bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Evaluating the Effectiveness of a Joint Cognitive System: Metrics, Techniques, and Frameworks
Authors: Potter Scott S. , Woods David D. , Roth Emilie M. , Fowlkes Jennifer , Hoffman Robert R.
Published: January 2012

An implication of Cognitive Systems Engineering is that joint cognitive systems (JCS; also known as complex socio-technical systems) need to be evaluated for its effectiveness in performing the complex cognitive work requirements. This requires using measures that go well beyond “typical” performance metrics such as the number of subtask goals achieved per person per unit of time and the corresponding simple baseline comparisons or workload assessment metrics. This JCS perspective implies that the system must be designed and evaluated from the perspective of the shift in role of the human supervisor. This imposes new types of requirements on the human operator. Previous research in CSE and our own experience has lead us to identify a set of generic JCS support requirements that apply to cognitive work by any cognitive agent or any set of cognitive agents, including teams of people and machine agents. Metrics will have to reflect such phenomena as “teamwork” or “resilience” of a JCS. This places new burdens on evaluation techniques and frameworks, since metrics should be generated from a principled approach and based on fundamental principles of interest to the designers of the JCS. An implication of the JCS perspective is that complex and cognitive systems need to be evaluated for usability, usefulness, and understandability; each of which goes well beyond raw performance. However, conceptually-grounded evaluation frameworks, corresponding operational techniques, and corresponding measures for these are limited. Therefore, in order to advance the state of the field, we have gathered a set of researchers and practitioners to present recent evaluation work to stimulate discussion.
Towards Deceptive Intention: Finding Trajectories and Its Analysis
Authors: Jian Jiun-Yin , Matsuka Toshihiko , Nickerson Jeffrey V.
Published: January 2012

This study investigated how an individual's deceptive intention may be inferred from non-verbal behavioral representation while simultaneously concealing suspicious movement. Using a paper-and-pencil test, 33 participants were asked to deceive a hypothetical surveillance system. Results showed that deceptive intention can be inferred from trajectories drawn by participants. Patterns of trajectories were clustered. The majority of participants believed that not being suspicious is more important than being deceitful. Features exhibited in trajectories require more in-depth qualitative analyses in future studies. Computer-based experiments are also recommended.
Effects of Sensitivity, Criterion Shifts, and Subjective Confidence on the Development of Automaticity in Airline Luggage Screening
Authors: Madhavan Poornima , Gonzalez Cleotilde
Published: January 2012

We examined the effect of cognitive factors on the development of automaticity in a complex task. Participants (n = 24) performed a luggage screening task where we manipulated stimulus mapping (consistent vs. varied), frame size (small vs. large), memory set size (1 vs. 4) and time constraint, and examined their effects on participants' sensitivities, criterion shifts and confidence. Results revealed that the highest cognitive advantage in terms of high sensitivities and minimal deviations from optimal beta was afforded by the combination of small memory sets and consistent mapping of targets, after extended practice. Varied mapping of stimuli under high memory loads exerted a negative effect on sensitivities and induced a greater shift from optimal beta. The concurrence of high memory loads with varied mapping also led to decreases in confidence that hindered automatic detection of targets. The results have implications for training individuals to develop appropriate decision-making strategies in complex vigilance tasks.
Spring Ahead or Fall Back? Exploring the Nature of Resumption Errors
Authors: LeGoullon Melanie Diez
Published: January 2012

It has long been known that interruptions can be disruptive, but the details on where people resume an interrupted task have been largely overlooked by the literature. This paper describes an exploratory study to understand where people resume a task following an interruption. The findings suggest that people are significantly more likely to commit an error on the first step immediately following an interruption than on non-interrupted steps. Furthermore, people seem more likely to repeat a step than skip a step during these resumption errors. Finally, this trend toward repeating steps disappears in errors of non-interrupted steps.
Information Distribution and Team Situational Awareness: An Experimental Study
Authors: Sperling Brian K.
Published: January 2012

Changes in task requirements and resulting system capabilities have led to the addition of crewmembers, information displays, and monitoring and coordination requirements in many domains. The overarching objective of this experimental study was to test whether providing task relevant information to individual team members in a time critical environment, while limiting their access to non-task relevant information, would change team interactions by improving team shared situational awareness and consequently, improve performance. The results of this experiment support this hypothesis and provide a new understanding of how the distribution of information among team members affects the development of shared expectations and information requirements, team and individual performance, and communications that has not been empirically documented elsewhere.
Changes in Team Composition after a Break: Building Adapative Command-and-Control Teams
Authors: Gorman Jamie C. , Cooke Nancy J. , Pedersen Harry K. , Winner Jennifer , Andrews Dee , Amazeen Polemnia G.
Published: January 2012

