bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Innovative Measures of Accuracy and Situational Awareness during Land Navigation
Authors: McWesler Mary , Marshak William P. , Glumm Monica M.
Published: January 2012

A helmet-mounted display (HMD)-based computer navigation system that partially mimics the U.S. Army's Land Warrior ensemble provided position information and map updates to soldiers navigating a three-kilometer course. Performance with the HMD system was compared to traditional navigation with paper map, compass, and a hand-held GPS receiver. New objective computer-based measures of navigational accuracy and situational awareness (SA) were developed. Traditional measures of navigational accuracy were not sensitive enough to detect differences between HMD and traditional navigational methods. The more sensitive new measure based on distance traveled found the HMD-based system to be superior. This method is easily adaptable to civilian applications such as orienteering. A supposed advantage of using HMDs is enhanced SA. A SA measure was developed which used probe questions generated by the computer. Although the probe questions found no significant differences between the conditions, the method seems promising for future applications.
The Impetus for the Development of a New Risk Management Training Program for Young Teen Drivers
Authors: Willis David K.
Published: January 2012

In the U.S., 16 and 17 year-old drivers have horrendous motor vehicle crash rates. Young teen drivers are also vastly over-involved in fatal traffic crashes.

In order to better understand the causes of this teen driver crash problem and then develop appropriate countermeasures, the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety commissioned the first comprehensive re-examination in more than 20 years of what novice drivers need to learn and do in order to be safe drivers. The resultant research report (Lonero, et al., 1995) led to the creation of an innovative, computer-based risk management training program for teen drivers, released in February, 1998.
Driver Education Curriculum Outline
Authors: Lonero Lawrence P. , Clinton Kathryn M. , Black Douglas M.
Published: January 2012

The purpose of the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety outline project was to initiate program development which could lead to “reinventing” a more intensive, comprehensive, and effective driver education system, which could lead to crash reduction in novice drivers. The project reviewed knowledge in a number of areas — driver education effectiveness, novice drivers' needs, and methods of instruction and behavioral influence. The traditional education model used for driver education is inadequate, and fundamental changes in content, methods, and organization are needed. New developments and synergies among education methods, training technologies, organizational change, and demand for quality promise a new and more effective role for driver education in the 21st Century.
Emphasis, Gender and Interaction Anxiety in Individual and Dyadic Training Protocols
Authors: Goettl Barry P. , Anthony Michael , Derek Katarina , Snooks Shirley , Shebilske Wayne L.
Published: January 2012

Improvements in computer processing capacity make computer-based training systems a more effective and viable option. Yet in the face of perennially diminishing military budgets, creative solutions must be found to reduce costs of such systems. With these two goals in mind, we explored the factorial combination of a dyadic protocol manipulation (individuals versus dyad) and emphasis change manipulation (total score versus component scores) for training a complex task (Space Fortress). In addition, we examined the potential interactions these treatments may have with learner variables such as gender and interaction anxiety. The results suggested that dyads improved more than individuals on ship control. Gender interacted with emphasis indicating that women, but not men, benefited from emphasis change. In addition, individuals high in interaction anxiety were adversely effected by the dyadic protocols especially when combined with variable emphasis on components. The results suggest that dyadic training may be an effective way to increase training resource efficiency while producing modest benefits in training effectiveness and that emphasis change can improve the training effectiveness. However, both effects may be limited by individual differences.
Training for Systematic Search Using a Job Aid
Authors: Koenig Scott C. , Liebhold Guillaume M. Y. , Gramopadhye A.K.
Published: January 2012

A dominant component of quality control, visual inspection can be broken down into two elements: visual search and decision-making. This study focuses on the search process. The search process has been mathematically described as random, systematic, or somewhere in between. Mathematical models and empirical studies have shown that the best performance in detecting defects during visual inspection results from the use of a systematic search strategy. For this study, a job aid that could potentially be used as an off-line training tool was developed to promote systematic visual search strategy. The job aid, a moving cursor on the viewing screen, was used to determine an optimal search speed or a range of optimal speeds for which the highest inspection accuracy could be achieved.
Localization of a Monocularly Presented Virtual Object with Delayed Visual Feedback
Authors: McCandless Jeffrey W. , Ellis Stephen R. , Adelstein Bernard D.
Published: January 2012

Observers adjusted a pointer to match the depicted distance of a monocular virtual object viewed in a see-through head-mounted display. Distance information was available through motion parallax produced as the observers rocked back and forth. The apparent stability of the virtual object was impaired by the time delay between the observers' head motions and the corresponding change in the object position on the display. Localizations were made for four time delays (31 ms, 64 ms, 131 ms, and 197 ms) and three depicted distances (75 cm, 95 cm, and 113 cm). The errors in localizations increased systematically with time delay and depicted distance.
Analysis and Evaluation of Cockpit Concept and Crew Concept of a Two-Seater Combat Aircraft
Authors: Schweingruber Joerg
Published: January 2012

The two-seater combat aircraft that went into service with the German Airforce in 1981 and with the German Navy in 1982 was based on operational requirements and technical standards of the 70's and earlier. Changes in the operational goals forced requirements for improving, conserving, and adjusting performance capabilities and made various equipment necessary being added to the current system. During the realization of these modifications ergonomic aspects of the cockpit concept and the crew concept were largely neglected.

