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This podcast explains the helpfile for Sensitivity Analysis in Phase Three Task One.

Curricula that are related to the specific task requirements of an occupation can be developed using task analysis. The development of task-related curricula should follow these steps: (1) complete a pretask analysis to develop a brief description of the job and to gather data related to the amount of supervision required, the number of coworkers involved, and the perceived difficulty of the task; (b) complete the task description; (c) analyze the task description; (d) determine curricula and curricular units; and (e) develop instructional units. The definition of the task should make provisions for listing the equipment, materials, and tools to be used and the external conditions affecting performance of the entire task. Definitions should also list the stages of performance of the task and the various elements within each stage--an element being the basic skill level above that of fine motor skills. This task description is then analyzed for the requisite skills and knowledge, after which tasks can be organized for presentation to the student. To avoid repetition of skills and knowledge, similar tasks should be grouped, and the elements of tasks should be categorized according to their stages (preparation, execution, evaluation, and termination) to determine similarities of elements across tasks. In this manner, similar skills can be taught once. (HMD)

This paper presents several aspects of task analyses for maintenance jobs when these analyses are used as bases for the development of Job Performance Aids (JPAs) and job oriented training. It starts with a brief history of the development of task analysis technology and the part that Air Force research has played in this development. The fact that task identification is the first step in any task analysis is emphasized. After tasks are identified, the type of analysis depends on the purpose for which the analysis is being made. Task identification, based primarily on hardware analysis, is the most appropriate basis for maintenance jobs. A scheme or format to accomplish this, called a Task Identification Matrix, is presented and described. Also mentioned are a Task Description Index and Management Matrix, Task Step Data Detail Test Equipment and Tool Use Form. (The original paper was accompanied by a slide presentation and the greater part of the document consists of reproductions of these slides. The places where these slides fit into the text are indicated.) (Author/DS)

Technical and economic engine improvement concepts selected for subsequent development include: (1) fan improvement; (2) short core exhaust; (3) HP turbine aerodynamic improvement; (4) HP turbine roundness control; (5) HP turbine active clearance control; and (6) cabin air recirculation. The fuel savings for the selected engine modification concepts for the CF6 fleet are estimated.

This thesis explores the effect of frequency of performance on the Congressionally mandated Job Performance Measurement, specifically the Marine Corps' portion of the study. The initial portion of the project involved the hands-on performance testing of the infantry specialities. The purpose of this thesis is to validate the use of the general technical (GT) composite of the ASVAB test as a predictor of performance in the infantry specialty and to provide recommendations to revise training priorities. Our approach in analyzing the problem included the following: (i) computing the correlation between aptitude and performance, then investigating any degrading or moderating effect that frequency might have on this relationship, (ii) an investigation into the performance of high aptitude personnel versus low aptitude personnel across frequency categories, and (iii) the relative effect of frequency on the maintenance of proficiency in each task. We have validated the use of the GT composite as an effective predictor for hands on performance by performing analysis of variance. An interesting result was the determination that frequency is the major predictor for performance based tasks requiring continual practice for the maintenance of skill levels, while recency is the major factor in predicting tasks that are more knowledge based and require the recall of detailed procedures. Keywords: Task performance, Frequency, Theses, Aptitude readiness, Performance tests.

This report seeks to lay the foundation for future research in Georgia on educational outcomes for African American males, particularly as related to access to the University System of Georgia. After a review of general barriers to college enrollment and completion for African American males, the report outlines baseline data about the participation of African American males in higher education in Georgia. This information should help set the agenda for next steps to take in research at the system and institutional levels, and it should drive discussion of the policies that impact college access for African American males. The population of Georgia grew by 26% between 1990 and 2000, and the state's African American population increased by 35% in this period. In the age group generally enrolled in college, between 18 and 24, there were 130,000 black males and 138,000 black females in Georgia. The enrollment of black males in high school in Georgia declines each year; by 12th grade, the black male segment of the high school population is only 47% of what it was in grade 9. Data show that African American males, when compared to other race and gender cohorts, are not as well prepared to enter college. In the class of 1997, African American males entered college at the rate of 22%, compared to 29% of African American females, 50% of white females, and 46% of white males. Few African American males enroll at delayed time points; few are "nontraditional" students. African American males are retained in college at 69% after 1 year, while white males are retained at 73%. Considering the significant differences in preparation for college, the differences in retention rates are small. The number of bachelor's degrees awarded African American males in Georgia has increased, although not as much as for women, but enrollments in graduate and professional schools remained low. Of concern also are statistics about the involvement of African American males in the correctional system. Some suggestions are offered for actions the University System of Georgia can take to improve access and retention for African American males. (Contains 11 charts and 17 footnotes.) (SLD)

This skills inventory for mining occupations was developed by a technical committee in Montana to assist in the development of model curricula and to address state labor market needs. The committee included employers from the mining industry, members of trade and professional associations, and educators. The validated task list and defined job clusters are intended to provide information on the type and level of knowledge and skills needed for entry, retention, and advancement in Montana mining occupations. The guide contains the following: (1) Montana supply and demand occupational information; (2) occupational characteristics of selected jobs in the mining industry; and (3) task lists for seven major areas of training in mining and minerals--geology, soils, and hydrology; land reclamation; heavy equipment operators and maintenance; surveying; drafting and computer-aided design; petroleum technology; and occupational health, safety, and materials handling. The document includes information on training time for mining occupations; mathematics and language training time; physical demands; and environmental working conditions. (KC)

This publication contains a curriculum developed through functional job analyses for a 24-month physician's assistant training program. Phase 1 of the 3-phase program is a 6-month basic course program in clinical and bioscience principles and is required of all students regardless of their specialty interest. Phase 2 is a 6 to 10 month period of intensive training in patient evaluations and special procedures. The length of this phase depends upon the students specialty which may include family practice, pediatrics, medicine, surgery, or obsterics. Phase 3 consists of 8 to 12 months of supervised practice in the hospital, clinics, and private practitioners' offices. Included are course descriptions, objectives, and detailed course outlines for each phase. A related document is available as VT 014 651. (SB)

This report is one of three publications from the task analysis study of ornamental horticulture conducted at Cornell University. It was designed to develop a procedural model for task analysis in the area of agribusiness. The personal interview method was used to collect data from businesses within nine identified areas of ornamental horticulture. The testing of the task analysis model resulted in the development of a validated list of tasks for each of the nine business areas, and provided detailed data for each of the individual tasks. Related documents, based on this same study, are available as VT 016 042 and VT 016 170 in this issue. (GEB)

To retain a preeminent U.S. position in the aircraft industry, aircraft passenger mile costs must be reduced while at the same time, meeting anticipated more stringent environmental regulations. A significant portion of these improvements will come from the propulsion system. A technology evaluation and system analysis was accomplished under this task, including areas such as aerodynamics and materials and improved methods for obtaining low noise and emissions. Previous subsonic evaluation analyses have identified key technologies in selected components for propulsion systems for year 2015 and beyond. Based on the current economic and competitive environment, it is clear that studies with nearer turn focus that have a direct impact on the propulsion industry s next generation product are required. This study will emphasize the year 2005 entry into service time period. The objective of this study was to determine which technologies and materials offer the greatest opportunities for improving propulsion systems. The goals are twofold. The first goal is to determine an acceptable compromise between the thermodynamic operating conditions for A) best performance, and B) acceptable noise and chemical emissions. The second goal is the evaluation of performance, weight and cost of advanced materials and concepts on the direct operating cost of an advanced regional transport of comparable technology level.

