A reflective characterization of occasional user

This work revisits established user classifications and aims to characterise a historically unspecified user category, the Occasional User (OU). Three user categories, novice, intermediate and expert, have dominated the work of user interface (UI) designers, researchers and educators for decades. These categories were created to conceptualise user's needs, strategies and goals around the 80s. Since then, UI paradigm shifts, such as direct manipulation and touch, along with other advances in technology, gave new access to people with little computer knowledge. This fact produced a diversification of the existing user categories not observed in the literature review of traditional classification of users. The findings of this work include a new characterisation of the occasional user, distinguished by user's uncertainty of repetitive use of an interface and little knowledge about its functioning. In addition, the specification of the OU, together with principles and recommendations will help UI community to informatively design for users without requiring a prospective use and previous knowledge of the UI. The OU is an essential type of user to apply user-centred design approach to understand the interaction with technology as universal, accessible and transparent for the user, independently of accumulated experience and technological era that users live in.

Características preferidas por hombres y mujeres que buscan pareja estable de su mismo sexo

Las preferencias en elección de pareja de hombres y mujeres interesados en establecer relaciones a largo plazo con personas de su mismo sexo biológico ha sido un tema de interés para el análisis evolucionista, ya que existe debate frente a los resultados de las investigaciones y los planteamientos de las teorías de inversión parental y estrategias sexuales. Con el objetivo de identificar qué características son preferidas por hombres y mujeres interesados en establecer una relación a largo plazo con personas de su mismo sexo biológico y contribuir a esta discusión, se llevó a cabo un estudio descriptivo en el que analizamos el contenido de 732 perfiles de hombres y mujeres (H=491; M=241) que buscaban una relación estable con parejas de su mismo sexo biológico. Las categorías analizadas fueron: edad, atractivo físico (apariencia, contextura, estatura y peso), estatus socioeconómico (situación laboral, nivel educativo y zona de residencia buscada), estado civil, número de hijos y hábitos saludables (fumar y beber). Los resultados encontrados muestran que los hombres presentan rangos amplios en las características deseadas en una pareja (edad=16.87; estatura=11.37; peso=15.23) y además buscan personas menores a la edad ofrecida (M=-4.17 años). En las mujeres se encontró que los rangos son más restringidos (edad=13.85; estatura=9.83; peso=12.77) y además prefieren parejas mayores (M=2.89 años). A nivel general, se evidencia que los resultados encontrados en la mayoría de las variables podrían indicar congruencia con los planteamientos de la teoría de inversión parental y estrategias sexuales; sin embargo, en otras variables los resultados no son claros.

El videojuego League of legends y su efecto en memoria de trabajo visual y solución de problemas

El propósito de este estudio es medir los efectos que tiene el videojuego League of Legends en los procesos cognitivos de memoria de trabajo visual (MVT) y solución de problemas (SP). Para medir dichos efectos se implementó un diseño pre test-post con un grupo experimental y uno control, compuestos cada uno por siete participantes, en donde se evaluaron los procesos previamente mencionados utilizando los cubos de Corsi para MVT y las matrices del WAIS III para SP. Después de realizar los respectivos entrenamientos se encontraron resultados significativos en los diferentes momentos de aplicación. En el grupo experimental se encontraron diferencias en la variable dependiente SP, mientras que en el grupo control en MVT, pero no en la interacción entre grupos ni diferencias entre grupos, lo que sugiere un efecto de familiarización a la prueba.

Reciclaje de residuos sólidos domésticos y conductas pro-ambientales en una comunidad residencial de Bogotá, Colombia

Introducción: La implicación social dentro de la problemática ambiental, establece una relación causal entre hábitos e impacto ambiental; aspectos del comportamiento humano tales como la conveniencia, familiaridad, presión social y actitud, nos permiten realizar un acercamiento acerca de la decisión de reciclar o no en un hogar. Objetivo: identificar los factores ambientales asociados con el manejo de residuos domésticos entre los miembros de una comunidad residencial en la ciudad de Bogotá. Materiales y métodos: Se realizó un estudio transversal realizado a 200 personas de una comunidad residencial. La evaluación de la conducta pro-ambiental se llevó a cabo por medio de la utilización de la Escala del Comportamiento Pro-ambiental desarrollada por Corral-Verdugo unida a la escala de Reciclaje de Sidique. Para el tratamiento estadístico se empleó el análisis de regresión lineal múltiple. Resultados: La mayoría de los encuestados fueron hombres (55%), con una mediana de edad de 37,5 años. Más de la mitad tenía por lo menos formación en pregrado (53%), el 55,5% contaban con un empleo al momento de la entrevista, cerca del 50% de las personas refirieron tener casa propia y la mediana del tamaño de las mismas fue de 80 m2. De los aspectos sociodemográficos, el tipo de vivienda, sexo y edad, estuvieron relacionados con los factores ambientales pro reciclaje. Mientras que las conductas proambientales relacionadas fueron: altruismo, frugalidad, conducta ecológica general, indignación y aprecio por la naturaleza. Conclusiones: Las conductas proambientales Altruismo, Frugalidad, Conducta Ecológica, Indignación y Aprecio por lo natural, están relacionadas con la intención de reciclar. Para futuras investigaciones es necesario constatar la realización del comportamiento proambiental, para aseverar de manera irrebatible que las dimensiones analizadas pueden soportar una acción real y no un auto reporte de una conducta.

