In this study we compare usability indicators in a deep and slim web structure versus a broad and shallow web structure. The structures are compared on task performance times, lostness, and user...Show moreIn this study we compare usability indicators in a deep and slim web structure versus a broad and shallow web structure. The structures are compared on task performance times, lostness, and user preference for the visually and mildly cognitive impaired web user. Twenty-four participants (fourteen with cognitive impairment (testing group) and ten without cognitive impairment (control group) participated in this study. The participants received eight search tasks in both a deep and slim audio web structure (four layers with four audio items per layer) and a broad and shallow audio web structure (two layers with sixteen audio items per layer). Due to outliers and a non-normal distribution, a Wilcoxon signed ranked test was used to test for statistical significance. We found a significant difference in task performance times, where participants performed best in the deep and slim structure. We also found higher within and between search task consistency in the deep and slim audio web structure. While the testing group showed significantly lower task performance times in the deep and slim web structure, this finding lacks power. No significant difference was found for lostness and user preference. This study shows initial support that a deep and slim web structure is the preferred option compared to a broad and shallow structure for the visually and mildly cognitive impaired web user. More research is needed to validate these findings with sufficient power.Show less
A quarter of Dutch cyclists participate in the hazardous behavior of red light running (RLR). Studies show cyclists make a predictive mental model about the traffic situation. The behavioral...Show moreA quarter of Dutch cyclists participate in the hazardous behavior of red light running (RLR). Studies show cyclists make a predictive mental model about the traffic situation. The behavioral outcome of the prediction is possibly influenced by the experienced cognitive load and internal risk arousal optimum. A mismatch between the cyclists' predicted traffic situation and traffic signal indication might partially explain RLR. The main aim of this research is to investigate whether an Intelligent Traffic Management System (ITMS) lowers this mismatch via tracking, prioritization and optimalisation. It is hypothesized that these features increase safety by preventing situations that induce RLR. Cross-sectional observational research is performed by combining Loop-based sensor data with Cooperative Awareness Messages (CAM) to identify the 154 CAM app cyclists from other cyclists on the Dutch N14-N44 intersection from May till July 2021. Cyclists with a smartphone-based application automatically send CAM messages to enhance the ITMS anticipatory modeling and receive prioritization. Based on the multinomial, Firth and Binary logistic regressions, cyclists with CAM-functionality have significantly reduced odds of encountering potentially unsafe situations, red lights, and show less RLR behavior. Therefore, it is concluded that the use of CAM communication and prioritization for cyclists is correlated with an improvement in cycling safety on a signalized intersection. However, methodological limitations and unsafe behavior remain. Future research could further target RLR by also targeting trust with CAM mediated smart system feedback, potentially increasing compliance of a red signal outcome.Show less
The present study investigated operating room (OR) traffic at the OR’s of two Dutch hospitals. OR traffic is one of the multiple causes of surgical site infections (SSIs). Hospitals are trying to...Show moreThe present study investigated operating room (OR) traffic at the OR’s of two Dutch hospitals. OR traffic is one of the multiple causes of surgical site infections (SSIs). Hospitals are trying to reduce their amount of OR traffic as much as possible in order to reduce the number of SSIs. Knowing how much variation of the amount of OR traffic occurs and knowing the reasons for its occurrence, is important to actually be able to reduce OR traffic to an tolerable level. For this study, OR traffic was investigated by observing OR traffic during surgeries (N = 83). On average, 4.29 door openings per hour occurred. Between the hospitals, the averages of OR traffic per hour differed greatly (hospital 1 M = 3.00, hospital 2 M = 5.23). Overall, there was a positive linear relation between the amount of OR traffic and the duration of a surgery. Two-way traffic was related to less overall OR traffic. Visible signs about the OR traffic policy did not seem effective in reducing OR traffic. Based on the results of this study, practical recommendations to improve OR traffic policy were proposed. Also, we advised on improving OR traffic registration and efficient behavior of OR personnel to reduce OR traffic.Show less
Research master thesis | Psychology (research) (MSc)