This article is from Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience , volume 8 . Abstract Previous studies have reported that multiple brain regions are activated during spatial navigation. However, it is unclear whether these activated brain regions are specifically associated with spatial updating or whether some regions are recruited for parallel cognitive processes. The present study aimed to localize current sources of event related potentials (ERPs) associated with spatial updating specifically. In the control phase of the experiment, electroencephalograms (EEGs) were recorded while subjects sequentially traced 10 blue checkpoints on the streets of a virtual town, which were sequentially connected by a green line, by manipulating a joystick. In the test phase of the experiment, the checkpoints and green line were not indicated. Instead, a tone was presented when the subjects entered the reference points where they were then required to trace the 10 invisible spatial reference points corresponding to the checkpoints. The vertex-positive ERPs with latencies of approximately 340 ms from the moment when the subjects entered the unmarked reference points were significantly larger in the test than in the control phases. Current source density analysis of the ERPs by standardized low-resolution brain electromagnetic tomography (sLORETA) indicated activation of brain regions in the test phase that are associated with place and landmark recognition (entorhinal cortex/hippocampus, parahippocampal and retrosplenial cortices, fusiform, and lingual gyri), detecting self-motion (posterior cingulate and posterior insular cortices), motor planning (superior frontal gyrus, including the medial frontal cortex), and regions that process spatial attention (inferior parietal lobule). The present results provide the first identification of the current sources of ERPs associated with spatial updating, and suggest that multiple systems are active in parallel during spatial updating.

http://uf.catalog.fcla.edu/uf.jsp?st=UF000099689&ix=nu&I=0&V=D

http://uf.catalog.fcla.edu/uf.jsp?st=UF000099689&ix=nu&I=0&V=D

Since 1992, the General Accountability Office placed the DoD contract management on the high-risk list due to the workforce’s lack of training, experience, and education. Their report found that budget constraints in the mid-1990s forced the DoD to reduce the acquisition workforce. The DoD began rebuilding its acquisition workforce in 2009. The Army founded the Army Contract Command (ACC) in 2008 to address issues in the contracting workforce. The ACC developed the 51C Proficiency Guide Assessment in 2010 and replaced the training guidance in 2019 with the 51C Job Aid. The purpose of this research was to identify the training requirements in each contracting environment including home-station, short-duration deployments, and long-duration deployments. This study used 22 of the 29 contract training tasks from the Job Aid and contracting data from the ACC Business Analyst Division to analyze the differences in tasks experienced between contracting environments. We captured the differences in each environment by accounting for the frequency of tasks performed in the environment. We concluded that the tasks performed in each contracting environment with varying frequency. The tasks contracting personnel executed in home-station were significantly different than the tasks they performed in deployment. Our study suggests that Army contracting should consider developing separate training plans that address tasks required to perform in each contracting environment.

Preregistration of meta-analysis for: Effects of task-value interventions on students’ educational outcomes: A meta-analysis

This Scoping Review Protocole, in line with PRISMA-ScR, aims to identify current application of PRPP System of Task Analysis across research practice. Analyses and synthesis of implementation across International Occupational Therapy Practice will be reported and explored. Finally, the contribution of PRPP System of Task Analysis for targeting functional cognitions will be examined

Task analyses have traditionally been framed in terms of overt behaviors performed in accomplishing tasks and goals. Pioneering work at the Learning Research and Development Center looked at what contribution a cognitive analysis might make to current task analysis procedures, since traditional task analysis methods neither elicit nor capture cognitive components of the job. This paper describes an approach to cognitive task analysis, and reports on initial case studies trying out the methods used. Specifically, the approach attempts to capture two aspects of a job that have been generally overlooked by traditional task analysis: (1) describe job performance not only in terms of overt behaviors, but also in terms of the underlying knowledge content and thinking processes, and (2) capture not only the formal but also the informal aspects of the job. Knowledge about jobs is analyzed into four knowledge representation types: factual knowledge, imagistic knowledge, procedural knowledge and mechanism (or mental model-type) knowledge collectively referred to as FIPM. This FIPM model of cognitive task analysis is found to be effective in capturing rich knowledge content both in relation to the performance of specific tasks, and in relation to the general work setting. (Contains 13 references.) (Author/AEF)

Alternatives for realizing a packet-based network switch for use on a frequency division multiple access/time division multiplexed (FDMA/TDM) geostationary communication satellite were investigated. Each of the eight downlink beams supports eight directed dwells. The design needed to accommodate multicast packets with very low probability of loss due to contention. Three switch architectures were designed and analyzed. An output-queued, shared bus system yielded a functionally simple system, utilizing a first-in, first-out (FIFO) memory per downlink dwell, but at the expense of a large total memory requirement. A shared memory architecture offered the most efficiency in memory requirements, requiring about half the memory of the shared bus design. The processing requirement for the shared-memory system adds system complexity that may offset the benefits of the smaller memory. An alternative design using a shared memory buffer per downlink beam decreases circuit complexity through a distributed design, and requires at most 1000 packets of memory more than the completely shared memory design. Modifications to the basic packet switch designs were proposed to accommodate circuit-switched traffic, which must be served on a periodic basis with minimal delay. Methods for dynamically controlling the downlink dwell lengths were developed and analyzed. These methods adapt quickly to changing traffic demands, and do not add significant complexity or cost to the satellite and ground station designs. Methods for reducing the memory requirement by not requiring the satellite to store full packets were also proposed and analyzed. In addition, optimal packet and dwell lengths were computed as functions of memory size for the three switch architectures.

The design, implementation, and empirical evaluation of task-analytic models and intelligent aids for operators in the control of complex dynamic systems, specifically aerospace systems, are studied. Three related activities are included: (1) the models of operator decision making in complex and predominantly automated space systems were used and developed; (2) the Operator Function Model (OFM) was used to represent operator activities; and (3) Operator Function Model Expert System (OFMspert), a stand-alone knowledge-based system was developed, that interacts with a human operator in a manner similar to a human assistant in the control of aerospace systems. OFMspert is an architecture for an operator's assistant that uses the OFM as its system and operator knowledge base and a blackboard paradigm of problem solving to dynamically generate expectations about upcoming operator activities and interpreting actual operator actions. An experiment validated the OFMspert's intent inferencing capability and showed that it inferred the intentions of operators in ways comparable to both a human expert and operators themselves. OFMspert was also augmented with control capabilities. An interface allowed the operator to interact with OFMspert, delegating as much or as little control responsibility as the operator chose. With its design based on the OFM, OFMspert's control capabilities were available at multiple levels of abstraction and allowed the operator a great deal of discretion over the amount and level of delegated control. An experiment showed that overall system performance was comparable for teams consisting of two human operators versus a human operator and OFMspert team.

