Visual Interruption Research Articles

The inevitability of visual interruption.

For successful adaptive behavior, exogenous environmental events must be sensed and reacted to as efficiently as possible. In the lab, the mechanisms underlying such efficiency are often studied with eye movements. Using controlled trials, careful measures of eye movement reaction times, directions, and kinematics suggest a form of "exogenous" oculomotor capture by external events. However, even in controlled trials, exogenous onsets necessarily come asynchronously to internal brain state. We argue that variability in the effectiveness of "exogenous" capture is inevitable. We review an extensive set of evidence demonstrating that before orienting must come interruption, a process that partially explains such variability. More importantly, we present a novel neural mechanistic account of interruption, leveraging the presence of early sensory processing capabilities in the very final stages of oculomotor control brain circuitry.

Boundedness in event cognition: Viewers spontaneously represent the temporal texture of events

A long philosophical and linguistic literature on events going back to Aristotle distinguishes between events that are internally structured in terms of distinct temporal stages leading to culmination (bounded events; e.g., a girl folded up a handkerchief) and events that are internally unstructured and lack an inherent endpoint (unbounded events; e.g., a girl waved a handkerchief). Here we show that event cognition spontaneously computes this foundational dimension of the temporal texture of events. People watched videos of either bounded or unbounded events that included a visual interruption lasting either 0.13 s (Experiment 1) or 0.03 s (Experiments 2 and 3). The interruption was placed at either the midpoint or close to the endpoint of the event stimulus. People had to indicate whether they saw an interruption after watching each video (Experiments 1 and 2) or respond as soon as they detected an interruption while watching each video (Experiment 3). When people responded after the video, they were more likely to ignore interruptions placed close to event endpoints compared to event midpoints (Experiment 1); similarly, when they responded during the video, they reacted more slowly to endpoint compared to midpoint interruptions (Experiment 3). Crucially, across the three experiments, there was an interaction between event type and interruption timing: the endpoint-midpoint difference depended on whether participants were watching an event that was bounded or unbounded. These results suggest that, as people perceive dynamic events, they spontaneously track boundedness, or the temporal texture of events. This finding has implications for current models of event cognition and the language-cognition interface.

The Impact of Interruptions on Feature Change Detection within Dynamic Scenes

The goal of the present study was to examine how interruptions occurring in dynamic scenes affect the ability to detect perceptual changes during level 1 situation awareness (SA). Undergraduates were asked to watch 24 brief videos (half with interruptions) including 8 with perceptual feature changes. All videos were unique and contained multiple dynamic objects. Three different sets of instructions regarding the changes were given to successive groups: no information, limited information, and feature specific information. Of the eight changes, half occurred during a visual interruption and half with no interruption. Results showed that participants detected few changes, but detections increased when given more information about the nature of the changes in the absence of interruptions. The findings suggest that interruptions may facilitate the decay of an objects’ activation level in working memory and that level 1 SA may be particularly fragile when the visual scene is interrupted.

Multimodal recognition of interrupted speech: Benefit from text and visual speech cues

Presenting degraded speech with visual cues facilitates speech recognition. This benefit is observed for visual speech cues that are perceptually correlated with the auditory signal, as well as for text cues that delay integration until a later cognitive-linguistic processing stage. However, it is not clear how the benefit compares between these two types of degraded multimodal presentations. The current study examined how listeners integrate visually interrupted text or visual speech cues with acoustically interrupted speech. In Experiment 1, text was periodically interrupted by white space at visual interruption rates that were associated with the auditory interruption rate of speech. In Experiment 2, videos were visually interrupted by grey frames. The synchrony of audio-visual interruption was also manipulated by presenting visual cues in-phase or 180o out-of-phase with speech interruptions. For both experiments, speech was low-pass filtered at 2000 Hz. Preliminary results indicate that listeners obtain a benefit from both visual speech and text cues. In addition, performance is affected by the interruption rate of speech, with minimal performance obtained around an interruption rate of 2 Hz. Supplementing speech with incomplete visual cues can improve sentence intelligibility and compensate for degraded speech in adverse listening conditions. [Work supported, in part, by NIH/NIDCD.]

