bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The Implications of Schema Theory Reading Research to Technology Transfer in Developing Countries
Authors: Nelson Gayle L.
Published: January 2012

Little research has been done on the information processing of technology transfer in developing countries (Gonod, 1981). This paper discusses information processing, using the well-researched area of English as a Second Language (ESL) reading and schema theory. In particular, it describes a reading study with Egyptian students who read 4 pairs of matched readings, 4 Egyptian and 4 American readings. Students recalled (i.e. learned) significantly more from the Egyptian readings. The implications of these results to the transfer of technology are discussed.
Cost-Justifying Human Factors Support: Pay Me Now or Pay me Later—But how Much?
Authors: Bias Randolph G.
Published: January 2012

This introductory paper to the symposium on Cost-Justifying Human Factors Support makes the point that human factors professionals vying for development resources must quantify the value of their support. It asks the question “How can we better cost-justify our human factors support”? It then introduces the other five panelists who will proceed to answer the question.
Cost-Justifying Human Factors Support — A Framework
Authors: Mayhew Deborah J.
Published: January 2012

This paper is part of a symposium on Cost-Justifying Human Factors Support. The preceding paper sets the stage for and motivates the topic. This paper provides a broad framework for performing a cost/benefit analysis for any collection of (or any single) human factors tasks and activities that might be added to a development project. Although the emphasis is on software human factors, the framework would apply equally well to hardware human factors projects. The perspectives of both vendor companies and internal data processing organizations serving internal users are taken into account. Other papers in the symposium offer particular case histories supporting the cost/benefit approach outlined here, and offer a manager's perspective on the cost/benefit analysis technique.
Computer-Aided Facilities Diagnostics: A New Software Tool for the Armory of the Macro-Ergonomist
Authors: Hedge Alan , Ellis Dana
Published: January 2012

A macro-ergonomic systems approach to evaluating the impact of office environment design on workers requires a variety of analytical tools. Computer-Aided Facilities Diagnostics (CAFD), is a new software tool which enables scientific visualization of data by graphically combining user survey information with spatial forms such as building floor plans. Preliminary work with CAFD suggests that the ability to visualize data may facilitate users in brainstorming about possible solutions to work environment problems. The potential benefits of CAFD for ergonomic intervention will be discussed.
Interruption of a Monotonous Activity with Complex Tasks: Effects of Individual Differences
Authors: Cabon Ph. , Coblentz A. , Mollard R.
Published: January 2012

The fluctuations of vigilance and performance for operators working in monotonous conditions were studied in laboratory. Three experimental designs were achieved on 20 subjects:

— one reference condition with a vigilance task of 3 hours 30 during day time, — one experimental condition with interruptions of monotony during the vigilance task by a sustained task, during the same day time period, — the same experimental condition during night time.

The purpose was to analyse the effect of breakdown in monotony on arousal and human performance and to look for individual differences in human performance. Physiological data were collected in order to study the variation of arousal. Response times and omissions were used as performance index. Individual differences can be observed for performance and vigilance. Two kinds of behavior are defined: stable subjects and subjects characterized by fluctuations both for arousal and performance during the task. During day time period, breakdown of monotony has a positive effect on performance especially for subjects with fluctuations of arousal. Night time condition creates a sleep deprivation and the consequence is that the efficiency of the reactivation due to breakdown by sustained task is not demonstrated. Results are discussed in regard of the theory of Fisk and Schneider on automated and controlled mental processing during monotonous activities.
Motorcycle Helmet Retention Devices: Convenience and Comfort
Authors: Thom David R. , Cann Michael
Published: January 2012

Motorcycle helmets have been proven to be very effective in reducing or preventing head injuries in accidents. For full protection, the helmet must be secured on the wearer's head. This is accomplished by the use of a strap under the wearer's jaw. These retention straps are secured by different devices which have different methods of fastening. Experiments were conducted with the three most common fastening devices on thirty-two subjects to determine measures of fastening and unfastening speed, tightness and the effect of instructions. Mixed ANOVA shows main effects of gender and fastener type as well as interactive effects. No effects were found for instructions. Subjects preferred the buckle-type fastener over slide-bar over D-ring devices.
Development of a Workstation Software Package to Support Probabilistic Safety Assessment
Authors: Reece Wendy J. , Gertman David I.
Published: January 2012