An analysis and evaluation of human-machine-interactions and crew coordination in the cockpit was carried out, including analysis of tasks, loads, and demands on crew members and task allocations between crew and machine resources depending on various typical airforce missions. In addition, extensive workload experiments were conducted with simulated and real flights, tailored for airforce missions. Demands on crew members in simulated flights were measured with questionnaires and rating scales SWORD and ZEIS, and in real flights with questionnaires and rating scales ZEIS and NASA-TLX/ZEIS combination.

Experimental results indicated a wide range of demands and high workload on crew members during specific mission segments. Furthermore, extensive recommendations were established to reduce workload, optimize crew members interaction, and ensure the required performance level. This resulted in a changed cockpit concept with major effects on the crew concept. Beside these more technical aspects social aspects were taken into account and recommendations to improve the actual training concept were worked out to optimize crew members interactions and system performance.
An Investigation of the Effect of Assisted Target Cueing on Operator Target Acquisition Performance with First Generation FLIR Imagery
Authors: Janson William P. , See Judi E. , Riegler Joseph T. , Davis Iris , Kuperman Gilbert G.
Published: January 2012

The following experiment examined assisted target cueing (ATC) and target localization performance with first generation forward-looking infrared (FLIR) imagery collected for the TESSA program. Sixteen observers viewed dynamic FLIR imagery that varied in terms of aiding (unaided versus aided), ATC hit accuracy (50 % versus 75 %), amount and type of background clutter (“open”, “treeline”, and “sparse”), and slant range to the target array (8 km, 6 km, and 4 km). All images contained the target to be detected, a transporter erector launcher (TEL), as well as two support vehicles. After viewing each FLIR sequence, participants identified the TEL and rated their confidence in their decision. Results revealed that ATC cueing enhanced operator's confidence but did not alter their localization accuracy relative to the unaided condition, an outcome attributed to ceiling effects. In addition, operators performed somewhat more slowly with cueing, and ATC accuracy had no impact on performance.
Grip Force Control Capabilities of Older Adults, Revisited
Authors: Lowe Brian D. , Freivalds Andris , Goldberg Joseph H.
Published: January 2012

This cross-sectional study examined the effects of age on the dynamic coordination and control of grip force with external force applied with a simulated hand tool. Grip force coordination capabilities were hypothesized to decline with age in light of previous studies examining simple lift and static hold maneuvers with a precision grip. Subjects performed a force-matching task in which dynamic forces were applied with the simulated tool. Subjects were given visual feedback regarding the applied force magnitude but not the grip force magnitude. Grip force control efficiency was measured by the ratio of grip to applied force and the degree of parallel modulation in grip force with respect to applied force. The measures of grip force control efficiency revealed no statistically significant differences (p > 0.05) between the younger (<64 years) and older (65+ years) subject groups. Older adults, when prudently screened for visual and motor impairments, performed equivalently to younger adults in terms of grip force coordination efficiency.
Features of Problem Detection
Authors: Klein Gary , Pliske Rebecca M. , Crandall Beth , Woods David
Published: January 2012

Problem detection is the process by which people first become concerned that events may be taking an unacceptable direction that may require action. Despite its importance, there is surprisingly little empirical or theoretical literature about the cognitive aspects of problem detection. Drawing on previous cognitive task analysis accounts, 52 incidents involving problem detection were selected. Additional interviews were conducted with wildland firefighters and with surgeons. A description of problem detection was developed that emphasizes the role of expertise in detecting and interpreting the significance of subtle cues, as opposed to passively accumulating deviations from expectancies. Further, problem detection is seen as a process of re-conceptualizing the nature of the situation.
Supervision of Concurrent Tasks Using a Dynamic Task Status Display
Authors: John Mark , Osga Glenn
Published: January 2012