The Effect of Interruptions on Novices Learning a Challenging Surgical Skill

The goal of this study was to examine how interruptions affect the acquisition of laparoscopic skills among novices. Undergraduate students with no prior laparoscopic experience completed a basic laparoscopic training task requiring them to pick up and transfer colored objects in a predetermined sequence. The number of colored objects in the sequence was varied to produce three levels of task demand. During execution of the primary task, participants were exposed to a visual interruption by having their video display go blank. The length of interruptions was also varied to examine its effect on memory for the sequence of object moves. Results show greater perceived workload and sequence errors as the demand of the ring transfer task increased. Interruptions from simulated equipment failure were not found to negatively impact recollection of the predetermined color sequences.

Bottom-Up and Top-Down Factors Differentially Influence Stimulus Representations Across Large-Scale Attentional Networks.

Visual attention is thought to be supported by three large-scale frontoparietal networks: the frontoparietal control network (FPCN), the dorsal attention network (DAN), and the ventral attention network (VAN). The traditional view is that these networks support visual attention by biasing and evaluating sensory representations in visual cortical regions. However, recent evidence suggests that frontoparietal regions actively represent perceptual stimuli. Here, we assessed how perceptual stimuli are represented across large-scale frontoparietal and visual networks. Specifically, we tested whether representations of stimulus features across these networks are differentially sensitive to bottom-up and top-down factors. In a pair of pattern-based fMRI studies, male and female human subjects made perceptual decisions about face images that varied along two independent dimensions: gender and affect. Across studies, we interrupted bottom-up visual input using backward masks. Within studies, we manipulated which stimulus features were goal relevant (i.e., whether gender or affect was relevant) and task switching (i.e., whether the goal on the current trial matched the goal on the prior trial). We found that stimulus features could be reliably decoded from all four networks and, importantly, that subregions within each attentional network maintained coherent representations. Critically, the different attentional manipulations (interruption, goal relevance, and task switching) differentially influenced feature representations across networks. Whereas visual interruption had a relatively greater influence on representations in visual regions, goal relevance and task switching had a relatively greater influence on representations in frontoparietal networks. Therefore, large-scale brain networks can be dissociated according to how attention influences the feature representations that they maintain.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Visual attention is supported by multiple frontoparietal attentional networks. However, it remains unclear how stimulus features are represented within these networks and how they are influenced by attention. Here, we assessed feature representations in four large-scale networks using a perceptual decision-making paradigm in which we manipulated top-down and bottom-up factors. We found that top-down manipulations such as goal relevance and task switching modulated feature representations in attentional networks, whereas bottom-up manipulations such as interruption of visual processing had a relatively stronger influence on feature representations in visual regions. Together, these findings indicate that attentional networks actively represent stimulus features and that representations within different large-scale networks are influenced by different forms of attention.

03.21: Structural glued connections with different metal substrates

ABSTRACTIntensive studies of polymer adhesives for structural applications have opened up new possibilities of glued usage connections in civil engineering, especially in façade applications. Facades have to fulfil not only architectural requirements but there are also construction and material technology requirements, as well as functionality. Façade cladding connections with other façade parts can be advantageously designed as glued joints. In dependence on particular application, adhesive bonding provides higher efficiency of workmanship in comparison with bolted connection and esthetical qualities, e.g. smooth, flat surface of façade cladding without visual interruption of bolts. Important benefit of glued connections in facades is elimination of local thermal bridge in comparison with bolted connections and possibility of stress peak reduction in dependence on adhesive and substrate stiffness and geometrical arrangement of the joint. Despite of wide usage of low strength and elastic silicone sealants for a long period of time in façades, there is a lack of information about semi‐flexible and semi‐rigid adhesives with higher strength and reasonable elongation at break. Building facade is a very specific type of usage for glued connections due to the requirements on durability, strict geometrical imperfections and joining of unconventional materials often used in the façade design. This paper reports on an experimental analysis focused on determining of the mechanical characteristics of two types of adhesive applied in double lap connection loaded by shear. The study comprises two basic substrate materials, aluminium and galvanised steel, with various surface treatments. Galvanized steel was used with clean, smooth surface and roughened surface; aluminium substrates were applied with clean smooth surface, roughened surface and with anodised covering to find out effect of roughening and anodization of aluminium on adhesion. Material and surface treatment has great influence not only on adhesion and thus strength of the joint, but also on failure mode, behaviour and safety of particular joint. Moreover, every necessary surface treatment creates higher labour intensity, higher time consumption and thus increased costs on building/facade construction.

