bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Indirect Vision Driving with Fixed Flat Panel Displays for Near Unity, Wide, and Extended Fields of Camera View
Authors: Smyth Christopher C.
Published: January 2012

A field study with eight participants negotiating a road course in a military vehicle measured the driving performance for natural and indirect vision. The indirect vision system was driven with fixed panoramic flat panel, liquid crystal displays (LCD) in the cab and a forward viewing monocular camera array mounted on the front roof of the vehicle and tilted slightly downward. The results are that for benign driving conditions (a well-marked course, good visibility, and essentially flat terrain), the participants successfully drove the vehicle with indirect vision for the different fields of view (FOV) of the cameras: near unity, wide, and extended. However, they drove the course faster and made fewer lane marker strikes with natural vision than they did with the indirect vision systems. Further, the course speed significantly decreased with increased camera FOV, while the number of lane marker strikes increased slightly. Workload ratings show a significant increase in perceived workload with indirect vision, while a test of situational awareness shows an increase in demand component. While the heart rate increased significantly with course speed because of the increased exertion, the predicted metabolic work output was least for the natural vision and increased with the indirect FOV because of the longer course times. Most participants reported a discomfort associated with motion sickness while in the moving vehicle with the displays, The subjective stress rating of the drivers was least for natural vision and increased with indirect FOV. In comparing the camera's FOV, the driving performance was fastest with the near unity FOV. However, cognitive processing tests show a trend for improved spatial rotation and map planning with the wide FOV, a design which was selected by the researchers to provide a balance of the resolution needed for obstacle avoidance and scene perspective for course following.
Social Effects on Real-Time ATC Simulation
Authors: Dubey Gerard , David Hugh
Published: January 2012

Large-scale Real-Time simulations are accepted as the preferred method for the validation of Air Traffic Control systems. They are generally accepted as valid representations of the ‘real world’. Controllers participating in such simulations are considered to be both objective evaluators and representative participants. A study by a social anthropologist suggests that the success or failure of a simulation may depend on social factors unknown to, or ignored by, simulation staff, illustrating this from experience of two contrasting simulations.
The Changing Nature of Test and Evaluation: Four Perspectives
Authors: Moroney William F.
Published: January 2012

Historically, research and development efforts, and testing and evaluation (T&E), activities, were separate and distinct from each other. At that time, the goals of T&E were predominantly two:

1. To determine whether or not the system met requirements 2. To determine whether or not the system “worked”?

Testing focused on factors that influence task performance. Evaluation criteria were often specified in general design guidelines and specifications, or in system requirements documents. And, the majority of T&E efforts were expended in conjunction with military systems. Today, development, testing, and evaluation are routinely performed as part of the concurrent engineering process. Research, if conducted at all, is likely to be focused on situation-specific issues. The previously stated T&E goals are still valid, but T&E practitioners may also be expected to provide design recommendations. Testing of task performance is still a high priority, but testing may also be performed to assess usability, workload, situation awareness, safety, and acceptance by operational and maintenance personnel. The beginning of a new millennium is an appropriate time to examine this redefined problem space. The presentations by our four panelists will illuminate some of these changes and describe how we may react to them.
Changing Concepts of Test and Evaluation
Authors: Meister David , Meister David
Published: January 2012

T&E has changed in the sense that it is now more aware of its responsibilities in measurement research, as opposed to testing, which is the uncritical application of common measurement techniques.
Trends in Human Factors Evaluation of Work Support Systems
Authors: Rasmussen Jens
Published: January 2012

Society is becoming increasingly integrated, effects of disturbances and design deficiencies propagate rapidly and widely, and work is becoming increasingly dynamic. Furthermore, organizations have to face an increasingly competitive environment, where success very likely is granted those operating at the border of established practice. This raises new requirements for the design and evaluation of work systems. For discretionary tasks in a dynamic work environment, a map of the deep structure of the work content is more effective than a route instruction. Rather than an interface matching the mental models of the users, the interface should make visible the affordances and the internal constraints of the workspace, including the boundaries of acceptable conditions. That is, the interface should induce a proper mental model. Design and evaluation then cannot be based only on user involvement and empirical evaluation tests. In addition, intimate knowledge of the deep structure of the workspace is necessary and domain experts must be involved in an analytical evaluation, which is outlined.
Choosing Usability Research Methods
Authors: Rosenbaum Stephanie , Chisnell Dana
Published: January 2012

This paper describes why and how human factors practitioners should employ a combination of research methods for user data collection, rather than relying on only one or two such as heuristic evaluation and laboratory testing. The paper presents three case studies of multiple-method usability research projects: alternating usability testing with ethnographic interviews in a longitudinal study of a clinical information system; two parallel usability research efforts for a small company with a limited budget; and contextual inquiries followed by group interviews of experts, then by usability testing. The authors believe that combining research methods is more likely to increase the strategic penetration of human factors within organizations.
An Application of Human Performance Modeling to the Evaluation of Advanced User Interface Features
Authors: Carolan Tom , Scott-Nash Shelly , Corker Kevin , Kellmeyer David
Published: January 2012

