To my parents Jane and Garfield for their faith in me and unwavering support, my daughter Sara for her inspiration and encouragement, and most of all my husband Michael for his love, patience and understanding during the arduous journey of graduate study. program (N66001-03-8921), and SAIC, Inc. The author would like to thank Jean Scholtz and Ron Brachman for their support. Many thanks to Jenn Casper, Mark Micire, and Brian Minten for their help in collecting the data, Thomas Fincannon for his assistance in editing and transcribing the videotapes, and Rescue Training Associates for providing the test venue. Michael Coovert provided expertise, encouragement and guidance as my advisor, and introduced me to Robin Murphy, who has served as role model and mentor throughout this process. I am grateful to both for the opportunities given and pathways opened.

In a meta-analysis of 43 studies, we examined the effects of multimodal feedback on user performance, comparing visualauditory and visual-tactile feedback to visual feedback alone. Results indicate that adding an additional modality to visual feedback improves performance overall. Both visual-auditory feedback and visual-tactile feedback provided advantages in reducing reaction times and improving performance scores, but were not effective in reducing error rates. Effects are moderated by task type, workload, and number of tasks. Visual-auditory feedback is most effective when a single task is being performed (g = .87), and under normal workload conditions (g = .71). Visual-tactile feedback is more effective when multiple tasks are begin performed (g = .77) and workload conditions are high (g = .84). Both types of multimodal feedback are effective for target acquisition tasks; but vary in effectiveness for other task types. Implications for practice and research are discussed.

This paper reviews the literature related to the use of psychophysiology measures in human-robot interaction (HRI) studies in an effort to address the fundamental question of appropriate metrics and methodologies for evaluating HRI research, especially affect. It identifies four main methods of evaluation in HRI studies: (1) self-report measures, (2) behavioral measures, (3) psychophysiology measures, and (4) task performance. However, the paper also shows that using only one of these measures for evaluation is insufficient to provide a complete evaluation and interpretation of the interactions between a robot and the human with which it is interacting. In addition, the paper describes exemplar HRI studies which use psychophysiological measures; these implementations fall into three categories: detection and/or identification of specific emotions of participants from physiological signals, evaluation of participants' responses to a robot through physiological signals, and development and implementation of real-time control and modification of robot behaviors using physiological signals. Two open research questions on psychophysiological metrics were identified as a result of this review.

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We present the results of a multinational resource costing study for a prospective economic evaluation of a new medical technology for treatment of subarachnoid hemorrhage within a clinical trial. The study describes a framework for the collection and analysis of international resource cost data that can contribute to a consistent and accurate intercountry estimation of cost. Of the 15 countries that participated in the clinical trial, we collected cost information in the following seven: Australia, France, Germany, the UK, Italy, Spain, and Sweden. The collection of cost data in these countries was structured through the use of worksheets to provide accurate and efficient cost reporting. We converted total average costs to average variable costs and then aggregated the data to develop study unit costs. When unit costs were unavailable, we developed an index table, based on a market-basket approach, to estimate unit costs. To estimate the cost of a given procedure, the market-basket estimation process required that cost information be available for at least one country. When cost information was unavailable in all countries for a given procedure, we estimated costs using a method based on physician-work and practice-expense resource-based relative value units. Finally, we converted study unit costs to a common currency using purchasing power parity measures. Through this costing exercise we developed a set of unit costs for patient services and per diem hospital services. We conclude by discussing the implications of our costing exercise and suggest guidelines to facilitate more effective multinational costing exercises.

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As part of a Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency/National Science Foundation study on human-robot inter action (HRI), over sixty representatives from academia, govern ment, and industry participated in an interdisciplinary workshop, which allowed roboticists to interact with psychologists, sociolo gists, cognitive scientists, communication experts and human-com puter interaction specialists to discuss common interests in the field of HRI, and to establish a dialogue across the disciplines for future collaborations. We include initial work that was done in prepara tion for the workshop, links to keynote and other presentations, and a summary of the findings, outcomes, and recommendations that were generated by the participants. Findings of the study in clude-the need for more extensive interdisciplinary interaction, identification of basic taxonomies and research issues, social infor matics, establishment of a small number of common application domains, and field experience for members of the HRI community. An overall conclusion of the workshop was expressed as the fol lowing-HRI is a cross-disciplinary area, which poses barriers to meaningful research, synthesis, and technology transfer. The vo cabularies, experiences, methodologies, and metrics of the commu nities are sufficiently different that cross-disciplinary research is unlikely to happen without sustained funding and an infrastruc ture to establish a new HRI community.

For more information on the USGS-the Federal source for science about the Earth, its natural and living resources, natural hazards, and the environment, visit http://www.usgs.gov or call 1-888-ASK-USGS.For an overview of USGS information products, including maps, imagery, and publications, visit http://www.usgs.gov/pubprodTo order this and other USGS information products, visit http://store.usgs.gov Any use of trade, product, or firm names is for descriptive purposes only and does not imply endorsement by the U.S. Government.Although this report is in the public domain, permission must be secured from the individual copyright owners to reproduce any copyrighted material contained within this report. Tables Executive SummaryThis document describes the concept, organization, and application of a hierarchical ecosystem classification that integrates saline and tidal freshwater reaches of estuaries in order to characterize the ecosystems of large flood plain rivers that are strongly influenced by riverine and estuarine hydrology. We illustrate the classification by applying it to the Columbia River estuary (Oregon-Washington, USA), a system that extends about 233 river kilometers (rkm) inland from the Pacific Ocean. More than three-quarters of this length is tidal freshwater. The Columbia River Estuary Ecosystem Classification ("Classification") is based on six hierarchical levels, progressing from the coarsest, regional scale to the finest, localized scale: (1) Ecosystem Province; (2) Ecoregion; (3) Hydrogeomorphic Reach; (4) Ecosystem Complex; (5) Geomorphic Catena; and (6) Primary Cover Class. We define and map Levels 1-3 for the entire Columbia River estuary with existing geospatial datasets, and provide examples of Levels 4-6 for one hydrogeomorphic reach. In particular, three levels of the Classification capture the scales and categories of ecosystem structure and processes that are most tractable to estuarine research, monitoring, and management. These three levels are the (1) eight hydrogeomorphic reaches that embody the formative geologic and tectonic processes that created the existing estuarine landscape and encompass the influence of the resulting physiography on interactions between fluvial and tidal hydrology and geomorphology across 230 kilometers (km) of estuary, (2) more than 15 ecosystem complexes composed of broad landforms created predominantly by geologic processes during the Holocene, and (3) more than 25 geomorphic catenae embedded within ecosystem complexes that represent distinct geomorphic landforms, structures, ecosystems, and habitats, and components of the estuarine landscape most likely to change over short time periods. 2 IntroductionWe describe the rationale, conceptual basis, and application of a hierarchical ecosystem classification for large-river, flood-plain estuaries, and provide examples from the application of this controlling factor approach for the Columbia River estuary (Oregon-Washington, USA). A number of estuarine, delta and river-flood plain classifications based on ...