bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Age and Gender Differences in Force Control Capabilities by Force Control Phase
Authors: Lee Baekhee , Park Hyunji , Jung Kihyo , Lee Byung Wha , Na Duk L. , You Heecheon
Published: October 2014

The present study is intended to analyze effects of age (6 levels; 20s ~ 70s), gender (2 levels; male, female), and hand (2 levels; left hand, right hand) on force control capabilities by force control phase (initiation, development, maintenance, and termination). The force control capabilities by phase was quantified as initiation time (IT), development time (DT), maintenance error (ME), and termination time (TT) using a finger dynamometer. Thirty healthy people by combination category (e.g., 30s, male) of age group and gender participated in the experiment ( n = 360). IT (20s:70s = 1:1.24) and TT (1.33) increased linearly, DT (1.29) and ME (2.07) increased quadratically with age. ME of female was significantly 36% (20s & 30s: 16%, 40s & 50s: 28%, 60s: 42%, 70s: 67%) larger than that of male. Hand effects on DT and TT were significant; however the mean difference between both hands was very slight (< 2%). A normative force control data by force control phase with 4 age groups (20s & 30s, 40s & 50s, 60s, and 70s) and gender (male, female) was established, and would be applicable to evaluation criteria for early detection of a variety of patients with brain injury types (e.g., subcortical vascular mild cognitive impairment, svMCI).
Older Adults’ Changes in Intent to Adopt Wellness Management Technologies
Authors: Preusse Kimberly C. , Mitzner Tracy L. , Fausset Cara Bailey , Rogers Wendy A.
Published: October 2014

Individuals are becoming more involved in managing their own health. Health self-management technologies have the potential to help older adults remain well by promoting exercise and a good diet. However, older adults may or may not decide to adopt wellness management technologies. Adoption is a process and the intent to adopt may change over time. Sixteen older adults (8 females; Mage=70.06, SD=3.09; range=65-75) used one of two wellness management technologies (the Fitbit One or myfitnesspal.com ) over a 28-day period. Initially, all participants were open or neutral to adopting their technologies. After 28 days, 12 participants intended to adopt and 4 participants did not intend to adopt. The diary data revealed that over time, adopters made more positive comments than non-adopters. Both adopters and non-adopters mentioned perceived ease of use praises and complaints, whereas only adopters mentioned praises regarding usefulness. Results are interpreted within the frameworks of the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (Venkatesh et al., 2003) and the diffusion of innovation (Rogers, 2003). Changes in intent to adopt suggest that experience is important in the adoption decision. Adoption of wellness management technologies by older adults may increase if designers attend to the perceived ease of use and perceived usefulness factors identified in this study.
Investigating Workload Measures in the Nuclear Domain
Authors: Mercado Joseph E. , Reinerman-Jones Lauren , Barber Daniel , Leis Rebecca
Published: October 2014

Research into human-system interaction, specifically focusing on workload, has intensified in the nuclear domain. Past research on workload in the Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) domain has attempted to use both subjective and physiological measures of workload, yet the sensitivity of the workload measures used in past experiments is unknown. This initial experiment will guide future research in the NPP domain by identifying whether the NASA-TLX, EEG, and ECG are sensitive to detecting workload changes in common NPP Main Control Room (MCR) tasks. Results suggest the three workload measures did not reveal expected differences between task types in the NPP MCR context.
Exploring the feasibility of using functional tissue pulsatility imaging to measure cognitive load during an abbreviated vigilance task
Authors: Ramirez Raul , Botteicher Von , Shaw Tyler , Sikdar Siddhartha , Parasuraman Raja
Published: October 2014

The increasing complexity of human-machine interaction and system monitoring require increased awareness of operator’s workload levels to increase safety and productivity in operational environments. Subjective workload scales are subject to operator biases, possible intrusiveness, and low temporal sensitivity. Physiological measures have recently been used because of their ability to bypass many of these limitations and provide more objective and sensitive measures of workload. Transcranial Doppler Sonography (TCD), for instance, is unobtrusive, has good temporal sensitivity, and is sensitive to workload effects on a variety of tasks, but is limited by its low spatial sensitivity. A new imaging measure, functional Tissue Pulsatility Imaging (fTPI), measures tissue velocity through ultrasound and provides similar temporal resolution but higher spatial resolution than TCD. This study explored the feasibility of using fTPI as a measure of mental workload. Participants performed 10 minute low and high event rate air traffic control vigilance tasks. The NASA-TLX was used to as a measure of subjective mental workload. Performance accuracy results reveal that task performance was worse in the high event rate task than in the low event rate task. Tissue velocity measured through fTPI showed significantly more tissue velocity in the right hemisphere, which is supported by previous TCD research. Further, fTPI results suggest that workload for the right hemisphere was higher for the high event rate task as compared to the low event rate task. The similarities between the tissue velocity results and previous TCD research support fTPI as a viable method for obtaining higher spatial resolution measures of mental workload.
Using functional Near Infrared Spectroscopy (fNIRS) to Evaluate the Neurocognitive Effects of Transient Events
Authors: McKendrick Ryan , Parasuraman Raja
Published: October 2014

