An examination of the dynamic relationship between self-efficacy and performance across levels of analysis and levels of specificity

This research used resource allocation theory to generate predictions regarding dynamic relationships between self-efficacy and task performance from 2 levels of analysis and specificity. Participants were given multiple trials of practice on an air traffic control task. Measures of task-specific self-efficacy and performance were taken at repeated intervals. The authors used multilevel analysis to demonstrate differential and dynamic effects. As predicted, task-specific self-efficacy was negatively associated with task performance at the within-person level. On the other hand, average levels of task-specific self-efficacy were positively related to performance at the between-persons level and mediated the effect of general self-efficacy. The key findings from this research relate to dynamic effects - these results show that self-efficacy effects can change over time, but it depends on the level of analysis and specificity at which self-efficacy is conceptualized. These novel findings emphasize the importance of conceptualizing self-efficacy within a multilevel and multispecificity framework and make a significant contribution to understanding the way this construct relates to task performance.

Benefits of all work and no play: The relationship between neuroticism and performance as a function of resource allocation

The authors evaluate a model suggesting that the performance of highly neurotic individuals, relative to their stable counterparts, is more strongly influenced by factors relating to the allocation of attentional resources. First, an air traffic control simulation was used to examine the interaction between effort intensity and scores on the Anxiety subscale of Eysenck Personality Profiler Neuroticism in the prediction of task performance. Overall effort intensity enhanced performance for highly anxious individuals more so than for individuals with low anxiety. Second, a longitudinal field study was used to examine the interaction between office busyness and Eysenck Personality Inventory Neuroticism in the prediction of telesales performance. Changes in office busyness were associated with greater performance improvements for highly neurotic individuals compared with less neurotic individuals. These studies suggest that highly neurotic individuals outperform their stable counterparts in a busy work environment or if they are expending a high level of effort.

Self-efficacy and task performance: An investigation from two levels of analysis and specificity

This research adopts a resource allocation theoretical framework to generate predictions regarding the relationship between self-efficacy and task performance from two levels of analysis and specificity. Participants were given multiple trials of practice on an air traffic control task. Measures of task-specific self-efficacy and performance were taken at repeated intervals. The authors used multilevel analysis to demonstrate dynamic main effects, dynamic mediation and dynamic moderation. As predicted, the positive effects of overall task specific self-efficacy and general self-efficacy on task performance strengthened throughout practice. In line with these dynamic main effects, the effect of general self-efficacy was mediated by overall task specific self-efficacy; however this pattern emerged over time. Finally, changes in task specific self-efficacy were negatively associated with changes in performance at the within-person level; however this effect only emerged towards the end of practice for individuals with high levels of overall task specific self-efficacy. These novel findings emphasise the importance of conceptualising self-efficacy within a multi-level and multi-specificity framework and make a significant contribution to understanding the way this construct relates to task performance.

A multilevel analysis of BIS sensitivity and negative affect during skill acquisition

This Study examined the muldlevel reladonships among negadve affect Behavioural Inhibidon System (BIS) Sensidvit)' and performance. It also invesdgated whether the reladonship among these variables changed across pracdce. Pardcipants performed muldple trials of a simulated air traffic control task, A single measure of BIS was taken before pracdce, while negadve affect and performance were measured at repeated intervals. As expected, negadve affect was detrimental to performance at both a between-person and withinperson level, BIS was also found to be detrimental to performance. Contrary' to expectadons, the reladonship between BIS and performance was not mediated by overall levels of negadve affect. As predicted, the effects of overall levels of negadve affect and BIS strengthened across pracdce as pardcipants gained task knowledge and skill. The findings of this study are interpreted using resource allocadon theor}' and the implicadons for skiU acquisidon discussed.

The moderating effects of goal orientations on reactions to goal-performance discrepancies

Due to the growing popularity of goal setting programs within organisations, an understanding of the mechanisms underlying the dynamic regulation of performance is paramount (Williams, Donovan, & Dodge, 2000). Goals serve as standards or referents by which behaviour is directed and evaluated. Whilst their importance is well established in the existing literature (e.g. Locke & Latham, 1990), more recent research has highlighted the potential importance of goal-performance discrepancies. Moreover, the relationship between goal-performance discrepancies and outcomes such as self-efficacy and personal goals appears to vary between people (Schmidt & Chambers, 2002). Of interest in the current study was how these relationships were impacted by goal orientation. Ninety-seven participants completed 30 two-minute trials of an Air Traffic Control task. Task specific goal orientation was measured prior to commencement of the task and measures of self-efficacy and personal task goals were taken at each trial to assess the within-person relationships between goal performance discrepancies and each of these dependant variables, as well as the moderating effects of goal orientations on these relationships. Analysis supported the existence of a positive relationship between goal-performance discrepancies and outcome variables, with performance-approach and –avoidance orientations significantly moderating these associations. Implications and future directions are discussed.

