bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Wrist and Forearm Postures and Velocities in Repetitive Precision Tasks
Authors: Shyhalla Kathleen , Paquet Victor , Drury Colin
Published: January 2012

Precision work has been shown to impose physical demands over and above similar work that does not require precision, but few studies have evaluated the effects of such work on the musculoskeletal stress of the upper extremities. Repetitive tasks that involved moving between a Home disk and a precision target were studied. The movements from the Home to the target were divided into a ballistic phase, followed by a slower homing-in phase. Work in two layouts, with the target in front of, or to the side of the Home disk, and three levels of precision were investigated for each phase of the home-to-target movement. Wrist and forearm postures and joint velocities were significantly different (P < 0.05) during the ballistic and homing in phases of travel for 21 of the 24 indices considered. Postures changed rapidly during the ballistic, but were sustained during the homing-in phase. Work in the forward versus side layouts produced statistically different joint angles and velocities (P < 0.05) for 17 of the 24 indices considered. Different levels of task precision elicited statistically differences in 5 of the 12 joint velocities (P < 0.05).

Interactions were also important. The phase of movement factor produced statistically significant interactions with layouts (P < 0.05) for 11 of 12 postures and 5 of 12 velocities, and with levels of precision (P < 0.05) for 5 of 12 velocities. With such important interaction effects, it is clear that breaking repetitive precision tasks into distinct phases promotes a better understanding of how precision work affects the musculoskeletal stress of the upper extremities. Graphical representations also show differences in how joint velocities were impacted by levels of precision for the forward and side layouts.
Upperlimb EMG and Discomfort for Forearm Torques Combined with Horizontal Forces
Authors: O'Sullivan Leonard W. , Gallwey Timothy J.
Published: January 2012

The first part of the study examined maximum forearm torque in both the supination and pronation directions at three forearm joint rotation angles. EMG data were also collected during the maximal exertions. The second part of the study involved subjects exerting intermittent isometric torques at 10% and 20% of MVC in both torque directions, at three forearm angles. These conditions were each tested while simultaneously applying a pushing, pulling and no pushing or pulling horizontal force. The results show that supination torque was strongest and that maximum torque in both directions were significantly affected by forearm joint angle. Very high levels of muscular activity in the forearm flexors and extensors during the exertions point to a direct link between the torques and injury. Discomfort scores from the intermittent exercises revealed significant main effects for force level, forearm angle and the application of a horizontal force simultaneous to applying torques, while direction of torque was only significant in interactions.
Effects of Load and Posture on the Recruitment of Trunk Muscles
Authors: Gallagher Sean , Marras William S. , Davis Kermit G.
Published: January 2012

Seven male subjects performed 8 cable lifting and hanging tasks, while trunk kinematics and electromyographic data often trunk muscles were obtained. The objectives of the study were to evaluate trunk muscle recruitment and spine loads resulting from performance of this task in different postures and with different load magnitudes. The eight tasks were combinations of four postures (standing, stooping, kneeling on one knee or both knees) and two levels of load (0 N or 100 N load added to existing cable weight). Results indicated that changes in posture and changes in load magnitude both affected muscle co-activation; however, the influence of these variables were quite different in nature. Increased load magnitude resulted in a generalized increase in the co-activation of all trunk muscles, no matter which posture was employed (p < 0.05). Changes in posture significantly affected trunk muscle recruitment patterns (p < 0.05); however, the posture effect typically involved a relatively small subset of trunk muscles. No significant interactions were detected (p > 0.05), indicating that posture and load effects are both independent and additive.
The Effects of Differing Overhead Heights on Shoulder Fatigue during a Repetitive Intermittent Task
Authors: Sood Deepti , Hager Kristopher , Nussbaum Maury A.
Published: January 2012

The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of different overhead work heights on shoulder fatigue. Ten participants (6 males, 4 females) with manual work experience were recruited to perform a dynamic intermittent overhead task simulating automotive assembly work. Participants performed a keyboard tapping task using a hand tool at three different heights, relatively to individual anthropometry, for up to one hour. Throughout the trials, electromyography (EMG) was recorded from three shoulder muscles (anterior deltoid, middle deltoid, and trapezius), and subjective ratings of perceived discomfort (RPD) were obtained. Key striking accuracy was used as a measure of task performance. Though results were not always statistically significant, the EMG, RPD, and performance measures all indicated that higher working heights generally lead to more rapid onset of fatigue.
Interactive Effects of Physical and Mental Workload on Subjective Workload Assessment
Authors: Astin Angela , Nussbaum Maury A.
Published: January 2012