An experiment exploring the effects of team composition on the acquisition and retention of team performance and cognitive skill is reported. Team performance was measured in the context of photographing ground targets in an unmanned aerial vehicle synthetic task environment. Team process was taken as a measure of team cognition. Experimental results include the findings that team mixing and longer retention intervals have a short lived deleterious effect on team performance immediately after the interval, while team mixing has a positive effect on team process after the interval. These findings suggest that changes in team composition and retention interval can lead to improvements in team cognition if a brief decrement in team performance post-interval can be afforded. These results are interpreted as perturbation of established coordination patterns due to team mixing leading to more flexible and adaptive teams. Implications for process-oriented research are also considered.
The Srk Inventory: A Tool for Structuring and Capturing a Worker Competencies Analysis
Authors: Kilgore Ryan , St-Cyr Olivier
Published: January 2012

Worker Competencies Analysis (WCA) is the fifth and final phase of the Cognitive Work Analysis (CWA) framework. Unlike the earlier four phases, there is a dearth of published work illustrating how WCA is conducted within the context of CWA. The lack of concrete examples of the application of WCA has both practical and pedagogical ramifications, making it difficult to perform and understand this phase of analysis. This paper attempts to address this gap. Following a review of the CWA framework, WCA is introduced with the Skill, Rules, and Knowledge (SRK) taxonomy. Then, a methodological tool for structuring and capturing the execution of WCA—the SRK Inventory—is presented. Finally, a practical application of the SRK Inventory to a TRACON microworld is discussed. This paper is intended to serve as a resource to future CWA practitioners and researchers, and to stimulate discussion of methods and tools for better supporting WCA activities.
Evaluation of Interface Types in an Adversarial Team Based Environment
Authors: Funke Gregory J. , Galster Scott M. , Nelson W. Todd , Dukes Allen W.
Published: January 2012

The present study addressed the effects of a flexible delegation-type control interface for unmanned vehicles (UVs) on performance in a team-oriented, dynamic, adversarial environment. Thirty-six people served as paid participants in this study. Teams of two participants competed against each other in a RoboFlag simulation based on ‘capture-the-flag.’ Participants controlled their UVs manually, through automated commands, or both (flexible control). Results of the experiment indicated that task performance and subjective workload were adversely affected in the automation-only condition, but no differences were detected between the manual and flexible conditions. Overall, results support previous research using RoboFlag. Performance in the automation condition was insufficient to meet task demands indicating the inappropriateness of UV control limited in this fashion. However, the lack of performance differences observed in this task between the flexible and manual interfaces calls into question when the flexible delegation-type interface may provide a performance benefit.
Advantages of Co-Location for Effective Human to Human Communication of Information Provided by an Unmanned Vehicle
Authors: Luck Jason , McDermott Patricia L. , Allender Laurel , Fisher Alia
Published: January 2012

Much of the research on unmanned-vehicles (UVs) focuses on technology or interface design. This study investigated how to best support effective communication between the UV operator and the Soldier in the field using UV-provided information to complete a mission. In a previous study investigating the impact of different team configurations and the utility of supporting communication technologies, our team found co-location of team members to be beneficial (McDermott et al., 2005). In this experiment we investigate what aspects of co-location are key to successful team performance: Is face-to-face communication vital compared to voice-only when team members are distributed? Is the ability of the UV operator to see what the Soldier performing the mission can see critical? We also seek additional insight to inconclusive results from the first study regarding the utility of image transmission and access to an electronic map displaying both the UV and Soldier locations.
Military Situation Awareness: Facilitating Critical Event Detection in Chat
Authors: Catanzaro Jean M. , Risser Matthew R. , Gwynne John W. , Manes Daniel I.
Published: January 2012

Chat has become a primary means of communication for military command and control decision makers. One of the most important aspects of military chat use is the ability to detect critical events quickly and accurately, a task often complicated by the large number of chat messages received during actual operations. The primary goal of this research was to identify factors that enable chat watchstanders to more rapidly identify the critical information embedded in chat messages. These factors, which include message highlighting and chatroom layout, have the potential to enhance the effectiveness and efficiency of information processing in fast-paced, information-rich operational environments. In this study, message highlighting techniques enabled users to detect 92% of highlighted events, in comparison to 83% of events that were not highlighted. These findings indicate that highlighting chat messages confers significant performance advantages, especially in conjunction with associated factors, such as chatroom layout.
Dynamic Display of in-Vehicle Text Messages: The Impact of Varying Line Length and Scrolling Rate
Authors: Hoffman Joshua D. , Lee John D. , McGehee Daniel V.
Published: January 2012