In a multi-year effort sponsored by the U. S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, human factors, risk analysis, and software specialists have developed a software package workstation. This Nuclear Computerized Library for Assessing Reactor Reliability (NUCLARR) supports probabilistic safety analysis (PSA) and other risk assessment efforts by providing a repository of both human error probability rates, and hardware component failure data. The NUCLARR workstation package consists of a set of floppy diskettes, and accompanying documentation which guides the user through the simple installation procedures, as well as presenting detailed descriptions of the resident data and the software package capabilities. The majority of data contained in NUCLARR are error rates measured at nuclear power plants. However, many human operations data are not specific to the nuclear industry and may be used for analyses in other settings.
A Testbed for the Evaluation of Computer Aids for Enroute Flight Path Planning
Authors: Smith Philip J. , Layton Chuck , Galdes Deb , McCoy C. Elaine
Published: January 2012

We have conducted a simulator study of five airline flight crews engaged in various enroute planning activities. Based on a cognitive task analysis of this data, a flight planning workstation has been developed on a Mac II controlling three color monitors. This workstation is being used to study design concepts to support the flight planning activities of dispatchers and flight crews in part-task simulations.
Task Analysis/Workload (TAWL): A Methodology for Predicting Operator Workload
Authors: Hamilton David B. , Bierbaum Carl R.
Published: January 2012

The Task Analysis/Workload (TAWL) methodology was developed to predict operator workload using the information from a task analysis of the system. In addition, the TAWL Operator Simulation System (TOSS) was developed to perform all the data base management and model execution functions needed to use the methodology. A TAWL workload prediction model is developed in three stages: task/workload analysis, model construction, and model execution. The methodology assumes that demand on human attention (workload) can be approximated by modeling the separate cognitive, psychomotor, and sensory requirements of all tasks being performed by the operator. The model produces half-second time lines annotated by task names and workload estimates. The output of the models can be graphed or read by statistical software for further evaluation. TAWL models are useful to system designers as aids in task allocation between crewmembers, machine and crewmembers, and workload components, as well as across time. In addition, the information generated by the models can be used to evaluate the system's manning and training requirements. Currently, the Army is sponsoring the development of TAWL workload prediction models for modified versions of the AH-64A (Apache), CH-47 (Chinook), and UH-60A (Black Hawk) aircraft.
Can Cognitive Theory Guide Human Factors Measurement?
Authors: Kantowitz Barry H.
Published: January 2012

This paper considers four questions about measurement in human factors proposed by David Meister. The fundamental problem of measurement is deciding what to measure. Theory can help answer this question by telling us where to look in complex system environments. Measuring theoretical parameters (such as d1 and beta from signal detection theory) may prove more helpful than measuring only different types of errors. Measurement in human factors must provide meaningful assignments of numbers to objects that satisfy both tribes: scientists and practitioners. It must also deal with the problem of emergent levels. Human factors must create its own brand of theory to meet its unique measurement requirements. One possible solution might be using combinations of sub-models based upon cognitive theory and network simulation. Such a theoretical human factors model could have both scientific rigor and operational utility.
Task Analysis: A Polyhedral Dynamics Approach
Authors: Cabral Luiz M.
Published: January 2012

A relatively new mathematical modeling theory and methodology, Q-analysis, appears to be suited for dealing with issues that concern complex systems and the users of those systems. The method of Q-analysis is concerned with the relations between the elements of a system and their often complex implicit structure. The elements of Q-analysis will be described in familiar terms and demonstrated using an illustrative example problem. Several measures, viz. the first structure coefficient, eccentricity, concentricity, and complexity, will be demonstrated.
Training Requirements Development for the Theater Air Command and Control Simulation Facility (TACCSF)
Authors: Childs Jerry M. , Acton William H.
Published: January 2012

The purpose of this paper is to describe an abbreviated Instructional Systems Development (ISD) approach that was adopted to support identification of training requirements for two system management positions in the Theater Air Command and Control Simulation Facility (TACCSF). TACCSF is a large scale, man-in-the-loop air defense simulation facility located on Kirtland AFB, New Mexico. A tailored ISD approach was used to support the evaluation of existing training-related documentation and materials. A 41 × 64 cell Training Resources Matrix was generated. Training requirements were arrayed vertically and training resources were listed horizontally in the matrix. The matrix was used to help define and develop preliminary training requirements, resources, and training plans. Results of the analyses were useful, and would be improved by including more detailed information in the data base.
Are they Shooting at Me?: An Approach to Training Situational Awareness
Authors: Kass Steven J. , Herschler Daniel A. , Companion Michael A.
Published: January 2012

This study tests the effectiveness of a training strategy to improve situational awareness skills. The training approach suggested by this study is to expose subjects initially to only those cues relevant to the task. When other extraneous cues are added, these subjects should be better at extracting those familiar cues relevant to the task than subjects who are first exposed to both relevant and irrelevant cues. Subjects trained with only the relevant cues were able to identify a significantly higher percentage (60%) of patterns than subjects trained in the cluttered environment (43%).