Relatively little research has investigated subjective workload assessment during tasks involving both physical and mental demands. Development of more comprehensive workload assessment tools depends on understanding the effects of physical and mental activity on an individual's perception of workload. This study investigated the interaction between the two types of demands and the potential effects of such interactions on subjective workload assessment and performance. Common subjective workload assessment tools (Borg CR-10 Scale, Visual Analog Scale, NASA Task Load Index) were used to record changes in perceived workload during varying levels of physical and mental demands. Thirteen participants completed all conditions with the results summarized to identify potential trends in the data. The results suggest that a physical demand component did not affect subjective mental workload assessment (p = 0.9916). in addition, the presence of mental demands did not affect physical workload assessment (p = 0.9183). High correlations were found between the subjective mental workload assessment scores and mental performance (r = −0.8 and–0.9).
The Effect of Personality Type on Assembly Time and Wrist Kinematics during a Laboratory Task
Authors: Glasscock Naomi F. , Mirka Gary A. , Sommerich Carolyn M. , Klein Katherine W.
Published: January 2012

Psychosocial factors are becoming increasingly more prevalent in studies that explore occupational musculoskeletal injury/illness. The research presented here explores the relationships between two psychosocial factors (personality type and time stress) and biomechanical indicators of task performance. Twenty-four subjects participated in this laboratory study. Personality type was assessed using the Jenkins Activity Survey. Participants (12 Type A and 12 Type B) performed an assembly task under verbally imposed “no time stress” and “time stress” conditions. Dependent measures included assembly time and wrist motion parameters. Personality type and time stress demonstrated significant effects on mean assembly time. Time stress significantly and consistently impacted the wrist motion parameters while personality type did not. No significant interactions were noted. Psychosocial factors were found to directly impact biomechanical indicators of task performance. This study demonstrates the feasibility of this approach to explore the roles that psychosocial factors may play in musculoskeletal injury.
The Effects of Distance on Psychophysically Determined Pushing and Pulling Tasks
Authors: Ciriello Vincent M.
Published: January 2012

The most frequent and expensive cause category of compensable loss is manual material handling (MMH). in an attempt to minimize these losses, refinement of existing MMH guidelines is a component of redesigning high risk MMH jobs. in the development of our present MMH guidelines (Snook & Ciriello, 1991), maximum acceptable forces (MAFs) of pulling were assumed to respond similarly to pushing at longer distances. The purpose of this experiment was to investigate the effects of 7.6m and 15.2m distances on both initial and sustained MAFs of pushing and pulling at a frequency of 1 min−1. A psychophysical methodology was used whereby the subjects were asked to select a workload without “straining themselves or without becoming unusually tired, weakened, overheated or out of breath.” Subjects worked 40 min at each push or pull task within a 4-hour test that included other MMH tasks. The results revealed that initial and sustained MAFs and task time were not significantly different between pushing and pulling at the 7.6m distance. However, at the 15.2m distance, initial MAF of pulling was significantly lower and task time was significantly longer compared to pushing. Sustained MAF was not significantly different at 15.2m. It was concluded that our existing guidelines present an accurate estimate of MAFs at the longer pull distances.
Effects of Glove Use in a Coating Removal Task
Authors: Rybczynski Ian C. , Fathallah Fadi A.
Published: January 2012

Workers who are in maintenance and repair occupations are routinely exposed to several musculoskeletal disorder risk factors. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of glove use during a coating removal task, which is a common maintenance and repair task. Nine healthy subjects (5 male and 4 female) volunteered to participate in this study. The subjects removed identical painted sections using either a metal finishing (nylon) pad or a plastic scraper, while wearing one of thirteen glove conditions. The order of the glove conditions was randomized for each subject. Force exertions were monitored along with EMG readings from the finger flexors, finger extensors, biceps, and triceps. The results showed that there were significant increases in force outputs and muscle activities when using gloves as compared to a barehanded condition. There was some evidence that indicated glove material and glove thickness are important characteristics in these observations. These findings may have implications for a worker's musculoskeletal disorders risk and for glove selection guidelines in industry.
The Online Experience and Consumers' Perceptions of E-Commerce Security
Authors: Turner Carl W.
Published: January 2012

An experiment was conducted to determine the effects of users' interactions with e-commerce web sites on their perception of the security of the sites. Thirty-four participants performed a few typical tasks on three unfamiliar web sites, then rated the sites for visual presentation and ease of navigation, rated the credibility of 3rd party endorsers and technical security information, noted references to secure processes, then provided a judgment of the sites' security. Multiple regression analyses revealed that visual presentation predicted users' perception of security on all three sites. Additionally, navigation and number of references to security contributed to a security model for individual sites. The willingness to purchase from a site was highly correlated (.88) with the perception of site security. The article presents a model of security perception and provides empirical evidence for claims that security and trust are determined by visual presentation rather than technical security knowledge.
Internet Usability and Customer Experience
Authors: Resnick Marc L. , Sanchez Julian
Published: January 2012

