problems in addition to the signs of the Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome. Many of the patients were closely examined over long periods and the authors make the point that repeated examinations for as long as ten years in some instances allowed them to describe the natural history of the syndrome. and this they do in their third chapter. Again the description of the pathological findings is precise and comprehensive and the authors stress the periventricular distribution of the lesions and their bilateral symmetry. The authors consider specifically the neuropathological substrate on which are based the defective memory, ocular motor signs, the ataxia, the global confusional state and the occasional disturbance of olfactory and gustatory function. They argue a unity between Wernicke's disease and Korsakoff's psychosis and discuss the relationship between these two and alcoholic cerebellar degeneration, central pontine myelinolysis and other myelinolytic syndromes and interestingly discuss the problem of \"alcoholic dementia\" concluding that the nosological status ofalcoholic dementia is by

https://jnnp.bmj.com/content/jnnp/52/10/1218.2.full.pdf

Neuropsychology Mental Structure

The successful adoption of technology is becoming increasingly important to functional independence. The present article reports findings from the Center for Research and Education on Aging and Technology Enhancement (CREATE) on the use of technology among communitydwelling adults. The sample included 1,204 individuals ranging in age from 18–91 years. All participants completed a battery that included measures of demographic characteristics, self-rated health, experience with technology, attitudes toward computers, and component cognitive abilities. Findings indicate that the older adults were less likely than younger adults to use technology in general, computers, and the World Wide Web. The results also indicate that computer anxiety, fluid intelligence, and crystallized intelligence were important predictors of the use of technology. The relationship between age and adoption of technology was mediated by cognitive abilities, computer self-efficacy, and computer anxiety. These findings are discussed in terms of training strategies to promote technology adoption.

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Factors Predicting the Use of Technology: Findings From the Center for Research and Education on Aging and Technology Enhancement (CREATE)

The Protective Action Decision Model (PADM) is a multistage model that is based on findings from research on people's responses to environmental hazards and disasters. The PADM integrates the processing of information derived from social and environmental cues with messages that social sources transmit through communication channels to those at risk. The PADM identifies three critical predecision processes (reception, attention, and comprehension of warnings or exposure, attention, and interpretation of environmental/social cues)--that precede all further processing. The revised model identifies three core perceptions--threat perceptions, protective action perceptions, and stakeholder perceptions--that form the basis for decisions about how to respond to an imminent or long-term threat. The outcome of the protective action decision-making process, together with situational facilitators and impediments, produces a behavioral response. In addition to describing the revised model and the research on which it is based, this article describes three applications (development of risk communication programs, evacuation modeling, and adoption of long-term hazard adjustments) and identifies some of the research needed to address unresolved issues.

The Protective Action Decision Model: Theoretical Modifications and Additional Evidence

During the past four decades (1960–2000), the United States experienced major transformations in population size, development patterns, economic conditions, and social characteristics. These social, economic, and built-environment changes altered the American hazardscape in profound ways, with more people living in high-hazard areas than ever before. To improve emergency management, it is important to recognize the variability in the vulnerable populations exposed to hazards and to develop place-based emergency plans accordingly. The concept of social vulnerability identifies sensitive populations that may be less likely to respond to, cope with, and recover from a natural disaster. Social vulnerability is complex and dynamic, changing over space and through time. This paper presents empirical evidence on the spatial and temporal patterns in social vulnerability in the United States from 1960 to the present. Using counties as our study unit, we found that those components that consistently increased social vulnerability for all time periods were density (urban), race/ethnicity, and socioeconomic status. The spatial patterning of social vulnerability, although initially concentrated in certain geographic regions, has become more dispersed over time. The national trend shows a steady reduction in social vulnerability, but there is considerable regional variability, with many counties increasing in social vulnerability during the past five decades.

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Temporal and spatial changes in social vulnerability to natural hazards

Prospective memory situations involve forming intentions and then realizing those intentions at some appropriate time in the future. An interesting feature of most prospective remembering is that recollection of the intended action occurs without an explicit request to attempt retrieval, and we present two views on how this type of remembering can be accomplished. One could strategically monitor the environment for the presence of the target event, or one could rely on anticipated environmental conditions more or less automatically reinstating the intended action. We present data supporting both views and argue that people use multiple approaches for solving the problem of retrieving an intention (prospective memory) after a delay. Moreover, we suggest that the extent to which prospective remembering is supported by relatively automatic processes (versus strategic resource-demanding monitoring) and the probability with which prospective memory is likely to be successful when relying on automatic processes varies as a function of the characteristics of the prospective memory task, target cue, ongoing task, and individual. We argue that the complexity of the empirical findings can best be understood by appealing to this multiprocess view of prospective memory. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Strategic and automatic processes in prospective memory retrieval: a multiprocess framework