This report consolidates the Structured Analysis and Structured Design for the Logistic Support Analysis (LSA) Tasks. Included are the Data Flow Diagrams (DFDs) for the LSA Subtask 303.2.12, 'Trade-Off Between System/Equipment Alternatives and Transportability Requirements', with the corresponding descriptions of the processes, data flows, data stores, and external entities identified on each DFD. The DFDs are further developed into procedures which identifies how to use the data to carry out the processes and accomplish the LSA Subtask. Venture Evaluation Review Technique (VERT) Batch Input fires are also provided to assist, as tools, giving both technical and managerial aspects of a task

In a hard-real-time system, it is critical that application tasks complete their iterative execution cycles within their allotted time frames. For a highly configurable parallel processing system, there exists an overwhelming set of hardware and software configurations, and it is useful to know a priori if a particular configuration satisfies hard-real-time constraints. This thesis presents an automated timing analysis tool which attempts to accurately characterize the timing behavior of the C3 Fault-Tolerant Parallel Processor (FTPP) developed at the Charles Stark Draper Laboratory. For each application task hosted by the FTPP, this automated tool performs a static source code analysis in an effort to estimate a lower bound on worst case execution delay. Then, using the specified mapping between software tasks and hardware processing sites, the analysis tool integrates the results of the individual task analyses in an effort to account for delays due to operating system overhead. The final portion of the analysis involves a prediction of possible performance failures based upon the given system configuration and the timing deadlines imposed by the FTPP's rate group scheduling paradigm. It is intended that the results of this timing analysis will help the user to develop a system configuration that optimizes throughput while minimizing the risk, of performance failures

This paper presents a study of networking of theories between the theory of registers of semiotic representation (TRSR) and the onto-semiotic approach of mathematical cognition and instruction (OSA). The results obtained show complementarities between these two theoretical perspectives, which might allow more detailed analysis of the students' performance.

The rate at which performance improves during training, and the extent to which information is retained during intervals without practice, is a concern of those who plan and manage military training. This report was prepared for the U.S. Army Research Institute, Ft. Knox, Kentucky, and illustrates the application of mathematical models to investigate issues regarding acquisition and retention of complex, military skills. The purpose of this report is to test a model of learning and retention of Armor procedures. Specifically, the ability of the model to account for task-element and individual differences identified in earlier research was examined. The findings of this report provide some empirical support for a model of procedural skill learning and retention which could be used to assist the training manager in determining training requirements for various tasks. However, the analysis of learning and retention issues is largely exploratory, and future research is necessary to confirm the findings of this study. This report concludes with a discussion of possible directions future research could take.

Thesis (M.A. in Nav. Intel.)--Naval Postgraduate School, 1975

Dulles Corridor Metrorail ProjectExtension to Wiehle Avenue (Phase 1) Before and After Study Task 5 - Comparative Analysis for Before and After Study

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Missouri Statewide Multijurisdictional Drug Forces Trend Analysis Statewide Statistics Report covering Fiscal Year 2010 to Fiscal Year 2012 funded by the Department of Public Safety; drugs; treatment; statistics; 

This viewgraph presentation provides information on Human Factors Process Failure Modes and Effects Analysis (HF PFMEA). HF PFMEA includes the following 10 steps: Describe mission; Define System; Identify human-machine; List human actions; Identify potential errors; Identify factors that effect error; Determine likelihood of error; Determine potential effects of errors; Evaluate risk; Generate solutions (manage error). The presentation also describes how this analysis was applied to a liquid oxygen pump acceptance test.

This article is from Frontiers in Computational Neuroscience , volume 7 . Abstract The Uncontrolled Manifold (UCM) hypothesis and Minimal Intervention principle propose that the observed differential variability across task relevant (i.e., task goals) vs. irrelevant (i.e., in the null space of those goals) variables is evidence of a separation of task variables for efficient neural control, ranked by their respective variabilities (sometimes referred to as hierarchy of control). Support for this comes from spatial domain analyses (i.e., structure of) of kinematic, kinetic, and EMG variability. While proponents admit the possibility of preferential as opposed to strictly uncontrolled variables, such distinctions have only begun to be quantified or considered in the temporal domain when inferring control action. Here we extend the study of task variability during tripod static grasp to the temporal domain by applying diffusion analysis. We show that both task-relevant and task-irrelevant parameters show corrective action at some time scales; and conversely, that task-relevant parameters do not show corrective action at other time scales. That is, the spatial fluctuations of fingertip forces show, as expected, greater ranges of variability in task-irrelevant variables (>98% associated with changes in total grasp force; vs. only

