Regionale Veränderungen landwirtschaftlicher Nutzungssysteme als Grundlage neuer Schutzstrategien für Wiesenvögel

Die Untersuchung von vier bundesdeutschen Projektgebieten im Rahmen eines F&E-Vorhabens zum Schutz des Wachtelkönigs (Crex crex) zeigt auf, wie das Überleben von Wiesenvogelpopulationen mit der historischen Entwicklung der regionalen landwirtschaftlichen Nutzungssysteme insbesondere im Bereich der Rinderhaltung zusammenhängt. Ausgehend von der prognostizierten Weiterentwicklung dieser Systeme werden Schutzstrategien entworfen, um die vorgefundenen landwirtschaftlichen Rahmenbedingungen im jeweiligen Projektgebiet für den Wiesenvogelschutz gezielt zu beeinflussen. Flächenbezogener Vertragsnaturschutz reicht hierzu nicht aus. Er muss betriebsbezogen durch investive, langfristig wirksame Förderung ergänzt werden, die kommunikativ begleitet wird.In a so called F&E project (research and development) designed for the protection of Corncrakes (Crex crex) in four study sites it was demonstrated that population viability is related to changes in local agricultural practice over time. Especially changes in cattle farming were found to be important. On the basis of prognoses of the future agricultural development in these sites local management strategies were developed which aimed to change the current agricultural conditions for a more effective conservation of endangered meadow bird populations: Policies exclusively depending on management agreements to decrease the intensity of farming are not enough. Additionally, they should include subsidies for investments with long-term effects on the local farming system. Moreover an intensive cooperation and communication between the partners (e.g. farmers, administration) is essential

Automation in Surgery: The Surgeons' Perspective on Human Factors Issues of Image-Guided Navigation

Dieser Beitrag ist mit Zustimmung des Rechteinhabers aufgrund einer (DFG geförderten) Allianz- bzw. Nationallizenz frei zugänglich.This publication is with permission of the rights owner freely accessible due to an Alliance licence and a national licence (funded by the DFG, German Research Foundation) respectively.Image-guided navigation (IGN) systems support the surgeon in navigating through the patients' anatomy. Previous research on IGN has focused on technical feasibility and clinical applications. Yet, as the introduction of IGN corresponds to a partial automation of the surgeon's task, well known issues of human-automation interaction might play a crucial role for the success of IGN as well. The present study represents a first attempt to assess the impact of IGN on four key issues of human automation-interaction, i.e., workload, situation awareness, trust, and skill degradation, from the surgeons' perspective. A nation-wide survey among 213 German surgeons from 94 different hospitals was conducted. Results revealed (1) a workload-shift due to IGN rather than a reduction of workload, (2) benefits of IGN with respect to situation awareness, (3) comparatively high levels of perceived reliability, trust and reliance, and (4) skill degradation as a possible risk, albeit only for inexperienced surgeons

Current Concepts and Trends in Human-Automation Interaction

Dieser Beitrag ist mit Zustimmung des Rechteinhabers aufgrund einer (DFG geförderten) Allianz- bzw. Nationallizenz frei zugänglich.This publication is with permission of the rights owner freely accessible due to an Alliance licence and a national licence (funded by the DFG, German Research Foundation) respectively.The purpose of this panel was to provide a general overview and discussion of some of the most current and controversial concepts and trends in human-automation interaction. The panel was composed of eight researchers and practitioners. The panelists are well-known experts in the area and offered differing views on a variety of different human-automation topics. The range of concepts and trends discussed in this panel include: general taxonomies regarding stages and levels of automation and function allocation, individualized adaptive automation, automation-induced complacency, economic rationality and the use of automation, the potential utility of false alarms, the influence of different types of false alarms on trust and reliance, and a system-wide theory of trust in multiple automated aids

Misuse of Diagnostic Aids in Process Control: The Effects of Automation Misses on Complacency and Automation Bias

Dieser Beitrag ist mit Zustimmung des Rechteinhabers aufgrund einer (DFG geförderten) Allianz- bzw. Nationallizenz frei zugänglich.This publication is with permission of the rights owner freely accessible due to an Alliance licence and a national licence (funded by the DFG, German Research Foundation) respectively.The effects of misses of an automated alarm and fault diagnosis system on different manifestations of automation misuse were examined. 24 participants operated a complex multi-task process control simulation. During training, they either experienced automation misses or were only informed that failures might occur. The experience of misses reduced complacency towards the alarm function of the decision aid as well as omission errors but did neither affect complacency towards the aid's diagnostic function nor commission errors. Implications of this specific effect of automation misses for the design of training measures as well as the theoretical understanding of automation misuse are discussed

Neuronal Activation in the Central Nervous System of Rats in the Initial Stage of Chronic Kidney Disease-Modulatory Effects of Losartan and Moxonidine.