A spatial memory task with an event related design was used as a proxy for showcasing a design matrix regression on fNIRS data for neuroergonomic studies of complex tasks involving transient workload transitions. The analysis identified a region of ventrolateral prefrontal cortex (VLPFC) in which oxygenated hemoglobin (HbO2) was increased during memory maintenance. Task performance negatively modulated HbO2 in this brain region during memory maintenance. The results show that neural effects specifically within the period of memory maintenance, as opposed to other cognitive components (e.g., encoding or retrieval) can be reliably identified. Similar analytical methods could be used for the analysis of cortical hemodynamics in more complex tasks involving transient events (e.g., workload transitions) and in related neuroergonomic applications.
The Effect of Visual Cues on How People Handle Interruptions
Authors: Huber Stephan , Weng Michael , Grundgeiger Tobias , Sanderson Penelope
Published: October 2014

People in work domains such as healthcare are often interrupted. As a result, they sometimes forget to resume their prior task, which may lead to undesirable consequences. In many cases, strategies such as deferring an interruption for a while can help people lower the risks imposed by interruptions. Using two computer-based tasks, we investigated whether visual cues make people more likely to defer an interruption until their current task is finished. Our study participants worked on an arithmetic task and were interrupted from time to time by an animated character inviting them to play Tic-Tac-Toe. Results showed that participants were more likely to defer accepting the interruption and to complete the arithmetic task if the arithmetic task contained visual cues that indicated the location of the next steps, than if it did not. The findings suggest that equipment with appropriately designed visual cues might encourage people to defer interruptions and finish their current tasks. Further research is needed to understand exactly how visual cues promote deferral strategies.
Do Interruptions Affect Content Production?
Authors: Foroughi Cyrus K. , Werner Nicole E. , Hatcher M. Cameron , Lopez Anthony J. , Zafar Taha W. , Boehm-Davis Deborah A.
Published: October 2014

Interruptions have become a persistent annoyance in our lives; they reduce performance in many domains. Traditional interruption research uses time and errors as measures of disruption. However, in creative tasks, time and errors may not be suitable measures of disruption. This study investigates how interruptions affect content production in a creative task as the amount of content created can be a better indicator of the effect of interruptions. Interruptions were found to reliably reduce the production of content while outlining and writing essays. Moreover, interruptions in both conditions (outlining and writing) reliably reduced the final quality of essays. A carry-over effect from impoverished outlines appeared to have reduced quality of the final essays.
Interruption Practice Reduces Procedural Errors at the Post-Completion Step
Authors: Zish Kevin , Trafton J. Gregory
Published: October 2014

Mitigating the effects of interruptions is important for tackling the increasing number of possible disruptions at home, at work, and online. Previous work has shown that the benefits of practice can decrease the amount of time it takes to resume a task after an interruption. This paper demonstrates that the same benefit can be extended to error rates at the post-completion step in a simulated computerized physician order entry (CPOE) system. This example of a real-world procedural task demonstrates that a general increase in interruptions leads to changes in performance for the final step of the task.
Use of Cognitive Task Analysis to Probe Option-Generation in Law Enforcement
Authors: Suss Joel , Belling Patrick , Ward Paul
Published: October 2014

Option-generation paradigms have been employed successfully to investigate skill-based differences in performance, particularly in complex, dynamic, and/or uncertain domains. However, although knowledge of option-generation behavior (e.g., number of options generated, frequency with which the criterion best option is selected) is informative, the underlying basis for the observed option-generation behavior is not always apparent. To address this issue, we probed option-generation behavior using cognitive task analysis. Experienced and less-experienced law enforcement officers first observed temporally-occluded video simulations, and then completed an option-generation task. The cognitive task analysis comprised elicitation of retrospective verbal reports of thinking, followed by video-stimulated recall; analysis of these data revealed information that potentially explains the observed option-generation behavior and provided information relevant to the design of decision-making training.
An Integrative Simulation to Study Team Cognition in Emergency Crisis Management
Authors: McNeese Michael D. , Mancuso Vincent F. , McNeese Nathan J. , Endsley Tristan , Forster Pete
Published: October 2014

