphasizes the significance of safety measures in its implementation. By proposing a structured interdisciplinary workflow and integrated checklists, the study provides valuable insights into ensuring the safe and efficient delivery of OART while facilitating its effective integration into clinical practice.

Defaults and effortful tasks

Nothing is known about the effectiveness of defaults when moving the target outcomes requires substantial effort. We conduct two field experiments to investigate how defaults fare in such situations: we change the university exam sign-up procedure in two study programs to “opt-out” (a) for a single exam, and (b) for many exams. Both interventions increase task uptake (exam sign-up). Concerning the outcomes which require effort, we find no effects for many exams. For a single exam, the opt-out increases task completion (exam participation) in the study program where the default arguably entails stronger endorsement. Within this program, the effects on successful task completion (exam passing) are heterogeneous: treated students who in the past were willing to communicate with the university (responsive individuals) invest more effort into exam preparation and are more likely to pass the exam than their control counterparts.For non-responsive individuals, we find increased sign-ups but no effects on the target outcomes. Defaults can thus be effective and may be an attractive policy option even when the target outcome requires substantial effort provision. It is, however crucial that the interventions target the appropriate individuals.

Error monitoring in amnestic mild cognitive impairment: Cognitive correlates and relationship to measures of everyday function.

Accurate error monitoring is important for successful completion of everyday tasks and compensatory strategy use. This study examined how error awareness is impacted in amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI) compared to cognitively healthy older adults (HOA). Cognitive correlates of error monitoring and relation to objective and self-reported measurement of everyday function were also evaluated. Twenty-four individuals with aMCI and 24 cognitively HOAs completed standardized cognitive measures (domains: attention, working memory, executive functioning, memory, language, visuospatial abilities); a computerized go-no-go paradigm task that evaluated error monitoring; a naturalistic, performance-based measure of everyday functioning (day-out-task; DOT); and self- and informant-report measures of everyday dysexecutive difficulties (DEX). Participants with aMCI demonstrated significantly poorer error monitoring as compared to the HOA group (Cohen's d = 1.02). Working memory and executive functioning were significantly related to error monitoring for both groups. After accounting for age and global cognitive status, hierarchical regressions revealed error monitoring significantly predicted DOT total time (but not accuracy) as well as both self- and informant-report DEX scores. Compared to HOAs, individuals with aMCI exhibited poorer conscious error awareness. Better error monitoring was associated with higher working memory and executive functioning abilities and predicted better everyday functioning. If individuals with aMCI experience difficulties recognizing performance inaccuracies, they will be unable to correct their errors, leading to mistakes in everyday task completion and difficulty implementing appropriate compensatory strategies. Findings suggest that error monitoring may be a potential target for intervention with individuals with aMCI. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

The five factor model and life satisfaction: Examining the predictive and mediatory role of restorativeness indoors

Prolonged directed attention expends resources needed to perform everyday tasks, making time in restorative environments essential. Most restorativeness research takes place in outdoor settings, however, humans spend most of their waking hours indoors, necessitating a better understanding of restorativeness indoors. This study seeks to replicate relationships found between personality, restorativeness, and life satisfaction in outdoor environments in the indoor context. Additionally, we investigated if restorativeness predicted life satisfaction beyond personality and the mediatory role of restorativeness between personality and life satisfaction. Full-time undergraduate students (N = 615) from a private, Midwestern university completed an online survey assessing life satisfaction, the Big Five, and the restorativeness of 14 campus spaces. Results found all Big Five traits significantly predicted restorativeness (p < .05) and all but openness significantly predicted life satisfaction (p < .001). Hierarchical regression results demonstrated restorativeness significantly predicted life satisfaction beyond personality (p < .001). Structural equation modeling revealed restoration mediated the relationship between two Big Five traits and life satisfaction. Restoration fully mediated agreeableness (p < .001) and partially mediated extraversion (p < .05). Findings extend previous research from outdoor settings in indoor environments and add the understanding that restorativeness appears to be a mechanism through which some personality traits work to enhance cognitive appraisals of life. Given the critical role of directed attention, restorative spaces are essential for successful task completion. This research highlights the need for diverse indoor environments to facilitate the recovery of attention resources for a variety of personalities and to enhance satisfaction with life.