The results support the use of the proposed training strategy for situational awareness. Signal detection theory and state-dependent learning theory are discussed in relation to the findings.
Physiological and Subjective Evaluation of a New Aircraft Display
Authors: Wilson Glenn F. , Hughes Edward , Hassoun John
Published: January 2012

Physiological, subjective and mission effectiveness measures were evaluated to test their relative sensitivity and diagnosticity to pilot workload in a part-mission simulation. Two different radar displays were evaluated in an air-to-air simulated scenario using an advanced horizontal situation format display vs the conventional radar display. Data were recorded during the ingress and engagement portions of the mission. The engagement segments were associated with higher subjective workload estimates, smaller cardiac IBIs, fewer eye blinks and shorter duration eye blinks. The new display was associated with shorter duration eye blinks than the current generation display. None of the other measures were associated with statistically significant changes due to display type.
Central Processing Load, Response Demands and Tracking Strategies
Authors: Goettl Barry P. , Joseph Jane
Published: January 2012

The present experiment investigates the processing demands associated with two tracking strategies: double-impulse and continuous. Twelve subjects performed a Sternberg memory search task concurrently with a compensatory tracking task using either strategy. Central processing demands of both tasks were manipulated as well as the response demands of the Sternberg task. The two tasks showed little resource competition for central processing resources. Response load resulted in resource competition, but did not show any strategy differences. Results are discussed with regard to the importance of understanding strategy differences for workload analysis.
Head Movements as a Function of Field-of-View Size on a Helmet-Mounted Display
Authors: Venturino Michael , Wells Maxwell J.
Published: January 2012

Measurements were made of subjects' head movements as they found and memorized the position of targets located around them. Four factors were manipulated: the size of the field-of-view (FOV) with which they could view the targets, the number of targets, the background against which the targets were presented (blank or terrain), and the search instructions (slow or fast). The targets and terrain were viewed on a binocular helmet-mounted display. The dependent variables included measures of the amount of head displacement and head velocity. In the slow search trials, small FOVs produced significantly more head displacement and lower head velocities than did the large FOVs. In the fast search trials, head velocity increased with increasing FOV. The results are interpreted in terms of the disruptive effects of small FOVs on the efficient use of coordinated head and eye movements to acquire spatial information.
The Impact of Visual Noise on Spatial Orientation
Authors: Dyre Brian P. , Andersen George J.
Published: January 2012

In aviation, effective execution of some flight maneuvers, such as rescue operations at sea, requires that pilots form a veridical perception of their position and motion with respect to the environment. Previous research has shown that human observers can determine their own motion or spatial orientation from displays simulating observer motion through a rigid three-dimensional environment (Stoffregen, 1985; Andersen & Dyre; 1987; Dyre & Andersen, 1988; Andersen & Dyre, 1989;), however, the sensitivity of spatial orientation to noise in the visual field has not been examined. The present study examined the sensitivity of spatial orientation to noise in the global optic flow field. Displays simulating observer motion along the line of sight through a volume of randomly positioned points were observed monocularly through a circular window that limited the field of view to 30 degrees. The velocity of each display varied according to a function that was the sum of four sine functions of prime frequencies (between 0.15 and 1.0 Hz). Noise was produced by randomly shifting the phase lag of the three-dimensional motion function for each individual point within the display. Two levels of lag were examined: no lag and 10 second lag. Change in posture was used as an objective measure of spatial orientation and was recorded by a Kistler force platform. When no lag was present, increased postural sway was found to occur at all the frequencies of motion simulated in the display. However, for a lag of 10 seconds subjects exhibited no increase in postural sway at the display frequencies. These results suggest that if global optic flow patterns are obscured by noise then the information important for determining spatial orientation is greatly reduced. The importance of these results for flight maneuvers will be discussed.
Residential Fire Safety Needs of Older Adults
Authors: Lerner Neil D. , Huey Richard W.
Published: January 2012

This paper concerns the fire safety needs of older people living in private residences. It includes consideration of the limitations of current consumer fire safety products (primarily smoke detectors) and design improvements that better meet the human factors requirements of this population. Older people suffer especially high residential fire death rates, and most of these deaths occur in private homes, where the resident/victim had primary responsibility for fire safety. The literature on human behavior during fires indicates certain differences in the behavior of older and younger adults, but this is based on limited data from often inappropriate populations (institutional settings). A review of currently available products, and their use, found that these products did not adequately meet the needs, nor match the capabilities, of older people. In fact, the need to climb to ceiling level to install, test, and maintain single station smoke alarms introduces a significant safety hazard of its own. Focus discussion groups of older homeowners identified various attitudes, problems, and behaviors, important for improved product design. A review of existing products and technologies identified various features which could benefit elderly users, and practical technologies that could be adapted from other applications (e.g., security systems). Based on the literature review, product/technology review, and focus groups, a set of fire-safety product needs and desirable features was developed, including a set of seventeen specific design features/functions. Substantial improvement in fire safety product usefulness for older users can be achieved in a cost-effective manner.
Age-Related Slowing of Behavior
Authors: Vercruyssen Max
Published: January 2012