Medication adherence is essential to retaining functional independence into older adulthood. In the experiment reported here, 25 older and 26 young adults were asked to learn to use medication adherence software supported by a personal digital assistant (PDA). In addition to completing a battery of cognitive tests, each participant's PDA skill acquisition was assessed over time (i.e., during training, immediately following training, and after a delay). Consistent with previous research, older adults required longer to learn to use the PDA and committed more errors compared to younger adults. Over time, age differences in PDA performance were reduced suggesting that older adults might benefit from the use of PDAs as prospective memory aids.

The Usability of Personal Digital Assistants as Prospective Memory Aids for Medication Adherence in Young and Older Adults

In the last two decades, a large body of research has been published on warnings. There have been hundreds of research-based articles written in various journals as well as several comprehensive books. This special issue of Human Factors and Ergonomics in Manufacturing & Service Industries (HFEMSI) concerns the topic of warnings. Although there have been special issues on warnings in several human factors/ ergonomics journals, this is the first for HFEMSI. Warnings are relevant in the sectors of manufacturing and service because hazards are embedded in most contexts today. For example, in manufacturing, there are dangers in the production side of product and equipment, as well as hazards involved in the actual use. There are diverse contexts in which warnings are used as a means to disseminate safety information for the purpose of reducing hazard-related harm to people and property. Examples include warning labels on products, signage in environments, and admonitions in operator’s manuals for industrial equipment. Co-occurring with the growing body of warning research has been the development of models to conceptualize the cognitive processing involved when people encounter effective warnings (e.g., Edworthy & Adams, 1996; Lehto & Miller, 1986; Rogers, Lamson, & Rousseau, 2000). A recent iteration of the communication-human information processing (C-HIP) model (see Wogalter, 2006) can be used to conceptualize much of the body of research on warnings. The C-HIP model depicted in Figure 1 has two main sections, each with several component stages. The first section of the framework uses a communications

Preface to the special issue: Considering the warning context—New research methodologies and advances

To combat the rise in internet-based crime, computer security warnings must be optimized to improve user compliance. Past research has shown various methods for improving warning efficiency but little research has examined the effectiveness of these methods on computer-based warnings. At present, a subset of the data from a proposed factorial design has been collected from seventy participants who encountered one of two computerized warnings: a control warning similar to these that are currently in use or an experimental warning that contained a number of physical and content improvements. The techniques used to improve the design of the experimental warning included color, borders, symbols, improved message clarity, the addition of a warning source and warning personalization. Compliance rates and reaction time responses were collected for each of the two warnings. Preliminary results indicated that the warning improvement increased compliance, though not at a statistically significant level. Potential d...

The Effect of Warning Design and Personalization on User Compliance in Computer Security Dialogs

The number of self-checkout systems in stores has increased exponentially in the past 5 years becoming a common way for consumers to complete their purchases. Little research has been conducted in this pervasive area, however, other than market research studies. An online survey found that although individuals use self-checkout systems a great deal, there are a number of issues and concerns with these systems. The most cited difficulties that arise when using self-checkout systems included the barcode not scanning as well as slow customers ahead in the line. These findings including others noted throughout this paper highlight a number of opportunities for human factors professionals to make the design of self-checkout systems more user-friendly.

An Evaluation of Self-Checkout Systems

As of 2005, 5.5% of the American population had some form of diabetes, with an increasing rate of diagnosis. Adults 65 years of age and over are at an increased risk for developing diabetes. Sixty-four participants completed 10 trials of control solution testing. MANOVA results indicated main effects of participant age and order of glucometer use on dependent variables. Follow-up ANOVAs revealed a main effect of age on task time, errors during training, and near transfer errors, and a main effect of glucometer use on rate of near and far transfer errors committed. Results and avenues of further investigation are discussed.

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Christopher B. Mayhorn

Papers

The Usability of Personal Digital Assistants as Prospective Memory Aids for Medication Adherence in Young and Older Adults

Preface to the special issue: Considering the warning context—New research methodologies and advances

The Effect of Warning Design and Personalization on User Compliance in Computer Security Dialogs

An Evaluation of Self-Checkout Systems

Effect of transfer with younger and older adults on control solution testing using two blood glucometers