bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Postural Stability of Commercial Truck Drivers: Impact of Extended Durations of Whole-Body Vibration
Authors: Ahuja Shaman , Davis Jerry , Wade Lloyd R.
Published: January 2012

Falls from non-moving vehicles constitute a significant portion of fall related fatal occupational injuries, with a yearly average of 48.7 fatal falls, from 1992 to 2002. Whole-body vibration (WBV) has been thought to be a contributing factor to loss of balance, more specifically, falls while descending from a vehicle. The current research employed a “real-time” actual trucking environment, rather than vibration platforms in laboratories, as is typically the case. Nine (9) full-time, long haul truck drivers' drove over 3000 miles in total, while participating in this study. The protocol required postural stability testing prior to, and immediately following, each of three driving sessions of 2.5 hours during a single shift. Results indicate significant changes in postural stability as a result of exposure to extended durations of WBV. The results also showed an increase of sway (cm) at each of the post-test measures compared to the pre-test, and an overall increase over the 8.5 hour shift, suggesting a time dependent increase over the course of the driving shift.
Eliciting user Analogies to Improve Documentation
Authors: Elliott Lisa J. , Foltz Peter W.
Published: January 2012

An invisible language barrier exists between users and creators of technology. This mental model disparity has been described as the “gulf of evaluation and the gulf of execution” (Norman, 1988). Typically, when such common ground is lacking, analogies are used. However, it is unclear whether professional writers and system designers have the naïve knowledge necessary to create analogies that users find helpful. Some researchers claim that through discovery learning, users are able to create analogies (Shrager and Klahr, 1985). It is hypothesized that these analogies offer clues to appropriate mental models and to indicate skills needed to aid other new users. Furthermore, analogies elicited from novice users, should produce successful analogies for other users. In the present study, participants receiving analogies created by other users reported an increased level of confidence and more accurate expectations of the results of their actions with a single exposure to the system. This study found the discovery learning method elicited analogies which users found benefit from by reporting an increase of confidence, increase of motivation and increased accuracy in their expectations as the result of their actions thereby narrowing the “gulf of evaluation and the gulf of execution” (Norman, 1988).
Mind as Magnitude: Reconsidering Information Processing in Cognitive Engineering
Authors: Boring Ronald L. , West Robert L.
Published: January 2012

The purpose of this paper is twofold: (i) to explore how the predominant information processing paradigm has shaped cognitive engineering; (ii) to propose an alternative framework for cognitive engineering, in which magnitude takes equal importance to information categorization. This reconceptualization of cognitive engineering opens up new topics for human factors research as well as new approaches to human factors measurement. It is intended that this paper will highlight a fruitful path for reconsidering information processing in cognitive engineering.
Developing Visualization Tools for the Design of Air Traffic Control Experiments
Authors: Tsonis Chris G. , Cunha Daniel C. , Histon Jonathan M.
Published: January 2012

While there has been significant research in the development of visualization tools for users of technology, little attention has been paid to developing visualization tools for human factors researchers designing experiments. From a design of experiments perspective, it is difficult to design video game-like experiments like those in found in air traffic control research, because of the need to control potential confounds such as consistency of scenarios and possible practice effects. When designing scenarios, the state and consistency of initial conditions can critically affect the experiment's outcome and validity. In this paper, we discuss several tools and techniques that were developed to better visualize these initial conditions and easily export them to the interface software. The key features of these tools are that they are relatively simple to develop, straightforward and fast to use, provide a graphical interface for the experiment designer, and ultimately can reduce the total design time for each experiment. Visualization tools based on the same general principles can also be of value in other domains.
The Effects of Teen Passengers on Teen Driver Speeds and Headways
Authors: Lerner Neil , Singer Jeremiah , Simons-Morton Bruce
Published: January 2012

This observational study investigated teen driving as a function of passenger presence and passenger gender. Vehicles were observed leaving high school parking lots at dismissal time, and the apparent age (teen or adult) and gender of drivers and passengers were recorded. At sites near the school, vehicle speeds and headways were recorded using a LIDAR and video-based system. Vehicles in the traffic stream were matched, where possible, to vehicles identified leaving the school. Thus, vehicles driven by teens could be distinguished from “general traffic.” Passenger presence and gender had strong effects on speed and headway and were more pronounced than driver gender effects. While teens drove slightly faster than general traffic, the primary influence on speed was the presence of a male passenger. Similarly, shorter headways were associated with male, rather than female, passengers. Passenger influences on teen driving depend on passenger gender, driver gender, and the particular driving measure.
Leading Indicators of Drowsiness in Simulated Driving
Authors: Kozak Ksenia , Curry Reates , Greenberg Jeff , Artz Bruce , Blommer Mike , Cathey Larry
Published: January 2012

