bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Affective Evaluation of Vehicle Interior Craftsmanship: Systematic Checklists for Touch/Feel Quality of Surface-Covering Material
Authors: Yun Myung Hwan , You Heecheon , Geum Wooyeun , Kong Dongjoon
Published: January 2012

Touch/feel quality of interior material is a critical element of customer's perception of overall product quality. Manufactures are increasingly interested in the affective evaluation as the perception of quality is heavily related to customer's feeling toward the product. Surface material quality is characterized by complex touch-feel sensations. In this study, 30 participants rated their affective reactions (how pleasant I feel) to surface materials of 30 different automobile interiors. Four categories of the material characteristics are used in the evaluation; crash pad plastic, steering wheel plastic, wood grain and metal grain. Consistent with previous research, it was found that both the visual quality and touch/feel quality influenced customer's perception of the material quality. Variables related to touch/feel quality is structured as ‘an affective quality checklist’ for automobile interiors to be used by a trim engineering team of an automobile manufacturer.
Safety Evaluation of Weightlifting Apparatus
Authors: Beyer R. , Beyer Steinke , Ayres T. J. , Mandell J. A. , Giffard J. , Larkin M.
Published: January 2012

Adjustable stops are available on many weightlifting machines, and have the potential to prevent some injuries that occur during exercise. The safety benefit depends in large part on whether and how the stops are used. Unobtrusive observations at health clubs indicate that most patrons fail to use the adjustable stops. Advantages and disadvantages of several approaches to injury prevention are considered.
The Role of User Processing and Task Change on Task Performance
Authors: Strawderman Lesley , Koubek Richard
Published: January 2012

The purpose of this research is to minimize the negative effects and maximize the benefits of the introduction of new technology to consumers. This paper examines the effect of user processing and product change on the acceptance of product upgrades. User processing is defined as the type of cognitive processing a user employs to complete a task, and is identified as either controlled or automated. Three types of product changes are examined: omission (removing a task step), commission (adding a task step), and sequence (changing the order of task steps). Both the short term and long term effects of these changes on user performance are examined. The platform utilized was an inventory management computer program. Task completion time was collected from 31 subjects. The results indicate a difference in user performance based on processing type: subjects adapted to changes in the program more readily when using controlled processing as opposed to automated processing. Users have difficulty recovering from a task change when they are using automated processing. When they are using controlled processing, the change is more readily accepted. The variability of their performance was greater when using controlled processing. Task changes were most readily adapted to when the change was that of sequence. Changes of omission and commission caused a greater negative effect on the subjects' performance.
Guidelines for Constructing Graphs
Authors: Petkosek M.A. , Moroney W.F.
Published: January 2012

Data can be presented either as an inscription (graphs, tables, and diagrams) or summarized in text. Recognizing when to use a graph, table, or text is a critical element of effective writing. This paper provides guidance for presenting data in papers, theses, and dissertations. It focuses primarily on graphs- the most powerful form of inscription- and describes advantages and disadvantages of various graphical formats. Factors related to the effective design of graphs such as: size of data sets, type of data, usability, and human perception are considered.
Washington State's Ergonomics Ideas Bank (EIB). Preventing Work-Related Musculoskeletal Disorders (WMSDS) is Feasible by Making Ergonomics Principles Available to Employers
Authors: C´rcamo Ernesto , Drozdowsky Sharon L. , Marsh Paul , Criss Brian
Published: January 2012

The state funded workers' compensation insurance in Washington State receives more than 50,000 claims a year (40% of all claims) from work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WMSDs). The annual direct cost of those claims is $410 million, and with additional indirect costs, the economic losses total over 1 billion dollars. The hazards that cause WMSDs must be controlled and reduced in workplaces. Business and labor working together need to decide on the implementation of ergonomics principles to reduce hazardous exposures. A survey of Washington State employers revealed that their biggest difficulty in implementing ergonomics was finding solutions. This presentation describes the Washington State Ergonomics Ideas Bank (EIB), a web-based service that can be accessed by employers and employees to search for ideas to help reduce WMSD hazards. Preliminary data indicate that the Bank is being used and user feedback is positive. It continues to grow as the public deposits ideas.
Teaching Human Factors and Ergonomics to our coworkers: Are we extending our reach or giving away the recipe for our secret sauce?
Authors: Batra Sanjay , Baker Melinda , Lew Gavin , Peacock Brian , Rogers Julia , Stender Kerith
Published: January 2012