IARPA’s Reimagining Security with Cyberpsychology-Informed Network Defenses (ReSCIND) program aims to enhance cybersecurity by leveraging attackers’ human limitations. It focuses on developing novel defenses that exploit decision-making biases and cognitive vulnerabilities. These defenses help rebalance the asymmetry of cyber defense, imposing penalties on attackers and thwarting their efforts. IARPA’s ReSCIND program funds the ASCEND (Adaptive Security through Cognitive Exploitation for Defense) project. Led by SRI, the multidisciplinary team behind ASCEND includes researchers and experts from the Florida Institute for Human and Machine Cognition, George Mason University, RAD Science Solution, SimSpace, Two Six Technologies, the University of Florida, and Virtual Reality Medical Center, as well as independent consultants, will create a game-changing, cyberpsychology-informed cyber defense system (see http://ascend.sri.com for more information). Experiment Objectives To jumpstart and accelerate the implementation of a Model of Inferred Cognition and Knowledge (MIMICK), ASCEND’s Phase 1 technical work included Cognitive Task Analysis (CTA) Human Subjects Research (HSR) to identify attackers’ cognitive processes, decision-making factors, and actions, grounded in the Capture the Flag (CTF) task context that has been a focus of the ReSCIND Phase 1 investments. CTA is a systematic approach to achieving an understanding of knowledge, decision-making, and planning processes. Founded in the idiographic and ethnographic research traditions, it relies on domain analysis, subject matter expert (SME) input, and semi-structured interviews to produce actionable insights.  We down-selected from a broad range of CTA methods to tailor our design for maximum information value in the time and budget scope available. We selected the following methods for inclusion in this protocol: Task Diagrams, Goal-Directed Task Analysis, FCM Interviews, Recent Case Walkthroughs, and CTF tasks with concurrent think-aloud verbalizations.    Experiment Description Five SMEs each participated in two hybrid remote and in-person sessions over two nonconsecutive days (4.5 hours total for each participant), with screen and voice recordings collected via Zoom (not made publicly available due to privacy concerns). This setup ensured the capture of rich, detailed, high-quality data concerning expert cognition essential for informing MIMICK design and functionality.  On the first day, lasting 2.5 hours, activities include check-in, signing consent forms, completing demographic and professional expertise questionnaires, and engaging in Task Diagram development, Goal-Directed Task Analysis, and FCM interviews, with breaks provided as needed. The second day, lasting 2 hours, involves a review of a recent case, participating in two CTF challenge tasks with concurrent verbalization, and a debriefing session, including time for breaks. The protocol collects comprehensive participant data while adhering to Institutional Review Board (IRB) approval guidelines.  The CTA comprises multiple methods, including:  Task Diagrams. Task Diagramming aims to elicit a broad overview of how an SME thinks about the overall structure and flow of a task, in this case, a CTF. The interviewer asks the SME to decompose the task into an ordered sequence of three to six subtasks.  Goal-Directed Task Analysis. The purpose of the Goal-Directed Task Analysis is to unpack the high-level structure provided by the Task Diagram into a more detailed representation. FCM Interviews. An FCM is a graph-based representation of subjective causal beliefs: how people believe a change (i.e., an increase/decrease or a change between on and off states) in one concept impacts another. The nodes are the concepts, and the edges are the causal relationships between them. Interviews first seek to define core concepts and then identify associated concepts with relationship types. This iterates outward from the associated concepts, asking "what drives" each new concept. MentalModeler is a common software tool for constructing graphs during interviews and is used here.  Recent Case Walkthrough. The purpose of the Recent Case Walkthrough is to elicit from the SME a brief yet detailed accounting of how they handled a recent specific CTF. It will reveal what is most salient from their episodic memories of that event.  CTF with Verbal Protocol. The purpose of the CTF with concurrent verbal protocol is to understand what people think about when performing the CTF task. Participants speak only about the things they naturally think about. The verbal protocol data will provide a way to compare decision processes that participants actually engage in when performing a task versus how they represent and think about the task as elicited through the structured interviews.  Each participant completed the treatment version of two CTF challenges while concurrently thinking aloud. Participants were pseudo-randomly assigned to challenges across the five bias types (described in the subsequent section) so that each participant experienced two different biases, and so all bias types and versions were sampled across participants. The CTA study used challenges and surveys from the ECSC and EkoParty experiments.   The following cognitive vulnerabilities (CogVulns) were examined in the CTA CTFs: (Loss) Loss Aversion: The tendency for people to strongly prefer avoiding losses over acquiring gains (value functions that relate subjective to objective losses are steeper than value functions that relate subjective to objective gains).  (Rep) Representativeness: The tendency for people to judge the probability or frequency of a hypothesis by considering how much the hypothesis resembles available data.  (Anch) Anchoring: The tendency to rely too heavily on, or overly restrict one’s attention to, one trait or piece of information when making judgments. The information in question can be relevant or irrelevant to the target decision, as well as numerical or non-numerical. Includes focalism or the focusing illusion.  (Cult) Socio-Cultural: The tendency to interpret and judge phenomena in terms of the distinctive values, beliefs, and other characteristics of the society or community to which one belongs. This sometimes leads people to form opinions and make decisions about others in advance of any actual experience with them.   (Conf) Confirmation: The tendency to search for or interpret information in a way that confirms one’s preconceptions.  From each of the five SME participants, we have approximately 4.5 hours of recorded Zoom video (not made publicly available due to privacy concerns) and associated transcripts, semi-structured interview content from the Task Diagramming, Goal-Directed Task Analysis, Fuzzy Cognitive Mapping, and Recent Case Walkthrough activities, and the log files generated by SimSpace from the two CTFs they each completed.  Experimental Results  Analysis of the CTA data includes manual summarization and documentation of the knowledge, strategies, and decision-making processes reported by participants during the interviews. We also use the data to compare and contrast participant mental model descriptions of how they think about CTFs (TD, GDTA, and FCM tasks) to how they actually solve CTFs (RCW and CTF tasks), as well as comparison across participants to assess individual differences.  Separate analytical development (e.g., CTA analysis, FCM Interviews, workflow analysis) showed the potential of these methods to complement one another in representing attacker knowledge, modeling behavioral evolution, and inferring intent. FCMs proved effective for capturing and aggregating attacker knowledge and beliefs from heterogeneous data sources. Dynamic Behavior Embeddings (DBEs), scoped for future implementation, were defined to capture temporal patterns of attacker behavior and enable intent trajectory analysis. Information Foraging Theory (IFT) provided an interpretable framework for modeling attacker decision-making patterns, adapted from prior work in information-seeking behaviors. Collectively, these analytical explorations underscored the value of integrating knowledge, behavior, and decision-making to expose cognitive and tactical vulnerabilities.

The results are described of an effort to establish commonality and standardization of generic crew extravehicular (crew-EVA) and telerobotic task analysis primitives used for the study of spaceborne operations. Although direct crew-EVA plans are the most visible output of spaceborne operations, significant ongoing efforts by a wide variety of projects and organizations also require tools for estimation of crew-EVA and telerobotic times. Task analysis tools provide estimates for input to technical and cost tradeoff studies. A workshop was convened to identify the issues and needs to establish a common language and syntax for task analysis primitives. In addition, the importance of such a syntax was shown to have precedence over the level to which such a syntax is applied. The syntax, lists of crew-EVA and telerobotic primitives, and the data base in diskette form are presented.

JT8D and JT9D component performance improvement concepts which have a high probability of incorporation into production engines were identified and ranked. An evaluation method based on airline payback period was developed for the purpose of identifying the most promising concepts. The method used available test data and analytical models along with conceptual/preliminary designs to predict the performance improvements, weight, installation characteristics, cost for new production and retrofit, maintenance cost, and qualitative characteristics of candidate concepts. These results were used to arrive at the concept payback period, which is the time required for an airline to recover the investment cost of concept implementation.

To demonstrate the design and integration of a reflective mesh surface to a deployable truss structure, a mesh reflector was installed on a 15 foot box truss cube. The specific features demonstrated include: (1) sewing seams in reflective mesh; (2) mesh stretching to desired preload; (3) installation of surface tie cords; (4) installation of reflective surface on truss; (5) setting of reflective surface; (6) verification of surface shape/accuracy; (7) storage and deployment; (8) repeatability of reflector surface; and (9) comparison of surface with predicted shape using analytical methods developed under a previous task.

To demonstrate the design and integration of a reflective mesh surface to a deployable truss structure, a mesh reflector was installed on a 15 foot box truss cube. The specific features demonstrated include: (1) sewing seams in reflective mesh; (2) mesh stretching to desired preload; (3) installation of surface tie cords; (4) installation of reflective surface on truss; (5) setting of reflective surface; (6) verification of surface shape/accuracy; (7) storage and deployment; (8) repeatability of reflector surface; and (9) comparison of surface with predicted shape using analytical methods developed under a previous task.