Presented is a symposium session sponsored by the Human Factors in Aging Technical Interest Group which features recent findings from research designed to quantify and explain slowing of behavior with increasing age. Highlighted are experiments and data analyses conducted in the Laboratory of Attention and Motor Behavior (University of Southern California) and the Aging and Ergonomics Laboratory (University of Hawaii), especially four master's theses: a cross-sectional laboratory experiment and three studies which analyzed data from the Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging (BLSA).
Cross-sectional and Longitudinal Analyses of Set in Relation to Age
Authors: Chang Jen-Yi
Published: January 2012

Expectancy, age, and sex have been shown to affect reaction time (RT) in a variety of settings; however, the literature contains no studies exploring interactions among these factors using large-scale cross-sectional and longitudinal data. Thus, using data gathered over 17 years in the Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging (BLSA), the present study examine the effects of these factors on simple auditory reaction time for 1325 subjects (869 males, 456 females) on their first visit, 620 subjects (473 males, 147 females) for three visits in two-year intervals, and 307 subjects (277 males, 30 females) for five visits with two-year intervisit intervals. Across subjects and visits a fixed schedule of variable inter-stimulus intervals (ISIs) were employed ranging from 6 to 13 seconds (s), analyzed both as ISI and relative ISI (current ISI minus the previous ISI). Data were analyzed cross-sectionally according to decades in an Age8 × Sex2 × ISI8 mixed analysis of variance (ANOVA) design and an Age8 × Sex2 × Relative ISI6 mixed ANOVA design. Longitudinal analyses used similar designs but adjusted the number of age intervals examined as the sample decreased with visits. Results indicated that, as expected, with age came an overall slowing of RT, males were faster than females across decades. There was a relative ISI main effect demonstrating that across conditions, subjects reacted slower to cases in which long foreperiods were followed by short ones. The age by relative ISI interaction revealed that, like Botwinick, Brinley, and Birren (1957), the older subjects, compared to the young, were generally slower in responding and were caught “off guard” when long preparatory interval were followed by short ones. There was also a sex by relative ISI interaction such that the “being caught off-guard” was more pronounced in females than males. The ISI main effect took the form of a “U”, similar to what would be expected in the case of shorter ISIs, such that RT was slowest during the ISI conditions of 6 and 13 s and fastest in the middle. An age by sex by ISI interaction showed that older females had difficulty maintaining their state of readiness and the older males were especially slow when the stimulus occurred well before the general expected time. For longitudinal analyses, the pattern of visit 1–3 corresponds to the pattern of visit 1 almost exactly, but it also shows that there is slowing with repeat visit. In visit 1–5, there is a sex difference pattern of responding. Females have a pattern that progressively slows with repeat visit. But males tend to show increased RT between first visit and second visit, and then there is slight improvement with repeat visit. This study supports the notion that older individual have difficulty maintaining attention or preparedness and are particularly slow when arrival of the stimulus is unexpected or uncertained. A better understanding of set in relation to age has implication for task design, personnel selection, performance prediction, and accident prevention.
The Truncation of Prompts in Phone Based Interfaces: Using Tott in Evaluations
Authors: Stuart Rory , Desurvire Heather , Dews Shelly
Published: January 2012

The Intelligent Interfaces Group at NYNEX Science and Technology has evaluated numerous phone based interfaces (PBIs) during the course of iterative design. Many of the PBIs studied allow users to truncate spoken prompts by pressing keys on their touch-tone telephones. We have found that mistaken assumptions about how and when users will truncate spoken prompts may lead to large discrepancies between the expectations of system designers and the behavior of users. In order to study truncation behavior, we created the Task Oriented Taxonomy of Truncation (TOTT). This taxonomy can be used to describe the behavior of users in truncating spoken prompts in PBIs. TOTT was found to facilitate our understanding of users' truncation behavior and allowed us to change the PBI prompts to better fit this behavior. We found that many users did not interrupt the spoken prompts and we speculate that they may be using a model of turn-taking from human conversation. Future areas of research and applications of TOTT are discussed.
Front-End Analysis for Expert System Design
Authors: Gordon Sallie E.
Published: January 2012