Teamwork has become one of the hallmarks of emergency crisis management (ECM). Success in managing emergency situations is highly dependent on teams working together to accomplish prioritized goals. Therefore, given the importance of teamwork, team cognition has been realized as an important component to address the emerging complexity, extreme workload, and uncertain conditions that can underlie emergency response. Many variables affect teams and their subsequent cognition. Understanding the effects of awareness, attention, temporality, common ground, team mental model development, and culture on team cognition provides insight into effective and efficient management of emergencies. As a research group, for more than a decade, we have studied team cognition within the context of ECM through the basis of simulations using the NeoCITIES platform. The purpose of this paper is to share our experiences using the NeoCITIES platform to conduct basic team cognitive research and share our visions for future research trajectories for the greater Human Factors community.
Cognitive Processes Supporting Recognition in Complex and Dynamic Tasks
Authors: Belling Patrick K. , Suss Joel , Ward Paul
Published: October 2014

Previous research has shown that anticipation is one of the best determinants of skill in numerous complex and dynamic domains, such as law enforcement, driving, aviation, surgery, and sport (for a review see Ward, Williams, & Hancock, 2006). Likewise, recognition ability has formed the cornerstone of much of the naturalistic decision making literature for the last 3 decades (e.g., Klein, Calderwood, & Clinton-Cirocco, 1986). In this research, we examined whether skill at anticipating the outcome of a dynamic situation would predict recognition skill, over and above domain-general measures of cognitive ability. We expected that domain-general cognition would account for some of the variance in recognition skill, but that anticipation skill would explain additional, unique variance. Counter to our expectations, anticipation skill did not explain significant unique variance. Instead, only one of the domain-general cognitive measures—spatial ability—was predictive of recognition skill, suggesting that training for improvement in recognition skill should be skill-specific.
Assessment of Cognitive Components of Decision Making with Military Versions of the IGT and WCST
Authors: Kennedy Quinn , Nesbitt Peter , Alt Jon
Published: October 2014

The U.S. Army is focused on improving leader decision making, yet little is known as to how military officers develop optimal decision making. Two key components of optimal decision making are reinforcement learning and cognitive flexibility. Thirty-four military officers completed military versions of two standard cognitive assessments, the Iowa Gambling Test and the Wisconsin Card Sorting Task, while their eye movements were tracked. Results indicated that the military versions of these tasks successfully provided objective assessments of reinforcement learning and cognitive flexibility. Preliminary analyses of eye movements provide insights into the subjects’ decision strategies. Training implications of the results are discussed.
System State Awareness
Authors: Kasdaglis Nicholas , Newton Olivia , Lakhmani Shan
Published: October 2014

Situation Awareness is a popular concept used to assess human agents’ understanding of a system and any error that may occur due to poor understanding. However, the popular conception of situation awareness retains assumptions better suited for linear, controlled systems. When assessing complex systems, rife with non-linear, emergent behaviors, current models of situation awareness frequently place much of the burden of system failure onto the human agent. We contend that the traditional concept of a fully controlled system is not the best fit for a complex system with networked loci of control, especially during abnormal system states. Instead, we recommend an approach that focuses on agents’ adaptation to environmental cues. We discuss how the concept of situation awareness, when enmeshed in the assumption of linearity, insufficiently deals with extended cognition, reliability, adaptation, and system stability. We conclude that an approach focusing on System State Awareness (SSA), instead, facilitates the adaptation of system goals during off-normal system states. Thus, SSA provides the theoretical underpinning for design of distributed networked systems that improve human performance in complex environments.
An Investigation of Human Decision-Making in a Human—Robot Team Task
Authors: Phillips Elizabeth , Ososky Scott , Jentsch Florian
Published: October 2014

This paper presents initial insights from an exploratory analysis of human decision making in a human—robot teaming scenario. A cognitive model in the form of a decision tree was developed using local and national police foot pursuit protocols. Participants were asked to read through a series of hypothetical scenarios involving a Soldier and a robot engaging in a foot pursuit of a person of interest. Participants made decisions at each node of the decision tree and then a tactical decision concerning which member of the team should engage in the pursuit. Initial results revealed that individual decision nodes were not associated with participants’ choice in who should engage in the pursuit. Trust in robots, however, was significantly associated with the participants’ choices.
Cognitive Work Analysis Beyond Human Factors and Engineering
Authors: Naikar Neelam , Treadwell Alanna , Brady Ashleigh
Published: October 2014

This paper extends the application of cognitive work analysis (CWA) beyond the fields of human factors and engineering by demonstrating its use for military doctrine and strategy development. A case study is presented that shows how CWA was applied to refine the logic, rigor, and coherence of Australian air pow-er doctrine and strategy. The value of this approach is assessed in terms of its impact, uniqueness, and fea-sibility, and some limitations of the current study and ideas for future research are considered. By cultivat-ing a richer appreciation of military philosophical, strategic, and operational concepts, CWA can lead to the more powerful implementation of these ideals.
Is more information better for dismounted soldiers? Display-layout considerations of multiple video feed from unmanned vehicles
Authors: Oron-Gilad Tal , Parmet Yisrael
Published: October 2014

