bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Safety Climate in Healthcare: A Review of Measurement Instruments
Authors: Flin Rhona , Burns Calvin , Mearns Kathryn , Yule Steven 
Published: January 2012

A deficient safety culture has been implicated in industrial accidents. More recently, patient safety problems in hospital care have revealed a weak safety culture as a causal factor. As in the other industrial sectors, the level of safety for hospital patients and staff is likely to be determined largely by the hospital's safety culture. Measuring safety culture is a risk management technique widely used in high-reliability industries to identify safety problems before they become realised as accidents and near misses. The most common approach to measuring safety culture is to conduct a safety climate survey of the workforce. A safety climate survey typically assesses the workforce's attitudes and perceptions about work pressure, communication, reporting and safety systems, and supervision and management commitment to safety. Thus, safety climate surveys provide a range of leading indicators about an organisation's underlying safety culture, which need to be understood when designing and implementing safety interventions such as critical incident reporting systems. This paper reviews the construct validity of 13 instruments that have been used to assess safety climate in healthcare. An explanatory model linking safety climate and safety behaviours is proposed in order to develop more valid measures of safety climate in healthcare.
Placement Opportunities for Human Factors Engineering and Ergonomics Professionals in Industry and Government/Military Positions
Authors: Anderson Taylor J. , Bakowski Deborah L. , Moroney William F. 
Published: January 2012

During the period from January 2004 through December 2004, the Placement Service of Human Factors and Ergonomics Society distributed announcements describing 115 new positions available for human factors and ergonomics professionals. This paper describes the 92 placement opportunities in Industry and the Government/Military. The attributes of the position descriptions examined include: employment sector, degree requirements, work experience, expertise, salary, and geographic location. The type of industry seeking most employees was Consumer Products at 16%. The degree required was usually a Masters (43.5%) and the geographic area with the most jobs was the Northeast (N=15). The area of expertise most frequently requested by employers was Human Computer Interaction (N=50). Human Factors/Ergonomics (N=22) was the most commonly specified job expertise. During the period from October 25, 2004 through December 25, 2004, forty-three announcements for new positions were listed on HFCareers.com . Findings are discussed separately for the HFES Placement Service and HFCareers.
Testing Boeing's Flight Deck of the Future: A Comparison between Current and Prototype Autoflight Panels
Authors: Prada L. Ricardo , Mumaw Randall J. , Boehm-Davis Deborah A. , Boorman Daniel J. 
Published: January 2012

Operational issues with the current generation of flight control panels in modern airliners are well documented, and include opaque operating modes, limited feedback when modifying settings, and inconsistent interactions that can result in unexpected aircraft behaviors, leading to costly training programs. Boeing engineers have proposed a redesigned panel known as the Flight Deck of the Future (FDF), in an attempt to address these issues. In the first experimental test of this new interface, we studied the effects of the redesign on transfer of initial training. Tasks known to present challenges in the current generation of aircraft were selected for training and testing. Airline pilots were asked to perform these tasks on both the FDF panel, and the corresponding panel on a typical large commercial aircraft. Training transfer was found to be substantially improved on the FDF system. Implications for continued design, adoption, and airline training of the new interface are discussed.
Diversity of Factors That are the Best Predictors of Individual Performance
Authors: Gielo-Perczak Krystyna , Karwowski Waldemar 
Published: January 2012

A goal of this session is to generate an environment that promotes the exchange of ideas between biomechanics, cognitive engineering and performance as an integration of the individual differences within human capabilities. The identification of the source of the individual differences in performance through different approaches will be presented. The discussion begins with a question why recognizing individual differences in human capabilities and limitations is necessary. Then the discussion turns to biomechanical predictors of human strength performance. The first predictor will be related to the muscles and their EMG responses as the effect of individual differences. The second and third predictor of human physical strength will be the bone geometries and ligaments. All occupational activities are carried out within some psychosocial environment. The last panelist will draw attention to the data set of variables, characterizing individual differences in performance taking into account personality, visual and cognitive performance, and training.
Using 3D Audio Guidance to Locate Indoor Static Objects
Authors: Sandberg Samuel , Håkansson Calle , Elmqvist Niklas , Tsigas Philippas , Chen Fang 
Published: January 2012

