Mitigating the situational factors that give rise to state boredom is a consistent challenge facing educators. Despite the growing amount of literature devoted to the construct, the field has yet to arrive at a consensus regarding a clear theoretical or operational definition. Subsequently, inconsistencies exist in the assessment methodologies, research findings lack generalizability, and strategies for mitigation in educational settings remain elusive. In this cross-disciplinary analysis, the extant literature on state boredom is critically reviewed and synthesized, and a two-dimensional definition of state boredom as an unpleasant (subjective), low-arousal (objective) experience is proposed. Findings from the technological advances of the last decade that allow for the objective measurement of physiological states are used to inform recommendations for empirically sound assessment methodologies. Finally, the proposed definition of state boredom and related assessment strategies are discussed with respect to implications for enhancing educational practices.

Despite ongoing research over the last 15 years, the presence construct remains somewhat limited in its ability to be applied beyond the sensory domain. In order to increase its usefulness for applied challenges (e.g., using presence theory to enhance simulators' effectiveness), a discussion about a new conceptualization of presence is introduced. This novel perspective on presence is rooted in the notion of "experiential design," an approach businesses use to create strategically compelling and memorable experiences. The paper begins with a brief review of presence and then a description of the concepts of experimental design. Following this, a theoretical model of presence, based upon experimental design, is offered. Using this model, an exploration on the mitigation of breaks in presence is offered (a break in presence occurs when presence fails to be maintained). These ideas are presented in order to improve the likelihood of presence emerging for simulation participants and to enhance interdisciplinary researchers' shared conceptualizations of presence.

With Partially Observable Markov Decision Processes (POMDPs), Intelligent Tutoring Systems (ITSs) can model individual learners from limited evidence and plan ahead despite uncertainty. However, POMDPs need appropriate representations to become tractable in ITSs that model many learner features, such as mastery of individual skills or the presence of specific misconceptions. This article describes two POMDP representations-state queues and observation chains-that take advantage of ITS task properties and let POMDPs scale to represent over 100 independent learner features. A real-world military training problem is given as one example. A human study (n = 14) provides initial validation for the model construction. Finally, evaluating the experimental representations with simulated students helps predict their impact on ITS performance. The compressed representations can model a wide range of simulated problems with instructional efficacy equal to lossless representations. With improved tractability, POMDP ITSs can accommodate more numerous or more detailed learner states and inputs.

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As the military begins to formalize training and standards for cognitive readiness, it is fitting to mark potential barriers to its implementation. This article outlines three general challenges associated with the institutionalization of cognitive readiness: (a) that the training and education community must recognize that higherorder cognitive skills development (at least for lower echelons) is fundamentally new-not merely a slight deviation from the status quo; (b) that commonly discussed cognitive competencies can (and must) be better operationalized for instruction and measurement purposes; and (c) that achieving widespread cognitive readiness will be possible only if senior leaders recognize the importance of sustained support for these competencies. The critical thesis of this article is this: Military leadership tends to view cognitive readiness as an additive aspect ("news") to what is already known and accepted, instead of as a foundational competency ("new") that requires widespread transformation. Until the institutionalization of cognitive readiness is recognized as a fundamentally novel, leap-ahead innovation, the military community will struggle to accomplish it.