To demonstrate the design and integration of a reflective mesh surface to a deployable truss structure, a mesh reflector was installed on a 15 foot box truss cube. The specific features demonstrated include: (1) sewing seams in reflective mesh; (2) mesh stretching to desired preload; (3) installation of surface tie cords; (4) installation of reflective surface on truss; (5) setting of reflective surface; (6) verification of surface shape/accuracy; (7) storage and deployment; (8) repeatability of reflector surface; and (9) comparison of surface with predicted shape using analytical methods developed under a previous task.

In order to close energy efficiency gaps in shipping and thus support climate targets, there is a need for a clear understanding of seafarers and how they perform route planning, especially with regard to energy efficiency. The aim of this study is to develop a hierarchical task analysis of route planning, an expected value assessment of these tasks, and to investigate factors that potentially influence seafarers' motivation to perform these tasks. To this end, we have developed a task analysis based on the required guidelines and additional iteration by domain experts, and are now planning an online survey of nautical officers (N = 110) who assessed the expectancy of success, subjective value, and perceived cost of these tasks, as well as self-assessments of psychological need fulfilment and locus of control. In addition, they assess their motivation for energy-efficient route planning and their preferences for automated systems or manual control when implementing energy-efficient route planning.

A composite scenario was used to conduct a comprehensive task analysis of the mission of the UH-60 helicopter. The analysis used a top-down approach to identify the phases, functions, and tasks for the mission. Nine phases, 34 segments, 48 functions, and 138 tasks were identified. The crewmember performing each task was identified, and estimates of the sensory, cognitive, and psychomotor workload associated with tasks were derived. Estimates of the task times were also derived. The mission/task analysis data were used to develop a computer model of UH-60 crewmember workload. The model used a bottom- up approach to build mission functions from tasks, and mission segments from functions. Decision rules were written to specify the procedures for combining the tasks into functions, and the functions into segments. The model permitted an analysis of total workload experienced by each crewmember in the performance of both sequential and concurrent tasks, as well. Keywords: Man-machine interface.

Background Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) patients have specific cognitive, emotional and behavioral dysfunctions that are both a consequence and a cause of altered brain structure and function. The ENIGMA consortium was founded to advance our understanding of the neurobiology of brain disorders (Thompson et al., 2020), including OCD, by using worldwide data. This is the largest OCD brain imaging consortium established to date, who’s combined sample includes thousands of OCD patients, both adult and pediatric, and healthy controls. Using structural MRI, diffusion MRI, and resting state functional MRI analyses, the ENIGMA-OCD consortium has already found that some OCD-related brain alterations may arise during neurodevelopment, while others are associated with duration of illness or medication use (van den Heuvel et al., 2022). Now the time has come to embark on a new phase of the ENIGMA-OCD consortium with a focus on OCD-related alterations in brain function during specific emotional and cognitive states. One functional domain known to be disrupted in OCD is emotional processing, subserved by the fronto-limbic circuit that encompasses the amygdala and ventromedial prefrontal cortex (consisting of ventral orbitofrontal cortex, subgenual anterior cingulate cortex, and the ventral part of the medial frontal gyrus) (Shephard et al., 2021). Across the ENIGMA-OCD consortium, various emotional tasks have been used to investigate the function of the fronto-limbic circuit in OCD during MRI, including the emotional Stroop task, the symptom provocation task, and the emotional faces task. Each of these tasks probes the domain in a different way, but it ultimately boils down to one basic contrast: emotional vs. neutral processing that we can use to study the functional differences between patients and controls across different tasks. Two meta-analyses have already compared OCD patients and healthy controls on emotional processing (Rotge et al., 2008; Thorsen et al., 2018), but these relied on coordinate-based meta-analytic methods using information from published results, that necessarily discard a large amount of information. Our approach pools individual participant fMRI data collected consortium-wide (both published and unpublished data) into an image-based mega-analysis, the first of its kind in OCD. The meta-analysis of Thorsen et al. (2018), based on 25 published studies, found that during emotional processing, OCD patients showed increased activation in the amygdala, OFC extending into the subgenual anterior cingulate and ventromedial prefrontal cortex, putamen, and middle temporal and inferior occipital regions, relative to healthy controls. Several patient factors were found to influence these results. Medication usage in the samples investigated was shown to correlate with activation in the right amygdala and left inferior occipital gyrus, indicating less hyperactivation of these areas in medicated as compared to unmedicated patients. Symptom severity was shown to correlate with activation in the subgenual and rostral ACC, and medial PFC. An effect of duration of illness was found, as samples with longer mean duration exhibited increased activation in the right putamen and decreased activation in the left temporal pole and orbitofrontal cortex. The smaller meta-analysis of Rotge et al. (2008), based on 8 published studies, found comparable differences between OCD patients and healthy controls in the OFC, ACC, temporal gyrus and anterior parts of the PFC, but also found increased activation in the medial PFC, globus pallidus, hippocampus, thalamus. These discordant results may be the product of reduced power and greater noise in the smaller meta-analysis. We use a newly-developed fMRI processing pipeline, ENIGMA HALFpipe, to harmonize preprocessing, first-level, and group-level analyses across sites (Waller et al., 2022). With the unprecedented power we now have to study disorder-related changes in neurobiology, we hope to validate previous findings in OCD, and to test how well they generalize to diverse populations worldwide.

THE EFFECTIVENESS OF A TASK ANALYSIS APPROACH IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE LEARNING WAS STUDIED. SPECIAL SPANISH MATERIALS DEVELOPED FOR THE PROJECT INVOLVING 1,000 STUDENTS CONSISTED OF PROGRAMED HOMEWORK FOR EACH LESSON, A STUDENT TEXT OF READING MATERIALS, AND A DETAILED SET OF LESSON PLANS FOR THE TEACHER. AMONG THE TENTATIVE CONCLUSIONS OF THE STUDY WERE THAT--(1) THE USE OF THE LESSON PLANS DEVELOPED BY TEAMS SPEEDED UP THE TEACHING TASK AND IMPROVED TEACHER EFFICIENCY, (2) THE PROGRAMED HOMEWORK RESOLVED THE PROBLEM OF INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES BY ALLOWING STUDENTS TO WORK AT THEIR OWN PACE, AND DEMONSTRATED THAT ALL GRAMMATICAL POINTS COULD BE LEARNED AT HOME, THUS RELEASING CLASS TIME FOR PRACTICE AND STUDY OF NEW MATERIAL, AND (3) THE NUMBER OF QUESTIONS ORDINARILY ASKED BY STUDENTS ABOUT WHAT THEY WERE LEARNING WAS REDUCED. THERE IS GOOD REASON TO BELIEVE THAT WITH THIS APPROACH IT WILL BE POSSIBLE TO DESIGN FOREIGN LANGUAGE PROGRAMS IN WHICH 90 PERCENT OF THE STUDENTS GET A OR B AND IN WHICH OTHERWISE AVERAGE TEACHERS SHOW MARKED ACCOMPLISHMENTS. THIS ARTICLE IS PUBLISHED IN "THE FLORIDA FL REPORTER," VOLUME 5, NUMBER 1, WINTER 1966-67. (AM)