Human performance modeling provides a complementary approach to human usability testing methods for evaluating the impact of advanced interface features on operator performance under a variety of conditions and design alternatives. This paper describes ongoing work performed by Micro Analysis & Design, Inc. (MA&D) to apply human performance modeling techniques to support usability study and system design objectives for an advanced workstation.
Acoustic Effects of Wearing an M40 Mask with Hood on Speech Perception Anf Roduction
Authors: Hah Sehchang
Published: January 2012

The objective of this experiment was to quantify and localize the effects of wearing the nuclear, biological, and chemical (NBC) M40 protective mask and hood on speech production and perception. A designated speaker's vocalizations of 192 monosyllables while wearing an M40 mask with hood were digitized and used as speech stimuli. Another set of speech stimuli was produced by recording the same individual's vocalizing the same monosyllables without the mask and hood. Participants listened to one set of stimuli during two sessions, one session while wearing an M40 mask with hood and another session without the mask and hood. The results showed that wearing the mask with hood gave most detrimental effects on the sustention dimension acoustically for both speech perception and production. The results also showed that wearing it was detrimental on vocalizing and listening to fricatives and unvoiced-stops. These results may be due to the muffling effect of the voicemitter in speech production and the filtering effects of the voicemitter and the hood material on high frequency components during both speech production and perception. This information will be useful for designing better masks and hoods. This methodology also can be used to evaluate other speech communication systems.
Exposure Assessment Tools for Physical Risk Factors Associated with Computer Work
Authors: Dennerlein Jack , Johnson Pete
Published: January 2012

While the risk factors for musculoskeletal disorders of the upper extremity include physical risk factors, such as force and posture, the measurement of these factors during computer work has been limited to primarily laboratory studies. A portable system for field use was designed which measured forces applied to the keyboard and mouse, the patterns of the forces as well as tracking keystrokes, mouse movements, and wrist postures. Application of this system is planned for a series of laboratory and field studies.
Designing for Populations of People Using Tools Describing More of their Dimensions
Authors: Duncan Jerry R. , Keleher D. Brad , Newendorp Bruce C. , Ryken Michael J. , Chipperfield Kurt A. , Raschke Ulrich , Brunsman Matthew A.
Published: January 2012

Human factors and ergonomics decisions are made on the basis of a population of users. To best accommodate anatomical variability in a population, we need to know how relevant landmarks (human and workstation) are related to each other in 3D space. Traditionally, we've relied on summary statistics of one-dimensional anatomical measures (e.g., 95th percentile eye height) of people in artificially constrained postures to create simplified representatives of a population. Today, 3D digital human models showing whole population distributions of anatomical landmarks in relation to a workspace enable us to make more informed decisions. Our presentation demonstrates using tools describing more dimensions of a population (i.e., a digital 3D human model and a multi-dimensional database of 3D anthropometry in a natural working posture, landmark motion paths, and demographic data) to make workspace design decisions.
An Evaluation Method of Clothing Fitness with Body
Authors: Taya Yoshiko
Published: January 2012

Fitness of clothing with body is an important factor to design comfortable and functional clothing. For an evaluation of clothing fitness, it is necessary to measure both shapes of human body and clothing accurately. In my research, a measurement of clothing fitness has been examined using a 3-D method, and a quantity of space between body and clothing has been discussed. An evaluation method of the most suitable size fitness with body was investigated by the waveform spacing between body and clothes. A new technique of symmetries dot patterns was developed to grasp a characteristic of space waveform of the clothing. Its representation involves the information of the deviation of the space, and it is very useful for evaluation of the size fitness of clothing. Furthermore, the wavelet transform was applied to extract a characteristic of clothing waveform for evaluation of size fitness of clothing with body.
Making an Anthropometric Size System Interactively
Authors: Molenbroek Johan FM
Published: January 2012

When designers with an ergonomic background want to minimize the number of users that will be excluded from their design, they need interactive insight into the distribution of users throughout the design process of the size system for their product. For this purpose a software tool ‘Ellipse’ was developed.

The type of problems, which can be solved with Ellipse, can easy be illustrated by taking the size system of shoes where the distribution of foot length and the foot breadth, and their interrelation would be the key issues for the program Ellipse.