Our profession has reached out to a wide audience with articles, books, and workshops about Human-Centered Design (HCD), Usability, and Ergonomics. Should we be teaching aspects of Human Factors and Ergonomics (HFE) to lay audiences? Education can help us in getting our ideas accepted, improve how team members work with us, and extend the reach of HFE. Is there value in teaching HFE methods, principles, and guidelines? Will laypersons be able to actually start applying HFE principles and guidelines without learning the underlying theory? Will they have the experience and pragmatics to properly apply guidelines? When we simplify our knowledge and skills to teach them to others, do we run the risk of trivializing our profession?
Academic Skills of Engineering Psychology Majors: A Comparative Study
Authors: Matthews Michael D.
Published: January 2012

Shattuck (2001) described the Engineering Psychology program at West Point and how its graduates are prepared to work in interdisciplinary design teams. The current research assessed the academic skills of senior Engineering Psychology cadets in ten basic areas, and compared them with similar measures taken among freshmen and senior leadership and management majors at the academy. Results indicated significant differences among the groups in seven areas including information gathering, groups/organizations, interpersonal, behavior management, critical thinking, research methods, and ethics/values. In general, seniors reported more developed skills than freshmen, and Engineering Psychology majors reported more research-related skills than Leadership and Management majors. Implications for program evaluation and development are discussed.
Designing an Educational Curriculum for Future Human Factors Professionals
Authors: Liu Dahai , Vincenzi Dennis , Greene Frances
Published: January 2012

Human Factors and Systems Department at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University (ERAU) focuses on both traditional and emerging areas of Human Factors and Systems in Aviation and Aerospace. The majority of students will pursue a career in aviation after s/he graduates. So it is crucial to provide the proper curriculum for those students at the very beginning, in order to equip them with sufficient knowledge and skills. The ERAU model of Human Factors education starts with the analysis of the student needs and integrates relevant disciplines into a single program. Courses are designed to expose students to the general human factors theory, as well as the technical applications in aviation/aerospace. The transition between semesters follows a continuous and systematic pattern and a complete knowledge network will be built after four years in the program. This paper illustrated the structure of ERAU's model and uses four Human Factors courses as a case study.
Augmented Cognition Overview: Improving Information Intake under Stress
Authors: Raley Colby , Stripling Roy , Kruse Amy , Schmorrow Dylan , Patrey James
Published: January 2012

Military operators are often put into complex human-machine interactive environments shown to fail when stressful situations are encountered. To enhance warfighter readiness and operational capability, DARPA's efforts in Augmented Cognition are developing a new generation of technologies to enable computational systems to adapt to the human's cognitive state in real-time. These augmented systems will be endowed with non-invasive sensors that provide objective measures of the warfighter's neurophysiological responses to ongoing events. Based on these measures, as well as cognitive and contextual models of the user's intentions and objectives, these systems will invoke validated mitigation strategies to enable maximal performance from the user, and to help return them to an optimally functional state. This panel provided an overview of the key components of an Augmented Cognition system, how its development and validation will be carried out, and where these technologies could be implemented both in military settings and beyond.
Human Performance Models for Response to Alarm Notifications in the Process Industries: An Industrial Case Study
Authors: Reising Dal Vernon C. , Downs Joshua L. , Bayn Danni
Published: January 2012

The Engineering Equipment and Materials User Association (EEMUA) recently published recommendations for average and peak alarm rates of 1 alarm per 10 minutes during normal operations and no more than 10 alarms per 10 minutes following an upset condition, respectively. However, these recommendations have been made in the absence of human performance studies or theory. This paper presents two studies –an analytical Keystroke-Level Modeling study and a Markov modeling study– that provide an initial human performance context for the EEMUA recommendations. Results suggest that these EEMUA recommendations are in line with human performance limits. Several limitations of the two studies for generalizing from either the KLM or Markov modeling results are discussed. Practical implications presented include the need for advanced alarm reduction techniques and consideration of peak alarm rates for upset conditions during the alarm rationalization process. Future research directions are also discussed, such as establishing the duration for which the EEMUA recommendation for peak alarm rates can be endured by a human operator.
Reflective Clothing is Attractive to Pedestrians
Authors: Costello Theresa M. , Wogalter Michael S.
Published: January 2012

Motor vehicle crash fatalities involving pedestrians result in 1.8 deaths per 100,000 population annually in the US. Most of these fatalities are attributed to the pedestrian not being seen in time for the driver to avoid a collision, particularly under poor lighting conditions. Previous research shows that reflective clothing worn at night significantly increases a pedestrian's visual conspicuity to drivers, especially when worn on a part of the body that moves. The purpose of the present research was to examine pedestrians' willingness to pay an additional dollar amount for clothing providing increased conspicuity at night. Two studies were conducted with sample sizes of n = 340 and 325, respectively, comprised of university students and non-students. Findings from these two studies suggest that over 49 percent of respondents would be willing to pay an additional amount ($33 versus $30) for a sweat shirt or jacket, and over 60 percent would pay the same additional amount for athletic shoes. These findings suggest that a relatively large segment of the population are interested in and would be willing to spend more for clothing with reflective material. In both studies, significantly more women than men selected the reflective material option. Respondents spending more time outdoors at dusk or at night walking, running or jogging professed a significantly greater willingness to purchase the reflective clothing than respondents reporting spending less time outdoors at dusk or after dark. Implications for product marketing and future research are discussed.
Effects of User Experience, Working Posture, and Joint Hardness on Powered Nutrunner Torque Reactions
Authors: Lin Jia-Hua , McGorry Raymond W. , Dempsey Patrick G. , Chang Chien-Chi
Published: January 2012