Are Decision Makers Rational in Ambiguous Situations?

This research work analyzes human behavior in complex situations and explains how decisions makers act in ambiguous situations. The objective of this research work is to study the sunk cost effect and the completion percentage effect of an investment project in a decision-making process. This research work uses a “retrospective rationality” approach to justify irrational behaviors such as the sunk cost effect, the completion percentage effect of an investment project and the irrational escalation since decision-makers are repeatedly affected by the decisions on past irreversible investments. This research work evaluates three sunk cost levels, and three completion percentage levels of an investment project, besides three neutral situations in a business environment and a personal decision situation. Graduate students in three Portuguese Management Schools responded to the questionnaires. Model results show that the value of resources invested is crucial for understanding the students’ rational behavior, who participated in this research work. These results disclose statistical evidence that the information on sunk costs and completion percentage of an investment project determines human behavior under irrational escalation in ambiguous situations. As a consequence, decision makers have the opportunity to interpret their decisions, since the scenarios do not allow a unique definition of rational choice, it is not correct to judge the irrational decision makers that decide to continue to invest in ambiguous situations. Keywords: Human Behavior, Sunk costs Effect, Completion Percentage Effect of an Investment Project, Irrational Escalation, Ambiguous Situations.

Long-term effects of hydrogel properties on human chondrocyte behavior

Hydrogels provide a 3-dimensional network for embedded cells and offer promise for cartilage tissue engineering applications. Nature-derived hydrogels, including alginate, have been shown to enhance the chondrocyte phenotype but are variable and not entirely controllable. Synthetic hydrogels, including polyethylene glycol (PEG)-based matrices, have the advantage of repeatability and modularity; mechanical stiffness, cell adhesion, and degradability can be altered independently. In this study, we compared the long-term in vitro effects of different hydrogels (alginate and Factor XIIIa-cross-linked MMP-sensitive PEG at two stiffness levels) on the behavior of expanded human chondrocytes and the development of construct properties. Monolayer-expanded human chondrocytes remained viable throughout culture, but morphology varied greatly in different hydrogels. Chondrocytes were characteristically round in alginate but mostly spread in PEG gels at both concentrations. Chondrogenic gene (COL2A1, aggrecan) expression increased in all hydrogels, but alginate constructs had much higher expression levels of these genes (up to 90-fold for COL2A1), as well as proteoglycan 4, a functional marker of the superficial zone. Also, chondrocytes expressed COL1A1 and COL10A1, indicative of de-differentiation and hypertrophy. After 12 weeks, constructs with lower polymer content were stiffer than similar constructs with higher polymer content, with the highest compressive modulus measured in 2.5% PEG gels. Different materials and polymer concentrations have markedly different potency to affect chondrocyte behavior. While synthetic hydrogels offer many advantages over natural materials such as alginate, they must be further optimized to elicit desired chondrocyte responses for use as cartilage models and for development of functional tissue-engineered articular cartilage.

Human information behavior: Integrating diverse approaches and information use

For millennia humans have sought, organized, and used information as they learned and evolved patterns of human information behaviors to resolve their human problems and survive. However, despite the current focus on living in an "information age," we have a limited evolutionary understanding of human information behavior. In this article the authors examine the current three interdisciplinary approaches to conceptualizing how humans have sought information including (a) the everyday life information seeking-sense-making approach, (b) the information foraging approach, and (c) the problem-solution perspective on information seeking approach. In addition, due to the lack of clarity regarding the role of information use in information behavior, a fourth information approach is provided based on a theory of information use. The use theory proposed starts from an evolutionary psychology notion that humans are able to adapt to their environment and survive because of our modular cognitive architecture. Finally, the authors begin the process of conceptualizing these diverse approaches, and the various aspects or elements of these approaches, within an integrated model with consideration of information use. An initial integrated model of these different approaches with information use is proposed.