Drowsiness while driving was measured using three measures: a physiological measure of eye closure, a sustained reaction time task and a subjective assessment. The study was conducted in Ford's VIRTTEX driving simulator. Thirty-two adults who were sleep deprived for 24 hours and six adults who had a full night of sleep participated in the study. The performance of the sleep-deprived group was compared with that of the control group. Sleep-deprived drivers had significantly longer PVT reaction times, a greater number of lapses, higher PERCLOS values and perceived themselves as sleepier than did the control group. This study demonstrated the ability to successfully implement drowsiness measures in a driving simulator. The advantage of a three-hour simulator drive in providing increasing levels of drowsiness in each subject was established. These findings provide metrics that can be used to evaluate the efficacy and acceptability of safety systems for drowsy drivers.
Assessing the Validity of the Ride Motion Simulator for a Remote Vehicle Control Task
Authors: Ruffner John W. , McDowell Kaleb , Paul Victor J. , Zywiol Harry J. , Mortsfield Todd T. , Gombash James
Published: January 2012

The lightweight, fast-moving design proposed for operations occurring within 5-10 years requires Soldiers riding as passengers in moving vehicles to perform operations previously conducted only in stationary environments. Operating under motion conditions can lead to performance degradations associated with physical perturbations and conflicting sensory inputs, which are associated with motion sickness. Full-motion simulators offer the flexibility to model and rapidly test multiple vehicle profiles and crew station design configurations while providing increased experimental control. However, a major concern is whether or not a simulator can evoke the behavioral responses observed in real life. This validation study compares the results of two complementary experiments that examined task performance while operators underwent either simulated or actual vehicle motion. Driving performance indicated differences between the experiments for several measures, while motion sickness questionnaire subscales indicated similar patterns of results across both experiments. Overall, support was found for both absolute and relative validity of using the simulator to examine issues related to motion sickness, but not for performance measures. Our results support the premise that simulators can be valuable for inducing specific types of real-life behaviors that will be inherent to designs proposed for future forces.
A Taxonomy for Secondary In-Vehicle Tasks Based on Eye Glance and Task completion Time
Authors: Blanco Myra , Hankey Jonathan M. , Chestnut Jacqueline A.
Published: January 2012

The objective of this research was to develop an initial taxonomy that grouped similar secondary in-vehicle tasks based on driving-related performance measures. This type of taxonomy would be useful to system designers when developing in-vehicle tasks and to researchers. Research was conducted using 2 infotainment systems, 17 tasks, and 89 participants to develop and validate an initial taxonomy. The results indicate that the 17 tasks could be parsed into four distinct groups ranging from selecting an AM band to destination entry. The groupings are based on number of glances and task completion time, which provided the best separation between the groups and consistent results for both static and dynamic testing.
Model-based Organizational Design for Future Systems
Authors: Paley Michael , Levchuk Georgiy , Clark David
Published: January 2012

At the core of this effort is the requirement to answer the question of how many and what type of operators are needed to conduct a Battle Management Command and Control (BMC2) mission given the proposed capabilities of the E-10A. That is, define the organizational requirements for a future system before it is built. Based on detailed structured interviews, review of system design documents, and analysis of current Air Force systems, we created a comprehensive mission model as the analytical basis for a modeling and simulation study of operator tasks and task loading for the purpose of determining an optimal team structure for the E-10A. The final organizational design provides a detailed description of a proposed roles and responsibilities within the E-10A. The specification of a detailed model provides traceability of these recommendations and a high degree of transparency to support the system design process.
Lessons Learned from Integrating User-Centered Design into a Large-Scale Defense Procurement
Authors: Tate Christine C. , Estes Todd , Hagan John , Hettinger Larry
Published: January 2012

The US Navy is currently implementing “optimal manning” approaches to the design of future warships. Simply put, this emphasis takes the form of designing and deploying ships whose blend of human and mechanical/computer-based systems reduces the need for traditionally large crews while improving overall system performance and safety. Reflecting this emphasis, a Future Surface Combatant program currently in the design stage is the first Navy procurement in which the principles of user-centered design (UCD) and human-systems integration (HSI) are key design drivers. The integration of UCD and HSI methods has never been attempted in a design effort of this magnitude, and has inevitably led to illuminating insights on the part of human factors, system engineering, and other disciplines engaged in the effort. This paper provides an overview of “lessons learned,” and is intended to assist the future integration of UCD and HSI principles into the design of similarly complex systems.
A Consumer's Guide to Free Internet Questionnaire Development Tools
Authors: Bachmann Scott , Moroney William F.
Published: January 2012

