The purpose of this study was to examine the development of the ability to multitask in children along with other executive control processes that likely underlie goal-directed behavior in novel situations. 35 children, ages 7-11, completed an experimental multitasking paradigm, the Children’s Multiple Activities Game (CMAG), and an existing measure, the Six Parts Test (SPT) as well as two working memory and inhibition tasks and a prospective memory task. Results indicated that multitasking ability improves across this age range and is related to a number of executive abilities. Performance on the CMAG was related to a number of executive abilities, while the SPT was unrelated to these measures. To our knowledge, this is the first study to investigate the development of this ability in children. Findings will be discussed in terms of how this ability develops in relation to cognitive processes that are crucial and account for its variation.

La disertación que se presenta analiza el consumo del videoclip por parte de los jóvenes puertorriqueños a través de diversas pantallas (TV, móvil, computador), y cómo este fenómeno provoca cambios en las estrategias implementadas por las compañías fonográficas para publicitar el artista y sus productos discográficos. El mismo se expone como una contribución al desarrollo de estudios de juventud en Puerto Rico. Esta pesquisa se sitúa en la isla de Puerto Rico y tiene como objeto de estudio el consumo de videoclips, por parte los jóvenes estudiantes de bachillerato entre las edades de 18 a 28 años, matriculados en la Universidad de Puerto Rico y la Universidad del Sagrado Corazón. En específico, se examina el consumo simbólico de los videos musicales pertenecientes a la música urbana (reggaetón, rythm tropical) debido a que es el género de mayor preferencia en Puerto Rico. La metodología diseñada para esta investigación combina instrumentos cualitativos y cuantitativos. A través de los cuales nos acercamos al objeto de estudio para contestar las preguntas de investigación. Los hallazgos de esta pesquisa determinan que el joven puertorriqueños no discrimina con respecto a las pantallas que utiliza para consumir videoclips. Y comprueba que la TV es el medio de mayor preferencia, ya que el joven no sustituye un medio por otro, sino que por su capacidad multitasking conviven, se exponen, usan y consumen varios medios a la vez. Convirtiendo las pantallas a las que tiene acceso en una radio con imágenes en la cual la capacidad de interacción con el medio es la principal razón para escoger los vehículos a través del cual consumen videoclips. El joven puertorriqueño consume videoclips porque este sirve para expresar su gusto por la música, contribuye a la construcción de su identidad y facilita la interacción con sus pares.

Universiẗat, Diss., 2001--Mannheim.

The purpose of this study was to examine the development of the ability to multitask in children along with other executive control processes that likely underlie goal-directed behavior in novel situations. 35 children, ages 7-11, completed an experimental multitasking paradigm, the Children’s Multiple Activities Game (CMAG), and an existing measure, the Six Parts Test (SPT) as well as two working memory and inhibition tasks and a prospective memory task. Results indicated that multitasking ability improves across this age range and is related to a number of executive abilities. Performance on the CMAG was related to a number of executive abilities, while the SPT was unrelated to these measures. To our knowledge, this is the first study to investigate the development of this ability in children. Findings will be discussed in terms of how this ability develops in relation to cognitive processes that are crucial and account for its variation.

Critical Chain Project Management (CCPM) is a project scheduling technique which has been developed to overcome some of the deficiencies of traditional methods and where, in a single project environment, the critical chain is the longest chain of activities in a project network, taking into account both activity precedence and resource dependencies. In multi-project environments, the constraint is the resource which impedes projects' earlier completion. CCPM relies on buffers to protect the critical chain and monitor/control the project. The literature review conducted by this study reveals that the research on CCPM principles in multi-project environments is still extremely scarce. The review also suggests that outright elimination of multitasking (i.e. switching back and forth among two or more concurrent tasks) by imposing a relay race mentality (i.e. starting a task as soon as it becomes available and finishing it as soon as possible), as one of the main features of CCPM, might worsen the resource constraints of CCPM portfolios and cause creation of over-protective buffers. It further implies that there is also a good level of multitasking that can benefit such environments by improving resource availability and requiring shorter protective buffers. This research aims to bridge the gap by investigating the impact of level of multitasking on resource availability issues and project and feeding buffer sizing in CCPM portfolios with different resource capacities. This is pursued through adopting a deductive approach and developing five research hypotheses, considering ten different levels of resource capacity, testing the hypotheses by conducting Monte Carlo simulations of randomly generated project data and comparing the results with deterministic duration values of the same portfolios with 30%, 40% and 50% feeding and project buffer sizes. In total, ten portfolios with similar size, variability and complexity levels, each containing four projects, were simulated. It was concluded that: firstly, some limited levels of multitasking, determined in relation to the level of resource capacity, can be beneficial to time performance of CCPM portfolios; secondly, shorter buffer sizes can be accounted for by abolishing the ban on multitasking while maintaining a lower rate of resource capacity; finally, the element of relay race work ethic that completely bans multitasking should not be implemented as it proved to be counterproductive in terms of resource availability. Seven recommendations and a buffer sizing framework are provided as complementary guidelines to practitioners' own experience, knowledge and judgment, in addition to an explanation of theoretical and practical contributions and suggestions for future research.