The boom and bust of the dotcom mania has provided some significant wisdom to the general business community. Many of the now defunct dotcom companies were focused solely on customer acquisition. The more people who visited the site (“eyeballs”), they reasoned, the better their business would fare. This was generally accomplished through sub-cost prices and marketing gimmicks. Unfortunately, this led to a price-sensitive customer for whom the competition was only “a click away.” The failure of these companies, and of the business model they engendered, has led to an increased focus on customer loyalty. It turns out that developing a core of loyal, long term customers provides a much better return on investment and a sustainable business model. It is far cheaper to retain an existing customer than to acquire a new one and repeat customers spend over twice per year what new customers spend. Customer loyalty evolves as a company meets the short term and long term needs of its customers. Some of these needs may be the overt, explicitly stated needs such as buying a pair of shoes. Other needs may be more intrinsic and emotion-based, such as the need to feel part of a community or to feel safe and protected. Companies that satisfy both kinds of needs stimulate customer loyalty, while those that do not experience significant customer churn. The term that has evolved to denote the degree of satisfaction of these needs is customer experience.
Team Implementation of New Technology
Authors: Jones Dennis R. , Smith Michael J.
Published: January 2012

New technology is dramatically changing the workplace by allowing companies to increase efficiency, productivity, quality, safety, and overall profitability. An effective new technology implementation is required for companies to compete successfully in the global marketplace. Time and money wasted on unsuccessful and improper new technology implementation is counterproductive to the overall goal of improving the competitiveness and profitability of the company. Teams and teamwork have been recommended as a way to improve efficiency, productivity, quality, safety, profitability, and employee satisfaction. With the utilization of total quality management (TQM) and quality improvement (QI), each of which rely on teamwork, new technology implementations have been more successful. New technology challenges the current state of traditional implementation methods and techniques. To effectively utilize these new technologies it is best to consider all of the factors involved in the implementation process; most importantly the human elements involved. It is recommended to utilize a cooperative team oriented approach to new technology implementation, which relies heavily on soliciting employee input and participation throughout the entire process. By doing this it is hoped that the new technology can be implemented in the most effective way possible. A case study is presented to illustrate this.
Field Study, Field Experiment, and Macroergonomic Analysis of Structure (MAS) Methods
Authors: Hendrick Hal W.
Published: January 2012

The field study and field experiment methods, as adopted for macroergonomics applications, and the macroergonomic analysis of structure (MAS) method are described.
Infection Control/Health Care Epidemiology and Human Factors Engineering — a “New” Pairing for Patient Safety?
Authors: Alvarado Carla J.
Published: January 2012

This paper covers the history of infection control and the role human factors engineering, and macroergonomics in particular, has played and will continue to play in the reduction of hospital-acquired or nosocomial infections—a key aspect for enhancing patient safety and quality of care. Semmelweis is considered the father of modern hospital infection control and epidemiology programs; and he used human factors engineering and a systems approach to solve infection control problems by considering societal, organizational, environmental, task, tools and person factors in his investigations. Today, the IOM stresses the importance of organizational and process designs and a “culture of safety” for the reduction of medical errors. Examples of current problems and areas for future infection control and human factors research are presented, including design issues, change management and safety culture. All levels of the work system—from the microenvironment level issues such as noise and light to the macro environment level issues such as organizational culture and societal factors—must be taken into account for controlling nosocomial infections and enhancing patient safety.

“ Because of my convictions, I must here confess that God only knows the number of patients that have gone prematurely to their graves by my fault. I have handled cadavers extensively, more than most accoucheurs. As painful and depressing, indeed as such an acknowledgement is, still misfortune should not persist forever, for the truth must be made known to all concerned.”

Ignaz Phillip Semmelweis, Budapest Hungary 1861
Job and Work Environment Predictors of Turnover Intention in Long-Term Care Facilities
Authors: Karsh Ben-Tzion , Booske Bridget , Sainfort Francois
Published: January 2012

The purpose of this study was to examine whether job characteristics, the work environment, participation in quality improvement (QI) activities, and facility quality improvement environment predicted turnover intention in nursing homes. 6584 nursing home employees from seventy-six nursing homes in a midwestern state participated. A self-administered survey was used to collect the data. The results suggest that specific work organization factors, such as workload and work scheduling, can be manipulated to affect turnover intentions. The implications for retaining nursing home employees are discussed.
Seizing the Moment: Translating Human Factors Research into Patient Safety Interventions
Authors: Sheridan Thomas , Roth Emilie , Battles James , Dierks Meghan , Gosbee John , Render Marta , Sato Luke
Published: January 2012