Questionnaires are commonly used in human factors applications and research, and their administration on the Internet is increasing. Human Factors practitioners and researchers can reduce their workload by utilizing the appropriate questionnaire development tool. A previous review compared the quality of several fee-based Internet questionnaire development tools. This review: 1) contrasts the capabilities and limitations of free Internet tools for questionnaire development, pilot studies, and data collection; and 2) provides a comparison of five tools.
Simplified Eye Tracking Enhances Problem Understanding and Solution Discovery in Usability Testing
Authors: Rozanski Evelyn P. , Karn Keith S. , Haake Anne R. , Vigliotti Anthony M. , Pelz Jeff B.
Published: January 2012

Identifying problems and generating recommendations for product user interface redesign are primary goals of usability testing. Typical methods seem inadequate for the deep understanding of usability problems needed for developing effective solutions. Sporadically over the past 50 years, usability teams have tracked user eye movements to achieve this deeper understanding, but high cost and complexity have prevented the widespread use of this technology. We investigated whether simplified eye tracking techniques, in combination with traditional usability testing methods, could enhance problem discovery and understanding. These techniques included: using a video-based eye tracking system, tracking only a few participants, and encoding gaze durations (not individual fixations) on only a few areas of interest. For each of three interface versions, we studied twelve participants with traditional usability testing techniques and eye tracked just two. Eye tracking yielded discovery of additional usability problems and detailed characterizations which led to more focused and appropriate solutions.
In Search of Workload Context Effects Using a Compensatory Tracking Task
Authors: Voorheis Christopher M. , Moroney William F. , Biers David W. , Eggemeier F. Thomas
Published: January 2012

This study examined whether or not prior levels of task difficulty (context effects) impacted subsequent performance and workload ratings. Previous research by Hancock, et al. (1995) found context effects for workload ratings. Similar studies, (Fischer, 1995; Moroney et al., 1993; Rench 2002) using flight simulation tasks had not demonstrated context effects. In the current study, twelve participants completed three sessions of three compensatory tracking trials each using the Multi-Attribute Task Battery (MATB) tracking task. RMSE scores and TLX ratings were analyzed for each trial. A repeated measures design presented the first trial (Baseline) and the third trial (Critical) at a medium difficulty level. The (context inducing) middle trial had three levels of difficulty (low, medium and high). Performance and workload ratings for the baseline and critical trial were compared and showed no difficulty by trial interaction. Therefore, contrary to Hancock, et al., no context effect was obtained.
Estimating Completion Rates from Small Samples Using Binomial Confidence Intervals: Comparisons and Recommendations
Authors: Sauro Jeff , Lewis James R.
Published: January 2012

The completion rate — the proportion of participants who successfully complete a task — is a common usability measurement. As is true for any point measurement, practitioners should compute appropriate confidence intervals for completion rate data. For proportions such as the completion rate, the appropriate interval is a binomial confidence interval. The most widely-taught method for calculating binomial confidence intervals (the “Wald Method,” discussed both in introductory statistics texts and in the human factors literature) grossly understates the width of the true interval when sample sizes are small. Alternative “exact” methods over-correct the problem by providing intervals that are too conservative. This can result in practitioners unintentionally accepting interfaces that are unusable or rejecting interfaces that are usable. We examined alternative methods for building confidence intervals from small sample completion rates, using Monte Carlo methods to sample data from a number of real, large-sample usability tests. It appears that the best method for practitioners to compute 95% confidence intervals for small-sample completion rates is to add two successes and two failures to the observed completion rate, then compute the confidence interval using the Wald method (the “Adjusted Wald Method”). This simple approach provides the best coverage, is fairly easy to compute, and agrees with other analyses in the statistics literature.
Design and Usability of Military Maintenance Skills Simulation Training Systems
Authors: Hubal Robert
Published: January 2012

This paper reports on results of usability studies of soldiers using advanced simulation training systems. Data were collected from users of a series of simulation systems, a collection of Army ground tracked vehicle desktop diagnostic trainers, developed over the past decade. The paper describes the evolution of system design and testing over the past decade with details on usability, user and instructor perceptions, and use. The paper provides guidelines for future simulation systems using a model that considers task affor-dances and demands, user characteristics, and the nature of the domain.
Automated Individual, Team, and Multi-Team Performance Assessment to Support Debriefing Distributed Simulation Based Exercises (DDSBE)
Authors: Carolan Thomas F. , Bilazarian Peter , Nguyen Long
Published: January 2012