Is 3D audio an interesting technology for displaying navigational information in an indoor environment? This study found no significant differences between map- and 3D audio navigation. The user tasks tested involved finding objects in a real office environment. In order to conduct the study, a custom-made 3D audio system was built based on a public-domain HRTF-library to playback 3D sound beacons through a pair of earphones. Our results indicate that 3D audio is indeed a qualified candidate for navigation systems, and may be especially suitable for environments or individuals where vision is obstructed, insufficient, or unavailable. The study also suggests that special cues should be added to the pure spatial information to emphasize important information.
Potential Hazards in the Operating Room
Authors: Koneczny Sonja 
Published: January 2012

The operating room (OR) unit is one of the most sensitive units of a hospital. Unfortunately, only limited efforts have been made so far to optimize the OR towards being an ergonomic work place. Due to a lack of ergonomics, awkward postures and adaptation to sub-optimal conditions, potential hazards for the OR staff as well as for the patients are a normal course of life within operating rooms and OR units. Based on the evaluation of various OR units and surveys among surgeons and OR nurses, various reasons for these hazards can be discovered: medical technical devices were found to be lacking in usability as a result of unclear symbols, hindrances and insufficient ease in handling. In addition, the positioning of devices in the OR demonstrates ergonomic deficiencies which force the employees into awkward and often painful working postures. Cables and tubes often create snares for stumbling, hinder the OR team in their work or cannot be clearly assigned to the correct device. Combining the findings from the ergonomic checklist with the results of the surveys draws a very sharp picture concerning potential hazards within the OR. These hazards can, sometimes easily, be minimized and therewith the safety of the working place OR can be maximized for the OR team as well as for the patient.
Negative Acceleration and Adaptive Automation Approaches to Counter the Effect of Acceleration Induced Loss of Consciousness
Authors: Tripp Lloyd D. , Warm Joel S. , Matthews Gerald , Chiu Peter Y. , Bracken R. Bruce 
Published: January 2012

Gravity-induced loss of consciousness (GLOC) is a major human factors problem facing fighter pilots today. A recent study by Tripp et al. (2006) reported that the GLOC episode consists of 24 sec of unconsciousness and confusion/disorientation followed by 55 sec in which performance efficiency is compromised. Hence, fighter pilots in the throes of GLOC can travel 12 miles while not in control of their aircraft. Using a centrifuge to simulate gravitational forces together with tracking and math tasks to simulate flight control and navigation, this study attacked the GLOC problem in two ways: (1) by employing negative acceleration following GLOC onset to decrease GLOC recovery time and (2) by assessing the utility of a of cerebral tissue oxygen saturation (rSO2) measure as a possible triggering mechanism for an adaptive automation recovery system. Negative acceleration had no significant effect on the duration of the GLOC episode. Declines in rSO2 from baseline pinpointed when pilots would cease active flight control and when GLOC would set in. Thus, the rSO2 measure may be of effective value as an adaptive automation GLOC recovery system trigger. The rSO2 measure also showed that loss of blood oxygen is not the sole factor underlying performance deficits in GLOC. Tissue oxygen saturation retuned to baseline levels shortly after the centrifuge came to a complete stop following GLOC onset but the performance deficits continued for 55 sec after rSO2 returned to baseline. Cleared for Public Release Distribution Unlimited
Developing Complex Crash Warning Simulations for Human Factors Evaluations
Authors: Green Paul 
Published: January 2012

