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Caregivers of elderly people may make errors in administering medicine. This study aims to determine a more effective method of presenting prescription instructions to caregivers and to determine if the multiple resource hypothesis holds in the context of prescription instructions by evaluating the effect a voice prescription label (that gives audio instructions) has on comprehension and memory of a drug regimen under varying training level, task complexity, and instruction format. In performing a multivariate analyses of variance on data collected among formal and informal caregivers, training level, task complexity, sound condition, and instruction format were found to significantly affect caregivers' memory and comprehension. There is evidence that audio instructions and the matrix format reduce errors. These results could lead to the development of a Medication Scheduling Management System that would organize medicines according to administration time and incorporate decision rules to determine what to do if a dose is missed.

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Extensive research in the achievement motivation literature has demonstrated that students’ experiences with academic errors can shape their motivation and achievement in adaptive or maladaptive ways. Since academic errors are predominantly identified and addressed by teachers, teacher responses to students’ academic errors play a pivotal role in shaping student interpretations of errors. To guide teachers toward productive use of errors for instruction and adaptive motivation and prevent maladaptive motivational trajectories for students, we must first understand the nature of students’ errors and how teachers’ respond to them early on in students’ schooling. To this end, the current study examines academic errors and teacher responses to them in the preschool classroom. Thirty teachers were observed during whole group book-readings, which were transcribed and coded both inductively and deductively. Findings indicated children’s errors most often arose because of deviations from behavioral norms or teachers’ content expectations. Teachers responded to children’s errors most often by correcting students’ errors and providing information or asking closed follow up questions. The findings from this study are important to consider for researchers, teachers, parents, and teacher preparation and in-service professional development programs. / Educational Psychology

Recently, probabilistic methods have been used extensively to model uncertainty in many design optimization problems. An alternative approach for modeling uncertainties is fuzzy sets. Fuzzy sets usually require much less information than probabilistic methods and they rely on expert opinion. In principle, probability theory should work better in problems involving only random uncertainties, if sufficient information is available to model these uncertainties accurately. However, because such information is rarely available, probabilistic models rely on a number of assumptions regarding the magnitude of the uncertainties and their distributions and correlations. Moreover, modeling errors can introduce uncertainty in the predicted reliability of the system. Because of these assumptions and inaccuracies it is not clear if a design obtained from probabilistic optimization will actually be more reliable than a design obtained using fuzzy set optimization. Therefore, it is important to compare probabilistic methods and fuzzy sets and determine the conditions under which each method provides more reliable designs. This research work aims to be a first step in that direction. The first objective is to understand how each approach maximizes reliability. The second objective is to experimentally compare designs obtained using each method. A cantilevered truss structure is used as a test case. The truss is equipped with passive viscoelastic tuned dampers for vibration control. The structure is optimized by selecting locations for tuning masses added to the truss. The design requirement is that the acceleration at given points on the truss for a specified excitation be less than some upper limit. The properties of the dampers are the primary sources of uncertainty. They are described by their probability density functions in the probabilistic analysis. In the fuzzy set analysis, they are represented as fuzzy numbers. Two pairs of alternate optimal designs are obtained from the probabilistic and the fuzzy set optimizations, respectively. The optimizations are performed using genetic algorithms. The probabilistic optimization minimizes the system probability of failure. Fuzzy set optimization minimizes the system possibility of failure. Problem parameters (e.g., upper limits on the acceleration) are selected in a way that the probabilities of failure of the alternate designs differ significantly, so that the difference can be measured with a relatively small number of experiments in the lab. The main difference in the way each method maximizes safety is the following. Probabilistic optimization tries to reduce more the probabilities of failure of the modes that are easier to control. On the other hand, fuzzy set optimization tries to equalize the possibilities of failure of all failure modes. These optimum probabilistic and fuzzy set designs are then compared in the laboratory. Twenty-nine realizations of each optimum design are tested and the failure rates are measured. The results confirm that, for the selected problems, probabilistic methods can provide designs that are significantly more reliable than designs obtained using fuzzy set methods. / Ph. D.

Yes / To make sense of the rework phenomena that plagues construction projects a longitudinal exploration and mixed-method approach was undertaken to understand its causal setting and why it remained an on-going issue for organizations contracted to deliver an asset. The research reveals that rework was an zemblanity (i.e., being an unpleasant un-surprise) that resulted in: (1) project managers ignoring established organisation-wide procedures and, at their discretion, amend them to suit their own goals while denouncing the importance of recording and learning from non-conformances; (2) a deficiency of organisational controls and routines to contain and reduce rework; and (3) an absence of an organisation-project dyad that supported and promoted an environment of psychological safety. A new theoretical conceptualization of error causation that is intricately linked to rework and safety incidents is presented. The research provides managers with ‘uncomfortable knowledge’, which is needed to provide insights into the determinants of rework that form part of their everyday practice. / Australian Research Council (DP130103018)