Formal analysis of human-computer interaction using model checking

Experiments with simulators allow psychologists to better understand the causes of human errors and build models of cognitive processes to be used in human reliability assessment (HRA). This paper investigates an approach to task failure analysis based on patterns of behaviour, by contrast to more traditional event-based approaches. It considers, as a case study, a formal model of an air traffic control (ATC) system which incorporates controller behaviour. The cognitive model is formalised in the CSP process algebra. Patterns of behaviour are expressed as temporal logic properties. Then a model-checking technique is used to verify whether the decomposition of the operator's behaviour into patterns is sound and complete with respect to the cognitive model. The decomposition is shown to be incomplete and a new behavioural pattern is identified, which appears to have been overlooked in the analysis of the data provided by the experiments with the simulator. This illustrates how formal analysis of operator models can yield fresh insights into how failures may arise in interactive systems.

Personality and goal orientation as predictors of performance in a learning context

The current study aimed to investigate and provide furthering evidence of individual differences as determinants of task performance. This research focused on the effects of the personality traits Openness to Experience and Neuroticism, and two goal orientation traits. Learning Orientation and Avoid Orientation, on task performance. The hypotheses addressed the predictability of the traits, the differential effects of personality and goal orientation traits, and the mediating effects of goal orientation on the relationship between personality and performance. The results were based on questionnaire responses completed by a sample of 103 students. Scores on a computerised Air Traffic Control (ATC) decision-making task were used as a measure of task performance. Learning Orientation was found to be a significant predictor of performance, whilst the effect of Neuroticism was 'approaching' significance. Results indicated strong support for the differential relationship between personality traits and corresponding goal orientation traits. The mediating relationship between Openness to Experience, Learning Orientation and performance was also found to be 'approaching' significance. Results were indicative of the influences of personality and goal orientation on consequent performance outcomes. Implications were discussed, as well as suggestions for possible future directions in research assessing the predictabilit)' of individual differences in learning contexts.

Goal orientation, ability and task performance: A moderated analysis

Achievement goal orientation represents an individual's general approach to an achievement situation, and has important implications for how individuals react to novel, challenging tasks. However, theorists such as Yeo and Neal (2004) have suggested that the effects of goal orientation may emerge over time. Bell and Kozlowski (2002) have further argued that these effects may be moderated by individual ability. The current study tested the dynamic effects of a new 2x2 model of goal orientation (mastery/performance x approach/avoidance) on performance on a simulated air traffic control (ATC) task, as moderated by dynamic spatial ability. One hundred and one first-year participants completed a self-report goal orientation measure and computerbased dynamic spatial ability test and performed 30 trials of an ATC task. Hypotheses were tested using a two-level hierarchical linear model. Mastery-approach orientation was positively related to task performance, although no interaction with ability was observed. Performance-avoidance orientation was negatively related to task performance; this association was weaker at high levels of ability. Theoretical and practical implications will be discussed.

Antecedents of task-specific goal orientation: An investigation of task practice, personality and global goal orientation

Goal orientation, a mental framework for understanding how individuals approach learning and achievement situations, has emerged as an important topic in organisational psychology. This study investigated the effects of task practice, personality (openness to experience and neuroticism), and global goal orientation (predisposition to adopt a certain response pattern across all domains) on participants’ task-specific goal orientation (response pattern adopted for a specific task). One hundred and three participants performed an air traffic control task and their task-specific goal orientation was measured prior to each of a total of thirty trials. Results revealed an effect of task practice such that individuals’ task-specific learning orientation decreased over time while their task-specific prove orientation increased over time. The results also showed that individuals’ personality can influence their task-specific goal orientation and further, that this relationship can be mediated by global goal orientation. Specifically, the positive relationship between openness to experience and task-specific prove orientation was mediated by global prove orientation. Similarly, the positive relationship between neuroticism and task-specific avoid orientation was mediated by global avoid orientation. Theoretical and practical implications of these findings are considered.