Dismounted operational tactics are often aided by unmanned vehicles (UVs). The challenge for dismounted soldiers who receive video feed from UVs is in their ability to understand the global picture of the conflict area and to identify potential threats. A possible way to enhance soldiers’ awareness is to display simultaneous ground and aerial views of the area. This study examined three possible display layout and toggle mechanism for the video feeds provided. Thirty former infantry soldiers with no experience using UV video feed participated. Objective performances and subjective ratings were analyzed. Performance scores in Identification and Orientation were superior in the Split and Combo layouts that allowed seeing both aerial and ground feeds at the same time. The Combo layout was also most preferred by participants and provides an operational advantage over the Split screen. Still, more practice may be needed for dismounted soldiers to utilize video feed from UAVs.
Benefits of Decision-Support by Likelihood versus Binary Alarm Systems
Authors: Wiczorek Rebecca , Manzey Dietrich , Zirk Anna
Published: October 2014

Recent research has shown that the use of 3-stage likelihood alarm systems (LAS) has the potential to mitigate performance deficits associated with the use of binary alarm systems (BAS). The additional likelihood information can guide operators’ behavior and improve their decision-making accuracy. Comparisons of LAS with different numbers of stages are missing so far. Therefore, the current study compared a BAS with a 3-stage LAS and a 4-stage LAS. Participants were found to make significantly fewer wrong decisions with the 4-stage LAS than with the other two systems, and still significantly fewer errors with the 3-stage LAS compared to the BAS. We found that this performance benefit resulted from a reduced number of false alarms, whereas no difference was found with regard to misses. Results are further discussed with regard to their theoretical implications for LAS and threshold setting in BAS.
The Importance of Intonation During Perceptions of Non-Understanding During Full and Partial Readback Responses in Radio Communication
Authors: Auton Jaime C. , Wiggins Mark W. , Searle Ben J.
Published: October 2014

The readback/hearback protocol is a communicative procedure used to minimize the risk of communication errors over the radio or telephone in high-risk environments. This protocol requires the receiver of a verbal instruction to repeat or ‘read back’ the instruction to the sender to ensure it has been heard correctly. It is a common assumption that a correct readback confirms that a receiver has understood an instruction. However, an operator can accurately repeat an instruction while concealing their lack of understanding of the instruction. Previous research has highlighted the importance of intonation as a prosodic cue to aid in the detection of non-understandings during readback/hearback exchanges over the radio. As deviations from the standard readback procedure occur frequently, it is unclear whether intonation is equally as useful in the detection of non-understandings when contained within a partial readback response. Using an international sample of hydroelectric power generation operators, the current study assessed whether the use of a full readback leads to a greater perception that the receiver has understood the instruction compared to a partial readback. It also examined the utility of intonation during perceptions of non-understanding upon hearing a full readback versus partial readback response. The results indicated that full readback responses attracted a greater assumption of understanding compared to partial readback responses (but only for native English speakers), and that intonation was only used to detect non-understandings during partial readback responses that lacked the semantic information contained within a full readback. Practical implications of the findings are discussed.
Using cerebral hemovelocity to measure workload in a complex vigilance task with display redundancy
Authors: Satterfield Kelly , Shaw Tyler H. , Finomore Victor
Published: October 2014

Command and Control (C2) operators are responsible for monitoring multiple communication channels for long periods of time. One of the potential drawbacks of this important role is that these operators can experience a high degree of mental workload. The manner in which critical information is presented can influence the intelligibility, and thus, the workload of these tasks. To date, visual and auditory presentation of communication has been the primary focus of exploration regarding the manner in which critical information is disseminated to C2 operators. However, this research exploring auditory or visual only displays has been unsuccessful in preventing a performance decrement. Redundant displays may provide a solution. In this study, 45 operators monitored for the presence of critical phrases during a 40-min vigilance session with 1 of 3 different displays: auditory only, visual only, or a display with redundant auditory and visual information. Workload was measured using cerebral blood flow velocity (CBFV) and the NASA-TLX. Performance accuracy results revealed that the redundant display and visual only display facilitated more accurate performance than the auditory only condition, and that reaction times were faster for the redundant display condition than the visual only condition. Results pertaining to the physiological measure revealed that CBFV declined significantly over time, and a three way hemisphere x period x display condition interaction revealed that both hemispheres experienced a decrement in the visual and auditory conditions, but this effect was lateralized to the right hemisphere for redundant display conditions. Workload ratings from the NASA-TLX were insensitive to differences in workload for the different display conditions. Results are interpreted in terms of a resource model of vigilance performance and the cerebral lateralization of vigilance tasks.
Best of Both Worlds
Authors: Blair Elizabeth A. , Rahill Katherine M. , Finomore Victor , Satterfield Kelly , Shaw Tyler , Funke Gregory
Published: October 2014