Ellipse needs the raw data, or mean values, standard deviations and correlation coefficients of both variables. The program Ellipse creates an ellipse for a chosen percentage of users to fit. Within the program the designer can choose if he wants to breakdown the bivariate (normal) distribution into one size of shoes for all, or in for example 10 length and 4 breadth sizes (10 stones). Then the production cost could be studied and compared with another size system of 8 times 3, for example. Both concept size systems can easy be analyzed and modified. For every stone the size of the included sample is displayed and also the amount of users that will be excluded from the concept size system. For economic reasons mostly the minimum number of sizes is preferred, however from the ergonomically viewpoint the comfort of fit makes the designer to take care of an acceptable roominess between the product and the human.

This paper will describe the working of Ellipse more in detail.
A-Cadre: Advanced Family of Manikins for Workstation Design
Authors: Bittner Alvah C.
Published: January 2012

A-CADRE, an advanced cadre of 17 manikins, is delineated and shown to be valid for assuring population accommodation when applied to workstations. As with the earlier CADRE manikins (Bittner et al., 1986; 1987), a general four-stage procedure was followed in percentile description development, but with variations designed to assure greater reach accommodation within a tighter percentile boundary envelope. A-CADRE manikins were evaluated for process- and outcome-validity in the context of a redesign of a cockpit workstation using a diagnostic model (CAR-IV). A-CADRE's process utility was found both (1) virtually equivalent to a 400-member random sample and (2) slightly greater than the original CADRE. Outcome validity was virtually identical to the original CADRE, and “more than adequate for workstation design purposes.” A-CADRE can assure workstation population accommodation within a tighter percentile boundary.
The Use of Virtuality in Car Development
Authors: Assinann Ernst , Ramezani Human
Published: January 2012

For many years in car development the future customer was first represented by templates. Today and in fact for a long time now CAD tools are solely used for designing a car and therefore man had to be integrated into that environment as well. 1986 the German car industry joined in a research program to produce a common man model for the use in automotive design. This program called RAMSIS has been in practical use at BMW since the early nineties. All “static” situations can be assessed with RAMSIS today including dynamic movements of arms and legs. For entry and egress and for the final confirmation, three dimensional mock-ups are tested by a number of in-house test subjects. Their body dimensions have to be known in order to compare their assessments with the customer population. Therefore we regularly measure members of the research and development center using all methods, from the conventional yardstick to current laser scanning techniques. Hand in hand with DMU methods Virtual Reality has gained access to development processes. The goal of DMU, to eliminate the time consuming and expensive hardware loops and replace them as much as possible by digital models, is effectively supported by VR techniques that speed up processes by enhancing the man-machine-interaction. There is a wide range of application fields to use these techniques, e.g. design review, assembly and maintenance simulation and training. RAMSIS is integrated in the BMW VR environment with special extensions to allow immersive ergonomic research. Mixed mock-up applications are used to have virtual experiences, to verify or to train assembly procedures at an early stage of development and therefore eliminate problems as soon as possible. New concepts can be evaluated and assessed taking ergonomic aspects and disturbing influences into account.
Human Modeling: Inverse Kinematics with Maximum Joint Availability
Authors: Mayes Terrence J. , Maida James C.
Published: January 2012

This paper describes a hybrid technique for performing inverse kinematics (IK) on redundant articulations with very high degree of freedom. Components from several different IK approaches are combined with special attention given to performance. Simulation of the algorithm on a personal computer can be done at interactive rates. Modifications to the standard IK approach are discussed and compared against previous approaches.
Simulation of Human Seated Postures and Dynamic Seat Interaction in Impact Conditions
Authors: Happee R. , Verver M.M. , de Lange R.
Published: January 2012

Prediction and assessment of seated postures are essential for ergonomic vehicle design whereas dynamic seat interactions are essential for impact conditions. This paper presents seat models and human models for both applications. An interface has been developed to convert RAMSIS human models and postures to MADYMO. Static seat interaction analyses with RAMSIS provide estimated postures and a qualitative comfort assessment. MADYMO simulations allow analysis of required muscular joint torques as well as seat contact forces and pressures. An example is included where a realistic posture is derived to simulate rearward impact loading.
Ergonomics in Greece
Authors: Marmaras Nicolas , Banoutsos Ilias
Published: January 2012

This paper presents and discusses the main features of Ergonomics in Greece. The areas covered are: the profile of greek ergonomists; education and research; ergonomics practice; means used to promote ergonomics, as well as the opportunities and problems encountered by the ergonomists in our country.
Inclusive Design: Excluding Users in a Conscious Way
Authors: Kallmann Roel
Published: January 2012

In the ‘Inclusive Design’ or ‘Design for all’ approach according to the name one should include all users. Important in this approach is the idea to include a wide diversity of people. So defining your users or target groups is a major step towards ‘Design for all’.

On the other hand excluding people isn't a mortal sin. As long as it is a conscious process. When at the end of the design process it becomes feasible that certain people are excluded then there will be a problem.