The effects of brief visual interruption tasks on drivers’ ability to resume their visual search for a pre-cued hazard

Driver visual distraction is known to increase the likelihood of being involved in a crash, especially for long glances inside the vehicle. The detrimental impact of these in-vehicle glances may carry over and disrupt the ongoing processing of information after the driver glances back up on the road. This study explored the effect of different types of visual tasks inside the vehicle on the top-down processes that guide the detection and monitoring of road hazards after the driver glances back towards the road. Using a driving simulator, 56 participants were monitored with an eye tracking system while they navigated various hazardous scenarios in one of four experimental conditions. In all conditions, a potential hazard was visible 4–5s before the driver could strike the potential hazard were it to materialize. All interruptions were exactly two seconds in length. After the interruption the potential hazard again became visible for about a half-second after which the driver passed by the hazard. The nature of the in-vehicle visual interruption presented to the participants was varied across conditions: (1) Visual interruptions comprised of spatial, driving unrelated, tasks; (2) visual interruptions comprised of non-spatial, driving unrelated, tasks; (3) visual interruptions with no tasks added; and (4) no visual interruptions. In the first three conditions drivers glancing on the forward roadway was momentarily interrupted (either with or without a task) just after the potential hazard first became visible by the occurrence of an in-vehicle task lasting two seconds. In the last condition (no interruptions) the driver could not see the potential hazard after it just became visible because of obstructions in the built or natural environment. The obstruction (like the interruption) lasted for two seconds. In other words, across all conditions the hazard was visible, then became invisible, and finally became visible again. Importantly, the results show that the presence of an interruption (as opposed to an obstruction) negatively impacted drivers’ ability to anticipate the potential hazard. Moreover, the various types of interruptions had differential effects on hazard detection. The implications of this study for the design of in-vehicle displays are discussed.

Urban Prophets: Creating Graffiti as a Means of Negotiating the Constructs of Urban Public Spaces

For this examination, graffiti and neo-graffiti have been compared to public art in order to reveal the ideological constructions of urban public spaces. How does graffiti interact with the construction of urban public spaces? How is graffiti similar to and different from public art? Which of these art forms better represents the public and city living? By comparing public art to (neo)graffiti in Toronto, Ontario and Los Angeles, California, the gendered, racialized, and class-based exclusions present in R. Florida's (2002) creative cities framework as theorized by authors such as N. Smith (1996), Sharon Zukin (1996), and G. Standing (2011) can be revealed. Urban public spaces are carefully shaped by those in control, the government and corporations, with the intention of creating spaces and citizens within those spaces that can be a functioning part of their neoliberal capitalist system. Graffiti and neo-graffiti act as a visual interruption to this system, which in turn can be thought of as physically represented by public art. In this way (neo)graffiti is created by a minority of citizens with the hopes of reclaiming their right to exist in urban public spaces despite layers of ideological exclusions.For this examination, graffiti and neo-graffiti have been compared to public art in order to reveal the ideological constructions of urban public spaces. How does graffiti interact with the construction of urban public spaces? How is graffiti similar to and different from public art? Which of these art forms better represents the public and city living? By comparing public art (neo)graffiti in Toronto, Ontario and Los Angeles California, the racialized and class-based exclusions present in R. Florida’s (2002) creative cities framework theorized by authors such as N. Smith (1996), Sharon Zukin (1996), and G. Standing (2011) can be revealed. Urban public spaces are carefully shaped by those in control (the government and corporations) with the intention of creating spaces and citizens within those spaces that can be a functioning part of their system. Graffiti and neo-graffiti act as a visual interruption to this system as represented by public art. In this way (neo)graffiti is created by a minority of citizens with the hopes of reclaiming their right to exist in urban public spaces despite the layers of exclusions.