The word is out. Doctors, nurses, and health care administrators have heard of human factors. They don't quite understand it, but they are willing to listen if they can see convincing evidence that it can help. To be effective instruments of change the human factors community needs to understand better what motivates physicians and nurses and hospitals to change, and how the health care system works. They need to get closer to the market, learn how to communicate with hospitals and medical practitioners, discover the opportunities for human factors services, and learn how to deal with the health care community to change the culture of blame to one of systems understanding and improvement. It is to that end that this panel was organized. The panel brought together managers, research funders, policy makers and medical educators who are actively engaged in trying to improve patient safety in hospitals to discuss needs, opportunities, and challenges to performing human factors research addressing health care concerns and translating the results of the research into practical interventions.
Investigation of the Relationship between Workers' Perceptions and Compliance with Standard Safety Precautions in a Rural Hospital
Authors: Hable Paul , Taveira Alvaro D. , Karsh Ben-Tzion
Published: January 2012

The practice of standard safety precautions in health care facilities is essential for the protection of health care workers from exposure to blood borne pathogens. Understanding the relationships between worker perceptions and behaviors can be central to the success of safety programs in health care facilities. A survey questionnaire was distributed to 174 health care workers who perform injections, venous access or arterial access procedures in a 110-bed facility located in a rural Midwest community. One hundred thirty-one were returned (response rate 75%). A stepwise logistic regression procedure was conducted having job category, gender, job tenure, and previous experience in a metropolitan location as covariates. Findings indicated that three of 15 examined risk factors predicted less than perfect compliance with standard safety precautions. Individuals reporting that they tear off glove fingers, that compliance is difficult, and stating that gloves make finding veins difficult all had significant odds of imperfect compliance.
Dose-Response Relationship between Reach Repetition and Indicators of Inflammation and Movement Dysfunction in a Rat Model of Work-Related Musculoskeletal Disorder
Authors: Barr Ann E. , Amin Marata , Barbe Mary F.
Published: January 2012

The purpose of this study was to compare the effects of a high or low repetition reaching and grasping task on serum levels of interleukin-1α (IL-1α) and IL-1β and on reach performance in a rat model of work-related musculoskeletal disorder (MSD). Forty-seven rats reached repetitively for 2 hours/day, 3 days/week for 6–8 weeks at a high or low rate. Reach rate and abnormal movement patterns were recorded. Serum was collected at 6 and 8 weeks for ELISA assay of IL-1α and IL-1β. High repetition animals experienced a 2-fold decline in reach rate, strong emergence of a raking movement, and increased IL-1α. IL-1α decreased in the low repetition group. IL-1β decreased in both groups. This model provides evidence that inflammation increases with repetition. At the higher reach rate, persistent IL-1α serum levels indicate chronic inflammation that is attenuated at the lower reach rate. These findings support the use of risk reduction in MSD prevention.
Workload and Stress of Configural Displays in Vigilance Tasks
Authors: Szalma James L.
Published: January 2012

The workload and stress associated with corrfigural displays in two vigilance tasks were investigated. Two kinds of configural displays were employed: A bar graph display and an object display. A non-configural bar graph display served as a control group. Relative to the non-configural display, both configural displays improved performance in a task requiring integration of information, but were not significantly different from the control group in a task requiring focused attention to display elements. The object display reduced workload in both tasks, but the bar graph configural display did not. Results showed a complex pattern of association/dissociation of workload with performance. Self reports of stress revealed that the tasks were stressful but that configural displays did not reduce the stress of either task.
Judgments of 3D Bars in Depth
Authors: Hollands J. G. , Parker Heather A. , Morton Andrew
Published: January 2012

Twenty participants judged the relative size of two bars portrayed at different locations in a 3D bar graph. Bars were co-located, placed side by side (near adjacent), or the small bar occluded the large (near or far occluded). Error was greater for the far occluded condition and there was greater variability in bias scores. To account for observed error, we proposed a model that distinguishes between cyclical bias commonly observed in proportion judgments and bias resulting from improper size-distance scaling. The model was fit to data, and the results indicated that the absolute value of size-distance scaling parameter γ was greater in the far occluded condition. Inclusion of γ increased R2 for far and near occluded conditions only. Bar location did not affect cyclical bias. Thus, judgments of the relative sizes of bars in 3D bar graphs showed increased error when the bars were separated, due to inaccurate size-distance scaling.
Motion in Mimic Displays: Effects on the Detection and Diagnosis of Electrical Power System Failures
Authors: Wiegmann Douglas A. , Essenberg Gavin R. , Overbye Thomas J. , Rich Aaron M.
Published: January 2012