This study examined the effect of varying dynamic display characteristics of in-vehicle text messages on visual sampling behavior. Sixteen participants navigated a simulated driving environment while reading text messages on an in-vehicle display. Each participant was exposed to four combinations of message segment length (short or long) and scrolling rate (slow or fast). Visual sampling was measured by the frequency and duration of glances to the display and the roadway, and comprehension of messages was measured by a series of post-drive questions. Results showed that varying segment length and scrolling rate affected the number of glances made to the display, but not their duration. Participants adjusted their reading rate to accommodate the rate at which messages scrolled, which protected reading comprehension but reduced the time spent viewing the roadway as the rate increased.
Comparison of Speech Intelligibility Test between Air Conduction and Bone Conduction Using the Callsign Acquisition Test
Authors: Osafo-Yeboah B. , Jiang X. , Gripper M. , Lyons L.
Published: January 2012

Communication in the battleground is very critical for the military. With U.S forces engaged in combat operations around the world in the war on terror, the need for effective and efficient communication systems has become more and more important. There are, in general, two types of communication: air conduction and bone conduction. Although air conduction is more commonly used in industry, bone conducted radio communication offers an attractive means for infantry to communicate in the battlefield because it allows radio communication to be transmitted and received without compromising the soldier's awareness of his or her surroundings. Bone conduction interfaces are also lightweight and less bulky and are therefore easy to integrate into military headgear. Based on the findings of previous study, condyle was chosen as the location for the bone vibrator placement. This research compares performance between bone conduction and air conduction using the military's Callsign Acquisition Test (CAT). Results from this study will help better design bone conduction devices for the military in the future.
Radio Interoperability: There is More to it than Hardware
Authors: Timmons Ronald P. , Hutchins Susan G.
Published: January 2012

Following 9/11, many public safety officials reported communications issues between first responders, echoing concerns predating the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. With increased availability of grant funds for homeland security, radio interoperability has become a top priority. The rush to address emergency radio interoperability has caused agencies to select equipment without consideration given to the human aspects of communicating during a crisis and proper communication device ergonomics. This paper presents the results of a field study, providing insight into typical communications inefficiencies and opportunities to maximize limited resources via improved procedures and product design.
Expressing Intent — a Matter of Being Clear?
Authors: Lindoff Jenny , Andersson Jan , Wikberg Per , Marklund Joakim , Ohlsson Thomas
Published: January 2012

How should a leader express his/her wish, or intent, to avoid misinterpretation so the subordinates know what he/she wants them to do? Two experiments were conducted to investigate how intent, expressed in terms of effects or capabilities, is interpreted. A number of staffs produced products and answered questions about the interpretation of the intent. In the first experiment the results show that the staffs who receive intent expressed in terms of effects produce better products and have a better understanding of the intent than the staffs that get the intent expressed in terms of capabilities. In the second experiment the intent expressed in terms of effects was purposely written less clearly than the intent expressed in terms of capabilities. The results show no difference between the produced products and the staffs' understanding of the intent. This indicates that it is not just a matter of clarity.
The Personas' New Clothes: Methodological and Practical Arguments against a Popular Method
Authors: Chapman Christopher N. , Milham Russell P.
Published: January 2012

We examine the popular Personas method and consider claims that personas can reflect empirical data and serve as an information source for development teams. We argue that there are significant methodological and practical difficulties for personas. It is difficult to determine how many, if any, users are represented by a persona, and thus is difficult to know whether a persona is relevant for intended users. Personas cannot be adequately verified or falsified and therefore have no demonstrable validity. We believe personas are likely to lead to political conflicts and to undermine the ability for researchers to resolve questions with data. We suggest potential research to evaluate the Personas method more thoroughly. Until the methodological issues are resolved, it is best not to consider personas to be a means to communicate data.
Visualization of Multiple Robots during Team Activities
Authors: Humphrey Curtis M. , Gordon Stephen M. , Adams Julie A.
Published: January 2012

As robotic systems encompass larger numbers of individual robotic agents, interface design must provide better visual representations that account for factors affecting the human operator's situational awareness. This work investigates three robotic team visualizations via an evaluation with sixteen participants who either had used robots or had no experience with robots. The team visualizations varied in how much information was displayed: only individual robots, individual robots connected via a semitransparent team shape, or a solid team shape. The evaluation results revealed that the two visualizations utilizing a team shape were used more frequently than the visualization displaying only individual robots.
Icon Design on Small Screens: Effects of Miniaturization on Speed and Accuracy in Visual Search
Authors: Schröder Sabine , Ziefle Martina
Published: January 2012