Powered hand tools produce reaction forces that may be associated with upper extremity musculoskeletal disorders. Fifteen experienced and fifteen novice male powered tool users operated pistol grip and right angle nutrunners in a laboratory study. A full factorial experiment examined the effects of operator experience, working height, distance, tool, and fastener joint hardness on handle displacement and grip forces due to torque reactions. The results show that in addition to working height and distance, experience significantly affected tool handle displacement resulting from reaction torque. Experienced users allowed an average of 7.9°, while novice users allowed 11.5° when pistol grip tools were used on a horizontal surface. Experienced users allowed less handle displacement for all working conditions, and exerted more force than novice users when using right angle tools, but less force when using pistol grip tools. Operator experience influences mechanical exposure during power tool usage.
Interrater Reliability of a Video-Based Fixed Interval Sampling Method to Assess Hand Force and Wrist Posture
Authors: Lau Michael H. , Armstrong Thomas J.
Published: January 2012

Interrater reliability was assessed for a video-based, quantitative exposure assessment method for estimation of hand forces and wrist postures for a short duty-cycle job. Six raters analyzed a 25-second video of a worker packing a case and rated bilateral hand forces and wrist postures at ¼-second intervals. Consistency was analyzed using intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC). Interrater reliability was high for hand forces (left: ICC=0.78; right: ICC=0.77), moderate for wrist flexion/extension (left: ICC=0.61; right: ICC=0.59), and poor for wrist deviation (left: ICC=0.15; right: ICC=0.34). For one subtask repeated six times per cycle, force variation was inadequate for ICC calculation, but ICCs were similar for wrist postures (mean ICC=0.55 for flexion/extension, mean ICC=0.39 for deviation). Results indicate raters were consistent in estimating hand forces. Discrepancies in estimating wrist postures were consistent with existing literature. ICCs work well in situations with more variability (i.e. more activity), but not in static, unchanging conditions.
Effect of Grip Force on Wrist Range of Motion
Authors: DiMartino Allison , Doné Kathryn , Judkins Timothy , Hallbeck M. Susan , Bashford Gregory
Published: January 2012

This study investigated the effect of a constant grip exertion on wrist range-of-motion (ROM). Seven different levels of grip force were investigated, including two levels of zero exertion, 25%, 50%, 75%, 90%, and 100% MVC. Both hands were tested for each of three forearm positions (pronation, halfway between pronation and supination (neutral), and supination). Twenty student subjects (10 males and 10 females) were tested. Subjects held a particular grip force level constant while simultaneously moving their wrist. The maximum angles of flexion and extension were recorded to measure range-of-motion (ROM). ANOVA analysis was performed for the dependent variables of flexion angle, extension angle, and total ROM. Independent variables were gender, hand, forearm position, and exertion level. Exertion level was a significant factor for extension, flexion, and ROM. Forearm posture was a significant factor for extension and ROM. Tukey-Kramer analysis revealed similar groupings of exertion levels and forearm positions for flexion, extension, and ROM. The data show a significant decrement in wrist ROM as grip force exertion level increased.
Concrete Leveling Techniques – A Comparative Ergonomic Assessment
Authors: Albers Jim , Russell Steve , Stewart Kate
Published: January 2012

Removing excess concrete and leveling concrete to grade – a.k.a. concrete screeding – can be accomplished using a number of different techniques. Five concrete screeding techniques were evaluated to characterize construction workers exposures to risk factors for developing work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WMSD). Workers were videotaped using manual, vibratory, roller, and laser screeding equipment on new construction sites. WMSD risk factors for the five screeding techniques were analyzed using the following ergonomic assessment methods: Posture, Activity, Tools, and Handling (PATH), ACGIH® Hand Activity Level TLV®, Strain Index, Washington State Ergonomic Rule, Liberty Mutual Manual Material Handling Tables and the NIOSH revised lifting equation. The most serious risks for developing musculoskeletal injuries of the upper extremity and back were observed during manual and roller screeding. Powered screeding techniques generally presented less risk than manual screeding, but these techniques can require brief periods of medium to high exertion for lifting tasks. Vibratory screed operators are exposed to hand-arm vibration, but vibration levels were not measured. Operating the walk-behind and the cab operated laser screeds presented the least risk. Suggestions are provided to limit the use of hand screeding, and to minimize potential exposure to risk factors related to operating and handling the powered screeding equipment.
Ergonomic Evaluation of U.S. Army Bridge Construction
Authors: Bodenhamer Andrew S. , Davis Bradley M. , Kotian Roshan S.
Published: January 2012