Supervision of multiple, concurrent tasks in real-time is a cognitively demanding activity. The “Task Manager” display assists supervision by depicting task priorities and deadlines in a dynamic, perceptual Gantt chart. In experiment 1, participants read alert messages from six concurrent tasks and evaluated the problems' effects on deadlines. The Task Manager promoted faster and more accurate problem evaluations than a static depiction of major task deadlines. In experiment 2, problem messages appeared in sets of 4 to 8, and participants ranked unread messages for priority, based on approaching deadlines and task priorities. The Task Manager promoted faster and more accurate message rankings. Additional automated ranking aids further improved performance. Two different methods of displaying the automated rankings yielded equal performance. When the automated rankings were removed, participants' manual performance was no worse than that of participants who had no prior automation experience or aiding.
Can We Ever Escape from Data Overload? A Cognitive Systems Diagnosis
Authors: Woods David D. , Patterson Emily S. , Roth Emilie M. , Christoffersen Klaus
Published: January 2012

Data overload is a generic and tremendously difficult problem. We examine three characterizations of the data overload problem and how they lead to different proposed solutions. The first characterization is a clutter problem where there is “too much stuff,” which leads to proposals to reduce the number of data units that are displayed. The second characterization is a workload bottleneck where there is too much data to process in the time available. Data overload as a workload bottleneck shifts the view to practitioner activities rather than elemental data and leads to proposals to use automation to perform activities for the practitioner. The third characterization is a problem in finding the significance of data when it not known a priori what data will be informative. This characterization leads to model-based abstractions and representation design techniques as potential solutions. Many of the existing approaches to coping with data overload avoid directly confronting the problem that what is significant depends on context. We advocate an alternative approach that depends on model-based organization of the data in a conceptual space that depicts the relationships, events, and contrasts that are informative in a field of practice and uses active machine intelligence in circumscribed, cooperative roles to aid human observers in organizing, selecting, managing, and interpreting data.
Supporting Informed Consent in Human-Machine Collaboration: The Role of Conflict Type, Time Pressure, and Display Design
Authors: Olson Wesley A. , Sarter Nadine B.
Published: January 2012

This study examined factors affecting the effectiveness of human-machine coordination under a management-by-consent approach where the automation cannot act without explicit operator consent. The context for this study was a proposed aviation system for digital air-ground communication, data link, which may allow system goals to be automatically translated and transferred (“gated”) to other automated cockpit systems. Gating, conflict type, time pressure, and display design were manipulated within a set of simulated flight scenarios which required airline pilots to detect the presence of potential conflicts inherent in the clearance or its implementation. Conflict detection, and thus the operator's ability to provide informed consent, was influenced primarily by conflict type, time pressure, and gating. It was particularly poor for conflicts arising from the implementation methods chosen by automated systems, especially when these systems did more than expected. These results suggest that automated systems need to play a more active role in coordination by providing operators with feedback on their interpretation of commands and their strategies for executing operator instructions.
Case Studies of Efforts to Re-Engineer Cognitive Tasks
Authors: Militello Laura G. , Klein Gary
Published: January 2012

This project addressed the questions of how to effect change, how to monitor the impact of change and adjust a system over time, and how to re-engineer a system so that it best supports the overall mission and goals. Based on a review of relevant literature and a series of interviews with people who have played an instrumental role in previous re-engineering efforts, we have gathered lessons learned from 20 different re-engineering efforts. The primary finding was that we were able to find examples of successful staffing reduction, but only when the goal was to improve performance by cutting unnecessary team members. We did not find examples where technology insertion was effective in reducing staff size.
Work Domain Analysis for Intentional Systems
Authors: Hajdukiewicz John R. , Burns Catherine M. , Vicente Kim J. , Eggleston Robert G.
Published: January 2012

Work domain analysis (WDA) is an approach developed by Rasmussen (1985) for representing the structure of complex work environments. Many examples of the approach have surfaced in the literature, predominantly of physically coupled causal systems (e.g., process control). For causal systems, the environment is strongly constrained by the laws of nature. This approach can also be used for representing intentional systems (e.g., military command and control), although there is some controversy on this issue. For intentional systems, the environment is strongly constrained by actors' intentions, values, and priorities of practice. This paper discusses the differences between causal and intentional systems and provides direction on how to proceed with a WDA for intentional systems. A WDA is presented for emergency ambulance dispatch management and military command and control to illustrate the approach. Finally, a discussion of the implications and future research recommendations are presented.
A Simulation Study of Computer-Supported Inferential Analysis Under Data Overload
Authors: Patterson Emily S.
Published: January 2012