Flow patterns and performance of distillation trays

It is known that distillation tray efficiency depends on the liquid flow pattern, particularly for large diameter trays. Scale·up failures due to liquid channelling have occurred, and it is known that fitting flow control devices to trays sometirr.es improves tray efficiency. Several theoretical models which explain these observations have been published. Further progress in understanding is at present blocked by lack of experimental measurements of the pattern of liquid concentration over the tray. Flow pattern effects are expected to be significant only on commercial size trays of a large diameter and the lack of data is a result of the costs, risks and difficulty of making these measurements on full scale production columns. This work presents a new experiment which simulates distillation by water cooling. and provides a means of testing commercial size trays in the laboratory. Hot water is fed on to the tray and cooled by air forced through the perforations. The analogy between heat and mass transfer shows that the water temperature at any point is analogous to liquid concentration and the enthalpy of the air is analogous to vapour concentration. The effect of the liquid flow pattern on mass transfer is revealed by the temperature field on the tray. The experiment was implemented and evaluated in a column of 1.2 m. dia. The water temperatures were measured by thennocouples interfaced to an electronic computerised data logging system. The "best surface" through the experimental temperature measurements was obtained by the mathematical technique of B. splines, and presented in tenos of lines of constant temperature. The results revealed that in general liquid channelling is more imponant in the bubbly "mixed" regime than in the spray regime. However, it was observed that severe channelling also occurred for intense spray at incipient flood conditions. This is an unexpected result. A computer program was written to calculate point efficiency as well as tray efficiency, and the results were compared with distillation efficiencies for similar loadings. The theoretical model of Porter and Lockett for predicting distillation was modified to predict water cooling and the theoretical predictions were shown to be similar to the experimental temperature profiles. A comparison of the repeatability of the experiments with an errors analysis revealed that accurate tray efficiency measurements require temperature measurements to better than ± 0.1 °c which is achievable with conventional techniques. This was not achieved in this work, and resulted in considerable scatter in the efficiency results. Nevertheless it is concluded that the new experiment is a valuable tool for investigating the effect of the liquid flow pattern on tray mass transfer.

Packet switching in wide area broadband private networks

B-ISDN is a universal network which supports diverse mixes of service, applications and traffic. ATM has been accepted world-wide as the transport technique for future use in B-ISDN. ATM, being a simple packet oriented transfer technique, provides a flexible means for supporting a continuum of transport rates and is efficient due to possible statistical sharing of network resources by multiple users. In order to fully exploit the potential statistical gain, while at the same time provide diverse service and traffic mixes, an efficient traffic control must be designed. Traffic controls which include congestion and flow control are a fundamental necessity to the success and viability of future B-ISDN. Congestion and flow control is difficult in the broadband environment due to the high speed link, the wide area distance, diverse service requirements and diverse traffic characteristics. Most congestion and flow control approaches in conventional packet switched networks are reactive in nature and are not applicable in the B-ISDN environment. In this research, traffic control procedures mainly based on preventive measures for a private ATM-based network are proposed and their performance evaluated. The various traffic controls include CAC, traffic flow enforcement, priority control and an explicit feedback mechanism. These functions operate at call level and cell level. They are carried out distributively by the end terminals, the network access points and the internal elements of the network. During the connection set-up phase, the CAC decides the acceptance or denial of a connection request and allocates bandwidth to the new connection according to three schemes; peak bit rate, statistical rate and average bit rate. The statistical multiplexing rate is based on a `bufferless fluid flow model' which is simple and robust. The allocation of an average bit rate to data traffic at the expense of delay obviously improves the network bandwidth utilisation.

A comparison of road accidents in developing countries with special reference to Jamaica

This research was originally undertaken to aid the Jamaican government and the World Bank in making funding decisions relative to improvement of road systems and traffic control in Jamaica. An investigation of the frequency and causes of road accidents and an evaluation of their impact on the Jamaican economy were carried out, and a model system which might be applied was developed. It is believed that the importance of road accident economic and manpower losses to the survival of developing countries, such as Jamaica, cannot be overemphasized. It is suggested that the World Bank, in cooperation with national governments, has a role to play in alleviating this serious problem. Data was collected from such organizations as the Jamaica Ministry of Construction, Police Department, the World Bank, and the World Health Organization. A variety of methodologies were utilized to organize this data in useful and understandable forms. The most important conclusion of this research is that solvable problems in road systems and in traffic control result in the unnecessary loss of useful citizens, in both developed and developing countries. However, a lack of information and understanding regarding the impact of high rates of road accident death and injury on the national economy and stability of a country results in an apparent lack of concern. Having little internal expertise in the field of road accident prevention, developing countries usually hire consultants to help them address this problem. In the case of Jamaica, this practice has resulted in distrust and hard feelings between the Jamaican authorities and major organizations involved in the field. Jamaican officials have found confusing the recommendations of most experts contracted to study traffic safety. The attempts of foreign consultants to utilize a technological approach (the use of coding systems and computers), methods which do not appear cost-effective for Jamaica, have resulted in the expenditure of limited funds for studies which offer no feasible approach to the problem. This funding limitation, which hampers research and road improvement, could be alleviated by such organizations as the World Bank. The causes of high accident rates are many, it was found. Formulation of a plan to address this serious problem must take into account the current failure to appreciate the impact of a high level of road accidents on national economy and stability, inability to find a feasible approach to the problem, and inadequate funding. Such a plan is discussed in detail in the main text of this research.