P5 developed a method in defining profiles of use in terms of critical users, critical aspects and critical circumstances. Critical users are the starting point to keep in contact with end users during the design process. They can become a kind of hypothetical archetypes used by designers to focus their design on. This approach is used as a communication tool towards the design teams.
Designing Small Electronic Products; Is Inclusive Design Possible?
Authors: Porter C.S. , Newman R.N.
Published: January 2012

Increasingly the world is full of small, hand held, complex electronic products with modern interfaces e.g. small digital cameras and personal organisers. The control of the operations of the products by embedded systems has removed the necessity to organise the human interface according to the mechanical constraints. Another consequence of the size of the products and the control systems is that there is much greater likelihood of dynamic concurrent use of the hands in any given task. The scope for inclusive design (and inclusive design errors) is infinite.

Using a product based Hierarchical Task Analysis and reviewing the available ergonomics data revealed only inadequate tools and large data gaps in ergonomics information.

A method of task analysis is being developed, and a series of investigations are planned, to attempt to fill some of the data gaps and discover more about the ways in which people use their hands. This will allow the potential for inclusive design for small electronic products to be explored.
Strength Data for Designers
Authors: Peebles Laura , Norris Dr Beverley J
Published: January 2012

Data on physical strength capabilities are vital for designers to ensure that products can be used and operated safely and comfortably by all intended users. This paper describes a two stage research project which was undertaken to provide designers with such design-relevant data. Potential data needs were identified in Stage 1 of the study, and in Stage 2 new data were collected to meet those needs. The methodology, findings, and implications for universal design are presented and discussed.
The HF/E Parade: A Tale of Two Models
Authors: Howell William C.
Published: January 2012

Chronic problems that plague the Human Factors and Ergonomics (HF/E) “parade” are examined in an attempt to identify causal factors, trends, and strategic options. Primary responsibility is attributed to our failure to resolve the fundamental question of what HF/E should be: a unique discipline or a philosophy shared by many established disciplines and emerging specialties. The implications of these two, largely incompatible models are explored retrospectively and prospectively. It is argued that our drift toward the unique discipline model has stunted our growth, limited our effectiveness, and clouded our prospects for the future; hence the shared discipline model should be given serious consideration in the current strategic planning review.
When gauges fail and clouds are tall, we miss the horizon most of all: General Aviation pilot responses to the loss of attitude information in IMC
Authors: Beringer Dennis B. , Ball Jerry D.
Published: January 2012

Sixty pilots were exposed to a vacuum-system failure during a flight simulation, 48 in a Piper Malibu simulator and 12 in a simulated Cessna 172. Instrumentation failure was varied for the five display configurations such that 12 pilots (1) lost head-down heading and attitude indicator (AI), (2) lost only the primary AI (horizontal situation indicator, HSI, was electric), (3) lost the primary AI but had the HSI plus a back-up electric AI, (4) lost the AI and directional gyro (DG), or (5) lost the AI but had an HSI (only in the Cessna 172 simulator). Primary panel (loss of AI and DG) showed the highest loss rate (83%). The proposed back-up AI in place of turn coordinator produced a 33% loss rate. Standard Malibu instrumentation (HSI) produced a 25% loss rate. Having all options (HSI, TC, back-up AI) reduced loss rate to just 8%. Data suggest that the presence of a back-up attitude indicator can ameliorate the rate of loss of control, but that the presence of the HSI had a similar effect. Combining the two produced the best outcomes. Results are discussed in relation to potential interventions, including attitude and heading indicators and annunciators for system failure.
An Investigation of the Factors that Contribute to Pilots' Decisions to Continue Visual Flight Rules Flight into Adverse Weather
Authors: Goh Juliana , Wiegmann Douglas
Published: January 2012

Pilots' decisions to continue or divert from a visual flight rules flight (VFR) into instrument meteorological conditions (IMC) were investigated using a dynamic simulation of a hypothetical cross-country flight. Issues related to decision-making were investigated. Specifically, differences in situation assessment, risk perception and motivation, between pilots who chose to continue or divert from a VFR flight into IMC situation were examined. Results indicate that the simulation was successful in identifying pilots who would choose to either continue or divert and that differences existed between these two groups of pilots. Accuracy of visibility estimates, appraisal of one's own skill and judgment and frequency of risk-taking behavior were most important in predicting whether a pilot would continue or divert from a VFR flight into IMC situation. Findings suggest that overconfidence in personal ability and inaccurate diagnoses of visibility conditions precipitate VFR flight into IMC.
The Effects of Level of Automation on the Out-of-the-Loop Unfamiliarity in a Complex Dynamic Fault-Management Task during Simulated Spaceflight Operations
Authors: Lorenz Bernd , Di Nocera Francesco , Röttger Stefan , Parasuraman Raja
Published: January 2012