A simulation study of inferential analysis under data overload was conducted with professional intelligence analysts. Using a process tracing methodology, patterns in information sampling and sources of inaccurate statements were identified when analysts were asked to analyze something outside their base of expertise, were tasked with a tight deadline, and had a large data set. The main contribution from this study is a better understanding of potential vulnerabilities in inferential analysis in challenging situations. These vulnerabilities are informative because they point to a set of design criteria that human-centered solutions to data overload should meet in order to be useful. These evaluation criteria are interesting, in part, because they are so difficult to address. They are not amenable to simple, straightforward adjustments or feature additions to current tools. Meeting these design criteria will require innovative design concepts.
Perceptual Control Theory and Ecological Interface Design: Lessons Learned from the Contgrol Display Unit
Authors: Chery Sandra , Vicente Kim J. , Farrell Philip S. E.
Published: January 2012

The purpose of this research was to assess the applicability of Perceptual Control Theory (PCT) and Ecological Interface Design (EID) to the radio communication domain, and to perform an analytical evaluation between PCT and EID using the Control Display Unit (CDU) interface as a vehicle. A PCT-based analysis of the pilot-CDU interactions was performed and an Abstraction Hierarchy representation of the radio communication domain was developed. Two interface designs followed and their effectiveness was assessed analytically by judging their ability to support tasks under normal and abnormal circumstances. The results suggest that both interfaces permit radio exchanges to be performed under normal operations. Also, both interfaces lead to the detection of technical failures and environmental concerns impeding successful radio communication. However, the PCT-based interface did not support diagnostic activities related to disturbances of a technical and environmental nature in the communication work domain, whereas the EID interface was able to support diagnostic activities for disturbances of environmental sources for the given task situations.
Usability in Context. I: Usability and the Liberal Revolutions
Authors: Gillan Douglas J.
Published: January 2012

Liberal revolutions involve a change in the availability of a resou rce from being centralized among a small elite to being distributed among many people. This paper reviews three liberal revolutions – in religion, politics, and economics – to examine the dynamics of change and to derive three general principles: (1) revolutions breed counter-revolutions, (2) revolutions require the appropriate conditions to succeed, and (3) revolutions in different domains influence one another. The paper then examines the role of usability in two on-going liberal revolutions – in technology and information. The operation of each of the principles is examined in order to determine ways to apply usability research and engineering most effectively.
The Application of Human Factors to the Design of a Toy: Little People® then and Now
Authors: Torres Brenda A. , Stool Daniel K.
Published: January 2012

In the 1960 s, Fisher-Price® introduced the first Little People® toys. These figures had a cylindrical body with a spherical head, and were approximately two inches in height and one inch in diameter. It was this original hard plastic design that has been associated with 13 reported fatalities. A recall was never issued as this product met all compliance standards.

Since then, Fisher-Price has changed the design of the Little People at least two times. The designs of the 1990's are approximately the same height with an increased maximum diameter. Subsequient to this change, no serious injuries have been reported.

This paper describes design hazard analyses of the original and the new Little People design. By understanding the human factors of developing children cognitive skills, motor skills, behavior and oral cavity anatomy, hazardous characteristics of the original design were changed to create a safer toy.
New Clothing Symbols: Do they Wash?
Authors: Leonard S. David
Published: January 2012

A recent standard promulgated by ASTM (D 5489) presents symbols to be used on clothing labels to indicate how they should be cared for in the cleaning process. The present studies were performed to evaluate how well these symbols would be understood by individuals who might use them. Four experiments were performed on the symbols listed in the standard and an alternate set developed for experimental purposes that was more pictorially representative of the concepts. Ratings of the symbols in the standard were relatively low, in comparison with more representative symbols. Recall of the meanings of the standard symbols was fairly good after five to seven days, but not as good as for the alternate set. Ability to determine the meaning of the standard symbols without previous experience with them was significantly poorer than for the alternate set. The results indicate the importance of testing symbols before adopting them.
Interactive Remedial Statistics Learning Modules for the Internet
Authors: Eberts Cindelyn , Eberts Ray , Craig Bruce
Published: January 2012

Statistics courses at most university campuses draw students from numerous departments. As a result, the mathematical backgrounds of the students vary widely. This places some students at an initial disadvantage as they have to do remedial math review. If a student falls behind in the beginning of a class, chances for failure in the course are greatly increased. If the instructor slows down the progress of the course to review basic material, the class in general will suffer. Retaking several years of math classes is usually not a viable option for students. To address this problem, we developed a series of Internet-based learning modules that can be adapted to fit various statistics courses and meet the learning needs of each student individually. These learning modules are interactive and are visual-based, utilizing color graphics and animation. The learning modules are available to anyone or to any course with Internet access.
Representation of Changes to Anesthesia Work Domain and Activity Structures
Authors: Benda Peter J. , Sanderson Penelope M.
Published: January 2012