Exploring explicit and implicit graph learning for multivariate time series imputation

Multivariate time series inherently contain missing values due to various issues, including incorrect data entry, broken equipment, and package loss during data transferring. The successful completion of time series data analysis tasks heavily relies on the essential task of imputing missing values. Inter-variable relationships in time series are typically overlooked by missing value imputation techniques. Although some graph-based algorithms can capture these relationships, the design of graph structures is commonly handcrafted and dataset-centric. We introduce a novel Explicit and Implicit Graph Recurrent Network (EIGRN) for multivariate time series imputation that integrates graph and recurrent neural networks to capture variable and time dependencies together. This proficiency is achieved by effectively integrating external data sources such as domain knowledge and the implicit relationships among nodes. In order to make our approach more applicable to datasets with larger numbers of missing values, we additionally discuss the model’s performance for various missing value ratios. Our comprehensive experiments on real-world datasets show that our model outperforms state-of-the-art baselines in different industrial fields.

ЭКОЛОГИЯ БЫТИЯ ЧЕЛОВЕКА: ИТОГИ УЧЕБНОГО СПЕЦКУРСА

The article presents the results of the educational special course “Ecology of human existence” for bachelors of the fi nal year of study at the Department of Philosophy of Chelyabinsk State University. The structure and brief description of the course, the results of the survey are refl ected. Analysis of the input and fi nal questioning of students helped to create a picture that refl ects the degree of mastering the proposed material by students. The course ended with the successful completion of the creative task of writing scientifi c articles in co-authorship with the teacher, which were published in the collection of scientifi c papers of the student conference. The compilation and implementation of the special course is based on an eco-humanistic approach that goes beyond traditional ecology as purely natural science knowledge into the fi eld of interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary, as well as the level of philosophical reflection.

Evaluasi Pengalaman Pengguna Aplikasi Hiip Indonesia Menggunakan Metode USE Questionnaire dan Usability Testing

With the rapid development of mobile applications, user experience has become crucial in ensuring success and user satisfaction. This research paper presents an evaluation of the user experience of the Hiip Indonesia application, with a focus on usability assessment and user satisfaction. The research methodology employs two main methods: the USE Questionnaire and Usability Testing. The USE Questionnaire is a validated and widely used tool for assessing user satisfaction, while Usability Testing involves observing user interactions with the application and collecting qualitative and quantitative data. The research findings indicate that the usability level of the Hiip Indonesia application falls into the "acceptable" category, with a total feasibility percentage of 73.91%. The hypothesis testing shows a significant influence on satisfaction between the variables of usefulness, ease of use, and ease of learning. However, on a partial level, only the variables of usefulness and ease of use significantly influence satisfaction. In contrast, the ease of learning variable does not have a considerable impact. Furthermore, the user experience evaluation data through task scenario testing indicates that the Hiip Indonesia application is highly effective to use, with a task completion success rate of 100% and an average task completion time of approximately 46.77 seconds. After reviewing the identified issues, recommendations for improvements to the Hiip Indonesia application have been formulated. Some of these recommendations include adding features to the "campaign" menu, adding a menu to the home screen, adding features to the "social media" menu, and adding features for chatting with administrators.&#x0D; &#x0D; Keywords: User experience, UX evaluation, USE Questionnaire, usability testing, mobile application, PT. Hiip Inovasi Indonesia.