The current study experimentally investigated benefits and limitations of miniaturized information design in small screen devices. Three crucial factors assumed to interact were examined: the size of icons and of displays and the density of information (set size). Using icons from real cell phones, 20 subjects were required to search for a specific icon within a set presented on a limited screen area. All three factors were systematically varied and explored by means of visual search efficiency (reaction times and error rates). Information access was found to be significantly affected by all factors. Interaction effects showed that search efficiency was considerably higher with increasing icon size and both decreasing display size and set size. Based on the results, recommendations for an optimized interface design for small screen devices are derived which are useful to meet a sensitive cut-off between all three factors under study.
Existing and Future Guidance on Tactile and Haptic Interactions
Authors: Fourney David , Carter Jim
Published: January 2012

Tactile and haptic interaction is becoming increasingly important in both assistive technologies and special purpose computing environments. ISO 9241 Ergonomics of Human-System Interaction is intended to deal with all modalities of human-computer interactions. While some individual parts do include some general guidance that can apply to tactile and haptic interactions, there are no existing parts providing detailed guidance relating to the particulars of tactile and haptic interactions. This lack of standards leads to serious ergonomic difficulties for users of multiple, incompatible, or conflicting tactile/haptic devices/applications. However, considerable research exists that can be used as the basis for a set of tactile and haptic interaction guidelines.

This paper provides an historical perspective of research and standardization efforts and moves towards providing an understanding of the goals of the emerging set of tactile and haptic interaction standards. It discusses how standards are developed and focuses on newly initiated efforts to create a set of parts within ISO 9241 to deal with tactile and haptic interactions. These parts will include Part 900 Introduction, Part 910 Framework, Part 920 Guidelines, Part 930 Multimodal combinations, Part 940 Evaluation methods, and Part 971 Interfaces to publicly available devices. The paper also explains how the reader can get involved in these standardization activities.
Command and Control on the Move: Assessing the Impact of Input Device, Button Size, and Road Condition
Authors: Labio Ryan S. , Rowan Charles P. , Shattuck Lawrence G.
Published: January 2012

Digital command and control systems have contributed to the success of the U. S. military in combat in recent years. Force XXI Battle Command Brigade and Below (FBCB2) and Blue Force Tracker are examples of systems that have provided an advantage on the battlefield. However, interface design of these systems has not been optimal, especially when they are employed in high stress and mobile environments. The present study examined the effects of input device (touch screen or trackball), button size (small, medium, large), and road conditions (still, highway, off-road) on performance. The dependent variables were accuracy, reaction time, and motion sickness. The experimenters tested seven undergraduate freshmen from the U.S. Military Academy. The data show that a touch screen monitor with large button size is optimal for moving vehicles. These findings have important implications for the design of human-machine systems expected to operate on the move.
Usability Testing of Console Components: Trackball, Number Entry, and Gross Navigation
Authors: Hall Katie , Weaver Melissa , Burton Nancy
Published: January 2012

The purpose of this study was to evaluate several aspects of the Aircraft Carrier-Tactical Support Center (CV-TSC) console design. These variables were tested individually in order to isolate their effect and make recommendations for the overall console design. Six trackball devices, three number entry methods (keyboard number row, keyboard number pad, and separate number pad), and three methods of gross navigation (trackball only, touch screen, and navigation buttons) were evaluated. All tests involved simple tasks with timing and accuracy measures collected, as well as subjective feedback.

The results of the study indicated that trackball 6 outperformed the others in most objective measures and was also the most preferred trackball. There were no conclusive performance results for the number entry test; however participants indicated a preference for a number pad, either separate or integrated with the keyboard. The touch screen method of gross navigation was the best performer, although participants preferred the trackball-only condition.
Exploring Verbal Shadowing as an Effective Method of Enrolling in a Speech Recognition System
Authors: Sadowski Wallace J.
Published: January 2012

The purpose of this research was to investigate the effectiveness of using verbal shadowing as a method of enrolling in a speech recognition system. Verbal shadowing refers to a task whereby a person, while listening to a continuous message, repeats the message aloud word for word. Typically the enrollment process involves users reading an enrollment script aloud and the system processes the speech output to create a personalized acoustic model which increases recognition accuracy. Exploring the feasibility of a non-visually based enrollment technique addresses important human factors issues - accessibility by users with visual impairments or educational limitations. This study found that read enrollments reduced mean recognition errors by 24.70% and shadowed enrollments reduced recognition errors by a mean of 24.64% - a difference of only 0.06%. While this was statistically significantly different, for all practical purposes, shadowing as a method of enrollment proved to be as effective as reading.
Psychomotor Performance of Input Device Users and Optimized Cursor Control
Authors: Sutter Christine , Ziefle Martina
Published: January 2012

