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            In This Section
        eLearning: Attention
                The Attention Game
                Attention & Distraction
                                Attention: Definition and Examples
                Tasks & Demands
                Distraction: Definition and Examples
                Strategies to Manage Distractions
                The Cost of Distraction
                                First person: Distraction and its Consequences
                Attention Related Accidents
                BNSF coal train collision
                Metrolink 111 collision with UP. Chatsworth. Sept 2008
                Canadian National collision, Two Harbors MN Sept 2010.
                HiRail collision, Rockville, MD. Jan 2010
                Rear end collision, Mineral Springs NC
                Pedestrian fatality, West Jordan, UT
                Rear end collision, Westville IN
                Derailment, Bronx NY Dec 2013
                Port Authority collision, Hoboken NJ, May 2011
                Santiago de Compostela derailment, July 2013
                Amtrak 188 Derailment May 2015
                Bad Aibling, GER Collision, February 2016
                Human Systems Integration
                                Overview
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                Field Observation
                Link Analysis
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                Cognitive Task Analysis
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                HSI Methods
    

    
    
          Methods are the processes research and development teams follow to create tools for operators. They typically follow three phases.

**Research**--Learn about rail operations, how operators do their work, what goals they need to accomplish and what gets in their way. Requirements this phase produces guides what to create. Research methods we describe here include field observation, functional analysis, activity analysis, workload assessment, cognitive task analysis, and verbal protocol analysis.

**Design and Development**--Create a solution in physical form to fulfill research requirements. Prototyping can be used to model solution examples from simple illustrations to more involved interactive software or fabricated workstations. Participatory design includes operators and developers on the same team. working together to create a result that is based on both research results and user expertise.

**Evaluation**--Find out how the new display, control, or workstation affects how operators work. Evaluation methods include experimentation and usability assessment.
              
      
    
          Last updated: Friday, October 25, 2019 U.S. DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

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