New power system displays have been developed to aid operators in the detection and diagnosis of faults. The enhancement of integrated one-line diagrams of power system data with motion and motion cues was examined in this experiment. Participants acknowledged and solved power system failures on a simulated power network across a number of trials of varying complexity. Participants performed these tasks using interactive displays indicating power flow with digits, stationary arrows, or moving arrows. For high complexity scenarios, results indicated a general advantage for the motion display in the diagnostic task (problem resolution) but a slight advantage of the digital display on the fault detection task (problem identification). Performance with the stationary arrow display was generally between the other two groups, being nearly as good as with the digital display in the detection task and nearly as good as with the moving arrow display in the diagnosis task. Further research is necessary to determine the conditions where motion is most beneficial.
Hfe's Place in the Parade: Should We Be Drum Majors or Toot Our Own Horns?
Authors: North Robert A. , Miller Christopher , Gawron Valerie , Wichansky Anna , Beith Barry , Chappell Sherry , Lund Arnold , North Robert
Published: January 2012

A debate among the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society's membership concerns the best method for increasing the disciplines prominence and influence in the design of human-centered systems. At last year's Annual Meeting in Minneapolis, President William Howell gave a perspective on the two schools of thought—(1) the Unique Discipline model and (2) the Shared Philosophy model. In this panel discussion, several members of the management community that lead groups practicing HFE were asked to share their experiences on their successes and barriers in moving HFE to positions of influence in product design.
A Comparison of Symbols for Preferred Behaviors
Authors: Leonard S. David
Published: January 2012

The number of persons traveling to and working in locations where their native language is not used has increased significantly. Thus, communication via symbols has become important for many reasons, including safety. Previous research has shown that a symbol indicating that something is to be done may significantly increase understanding of symbols indicating behavior to be avoided (Leonard, 2000). The symbol indicating that an activity was permitted or to be done was the enclosure of the symbol for the activity in a pentagon. One of the present studies expanded on this result by examining the ability of individuals to learn the meaning of the symbol from a small number of presentations. The second study compared the usefulness of the pentagon symbol with another approach to presenting to do information. The pentagon was superior in drawing attention to the behavior to be performed, especially when no negative symbol was involved. Taken together the two studies provide further support for the usefulness of the pentagon symbol as an indicator of the acceptability or need to perform an activity.
Comparison of On-Line and Physical Presentation of Product Safety Information
Authors: Santos Emelda , Resnick Marc L.
Published: January 2012

The Internet has become a popular channel for the purchase of products. In 2001, 5$3 billion was spent online by U.S. consumers and 1$28 billion by non-U.S. consumers. However, there are few guidelines for how product safety information should be presented in on-line stores, generally leading to a lack of easily accessible information. This leads to several challenges for consumers. If no safety information is presented, consumers may choose not to purchase the product. Or they may purchase the product only to return it after reading the warnings on the physical product, or use the product and be injured. This study investigated the differences in behavior, perception, and comprehension when consumers purchased a toy for a 3-year old on-line and through the physical channel. Several differences in behavior were identified. Encouragingly, there were no significant differences in compliance, measured by the selection of age-appropriate toys, between the Internet and physical channels. However, perceptions were different. Participants were more likely to notice the warning on the Internet channel and more likely to recall and comprehend its recommendations. The results also supported previous studies that showed that users are more likely to notice, comprehend, and comply with warnings when they are presented saliently. This study extended that result to warnings presented through the Internet channel. Behavioral differences were also found. Participants relied more heavily on written product information to make their purchase choices on the Internet, perhaps because of their inability to make direct observations of the product. This highlights the critical importance of providing effective warnings online.
Comprehension of Different Types of Prohibitive Safety Symbols with Glance Exposure
Authors: Wogalter Michael S. , La Murray Tondra A. , Glover Barbara L. , Shaver Eric F.
Published: January 2012

The comprehension of 16 pictorial safety symbols was examined using a rapid visual exposure technique and 4 types of prohibitive circle-slash variants (over, under, partial, and translucent). Performance was higher for base pictorial images that appeared to depict more concrete, less complex and familiar concepts. Symbols were better understood with the under and translucent slashes. This research has implications for the design of pictorial symbols on roadways and in other environments where exposure to safety information may be brief.
Human-Computer Interaction as Cognitive Science
Authors: Boring Ronald Laurids
Published: January 2012

Human-computer interaction and cognitive science share historical interdisciplinary roots in human factors, but the two fields have largely diverged. Many attempts have been made to apply cognitive science to human-computer interaction, but the reverse is curiously not the case. This paper outlines ways in which human-computer interaction can serve as a unifying framework for cognitive science.
Are there Age-Related Differences in Problem Solving on the World Wide Web?
Authors: Stronge Aideen J. , Rogers Wendy A. , Fisk Arthur D.
Published: January 2012