This study examined the fit of the stochastic optimized submovement model (= SOS model; Meyer, Abrams, Kornblum, Wright and Smith, 1988) for cursor movements of two laptop input devices. 10 experienced users of touchpad (easy sensorimotor transformation) and 10 experts for the trackpoint (difficult sensorimotor transformation) executed clicking tasks. Given a model fit, the aim of the study was to discuss the well-known performance inferiority of input devices with difficult sensori-motor transformations on the basis of the SOS model. Cursor movements of both, touchpad and trackpoint, showed a basic fit with the SOS model. With the touchpad, the cursor was easier to control, resulting in a good performance: fewer submovements were carried out from the start to the target, and cursor velocity and acceleration were comparably low. Contrary, with the trackpoint cursor control was more difficult, accompanied by more submovements and a high inaccurateness in the target area: thus, even for experts, the difficult sensorimotor transformation of the trackpoint interfered with a proper motor execution. Actual and potential applications of this research include an optimization of cursor control for input devices and guidelines for their users.
Text Entry on a Virtual Keyboard: Evaluating Shape and Experience Effects
Authors: O'Brien Marita A. , Rogers Wendy A. , Fisk Arthur D.
Published: January 2012

This research study examined the design of a virtual keyboard that can be used for text entry with a rotary controller, particularly for users who may differ in age and experience with a particular system. Features of a virtual keyboard that have been shown to affect the individual movement and visual search components of the text entry task were assessed for younger and older adult users. Participants entered words by finding and selecting individual letters with a rotary controller on a keyboard arranged alphabetically or following the standard QWERTY keyboard. Performance was examined across different levels of experience with the task. We found that experience independently interacted with shape, arrangement, and age group. Both age groups improved their entry time overall and at each measurement period, but older adults learned more slowly. Although performance improved for both arrangements, the Alphabetic arrangement was significantly faster. Neither shape was significantly faster, but results suggest that the more salient corner features on the Plus facilitated memorization and retention.
Office Ergonomics Intervention Study Panel
Authors: Amick Benjamin C. , Robertson Michelle , Bazzani Lianna , Menéndez Cammie Chaumont , DeRango Kelly , Moore Anne
Published: January 2012

Ergonomic issues in the office environment affect both workplace health and productivity outcomes. Currently the office ergonomics intervention literature is underrepresented in research studies with rigorous study designs and analytical methods. Furthermore, there exist no published replication intervention studies. Panel members are part of a multidisciplinary inter-institutional research group that conducted the same office ergonomics intervention study at two different worksites (one public and one private sector). Office workers agreeing to participate were assigned to one of two interventions - a highly adjustable chair coupled with an office ergonomics training (chair-with-training group) or the office ergonomics training alone (training-only group) - or a control group receiving the training at the end. During this discussion panel the effects of the interventions on ergonomics knowledge and computing behaviors, biomechanical changes, individual components of musculoskeletal and visual symptoms and productivity will be presented.
Identifying Systemic Factors that Impact Performance in the Cardiac Surgery Operating Room
Authors: Wiegmann Douglas A. , ElBardissi Andrew W. , Dearani Joseph A. , Sundt Thoralf M.
Published: January 2012

Errors with serious consequences continue to occur at a high rate in many surgical specialties. In this study, the Human Factors Analysis and Classification System (Wiegmann & Shappell, 2003) was used to develop a structured interviewing tool for prospectively assessing the systemic factors that may predispose operating room (OR) personnel to making errors. Approximately 50% (n = 68) of all staff involved in patient care within the cardiac surgery OR at our institution participated, with an equal proportion represented across staff specialties (Surgeons, Anesthesiologists, Nurses, Perfusionists and Technicians). Results identified a variety of potential error-producing factors present in the OR setting. While such factors were viewed by OR staff as occurring infrequently, significant relationships between the estimated frequency of systemic problems and specific error forms were identified. These findings can inform both the development of theoretical models of surgical error, as well as the practice of developing targeted intervention programs.
Health Information Maps: Combining Macroergonomics Concepts with Facilities Layout Tools
Authors: Zayas-Cabán Teresa
Published: January 2012

Health care consumers are faced with managing an increasing volume of health information and information technology solutions have been developed to support these activities. In order to develop appropriate solutions, it is important to understand the context in which lay persons manage their health information. This study was conducted to develop Health Information Maps, a facilities layout method that uses macroergonomics as a guiding framework. This article presents results from the first cycle of the study, which tested the feasibility of using the Maps methodology. Study results show that participants appeared to be engaged in the interview process and understand interview questions. Based on participants' responses, study methods have been expanded to add an explicit evaluation of the methodology by study participants. The interview has also been revised to account for differences between ‘health insurance cards’ and ‘health insurance policy,’ in order to focus solely on health insurance cards.
Curb Ramps: Cross Slope Conspicuity and the Prevention of Air Steps
Authors: Nemire Kenneth
Published: January 2012