Memory for a Hazard is Interrupted by Performance of a Secondary In-Vehicle Task

Driver visual distraction is known to increase the likelihood of being involved in a crash, especially for long glances. Recent evidence further suggests that the detrimental impact of these glances carries over and disrupting the ongoing processing of information after the eyes return to the road. This study aimed at exploring the effect of different types of visual disruptions on the top-down processes that guide the detection and monitoring of road hazards. Using a driving simulator, 56 participants were monitored with an eye tracking system while they navigated various hazardous scenarios in one of four experimental conditions: (1) Visual interruptions comprised of spatial, driving unrelated, tasks; (2) visual interruptions comprised of non-spatial, driving unrelated, tasks; (3) visual interruptions with no tasks added; and (4) no visual interruptions. In the first three conditions drivers were momentarily interrupted (either with or without a task) prior to the hazard occurrence. The visual interruption was aimed to simulate a glance inside the vehicle either with or without the need to process driving irrelevant information. Results show that the various types of tasks had differential effects on hazard detection. Implications of this study are discussed.

Actively transparent display with enhanced legibility based on an organic light-emitting diode and a cholesteric liquid crystal blind panel

Transparent display is one of the most promising concepts among the next generation information display devices. Nevertheless, conventional transparent displays have two inherent problems: low forward light efficiency due to the light being emitted also in a backward direction; and low legibility due to the visual interruption caused by the light coming from the background. In this work, a cholesteric liquid crystal (Ch-LC) based, actively operational blind panel is combined with transparent organic light-emitting diodes (TR-OLEDs) to recycle the light wasted by backward propagation in transparent displays while blocking the light from behind the display, pursuing both improved forward light efficiency and enhanced image legibility. By tuning the reflectance spectrum of the Ch-LC panel to match the emission spectrum of TR-OLEDs, we achieved luminous efficiency increase by as large as 21% (85%) when the top metal cathode side (the bottom ITO side) of the OLEDs fa'transparent OLED' ces the blind panel. Maximum transmittance of the proposed device reached a high value of 60%, successfully demonstrating a new window-like transparent display concept.

Contribution of cells in the posterior parietal cortex to the planning of visually guided locomotion in the cat: effects of temporary visual interruption

In the present study, we determined whether cells in the posterior parietal cortex (PPC) may contribute to the planning of voluntary gait modifications in the absence of visual input. In two cats we recorded the responses of 41 neurons in layer V of the PPC that discharged in advance of the gait modification to a 900-ms interruption of visual information (visual occlusion). The cats continued to walk without interruption during the occlusion, which produced only minimal changes in step cycle duration and paw placement. Visual occlusion applied during the period of cell discharge was without significant effect on discharge frequency in 57% of cells. In the other cells, the visual occlusion produced either significant decreases (18%) or increases (21%) of discharge activity (in 1 cell there was both an increase and a decrease). The mean latency of the changes was 356 ms for decreases and 252 ms for increases. In most neurons, discharge frequency, when modified, returned to the same levels as during unoccluded locomotion when vision was restored. In some cells, there were significant changes in discharge activity after the restoration of vision; these were associated with corrections of gait. These results suggest that the PPC is more involved in the visuomotor transformations necessary to plan gait modifications than in continual sensory processing of visual information. We further propose that cells in the PPC contribute both to the planning of gait modifications on the basis of only intermittent visual sampling and to visually guided online corrections of gait.