In this paper, we examine an approach to representing the impact of technological change on work practice. Taking Cognitive Work Analysis as a point of departure, we discuss an approach with which one can analyze work domains and work activities and then use these analyses as a ‘field’ upon which to trace the impact of new technology. The relation between activity and work structure is explored. Then, a case study of the introduction of an electronic anesthesia record is examined. Associated changes to work structures and activities are represented and interpreted. Finally, we discuss the implications of the work and future directions.
Allocation of Responsibility for Injuries from a “Hidden” Hazard
Authors: Kalsher Michael J. , Wogalter Michael S. , Williams Kevin J.
Published: January 2012

Safety researchers have investigated how people assign blame for injuries sustained during the use of or exposure to consumer products. In this study, we examine attributions made by people given product-use scenarios that describe a girl whose age is manipulated to be from 18 months to 16 years and who suffers serious brain damage after choking on marshmallows made available to her by her mother. Supplementary information intended to be either positive or detrimental to the manufacturer and its safety practices was either present or absent from the scenario. Approximately half of the participants in the positive frame condition also received sample product warnings purportedly developed and used by the manufacturer. In general, participants allocated more responsibility to the girl's parents than to the manufacturer. As predicted, allocation of blame to the girl varied directly with her age. The greater the age of the child, the greater the blame she received. Supplementary information that casts the manufacturer and the manufacturer's practices in a positive light shifted blame away from the manufacturer toward the girl and her parents. Conversely, supplementary information detrimental to the manufacturer shifted blame away from the girl and her parents and toward the manufacturer. The warnings had no measurable effect on allocation of blame. The implications of these results for consumers, legal professionals, and researchers are discussed.
The Effects of Company Image on Perceptions of Legal Responsibility
Authors: Resnick Marc L. , Tschen Carlos , Kalsher Michael J.
Published: January 2012

When a product liability case involves a well-known company, the perceptions of the jurors may be influenced by the company's safety reputation. Safety reputation can stem from extrapolations from product quality and brand image that the juror previously held, or from details revealed during the trial. This research builds on a previous study that used fictitious scenarios based loosely on the highly publicized incident in which a woman was scalded by hot coffee she purchased from the drive-through window of a McDonalds restaurant. In the original study, participants exposed to scenarios that cast McDonalds safety practices in an unfavorable light allocated significantly more blame to McDonalds (and less to the woman) than participants exposed to scenarios that were either favorable or neutral toward McDonalds. This research investigates how allocation of responsibility and people's perceptions of duty to warn change as a function of the company named as the defendant and how it is portrayed. Participants allocated equal responsibility to all companies on average, but when companies were portrayed as having a history of investigating complaints, their hazard information was perceived as more informative even though this information was not actually provided. Injuries were perceived as significantly more severe for companies with a history of ignoring customer complaints, even though the injury descriptions were identical in each scenario. The implications of these results are discussed.
Benefits of Trunk Muscle Co-Contraction in Protecting against Low-Back Injury during Manual Materials Lifting
Authors: Granata Kevin P. , Marras William S.
Published: January 2012

There is a trade-off between the risk of low-back injury associated with tissue overload versus the risk of spinal instability. The benefit of antagonistic co-contraction in helping to prevent low-back pain associated with instability injury during manual materials handling tasks was examined. Ten healthy males performed sagittal lifting tasks while trunk motion, reaction loads, and EMG activity were recorded. A biomechanical model was developed to compute spinal load and spinal stability during the tasks. Antagonistic co-contraction was found to be beneficial in terms of the stability versus spinal load, i.e. compression increased 12–18% while stability increased 36–64%. Stability was a minimum at low trunk moments, e.g. upright postures. Conversely, as trunk moment increased the risk of stability failure was reduced but the risk of spinal tissue overload injury was increased. To compensate, subjects recruited antagonistic co-contraction less in high moment conditions and more in low moment conditions.
Differences in Workplace, Demographic and Severity Measures between Occupational and Nonoccupational Low Back Pain Patients
Authors: Ferguson S.A. , Marras W.S. , Heaney C. , Gupta P.
Published: January 2012

Occupational and nonoccupational low back pain patients within the same diagnostic category were evaluated on workplace, demographic, and severity measures. The findings indicated that there were significant differences in psychosocial and physical demand workplace parameters but not in demographic or severity measures. Specifically, psychosocial measures of job control, role conflict and job satisfaction were significantly different. The physical demand measures of exposure to sitting, lifting, pushing and pulling as well as overall rating of physical demand were significantly different. It is hypothesized that no difference was found in severity measures because we controlled for diagnostic category.
The Effects of Instruction, Verbal Encouragement, and Visual Feedback on Static Handgrip Strength
Authors: Jung Myung-Chul , Hallbeck M. Susan
Published: January 2012