Individuals with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) have specific cognitive, emotional and behavioral dysfunctions that are both a consequence and a cause of altered brain structure and function. The ENIGMA consortium was founded to advance our understanding of the neurobiology of brain disorders (Thompson et al., 2020), including OCD, by using worldwide data. This is the largest OCD brain imaging consortium established to date, who’s combined sample includes thousands of individuals with OCD, both adult and pediatric, and healthy controls. Using structural MRI, diffusion MRI, and resting state functional MRI analyses, the ENIGMA-OCD consortium has already found that some OCD-related brain alterations may arise during neurodevelopment, while others are associated with duration of illness or medication use (van den Heuvel et al., 2022). Recently, the ENIGMA-OCD consortium conducted its first analyses of OCD-related alterations in brain function, focusing on emotional processing and executive control—two functional domains known to be disrupted in OCD. To investigate these effects, we pooled data from 16 independent negative valence-processing tasks (N=633 OCD, N=453 healthy controls) and 15 independent executive control tasks (N=475 OCD, N=345 controls). During negative valence processing, relative to healthy controls, individuals with OCD showed very strong evidence of weaker activation of the lateral occipital cortex (P+<0.001) that was additionally related to greater OCD severity, late-onset of disease, and an unmedicated status (Dzinalija et al., 2024). During executive control, individuals with OCD also showed moderate to strong evidence of weaker activation in the frontal eye fields, precuneus, and inferior parietal lobule (all P+<0.1) that was also related to greater OCD severity (Dzinalija et al., in preparation). Crucially, despite significant variation in paradigms, we observed common task activation patterns across individuals with OCD and controls that encompassed fronto-limbic areas during negative valence processing, and dorsal cognitive areas during executive control, validating this methodological approach to mega-analysis. This represented the first time in psychiatry that individual-subject fMRI data from different task paradigms within a domain were combined into a single large group-level analysis. This image-based approach to meta-analysis provides a richer and more accurate characterization of activation than traditional coordinate-based meta-analyses. Having successfully demonstrated case-control differences in negative valence processing and executive control, we next investigate inhibitory control, a sub-construct of the ‘cognitive systems’ domain of the the Research Domain Criteria (RDoC, Insel et al., 2010) in which individuals with OCD show deficits. Inhibitory control refers to the ability to inhibit an automatic or prepotent response that is unwanted or inappropriate in pursuit of an alternative goal. Tasks like the Stop-signal task and the Flanker task are frequently used in the MRI to investigate the neural correlates of inhibitory control, and have pointed to the involvement of the ventral cognitive circuit encompassing the dorso-lateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC), the pre-supplementary motor area (pre-SMA), and the dorsal caudate (Shephard et al., 2021). When inhibitory control has been investigated in OCD through meta-analysis, it has frequently been conflated with executive control (Casale et al., 2011; Ragson et al., 2017; Eng et al., 2019; Pico-Perez et al., 2020), making it difficult to disentangle which cognitive state is most strongly related to OCD-related functional alterations. We aim to study the cognitive functions involved in inhibitory control in OCD independently of higher-order executive control (such as working memory, planning, and task-switching). We investigate multiple processes of inhibitory control, including inhibiting an initiated motor response (action cancellation as captured by the Stop-signal task), inhibiting a prepotent or instinctual response (action restraint as captured by the Go/No-go and eye-blink suppression tasks) and inhibiting intrusion of distracting or irrelevant stimuli (interference control as captured by Flanker and Stroop tasks). We also investigate error processing in these tasks - when a participant fails to appropriately inhibit a response - as individuals with OCD have demonstrated hyperactivation during error processing (Norman et al., 2019). We pool individual participant data from 16 different international samples that-acquired inhibitory control tasks into one image-based mega-analysis, and further investigate relevant clinical characteristics of OCD, such as severity, age of onset, and medication usage. Medication usage in the form of SSRIs has previously been demonstrated to decrease activation in a Stop-signal task (van der Straten, 2024), and lower activation is associated with greater symptom severity (de Wit et al., 2012). Early onset of OCD was found to be correlated with worse executive control performance (Zheng et al., 2015), though its relationship with neural activation during inhibition is unclear.

Accumulating evidence indicates that the neuropeptide oxytocin modulates human cognitive, affective and social functions. Since the publication of the first fMRI study on the neural effects of intranasal oxytocin nearly 20 years ago, the number of fMRI studies on the neural effects of oxytocin has strongly increased. The findings have provided supportive evidence for using oxytocin as a major or complementary therapeutic approach for some psychiatric disorders characterized by emotional and social function deficits. However, despite the potential neurobehavioral effects of oxytocin on a range of mental and behavioral processes in humans, including cognition, emotion, reward, decision-making, and social cognition, the conclusions are primarily based on findings from isolated studies and results between studies are of great inconsistency, both within and between behavioral domains as well as within and between populations. It remains unclear whether oxytocin regulates a set of core neural modules across tasks which gate effects on a variety of functions, or if the effects vary according to specific populations, domains, and contexts. Coordinate-based meta-analysis can overcome some of these limitations related to experimental design, task paradigm, sample size and analytical method (Eickhoff et al., 2012), and is considered a powerful tool for exploring robust neural effects. Therefore, systematically integrating and quantitatively analyzing data from prior studies through meta-analysis is one promising approach to address above questions. To the best of our knowledge, four meta-analytical studies on the neural effects of oxytocin have been published to date (Grace et al., 2018; Rocchetti et al., 2014; Wang et al., 2017; Wigton et al., 2015). However, these meta-analyses did not yield consistent conclusions about which brain regions/connectomes/networks are stably affected by oxytocin, as a consequence of differences among these meta-analyses on the inclusion criteria used and the number of studies available. Apparently, a further meta-analysis with higher statistical power driven by incorporating a larger number of studies is warranted to identify robust neurofunctional effects of oxytocin and eliminate the divergence in results among former meta-analyses. It is encouraging that more than seven years have passed since the last literature retrieval in the two most recent meta-analyses (Grace et al., 2018; Wang et al., 2017), and the number of pharmaco-imaging studies for oxytocin has almost doubled during this time, rendering an updated meta-analysis practicable. Taken together, we hope to conduct an updated coordinate-based meta-analysis aimed at investigating the general effects of acute oxytocin administration on the brain across different populations and tasks, as well as population- and behavioural domain-specific brain effects of oxytocin. The encouraging increase in the number of studies targeting at the neurofunctional effects of oxytocin, more careful data examination and more rigorous data analysis in this meta-analysis, could facilitate the identification of robust and unbiased oxytocin effect, which may accelerate the determination of overarching biological frameworks and therapeutic applications of oxytocin.