Effective communication is critical to successfully carrying out a task, especially in military operations. Real-time planning, coordination, and directives must be transmitted to operators in order to properly execute their mission. To improve our warfighter’s communication effectiveness, researchers in the Air Force Research Laboratory have developed a network-centric multi-modal communication monitoring suite. Past studies have shown an advantage of this tool compared to traditional radio and chat tools. However studies have also shown that multimodal displays do not always outperform single modality displays, especially in multi-tasking environments. This study evaluated the effectiveness of the Air Force developed multimodal communication suite compared to radio and chat only displays during a multi-tasking communication monitoring and compensatory tracking task. Results indicated that the multimodal display offers the best of both worlds, in that access to the suite provided superior performance to the radio display for communication monitoring and to the chat display for the tracking task. This evaluation aids in the testing and development of the newly developed multimodal communication management suite.
Human Factors of Cyber Attacks
Authors: Mancuso Vincent F. , Strang Adam J. , Funke Gregory J. , Finomore Victor S.
Published: October 2014

Cyber security has been a growing focus within the human factors community. Over the last several years, human-centered cyber research has provided valuable insights into the cognitive and collaborative work within cyber operations, but has largely ignored how the genesis, intentions, methods and outcomes of cyber attacks impact human-related outcomes. Leveraging insights from other, more technologically focused communities, the goal of this paper is to synthesize previous work and to present a unified, descriptive framework of cyber attacks. Our framework, which consists of three dimensions, adversarial, methodological, and operational, aims to maintain the rich interactions between the components of a cyber attack while offering a further abstraction useful to future human factors research. We present each dimension in terms of the previous techno-centered research, demonstrate how the human factors community can contribute to our understanding, and ground each within the context of the StuxNet virus.
Reducing Boredom Using Scent to Improve Constructs Critical to Learning
Authors: Jones David L. , Dechmerowski Sara , Oden Razia , Pike William
Published: October 2014

Boredom is an emotion that can have negative consequences in learning environments. Odor research has demonstrated that scents elicit strong emotional responses during exposure; however, there is limited research on how to leverage odors to reduce boredom. The present study examined the impact of four ambient odors (peppermint, cinnamon, lavender, and urine) on boredom, motivation, and engagement. Results revealed that cinnamon significantly reduced feelings of boredom; however, peppermint, lavender, and urine did not significantly impact boredom. Results also demonstrated that the presence of boredom significantly decreased motivation and engagement. These findings indicate that boredom is an important connection between odors and their effect on constructs critical to learning. The results of this study can be applied to educational settings, workplaces, and other boredom-prone settings.
Linguistic Analysis of Archival Human Factors Jobs Data
Authors: Hochberg Limor , Johar Ravdeep , Rantanen Esa
Published: October 2014

To continually track changing skills and knowledge requirements for human factors professionals in the labor market, an archival human factors jobs database was created. The database contains relevant information from human factors job announcements, including required degree and field of education, required and preferred experience, and information from the job descriptions. The primary purpose of the database is to facilitate longitudinal analyses of employers’ expectations. Results from these analyses should be used in the design of academic human factors programs and curricula to better prepare future human factors professionals meet such expectations upon their graduation. In this paper we describe a natural language processing approach to analysis of human factors jobs data. Several trends emerged from our analyses. Although we defer drawing conclusions from these trends until later, until the database contains much more data that are more evenly distributed in time, our methods are detailed here for others to make use in analyses of the jobs data freely available in the database.
Human Factors as both the Embodiment of and Potential Solution to a Broken System of Science
Authors: Brill J. Christopher , Lawson Ben D. , Durso Francis T. , Hancock Peter A. , Shappell Scott
Published: October 2014

The objective of this panel was to discuss issues critical to the modern practice of science, with a specific focus on how we train students to operate within a system that often slows scientific innovation. Chris Brill provided opening remarks to frame the discussion and introduce the panelists. Ben Lawson briefly summarized the most significant problems affecting modern science and how they limit discovery, stifle innovation, and reduce quality. The remaining panelists then provided brief opening remarks in response to Lawson’s summary. Specifically, Frank Durso addressed how the current research and funding environments affects student training and career advice. Peter Hancock addressed how risk-averse sponsors and business models prohibit innovative research. Scott Shappell discussed how different Human Factors and Ergonomics (heretofore referenced as HF/E) career paths lead people to and from their roles as scientists. Specifically, he discussed how to prepare students for flexibility in the changing landscape of the business of science. The panel then turned to facilitated discussion with panelists and audience members. Specific themes included the business of science in relation to educational practices, the applied nature of HF/E training within the scientist/practitioner model, and implications of short-term funding schedules on education and research practices. The panel concluded by discussing how HF/E scientists/practitioners may be uniquely qualified to offer potential solutions to the above problems from educational and systemic perspectives.
Discussion Panel Recommendations for Fostering a Successful Human Factors and Ergonomics Society Student Chapter
Authors: Leavens Jennifer , Emfield Adam G. , Venkatraman Vindhya , Payyanadan Rashmi , Werner Nicole , Gable Thomas M.
Published: October 2014