A concurrent program is one in which a number of processes are considered to be active simultaneously . It is possib l e to t hink of a process as being a separate sequential program executing independently of other processes, although perhaps communicating with them at desired pOints . The concurrent program, as a whole, can be executed in one of two ways: il ii) in true concurrent manner, wi th each process executing on a dedicated processor in a quasi - concurrent manner, where a processor's processes . time is multiplexed between single the There are two motivations for the study of concurrency in programming languages : i) concurrent programming facilities can be exploited in systems where one has more t han one processor . As technology i mproves, machines having multiple processors will proliferate ii) concurrent p r ogramming facilities may allow programs to be structured as independent , bu t co - operating, processes which can then be implemented on a single processor system . This structure may be more natural to the programmer then the traditional sequential structures. An example is provided by Conway's - 1- Clearly, languages Pascal) problem [Ben82] . by their very nature, traditional sequential- type (Fortran, Basic, Cobol and earlier versions of prove inadequate for the purposes of concurrent programming without considerable extension (which some manufacturers have provided, rendering their compilers non standard-conforming). The general convenience of high level languages provides strong motivation for their development for rea l time programming. Modula - 2 [Wir83] is but one of a number of such r ecently developed languages, designed not only to fulfil a "sequential" role but also to offer facilities for concurrent programming. Developed by Niklaus Wirth in 1979 as a successor to Pascal and Modula, it is intended to serve under the banner of a generalpurpose systems - implementation language. This thesis investigates concurrency i n Modula - 2 and takes the following form: i ) an analYSis of the concurrent facilities offered ii) problems and difficulties associated with these facilities iii) improveme nts and enhancements, including the feasibility of using Modula - 2 to simulate constructs found in other languages, such as the Hoare monitor [Hoa74] and the Ada rendezvous [Uni81]. - 2- Each section concludes with an appraisal of the work conducted in that section . The final section consists of a critical assessment of those Modula - 2 language constructs and facilities provided for the implementation of concurrency and a brief look at concurrency in Modula, Modula-2's predecessor. - Introduction. / KMBT_363 / Adobe Acrobat 9.53 Paper Capture Plug-in

As workplaces have become more digitalized and improvements constantly being made in order to optimize performance, it becomes pivotal for managers to understand how stress within organizations can be linked to the information- and communication technology within them. This thesis addresses the research gap of several studies existing regarding technology-related stress, but where a majority of them are quantitative in nature and overlooking the important aspect of organizational culture. The purpose of this thesis is to create an understanding regarding how managers perceive technostress in their organization, and how counterstrategies, if any, are applied. The added value of this research is that it highlights how poorly understood the problem of information overload is amongst certain managers, while highlighting the cultural aspects within organizations and their contributions to the problem. The results show that while many aspects related to information overload are noticed by managers and employees alike, very few – if any – counterstrategies exists in order to highlight and combat the problems that information overload entails. While individual practices existed, few could be realized at an organizational level without first addressing company culture.