This is a protocol of a systematic review and two meta-analyses that focus on the relationship between task-unrelated thoughts (TUTs) and heart-rate variability (HRV) - the first one verifying this relation in the studies measuring TUT through classical self-report questionnaires and the second one through experience sampling methods. Thoughts that are unrelated to one's current task comprise a substantial part of our cognitive activity (Kane et al., 2007). Depending on their characteristics, the role they play, the context in which they are studied, and the preferences of particular researchers, the terms used to describe them include daydreaming, mind-wandering, spontaneous thoughts, rumination, repetitive negative thinking, worry, and many others (Barnett & Kaufman, 2020). The differences and relations between the listed cognitive processes are not unanimously understood, which contributes to the complexity of investigating their role in our lives. To address this problem, Seli (et al. 2018) proposed the family resemblance approach, in which those processes are treated as one broad, heterogeneous construct while recognizing the wide dispersion of gradable characteristics of its particular designata. Drawing from this proposition, we use an umbrella term “Task unrelated thoughts”—originally proposed by Giambra (1989)—to describe all thoughts that are not related to the current activity undertaken by the subject. Although TUTs have many adaptive functions (Baer et al., 2021; Stawarczyk et al., 2011; Smallwood et al., 2013; Immordino-Yang et al., 2012), their effects on our daily functioning can also be detrimental (Killingsworth & Gilbert, 2010; Marchetti et al., 2014; Soffer-Dudek & Somer, 2018). To explore the consequences of TUTs and their particular characteristics and subtypes, we focus on analyzing the link between them and heart rate variability—a popular psychophysiological variable, used as an indicator of autonomic nervous system activation and regulation (Shaffer & Ginsberg, 2017). Previous studies (i.e., Ottaviani et al., 2016) suggest the existence of a link between TUT occurrence and changes in HRV. The existing literature also contains information on differing effects that particular TUT types may have on HRV (i.e. Ottaviani et al., 2013). At the same time, the overwhelming majority of studies analyzing the link between TUTs and HRV only focus on singular subtypes of thoughts. The meta-analysis by Ottaviani (et al., 2016) explored the psychophysiological concomitants (including changes in HRV) of perseverative cognition. Although this source gives us information on the role of a broader group of TUT types and its relation to changes in HRV, it only focuses on the thoughts characterized by negative emotional valence and repetitive feature. To the best of our knowledge, there are no existing syntheses focusing on the relationship between HRV and task-unrelated thoughts in their full spectrum. We plan to fill this gap in the literature by systematically reviewing articles containing data on the relationships between HRV and (any type of) TUTs, using meta-analytical techniques to study the link between the two phenomena and investigate the potential moderating role that differentiated TUT types may play in it.

This article is from PLoS ONE , volume 9 . Abstract The purpose of this study was to investigate whether artificial neural networks (ANN) are able to decode participants’ conscious experience perception from brain activity alone, using complex and ecological stimuli. To reach the aim we conducted pattern recognition data analysis on fMRI data acquired during the execution of a binocular visual rivalry paradigm (BR). Twelve healthy participants were submitted to fMRI during the execution of a binocular non-rivalry (BNR) and a BR paradigm in which two classes of stimuli (faces and houses) were presented. During the binocular rivalry paradigm, behavioral responses related to the switching between consciously perceived stimuli were also collected. First, we used the BNR paradigm as a functional localizer to identify the brain areas involved the processing of the stimuli. Second, we trained the ANN on the BNR fMRI data restricted to these regions of interest. Third, we applied the trained ANN to the BR data as a ‘brain reading’ tool to discriminate the pattern of neural activity between the two stimuli. Fourth, we verified the consistency of the ANN outputs with the collected behavioral indicators of which stimulus was consciously perceived by the participants. Our main results showed that the trained ANN was able to generalize across the two different tasks (i.e. BNR and BR) and to identify with high accuracy the cognitive state of the participants (i.e. which stimulus was consciously perceived) during the BR condition. The behavioral response, employed as control parameter, was compared with the network output and a statistically significant percentage of correspondences (p-value

This article is from PLoS ONE , volume 9 . Abstract The purpose of this study was to investigate whether artificial neural networks (ANN) are able to decode participants’ conscious experience perception from brain activity alone, using complex and ecological stimuli. To reach the aim we conducted pattern recognition data analysis on fMRI data acquired during the execution of a binocular visual rivalry paradigm (BR). Twelve healthy participants were submitted to fMRI during the execution of a binocular non-rivalry (BNR) and a BR paradigm in which two classes of stimuli (faces and houses) were presented. During the binocular rivalry paradigm, behavioral responses related to the switching between consciously perceived stimuli were also collected. First, we used the BNR paradigm as a functional localizer to identify the brain areas involved the processing of the stimuli. Second, we trained the ANN on the BNR fMRI data restricted to these regions of interest. Third, we applied the trained ANN to the BR data as a ‘brain reading’ tool to discriminate the pattern of neural activity between the two stimuli. Fourth, we verified the consistency of the ANN outputs with the collected behavioral indicators of which stimulus was consciously perceived by the participants. Our main results showed that the trained ANN was able to generalize across the two different tasks (i.e. BNR and BR) and to identify with high accuracy the cognitive state of the participants (i.e. which stimulus was consciously perceived) during the BR condition. The behavioral response, employed as control parameter, was compared with the network output and a statistically significant percentage of correspondences (p-value

Each project in the Marine Corps Task Analysis program is assigned to staff members, organized to form a work-team. Their continuing performance, as an effective team, is crucial for success of the project. This Training Manual provides guidelines for effective teamwork and work-team maintenance and development. Chapter I, the major portion of the Manual, begins with an explanation of the major obstacles to optimal team performance and describes methods using the tool of intervention for diagnosing problems in work teams, with explanation of such specific techniques as goal-setting, action-planning, the organization mirror, force analysis, and business games. Chapter I also outlines methods and techniques for achieving organizational change and improvement, with special attention to conflict resolution, role reversal, and team development. Chapter 2 of the Manual explains 'management by objectives' as an integrated system for planning and achieving effectiveness in teamwork. Chapter 3 discusses how use of the matrix organization may offer advantages as an alternative to the traditional organizational pyramid. Included is an annotated bibliography of books and other published materials dealing with organization maintenance, development, and teamwork.

Two experiments which investigated the young child's ability to deal with multiplicative classes and relations (considered behavioral indices of concrete operations thought) in double series and cross class matrices are described and discussed. In the initial study, 160 children from preschool through grade 2 received six matrix subtasks (reproduction and transposition subtasks of cross classification, classification seriation, and double seriation) in one of six orders of presentation (the reproduction subtask always preceded the transposition case for a given matrix). The second experiment followed much the same design as the first, except that the class/series matrix was not used and stimuli for one cross class task were rearranged so that neither dimension was seriated across rows or columns of the matrix. Results, conclusions, and methodological problems of each experiment are discussed in detail. It was concluded that the pattern of lesser general difficulty for multiple relations contrasted with multiple classification concepts was subtantiated in these experiments (and other experiments (and other experiments also discussed) and that the original structural synchrony conclusions of Inhelder and Piaget need further examination. (ED)

"September 1998."