The effect of mild chronic renal failure (CRF) induced by 4/6-nephrectomy (4/6NX) on central neuronal activations was investigated by c-Fos immunohistochemistry staining and compared to sham-operated rats. In the 4/6 NX rats also the effect of the angiotensin receptor blocker, losartan, and the central sympatholyticum moxonidine was studied for two months. In serial brain sections Fos-immunoreactive neurons were localized and classified semiquantitatively. In 37 brain areas/nuclei several neurons with different functional properties were strongly affected in 4/6NX. It elicited a moderate to high Fos-activity in areas responsible for the monoaminergic innervation of the cerebral cortex, the limbic system, the thalamus and hypothalamus (e.g. noradrenergic neurons of the locus coeruleus, serotonergic neurons in dorsal raphe, histaminergic neurons in the tuberomamillary nucleus). Other monoaminergic cell groups (A5 noradrenaline, C1 adrenaline, medullary raphe serotonin neurons) and neurons in the hypothalamic paraventricular nucleus (innervating the sympathetic preganglionic neurons and affecting the peripheral sympathetic outflow) did not show Fos-activity. Stress- and pain-sensitive cortical/subcortical areas, neurons in the limbic system, the hypothalamus and the circumventricular organs were also affected by 4/6NX. Administration of losartan and more strongly moxonidine modulated most effects and particularly inhibited Fos-activity in locus coeruleus neurons. In conclusion, 4/6NX elicits high activity in central sympathetic, stress- and pain-related brain areas as well as in the limbic system, which can be ameliorated by losartan and particularly by moxonidine. These changes indicate a high sensitivity of CNS in initial stages of CKD which could be causative in clinical disturbances

The sonographic digital portfolio: a longitudinal ultrasound image tracking program

BACKGROUND: Ultrasonography (US) at the medical student level is developing. As clinical skills and simulation centers expand, US equipment miniaturizes, and more students are exposed to ultrasound; a digital portfolio comprised of US images and videos may be useful in demonstrating experience and possibly competency. METHODS: Medical students participated in US curricula consisting of didactics and hands-on training. From 1 July 2006 to 30 June 2008, student images and videos were saved. Total images and videos were evaluated and catalogued. RESULTS: A total of 10,074 images and 1,227 videos were saved during the 2-year period. For the academic year 2006 to 2007, 159 medical students obtained 3,641 of the images (84.9%) and 270 of the videos (86.0%). First year students obtained 778 images and 20 videos; second year students, 1,174 images and 64 videos; third year students, 211 images and 20 videos; and fourth year students, 1,478 images and 166 videos. For the academic year 2007 to 2008, 222 medical students obtained 4,340 images (75%) and 619 videos (67.8%). First year students obtained 624 images and 109 videos; second year students, 555 images and 81 videos; third year students, 132 images and 14 videos; and fourth year students, 3,029 images and 415 videos. CONCLUSIONS: The ultrasound digital portfolio allows medical students to collate and document their ultrasound experience. Currently, there is no requirement for ultrasound training, documentation of competency, or minimum numbers of US exams for medical education. The ultrasound digital portfolio may be a useful tool in documenting ultrasound proficiency

Why Are People's Decisions Sometimes Worse with Computer Support?

In many applications of computerised decision support, a recognised source of undesired outcomes is operators' apparent over-reliance on automation. For instance, an operator may fail to react to a potentially dangerous situation because a computer fails to generate an alarm. However, the very use of terms like "over-reliance" betrays possible misunderstandings of these phenomena and their causes, which may lead to ineffective corrective action (e.g. training or procedures that do not counteract all the causes of the apparently "over-reliant" behaviour). We review relevant literature in the area of "automation bias" and describe the diverse mechanisms that may be involved in human errors when using computer support. We discuss these mechanisms, with reference to errors of omission when using "alerting systems", with the help of examples of novel counterintuitive findings we obtained from a case study in a health care application, as well as other examples from the literature