New system architectures, such as model-based reasoning and neural networks, have increased the difficulty of expert system design specification. In this paper, I suggest that to identify the appropriate subtask allocation and expert system architecture, certain preliminary questions should be asked and the data evaluated. The front-end analysis described here is a framework loosely based on three levels of human cognition; analytical, rule-based, and implicit processing. Keeping these different types of cognitive task performance in mind, the framework specifies a set of factors to evaluate in the front-end analysis. Once data is collected for these factors, it is possible to evaluate whether an expert system should be designed for each specific subtask, and if so, what type of system architecture should be implemented. A suggested guideline for architecture choice is presented.
A Comparison of Touch and Mouse Interaction Techniques for a Graphical Windowing Software Environment
Authors: Mack Robert , Montaniz Frank
Published: January 2012

This paper reports a behavioral evaluation of touch interface techniques intended to be used with highly interactive, graphical, windowing software environments. Previous research (Mack and Lang, 1989) indicated that touch interface techniques can produce levels of task performance in such environments comparable to that obtained using conventional mouse pointing devices. The touch technology in that study enabled users to emulate the basic interactions associated with using a mouse: that is, to emulate click, double click and dragging techniques using taps, double taps and tap, hold and drag. While encouraging, problems remained, especially when the finger was used as the input device. The purpose of this study was to compare mouse and touch techniques using an alternative to mouse emulation for controlling touch interactions. Instead, users selected one of three possible touch “modes”. In each mode, a simple tap (contact and lift-off) was interpreted by the software in ways corresponding to the three basic mouse interaction techniques. Performance on realistic office task scenarios using a finger and stylus touch techniques and the new touch control method, resulted in comparable performance between mouse and touch stylus when the stylus (but not mouse) was used with a tilted display. Experience with mouse pointing devices, or graphical interfaces enabling direct manipulation, did not affect performance.
Video Annotation and Multimedia Interfaces: From Theory to Practice
Authors: Harrison Beverly L.
Published: January 2012

Although video has been used for many years to record data, few tools have been developed to manipulate or enhance video data. Current multimedia interfaces have severe cognitive and attentional limitations, reflecting technology-centred designs which have not profited from human factors theory and user-centred design. This results in cumbersome and expensive systems with serious usability problems. This paper describes a prototype Video ANNotation and Analysis system (VANNA), which integrates video, non-speech audio, voice, textual and graphical data, and which incorporates emerging technology, user-centred design and human factors theory.
Computer-Aided Human Factors for Systems Designers
Authors: Boff Kenneth R. , Monk Donald L. , Swierenga Sarah J. , Brown Clifford E. , Cody William J.
Published: January 2012

Over the past decade, a multi-phased project supported by agencies of the Department of Defense, FAA, and NATO has been underway to understand and remediate problems in the transitioning of ergonomic research to system design applications. Efforts to enhance the usability of ergonomic data in system design have resulted in the present R&D project, which is concerned with developing a multi-media ergonomics database on CD-ROM. The Computer Aided Systems Human Engineering (CASHE) system, Version 1.0, will contain the Boff and Lincoln (1988) Engineering Data Compendium, MIL-STD-1472D and the Perception & Performance Prototyper. The Perception & Performance Prototyper will allow the user to experience and manipulate the technical data found in the Compendium and MIL-STD-1472D. The CASHE tool will also include specialized data retrieval, scaling, and analysis capabilities as well as state-of-the-art in information retrieval, browsing, and navigation.
Converting Research into Reality
Authors: Bailey Robert W.
Published: January 2012

It is proposed that current user interface research is not being incorporated in a timely way in new systems. Some reasons for this are proposed and discussed. Possible solutions include (a) better selection of research topics, (b) conducting rapid studies, and (c) writing research reports specifically for practitioners.
Auditory Performance: A Model to Predict Task Performance as a Function of Auditory Workload: Overview
Authors: Peters Leslie J.
Published: January 2012

The ability of personnel to communicate accurately is paramount to the successful operation of man-machine systems. Degradation of speech intelligibility leads to misunderstandings, operational errors, and the increased risk of accidents. The quantification of auditory workload is a first attempt at modeling the impact of degraded communication on task performance.
Using Goms Models and Hypertext to Create Representations of Medical Procedures for Online Display
Authors: Gugerty Leo , Halgren Shannon , Gosbee John , Rudisill Marianne
Published: January 2012