Out-of-the-loop unfamiliarity (OOTLUF) and information sampling strategies were examined after operator use of intelligent fault management (FM) support in interaction with a generic, autonomous, atmospheric control system. A simulated model-based reasoning agent provided fault diagnosis and recovery at three different levels of automation (LOA). In about 10% of the experimental trials FM support was withdrawn simulating a catastrophic failure. This allowed investigating OOTLUF potentially developed during reliable FM automation and its variation as a function of LOA. Dependent measures were the percentage of time the system was out-of-target, time elapsed until a repair was initiated, alarm reaction time, accuracy of manual tank level recordings, information sampling behavior, and subjective ratings of workload, tension, fatigue, self-confidence and trust in automation. It was found that automated FM support improved overall system performance and reduced subjective operator workload. OOTLUF occurred in terms of longer times until repair initiation only at medium LOA and not as expected at high LOA. A differential effect of LOA on information sampling strategies was observed suggesting that offloading operators from recovery implementation at high LOA during reliable automation enabled engagement in fault assessment activities, thereby maintaining situation awareness. It is concluded that for avoiding OOTLUF in complex, dynamic tasks, involving intelligent FM support, the important factor is not simply the LOA, but the ability of a particular LOA to support the human operator's information sampling and higher-level reasoning activities.
Improving Incident Reports Using a Schematic Recall Aid: The Critical Event Reporting Tool (CERT)
Authors: von Thaden Terry L. , Wiegmann Douglas A.
Published: January 2012

Incident reports are intended to help identify problems in safety critical systems and aid in preventing subsequent accidents, thus improving safety. Unfortunately, incident-reporting forms are generally unstructured, providing little guidance to the reporter on how to describe the critical events of an incident. As a result, most reports contain information on what happened, as opposed to why an incident happened, and hence make the identification of intervention and prevention strategies onerous. The purpose of the present study was to help remedy this situation by developing and testing a tool, coined the Critical Event Recall Tool (CERT) for improving the quality of information contained in narrative reports of incidents. Results of this study indicate that CERT improved the analytical content of general aviation pilots' reports of a critical incident that occurred during a simulated cross-country flight and that pilots who used CERT generally felt that the tool was easy to use and understand.
The OKCR and Pilot Performance during Transitions between Meteorological Conditions Using HMD Attitude Symbology
Authors: Liggett Kristen K. , Gallimore Jennie J.
Published: January 2012

Research has shown that spatial disorientation often occurs when pilots transition between real-world visual cues and head-down attitude instruments. Recent studies investigating the opto-kinetic cervical reflex (OKCR) indicate that when pilots transition between these two types of visual cues, they are also transitioning between frames of reference. Limited research has been conducted investigating pilots' response during transitions between real-world visual cues and helmet-mounted display (HMD) attitude symbology. Eleven pilots performed vertical “S” maneuvers in and out of clouds to simulate frequent transitions between visual meteorological conditions and instrument meteorological conditions using both primary flight symbology on an HMD and traditional head-down primary flight instruments. Because pilots focused primarily on the symbology during the task, the OKCR was not found. Results also revealed that pilots were better able to maintain commanded vertical velocity when using the HMD compared to the head-down instruments, which is attributed to the head-up location of the symbology. Having the HMD symbology superimposed on the real-world visual scene can provide additional visual cues that pilots can use to perform their task more efficiently.
When and Why Do Controllers Mark Flight Progress Strips? a Look at Live Traffic
Authors: Durso Francis T. , Batsakes Peter J. , Crutchfield Jerry M. , Braden Justin , Manning Carol A.
Published: January 2012

Subject matter experts were employed to record observations of flight progress strip marking across 5 en route ATC facilities. Approximately 220 hours of ATC observations were recorded establishing a group of high frequency/high importance markings. These markings were perceived by controllers to provide performance benefits through externalizing memory and communication. The results are discussed in relation to possible electronic alternatives to flight progress strips.
Usability and Accessibility Comparison of Governmental, Organizational, Educational and Commercial Aging/Health-Related Web Sites
Authors: Kurniawan H. , Zaphiris Panayiotis
Published: January 2012

This study is aimed at answering whether aging/health-related web sites of different domain extensions (i.e. .com, .edu, .gov and .org) differ in their accessibility and usability, and whether these two measures are correlated. The usability and accessibility of governmental, organizational, educational and commercial aging/health-related web sites were compared using two automatic evaluation tools: Bobby and LIFT. The governmental web site group has the highest compliance with Web site Content Accessibility Guide although only 52% got an approved status. The accessibility approval was found to correlate significantly with overall usability ratings for all groups, except the commercial web site group.
Biomechanical Analysis of Postural Sway in Elderly Adults on Ramps
Authors: Eichman John J. , Shehab Randa L.
Published: January 2012