Automated, embedded data collection, assessment, and integration capabilities are key requirements of an instructional framework to support performance evaluation and debrief of multiple teams participating in distributed simulation-based exercises. This paper discusses recent progress in the application of automated performance data collection and assessment capabilities as part of a prototype Debriefing Distributed Simulation-Based Exercises (DDSBE) system. The automated data collection process obtains data from local and distributed simulation systems and operator consoles to assess individual, team, and multi-team performance on training objectives during critical and key events. Performance is assessed at the multi-team, team, and individual levels as appropriate. Automated and observer-based semi-automated assessments are integrated into data products suitable for debrief development. Methods, products, and results from the research and development effort to date are discussed.
Evaluating Different Display Techniques for Communicating Search Strategy Training in a Collaborative Virtual Aircraft Inspection Environment
Authors: Mehta P. , Sadasivan S. , Greenstein J. S. , Gramopadhye A. K. , Duchowski A. T.
Published: January 2012

Aircraft inspection is vital to assure safe and reliable air transportation. Search strategy training has been recognized to be effective in improving an inspector's performance in a visual inspection task. Improving the search performance of novice inspectors can be expedited by providing cognitive feedfoward information about the search strategy adopted by an expert inspector. In a collaborative virtual aircraft inspection environment using eye tracking equipment, novice inspectors can observe in real time the point of regard (POR) data of an expert inspector performing an inspection task. This research evaluates the effectiveness of three display techniques —‘dot’, ‘ray casting’ and ‘decaying trace’ – for representing, the gaze slaved visual deictic reference (VDR) of the expert inspector during search strategy training in an aircraft inspection task. Increase in performance of the novices performing an inspection task after training show the ‘decaying trace’ as the most effective form for representing the expert's VDR.
Controller Performance and Attention Allocation in Future Air Traffic Management: Effects of Pilot Intent Information
Authors: Rovira Ericka , Parasuraman Raja
Published: January 2012

New Air Traffic Management (ATM) concepts are being considered to cope with increased demands on the airspace. The transition to future ATM will be gradual. Initially, only some aircraft will have the equipment to fully participate in all aspects of the new system, whereas other less well-equipped aircraft will not. The present study investigated how such mixed equipage affects air traffic controller (ATCo) performance and mental workload. Sixteen ATCos performed a simulated ATC task with or without decision support and with varying proportions (low, medium, and high) of traffic mix predictability (i.e. knowledge of aircraft trajectories). Dependent variables included the accuracy and response time in detecting potential conflicts and eye movements. The findings demonstrate that: a) medium traffic mix predictability supports the earlier detection of conflicts; b) automation support improves conflict detection, but c) ATCos make the most eye movements towards unmanaged aircraft.
Comparison of Pilots' and Controllers' Conflict Resolution Maneuver Preferences
Authors: Rantanen Esa M. , Yang Jiazhong , Yin Shanqing
Published: January 2012

The role of the air traffic controller in future air traffic management systems is that of a passive monitor, who intervenes in potential conflict situations only if pilots, aided by onboard traffic displays, fail to implement safe and timely conflict resolutions. Yet, such scenarios are entirely plausible and even likely, particularly in busy airspaces. However, it is also likely that an a controller will seek to implement a resolution that is different from what the pilots had planned, resulting in confusion, delays, and safety risks. This paper examines pilots' and controllers' maneuver preferences and potential sources for dissonance in conflict resolution situations. Data on pilots' maneuver tendencies were gathered from an extensive review of past literature; controllers' preferences were obtained from an experiment that systematically manipulated simulated ATC scenario difficulty and conflict geometries. Results indicate largely similar maneuver choices between controllers and pilots, but suggest a need for further research.
Effects of Advanced Cockpit Displays on General Aviation Pilots' Decisions to Continue Visual Flight Rules Flight into Instrument Meteorological Conditions
Authors: Johnson Nicholas , Wiegmann Douglas , Wickens Christopher
Published: January 2012

Thirty pilots flew a simulated VFR cross country flight into deteriorating weather with one of three levels of display support: a control display with standard instruments, a synthetic vision system (SVS) display depicting terrain and a highway in the sky (HITS), and a configuration in which the same SVS HITS display was augmented by an electronic moving map depicting weather. Results revealed that nearly all pilots in the control condition avoided penetrating the IMC clouds. Significantly, 60% of pilots across both SVS conditions penetrated the clouds and continued to their destination in zero visibility conditions. Their failure to notice the deteriorating weather outside the cockpit was documented by a dominance of head-down scanning for the pilots in these two groups who penetrated the weather. The presence of the moving map weather display did not mitigate these manifestations of attentional tunneling. Possible solutions related to display design and training are discussed.
Testing Boeing's Flight Deck of the Future: A Comparison between Current and Prototype Autoflight Panels
Authors: Prada L. Ricardo , Mumaw Randall J. , Boehm-Davis Deborah A. , Boorman Daniel J.
Published: January 2012

Operational issues with the current generation of flight control panels in modern airliners are well documented, and include opaque operating modes, limited feedback when modifying settings, and inconsistent interactions that can result in unexpected aircraft behaviors, leading to costly training programs. Boeing engineers have proposed a redesigned panel known as the Flight Deck of the Future (FDF), in an attempt to address these issues.