The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of instruction, verbal encouragement, and real-time visual feedback on static handgrip strength. Sixteen subjects participated in this study and a computerized wrist dynamometer was used for the measurement of grip strength. The independent variables were five different instructions including the Caldwell Regimen, use of verbal encouragement and visual feedback. According to the results of ANOVA, there were significant differences in main effects. Therefore, the employment of verbal encouragement or visual feedback should be noted in any paper if used while measuring static strength. Since the comparison between peak forces showed that fast contraction and immediate release upon maximal contraction instruction had greater peak forces than all other instruction sets, it can be suggested for the standard of peak force measurement that the static strength should be reached within 1.5 seconds and immediately released when reaching the maximum force and the greatest force can be designated as the peak force.
Perceived Musculoskeletal Loading during use of a Force-Feedback Computer Mouse
Authors: Dennerlein Jack Tigh , Yang Maria
Published: January 2012

With 30 to 80 percent of computer work involving the use of a pointing device, engineers are constantly exploring new and better interface designs. The introduction of a force-feedback mouse, which provides high fidelity tactile cues via force output, may represent such a long-awaited technological breakthrough. However, force may also be a risk factor for musculoskeletal disorders of the upper extremity, especially those associated with the use of computer input devices. For a point-and-click task, we hypothesize that both the performance and the self-reported task difficulty and comfort (i.e. pain and discomfort) improve with the application of an attractive basin force field (gravity sink like effect) around the target in comparison to a typical mouse with no force field. Fifteen adult subjects performed a point-and-click task 520 times with and without an attractive force basin around the target. The movements varied in direction and distance, and the order of presentation was randomized. Movement times were significantly shorter (p < 0.0001) with the attractive force basin than without it. Perceived user discomfort and pain as measured through a questionnaire were also smaller with the attractive basin than with none. For the given task, the results suggest that the use of an attractive force-feedback basin may reduce the musculoskeletal loading during computer mouse use.
Fighting Fatigue in Work Groups: Psycho-Social Remedies against Fatigue-Induced Performance Decrements
Authors: Hoeksema-van Orden Claudia Y.D. , Gaillard Anthony W.K.
Published: January 2012

Fatigue is increasingly becoming a problem in modern working life. A large proportion of the work force is confronted with long working hours and overtime. In some areas such as police work, surgery rooms and shipping it is common that people work at night. When people have to work continuously for long hours, especially at night, performance can seriously be affected by fatigue. Studies carried out at our laboratory show that fatigue effects can be compensated by the manipulation of psycho-social factors in the work environment. A satisfactory performance level can be better maintained when people work in the presence of others, as opposed to working alone. Furthermore, group performance can be kept up to the mark by addressing the group members individually, either by giving them an incentive for individual performance, or by providing them with feedback on their individual results, instead of on the group result only.
Intranet Development and Design That Works
Authors: Baca Bobby , Cassidy Andrea
Published: January 2012

Making information available and easy to find is the objective of designing a good web site. A company's Intranet typically provides a great deal of information to its employees in an effort to help them better perform their jobs. If the information is available but is difficult to locate, the usefulness of this information is diminished.

Sandia National Laboratories performed a redesign of its home page and has obtained a successful design which enables its employees to locate information quickly and efficiently. Three phases of usability testing were conducted to develop and optimize the home page. This paper will discuss the redesign of the Intranet home page and describe how usability studies were used to help ensure a usable design.
Improving Ergonomics in International Retail Environments: Focusing on Business Objectives and Culture
Authors: Lehman Katherine R. , Psihogios Jennie P.
Published: January 2012

Although retail environments differ greatly around the world, all retailers are pressured by small margins as they strive to be profitable. Front-end checkout operational performance is very important for retailers to insure revenue growth. Because every country is different in terms of culture, tradition, and legal restrictions, there is not one ideal solution for the checkout that can be applied internationally. However, by following an established process that focuses on retailers' business objectives, ergonomic solutions can be designed and sold. Once proper attention is placed on understanding the unique cultural issues and the business priorities of the retailer, appropriate analysis methodologies can be used to capture data that will be useful in producing and selling a worthy solution. Examples of engagements conducted for retailers in Japan, Brazil, and the United Kingdom show how this approach can be successful in designing and presenting beneficial solutions. The paper shows how this approach can be successful for international engagements.
Student Internships: The Key to Your Future?
Authors: Andre Anthony D. , North Robert A. , Wickham Daina Pupons , Spain Kelly A.
Published: January 2012

Is an internship required for a successful career in human factors/ergonomics, or does it add little to your career potential? This question has long been a source for discussion among graduate students. The panel will address the value of internships, their advantages and disadvantages, along with ways to get the most out of an internship. Panelists were selected based on their experience as either internship sponsors (Andre, North) or interns (Wickham, Spain).
In-Vehicle Train Warnings (ITW): The Effect of Reliability and Failure Type on Driver Perception Response Time and Trust
Authors: Chugh J. S. , Caird J. K.
Published: January 2012