A preliminary examination of the Non Commissioned Member (NCM) population under a Trade Advancement through Skill and Knowledge (TASK) scenario was completed by the Directorate of Manpower Analysis (D Man A) in support of the impact analysis of TASK over the summer of 1991. This paper addresses the short to medium term consequences of a day one transition to a TASK structure, focusing on the im:r;\202'act at the private and corporal levels.

Research indicates that young children seem to have considerable difficulty in discrimination between the letters b, c, p, and q. Also, 4-year-olds appear to commonly make rotation and reversal errors with letter-like forms. Whether young children will perform significantly better or not in deciding whether two shapes are called same or different after a brief training period was investigated. The subjects were 20 nursery-school children randomly selected from approximately 100 children enrolled at a nursery school supported by the Syracuse branch of the National Laboratory for Early Childhood Development. They were randomly assigned to two groups; the experimental group received an initial training period, and the control group did not. The results showed that the subjects in the experimental condition in which the experimenter's definition of same and different was made explicit performed significantly better than the control group. Figures, tables, and references are given. (DE)

Task analysis as a tool in the design of instruction is the subject of this paper. Some of the major historical approaches (associationist/behaviorist, gestalt, and Piagetian) are described using examples from mathematics. The usefulness of these approaches to instructional design is evaluated on the basis of four criteria: instructional relevance, psychological formulation, instructability, and recognition of stages of competence. A detailed discussion of rational and empirical information-processing analyses for instructional purposes follows. It includes descriptions of empirical studies carried out to validate and elucidate formal and informal task analyses of mathematical skills, such as addition and subtraction, and generalized "learning-to-learn" abilities. (Author/JBW)

LibriVox volunteers bring you 15 different recordings of <em>To My Cat</em> by Rosamund Marriott Wilson. This was the weekly poetry project for the week of August 19th, 2007

2Hampstead Mystery

By Arthur J. Rees and John R. Watson

A murder whodunit... <br />Location:</b> Hampstead, England. <br /><b>Victim:</b> Sir Horace Fewbanks, a distinguished High Court judge. Cause of death: gun shot wound. <br /><b>Investigator:</b> Private Detective Crewe, a wealthy bachelor who has taken up crime detection as a hobby, because it provides intellectual challenges more satisfying even than playing twelve simultaneous boards against Russian chess champion Turgieff. <br /><b>His sidekick:</b> Joe is a fourteen year old Cockney boy, whom Crewe saved from a life of crime by hiring him as a messenger-boy and shadower. <br /><b>Other whodunit elements:</b> clues galore, suspects in abundance, an inquest, a trial, and an elegant resolution. (Summary by Maikki)

A guide for Christians to walk a godly life. Covering various practical and spiritual topics.<br /><br />This project was proof listened by Guero and Laura Victoria.

This book is an exposition of Romans 8:28: "We know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose." It was written in 1663, one year after Thomas Watson and many other Puritan ministers were forced out of their pulpits by the Act of Uniformity. Watson's book radiates comfort in the midst of suffering. Its content is equally applicable to Christians facing trials today. (Introduction by rosea)

The poacher of these "Confessions" was no imaginary being. Following in his father's and forefather's footsteps, he learnt from an early age the practical skills of poaching and woodcraft. It was, however, Mother Nature that made old "Phil" a Poacher but she also made him a Sportsman and a Naturalist at the same time. Never did any man appear in closer sympathy with the wild creatures about him. <br> Even when about eighty years of age, there was still some of the old erectness in his carriage; some of the old fire in his eyes. As a young man he was handsome, though in later years his features were battered out of all original conception. His silvery hair still covered a lion-like head, and his tanned cheeks were hard and firm. <br> If his life had been a lawless one he had undoubtedly paid a heavy price for his wrong doings. Great as a poacher, he must have been great whatever he had been. (Confessions of a Poacher / TND)

6Mystery of the Downs

By Arthur J. Rees and John R. Watson

"The storm had descended swiftly, sweeping in suddenly from the sea, driving across the downs to the hills at high speed, blotting out the faint rays of a crescent moon and hiding the country-side beneath a pall of blackness, which was forked at intervals by flashes of lightning." - Book's opening sentence

"The Art of Divine Contentment" is an exposition by the Puritan minister Thomas Watson of the text found in Philippians 4:11: "I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content." It examines the nature of contentment and how to live it out in the Christian life, both by answering questions regarding problems with contentment and by giving examples of practical contentment. It is a good read for people with religious or historical interests. - Summary by J L Raimundo

A nice little story about a widower, his 18-year-old daughter and 5-year-old son, and their vacation from their home in Colorado to the shores of Cape Cod, Massachusetts. There they meet some friendly locals, and... the story continues.<br /> The reader picked up this book at a thrift store, saw it was out of copyright, and recorded it "sight unseen". It was worth the risk. (Summary by TriciaG)

9Monitor and the Merrimac: Both sides of the story

By Samuel Greene, H. Ashton Ramsay, Eugene Winslow Watson and John Worden

The American Civil War lasted four years, from 1861 to 1865. It included some iconic battles that have maintained enough interest to merit recounting the events in countless books. One such seminal battle was that of the USS Monitor versus the USS Merrimack, two ironclad ships, repurposed and redesigned to have a defensive advantage against conventional wooden war ships of the 19th century. The Monitor and the Merrimack faced off in a duel in the harbor at Hampton Roads, Virginia. The event represented the beginning of a new era of naval warfare. “The Monitor and the Merrimac” is a unique historical account of the first-hand experiences and perspectives of soldiers on each of the two ships. - Summary by Jeffery Smith

10Witch of the Glens

By Sally Watson

The time is 1644 in Inverness Scotland. Kelpie, now a teenage girl, doesn't remember being kidnapped by Gypsies. They had kidnapped her at a very young age because her "Second Sight" that was indicated by her blue ringed eyes. Kelpie desperately wishes she were a witch and often wondered where she had come from. We follow Kelpie through a series of events that changes her life forever. - Summary by kirk202

Mr. Watson published a variety of books upon practical subjects, and of a useful nature. But his principal work was his Body of Divinity in 176 Sermons upon the Assembly’s Catechism, which did not appear till after his death. It was published in one volume folio, in 1692, accompanied with a portrait of the author by Sturt, a recommendatory Preface by the Rev. William Lorimer, and the attestation of twenty-five other ministers, of principal note in that day; and has since passed through a number of editions both in England and Scotland. - Summary by Biographical Notice