In the first experimental test of this new interface, we studied the effects of the redesign on transfer of initial training. Tasks known to present challenges in the current generation of aircraft were selected for training and testing. Airline pilots were asked to perform these tasks on both the FDF panel, and the corresponding panel on a typical large commercial aircraft. Training transfer was found to be substantially improved on the FDF system. Implications for continued design, adoption, and airline training of the new interface are discussed.
Instrument Pilot Skill Acquisition in the Early Phases of Flight Training Using an Advanced Cockpit Display System
Authors: Hall Steve , Alves Erin
Published: January 2012

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the learning curve associated with complex flight behavior (i.e. instrument approaches) for both conventional and SVS display systems. Thirty student pilots who had not yet earned their private pilot license were presented with minimal information about instrument approaches and were trained to fly a precision approach using either the SVS or conventional display. Flight performance, measured by time within the FAA ATP standard across training trials, was significantly higher in the SVS condition for the first trial and during the three performance trials. Log function learning curves show faster learning in the SVS condition than the conventional condition. Differences in learning curves have implications for the development of training curricula, certification guidelines, and training/operations costs.
Human-Systems Integration Challenges for Constellation
Authors: McCandless Jeffrey W. , Kaiser Mary K. , Barth Timothy S. , McCann Robert S. , Currie Nancy J. , Woolford Barbara J.
Published: January 2012

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is developing plans for the successor to the Space Shuttle. The Constellation Program within NASA is responsible for developing the Crew Exploration Vehicle (CEV) and related systems to provide astronauts with access to space. The CEV will include many improvements over previous spacecraft, and numerous NASA groups are involved in designing those improvements. For example, the Space Human Factors Engineering (SHFE) project is supporting work on a range of tasks including crew training, cockpit displays, and crew anthropometry. Additional improvements will focus on launch and landing site operations. Within the CEV itself, an upgraded caution and warning system will increase the crew's abilities to diagnose and resolve malfunctions. CEV ergonomics are critical since the vehicle will support several configurations of crew and cargo to maximize its operational flexibility. Work on CEV habitability is being based on numerous factors such as a task analysis to identify critical crew activities. All of these tasks will help ensure that the next-generation spacecraft provides safe and efficient access to space.
Reccommendations for Conducting Real-Time Human-in-the-Loop Simulations over the Internet
Authors: Strybel Thomas Z. , Canton Riva , Battiste Vernol , Johnson Walter , Vu Kim-Phuong L.
Published: January 2012

Distributed simulations can improve the cognitive fidelity of simulated task environments because more operators can be added to the simulation without greatly increasing its cost. We report here on the development and execution of a distributed simulation/demonstration of ROVs flying in terminal airspace in order to investigate the feasibility of ROV flight in terminal airspace, and the feasibility of conducting simulations over the internet. The simulation involved pilots located at CSAAT, an aviation research lab at California State University Long Beach, and the Flight Deck Display Research Laboratory at NASA Ames Research Center, flying ROVs over the internet in a simulated airspace. We describe the procedures used to develop the simulation and offer recommendations for improving future simulations over the internet.
So You Want to Fly Remotely Operated Vehicles in Civil Approach Air Space
Authors: Battiste Vernol , Dao Arik-Quang V. , Strybel Thomas Z. , Dion Marshall , Bertolotti H.
Published: January 2012

A distributed simulation was conducted between the Flight Deck Display Research Laboratory (FDDRL) of NASA Ames Research Center and the Center for the Study of Advanced Aeronautic Technologies (CSAAT) at California State University, Long Beach to assess the feasibility of flying ROVs in busy terminal environments with commercial traffic. Pilots with glass cockpit experience were recruited to fly one or two ROVs in simulated airspace over water reservoirs near DFW airport, with the major goal of avoiding the approach traffic. Results showed that pilots had a difficult time patrolling the lake without losing separation from the approach traffic. However, their performance did improve with practice. The commercial pilots' performance in our study suggested that ROV operations in busy terminal airspace were feasible and that they would be comfortable operating in the airspace jointly with ROVs. Strategies for control of a single or multiple ROVs are discussed.
Imperfect Diagnostic Automation: An Experimental Examination of Priorities and Threshold Setting
Authors: Wickens Christopher D. , Dixon Stephen R. , Johnson Nicholas
Published: January 2012