Towards an evolutionary perspective for human information behavior: An exploratory study

Purpose - Since the beginning of human existence, humankind has sought, organized and used information as it evolved patterns and practices of human information behaviors. However, the field of human information behavior (HIB) has not heretofore pursued an evolutionary understanding of information behavior. The goal of this exploratory study is to provide insight about the information behavior of various individuals from the past to begin the development of an evolutionary perspective for our understanding of HIB. Design/methodology/approach - This paper presents findings from a qualitative analysis of the autobiographies and personal writings of several historical figures, including Napoleon Bonaparte, Charles Darwin, Giacomo Casanova and others. Findings - Analysis of their writings shows that these persons of the past articulated aspects of their HIB's, including information seeking, information organization and information use, providing tangible insights into their information-related thoughts and actions. Practical implications - This paper has implications for expanding the nature of our evolutionary understanding of information behavior and provides a broader context for the HIB research field. Originality/value - This the first paper in the information science field of HIB to study the information behavior of historical figures and begin to develop an evolutionary framework for HIB research. © Emerald Group Publishing Limited.

Human Information behavior (introduction to special issue)

Information behavior studies are a growing body of research that highlights the importance of information for everyone in the information age. This e-book presents an international and diverse range of studies and insights into the current state of theories and models of information behavior. There is an emphasis on the socialpersonalhuman dimensions of information seeking using social science methods and theoretical frameworks. The studies particularly draw on the methods and theories of anthropology, sociology and psychology to produce interpretations of the way in which information is experienced in the lives of individuals working as critical care nurses in a medical environment, the information seeking behavior of the visually impaired, the social interactions within knitting circles in public libraries, and attempts to apply information behavior theory to the design of information solutions. Collectively the papers contribute more generally to our understanding of information behavior theory and models, including the medical and retrieval contexts.

Nanofiber orientation and surface functionalization modulate human mesenchymal stem cell behavior in vitro

Electrospun nanofiber meshes have emerged as a new generation of scaffold membranes possessing a number of features suitable for tissue regeneration. One of these features is the flexibility to modify their structure and composition to orchestrate specific cellular responses. In this study, we investigated the effects of nanofiber orientation and surface functionalization on human mesenchymal stem cell (hMSC) migration and osteogenic differentiation. We used an in vitro model to examine hMSC migration into a cell-free zone on nanofiber meshes and mitomycin C treatment to assess the contribution of proliferation to the observed migration. Poly (ɛ-caprolactone) meshes with oriented topography were created by electrospinning aligned nanofibers on a rotating mandrel, while randomly oriented controls were collected on a stationary collector. Both aligned and random meshes were coated with a triple-helical, type I collagen-mimetic peptide, containing the glycine-phenylalanine-hydroxyproline-glycine-glutamate-arginine (GFOGER) motif. Our results indicate that nanofiber GFOGER peptide functionalization and orientation modulate cellular behavior, individually, and in combination. GFOGER significantly enhanced the migration, proliferation, and osteogenic differentiation of hMSCs on nanofiber meshes. Aligned nanofiber meshes displayed increased cell migration along the direction of fiber orientation compared to random meshes; however, fiber alignment did not influence osteogenic differentiation. Compared to each other, GFOGER coating resulted in a higher proliferation-driven cell migration, whereas fiber orientation appeared to generate a larger direct migratory effect. This study demonstrates that peptide surface modification and topographical cues associated with fiber alignment can be used to direct cellular behavior on nanofiber mesh scaffolds, which may be exploited for tissue regeneration.

Viscoelastic Behavior of Human Lamin A Proteins in the Context of Dilated Cardiomyopathy

Lamins are intermediate filament proteins of type V constituting a nuclear lamina or filamentous meshwork which lines the nucleoplasmic side of the inner nuclear membrane. This protein mesh provides a supporting scaffold for the nuclear envelope and tethers interphase chromosome to the nuclear periphery. Mutations of mainly A-type lamins are found to be causative for at least 11 human diseases collectively termed as laminopathies majority of which are characterised by aberrant nuclei with altered structural rigidity, deformability and poor mechanotransduction behaviour. But the investigation of viscoelastic behavior of lamin A continues to elude the field. In order to address this problem, we hereby present the very first report on viscoelastic properties of wild type human lamin A and some of its mutants linked with Dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) using quantitative rheological measurements. We observed a dramatic strain-softening effect on lamin A network as an outcome of the strain amplitude sweep measurements which could arise from the large compliance of the quasi-cross-links in the network or that of the lamin A rods. In addition, the drastic stiffening of the differential elastic moduli on superposition of rotational and oscillatory shear stress reflect the increase in the stiffness of the laterally associated lamin A rods. These findings present a preliminary insight into distinct biomechanical properties of wild type lamin A protein and its mutants which in turn revealed interesting differences.

Behavior learning of a face robot based on the characteristics of human instruction

Computer simulation experiments were performed to examine the effectiveness of OR- and comparative-reinforcement learning algorithms. In the simulation, human rewards were given as +1 and -1. Two models of human instruction that determine which reward is to be given in every step of a human instruction were used. Results show that human instruction may have a possibility of including both model-A and model-B characteristics, and it can be expected that the comparative-reinforcement learning algorithm is more effective for learning by human instructions.