This panel is comprised of current and prior student chapter officers, who will be discussing five selected themes influencing the success of Human Factors and Ergonomics Society (HFES) student chapters. These themes include: 1) administrative support, 2) chapter branding and funds, 3) chapter collaboration, 4) social activities, and 5) educational activities for chapters. We believe that these five pillars are necessary in providing a solid foundation for a successful and engaged chapter. Within each section, we discuss challenges and successes that our chapters have experienced. Additionally, we end with recommendations and suggestions that we hope other student chapters – HFES and otherwise – can use to bolster their group. We hope that these recommendations can foster the future success of aspiring Human Factors and Ergonomics Society student chapters.
Occupancy Quality Predictors of Office Worker Job Satisfaction
Authors: Smith Thomas J.
Published: October 2014

Objective: To reassess previous observations regarding workplace design factors that have the greatest influence on employee perceptions of job satisfaction, and to extend the analysis to an investigation of the degree to which job satisfaction may be influenced by additional design factors. Background: Prior studies suggest that job satisfaction and occupancy quality are inextricably linked. A distinct focus of this work has been on the link between physical work environment quality and job satisfaction. Method: A 227-item survey was administered online to a total of 345 office workers employed in eight different office sites. The survey solicited respondent rankings of job satisfaction, and of levels of different attributes of occupancy quality. Results: Job satisfaction is positively correlated with productivity, and with overall employment, job, and organization quality, but not with age and with compensation and work station quality. Conclusion: Findings show mixed agreement with prior results, and also reveal new predictors of job satisfaction heretofore unrecognized. Application: Results should benefit employer decision-making regarding HF/E design interventions to improve office worker job satisfaction.
The Effects of Driver Speed Prediction-Based Battery Management System on Li-ion Battery Performance for Electric Vehicles
Authors: Wan Jingyan , Wu Changxu
Published: October 2014

The electric vehicle (EV) technologies have received great attention due to the potential contributions to reducing emissions and energy consumption. The relatively short travel distance and battery lifetime of EV are major concerns for consumers. It is suggested that driver behavior plays important role in determining EV battery’s electric current and heat generation, which have effects on travel distance of EV and its battery lifetime. To address this problem, the current work proposes a Driver Speed Prediction-Based Battery Management System (P-BMS). P-BMS is able to innovatively predict both electric current and temperature of EV battery based on driver behavior, proactively manage and control both electric current and temperature level of the EV battery in order to minimize energy consumption and maximize both travel distance of EV and EV battery lifetime. Results suggest that P-BMS can significantly reduce energy, extend travel distance in one charge and prolong EV battery lifetime.
Reported Risk Behaviors and Perceived Riskiness of Activities Using a Risk-Taking Scale by Adolescents and Young Adults
Authors: Vredenburgh Alexandra N.
Published: October 2014

Human factors forensic consultants often need to evaluate the reasonableness of conduct in the course of their investigations. Many cases involve adolescents who, in general, have a reputation for being more likely to engage in risky behaviors. The present study evaluates and compares risk perception and risk-taking behaviors of adolescents and young adults. The Domain Specific Risk Taking Scale was used to obtain reported levels of risk-taking and perceived risk attitudes regarding four commonly encountered content domains: ethical, health/safety, social, and recreational; an additional subscale evaluating eating disordered behavior was created for this study. The results indicate that adolescents reported a higher likelihood of risk-taking behavior than young adults on the recreational subscale, but were no different than young adults for the health/safety, social and eating disorder subscales. Adolescents perceived unethical behavior as lower risk, and were more likely to participate in such behaviors. Adolescent risk perception for health/safety, recreational, social and eating disorders subscales were not found to be different than that reported by the young adults.
Panel Discussion
Authors: Blackman Harold S. , Boring Ronald , Marble Julie L. , Mosleh Ali , Meshkati Najmedin
Published: October 2014