This study investigated two methods to improve organization and presentation of computer-based medical procedures. A literature review suggested that the GOMS (goals, operators, methods, and selection rules) model can assist in rigorous task analysis, which can then help generate initial design ideas for the human-computer interface. GOMS models are hierarchical in nature, so this study also investigated the effect of hierarchical, hypertext interfaces. We used a 2×2 between subjects design, including the following independent variables: procedure organization - GOMS model based vs. medical-textbook based; navigation type - hierarchical vs. linear (booklike). After naive subjects studied the online procedures, measures were taken of their memory for the content and the organization of the procedures. This design was repeated for two medical procedures. For one procedure, subjects who studied GOMS-based and hierarchical procedures remembered more about the procedures than other subjects. The results for the other procedure were less clear. However, data for both procedures showed a “GOMSification effect”. That is, when asked to do a free recall of a procedure, subjects who had studied a textbook procedure often recalled key information in a location inconsistent with the procedure they actually studied, but consistent with the GOMS-based procedure.
Management and Organizational Indicators of Process Safety
Authors: Van Hemel Susan B. , Connelly Edward M. , Haas Paul M.
Published: January 2012

This study is part of a Nuclear Regulatory Commission research element on organizational factors in plant safety under the Human Factors research program. The study investigated the chemical industry, to find leading management or organizational tools which could be useful for the NRC. After collecting information from a variety of information sources, we concentrated our study on two types of indicators currently in use: the first is audit- or review-based, and concentrates on programmatic factors; the second, based on frequent behavioral observations, concentrates on the management of individual worker behaviors.

We analyzed data on the relationships between the leading indicators and direct indicators such as accident and injury rates in three case studies, to determine whether sufficient evidence of validity and utility exists to justify consideration of these indicators as public safety indicators. On the basis of statistical associations and other evidence, we concluded that the two indicator types have promise for use as plant safety performance indicators, and that further development and testing of the candidate indicators should be performed.
Toward a Framework for Structured Job-Collaboration Design
Authors: Dubrovsky Vitaly , Piscoppel Anatoly
Published: January 2012

This paper introduces the idea that job design and design of collaboration are inseparable. On this basis, job design is reformulated as job-collaboration design. Combining activity theory and systems approach, the paper introduces several functional-structural models and interprets conventional job design decisions in terms of the modeling operations. It describes a sequence of stages for the first phase of structural job-collaboration design, which uses the introduced models and results in a design of the ideal job-collaboration network, which is supposed to function strictly according to the standards. Structured methodology for designing social support mechanisms, which compensate deviations from the standards experienced by real organizations is on our future agenda.
Detecting People who can Detect Targets
Authors: Pierce Linda G. , Crumley Lloyd M. , Clifford P. Andrew
Published: January 2012

Research on what determines vigilance performance has been extensive; yet, few guidelines exist for the selection of persons who are best suited to perform vigilance tasks. The focus of the present pilot study was to determine if a subset of items from the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) could be identified which would discriminate between soldiers who were able to sustain an adequate level of performance and soldiers whose performance deteriorated over time. Thirty-nine items produced chi-squares with p values less than .05. A discriminant analysis correctly classified 88.5% of the soldiers who maintained their performance rate and 83.9% of the soldiers whose performance degraded over time.
Two Reasons for Providing Protective Equipment as Part of Hazardous Consumer Product Packaging
Authors: Dingus Thomas A. , Hunn Bruce P. , Wreggit Steven S.
Published: January 2012

In a few instances, appropriate personal protective devices are included in the packaging of hazardous consumer products (e.g. gloves in hair coloring kits). The inclusion of such devices serves to decrease the cost of complying to warnings specifying their use. It has been shown in several studies that decreasing cost can substantially increase compliance with warnings. A second, previously undocumented advantage of providing protective devices is that their mere presence can increase the perception of danger associated with using the product. In two field studies utilizing consumer cleaning products it was found that the inclusion of protective devices significantly increased the perceived danger of using the products. The inclusion of protective equipment also (for reasons of reduced cost and increased perceived danger) resulted in highly significant and substantial increases in warning compliance. These results indicate that providing personal protective devices as part of product packaging can be a powerful method for substantially increasing warning compliance in at least some circumstances.
Driving Habits of the Elderly — A Survey
Authors: Bishu Ram R. , Foster Betty , McCoy Patrick T.
Published: January 2012