The present study investigated the Web-based problem solving strategies of 16 younger and 16 older experienced Web users. Participants searched for answers to 8 search tasks varying in complexity. Three questions were addressed in this study: (1) Are there age-related differences in success?, (2) If differences in success emerge, are these age-related differences quantitative (e.g., number of strategies)?, or (3) Are these age-related differences qualitative (e.g., type of strategies)?. Overall, younger adults were more successful finding the correct answer to the search tasks. However, this was not due to the number of strategies used, but instead was related to the type of strategy used. Older adults were more likely to use a top-down strategy (i.e., system tool) to find an answer to the search tasks. In general, unsuccessful searchers used significantly more top-down strategies than successful searchers. The implications for these findings are discussed.
The Development and Evaluation of Icons for Side Obstacle Warning Systems
Authors: Sayer Tina Brunetti
Published: January 2012

A new class of driver assistance system under development is Side Obstacle Warning (SOW). These systems are designed to alert drivers to the presence of vehicles in adjacent lanes. Two forms of SOW systems being developed are Blind Spot Detection and Lane Change Warning. Both are relatively recent developments, and therefore have few established icons. A production test methodology was employed to develop icons that convey the functionality of the two SOW systems. Thirty drivers were asked to draw icons that conveyed the Blind Spot Detection and Lane Change Warning functions. The illustrations that resulted were categorized according to similarities, from which nine icons were developed for each Blind Spot Detection and Lane Change Warning. Sixty drivers rank ordered those icons in an appropriateness ranking test. The rank orders were analyzed, and the most promising icons for both systems are presented.
Driver Acceptance of General vs. Specific Icons for In-Vehicle Information
Authors: Nakata Akiko , Campbell John L. , Richman Joel B.
Published: January 2012

This study compared driver acceptance of general icons to specific icons for In-Vehicle Information System (IVIS) devices. In the study, general and paired specific icons, along with two unrelated icons, were tested in both the general and specific driving scenarios. Subjects were asked to select: (1) one icon that most accurately described the driving scenario; and (2) one or more icons that would be acceptable for the driving scenario. The most accurate icon type selected by the subjects was strongly associated with the given scenario type, with the exception of collision avoidance. That is, when the driving scenario was described in general terms, subjects typically selected general icons as most accurately representing the scenario; when the driving scenario was described in specific terms, subjects typically selected specific icons as most accurately representing the scenario. In contrast to the icon accuracy, high acceptance levels were obtained for both general and specific icons regardless of the driving scenario description. Therefore, general icons are capable of meeting driver expectations and preferences for a broad range of IVIS messages. Recommendations for icon design are: (1) general icons should be used as long as they do not negatively impact driver acceptance or driver performance; and (2) for safety-related messages, specific icons will provide higher levels of driver acceptance than general icons.
The Attentional Costs of Interrupting Task Performance at Various Stages
Authors: Monk Christopher A. , Boehm-Davis Deborah A. , Trafton J. Gregory
Published: January 2012

The visual occlusion technique has received considerable attention in recent years as a method for measuring the interruptible aspects of in-vehicle information system (IVIS) task performance. Because the visual occlusion technique lacks a loading task during “occluded” periods, an alternate method was adopted to provide increased sensitivity to the attentional costs of interruptions on IVIS-style task performance. Participants alternated between performing a VCR programming task and a simple tracking task. Results indicate that it does matter at which point the VCR task is interrupted in terms of time to resume the VCR task. Specifically, the resumption time, or lag, was lowest right before beginning a new task stage such as entering the show end-time, or when performing a repetitive scrolling task. The results suggest that it might be appropriate to include measures of resumption lag when testing the interruptability of IVIS-style tasks.
Light Vehicle-Heavy Vehicle Interactions: A Preliminary Assessment Using Critical Incident Analysis
Authors: Hanowski Richard J. , Carroll Robert J. , Wierwille Walter W. , Olson Rebecca L.
Published: January 2012

Two recently completed on-road in situ data collection efforts, one involving local/short haul trucking and the other long-haul trucking, provided a large data set in which to conduct an examination of critical incidents (crashes and near-crashes) that occurred between light vehicles and heavy vehicles. Video and non-video data collected during the two studies were used to characterize critical incidents that were recorded between light vehicle and heavy vehicle drivers. Across both studies, 210 light vehicle-heavy vehicle (LV-HV) critical incidents were recorded. Of these, 78 percent were initiated by the light vehicle driver. Aggressive driving on the part of the light vehicle driver was found to be the primary contributing factor for light vehicle driver initiated incidents. For heavy vehicle driver initiated incidents, the primary contributing factor was poor driving technique. The results suggest that efforts at addressing LV-HV interaction incidents should focus on light vehicle drivers who drive aggressively. Additionally, it is recommended that heavy vehicle drivers might benefit from improved driver training that includes instruction on defensive driving.
Perceived Urgency, Alerting Effectiveness and Annoyance of Verbal Collision Avoidance System Messages
Authors: Baldwin Carryl L. , Moore Colleen
Published: January 2012