This panel will discuss what new directions are necessary to maximize the usefulness of HRA techniques across different areas of application. HRA has long been a part of Probabilistic Risk Assessment in the nuclear industry as it offers a superior standard for risk-based decision-making. These techniques are continuing to be adopted by other industries including oil & gas, cybersecurity, nuclear, and aviation. Each participant will present his or her ideas concerning industry needs followed by a discussion about what research is needed and the necessity to achieve cross industry collaboration.
Top-Down and Bottom-Up Definitions of Human Failure Events in Human Reliability Analysis
Authors: Boring Ronald Laurids
Published: October 2014

In the probabilistic risk assessments (PRAs) used in the nuclear industry, human failure events (HFEs) are determined as a subset of hardware failures, namely those hardware failures that could be triggered by human action or inaction. This approach is top-down, starting with hardware faults and deducing human contributions to those faults. Elsewhere, more traditionally human factors driven approaches would tend to look at opportunities for human errors first in a task analysis and then identify which of those errors is risk significant. The intersection of top-down and bottom-up approaches to defining HFEs has not been carefully studied. Ideally, both approaches should arrive at the same set of HFEs. This question is crucial, however, as human reliability analysis (HRA) methods are generalized to new domains like oil and gas. The HFEs used in nuclear PRAs tend to be top-down—defined as a subset of the PRA—whereas the HFEs used in petroleum quantitative risk assessments (QRAs) often tend to be bottom-up—derived from a task analysis conducted by human factors experts. The marriage of these approaches is necessary in order to ensure that HRA methods developed for top-down HFEs are also sufficient for bottom-up applications.
National Research Council Board on Human Systems Integration Panel
Authors: Wanchisen Barbara , Cooke Nancy J. , Carayon Pascale , Czaja Sara , Marras Bill , McPhaul Kate , Rempel David , Silverstein Barbara
Published: October 2014

The National Research Council’s Board on Human-Systems Integration has organized this session. An initial presentation by the NRC BOHSI will provide information on recent projects and updates. Then a panel will discuss the application of human-systems integration (HSI) to the issue of safety patient handling, an issue of growing concern given the high rate of injuries during patient handling activities. The focus of the panel will be on issues related to the scope of the problem, an HSI perspective of patient handling, and the design and implementation of safe patient handling and mobility programs. We will engage the audience in a discussion of these issues to help refine our project in this area.
The Grand Challenges for HFES and HF/E Profession
Authors: Karwowski Waldemar , Peres S. Camille , Andre Anthony D. , Cooke Nancy J. , Imada Andrew S. , Lee John D. , Marras William S.
Published: October 2014

As agreed by many HFES members, there is a pressing need to develop a unified vision for our Society, our discipline, and our profession that will guide HFES over the next 25 years and beyond. The main goal of this panel session is to discuss a long-term vision for our Society that reflects our common aspirations and that considers the profound technological, economic, social, and cultural transformations of the global society. Such a vision should help us to influence the development of our discipline worldwide and lead the HF/E the profession into the future.
Meet the HFES Journal Editors
Authors: Carswell C. Melody , DeLucia Patricia R. , Pritchett Amy R. , Stuart-Buttle Carol
Published: October 2014

The three outstanding HFES journals serve to publish the results of human factors/ergonomics research, case studies, and applications to design. During this panel, each of the HFES journals editors in chief (EIC) will present a brief overview summarizing the unique features and objectives of his or her journal. Attendees will come away with (a) an appreciation for the journal that would be most appropriate for their work, (b) an understanding of the manuscript review process, (c) an awareness of the most common mistakes that authors make when submitting to each of the journals, and (d) tips for increasing the likelihood that a manuscript will ultimately be published. Following the presentations, the EICs will answer questions from the audience.
Getting Published
Authors: Cuevas Haydee M.
Published: October 2014

Arguably, the hallmark of scientific research is to have impact, both theoretical and practical, and to enhance scientific and technological understanding. One of the most commonly accepted means by which to achieve this impact is to promote broad dissemination of research findings through peer-reviewed journal publications. Yet, getting one’s work published can be a daunting endeavor. This alternative format presentation proposes to address this important need by providing attendees with meaningful and practical guidelines for getting published, drawing from the extant literature and the presenter’s professional experience. An interactive format will be utilized to ensure a high level of audience participation and increase the value of the information beyond the presentation. The goal is to have attendees leave with useful knowledge that they can immediately apply to get started on publishing their work.
An Investigation of the Factors that Predict a Healthcare Consumer’s Use of Anecdotal Healthcare Information Available on the Internet
Authors: Madathil Kapil Chalil , Greenstein Joel S. , Koikkara Reshmi
Published: October 2014