An Eye Movement Analysis of the Effect of Interruption Modality on Primary Task Resumption

We examined the effect of interruption modality (visual or auditory) on primary task (visual) resumption to determine which modality was the least disruptive. Theories examining interruption modality have focused on specific periods of the interruption timeline. Preemption theory has focused on the switch from the primary task to the interrupting task. Multiple resource theory has focused on interrupting tasks that are to be performed concurrently with the primary task. Our focus was on examining how interruption modality influences task resumption.We leverage the memory-for-goals theory, which suggests that maintaining an associative link between environmental cues and the suspended primary task goal is important for resumption. Three interruption modality conditions were examined: auditory interruption with the primary task visible, auditory interruption with a blank screen occluding the primary task, and a visual interruption occluding the primary task. Reaction time and eye movement data were collected. The auditory condition with the primary task visible was the least disruptive. Eye movement data suggest that participants in this condition were actively maintaining an associative link between relevant environmental cues on the primary task interface and the suspended primary task goal during the interruption. These data suggest that maintaining cue association is the important factor for reducing the disruptiveness of interruptions, not interruption modality. Interruption-prone computing environments should be designed to allow for the user to have access to relevant primary task cues during an interruption to minimize disruptiveness.

Responses to deceleration during car following: Roles of optic flow, warnings, expectations, and interruptions.

More than 25% of accidents are rear-end collisions. It is essential to identify the factors that contribute to such collisions. One such factor is a driver's ability to respond to the deceleration of the car ahead. In Experiment 1, we measured effects of optic flow information and discrete visual and auditory warnings (brake lights, tones) on responses to deceleration during car following. With computer simulations of car-following scenes, university students pressed a button when the lead car decelerated. Both classes of information affected responses. Observers relied on discrete warnings when optic flow information was relatively less effective as determined by the lead car's headway and deceleration rate. This is consistent with DeLucia's (2008) conceptual framework of space perception that emphasized the importance of viewing distance and motion (and task). In Experiment 2, we measured responses to deceleration after a visual interruption. Scenes were designed to tease apart the role of expectations and optic flow. Responses mostly were consistent with optic flow information presented after the interruption rather than with putative mental expectations that were set up by the lead car's motion prior to the interruption. The theoretical implication of the present results is that responses to deceleration are based on multiple sources of information, including optical size, optical expansion rate and tau, and discrete warnings that are independent of optic flow. The practical implication is that in-vehicle collision-avoidance warning systems may be more useful when optic flow is less effective (e.g., slow deceleration rates), implicating a role for adaptive collision-warning systems.

Reply to “Letter to the editor: ‘Ocular lens does not change volume during accommodation’”

reply: Thank you for providing a forum to answer the comments of Drs. Schachar and Liao ([5][1]). #### General comments. The number of experiments was not 7; it was a total of 20 divided in 3 sets: 7 relaxed-stretched, 6 relaxed-stretched-relaxed (see Table 1 in Ref. [2][2]), and 7 under oil (see

Not Now! Supporting Interruption Management by Indicating the Modality and Urgency of Pending Tasks

Operators in complex event-driven domains must coordinate competing attentional demands in the form of multiple tasks and interactions. This study examined the extent to which this requirement can be supported more effectively through informative interruption cueing (in this case, partial information about the nature of pending tasks). The 48 participants performed a visually demanding air traffic control (ATC) task. They were randomly assigned to 1 of 3 experimental groups that differed in the availability of information (not available, available upon request, available automatically) about the urgency and modality of pending interruption tasks. Within-subject variables included ATC-related workload and the modality, frequency, and priority of interruption tasks. The results show that advance knowledge about the nature of pending tasks led participants to delay visual interruption tasks the longest, which allowed them to avoid intramodal interference and scanning costs associated with performing these tasks concurrently with ATC tasks. The 3 experimental groups did not differ significantly in terms of their interruption task performance; however, the group that automatically received task-related information showed better ATC performance, thus experiencing a net performance gain. Actual or potential applications of this research include the design of interfaces in support of attention and interruption management in a wide range of event-driven environments.