Despite extensive examination of display parameters affecting written and nonverbal warnings, few investigators have examined presentation parameters affecting auditorially presented verbal warnings. This investigation is the first systematic examination of display parameters affecting verbal warnings that required listeners to be engaged in a contextually appropriate simultaneous task. Participants responded to verbal collision avoidance system (CAS) messages while engaged in a simultaneous simulated driving task. Perceived urgency, alerting effectiveness and annoyance ratings and behavioral reaction times were examined as a function of the signal word, CAS message, and presentation level (PL). Consistent with predictions from previous research involving written warnings, differences in the perceived urgency were observed as a function of the signal word used. PL also significantly impacted perceived urgency and alerting effectiveness. CAS messages presented at a S/N ratio of at least +4 dB resulted in high ratings of perceived urgency ratings and were responded too relatively quickly without a substantial tradeoff in increased annoyance ratings.
Dynamic Assessment of Pilot Mental Status
Authors: Magnusson Staffan , Berggren Peter
Published: January 2012

Modern flight and weapon platforms are becoming more and more sophisticated. New sensors and weapon systems are added, giving the operator more information to process before acting or deciding. Today, many pilots feel they reach their information processing limits during difficult missions and during difficult circumstances.

The purpose of the present study has been to measure mental workload, situational awareness and performance during specific air-to-ground missions in both simulated and real flight in order to assess operator status. Specifically to compare simulated versus real flight regarding the concepts, to analyze the relationships between physiological reactions, situational awareness, and experienced mental workload and also develop and test causal models of operator function. A second purpose of the study was to develop practically useful methods for analyzing mental workload and performance during operative conditions.
Training for Optimal Strategic Skills
Authors: Cross Ginger W. , Doane Stephanie M. , Alderton David L.
Published: January 2012

The present research examined the impact of discrimination difficulty on the acquisition and transfer of strategic visual discrimination skills for meaningful stimuli. Participants were trained to discriminate between airplane silhouettes that varied in similarity. Some participants were trained to make difficult discriminations between similar airplane silhouettes, whereas others were trained to make easy discriminations between dissimilar airplane silhouettes. Participants were then transferred to making discrimination judgments at all similarity levels. The results suggest that initial training difficulty influences strategic skills even when participants have a priori strategies for processing stimuli. The findings improve our understanding of strategic skill acquisition, and training suggestions are discussed.
Gender Differences in Visually Induced Motion Sickness
Authors: Graeber David A. , Stanney Kay M.
Published: January 2012

In general, females have been reported to be more susceptible to motion sickness and experience greater malaise. However, conflicting findings suggests that gender differences may be driven by susceptibility rather than gender. In this study, susceptibility was balanced within the genders and treatments to determine if gender differences are due to gender or susceptibility. Analysis of motion history questionnaire data found no significant differences between genders, but did find a significant difference between hi and low susceptibles. Analysis of Simulator Sickness Questionnaire total scores revealed consistent insignificant differences between the genders in all treatments and significant differences between hi and low susceptibles at all sampling points except baseline. Analyzing dropout and percent exposure duration completed data revealed an unsubstantial difference between genders, but did yield a dropout rate 2.3 times higher among high susceptibles compared to low susceptibles. As a result of the aforementioned findings, future research in motion sickness gender differences should account for susceptibility as a subject variable.
Dropouts and Aftereffects: Examining General Accessibility to Virtual Environment Technology
Authors: Stanney Kay M. , Kingdon Kelly S. , Kennedy Robert S.
Published: January 2012

Are current virtual environments (VEs) usable by the broad spectrum of people who may wish to utilize this technology? The current study, which examined over 1000 participants, indicates the answer to this question is a definitive ‘no’. Virtual environment exposure was found to cause people to vomit (1.1%), experience nausea (71%), disorientation (70%), and oculomotor disturbances (79%). Overall, 88% of participants reported some level of adverse symptomatology, ranging from a minor headache to vomiting and intense vertigo. These disturbances led 12% of those exposed to prematurely cease their interaction. Dropout rates as high as nearly 50% were found in exposures of 1 hr in length. In addition, long-term aftereffects were found, including headaches, drowsiness, nausea, and fatigue. These problems could substantially reduce the accessibility of VE technology by the general public and thus must be resolved if this technology is to be widely adopted.
Verbal and Spatial Loading Effects on Eye Movements in Driving Simulators: A Comparison to Real World Driving
Authors: Hammel Kim R. , Fisher Donald L. , Pradhan Anuj K.
Published: January 2012