An ergonomic intervention of the construction of the Medium Girder Bridge was conducted. In this study, task observation, a sample survey, ergonomic assessment, and ergonomic intervention were conducted. Survey results were collected ( n = 58), and served to identify the population and areas for ergonomic improvement. The revised NIOSH lifting equation and University of Michigan 3D Static Strength Prediction Program were then used to analyze manual materials handling tasks. By redesigning the hand tools used for bridge construction, the average NIOSH lifting index was decreased by 0.4 (−16%) and the average L5/S1 disc compression was reduced by 1700 N (−36%). These results along with other ergonomic improvements will be validated in a pending field study.
Efficient Flow and Human Centred Assembly by an Interactive Approach
Authors: Eikhout Sandra M. , Helmes Rianne B. M. , van Rhijn J. W.
Published: January 2012

Due to fluctuations on the market, manufacturing of many product variations, and wish for fine-tuning between production and assembly a fan and motor manufacturing company wanted to improve their assembly line. The aims were efficient flow and human centered assembly in the new product line. Therefore an integral participatory approach of ergonomics and assembly engineering was adopted. This paper describes the process and the results of the development of the new assembly line. The new defined assembly line leads to productivity increase, less physical load, less walking and searching time, efficient flow, flexible deployment, ergonomic workstations and convenient arrangement of workstations, material and transportation.
Low Back Disorder Risk in Automotive Parts Distribution
Authors: Lavender Steven A. , Oleske Denise M. , Andersson Gunnar B. J. , Morrissey Mary , Zold-Kilbourn Phyllis , Taylor Emily
Published: January 2012

The purpose of this study was to characterize the low back disorder (LBD) risk in jobs found in automotive parts distribution centers. This descriptive study analyzed 53 jobs at 7 automotive distribution facilities in the Northern United States. Data were collected using the Lumbar Motion Monitor (LMM) and analyzed using the LMM LBD risk model. Historically, the LMM risk model, which was developed primarily through an analysis of manufacturing jobs, has used the peak load moment in the calculations. A secondary purpose of this study was to compare the difference in LBD risk estimates obtained using the peak versus the mean load moment in the analysis of these highly variable lifting jobs. Given that each lifting task may be a different weight item from a different location the sampling process was validated using split-test reliability coefficients. These were found to be 0.90. Results indicate that, on average the jobs in automotive parts distribution are moderately high risk (mean= 56%, s.d.= 11%), however, nearly half the sample had LMM LBD risk probability values greater than 60% mark that has been used by some as a cut point in defining “high” risk (Marras et al., 2000). On average, use of the average moment instead of the maximum moment reduced the LBD risk probability value by 7.4 percent (s.d.= 5.3%), however, the range included no difference up to 17 percent. Many of the jobs contain trunk motions that are associated with high LBD risk, however, many of these same jobs had relatively low lifting frequencies which moderated the risk estimates. It should be noted that for many of the jobs the LBD risk probability was at the medium level due to the travel time required between lifts. This kept the frequency of lifting in many of these jobs relatively low for distribution type work; for many jobs the liftrates were less than 60 lifts per hour. The liftrate potentially contributes 20 percent to the overall risk calculation in the model. This suggests that efforts to increase the pick rates and efficiencies in these jobs will be accompanied by increased LBD risk if done without accompanying ergonomic interventions.
A 3D Motion Prediction Model for Arm Movement
Authors: Zhang Yanxin , Hsiang Simon M.
Published: January 2012

A mathematic prediction model based on numerical method is investigated for human arm-reaching movement. Unlike the previous solutions that optimized certain cost functions with global nonlinear multi-constraints of the kinematics and kinetics, the model applies Listing's Law to reduce the degrees of freedom. The rotation vectors, which describe arm positions as a rotation relative to given reference positions, are confined to a flat range called Listing's plane. The major benefit of this model is that it is biologically plausible and supported by other experimental results and the model requires little computation aim to find a feasible, not necessarily optimal path; therefore, make it more applicable for biomechanical simulation. The anatomical assumptions and the model development are detailed and a validating experiment was conducted. The result of experiment shows that the proposed method generated the motion trajectory with reduced calculation complexity.
A New Three-Dimensional Model for Predicting Hand Prehensile Configurations
Authors: Lee Sang-Wook , Zhang Xudong
Published: January 2012