Driver inattention to the approach of a train has been implicated as one of the contributors to railroad crossing accidents. As a potential intelligent transportation systems (ITS) countermeasure, auditory and visual in-vehicle train warnings (ITW) were tested using video simulations of approaches to railroad crossings. Thirty-six younger drivers were tested to determine the effects of ITW reliability (83% and 50%) and failure type (False Alarm 1: the train is not present; False Alarm 2: a crossing is not encountered; and Missed Signal: the arrival of a train is not indicated by the ITW) on perception response time (PRT) and system trust. Drivers initiated braking later after False Alarms 1 and 2 occurred and earlier after experiencing Missed Signals. Perceptions of system trust were lessened by decreases in reliability, but did not discriminate between different failure types. These results are elaborated and generalized to ITW design.
Driver Preferences for Speech Based Interaction with in-Vehicle Systems
Authors: Aldridge L. C. , Lansdown T. C.
Published: January 2012

Twenty three drivers were interviewed with respect to their opinions about communicating with in-vehicle systems by speech. Participants were asked which in-vehicle systems they would like to be able to control by voice, the dialogue they would like to use to instruct such systems, and how they would like it to respond. They were read a scenario which asked them to imagine they were communicating with more complex systems. Finally, the interviews allowed participants to reflect on the concept of communicating with in-vehicle systems by voice. Participants felt that the in-car entertainment system would benefit most from voice control followed by the heating and ventilation system, lighting and in-car telephone. Factors influencing this choice included familiarity with the features, their frequency of use and acceptability of current manual controls. Of the commands suggested in Part One and Part Two, 93% were terse, curt explicit imperatives. In Part One 89% of the terse commands contained less than four words, while the majority (53%) contained two. Analysis of terse commands in indicated that commands could consist of four different components: functions, settings, actions and directional statements. 39% of terse commands contained a function and a setting, 16% contained a function and a directional statement and 13% contained only a setting. The availability of user syntax preferences in the design of in-vehicle speech interfaces is discussed.
Individual Differences and in-Vehicle Distraction While Driving: A Test Track Study and Psychometric Evaluation
Authors: Tijerina Louis , Parmer Edwin B. , Goodman Michael J
Published: January 2012

The influence of individual differences on driver distraction was examined in this study. Sixteen (16) test participants were trained on destination entry procedures with four commercially available route guidance systems, as well as the dialing task on a commercially available wireless cellular telephone and on manually tuning an after-market car radio. The participants then drove an instrumented vehicle at approximately 45 mph on a 7.5 mile oval test track with very light traffic while concurrently engaging in various tasks with these devices. In-vehicle task completion time, average glance duration away from the road ahead, number of glances away from the road ahead, and number of lane exceedences were recorded. The participants were later given an automated battery of temporal visual perception and cognitive tasks. Performance on the test battery was then correlated to performance on the test track measures to determine the extent to which individual driver differences could account for observed performance differences. Analysis of these elementary test scores as predictors show low but consistent patterns of correlation to test-track performance measures.
Measuring Driver Adaptation to In-Vehicle Information Systems: Disassociation of Subjective and Objective Situation Awareness Measures
Authors: Lee John D.
Published: January 2012

This study examined a range of design parameters for an in-vehicle signing and warning system, using a low-fidelity driving simulator and a variety of driver performance measures. A series of probe questions provided an objective measure of situation awareness, and drivers' confidence ratings in these answers provided a subjective measure of situation awareness. The correspondence between the accuracy of the answers to the probe questions and subjective confidence in the answers to the probe questions provides a measure of meta-situation awareness. Meta-situation awareness is a necessary condition for the validity of any subjective measure of situation awareness. Analysis of subjective and objective measures of situation awareness showed that they were both sensitive to design parameters, but that they responded in different ways. In addition, they were poorly calibrated and were only slightly correlated. This indicates a poor level of meta-situation awareness. Poor meta-situation awareness argues for great caution in using subjective measures of situation awareness. The results also suggest that meta-situation awareness may be a useful concept in explaining human performance.
Comparison of Hands-Free versus Conventional Wearable Computer Control for Maintenance Applications
Authors: McMillan Grant , Calhoun Gloria , Masquelier Barbara L. , Grigsby Scott S. , Quill Laurie L. , Kancler David E. , Revels Allen R.
Published: January 2012