Driving simulators and eye tracking technology are increasingly being used to evaluate advanced telematics. Many such evaluations are easily generalizable only if drivers' scanning in the virtual environment is similar to their scanning behavior in real world environments. In this study we developed a virtual driving environment designed to replicate the environmental conditions of a previous, real world experiment (Recarte & Nunes, 2000). Our motive was to compare the data collected under three different cognitive loading conditions in an advanced, fixed-base driving simulator with that collected in the real world. In the study that we report, a head mounted eye tracker recorded eye movement data while participants drove the virtual highway in half-mile segments. There were three loading conditions: no loading, verbal loading and spatial loading. Each of the 24 subjects drove in all three conditions. We found that the patterns that characterized eye movement data collected in the simulator were virtually identical to those that characterized eye movement data collected in the real world. In particular, the number of speedometer checks and the functional field of view significantly decreased in the verbal conditions, with even greater effects for the spatial loading conditions.
Recognition of Computer-Generated Trees
Authors: Sims Valerie K. , Hughes Charles E. , Moshell J. Michael , Cotton James E. , Xiao Jiangjian
Published: January 2012

This research assessed the importance of rendering specific details when creating a virtual forest. Specifically, we examined memory for computer-generated trees using a modified recognition task in which participants were shown a target tree, engaged in a distractor task, and then ranked the similarity of seven foils to the original tree they had seen. Five of the foils represented changes on only one dimension of the tree whereas the other two foils represented modifications to either five features previously identified as salient or all nine tree features. Results showed that similarity rankings were largely based on overall structural similarity of the trees as opposed to similarity on smaller details such as branch thickness or leaf size. Additionally, perceived similarity rankings varied as a function of the symmetry of the tree. Virtual forests need to show realism for different features depending on the forest type.
Task Analysis of General Aviation Inspection Activities: Methodology and Findings
Authors: Gramopadhye Anand K. , Desai Rahul R. , Bowling Shannon , Khasawneh Mohammad
Published: January 2012

General Aviation (GA) constitutes a significant, but often ignored, portion of the aviation system. It is crucial that GA be reliable if we are to ensure the safety of the overall air transportation system. The inspection/maintenance system, which is responsible for identifying and fixing defects, is a key component of this system. For this reason, it is critical to have a sound inspection and maintenance system. In response to this need, this paper reports task analyses of aircraft inspection operations at geographically dispersed GA facilities operated under the Federal Aviation Regulation (FAR) Part 91, 135, and 145. Recommendations forthcoming from this analysis will be used to devise intervention strategies to improve inspection performance. As a first, this paper outlines the methodology used and the preliminary results obtained.
Validating a New Task Distribution Between Air Traffic Controllers and Flight Crew
Authors: Rognin Laurence , de-Beler Nathalie , Grimaud Isabelle , Hoffmans Eric , Zeghal Karim
Published: January 2012

To address the validation of a new concept, based on the redistribution of tasks between air traffic controllers and flight crews, a joint validation framework has been defined. Indicators and metrics were proposed to assess similarly the impact of the new task distribution on four related dimensions: the human shaping factors, the activity, the efficiency and the safety. Examples were also proposed to highlight how closely the controller and the flight crew performances are, at every level of the validation framework.
A Tactile Cockpit Instrument to Support Altitude Control
Authors: van Erp Jan B. F. , Veltman A. , van Veen Hendrik A.H.C.
Published: January 2012

We tested the effect of a tactile torso display on keeping an instructed altitude during low level flight. The tactile instrument consisted of 64 vibrating elements attached to the torso, shoulders and thighs of the pilot. In a helicopter simulator, 12 student pilots flew under different conditions of vision (full vision and night vision) and the tactile instrument (none, a simple version and a complex version). The simple version presented the direction of the desired altitude. The complex version added the current motion direction. The participants performed an additional cognitive task during half of each scenario. We analyzed performance and subjective mental effort ratings. The results showed that the tactile instrument halved the altitude error without effecting the mental effort rating. This effect was present in full vision and in night vision conditions. There were no differences between both versions of the tactile instrument. We conclude that this emerging technology is a powerful support in a low-level flight without enlarging the pilot's mental effort.
Ecological Interface Design in Aviation Domains: Work Domain Analysis of Automated Collision Detection and Avoidance
Authors: Ho Danny , Burns Catherine M.
Published: January 2012

This paper describes Work Domain Analysis (WDA) applied to the domain of automated midair collision detection and avoidance as a first step in the design of improved ecological interfaces for automated traffic alerting displays. Three abstraction hierarchies (AH) modelling the aircraft, collision environment, and a traffic alerting system are presented, and the challenges of adapting the AH to enhanced displays will be examined. It will be shown that WDA is a feasible framework for establishing information requirements of flight and automated collision dynamics. Ecological Interface Design (EID) can then be applied to develop displays that invoke a greater trust in the automation.