This paper investigates the individual characteristics of consumers who use anecdotal healthcare information available on the Internet. Secondary analysis of the data from the preliminary release of the Pew Internet & American Life Project’s September 2012 Health Tracking Survey informed this investigation. The dependent variable was the use of anecdotal healthcare information available on the Internet. The independent variables included demographics, quality of life, health status and the use of public report cards. Public report cards include performance data provided by federal agencies on healthcare providers, nursing homes, and hospitals to inform healthcare consumers on the variability of healthcare quality. A logistic model was developed to assess the characteristics of anecdotal information users. The analysis found that age, gender, educational level and health status were significant predictors of a consumer’s use of anecdotal information available on the Internet. This study also found that healthcare consumers who use public report information are highly likely to look at anecdotal information on the Internet. Because of comprehension issues related to public reports, consumers may give more weight to anecdotal information found online, a situation that is well documented. Such anecdotal information can potentially jeopardize the utility of reports generated by Federal entities, as it potentially distracts consumer attention from more reliable measures of quality. Accordingly, this paper calls for further investigation to identify effective ways to communicate the high variability of the accuracy of anecdotal information available on the Internet.
Persuasive health educational materials for colorectal cancer screening
Authors: Militello Laura G. , Borders Morgan R. , Arbuckle Nicole B. , Flanagan Mindy E. , Hall Nathan P. , Saleem Jason J. , Doebbeling Bradley N.
Published: October 2014

This paper describes an effort to design and evaluate persuasive educational materials for colorectal cancer (CRC) screening. Although CRC screening is highly effective, screening rates in the US remain low. Educational materials represent one strategy for educating patients about screening options and increasing openness to screening. We developed a one-page brochure, leveraging factual information from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and national guidelines, and strategies for persuasion from the human factors and behavioral economics literatures. We evaluated the resulting brochure with adults over the age of 50. Findings suggest that the educational brochure increases knowledge of CRC and screening options, and increases openness to screening. Furthermore, no significant difference was found between the new one-page brochure and an existing multi-page Screen for Life brochure recommended by the CDC. We interpret these findings as indication that the more practical and potentially less intimidating one-page brochure is as effective as the existing multi-page Screen for Life brochure.
Personal Health Record Design Preferences for Minority Diabetic Patients
Authors: Cage Kailyn , Santos Luis , Scott Carley , Vaughn-Cooke Monifa
Published: October 2014

Facilitating treatment adherence (diet, exercise, medication, self-management technology use) among patients with a chronic disease poses a significant challenge to health care providers, particularly among minority populations. Racial and ethnic minorities experience higher rates of chronic disease prevalence and mortality and lower rates of health literacy, which has been widely linked to inferior health care quality. Health Information Technology (HIT) is a critical component of chronic disease treatment and has the ability to support patient self-management through the use of a Personal Health Record (PHR). However, current PHR systems are not designed for the largest and highest-risk segment of the chronic disease population, which are minorities. In an effort to address racial and ethnic disparities in PHRs, this research aims to evaluate minority design preferences in the patient population, develop a design database, and develop several design alternatives for use in future PHR testing and implementation. In this pilot, we focused on one of the highest risk chronic disease populations, African American diabetics. Data was collected from the Howard University Hospital Diabetes Treatment Center, using a previously launched patient portal as a baseline for all research activities. This research has the potential to inform PHR vendor design decision-making and future regulatory guidelines for HIT.
Usability of an Electronic Personal Health Record (PHR) Among a Diverse Group of Adults
Authors: Taha Jessica , Sharit Joseph , Czaja Sara J.
Published: October 2014

Electronic personal health records (PHRs) enable patients to perform a number of health-related tasks through a web-based portal. However, little is known about the usability of these PHRs. This study investigated the usability of a simulated PHR among 107 adults aged 40 to 85 years. Participants performed 15 common health management tasks including finding an upcoming appointment time, reviewing test results, and managing medication dosages. Task performance was video recorded and analyzed to determine the source of any performance difficulties. Usability data was also captured through questionnaires and post-study interviews. Results indicated that participants had difficulty using hyperlinks within the PHR to find information and difficulty interpreting information in the tables and graphs. However, participants’ perceptions of the PHR were positive and they were very receptive to the idea of using PHRs to help them perform a number of health management tasks.
Exploring Interruptions in the Wild
Authors: Werner Nicole E. , Holden Richard J.
Published: October 2014

In the healthcare domain, interruptions to procedures have the potential to result in severe patient harm and in some cases can be fatal. However, it is difficult to determine whether this holds true for complex healthcare team environments that may not mirror the interruption anatomy studied in the laboratory. The investigation of interruptions in trauma resuscitation teams can provide insight into how these complex healthcare teams are affected by interruptions and what types of interruption management strategies are in place to mitigate potential adverse effects. The goal of this qualitative inquiry was to determine how interruptions are experienced and managed in the dynamic environment of trauma resuscitation. The results have provided the first insights into interrupted task performance in a complex healthcare team environment.