Geoffrey B. Duggan

Evaluation of the breathworks mindfulness-based pain management programme: effects on well-being and multiple measures of mindfulness.

Two studies of a mindfulness training programme are presented. Study 1 reports on a pilot investigation of the impact on well-being of the Breathworks mindfulness-based pain management programme. Significant positive change was found on self-report measures of depression, outlook, catastrophizing and pain self-efficacy in the Intervention Group, but not the Comparison Group. Particularly large effects were found for pain acceptance. These results support the short-term efficacy of the Breathworks programme and reinforce the importance of acceptance for positive outcome with chronic pain patients. Study 2 investigated alterations in mindfulness following participation in the Breathworks programme. Subjective and non-subjective measures of mindfulness were used. Scores on the Mindful Attention Awareness Scale were significantly higher at Time 2 in the Intervention Group, but not in the Comparison Group. There was no change on a measure of sustained attention. Results from an Implicit Association Test provided some support for an increased awareness of positive stimuli, following the intervention. These results are discussed with reference to the mechanisms of mindfulness.

Knowledge in the head and on the web: using topic expertise to aid search

The importance of background knowledge for effective searching on the Web is not well understood. Participants were given trivia questions on two topics and asked to answer them first using background knowledge and second by searching on the Web. Knowledge of a topic predicted search performance on that topic for all questions and, more importantly, for questions for which participants did not already know the answer. In terms of process, greater topic knowledge led to less time being spent on each Webpage, faster decisions to give up a line of inquiry and shorter queries being entered into the search engine. A more complete theory-led understanding of these effects would assist workers in a whole range of Web-related professions.

Age of acquisition, ageing, and verb production: normative and experimental data.

Young and old adults were shown pictured or written verbs and asked to name them as quickly as possible. Simultaneous multiple regression was used to investigate which of a set of potential variables predicted naming speed. Age of acquisition was found to be an important predictor of naming speed in both young and old adults, and for both word and picture naming. Word frequency predicted picture-naming speed only in older adults and failed to make any significant contribution to word-naming speeds for either group of participants. The respective loci and roles of age of acquisition and frequency in lexical processing are discussed in the light of these findings.

The Disruptive Effects of Pain on Complex Cognitive Performance and Executive Control

Pain interferes and disrupts attention. What is less clear is how pain affects performance on complex tasks, and the strategies used to ensure optimal outcomes. The aim of the current study was to examine the effect of pain on higher-order executive control processes involved in managing complex tasks. Sixty-two adult volunteers (40 female) completed two computer-based tasks: a breakfast making task and a word generation puzzle. Both were complex, involving executive control functions, including goal-directed planning and switching. Half of those recruited performed the tasks under conditions of thermal heat pain, and half with no accompanying pain. Whilst pain did not affect central performance on either task, it did have indirect effects. For the breakfast task, pain resulted in a decreased ability to multitask, with performance decrements found on the secondary task. However, no effects of pain were found on the processes thought to underpin this task. For the word generation puzzle, pain did not affect task performance, but did alter subjective accounts of the processes used to complete the task; pain affected the perceived allocation of time to the task, as well as switching perceptions. Sex differences were also found. When studying higher-order cognitive processes, pain-related interference effects are varied, and may result in subtle or indirect changes in cognition.

Rational security: Modelling everyday password use

To inform the design of security policy, task models of password behaviour were constructed for different user groups-Computer Scientists, Administrative Staff and Students. These models identified internal and external constraints on user behaviour and the goals for password use within each group. Data were drawn from interviews and diaries of password use. Analyses indicated password security positively correlated with the sensitivity of the task, differences in frequency of password use were related to password security and patterns of password reuse were related to knowledge of security. Modelling revealed Computer Scientists viewed information security as part of their tasks and passwords provided a way of completing their work. By contrast, Admin and Student groups viewed passwords as a cost incurred when accessing the primary task. Differences between the models were related to differences in password security and used to suggest six recommendations for security officers to consider when setting password policy.

Giving up problem solving

How do people decide to abandon a problem? Participants were presented with unsolvable water jar problems, having been accurately informed of the prior probability of solvability. Across three experiments, we discovered effects of prior probability of solvability and of problem size (number of distinct problem states) on measures of effort and confidence. If a problem is more likely to be solvable and allows more problem states, a problem solver spends longer trying to solve the problem. Giving-up decisions are informed by the same judgments of probability of success and costs of solution that inform move-choice in a rational model of problem solving.

