The role of eye height in judgment of an affordance of passage under a barrier

D’après la théorie écologique de la perception (Gibson, 1979), l’observateur-acteur, au cœur de ses multiples interactions avec l’environnement, perçoit des affordances, c’est-à-dire des opportunités d’action. Cette perception serait directe et nécessiterait la prise d’information qui spécifierait la relation entre les caractéristiques de l’environnement et les propriétés de l’individu. L’objectif de cette recherche est d’étudier le rôle de la hauteur des yeux dans des jugements perceptifs de passage sous une barre. Huit participants ont effectué des jugements verbaux à propos de la hauteur minimale d’une barre sous laquelle ils pouvaient passer sans baisser la tête en marchant à vitesse normale. La hauteur des yeux perçue était également mesurée. Les jugements étaient effectués dans trois conditions de vision: (i) utilisation de lunettes à verres neutres (condition de base), (ii) utilisation de lunettes avec verre prismatique (déviation vers le bas de 20 dp) et (iii) après adaptation à ces lunettes. Les résultats montrent que les deux types de jugements (hauteur minimale et hauteur des yeux perçue) sont affectés par le port des prismes. Ils révèlent notamment un effet de l’adaptation aux prismes (after-effect) significatif. Cet after-effect est mis en évidence pour les deux types de jugements. Ces résultats étayent l’hypothèse selon laquelle la hauteur des yeux effective, souple et adaptable, est calibrée par rapport à la scène visuelle. En retour, la hauteur des yeux effective peut servir à estimer des potentialités d’action pour l’organisme.According to the ecological theory of visual perception (Gibson, 1979), the perceiver-actor perceives affordances (i.e. opportunities of action) through multiple interactions with the environment. This perception is direct and consists in picking up information that specifies the relationship between the environment's characteristics and the perceiver-actor's properties. The aim of the work reported here was to study the role of eye height in the perceptual judgments of passability under a barrier. Eight participants were asked to verbally judge the minimal height of a barrier under which they could pass without lowering their head. Their perceived eye height was also measured. The judgments were made in three viewing conditions: (i) wearing neutral glasses (the baseline condition), (ii) immediately after putting on glasses with prismatic deviation (a 20PD downward deviation) and (iii) after adaptation to the prismatic deviation. The results showed that the two judgments (minimal barrier height and perceived eye height) were affected in the same way by the prisms. Most significantly, an after-effect occurred and had a similar impact on the two judgments. These results suggest that the effective eye height is not fixed but can be adapted and calibrated relative to the visual array. Accordingly, effective eye height can help estimate action potentialities for the organism

The importance of contextual understanding in solving the last mile problem

International audienceThe COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted many global industries and shifted the digital health landscape by stimulating and accelerating the delivery of digital care. It has emphasized the need for a system level informatics implementation that supports the healthcare management of populations at a macro level while also providing the necessary support for front line care delivery at a micro level. From data dashboard to Telemedicine, this crisis has necessitated the need for health informatics transformation that can bridge time and space to provide timely care. However, heath transformation cannot solely rely on Health Information Technology (HIT) for progress, but rather success must be an outcome of system design focus on the contextual complexity of the health system where HIT is used. This conference highlights the important roles context plays for health informatics in global pandemics and aims to answer critical questions in four main areas: 1) health information management in the covid-19 context, 2) implementation of new practices and technologies in healthcare, 3) sociotechnical analysis of task performance and workload in healthcare, and 4) innovations in design and evaluation methods of health technologies. We deem this as a call to action to understand the importance of context while solving the last mile problem in delivering the informatics solutions that are needed to support our public health response

Hydrolysis of oligosaccharides over solid acid catalysts: a review

Mild fractionation/pretreatment processes are becoming the most preferred choices for biomass processing within the biorefinery framework. To further explore their advantages, new developments are needed, especially to increase the extent of the hydrolysis of poly- and oligosaccharides. A possible way forward is the use of solid acid catalysts that may overcome many current drawbacks of other common methods. In this Review, the advantages and limitations of the use of heterogeneous catalysis for the main groups of solid acid catalysts (zeolites, resins, carbon materials, clays, silicas, and other oxides) and their relation to the hydrolysis of model soluble disaccharides and soluble poly- and oligosaccharides are presented and discussed. Special attention is given to the hydrolysis of hemicelluloses and hemicellulose-derived saccharides into monosaccharides, the impact on process performance of potential catalyst poisons originating from biomass and biomass hydrolysates (e.g., proteins, mineral ions, etc.). The data clearly point out the need for studying hemicelluloses in natura rather than in model compound solutions that do not retain the relevant factors influencing process performance. Furthermore, the desirable traits that solid acid catalysts must possess for the efficient hemicellulose hydrolysis are also presented and discussed with regard to the design of new catalysts

Medication-related outcomes and health equity : evidence for pharmaceutical care

Marginalised people experience diminished access to pharmaceutical care and worse medication-related outcomes than the general population. Health equity is a global priority. This article explores the key evidence of health inequity and medication use, structures the causes and contributory factors and suggests opportunities that can be taken to advance the pharmaceutical care agenda so as to achieve health equity. The causes of, and contributors to, this inequity are multi-fold, with patient- and person-related factors being the most commonly reported. Limited evidence is available to identify risk factors related to other aspects of a personal medication use system, such as technology, tasks, tools and the internal and the external environments. Multiple opportunities exist to enhance equity in medication-related outcomes through pharmaceutical care research and practice. To optimise the effects and the sustainable implementation of these opportunities, it is important to (1) ensure the meaningful inclusion and engagement of members of marginalised groups, (2) use a person-centred approach and (3) apply a systems-based approach to address all of the necessary components of a system that interact and form a network as work processes that produce system outcomes.peer-reviewe

Limitations of the new ISO standard for health and wellness apps

International audienc

Overcoming Challenges to Inclusive User-based Testing of Health Information Technology with Vulnerable Older Adults: Recommendations from a Human Factors Engineering Expert Inquiry

Objectives: Involving representative users in usability testing of health information technology (HIT) is central to user-centered design. However, (vulnerable) older adults as representative users have unique requirements. Aging processes may affect physical capabilities and cognitive skills, which can hamper testing with this demographic and may require special attention and revised protocols. This study was performed to provide expert-based recommendations for HIT user-testing with (vulnerable) older adults to support inclusive HIT design and evaluation. Methods: First, we conducted a structured workshop with ten experts in HIT implementation and research, recruited through purposeful sampling, to generate insights into how characteristics of older adults may influence user-testing. Next, five Human Factor researchers experienced in HIT user-testing with (vulnerable) older adults validated the results and provided additional textual insights to gain consensus on the most important recommendations. A thematic analysis was performed on the resulting inquiries. Applied codes were based on the User-Centered Design framework. Results: The analysis resulted in nine recommendations for user-testing of HIT with older adults, divided into three main themes: (1) empathetic approach and trust-building, (2) new requirements for testing and study design, and (3) adjustments to usability evaluation methods. For each theme a checklist of relevant items to follow-up on the recommendation is provided. Conclusions: The recommendations generated through expert inquiry contribute to more effective usability testing of HIT with older adults. This provides an important step towards improved accessibility of HIT amongst older adults through inclusive user-centered design