This study investigated the effects of ramp angles on postural deviation as a function of age. Five ramp inclinations (1:8, 1:10, 1:12, 1:16, and 1:20) were examined in both ascent and descent directions. Five younger (22 to 28 years) and five older (78 to 88 years) adults participated in the study. Video-based motion analysis was used to measure torso and hip angles while participants walked on an adjustable inclined ramp. Both young and older participants had a significant increase in torso angle across ramp slopes from ascent to descent. In addition, the data indicated that older participants tended to lean to the right while walking while the young participants leaned to the left. Measurements of hip angle revealed that young participants had significantly greater hip movement than older participants and that hip angle decreased significantly as participants transitioned from descent to ascent trials. Based on the data observed, it is possible that ramp descent is more problematic for elderly adults. However, within the ramp conditions evaluated, the data were unable to clearly discriminate between ramp slopes beyond identifying differences between slopes of ascent and descent.
Impact of Age-related Hearing Impairment on Cognitive Task Performance: Evidence for Improving Existing Methodologies
Authors: Baldwin Carryl L.
Published: January 2012

Recent empirical evidence underscoring the necessity of considering the role hearing abilities when using auditory tasks to assess age-related changes in cognitive abilities is presented. Young participants, screened for hearing impairment, were required to perform a simulated driving task concurrently with an auditory task in which stimuli were presented at intensity levels simulating age-related hearing impairment. Young participants demonstrated performance decrements mirroring those of older participants in a separate but similar dual task investigation. In conjunction with evidence found by previous researchers, the results presented here provide clear evidence for the need to utilize methodologies that account for age-related hearing deficit when using auditory tasks as indices of cognitive abilities with older adults.
Young and Old Subject Distance Between Vehicles Estimation Using Linear Distance and “Car Lengths”
Authors: Lee William E.
Published: January 2012

Drivers perform distance estimations regarding their vehicle and objects around them (including other vehicles) continuously. Such estimates may employ linear distance or “car lengths”. The reliability of such assessments is often uncertain. The purpose of this investigation was to evaluate a subject's ability to judge distances between stationary vehicles, ranging from very close (15 ft) to 250 ft, using linear length (ft) and “car lengths” and to compare the relative accuracy of these two methods. Age influences were also investigated, grouping subjects into “young” (19-28 yrs) and “old” (64-76 yrs). This study found that the ability to estimate distance between two vehicles in the range 15 to 250 ft is limited, with subjects routinely underestimating the distance. The age influence became statistically significant at distances over 100 ft, with older subjects underestimating the distance even more than younger subjects. Finally, it was found that the length unit “car length” was even more likely to provide inaccurate distance estimations relative to linear length.
Expertise Effects in Situation Memory and Awareness
Authors: Sohn Young Woo , Dattel Andrew R.
Published: January 2012

This research focused on novice-expert differences in memory components of flight situation awareness. In Experiment 1, pilot memory for different forms (spatial or verbal) of cockpit situational information was tested immediately after presentation of the information (immediate recall) or after 30-s delay filled with an intervening task (delayed recall). In Experiment 2, pilot performance on a situation awareness (SA) task was examined and correlated with memory measures obtained in Experiment 1. Results suggest that an expertise effect occurs in delayed recall but not in immediate recall and representation of situational information in memory required to perform a SA task varies as a function of expertise. Theoretical accounts of results are discussed in the context of psychological theories of expertise.
Mental Model Assessments: Is There Convergence Among Different Methods?
Authors: Evans A. William , Jentsch Florian , Hitt James M. , Bowers Clint , Salas Eduardo
Published: January 2012

Knowledge elicitation and mental model assessment methods are becoming increasingly popular in applied psychology. However, there continue to be questions about the psychometrics of knowledge elicitation methods. Specifically, more needs to be known regarding the stability and consistency of the results over time (i.e., whether the methods are reliable) and regarding the degree to which the results correctly represent the underlying knowledge structures (i.e., whether the methods are valid).