An optimization-based three-dimensional (3D) model for power grip posture prediction was proposed. The model was based on the premise that the hand prehensile configuration in a power grip best conforms to the object shape. This premise was embodied by an optimization procedure that minimized the sum of distances from the finger joints to the object surface. The model was evaluated against data from an experiment that measured the grip postures of 28 subjects having diverse anthropometry. The intra- and inter-person variabilities in grip postures were empirically assessed and used as benchmark values for model evaluation. The evaluation showed that the root-mean-square (RMS) values of angle differences between the predicted and measured postures had a 13.7° grand mean (across all joints, subjects, and two cylindrical handles grasped), whereas the RMS values of the inter-person and intra-person variabilities in measured postures had grand means of 13.0° and 4.4°, respectively. The model can be readily generalized to the prediction of postures in power-grasping objects of different shapes, and adapted for testing alternative prehensile strategies or performance criteria.
Promoting Memorability and Security of Passwords Through Sentence Generation
Authors: Vu Kim-Phuong L. , Tai Bik-Lam (Belin) , Bhargav Abhilasha , Schultz E. Eugene , Proctor Robert W.
Published: January 2012

Much of our personal information flows through the Internet as we receive online services or make online transactions, making it essential to have reliable security systems to protect against information theft, denial of service, and fraud. The most commonly used method for authentication and identification is entering the username-password combination. However, this method is weak because users select passwords that are easy to remember and easy to crack. We evaluated a sentence-generation method designed to improve recall and security. The sentence-generation method produced crack-resistant passwords when the users were instructed to embed a digit and special character into the sentence (and password). However, the requirements of including a digit and special character also resulted in a cost in the memorability of the password. An analysis of errors identified three areas of research that may develop techniques that promote better recall of passwords using this sentence-generation method.
Empirical Tests of the Human-Web Interaction Cycle
Authors: Jones Keith S. , Farris J. Shawn
Published: January 2012

Farris (2003) proposed the Human-Web Interaction (HuWI) cycle, which predicts that 1) system knowledge (i.e., one's knowledge base) will direct interaction with a website, 2) system knowledge will be modified by the user's interaction with the website, and 3) only goal-relevant information should be attended to during these interactions. This paper describes two experiments that tested these three predictions. In Experiment 1, performance was worse when participants' system knowledge was inconsistent with a website, which suggests that system knowledge was directing interaction with the website. In addition, participants tested for knowledge of the content before and after interacting with the website demonstrated higher posttest scores than pretest scores, which indicates that system knowledge was modified by interacting with the website. In Experiment 2, participants attended primarily to goal-relevant information, if the goal pertained to content. These findings generally support the validity of the HuWI cycle.
Video-Cued Recall: Its use in a Work Domain Analysis
Authors: Miller Anne
Published: January 2012

A Work Domain Analysis involves the context independent representation of work domain resources as a field for action. However, formal knowledge may not represent all of the resources available to workers in practice. Thus expert knowledge is essential to an accurate inventory of work domain resources. Most knowledge elicitation methods involve self-reports, which are subject to bias. This paper presents video-cued recall as a technique that may reduce bias. This technique proved useful as part of a Work Domain Analysis of the intensive care unit patient work domain.
Performance of 2D versus 3D Topographic Representations for Different Task Types
Authors: Savage Debra MacIvor , Wiebe Eric N. , Devine Hugh A.
Published: January 2012

In this study, a performance comparison is made between 2D and 3D topographic representations for solving different tasks. The tasks involved answering questions that either did or did not require elevation information and were either focused or integrative. Integrative questions required understanding the relationship of three separate locations. 2D representations (i.e., contour maps) only showed a clear advantage for focused, non-elevation questions with 3D representations not showing a clear advantage for any other task condition. There were interactions between task type, dimensionality and elevation. In addition, the integrative, elevation questions were clearly more difficult regardless of dimension. In addition, participants' visualization ability, as measured by a paper-folding test, correlated with their task performance. Further work is proposed to look at how experience interacts with these tasks and topographic representations.
The Span of Visual Processing in Tactical Displays
Authors: Keillor Jocelyn , Desai Ipsa , Hollands J. G. , Reingold Eyal M.
Published: January 2012

Visual span, or the region of the visual field from which information is extracted during a fixation, may vary as a function display complexity. As display technology evolves, military tactical displays show increasing quantities of information, often across large areas. To quantify the breadth with which an operator may process information presented in a tactical display, we related search performance to the amount of the display processed without an eye movement. The derived visual span measure was used to test the possibility that task requirements have an impact on the spatial extent of ”at a glance” processing. We compared visual span on searches based on threat affiliation (color) to those based on a combination of threat affiliation and heading (color and orientation) for two naval tactical symbol sets. We found that the task an operator engaged in while searching a complex tactical display affected the portion of the display that was processed ”at a glance”.
Does the Perceived Urgency of Auditory Signals Affect Auditory Spatial Cueing in Visual Search Tasks?
Authors: Reed Daniel , Strybel Thomas Z.
Published: January 2012