It is anticipated that in the year 2020, 17% of the U.S. population will be 65 or older, resulting in more than 50 million older persons being eligible to drive. Given such a significant proportion of older people in the population, the importance their safety in driving, and that of others when they are driving cannot be overstated. Currently an ongoing investigation at the University of Nebraska is examining the problems of older drivers and developing ways to improve their safety. The first part of the research was concerned with defining the problems of older drivers and involved a survey administered to the older drivers. A questionnaire was designed which included 78 questions about driving. The questionnaire was sent to 770 older drivers, of whom 425 (55 percent) responded. Of the 425 who returned the survey, 341 (80 percent) were driving. The results indicate larger female population among the elderly, greater difficulties experienced by the female driver, and interesting set of age by gender interactions. Left-turn lanes, left-turn signals, stop signs, and traffic signals were considered to be the most valuable safety improvements. Larger signs, lower speed limits, more stop signs and traffic signals and wider parking spaces were also listed as needs.
Human Factors at the Department of Energy National Laboratories: An Integrated Lecture-Poster Session
Authors: Pond Daniel J. , Waters Robert M.
Published: January 2012

After World War II, a system of national laboratories was created to foster a suitable environment for scientific research. Today, human factors activities are in evidence at most of the nine U.S. Department of Energy multi-program national laboratories as well as at a number of “special program” facilities. In this integrated lecture-poster session, the opening and closing lecture presentations–providing historical and future perspectives, respectively–surround a “thematic poster session” conducted by representatives from six multi-program and two special program laboratories.
The Human Technology Project in Japan
Authors: Yamada Sawaaki , Price Harold E. Smoke
Published: January 2012

The application of human factors to the design of products and systems has long been advocated as a way to improve performance. Until now, Japanese manufacturers have made great efforts to improve their products in terms of their function, reliability, and cost. Developmental research and product development have been fundamentally geared towards these three aspects. Japanese companies have recently shifted to a strategy of added value through human technology, which incorporates such areas as comfort, enjoyment, and usability. Since 1987, Nomura Research Institute (NRI) in Yokohama, Japan, has undertaken a multi-client Human Technology Project with many Japanese clients such as automobile companies, electronic companies, and construction companies. The project is now in its third year and continuing. This paper reports on the nature of that study and why “human technology” is such a hot issue for Japanese corporate strategies concerning product development and research and development.
Methods for Test and Evaluation of Night Vision Goggle Integrated Helmets
Authors: McCloskey Kathy , Esken Robert L. , Scarborough Eric L.
Published: January 2012

Three Interim Night Integrated Goggle Head Tracking Systems (I-NIGHTS) were evaluated under sustained acceleration in the Dynamic Environment Simulator (DES) centrifuge located at Wright-Patterson AFB, OH. Ten subjects underwent three different high G profiles: a +8Gz maximum profile, a +4Gz maximum profile with mask dangling from the left side of the helmet, and a +4Gz maximum profile with the mask removed from the helmet. Four different helmets were tested; three (A, B, and C) were prototype I-NIGHTS helmets obtained from different manufacturers and the fourth helmet (D) was the standard HGU-55P. Comparisons between helmets A, B, and C revealed that subjects wearing helmet A experienced the greatest amount of image migration for all acceleration profiles. Helmet B was impacted most by “goodness of fit” during the conditions where the mask was either dangling from the helmet, or removed. Of the three I-NIGHTS helmets, helmet C performed the best in terms of helmet and image stability.
A Rank-Based Method for the Usability Comparison of Competing Products
Authors: Lewis James R.
Published: January 2012

This paper describes a method for a rank-based analysis of data for competitive usability evaluation. The technique works with data collected during scenario-based usability studies. In a scenario-based study, participants are asked to perform realistic tasks (scenarios) with products. Dependent measures commonly include such variables as time-on-task, successful task completion rates, and subjective ratings, reported at the scenario level. Scenario-based studies are sometimes used to set benchmarks or testable behavioral objectives for products. Multivariate statistics such as discriminant analysis can be used with raw data to determine if one product differs from another on the basis of patterns of dependent variables; however, multivariate statistics cannot be used to demonstrate that one product is more usable than another if the designs are based on different usability tradeoffs. Converting raw data to ranks allows the establishment of rank-weighting schemes that combine different dependent measures and allows the assessment of relative product usability. The data that are generated can be analyzed with rank statistical methods. The elimination of various types of biases associated with missing data is also presented. This method of analyzing competitive usability data is a mixture of the subjective and the objective. To use the method, several subjective decisions concerning rank weighting and control of biases must be made before applying the objective part of the method. Application of the method allows a single composite number representing relative usability to be assigned to a product, simplifying product usability comparison.
Skill Acquisition and Task Performance in Teleoperation Using Monoscopic and Stereoscopic Video Remote Viewing
Authors: Drascic David
Published: January 2012

There are many tasks hazardous to human life which can be accomplished remotely through telerobotic control. Robot technology has advanced to the stage where teleoperated manipulators are versatile and effective enough to be used successfully in a wide variety of circumstances. As telerobotic systems become more sophisticated, it is important to ensure that the human-machine interface is adequate for the task. One very important type of feedback information that is missing from standard telerobotic control stations is the immediate and compelling binocular coding of depth, which is thwarted through the use of standard monoscopic (“2D”) video systems, making the operator dependent on other less salient visual depth cues. This is unfortunate, since most telemanipulation tasks require operators to have a good sense of the relative locations of objects in the remote world.