Diagnostic automation, such as alarms, alerts, or automatic target recognition systems can vary in their reliability and threshold setting, the latter influencing the balance between misses and false alarms. This experiment examined the implications of both of these, when the system detected military targets in parallel with the human operator in an unmanned air vehicle simulator. Unlike previous investigations of this paradigm in a dual task setting, the automation diagnosis task was very difficult, and priority between this task and a concurrent task was explicitly varied, along with the threshold setting. The results revealed that: (a) reliability as low as 0.6 aided human performance. (b) the effects of the automation threshold shift could be partially modeled in terms of the classic reliance-compliance dimensions of automation dependence, at both task priority settings. (c) The priority effects were more pronounced with miss-prone automation. (d) directing attention to false-alarm prone automation actually degrades human-system performance.
Under-Reliance on the Decision Aid: A Difference in Calibration and Attribution between Self and Aid
Authors: van Dongen Kees , van Maanen Peter-Paul
Published: January 2012

It is often assumed that two heads are better than one, but reliance on decision aids is often inappropriate. Decisions to rely on an aid are thought to be based on a comparison between the perceived reliability of own performance and that of the decision aid. Unfortunately, perceived reliabilities are unlikely to be perfectly calibrated. This may result in inappropriate decisions to rely on advice. In a laboratory experiment with 40 participants, we studied whether calibration improves after practice, whether calibration of own reliability differs from calibration of the aid's reliability and whether unreliability of the aid is attributed differently. Under-trust in own reliability disappears after practice but under-trust in the aid's reliability persists. Unreliability of the decision aid is less likely to be attributed to temporary, external and uncontrollable factors. This asymmetry in attribution and calibration may explain under-reliance on decision aids.
Operating Multiple Semi-Autonomous Robots: Monitoring, Responding, Detecting
Authors: Chadwick Roger A.
Published: January 2012

The concept of one operator controlling multiple unmanned ground vehicle (UGV) robots is examined in a simulation of a multiple UGV search task. Semi-autonomous robotic UGVs were simulated searching for radioactive targets while operators performed various sub-tasks including monitoring status, responding to prompted target decision events, and detecting contextual errors. Participants executed a series of scenarios using 1, 2, or 4 UGVs simultaneously. The detection of contextual errors is particularly difficult when multiple vehicles are being supported. Specific interface features designed to assist with multiple vehicle operations are discussed including a quick video playback (QVP) function.
Performance Assessment of Humans in Leadframe Inspection: A Preliminary Study
Authors: Bhuvanesh Abhinesh , Khasawneh Mohammad T.
Published: January 2012

Defect detection and classification are important tasks for both product quality assurance and process improvement in the manufacturing industry. In leadframe manufacturing, samples of cut leadframes are taken immediately after stamping and examined by human inspectors. Early defect detection is critical for reducing waste of raw material and achieving a high quality product. In this paper, the performance of several participants was tested on the basis of inspection speed and accuracy. The tests were carried out using images of three leadframe designs with varying number/type of stamping defects. Response surface methodology was used to analyze the test results. In addition to designing better training systems, the results can be used by manufacturers to monitor their inspectors' performance. Due to the generic nature of the inspection task, the results can be further applied in other industries as well.
Mitigating Disruptions: Can Resuming an Interrupted Task Be Trained?
Authors: Cades David M. , Trafton J. Gregory , Boehm-Davis Deborah A.
Published: January 2012

Research has shown that with practice people improve on most tasks. It has also been made clear that over time interruptions become less disruptive. It is unclear whether the reduction in interruption disruptiveness is due to a general practice effect or specific to the interruption/resumption process. In this experiment, participants performed three sessions of a task with one, two, or three of the sessions containing interruptions. We found that in addition to all participants showing primary task improvement, those with more exposure to interruptions also showed improvement in dealing with the interruptions. Specifically, participants with practice on only the primary task did not show improvement with the interruptions. These results suggest that the mitigations of the disruptions are directly related to people getting better at handling the interruptions.
Supporting Interruption Management Through Informative Tactile and Peripheral Visual Cues
Authors: Hameed Shameem , Ferris Thomas , Jayaraman Swapnaa , Sarter Nadine
Published: January 2012