The influence of goal-state access cost on planning during problem solving

Two problem-solving experiments investigated the relationship between planning and the cost of accessing goal-state information using the theoretical framework of the soft constraints hypothesis (Gray & Fu, 2004; Gray, Simms, Fu, & Schoelles, 2006). In Experiment 1, 36 participants were allocated to low, medium, and high access cost conditions and completed a problem-solving version of the Blocks World Task. Both the nature of planning (memory based or display based) and its timing (before or during action) changed with high goal-state access cost (a mouse movement and a 2.5-s delay). In this condition more planning before action was observed, with less planning during action, evidenced by longer first-move latencies, more moves per goal-state inspection, and more short (≤0.8 s) and long (>8 s) “preplanned” intermove latencies. Experiment 2 used an eight-puzzle-like transformation task and replicated the effect of goal-state access cost when more complex planning was required, also confirmed by sampled protocol data. Planning before an episode of move making increased with higher goal-state access cost, and planning whilst making moves increased with lower access cost. These novel results are discussed in the context of the soft constraints hypothesis.

Too Much, Too Little or Just Right: Designing Data Fusion for Situation Awareness

Many operators within the battlefield find themselves unable to process all the data presented to them in the limited time available. Data fusion provides a means of reducing their workload, but can also reduce system transparency. Thus, either too much or too little fusion can lead to reduced operator situation awareness. A framework is proposed that incorporates a role for more sophisticated psychological theory when attempting to understand the consequences of data fusion technologies on SA. Four key questions are identified: How should the level of certainty in fused information be presented? How much does it cost the operator to “drill-down”? To what extent does data fusion inhibit representation change? Does data fusion ameliorate or exacerbate the consequences of interruption?

Economic Methods and Decision Making by Security Professionals

Increasing reliance on IT and the worsening threat environment mean that organisations are under pressure to invest more in information security. A challenge is that the choices are hard: money is tight, objectives are not clear, and there are many relevant experts and stakeholders. A significant proportion of the research in security economics is about helping people and organisations make better security investment and policy decisions.This paper looks at the impact of methods based on security economics on a set of decision makers. Importantly, the study focused upon experienced security professionals using a realistic security problem relating to client infrastructure. Results indicated that the methods changed the decision processes for these experienced security professionals. Specifically, a broader range of factors were accounted for and included as justifications for the decisions selected. The security professional is an (important and influential) stakeholder in the organization decision making process, and arguably a more complete understanding of the problem is more suitable for persuading a broader business audience.More generally the study complements all research in security economics that is aimed at improving decision making, and suggests ways to proceed and test for the impact of new methods on the actual decision makers.

Qualitative evaluation of the SMART2 self-management system for people in chronic pain

Abstract Purpose: Technology could support the self-management of long-term health conditions such as chronic pain. This article describes an evaluation of SMART2, a personalised self-management system incorporating activity planning and review, feedback on behaviour- and acceptance-based therapeutic exercises. Method: The SMART2 system was evaluated over a four-week trial in the homes of people in chronic pain. At conclusion, participants were interviewed to understand the experience of using and living with the SMART2 system as a therapeutic tool. Results: Qualitative analysis of the interviews found that participants liked the system and reported making associated changes to their behaviour. Goal setting and feedback were the most useful elements of the system. A third key and unexpected element was that by simulating some of the functions of a therapist, SMART2 also simulated some of the process of interacting with a therapist. Conclusions: People in chronic pain may experience positive outcomes when using a self-management system designed for behaviour change. Furthermore, some of the supportive aspects of the therapeutic context can be elicited by self-management technologies. Implications of Rehabilitation Self-management technology has the potential to assist rehabilitation by supporting goal setting and providing feedback. By simulating some of the functions of a therapist, technology can simulate some of the process of therapy during rehabilitation. People in chronic pain liked using the technology in their own home and thought it could augment services delivered by clinical practitioners. Complex programmes of therapeutic exercises delivered by technology had limited success in engaging people in chronic pain.