DEVELOPMENT OF A DECISION/DEPLOYMENT SUPPORT TOOL FOR VARIABLE SPEED LIMITS IN RECURRENT CONGESTION

Traffic demand increases are pushing aging ground transportation infrastructures to their theoretical capacity. The result of this demand is traffic bottlenecks that are a major cause of delay on urban freeways. In addition, the queues associated with those bottlenecks increase the probability of a crash while adversely affecting environmental measures such as emissions and fuel consumption. With limited resources available for network expansion, traffic professionals have developed active traffic management systems (ATMS) in an attempt to mitigate the negative consequences of traffic bottlenecks. Among these ATMS strategies, variable speed limits (VSL) and ramp metering (RM) have been gaining international interests for their potential to improve safety, mobility, and environmental measures at freeway bottlenecks. Though previous studies have shown the tremendous potential of variable speed limit (VSL) and VSL paired with ramp metering (VSLRM) control, little guidance has been developed to assist decision makers in the planning phase of a congestion mitigation project that is considering VSL or VSLRM control. To address this need, this study has developed a comprehensive decision/deployment support tool for the application of VSL and VSLRM control in recurrently congested environments. The decision tool will assist practitioners in deciding the most appropriate control strategy at a candidate site, which candidate sites have the most potential to benefit from the suggested control strategy, and how to most effectively design the field deployment of the suggested control strategy at each implementation site. To do so, the tool is comprised of three key modules, (1) Decision Module, (2) Benefits Module, and (3) Deployment Guidelines Module. Each module uses commonly known traffic flow and geometric parameters as inputs to statistical models and empirically based procedures to provide guidance on the application of VSL and VSLRM at each candidate site. These models and procedures were developed from the outputs of simulated experiments, calibrated with field data. To demonstrate the application of the tool, a list of real-world candidate sites were selected from the Maryland State Highway Administration Mobility Report. Here, field data from each candidate site was input into the tool to illustrate the step-by-step process required for efficient planning of VSL or VSLRM control. The output of the tool includes the suggested control system at each site, a ranking of the sites based on the expected benefit-to-cost ratio, and guidelines on how to deploy the VSL signs, ramp meters, and detectors at the deployment site(s). This research has the potential to assist traffic engineers in the planning of VSL and VSLRM control, thus enhancing the procedure for allocating limited resources for mobility and safety improvements on highways plagued by recurrent congestion.

Architecture for IoT Node and Platform

Only recently, during the past five years, consumer electronics has been evolving rapidly. Many products have started to include “smart home” capabilities, enabling communication and interoperability of various smart devices. Even more devices and sensors can be remote controlled and monitored through cloud services. While the smart home systems have become very affordable to average consumer compared to the early solutions decades ago, there are still many issues and things that need to be fixed or improved upon: energy efficiency, connectivity with other devices and applications, security and privacy concerns, reliability, and response time. This paper focuses on designing Internet of Things (IoT) node and platform architectures that take these issues into account, notes other currently used solutions, and selects technologies in order to provide better solution. The node architecture aims for energy efficiency and modularity, while the platform architecture goals are in scalability, portability, maintainability, performance, and modularity. Moreover, the platform architecture attempts to improve user experience by providing higher reliability and lower response time compared to the alternative platforms. The architectures were developed iteratively using a development process involving research, planning, design, implementation, testing, and analysis. Additionally, they were documented using Kruchten’s 4+1 view model, which is used to describe the use cases and different views of the architectures. The node architecture consisted of energy efficient hardware, FC3180 microprocessor and CC2520 RF transceiver, modular operating system, Contiki, and a communication protocol, AllJoyn, used for providing better interoperability with other IoT devices and applications. The platform architecture provided reliable low response time control, monitoring, and initial setup capabilities by utilizing web technologies on various devices such as smart phones, tablets, and computers. Furthermore, an optional cloud service was provided in order to control devices and monitor sensors remotely by utilizing scalable high performance technologies in the backend enabling low response time and high reliability.