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AbstractVirtual reality (VR) interventions have become a promising therapeutic modality to improve the prevalent mental health problems among college students. Despite the growing evidence, a comprehensive meta-analysis is absent. To evaluate the effectiveness of VR interventions on anxiety, stress, and negative emotions in college students, a meta-analysis was conducted. Sixteen randomized controlled trials published between 2014 and 2023 with 46 records and 1022 participants were analyzed. Significant VR intervention effects on anxiety (Hedge’s g = 0.492, p < 0.001), stress (Hedge’s g = 0.344, p = 0.028), and negative emotions (Hedge’s g = 0.461, p = 0.001) among college students were found. The meta-regression analysis revealed that the number of sessions, intervention type, and mean age significantly moderated the effect size. This study offered initial empirical evidence of VR interventions’ effectiveness in reducing anxiety, stress, and negative emotions in college students. Future research directions and methodological suggestions are proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

AbstractHighly automated vehicles (level 4) will be launched soon. This study explored factors affecting the acceptance of level 4 automated vehicles (AV) amongst the public. The technology acceptance model (TAM), technology anxiety (TA), social influence (SI), facilitating condition (FC) and trust (TR) were integrated to develop a level 4 AV acceptance model. A web-based questionnaire was used for data collection from 693 Chinese participants. Structural equation modelling was utilized to analyze the collected data. The results showed that TAM is applicable to explain level 4 AV acceptance amongst the public. The effects of FC on perceived ease of use and perceived usefulness (PU) are positive. TA negatively influences PU. SI positively influences PU and behavioural intention to use AVs. TR positively influences attitude towards using AVs and is positively determined by PU. Based on the results, some practical implications for increasing the use of level 4 AVs amongst the public were provided. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Telecare has the potential to tackle emerging problems in public healthcare resulting from the graying of population. This study aims to investigate the personal, social and regulatory factors associated with the telecare acceptance for older adults in Hong Kong. A structured questionnaire survey was administered to 110 seniors aged 60–80 years. The results revealed that older people prefer to use the products that they are familiar with. Seniors of very poor economic status are likely to use telecare service. Family and friends support, self-satisfaction, and social relationship are critical factors which positively influence telecare usage of older adults via influencing their perceived ease of use and perceived usefulness. Regulatory factor of perceived incentives positively associates with the attitude of older people toward telecare service, and in turn facilitates telecare usage. This is the first study which stressed that public regulations, such as incentive interventions, should be emphasized in promoting telecare acceptance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A discrete four-choice response task with auditory signal presentation and a joystick-controlled visual tracking task was used to investigate how spatial compatibility influences the dual-task performance of different display-control settings. It was found that the more incompatible the stimulus-response mapping, the longer the delay for both tasks, presumably because of the longer stimulus encoding time required for the incompatible conditions. A comparison of the findings of this study with those of past experiments on visual visual setting shows that the dual-task performance in a cross-modality (auditory visual) setting was significantly better than that in an intra-modality (visual visual) setting because of visual scanning required in the intra-modal dual tasks. However, when the locations of visual visual tasks were close enough such that ambient and focal vision was concurrently used for information processing, the dual-task performance of intra-modality (visual visual) configuration was slightly better than that of the cross-modality (auditory visual) configuration. Practitioner Summary: The effect of spatial compatibility with auditory signal presentation in multiple display-control configurations was examined in a dual-task paradigm. The results provided important and useful ergonomics design implications and consequent recommendations for intra- and cross- modal interface design. The results should facilitate human-machine system design and improve overall system performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

AbstractLevel 2 automated vehicles (AVs) have been commercially available for years, yet the extent to which drivers are cognizant of their capabilities and limitations remains largely unknown. This study aimed to assess the public’s mental model of Level 2 AVs and investigate the relationships between mental model, trust, and reliance. Moreover, it sought to explore driver heterogeneity through cluster analysis to identify typical driver classes. Employing Tesla Autopilot as a representative Level 2 automation system, we designed a questionnaire measuring mental model from three dimensions: functional condition, sensorimotor preparation, and automation monitoring. This questionnaire was administered to both Tesla Autopilot owners (N = 357) and non-owners (N = 357). The results showed that, on average, drivers possessed an inadequate mental model regarding Level 2 AVs, and those with a relatively better mental model exhibited lower levels of trust and reliance. Owning a Level 2 AV did not result in a better understanding of the system, but it led to a higher trust level. Moreover, the results suggested that drivers’ trust and reliance in AVs tended to increase within the initial 6 months of usage and then kept stabilized after that. Through cluster analysis, we identified three distinct driver classes that exhibited significant differences in their mental model levels and attitudes towards AVs: Class 1 (blurred positive), Class 2 (sober neutral), and Class 3 (cautiously positive). This further validates the presence of heterogeneity among drivers. The insights gained from this study can serve as a valuable resource for supporting and guiding the development and implementation of training programs aimed at enhancing drivers’ comprehension of Level 2 AVs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]