Publication Type: Extended Abstract
Review Method: Peer Reviewed
Abstract: This experimental study examines two species of theories explaining banner animation effects: "automatic attention capture" vs. "contingency capture." Research based on the automatic attention capture theory suggests that motion detection is fundamentally natural and conducted involuntarily during the early stages of visual information processing (e.g., Lang, Borse, Wise, & David, 2002; Reeves & Nass, 1996). The contingency theory, on the other hand, explains that although motion detection may be automatic and involuntary, attention capture is contingent on attentional control settings, such as motivation and task demands (Folk, Remington, & Johnston, 1992). Researchers employing these theories have been able to produce data patterns consistent with predicted hypotheses, yet little attempts have been made to test the competing theories within the same experimental design. Furthermore, the stimuli used in these studies have widely been different from one another, making it difficult to compare the data for the purpose of theory testing. The present investigation attempts to provide a methodological ground to testing these two competing theories related to animation effects by employing a visual search paradigm. A total of 48 participants will be performing a visual search task in one of the two independent 2 (Target Banner Type) x 4 (Distractor Number) within-subject designs. Search task performance will be measured in reaction time to provide not only a solid, data-driven testing of the theories but also an important implication concerning the finding that attention capture is not always involuntary but contingent on attention control settings induced by task demands.

Publication Type: Extended Abstract
Abstract: The purpose of this study is to examine the competing models of interactivity. Interactivity is conceptualized as intrinsic media attributes which afford message-sending and message-receiving through the same medium. Operationally, interactivity is manipulated along two dimensions: the number of keywords (responsiveness) and the number of hyperlinks. Regarding this, the study has three goals: first, it will investigate whether the influence of interactivity is converted to media effects through the mechanism of perceived interactivity. Second, it will explore whether the relationship between interactivity and perceived interactivity is moderated by personality traits, such as self-efficacy and need for cognition. Finally, it will develop an Internet self-efficacy scale. There is currently no widely accepted Internet self-efficacy scale. As such, this research will be helpful for researchers to clarify inconsistent empirical results concerning the relationship between interactivity and media effects. The study employs audience tracking software to record the duration of a web page viewed, the amount of hyperlinks clicked, and the address of a web page visited, which serve as behavioral indicators of interactivity.

Publication Type: Session Paper

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Review Method: Peer Reviewed
Abstract: The paper reports preliminary findings from a survey of government funding levels for RD&D projects into CO2 capture and storage (CCS) in Europe and North America. Government RD&D is a useful indicator of political commitment to CCS as a climate policy strategy. Norway spends several times as large a share of its GDP as any other government in the regions. North American governments spend larger shares than most of their European counterparts. Reliance on fossil fuels for power supply is not correlated with funding levels, but fossil fuels production and reserves seem to have a strong bearing on them. A case study confirms that the Norway’s outlier status in terms of commitment to CCS is related to its large petroleum industry through a number of pathways, and points to some suggestions for further comparative analysis.

Publication Type: Abstract
Abstract: Objective: Processing and analysis of continuous physiologic numeric and waveform data has been shown to predict mortality and injury severity in trauma patients. The purpose of this study is to verify and validate the ability of “The Trauma Vitals System” to capture continuous prehospital physiologic data in helicopter transported trauma patients. Methods: A random cohort of 5 trauma patients transported by the Life Flight service to the Memorial Hermann Hospital Level I Trauma Center was used. Validation of the data was performed by comparison of the incident trend data printed by a PIC 50 (Welch Allyn) monitor with the values recorded for the different vital signs on the emergency run sheet, and the values derived from a memory card in the PIC 50. Monitor data streams consisted of both waveform data representing the digitized values of the sampled waveform and numeric values consisting of the monitor interpreted values for the attached sensors. PIC 50 datasets were stored in the built-in memory card. Numeric data were obtained every 3 minutes from the event queue generated by the monitor. All waveforms were captured at 375Hz. Included in the numeric data collection set were the mean, systolic, and diastolic non-invasive blood pressures, the ECG derived heart rate, SpO2, respiration rate and end-tidal CO2 values. Waveform validation included high frequency ECG collection. Results: Data validation testing of the PIC 50 monitor reveals no discernible difference between the real time displayed data and the data recorded on linear flash mounted on the local memory card. Data recorded on the memory card matches exactly to data shown on the screen during the incident in addition to matching with the data values printed by the built-in printer for real time trends and incident summaries. Continuous ECG waveform was successfully captured by the monitor on the memory card and allowed for enhanced interpretation for the entire prehospital period. Conclusion: The trauma vitals system was found to reliably capture and store continuous prehospital physiologic data which may serve to improve triage and treatment strategies for trauma patients.