Not Now! Supporting Interruption Management by Indicating the Modality and Urgency of Pending Tasks

Operators in complex event-driven domains must coordinate competing attentional demands in the form of multiple tasks and interactions. This study examined the extent to which this requirement can be supported more effectively through informative interruption cueing (in this case, partial information about the nature of pending tasks). The 48 participants performed a visually demanding air traffic control (ATC) task. They were randomly assigned to 1 of 3 experimental groups that differed in the availability of information (not available, available upon request, available automatically) about the urgency and modality of pending interruption tasks. Within-subject variables included ATC-related workload and the modality, frequency, and priority of interruption tasks. The results show that advance knowledge about the nature of pending tasks led participants to delay visual interruption tasks the longest, which allowed them to avoid intramodal interference and scanning costs associated with performing these tasks concurrently with ATC tasks. The 3 experimental groups did not differ significantly in terms of their interruption task performance; however, the group that automatically received task-related information showed better ATC performance, thus experiencing a net performance gain. Actual or potential applications of this research include the design of interfaces in support of attention and interruption management in a wide range of event-driven environments.

Not Now! Supporting Interruption Management by Indicating the Modality and Urgency of Pending Tasks

Operators in complex event-driven domains must coordinate competing attentional demands in the form of multiple tasks and interactions. This study examined the extent to which this requirement can be supported more effectively through informative interruption cueing (in this case, partial information about the nature of pending tasks). The 48 participants performed a visually demanding air traffic control (ATC) task. They were randomly assigned to 1 of 3 experimental groups that differed in the availability of information (not available, available upon request, available automatically) about the urgency and modality of pending interruption tasks. Within-subject variables included ATC-related workload and the modality, frequency, and priority of interruption tasks. The results show that advance knowledge about the nature of pending tasks led participants to delay visual interruption tasks the longest, which allowed them to avoid intramodal interference and scanning costs associated with performing these tasks concurrently with ATC tasks. The 3 experimental groups did not differ significantly in terms of their interruption task performance; however, the group that automatically received task-related information showed better ATC performance, thus experiencing a net performance gain. Actual or potential applications of this research include the design of interfaces in support of attention and interruption management in a wide range of event-driven environments.

Looking without seeing the background change: electrophysiological correlates of change detection versus change blindness

We examined electrophysiological correlates of conscious change detection versus change blindness for equivalent displays. Observers had to detect any changes, across a visual interruption, between a pair of successive displays. Each display comprised grey circles on a background of alternate black and white stripes. Foreground changes arose when light-grey circles turned dark-grey and vice-versa. Physically stronger background changes arose when all black stripes turned white and vice-versa. Despite their physical strength, background changes were undetected unless attention was directed to them, whereas foreground changes were invariably seen. Event-related potentials revealed that the P300 component was suppressed for unseen background changes, as compared with the same changes when seen. This effect arose first over frontal sites, and then spread to parietal sites. These results extend recent fMRI findings that fronto-parietal activation is associated with conscious visual change detection, to reveal the timing of these neural correlates.

Supporting Timesharing and Interruption Management Through Multimodal Information Presentation

Operators in complex event-driven domains often need to perform multiple concurrent tasks and handle competing attentional demands, such as interruptions by other human or machine agents. This study examined the effectiveness of distributing tasks across various sensory channels and presenting information on the nature of an interruption task to support timesharing and attention management. Participants performed a visually demanding simulated Air Traffic Control (ATC) task involving Data Link communication. At times, an interruption task was introduced, which consisted of counting subsets of signals that were presented in visual, auditory, or tactile form. Half of the subjects automatically received information on the modality and urgency of these pending interruption tasks whereas the other participants had the option to request this information. Within-subject variables in this study included ATC-related workload and the frequency and priority of interruption tasks. High-priority tasks had to be performed immediately whereas low-priority tasks could be delayed for up to two minutes. The results show that information about the nature of pending tasks supported participants in scheduling and timesharing more effectively. They were able to avoid intramodal interference and scanning costs associated with performing the ATC task concurrently with a visual interruption task. Crossmodal interference was lowest for auditory interruption tasks. Overall, these findings illustrate the benefits of multimodal information presentation and more informative interruption signals.