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The optimal strategy in a semantic verbal fluency (SVF) task is to focus on one semantic subcategory at a time and adaptively switch from one subcategory to another. This task has therefore been...Show moreThe optimal strategy in a semantic verbal fluency (SVF) task is to focus on one semantic subcategory at a time and adaptively switch from one subcategory to another. This task has therefore been used as a measure of self-directed executive functioning. Previous studies have found that SVF performance improves through childhood and adolescence. This developmentalimprovement has been observed both in the total number of words produced during the task and in switching between subcategories. The present online study tested the hypothesis that the agerelated improvement in SVF performance is partly driven by an improved ability to select between competing word representations. The study included three age groups: 8–10-year-olds (n=26), 12–14-year-olds (n=17), and young adults (n=31). The semantic blocking effect in the blocked cycling naming task was used as a measure of selection abilities. Measures of vocabulary and general processing speed were included as control variables. Age-related differences in SVF performance were only partly replicated: there were signs of age-related differences in the total word count but not in switching. The semantic blocking effect was replicated across age groups. However, there were no signs of age-related differences in the magnitude of this effect, suggesting that word selection abilities did not differ between age groups. Moreover, the magnitude of the semantic blocking effect did not predict SVF performance. Thus, although further research is needed, the present study does not support the hypothesis that the age-related improvement in SVF would be driven by an improvement in selection abilities.Show less
In this study the effects of using blue-light filter glasses on sleep quality and vigilance is investigated in 60 young adults, in order to gain more insight in blue-light filter glasses as an...Show moreIn this study the effects of using blue-light filter glasses on sleep quality and vigilance is investigated in 60 young adults, in order to gain more insight in blue-light filter glasses as an effective aid for poor sleep quality. Blue-light filter glasses were expected to have a positive effect on sleep quality and vigilance performance. This was a single-blind controlled study in which the participants reported their sleep quality on the PSQI and KSS and their vigilance performance was measured with the Psychomotor Vigilance Task. After two weeks of intervention, wearing blue-light filter glasses in the experimental condition and listening to music in the control condition, follow-up measures were registered. Measures of total sleep quality and sleep latency increased and vigilance reaction times decreased over time in the analysis of variances with repeated measures. These changes could not be explained by the use of blue-light filter glasses or the relation between vigilance and sleep quality. The expected positive relation between sleep quality and cognitive performance was not supported by these findings. In conclusion, this study does not provide convincing support for blue-light filter glasses as an effective aid for poor sleep quality. Among others, including objective measures and treatments with longer periods of time are recommended for future research.Show less
Scientific research seldom focuses on naturalistic approaches of investigating selective attention in sensory modalities, even though being able to selectively pay attention to a stimulus is...Show moreScientific research seldom focuses on naturalistic approaches of investigating selective attention in sensory modalities, even though being able to selectively pay attention to a stimulus is important in real life. The current cross-modal ERP study illustrates the importance of addressing naturalistic environments and tasks in behavioral and ERP research regarding auditory selective attention and cognitive load. Instead of using a standardized cognitive load task, smartphone interactions were used to indicate whether or not someone was engaged in the visual and tactile modality. During the task, a sound with a duration of 50 msec and an interstimulus interval (ISI) of one to three seconds was administered to the participants (n = 14). Following the ideas of load theory, we hypothesized that in the “during smartphone use” condition, there will be a larger N1 peak than in the “while not using the smartphone” condition. There were no significant larger N1 peaks in the “during smartphone use” condition compared to the “while not using the smartphone” condition. A possible explanation for this lack of N1 amplitude modulation could be the difference between the usual unnatural study settings in behavioral and ERP research, where load induced alterations are prevalent, and the naturalistic context of the current study. For future research it would be interesting to investigate cognitive load and selective attention cross-modally in a nonlaboratory setting, with tasks that have been validated to induce cognitive load.Show less