An observational study of pedestrian use of curb ramps was undertaken following the air step, fall and severe injury of a woman who stepped from the flared side of a curb ramp after mistaking it for the curb ramp itself. Her error apparently stemmed from using the red-painted curbs flanking the curb ramp as navigation cues for safe passage. The study found that painting the flared sides of the curb ramp red, to match the flanking curb and to contrast with the curb ramp, resulted in more people using the curb ramp, rather than stepping off the flared side of the curb ramp. Implications for painting curb ramps and for modifying existing regulations and standards are discussed.
Human-Robot Factors: Robots in the Workplace
Authors: Burke Jenny , Coovert Michael , Murphy Robin , Riley Jennifer , Rogers Erika
Published: January 2012

As we celebrate the 50th anniversary of HFES, this panel discussion presents the emerging field of human-robot interaction as a critical research area in human factors for the next 50 years. Robots in the workplace are poised to change our lives over the next 50 years much as computers have the past 5 decades. This panel gathers four experts with diverse experience in studying technology's effects upon work to discuss the implications of robotic technology for work environments. Topics include the cognitive, social and affective human characteristics that impact human-robot interaction, the potential impact of robotic technology in the workplace, and factors influencing acceptance of robots at work. The implications for design of robotic products and systems are also discussed.
Newell and Simon's Logic Theorist: Historical Background and Impact on Cognitive Modeling
Authors: Gugerty Leo
Published: January 2012

Fifty years ago, Newell and Simon (1956) invented a “thinking machine” called the Logic Theorist. The Logic Theorist was a computer program that could prove theorems in symbolic logic from Whitehead and Russell's Principia Mathematica. This was perhaps the first working program that simulated some aspects of peoples' ability to solve complex problems. The Logic Theorist and other cognitive simulations developed by Newell and Simon in the late 1950s had a large impact on the newly developing field of information-processing (or cognitive) psychology. Many of the novel ideas about mental representation and problem solving instantiated in the Logic Theorist are still a central part of the theory of cognitive psychology, and are still used in modeling the complex tasks studied in human factors psychology. This paper presents some of the theoretical precursors of the Logic Theorist, describes the principles and implementation of the program, and discusses its immediate and long-term impacts.
Nasa-Task Load Index (NASA-TLX); 20 Years Later
Authors: Hart Sandra G.
Published: January 2012

NASA-TLX is a multi-dimensional scale designed to obtain workload estimates from one or more operators while they are performing a task or immediately afterwards. The years of research that preceded subscale selection and the weighted averaging approach resulted in a tool that has proven to be reasonably easy to use and reliably sensitive to experimentally important manipulations over the past 20 years. Its use has spread far beyond its original application (aviation), focus (crew complement), and language (English). This survey of 550 studies in which NASA-TLX was used or reviewed was undertaken to provide a resource for a new generation of users. The goal was to summarize the environments in which it has been applied, the types of activities the raters performed, other variables that were measured that did (or did not) covary, methodological issues, and lessons learned
Ward: An Exploratory Study of an Affective Sociotechnical Framework for Addressing Medical Errors
Authors: Lee William , Winchester Woodrow W. , Smith-Jackson Tonya L.
Published: January 2012

Affective states influence judgment, motivation, risk perceptions, and sense of well-being. Clinicians constantly struggle with negative affective states due to the nature of their work. We propose our framework, the Wearable Avatar Risk Display (WARD), to investigate medical errors from the perspective of affective states' influence. WARD is a dynamic and multimodal mobile affective system that aims for delivering information meaningfully and humanely to clinicians according to their affective states. WARD originates from sociotechnical systems theory and serves two purposes: (1) To guide the development of a test bed of avatars with lifelike behaviors ( affective avatars) and (2) To investigate the interplay of clinicians' affects, risk perceptions, and decision-making ability in a healthcare setting. We recently piloted a small exploratory study using Mood Induction Procedures (MIPs), Iowa Gambling Task, and affective avatars to investigate participants' decision-making pattern. Our results indicated that participants did not benefit from our avatars currently. However, correlations analysis and suggestions from participants revealed that there is potential for affective avatars in critical or emergency situations.
Do mnemonics help nurses learn melodic medical equipment alarms?
Authors: Wee Alexandra N , Sanderson Penelope M
Published: January 2012