Past research on wearable computers for maintenance applications has focused on developing displays and presentation formats. This study emphasized wearable computer control technologies. Alternative control technologies were compared with standard and voice controls. Twelve subjects performed a synthetic maintenance task using three control device combinations for three different types of input. Time and error data were collected. The results show that for pointer movement, standard controls took significantly longer than voice. For discrete input, standard controls required significantly more time than voice and alternative controls. However, there were no significant time differences among controllers for text entry fill-in. Error results showed no significant differences. This research suggests that alternative and voice controls provide similar performance levels and both are superior to standard controls. In environments with changing noise spectra and noise levels such as a flight line, the alternative control suite provides hands-free control that complements voice without sacrificing performance.
The Effects of an Auditory versus a Visual Presentation of Information on Soldier Performance
Authors: Glumm Monica M. , Branscome Terri A. , Patton Debra J. , Mullins Linda L. , Burton Pamela A.
Published: January 2012

This paper describes a field study that measured the effects of an auditory versus a visual presentation of position information on soldier performance. Measures of situational awareness, stress, cognitive performance, and workload were also obtained. During the study, 12 soldiers navigated wooded paths that were 3 km long. No differences were found between display conditions in navigation or target acquisition performance, or in the frequency at which information was accessed. However, the analysis indicated that the participants maintained a greater awareness of position with respect to waypoints, targets, and other units when information was presented visually than when information was presented auditorily in verbal messages. In the auditory mode, as the participants' perceptions of time demands increased, post-test scores on a logical reasoning task tended to be higher than pre-test scores. The findings of the investigation suggest differences in cognitive processing requirements between displays and the impact of attentional focus and practice on cognitive performance.
It's not What you Wear, it's How you Wear it: Human Factors of Wearable Computers
Authors: Stedmon A. W. , Moore P. M. , Kalawsky Prof. R. S. , Aung M. , Purcell J. , Reeh C. , York T.
Published: January 2012

The DERA Centre for Human Sciences is involved with the development of Future Infantry Systems Technology (FIST), producing a wearable computing system for future infantry applications. In addition, the in-Field Computer (iFC) research group (part of the Advanced VR Research Centre) at Loughborough University are also conducting work in this area. In order to bring both these groups together a Technical Workshop was run, in which representatives responsible for the research, development, and procurement of FIST systems were able to address some of the underlying human factors issues. The exchange of ideas highlighted important issues for understanding the fundamental human factors underpinning the development and use of wearable systems technology. The findings not only provide a more coherent understanding of infantry systems for both research communities but also facilitate the development of wearable computing in other applications and the underlying philosophy of wearable computing, per se.
Formal Aspects of Procedures: The Problem of Sequential Correctness
Authors: Degani Asaf , Heymann Michael , Shafto Michael
Published: January 2012

A formal, model-based approach is proposed for the development and evaluation of the sequences of actions specified in procedures. The approach employs methodologies developed within the discipline of discrete-event and hybrid systems control. We demonstrate the proposed approach through an evaluation of a procedure for handling an irregular engine-start on board a modern commercial aircraft.
Discrimination of Changes of Latency during Voluntary Hand Movement of Virtual Objects
Authors: Ellis Stephen R. , Young Mark J. , Adelstein Bernard D. , Ehrlich Sheryl M.
Published: January 2012

Eight subjects' abilities to detect changes in system latency during voluntary lateral hand movement of virtual objects were studied in an immersing virtual environment. A two-alternative forced choice procedure was used in which discrimination of latency was studied with respect to three reference latencies: 27, 94, and 194 msec. Results show that subjects are able to reliably detect changes definitely less than 33 msec and probably less than 16.7 msec. Strikingly, for the short latencies we examined, subjects' ability to detect latency changes does not depend upon the base latency we used as a reference. Thus, the discrimination we studied does not appear to follow Weber's law and may provide evidence for quick adaptation to the reference latencies used.
Practical Considerations for Fixed Wing Helmet-Mounted Display Symbology Design
Authors: Geiselman Eric E.
Published: January 2012

Helmet-mounted displays (HMDs) may become a primary source of head-up information in future tactical aircraft. In evaluations, HMDs have produced improved situation awareness and mission performance. To realize this improved performance, HMD equipped pilots spend significantly more time looking off-axis, away from traditional displays. Accordingly, it is important that HMD information be designed so targeting and ownship status symbology is effective and safe. The U. S. Air Force Research Laboratory is working to develop an optimized HMD symbology set. Toward this end, symbol designs must accommodate the conditions of intended use, technology limitations, and integration with other displays. This paper discusses efforts to design target tracking/location and ownship status symbologies for the day/night all weather fixed-wing tactical aircraft application. Design principles derived from both laboratory and flight test are presented. These principles relate to symbology frame of reference, orientation, compression, and line of sight mechanization. Evaluation methodologies are also discussed.