In the auditory warning literature, investigators have identified acoustic parameters such as harmonicity and interpulse interval that affect perceived urgency of a warning sound. In the present investigation, we asked whether these parameters would affect visual orienting in a visual search task. Participants located and identified visual targets in a large cluttered search field. Audio cues to the target were also presented. In baseline conditions, auditory cues varying in perceived urgency were presented alone, and the time required to identify the visual target was measured. In the paired-cue conditions, two audio cues were presented, one valid and one invalid. Cue informativeness and cue urgency were manipulated. Performance interference was measured as the difference in search latencies between the informative cue and the corresponding cue in the baseline condition. Although baseline search latencies were not affected by perceived urgency in the baseline conditions, perceived urgency did affect the amount of interference produced by uninformative cues in the paired-cued conditions
Beyond Trends: A Framework for Mapping Time-Based Requirements and Display Formats for Process Operations
Authors: Hajdukiewicz John , Wu Peggy
Published: January 2012

Trends have been extensively used in operations to monitor and manage evolving process situations. They provide detail about process variables but can take up significant screen space, potentially occluding other important monitoring parameters. As more data becomes available to the operations team, trends could proliferate and overload the operator. This paper presents the time-based information needs generated from plant personnel interviews, and discusses four existing and six alternative formats for displaying time-based information to tackle this problem. A framework was also developed to link the requirements to design options. The framework can be used to assess the benefits and limitations of the display options and help inform design based on the conditions of use in operations.
The Role of Highlighting in Visual Search Through Maps
Authors: Wickens Christopher D. , Ambinder Michael S. , Alexander Amy L. , Martens Marieke
Published: January 2012

An experiment was conducted in which participants performed a simulated vehicle dispatching task using a map display with two information domains. The intensity of one information domain was varied to examine the effect on processing the information in a cluttered display. Response times were recorded for questions either requiring focused attention on a particular information domain or divided attention between the two information domains. The results of the present experiments indicate that it is possible to ”declutter” a display without erasing any information. By ”lowlighting” one information domain and keeping the other domain at a fairly high intensity level, performance on tasks requiring divided attention is optimal, as is performance on tasks requiring focused attention to one domain exclusively. These results are also discussed in conjunction with a computational model of the effects of discriminability and salience on performance in a cluttered display with variable intensity codings used to visually segregate different domains of information.
A New Resource for Effective Consumer Product Instructions: Manufacturer's Guide to Developing Consumer Product Instructions
Authors: Lerner Neil D. , Singer Jeremiah P. , Smith Timothy P.
Published: January 2012

This paper describes a new resource for developing and evaluating consumer product instructions. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) staff, when conducting product safety assessments, often finds that the instructions provided with a product are deficient and result in consumers misassembling or misusing the product. Therefore, CPSC staff recently released the Manufacturer's Guide to Developing Consumer Product Instructions. This Guide is unique in providing a relatively comprehensive, yet compact, set of principles specifically addressing the development and evaluation of instructional material for consumer products. It has a strong human factors orientation. The approach to developing the document was based upon the behavioral sequence that must be accomplished if the final outcome is to be a change in product user behavior. The content, structure, and perspective of the Guide make it useful for human factors professionals in product design, safety research, and forensics, as well as for developers of instructions and safety materials.
A Review, Evaluation and Classification of Fatigue Countermeasures for Transportation Operators
Authors: Sanquist Thomas F. , McCallum Marvin C.
Published: January 2012

An expert panel and scientific literature analysis provided data for classifying and evaluating countermeasures for transportation operator fatigue. The panel identified a set of risk factors that are common across transportation modes, and a variety of strategies used or available to reduce fatigue. Twenty such fatigue countermeasures were identified and evaluated on the basis of empirical data in the literature. Of the twenty, only six provide reasonable relief from fatigue without undesirable side effects; these include: adequate sleep, caffeine, napping, anchor sleep, trip planning, and a good sleeping environment. The remaining 14 countermeasures either produce side effects, are illegal without a prescription, are impractical for everyday implementation, or simply do not work. These latter countermeasures, such as opening a window for fresh air while driving, or stopping to exercise, are potentially dangerous, as they may lead drivers to believe they are not fatigued when in fact they are.
U.S. Navy/Marine Corps CRM Training: Separating Theory from Reality
Authors: Wilson-Donnelly Katherine A. , Shappell Scott A.
Published: January 2012