When it comes to teamwork, it is vital to communicate well with one another, especially when the lives of patients are in your team’s hands. In order to communicate well, hospital workers must feel...Show moreWhen it comes to teamwork, it is vital to communicate well with one another, especially when the lives of patients are in your team’s hands. In order to communicate well, hospital workers must feel psychologically safe enough within their team to address questions, problems, and errors, and must feel free to make suggestions and give feedback. This study investigates, by the means of a survey on psychological safety and network ties, whether social network ties within and between teams can predict the psychological safety of hospital workers, as they work with colleagues outside of their team as well. Asking for advice from (different) team members and being friends with team members was hypothesised to indicate that the team psychological safety is adequate. Having difficulties with team members was expected to lower the perception of psychological safety. Over the course of three weeks, 70 hospital workers answered the survey via Mechanical Turk and the results from the linear regressions suggest that advice ties positively affect and difficulty ties negatively affect team psychological safety, but only when psychological safety scores were at the lower end of the scale. Team tenure did not moderate the effect that network ties have on psychological safety while larger team sizes may weaken this effect. Future tools for improving psychological safety in hospital teams can make use of the knowledge that advice ties and difficulty ties are possible ingredients of a low psychological safety team moving to a desired level of psychological safety.Show less
E-learning programs are a popular tool to convey knowledge or to serve as preparation in a flipped classroom set-up, in schools as well as for in-company training. The responsibility these programs...Show moreE-learning programs are a popular tool to convey knowledge or to serve as preparation in a flipped classroom set-up, in schools as well as for in-company training. The responsibility these programs give to the learner increase the risk of course failure. To support the learner, simple learning techniques can be incorporated. Dunlosky et al. (2013) identified elaborative interrogation (EI) as a promising learning technique. The current study analysed the effectivity of elaborative interrogation for supporting the learning of commercial airline pilots in an e-learning preparation for a communication course. The objective was to broaden the generalizability of EI as a learning technique, analyse its effectivity outside the academic context and possibly enhancing the effectivity of the target course. This study compared EI to an active control group using a different, noted less effective learning technique: summarization (Dunlosky et al., 2013). Prior knowledge is known to be an important moderator for the effectivity of elaborative interrogation, which was also incorporated in the experiment. Two groups of participants due to take this course at the time of research completed the e-learning, either answering ‘why-questions’ (EI prompts) or ‘what-questions’ (summarization prompts) per block of theory. No significant differences were found on performance between both learning techniques. The moderation analysis of prior knowledge could not be executed due to violation of important assumptions. Limitations and recommendations for future research are provided.Show less
In times of rapid change, like what the world is currently going through, certain organizational circumstances might facilitate adapting to novel situations, especially in complex organizations...Show moreIn times of rapid change, like what the world is currently going through, certain organizational circumstances might facilitate adapting to novel situations, especially in complex organizations like health care. Health care workers having an innovative mindset might be one of these circumstances. Further, this mindset and health care workers’ innovative work behaviours (IWB) might be facilitated by the existence of psychological safety within their work teams. However, to understand the relationship between psychological safety and IWB and to be able to induce it, it is crucial to understand what dynamics underlie this relationship. In this study, the relationship between psychological safety and IWB, and whether this relationship was mediated by tacit and/or explicit knowledge sharing, were investigated. The sample consisted of 182 health care workers (120 females, 62 males, Mage = 36.25) and they were recruited through Amazon’s Mechanical Turk platform. Participants filled out an online questionnaire consisting of 36 questions about psychological safety, tacit and explicit knowledge sharing, and IWB within their work teams. Results indicated that while explicit knowledge sharing had an indirect effect on the relationship between psychological safety and innovative work behaviours, indicating mediation, tacit knowledge sharing did not have a significant indirect effect. The cognitive effort involved in sharing knowledge is discussed as a potential reason why a mediating effect was not observed for tacit knowledge sharing. Recommendations for further research and the limitations of the current study are discussed.Show less