Operators in data-rich event-driven domains need to be supported in effectively allocating their limited attentional resources to cope with numerous competing task demands and frequent interruptions. One prerequisite for achieving this goal is to provide operators with information that allows them to make informed decisions about, and before, (re)orienting their attentional focus. This study examined the effectiveness of using informative peripheral visual and tactile cues for this purpose. 30 participants performed a continuous visual task. Occasionally, they were presented with a peripheral visual or tactile cue that indicated the need to perform a competing visual task. The location, frequency, and duration of the interruption cues reflected the type, importance, and likely duration, respectively, of the interrupting task. The findings from this study show that the informative cues were detected and interpreted reliably. Information about the importance (rather than duration) of the task was used by participants to decide whether to switch attention. Failure to switch attention was explained to some extent by the misinterpretation of the cues. The findings from this research can inform the design of more effective notification systems for a variety of complex event-driven domains, such as aviation, medicine, or military operations.
Cross Cultural Interactions: Methods and Motivations for Study
Authors: Miller Christopher A.
Published: January 2012

Human factors practitioners have become increasingly aware of the need for attending to team interaction dynamics. This has produced substantial research, methodological advances and, ultimately, recommendations for team design, training, interaction support and assessment. Concurrently, awareness has grown that cross cultural differences influence the usability and safety of technologies. To date, however, human factors practitioners have rarely considered the intersection of these two topics: cross cultural interactions in team performance settings and/or the design and assessment of multi-cultural teams (and of technologies to support them). This panel will review the motivation for such research and a variety of approaches to conducting it. Central themes will be (a) definitions and dimensions of cultural differences, (b) team performance assessment methodologies appropriate and useful in cross-cultural team research, and (c) cross-cultural team design, training and aiding methodologies that are the targets of such research.
An Examination of the Key Concepts of the Five Phases of Cognitive Work Analysis with Examples from a Familiar System
Authors: Naikar Neelam
Published: January 2012

Cognitive work analysis (CWA) is recognized, principally, for work domain analysis. Relatively little research has been directed at the remaining four phases of CWA and, as a result, the concepts of these phases of analysis are less well understood. This paper examines the concepts of all five phases of CWA with examples from a single ‘system’ – a home. A home is a highly familiar system that is characterized primarily by social or intentional constraints. The examples in this paper, therefore, complement the case study provided by Vicente (1999) of DURESS, a thermo-hydraulic microworld simulation that is defined largely by physical or causal constraints. In addition, this paper provides a starting point for examining several issues relating to the later phases of CWA, including whether or not they are useful or unique, their relationship to other approaches for work analysis, and methodological shortcomings.
Cognitive Complexities Impacting Army Intelligence Analysis
Authors: Pfautz Jonathan , Fichtl Ted , Guarino Sean , Carlson Eric , Powell Gerald , Roth Emilie
Published: January 2012

The primary goal of this effort was to understand the problems faced by military intelligence analysis personnel as well as how, and to what degree, the identification of these problems could guide the development of computational support systems. To develop this understanding, we performed a literature review, knowledge elicitation interviews and a cognitive task analysis (CTA) in the domain of Army Intelligence Analysis at the Brigade Combat Team. This effort consisted of identifying: (1) the major functions or cognitive tasks entailed in Army Intelligence Analysis; and (2) the complexities in the domain that pose challenges to performance of these cognitive tasks. Identifying the cognitive tasks and the challenges faced in performing those tasks provided a basis for determining opportunities for more effective support of human information processing and decision-making. In this paper, we document selected results of this analysis effort.
Assessing Safety Culture Issues Through Observations of Nuclear Power Plant Operators in Incident Management
Authors: Carvalho Paulo V. R.
Published: January 2012

The aim of this paper is discuss how the sociotechnical environment influences the behavior of nuclear power plant (NPP) control room operators. The interest of this research is to investigate how the operators' cognitive strategies are supported by the overall work system of the organization, such as the implementation of a safety culture enhance program. We based our research in field studies in a nuclear power plant control room. Activity analysis during the actual operator crew work was the basis of our research methodology. We use electronic media, such as audio and video recorders, and field notes in order do get empirical data. We identify problem areas in the organization work design system that brings constraints to these cognitive strategies, showing how these problems are related to the different organizational levels.
Applied Work Domain Analysis: Translating Knowledge to Representation
Authors: Tan Angela Li Sin , Helander Martin G
Published: January 2012

This paper describes a method for transforming knowledge elicited from real life applications into Rasmussen's Abstraction-Decomposition Space (ADS). The ADS is used to represent knowledge in a Work Domain Analysis (WDA), the first of five stages in a Cognitive Work Analysis. The WDA is highly conceptual and is mostly used by trained practitioners. There are many concepts and rules in the construction of the ADS. These make it difficult for practitioners to transform and map their data onto the two dimensional (2D) ADS. In Applied Work Domain Analysis (AWDA), we introduce a new dimension, cause-effect, thereby creating a 2D orthogonal space called the Motivation-Expectation Space (MES). The rules for constructing the MES are easier to apply than the ADS. After constructing the MES, practitioners can map information in MES onto the ADS.
Flexible Authority Allocation in Unmanned Aerial Vehicles
Authors: van Ginkel Hilde T.A. , de Vries Michiel F.L. , Koeners Joris J.M. , Theunissen Erik
Published: January 2012