We tested the melodic alarms and mnemonics proposed in the international standard for alarms used in medical electrical equipment (IEC 60601-1-8) for learnability and discriminability, with 14 registered nurses over two days, approximately a week apart. Two learning modes (Mnemonics and No Mnemonics) were examined in computer administered tests. The first experimental group was supplied with mnemonics while the second group was not supplied with a strategy. On Day 1, participants were introduced to the alarms. On Day 2, participants were tested and then allowed to relearn the alarms in a similar way to Day 1. The mean accuracy across all alarms other than the General alarm was poor (44% correct). Only one participant reached the learning criterion by the end of Day 2. Furthermore, participants with formal musical training identified the alarms with greater accuracy than those without ( p=0.004). Our findings indicate that the identified problems need to be addressed before these alarms are introduced in practice.
Characterization of Sign-Out in Pediatric Acute Care Wards to Inform Process Improvement
Authors: Sledd Richard M. D. , Bass Ellen J. , Borowitz Stephen M. , Waggoner-Fountain Linda A.
Published: January 2012

Physician sign-out is a mechanism for transferring patient information, responsibility, and authority from one set of hospital caregivers to another at shift changes. This project characterized the information exchanged between physicians during 15 sign-outs, and analyzed data from 158 post-call resident surveys. Ten categories of patient information were developed to characterize the exchanged information. Of the ten categories of patient information, no single category was discussed for every patient. The information critically important to discuss during sign-out was often the least covered, as residents discussed the patient's current physical condition for only 35% of the patients, current medications for only 63% of patients, and contingency plans for possible scenarios for only 17.7% of patients.

On average, residents discussed 14 patients during each sign-out, with the average sign-out lasting 35 minutes (2:28 minutes/patient). Of the total sign-out duration, approximately 23% of the time was spent discussing matters not related to patient care. Of the time spent “on-task”, 32.2% was spent on patient background, which could be obtained from other data sources. Very little time was spent discussing information which may not be available elsewhere, such as what actions, both planned and contingency, should occur overnight. Such information only received 12.1% of the sign-out time.

49 out of 158 resident surveys (31.0%) revealed that residents experienced an event while on call that they were unprepared to handle. Of those cases, 82% were the result of missing information.

These data create a baseline understanding of sign-out which should be used to inform potential process and training improvements to ensure that the appropriate information is discussed for each patient.
Acquiring Health Information: Interpreting Terminology and Reported Search Sources
Authors: Green Rebecca S. , Cowley Jennifer A. , Wogalter Michael S.
Published: January 2012

This study examines two main topics concerning the acquisition of health-related information. One was to explore how people interpret some relatively common terms used in the labeling of prescription and non-prescription drugs, specifically focusing on the terms “family history” and “MAOI.” The second is to determine the sources people report they would use to gather health information, or specifically, where they would go to get health-related information associated with an iron supplement. The results show that “family history” evoked an interpretation of older more than the younger blood relatives. Few persons could report what monoamine oxidase inhibitor (MAOI) meant. People report being more likely to consult the Internet or a health professional than any of the other sources listed. Implications for better health-related information acquisition through better-designed warning systems are discussed.
Using Petri Nets for Gibson's Affordances: First Steps Into Perception-Based Task Analysis
Authors: Thiruvengada Hari , Rothrock Ling
Published: January 2012

In this paper, we introduce the notion of affordance proposed by Gibson, and provide a computational formalism based on Petri Nets (PNs) for conducting perception-based task analysis. Gibson used affordance to refer to what an environment offers an animal for either ill or good. Since then, affordance has been widely adopted and used in several areas such as human computer interaction, mobile robotics, etc. We argue that Petri Net provides the appropriate framework for performing a perception-based task analysis (PTA) as it helps investigate the task from an ecological perspective based on concepts such as affordance, effectivity and actualizations. Additionally, Petri Net can be used to study behavioral properties such as reachability, boundedness and liveness, which relate to the perception-based task. We illustrate how the ecological concepts can be modeled using the proposed PN formalism with reference to a driving task. We conclude that Petri Net is a very useful tool for conducting perception-based task analysis.
A Few Seconds of Equation Reading: A Process Model of Equation Reading and its Applications
Authors: Gillan Douglas J. , Barraza Paula
Published: January 2012

A model, based on research using think aloud, memory recognition and recall, response time, and eye tracking methods, describes cognitive processes in equation reading. Equation reading involves (1) 300 msec fixations during which the reader extracts features to identify the symbols – numbers, operators, parentheses – as attention shifts across 2 − 3 symbols, and (2) short saccades that often end on numbers. The reader identifies the end of a multidigit number by a space, leading her to identify a sequence of numerals as a one-, two- or three-digit number. Parentheses, rarely fixated and poorly recalled, help direct the flow of reading. Parenthetical expressions are solved and stored separately. Readers backscan approximately as frequently they forward scan through equations, possibly to construct a representation of the equation structure as they read it. The model of the processes of equation reading by sighted persons has been useful in designing an auditory browser for blind readers.
Putting the Brain in the Box for Human-System Interface Evaluation
Authors: Fleetwood Michael D. , Lebiere Christian , Archer Rich , Mui Rebecca CY , Gosakan Mala
Published: January 2012