Investigating multitasking information behaviour, particularly while using the web, has become an increasingly important research area. People s reliance on the web to seek and find information has encouraged a number of researchers to investigate the characteristics of information seeking behaviour and the web seeking strategies used. The current research set out to explore multitasking information behaviour while using the web in relation to people s personal characteristics, working memory, and flow (a state where people feel in control and immersed in the task). Also investigated were the effects of pre-determined knowledge about search tasks and the artefact characteristics. In addition, the study also investigated cognitive states (interactions between the user and the system) and cognitive coordination shifts (the way people change their actions to search effectively) while multitasking on the web. The research was exploratory using a mixed method approach. Thirty University students participated; 10 psychologists, 10 accountants and 10 mechanical engineers. The data collection tools used were: pre and post questionnaires, pre-interviews, a working memory test, a flow state scale test, audio-visual data, web search logs, think aloud data, observation, and the critical decision method. Based on the working memory test, the participants were divided into two groups, those with high scores and those with lower scores. Similarly, participants were divided into two groups based on their flow state scale tests. All participants searched information on the web for four topics: two for which they had prior knowledge and two more without prior knowledge. The results revealed that working memory capacity affects multitasking information behaviour during web searching. For example, the participants in the high working memory group and high flow group had a significantly greater number of cognitive coordination and state shifts than the low working memory group and low flow group. Further, the perception of task complexity was related to working memory capacity; those with low memory capacity thought task complexity increased towards the end of tasks for which they had no prior knowledge compared to tasks for which they had prior knowledge. The results also showed that all participants, regardless of their working memory capacity and flow level, had the same the first frequent cognitive coordination and cognitive state sequences: from strategy to topic. In respect of disciplinary differences, accountants rated task complexity at the end of the web seeking procedure to be statistically less significant for information tasks with prior knowledge compared to the participants from the other disciplines. Moreover, multitasking information behaviour characteristics such as the number of queries, web search sessions and opened tabs/windows during searches has been affected by the disciplines. The findings of the research enabled an exploratory integrated model to be created, which illustrates the nature of multitasking information behaviour when using the web. One other contribution of this research was to develop new more specific and closely grounded definitions of task complexity and artefact characteristics). This new research may influence the creation of more effective web search systems by placing more emphasis on our understanding of the complex cognitive mechanisms of multitasking information behaviour when using the web.

Dans un contexte où la recherche de l’excellence universitaire est au coeur des préoccupations des institutions académiques et des pouvoirs publics, cette thèse a pour objectif de contribuer à l’étude des déterminants de la production scientifique des enseignants-chercheurs français en économie. En mobilisant les données originales issues des candidatures des enseignants-chercheurs à la ‘’Prime d’Excellence Scientifique’’, les quatre contributions proposées s’attachent à articuler deux importantes dimensions, jusqu’ici rarement traitées conjointement par la littérature : les effets d’externalités collectives dans la production scientifique, et le caractère multitâche de l’activité des enseignants-chercheurs. Le premier chapitre de la thèse analyse les déterminants de l’obtention de la Prime d’Excellence Scientifique des enseignants-chercheurs français en économie. Nous nous intéressons au caractère multitâche de la production individuelle et à la dimension dynamique de cette forme particulière de compétition académique mise en place depuis 2009. Les résultats économétriques obtenus à partir d’un modèle séquentiel montrent que les publications scientifiques constituent le facteur le plus déterminant dans les chances de succès à la PES. Nous identifions les facteurs de découragement au cours de ce tournoi dynamique. Les résultats montrent également que la promotion passée au titre du précédent dispositif PEDR augmente les chances de promotion des enseignants-chercheurs. Le second chapitre se penche sur le facteur déterminant de l’attribution de la PES et de la promotion des enseignants-chercheurs : la production scientifique. Ce chapitre met en évidence que les effets d’externalités associés à l’environnement de recherche des enseignants-chercheurs sont susceptibles d’expliquer à la fois la dynamique individuelle de la production scientifique et la concentration de celle-ci entre un petit nombre d’enseignants-chercheurs. Nos résultats économétriques par quantiles concluent à l’existence de deux régimes de production scientifiques extrêmes : les polyvalents et les spécialistes. Toutefois, nos résultats ne réfutent pas l’existence d’un cycle de production scientifique qui serait sensible au stock de compétences accumulées dans l’environnement de travail des enseignants-chercheurs. Tenant compte des interactions potentielles entre les tâches d’enseignement et de recherche mises en évidence dans le second chapitre, le troisième chapitre propose d’analyser à partir d’un modèle théorique et économétrique, les effets de l’environnement de recherche sur le choix d’activités des enseignants-chercheurs. En contrôlant la simultanéité et l’endogénéité du choix des tâches de l’enseignement et de la recherche, les résultats économétriques sur nos données confortent largement les prédictions théoriques : les effets d’externalités issus de la concentration spatiale des compétences en recherche et/ou en formation à un moment donné, conduit à des profils « typés » de spécialistes (en recherche ou en formation) ou à l’opposé de « généralistes » associant production scientifique, implications pédagogiques et responsabilités collectives. Prenant en compte l’hétérogénéité des publications scientifiques en économie, le quatrième chapitre analyse des déterminants de l’arbitrage « quantité-qualité » dans la production scientifique. Nous étudions en particulier les déterminants du choix de deux types publications définies dans le classement CNRS des revues d’économie: les publications de premier rang et les publications de second rang. Les résultats économétriques de l’estimation jointe de ces deux types de publications concluent à un arbitrage entre les publications de bonne qualité et les publications dans les revues moins bien classées, arbitrage sensible aux effets d’externalité de l’environnement de recherche des enseignants-chercheurs. / In a context where both academic institutions and government consider academic excellence as crucial, this thesis aims at contributing to the study of the determinants of scientific productivity of professors. Using an original database of French academic economists involved in the “Prime d’Excellence Scientifique” tournament, the four proposed contributions show the importance of considering two dimensions often ignored so far: first, collective externalities, and the multidimensional nature of professors’ activities.The first chapter investigates the determinants of success in a large competition among French academic economists, the “Prime d’Excellence Scientifique (PES)”. We are particularly interested in the dynamic aspects of this repeated tournament initiated by the French academic system in 2009 to select the best productive researchers for promotion. The econometric estimation of the transition probabilities using sequential-response models allows for identification of changes in weightings assigned to each criterion. Our results confirm the importance of peer-reviewed publications and identify discouraging factors in this dynamic tournament. We also find that past success influences the promotion of professors.The second chapter focuses on the most decisive factor in the award of the “Prime d’Excellence Scientifique”: the scientific production. It shows that the scientific environment can explain both the path dependency in individual scientific productivity and the high inequality and skewness of individual productivity distributions. The results of quantile regressions show the existence of two separated regimes of scientific production, namely the regime of specialists and the regime of generalists. Our results also show that life-cycle effects are not only significant for the evaluation of individual productivity scores but also for the stock of knowledge accumulated in economics departments.Taking into account the potential interactions between teaching and research activities highlighted in the second chapter, the third chapter investigates the determinants of scientific production, including collective determinants related to the research environment, in the context of multitasking teachers. The chapter develops a principal-agent model to understand how university professors allocate their time between two substitutable tasks: publishing and teaching. The theoretical model predicts that professors devote more time to the tasks for which they have a marginal advantage. Controling for endogeneity activity choices, the econometric analysis confirm the key predictions ofthe model: these tasks are conflicting and the institutional context affects the activity choices of professors.Based on the heterogeneity of publication outlets, the fourth chapter analyzes the determinants of the quantity-quality tradeoff in scientific production. The focus is on the determinants of two types of publications identified by the journals ranking in Economics of the French National Committee for Scientific Research (CNRS): publications in high-quality journals and publications in low quality journals. The joint estimates of these two types of publications indicate that there is a tradeoff between the high quality publications and low quality publications, and this tradeoff is imputable to the scientific environment of professors. Our results confirm a negative impact of teaching and administrative duties on the publications in high quality journals.