The functional relevance of visuospatial processing speed across the lifespan

Visuospatial processing speed underlies several cognitive functions critical for successful completion of everyday tasks, including driving and walking. While it is widely accepted that visuospatial processing speed peaks in early adulthood, performance across the lifespan remains incompletely characterized. Additionally, there remains a lack of paradigms available to assess visuospatial processing speed in unsupervised web-based testing environments. To address these gaps, we developed a novel visuospatial processing speed (VIPS) task adapted from two tests sensitive to visuospatial processing speed declines in older adults, the Useful Field of View paradigm and the PERformance CEntered Portable Test. The VIPS task requires participants to make a central orientation discrimination and complete a simultaneous peripheral visual search task. Data were collected from 86 in-lab volunteers (18–30 years) to compare performance to traditional neuropsychological measures. Consistent with previous literature, performance on the novel VIPS task significantly correlated with measures of selective attention, executive functioning, visual speed, and working memory. An additional 4395 volunteers (12–62 years) were recruited on TestMyBrain.org to establish lifespan trajectories of visuospatial processing speed and associations with functional disability. VIPS task performance peaked in the early 20’s, and steadily decreased such that thresholds doubled in 60-year-olds relative to 20-year-olds (817 ms vs. 412 ms). VIPS task performance significantly correlated with self-reported cognitive functioning deficits broadly across the lifespan but was specifically related to mobility issues in middle-age. These findings have important implications for early detection of cognitive decline and provide insights into potential early intervention targets for younger and middle-aged adults.

Pelatihan dan Asistensi Penulisan Ekspresi Matematis Dengan Bantuan Microsoft Word Bagi Calon Guru Di STKIP Melawi Kampus Perbatasan Entikong

Skills and fluency of students or prospective teachers in using Microsoft Word application are highly demanded to ensure the successful completion of tasks. The issue at hand is that the majority of students lack sufficient proficiency in typing mathematical formulas into Microsoft Word documents. The purpose of this training and assistance activity is to help enhance the knowledge and share experiences with prospective teacher students regarding writing mathematical expressions in Microsoft Word. The method employed in this training activity involves the demonstration of materials and direct practice and exercises by the participants. Based on the results of the activity, out of the 12 participants, 10 were able to practice without direct assistance, while 2 still needed direct guidance and support. Consequently, it can be concluded that most of the prospective teacher students already understand how to write mathematical expressions in Microsoft Word but still need to practice to improve their fluency.

Relay Hindsight Experience Replay: Self-guided continual reinforcement learning for sequential object manipulation tasks with sparse rewards

Learning with sparse rewards remains a challenging problem in reinforcement learning (RL). In particular, for sequential object manipulation tasks, the RL agent generally only receives a reward upon successful completion of the entire task, leading to low exploration efficiency. To address this sample inefficiency, we propose a novel self-guided continual RL framework, named Relay Hindsight Experience Replay (RHER). RHER decomposes a sequential task into several subtasks with increasing complexity, allowing the agent to learn from the simplest subtask and gradually complete the task. It is crucial that a Self-Guided Exploration Strategy (SGES) is proposed to use the already-learned simpler subtask policy to guide the exploration of a more complex subtask. This strategy allows the agent to break the barriers of sparse reward sequential tasks and achieve efficient learning stage by stage. As a result, the proposed RHER method achieves state-of-the-art performance on the benchmark tasks (FetchPush and FetchPickAndPlace). Furthermore, the experimental results demonstrate the superiority and high efficiency of RHER on a variety of single-object and multi-object manipulation tasks (e.g., ObstaclePush, DrawerBox, TStack, etc.). Finally, the proposed RHER method can also learn a contact-rich task on a real robot from scratch within 250 episodes.

The role of learning in complex problem solving using MicroDYN

It is still an open question which cognitive and non-cognitive personality traits are useful for describing and explaining behaviour and performance in complex problems. During complex problem solving (CPS), problem solvers have to interact with the task in a way in which learning ability might be beneficial for successful task completion. By investigating the relationship between learning ability and CPS, while accounting for interactions between complex system characteristics and person characteristics, this paper aims to understand the role of learning processes in CPS more closely. In a sample of N = 241 participants, we performed a preregistered analysis to investigate the relationship between knowledge acquisition performance in a CPS test (MicroDYN) and learning test performance (ADAFI) with a multilevel modeling approach across 10 CPS systems with various characteristics. In line with our expectations, we replicated previous findings on a relationship between learning test and MicroDYN performance and found this relationship to be more pronounced in systems with (vs. without) autonomous changes. Further system and person characteristics also showed effects as expected, with better performance in systems with lower complexity, with more experience with the task, and with more strategic exploration behaviour. Our results provide further evidence for the notion that learning is an important component for the successful completion of CPS tasks.

Effortfulness of visual working memory: Gauged by physical exertion.