The breakdown or failure of crew resource management (CRM) has been cited as a causal factor in a large number of civilian and military aviation accidents. However, a recent review of the literature has revealed that many of the CRM concepts currently being trained are unrelated and/or unclear, making it difficult to determine the effectiveness of existing CRM training programs. The U.S. Navy/Marine Corps are no different. In an effort to determine the critical skills that should be taught, we examined U.S. Navy/Marine Corps Class A aviation accident data between 1990 and 2000 for CRM failures. In this study, 275 U.S. Naval aviation CRM failures were examined to identify those critical to safety in U.S. Naval aviation. Of the six CRM failures identified, the failure to conduct an adequate brief and the lack of communication accounted for over 50% of the failures examined, suggesting the importance of these areas when training CRM.
Comprehension and Training of International Road Signs
Authors: Ward Shanna J. , Wogalter Michael S. , Mercer Andrew W.
Published: January 2012

Interest in cross-cultural traffic signs is in part motivated by the increase of motorists driving in foreign countries. This study investigated comprehension levels of 100 international road signs and the effect of brief sign training with the associated referent (sign meaning) on subsequent comprehension. Using open-ended questions U.S. drivers were tested on their ability to correctly report the meaning and action associated with various international road signs. Later they were exposed to the textual referent in a brief 5 minute training exercise. Following the training exercise, comprehension was retested. For many signs initial comprehension levels were low and critical confusions (serious errors) were high. However, after a brief training session comprehension levels dramatically improved. The results indicate that U.S. drivers may have difficulty understanding traffic signage outside of the U.S. To some extent training of the sign meanings might counteract low comprehension and high critical confusions. More extensive training or redesign may be needed to ensure U.S. drivers understand particularly highly signs.
A High-Resolution Wide-Screen Display for Simulators and Virtual Reality
Authors: Govil Vaibhav , Lovell Stacy , Suresh Piriyakala , Wu Qiong , Yang Guihua , Mourant Ronald R.
Published: January 2012

We have developed virtual worlds that run on a single personal computer and can be displayed using two outputs. A single display of the two outputs has a resolution of 3200 × 1200 pixels. The field-of-view may be as large as 120 degrees with little distortion. Frame rates are in excess of 60 per second. The common use of such high-resolution wide-screen displays in simulators and virtual reality could significantly improve the experience of participants. Such a near-photorealistic large display may enhance the believability of scenarios and raise a person's sense of presence in the virtual experience. This may increase the sensitivity and validity of performance measures. Virtual reality application areas that could benefit from using a high-resolution wide-screen display include those used for training, education, and medical applications such as the treatment of psychological disorders. Since many driving tasks involve a large field of view, low-cost effective driving simulators can now be easily constructed. We use a driving simulator to demonstrate the use of a high-resolution wide-screen display.
Bibliometric Analysis of the Science of Human Factors
Authors: Panjwani Gulshan
Published: January 2012

Domain visualization attempts to present the interrelationships between research areas by spatially representing the fields or sub fields of science. The science of human factors has grown over the past decade. In addition, sub specialties within the field have developed making it even more complex to understand. As a future human factors practitioner, understanding a multidisciplinary field such as this necessitates a domain analysis because of its evolutionary and complex nature. This paper reports the preliminary results of this analysis using author co-citation analysis (ACA) and three domain visualization tools, cluster analysis, multidimensional scaling, and Pathfinder Networks. Sixty authors were mapped selected from core ergonomics, human factors (HF) and human computer interaction (HCI) journals. Preliminary results suggest that ergonomics is treated as a separate entity, while HF and HCI are more intertwined with some key researchers forming the core of the research community. Future research directions are discussed.
Variables Affecting Older Adults' Medication Adherence Strategies
Authors: Nichols Timothy A. , Sanchez Julian , Mitzner Tracy L.
Published: January 2012

Older adults' failure to comply with their medication regimens has motivated considerable research. Much previous research has concentrated on the creation of physical memory aids or has focused on the role of conditions like depression. However, the ways in which older adults do adhere to their medication regimens – their medication memory strategies – can also provide useful information. Through an understanding of these adherence strategies as well as the conditions under which nonadherence occurs, we can analyze the relationship between reported strategies and variables, like metamemory, non-routine activities, and medication regimen complexity. The present study proposes a questionnaire designed to elicit this information from older adults. Data from this questionnaire can be used to increase medication adherence by providing guidelines for specialized adherence strategies, identifying conditions under which nonadherence is most likely to occur, and by providing insight into future design of memory aids for medication taking.
Type of Automation Failure: The Effects on Trust and Reliance in Automation
Authors: Johnson Jason D. , Sanchez Julian , Fisk Arthur D. , Rogers Wendy A.
Published: January 2012