Cuando las personas interactúan con los ordenadores, hay mucha información que no se proporciona a propósito. Mediante el estudio de estas interacciones implícitas es posible entender qué características de la interfaz de usuario son beneficiosas (o no), derivando así en implicaciones para el diseño de futuros sistemas interactivos. La principal ventaja de aprovechar datos implícitos del usuario en aplicaciones informáticas es que cualquier interacción con el sistema puede contribuir a mejorar su utilidad. Además, dichos datos eliminan el coste de tener que interrumpir al usuario para que envíe información explícitamente sobre un tema que en principio no tiene por qué guardar relación con la intención de utilizar el sistema. Por el contrario, en ocasiones las interacciones implícitas no proporcionan datos claros y concretos. Por ello, hay que prestar especial atención a la manera de gestionar esta fuente de información. El propósito de esta investigación es doble: 1) aplicar una nueva visión tanto al diseño como al desarrollo de aplicaciones que puedan reaccionar consecuentemente a las interacciones implícitas del usuario, y 2) proporcionar una serie de metodologías para la evaluación de dichos sistemas interactivos. Cinco escenarios sirven para ilustrar la viabilidad y la adecuación del marco de trabajo de la tesis. Resultados empíricos con usuarios reales demuestran que aprovechar la interacción implícita es un medio tanto adecuado como conveniente para mejorar de múltiples maneras los sistemas interactivos. / Leiva Torres, LA. (2012). Diverse Contributions to Implicit Human-Computer Interaction [Tesis doctoral no publicada]. Universitat Politècnica de València. https://doi.org/10.4995/Thesis/10251/17803 / Palancia