To that end, a practical Stereoscopic Video (SV) system was developed that is compatible with standard video display and recording equipment. An experiment was conducted to examine the potential benefits of SV for teleoperation. The results showed that SV can aid teleoperation by reducing task execution times, reducing error rates, and reducing the time needed for training.
Image Quality Determines Differences in Reading Performance and Perceived Image Quality with CRT and Hard-Copy Displays
Authors: Jorna Gerard C.
Published: January 2012

The effects of physical image quality on reading and on perceived image quality from CRT and hard-copy (photograph) displays were studied. The results showed that as the image quality of a display increased, indicated by an increase in the value of the modulation transfer function area (MTFA), the reading speed and subjective image quality ratings increased. This change in reading speed and perceived image quality occurred similarly for both hard-copy and soft-copy conditions. If the image qualities of the displayed text are similar, hard-copy and soft-copy displays will yield equivalent reading speeds.
Exocentric Judgements in Real Environments and Stereoscopic Displays
Authors: Ellis Stephen R. , Tharp Gregory K. , Grunwald Arthur J. , Smith Stephen
Published: January 2012

Spatial direction errors during interpretation of perspective images, such as 3D map displays, may originate from misjudgment of the orientation of the viewing direction used to make the display. One source of these errors could be perceptual evidence of the display surface. Two experiments are reported in which the same judgement exocentric task was presented, but the cues to the picture surface were reduced or eliminated by presenting the task as a stereoscopic, virtual image or by a geometrically matched physical model. A theory developed to model exocentric direction errors on perspective displays has been fitted to the data from these two experiments. The parameters estimated from the fit in both experiments indicate that the subjects may be more correctly estimating the viewing direction than in ordinary perspective displays. Consequently, in some real world or stereo viewing conditions, errors in estimating the viewing direction are not likely to dominate exocentric direction errors.
A Comparative Study of Rotational and Stereoscopic Computer Graphic Depth Cues
Authors: Sollenberger Randy L. , Milgram Paul
Published: January 2012

The present research investigated the effectiveness of rotational and stereoscopic display techniques as applied to practical applications in computer graphics. In the described experiments, depth perception was evaluated by examining accuracy in a 3D path-tracing task, with stimulus displays resembling the structure of cerebral angiograms. In the first experiment, task performance was determined without 3D enhancements, with either technique used alone and with both techniques combined. The results indicated that performance improved using either technique, however, performance with rotational displays was superior to stereoscopic displays, and performance was best when both techniques were combined. The results of a second experiment revealed that rotational displays were no better than stereoscopic displays enhanced with multiple static viewing angles. The experimental findings are discussed in terms of the visual information available using either 3D display technique as well as with respect to the hardware requirements of both display systems. The results are also related to the weighted additive model of depth perception.
Overconfidence, Preview, and Probability in Strategic Planning
Authors: Wickens Christopher D. , Pizarro David , Bell Brian
Published: January 2012

This study examined biases, sources of difficulty and display support in strategic planning. Eight subjects performed a strategic planning “rescue” video game, which required them to make a series of choices regarding which node to “fly to” in order to rescue simulated casualties. After making each choice, subjects needed to fly a challenging tracking dynamics along a path to reach the next “node” in the decision space where the casualties were “rescued.” The dynamics along each path could be at one of four levels of difficulty. The difficulty determined the probability that the corridor would be flown successfully and therefore casualties rescued at the other end. To maximize their score, subjects had to consider the number of casualties at each node, the length of the path to the node (the shorter the better), and the probability they would fly the path successfully (an estimate of their own performance based on past experience). Periodically subjects were asked to give explicit estimates of those probabilities, such data provided in order for us to evaluate the calibration of estimated with true probability of success. Half the flights were flown with restricted preview of only the two nodes of the immediate choice. The other half offered full preview of the whole map.

The results revealed that (a) subjects' decisions were less optimal when full preview was offered, (b) this deficiency appeared to result because full preview led subjects to rely too much on the simple strategy of choosing routes with most casualties, and neglecting the use of more abstract probability values in guiding their choices, (c) subjects appeared to be well calibrated in their confidence of traversing paths correctly