Past automation research has focused primarily on machine-related factors (e.g., automation reliability) and human-related factors (e.g., accountability). Other machine-related factors such as type of automation errors, misses or false alarms, have been noticeably overlooked. These two automation errors correspond to potential operator errors, omission (misses) and commission (false alarms), which have proven to directly affect operators' trust in automation. This proposed research will examine how automation-error-type affects operator trust and begin to develop baseline trust measures as they relate to error type and participant age. It is expected that participants presented with more automation false alarms than misses will experience a larger degradation of subjective trust than those presented with equal numbers of false alarms and misses or more automation misses than false alarms.
Driver Trust, Annoyance, and Acceptance of an Automated Calendar System
Authors: Wetzel Jacob M. , Sheffert Sonya M. , Backs Richard W.
Published: January 2012

Driver annoyance, trust, and workload were manipulated in a simulated driving task with an unreliable auditory calendar system side task while cardiovascular measures were collected. Participants performed a car-following task in either a difficult or easy driving condition while interacting with an automated voice calendar. The automated calendar system used a spoken alert to notify drivers as they approached a desired location (i.e., “pharmacy”). Reliability was manipulated at 90, 70, 50, and 30 percent correct prediction of the location. Drivers also experienced of one of four auditory alerts (none, 60, 75, or 90 dB SPL) designed to elicit subjective annoyance. Low-frequency hear rate variability (LF-HRV, 0.10 Hz band variance) was suppressed during high workload and differed between baseline driving and driving with the calendar system. LF-HRV suggested that cognitive effort was lower for more reliable systems with an alarm tone.
Driving Assistance during Bus Docking and Mental Load
Authors: Collet Christian , Champely S. , Petit Claire , Renault Claire , Dittmar A.
Published: January 2012

The aim of the experiment was to test the effect of an automated system of bus docking on drivers' mental workload, to guarantee good acceptance and minimal distraction from traffic. Reduced workload is thought to be brought about by helping the driver to maneuver, as he is only required to monitor proper functioning of the system. Workload was estimated by electrodermal activity recording while drivers tested five scenarios, involving or not the docking system. Results showed that docking precision was improved by the system, compared with manual docking. Drivers' workload was higher when they monitored the functioning of the system but was reduced after a learning process. Increased workload was evidenced in the event of dysfunction of the docking system, especially when drivers had to take over control. However, after habituation, such a system could be integrated into buses to improve safety during boarding and egress.
Comparing Methods for Placing Controls and Displays in a Cockpit
Authors: Walters Brett , Bzostek Julie , Small Ron , Stachowiak Christopher
Published: January 2012

The Crew Station Design Tool helps designers visualize and optimize their choices of controls and displays, and position those elements in a workstation. This paper describes the tool's ability to design the cockpit of a fixed-wing aircraft and compares the results to an actual airliner. The tasks, task sequences, operator assignments, and control and display assignments were developed with the help of a subject matter expert. After this information was entered into the tool, the cockpit was drawn in a three-dimensional graphic environment. Alternate layouts were created using three different criteria: 1) frequency of use, 2) sequence of use, and 3) frequency and sequence of use. Of the three layouts, the frequency of use was subjectively closest to the actual airliner. The proposed layout also suggested some control and display locations that might be better for an actual flight deck.
Laboratory Simulation Methods for Studying Complex Collaborative Tasks
Authors: Humphries William D. , Neale Dennis C. , McCrickard D. Scott , Carroll John M.
Published: January 2012

This paper describes a new laboratory model developed for studying complex CSCW phenomena. In our prior work a more ecological laboratory approach was developed to study activity awareness issues derived directly from earlier fieldwork. In the first study participants worked on a simulated long-term project with a confederate who introduced collaborative breakdown scenarios. Although the study produced many realistic behaviors, findings indicated that there was room for improving the model by making the simulation more ecological and engaging for participants. This paper examines the results of a follow-up study conducted with the goal of improving the laboratory model. The follow-up study varied two important elements of simulation from the first study. A real long-term project was used, and the confederate was replaced with another participant. Differences in results from the two studies indicate how the changes made to the model impacted its effectiveness.
Individual and Organizational Factors that Affect Successful Employment of CDL Courses and Curricula
Authors: McCollum Chris , Zachary Wayne , McNamara Jennifer , Stokes James , Schofield Janet
Published: January 2012

Computer-based distance learning (CDL) technologies are being introduced into military training programs at an increasing pace, but the results are often different from those intended. This paper describes a three-year research project to study the individual and organizational effects of this revolution in training, as well as to develop recommendations and methods for more effectively integrating new CDL technologies into training environments. Qualitative case studies were conducted at eight diverse military training sites, with researchers focusing on barriers, problems, and enablers for technology employment. Study data has revealed employment concerns that must be addressed during the CDL design, development, and delivery process to ensure successful technology integration. These findings are then converted into training, support, and reference materials to help CDL stakeholders (end users and creators of the technology) achieve the full potential of this exciting, new training technology.