This paper focuses on the convergence among three different assessment methods: (a) pairwise relatedness ratings using Pathfinder, (b) concept mapping, and (c) card sorting. Thirty-six participants completed all three assessments using the same set of twenty driving-related terms. Assessment sequences were counterbalanced, and participants were randomly assigned to one of the six assessment sequences. It was found that the three assessment methods showed very low convergence as measured by the average correlation across the three methods within the same person. Indeed, convergence was lower than the sharedness across participants (as measured by the average correlation across participants within the same assessment method). Additionally, there were order effects among the different assessment sequences. Implications for research and practice are discussed.
Designing Situation Displays to Promote Conformance to Automatic Alerts
Authors: Pritchett Amy R. , Vándor Balázs
Published: January 2012

Alerting systems monitor potentially hazardous situations. If a hazard is projected to occur, the system alerts the operator and/or commands the operator to execute specific actions. However, operators have been observed not to conform to alerting system commands. This study hypothesized that the interaction between information presented on situation displays and automatic alerts can encourage or discourage conformance to alerts. As a test case, a flight simulator evaluation was conducted examining collision detection during closely spaced parallel approaches in conditions specifically manipulated to create consonance (where the display provided a clear explanation of the rationale behind automatic alerts) and dissonance (where the display inherently promoted a different basis for an alerting judgment). Results indicate that conditions with consonance and dissonance can have significant impact on participants' collision detection performance and on their agreement with automatic alerts.
Situation Awareness for Military Ground Forces: Current Issues and Perspectives
Authors: Matthews Michael D. , Shattuck Lawrence G. , Graham Scott E. , Weeks Joseph L. , Endsley Mica R. , Strater Laura D.
Published: January 2012

The military is rapidly importing digital technology into its ground forces. The U.S. Army, for example, is developing the Land Warrior system that will link infantry soldiers and units together via digital communications and imaging. These changes have profound implications concerning how soldiers will move, shoot, and communicate as a team. One result of this new technology is that information available to individual soldiers and small units will increase exponentially. This will require soldiers and their leaders to accurately and quickly process large amounts of information, to make sense of it, and to effectively utilize that information to predict what is about to occur in the uncertain and volatile conditions of ground operations. Establishing and maintaining situation awareness (SA), therefore, is a growing challenge for ground forces. The purpose of the current panel is to bring together military and industry experts who are actively involved in SA research among ground forces. Mica Endsley offers perspectives on SA measurement and training challenges unique to ground forces. Laura Strater reviews recent validation efforts of SA measures designed specifically for application to ground forces. Joseph Weeks describes Air Force efforts to develop distributed training procedures for SA and decision-making for airbase ground defense forces. Lawrence Shattuck discusses research into the cognitive processes by which battalion commanders integrate information into meaningful conclusions. Scott Graham describes ongoing and future research on SA with infantry forces.
Scaling Scenarios for Synthetic Task Environments: Issues Related to Fidelity and Validity
Authors: Elliott Linda R. , Regian J. Wesley , Schiflett Samuel G.
Published: January 2012

In this paper we describe how synthetic task environments (STE) were scaled for multi-operator training and performance research goals using distributed PC-based systems. As analogues of operational performance domains, STE systems offer the opportunity to model, assess, and train underlying cognitive aspects of expert decision making and operational performance. They also offer advantages that complement the highly realistic battle simulation systems used in military distributed mission training (DMT). STE platforms are not as realistic as DMT systems; instead, they focus on a predetermined subset of functional and cognitive aspects of performance. The effectiveness of these STE systems depends on the degree to which scenarios are appropriately scaled along multiple dimensions of psychological fidelity and the degree to which scenarios elicit and measure performance constructs of interest. In this paper we describe issues considered in our effort to scale a complex multi-team mission scenario to meet research and training goals.
Does Planning Using Groupware Foster Coordinated Team Performance?
Authors: Miller Diane , Price Jana M. , Entin Elliot , Rubineau Brian , Elliott Linda
Published: January 2012

There is considerable evidence from Computer-Supported Collaborative Work (CSCW) research that groupware applications can change the process of cooperative planning and can help teams plan more effectively. This research seeks to improve our understanding of the relationship between pre-mission planning and the subsequent performance of command and control (C2) teams. This may foster the development of theory-motivated interventions to support improved planning and validation of human-performance measurement methods in team settings. We studied the effects of planning medium (i.e., paper map versus shared electronic whiteboard) and team organizational structure (i.e., functional versus divisional) on the ability of C2 teams to develop effective pre-mission plans and on their resulting performance using a team-in-the-loop simulation. Findings suggested that the groupware condition fostered collaborative planning behaviors. The results also indicated that teams who used the electronic whiteboard for planning enjoyed a performance advantage over those teams who planned using a paper map and markers.
Modeling Fault Diagnosis in a Dynamic Process Control Task Using a Multivariate Lens Model
Authors: Jha Pratik , Bisantz Ann M.
Published: January 2012

In this research, we modeled fault identification performance in a dynamic process control task using a multivariate Lens Model. This research demonstrates how multivariate Lens Model can be applied to capture dynamic aspects and policies of individuals when they are making judgments over multiple criteria - in this case, multiple categories of faults. Results and modeling analysis to date indicate that such a model may be applicable to such decisions, and sensitive to differences in performance under certain conditions.
Impacts of Technology and Situation Awareness on Decision Making: Operational Observations from National Weather Service Warning Forecasters During the Historic May 3 1999 Tornado Outbreak
Authors: Quoetone Elizabeth M. , Andra David L. , Bunting William F. , Jones Debra G.
Published: January 2012