The Ground Control Station (GCS) is a critical element in the control of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs). The information provided by the GCS influences the operator's Situational Awareness (SA). In order to explore the consequences of authority on operator SA and overall performance, this research investigated the desired authority of two operator support functions that perform conflict detection and resolution in the time-critical domain. In the experiment, the Level of Authority (LoA) of these two functions was varied. Results show that, independent of the LoA, in many cases, the operator was able to detect a possible conflict before the conflict prediction function became active. This indicated that the operator had sufficient level 3 SA (projection of current state into the future) to detect the need for a tactical action. However, results also show a significant amount of unnecessary operator interventions. Finally, the results show that in many situations the operator did not have enough level 3 SA to come up with a good solution for a possible conflict and performance would have been better without operator intervention.
Size Matters: The Role of Auditory and Visual Scale in the Identification of Unfamiliar Voices
Authors: Kilgore Ryan
Published: January 2012

Augmenting spatialized audio environments with visual depictions of voice locations has been shown to increase voice-identification performance. How the relative scale of mixed audio/visual interfaces affects this benefit, however, is not well understood. In this experiment, we compared the accuracy, response time, and confidence of 36 participants in a spatialized voice-identification task using three visual scale conditions viewed from a common distance: a 2-inch display, a 10-inch display, and 25.5-inch display. Each display was investigated using eight spatialized voices presented in two audio scale conditions: voices distributed across the entire interaural axis or across only the central half. Results showed significantly greater voice-identification accuracy for the larger audio scale and the two largest visual scales, and increased response time for the smallest visual scale. Confidence in task performance remained unchanged across conditions. These results indicate large-scale audio/visual interfaces may best capitalize upon the perceptual benefits of visually representing spatialized voice locations.
Effects of Background Noise on Communication in a Collaborative Team Environment
Authors: Ephrem Adrienne J. , Brungart Douglas S. , Parisi Julie A.
Published: January 2012

Many command and control operations involve complex collaborative tasks that cannot be successfully completed without effective team communication. However, the ability to communicate efficiently in these tasks is often compromised by environmental factors, such as the presence of ambient noise. In this study, we attempted to quantify the effect that ambient noise might have on the completion of team tasks in an airborne conference room, where there is a severe cost and weight penalty for the noise countermeasures used to achieve each additional decibel of attenuation. Rather than relying on current ambient noise standards, which are based solely on point-to-point word intelligibility, we chose to base our measurement on a collaborative team “communicability” task that required subjects to achieve a consensus on the ordering of four random faces in each of eight labeled columns. Completion time in the task was measured with and without visual line-of-sight in three levels of ambient noise (55dBA, 70dBA & 80dBA). The results show that completion time in the task increased systematically with the level of the noise, but that visual cues had no significant effect on performance. The results are discussed in terms of their impact on the interpretation of the current standard for ambient noise in communication environments, and in terms of their more general implications for the study of team communication.
Using Spatial Intercoms to Improve Speech Intelligibility for International Teams
Authors: Terenzi Michela , Iyer Nandini , Simpson Brian D. , Bolia Robert S. , Di Nocera Francesco
Published: January 2012

One of the most critical aspects of international teamwork activity is communications, most of which are in English, despite the fact that most of the team members in the world are non-native English speakers. Previous research has demonstrated that apparent spatial separation of communications can lead to substantial improvements in speech intelligibility and reductions in communications workload (Bolia & Nelson, 2003). This study investigated the benefits of sound spatialization on non-native English speakers, showing a significant improvement in recognition of the correct responses when speech was provided spatially. This result confirms and extends previous research on the usefulness of spatial audio technology in order to enhance speech intelligibility in multitalker communications environments.
Effectiveness of Various Automated Readability Measures for the Competitive Evaluation of User Documentation
Authors: Lewis James R.
Published: January 2012

I examined samples from a number of companys' user publications using several automated reading measures and a graphics/text ratio. The goal was to answer two questions: Were there reliable differences in writing style among the competitors? If so, were these differences related to their rank position in published surveys of user satisfaction with documentation? Of the measures included in the study, only the Cloudiness Count had any significant relationship to rank position in the surveys. A second evaluation, focused on the components of the Cloudiness Count, indicated that both of its components (passive voice and ‘empty’ words - a type of infrequent word) contributed equally to its effectiveness. This is consistent with psycholinguistic research that indicates that it is harder for people to extract the meaning from a passive sentence relative to its active counterpart, and that word frequency is the variable with the most influence on the speed of lexical access.