Active maintenance of information in working memory (WM) is an essential but effortful cognitive process. Yet, the effortful nature of WM remains poorly understood. Here, we constructed a model to evaluate how perceived effort of WM is directly compared to that of physical exertion. In Experiment 1, participants freely chose to either remember a certain number of colors in a visual WM task or hold a hand dynamometer to a required percentage of maximal voluntary contraction (%MVC) to obtain a fixed task credit upon successful task completion. We found that participants discounted WM-related effort in the same way as they discounted handgrip-related effort based on a computation of expected choice outcomes (hence utility) associated with different task loads. This rationality in an observer's prospective choice in Experiment 1 was generalized to retrospective choice in Experiment 2 where participants reported which task was more effortful immediately after they had performed both tasks in a randomized order without any reward or feedback. Experiment 3 further probed this shared mechanism using a dual-task paradigm. As predicted by our model, we found that physical exertion could disrupt the performance in the concurrent WM task, proportional to the iso-effort relationship between WM and physical exertion when task loads were high for both tasks. Collectively, our findings converge on a shared computational principle connecting task load, perceived effort, and choice utility across physical and cognitive domains. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

The nonlinearity of pupil diameter fluctuations in an insight task as criteria for detecting children who solve the problem from those who do not.

Insights, characterized by sudden discoveries following unsuccessful problem-solving attempts, are fascinating phenomena. Dynamic systems perspectives argue that insight arises from self-organizing perceptual and motor processes. Entropy and fractal scaling are potential markers for emerging new and effective solutions. This study investigated whether specific features associated with self-organization in dynamical systems can distinguish between individuals who succeed and those who fail in solving insight tasks. To achieve this, we analyzed pupillary diameter fluctuations of children aged 6 to 12 during the 8-coin task, a well-established insight task. The participants were divided into two groups: successful (n = 24) and unsuccessful (n = 43) task completion. Entropy, determinism, recurrence ratio, and the β scaling exponent were estimated using Recurrence Quantification and Power Spectrum Density analyses. The results indicated that the solver group exhibited more significant uncertainty and lower predictability in pupillary diameter fluctuations before finding the solution. Recurrence Quantification Analysis revealed changes that went unnoticed by mean and standard deviation measures. However, the β scaling exponent did not differentiate between the two groups. These findings suggest that entropy and determinism in pupillary diameter fluctuations can identify early differences in problem-solving success. Further research is needed to determine the exclusive role of perceptual and motor activity in generating insights and investigate these results' generalizability to other tasks and populations.

Mixture reality-based assistive system for visually impaired people

Individuals with visual impairments often face challenges in their daily lives, particularly in terms of independent mobility. To address this issue, we present a mixed reality-based assistive system for visually impaired individuals, which comprises a Microsoft Hololens2 device and a website and utilizes a simultaneous localization and mapping (SLAM) algorithm to capture various large indoor scenes in real-time. This system incorporates remote multi-person assistance technology and navigation technology to aid visually impaired individuals. To evaluate the effectiveness of our system, we conducted an experiment in which several participants completed a large indoor scene maintenance task. Our experimental results demonstrate that the system is robust and can be utilized in a wide range of indoor environments. Additionally, the system enhances environmental perception and enables visually impaired individuals to navigate independently, thus facilitating successful task completion.

Веб-приложение «Верное решение» для организации олимпиады по математике для учащихся 9 классов

The aim of the research is to present an organisational-measuring and career guidance tool for organising a mathematical olympiad in the remote format to the pedagogical community. The scientific novelty of the research lies in implementing the idea of synthesising the career guidance and control-forming nature of the developed web resource. The paper focuses on a number of topics from the school mathematics course, the knowledge of which is the basis for the successful completion of test tasks. The technical tools underlying the creation of web application attributes have been described and the software requirements have been specified. Access to parts of the application has been determined depending on the user’s status. Detailed instructions to ensure correct operation of the application aimed at schoolchildren have been developed. The created web application allows conducting subject olympiads for schoolchildren and also suggests the possibility of further additions and modifications. As a result, the researchers have created a resource the functionality of which is aimed both at increasing schoolchildren’s motivation of studying mathematics and at attracting potential applicants to the main university training programmes.