The primary mission of the National Weather Service (NWS) is the protection of life and property through the issuances of timely and accurate forecasts and warnings. This mission was never so tested for the NWS Forecast Office in Norman, Oklahoma as it was on May 3, 1999 when 58 tornadoes taking 42 lives and injuring hundreds more occurred in the Norman area of warning responsibility. Despite these tragic results, the casualties could have been much higher had warnings been less timely or the public non-responsive. This paper will illuminate impacts of the recent infusion of technology into the forecast environment which produced significant benefits, yet important challenges for decision makers to overcome. In addition, how the concept of situation awareness (SA), while fairly new to the NWS warning environment, played a key role with regards to managing the massive amounts of data available to decision makers prior to and during the outbreak will be discussed.
Automation-Related “Complacency”: Theory, Empirical Data, and Design Implications
Authors: Metzger Ulla , Parasuraman Raja
Published: January 2012

With the introduction of advanced automation into many human-machine systems, the human is often left to monitor the automation. However, human monitoring of automated systems can be poor, especially when the operator has to accomplish other tasks (Parasuraman, Molloy & Singh, 1993). Several explanations for these automation-related monitoring inefficiencies (“complacency”) have been put forward. One view (Parasuraman et al., 1993) suggests that complacency reflects an attention allocation strategy away from the automated system due to high trust in the automation. Empirical data from two studies using eye movement recording are presented to test this theory. In the first study, students were tested on a PC-based simulation of flight-related tasks. In the second study, professional air traffic controllers performed on a medium-fidelity ATC simulator. The results supported an attentional interpretation of automation-related complacency. Implications for the design of automated systems are discussed.
From User-Centered Design to Senior-Centered Design: Designing Internet Health Information Portals
Authors: Kwahk Jiyoung , Smith-Jackson Tonya L. , Williges Robert C.
Published: January 2012

Seniors are increasingly using websites to access health-related information. We developed a portal website that provides health information for seniors based on a user-centered, participatory design approach to ensure that the resulting website meets the special needs and requirements of senior users, a group traditionally neglected in the development process. Our approach included five major steps in the development process: needs analysis, requirements specification, content design, iterative prototype design, and usability evaluation. Seniors were actively involved as part of the design team by participating in a variety of focus groups and online surveys throughout this development process. They were particularly helpful in providing design requirements and in identifying usability problems related to both web page content, web design features, and website navigation. This paper is a case study that explains our development process and summarizes lessons learned from our efforts to extend user-centered design to this special population of users. We concluded that user-centered design could be extended to senior-centered design quite successfully.
EMG Study on the Effect of a New Armrest on Neck, Shoulders and Arms
Authors: Udo Hiroshi , Udo Akihiro , Udo Akiko
Published: January 2012

We have developed a new armrest (NA) with adequate width supporting forearms, inclining upper surface, an area for mouse, and fixers at the edge of a shallow desk. We compared the cervicobrachial load among NA, NA with a mouse-pad (NAM) and a conventional palmrest with a mouse-pad (PRM) during word processing work. Seventeen healthy subjects operated a word processor for 1-h, alternately using 3 devices. EMG and subjective pain scores (PS) were recorded mainly from the right-side upper limb. EMG of the trapezius in PRM was significantly lower than in NAM; EMG of the anterior deltoideus (DELTa) in NA lower than in NAM; EMG of the medial deltoideus (DELTm) in NA lower than in PRM. The shoulder PS in NA/NAM was significantly lower than in PRM; the upper arm PS in NAM lower than in PRM; the forearm PS in NA/NAM lower than in PRM. These results suggest that NA reduces the cervicobrachial load than PRM.
A Method for Developing a Tool Predictive of End-User Performance on the PC
Authors: Lind Elise M. , Michalak Susan
Published: January 2012

The desire to improve usability in an ever-tightening market inspired several PC manufacturing companies to form a consortium, called the Ease of Use Roundtable, to pool resources and ideas. An initial problem addressed by the group was the lack of a conventional benchmark for ease of use, and therefore no accepted way to show improvement. The Ease of Use Roundtable members wanted a quick way to evaluate the usability of new PC designs, or to evaluate a number of similar systems, without recreating a huge usability testing effort each time. The group's objective was to create a checklist that an evaluator could use to measure PC usability, with some assurance that the outcome would be predictive of how end users would perform on that system in usability testing. This paper will describe the method we used to develop such a checklist and to show that it gave a reasonable prediction of usability test results. The paper will also discuss the limitations of the checklist, the problems we encountered in its development, and the opportunities for future work to expand on the method and the checklist itself.