We describe a tool, the GRaph-Based Interface Language tool (GRBIL), in which developers can easily design, construct, and evaluate system interfaces. The GRBIL system allows a designer to graphically define a system interface and walk through a set of operator goals for using the interface. To evaluate the interface, the system automatically generates a cognitive model of a system operator (built in the ACT-R cognitive architecture), which provides metrics of time on task and potential errors. In addition, the system allows the easy incorporation of dynamic models of the external world in order to evaluate interfaces that involve continually changing environments. We discuss the on-going validation of GRBIL as it is used to evaluate a robotics operator control unit.
Remote Command and Control Compromises Soldiers' Trust in Their Leaders
Authors: Liberg Martin , Smith Kip
Published: January 2012

We report an experiment on the effect of remote command and control on soldier performance and trust. The experiment was conducted with active duty soldiers and officers as participants at the military training camp at Kvarn, Sweden. Soldiers ran our paintball assault-lane twice, once with the officer present in the lane and once with the officer out of harm's way. Two sets of data were recorded, response times to the command to “Move!” and questionnaires on the soldier's trust in the leader. Trust was significantly greater and response times were significantly faster in the leader-present condition. The best-fit linear regression function reveals a significant negative association between the two data sets. We conclude from this result that (1) remote command and control is associated with a decrement in soldiers' trust in their leader and that (2) this decrement in trust is associated with compromised soldier performance.
Individual Differences in Working Memory, Sense of Direction, and Route-Learning
Authors: Reagan Ian , Baldwin Carryl L.
Published: January 2012

The current experiment examined the role of working memory components during route-learning as a function of Sense of Direction. Individuals with good or poor sense of direction (GSD/PSD) were selected a priori. Participants learned routes while performing working memory tasks consisting of spatial interference (SI) or verbal interference (VI). Previous empirical research indicates that GSDs rely on visual-spatial strategies while PSDs rely on verbal strategies for navigation. Based on Baddeley's (1992) working memory model we therefore expected route learning performance to be differentially disrupted by SI in GSDs and VI in PSDs. Providing partial support for our prediction, GSDs took more time and made more errors in routes learned during SI relative to VI, and PSDs were slower when traversing routes learned under VI relative to SI. Our findings show strong individual differences in route-learning performance and provide support for tailoring navigation systems and training programs to reflect these differences.
Computer Based Training and Multimedia Design: The Role of Spatial Aptitudes in Learning
Authors: Scielzo Sandro , Fiore Stephen M. , Dahan Yaela , Lopez Joseph , Stafford Shawn
Published: January 2012

The present study manipulated both the technology (Microsoft PowerPoint® versus Macromedia Director®) and the design (Text Priming versus No Text Priming) in a computed-based training multimedia environment. The study investigated trainees' spatial aptitude and how it interacted with computer-based training design. The specific computer-based training environment employed in this experiment was based on presenting the principles of flight to naïve participants. A multifaceted knowledge test was developed to assess different levels of knowledge integration. Overall, results suggest that technology type did not play an important role in knowledge acquisition. Priming type also did not show significant effects; however, when factoring trainees' spatial ability, significant aptitude-treatment interactions emerged. We discuss these findings as they relate to computer-based training multimedia paradigms.
Cognitive Slips-Failures and Daily Stress: Further Investigations with the Short Stress State Questionnaire - Daily (SSSQ-D)
Authors: Helton William S. , Holmstrom Richard
Published: January 2012

This article presents a study providing further psychometric and validation evidence of a short multidimensional self-report measure of daily stress state, the Short Stress State Questionnaire - Daily (SSSQ-D; Helton, Fields, & Thoreson, 2005). Forty-three participants filled out the SSSQ-D twice daily for approximately 23 days, once in the morning and once at night. They also reported daily cognitive slips-failures. Chain-P Factor Analyses of the individual items for both pre- and post-assessments were conducted and the relationships between the SSSQ-D factors and daily self-reported cognitive slips-failures were examined both within and between participants. The factor analyses, as previously indicated by Helton, Fields, and Thoreson (2005), differentiated three aspects of subjective stress: Task Engagement, Distress, and Worry. Daily Distress and Worry correlated moderately with cognitive slips, both within and between individuals. The 24-item SSSQ-D appears to be a reliable measure of daily stress state, potentially useful in naturalistic studies.