In traditional vehicle warning experiments, each subject sees each warning once, and warning comparisons are between subjects, a very inefficient approach. Driving simulator experiments for the recent RDCW and IVBSS projects used within-subjects designs, with each subject responding to a warning about once per minute. That presentation rate and the scenarios developed seemed reasonable to independent human factors experts who experienced them and the simulations were often able to distinguish differences of interest. What made the simulations reasonable was (1) the use of real world crash data as a starting point for scenarios, (2) the large number of scenarios employed, each of which had both normal and crash-related outcomes, (3) the presence of three to five vehicles in the scene, each requiring the driver's attention, (4) the use of real on-road data to select gaps, closing rates, etc., and (5) work-arounds when scenarios did not go according to plan. For developing and communicating the plan, option tables and storyboards were particularly useful.
Slip Sliding Away II - Slip Resistance of Dress Socks on Indoor Flooring
Authors: Mathias Anne , Curry David G. , Donnelly Conor , Drendel Luke 
Published: January 2012

Laboratory testing was conducted to assess the slip resistance of men's dress socks on typical household flooring surfaces under wet and dry conditions. This study was conducted as a follow-up to a previous work on the slip resistance of athletic socks. Both of these studies attempt to fill the void of published data regarding the coefficient of friction between an indoor walking surface and the foot of a pedestrian wearing socks (rather than shoes). Eight different dress socks as well as a Neolite “shoe” were tested on wood and textured vinyl floors under both wet and dry conditions. The results in this study indicated that in terms of slip resistance, it makes little practical difference to a walker wearing loose-weave, non-nylon dress socks whether the flooring is wet or dry. Socks with tighter weaves, such as nylon socks, are significantly less slip-resistant on wet floors than under dry conditions.
Creation of User-Centered Reports for Patients and Medical Professionals
Authors: Beeco R. F. W. , Brooks J. O. , Logan W. , Cress M. E. , Hirth V. , Gomer J. A. , Smolentzov L. F. 
Published: January 2012

Systematic approaches for presenting medical information to seniors have not been widely explored and published. Prior to incorporating a mobility and physical functioning measure into clinical practice, meaningful and understandable reporting formats were needed for patients. It was important for seniors with varying educational and cognitive levels to understand the information. Testing was conducted in three phases with 28 participants in the final phase. Volunteers included seniors with a broad range of physical functioning. Focus groups and interviews evaluated prototype reports using several presentation styles, graph orientations, and levels of detail/abstraction. Ease of incorporation into both paper and electronic medical records was also considered. The final product reflects the preferences of the older participants as well as design constraints and consideration for how the reports would be presented in paper and electronic format. To maximize health literacy, all medical reports would benefit from user-centered design.
Evaluation of an Ambient Color Coded Display to Communicate Changes in the Patient's Condition to ICU Nurses and Improve the Therapeutic Environment
Authors: Koch S. H. , Görges M. , Weir C. 
Published: January 2012

PROBLEM STATEMENT: For Intensive Care Units (ICUs) patients frequent noise, confusing patient monitors and loud alarms decrease the quality of stay, and may event extend its length. Nurses frequently enter the patient's room to check the patient monitor to become aware of changes, potentially disturbing patients and family. Ambient displays can communicate changes by subtly changing the environment, and have been shown to be unobtrusive and not disturbing to its users. An ambient display, visible from the doorway, would allow nurses to be aware of patient changes before alarms occur. OBJECTIVE: Our hypothesis is that color coded ambient displays using the standard vital sign colors are intuitively understood by clinicians and can communicate deviations in patient state. METHODS: We designed an ambient display, which communicates changes in patient's vital signs by changing its background color. A heuristic evaluation was performed, followed by an intrusive questionnaire of nurse without prior explanation of the color-coding. RESULTS: The results of the heuristic evaluation indicated that simultaneous changes could not be displayed. In the intrusive evaluation nurses correctly identified patient changes 73% of the time. Additionally, nurses correctly recalled 92% of vital sign colors used on their current patient monitor. DISCUSSION: Our findings confirm that color coded ambient displays using the standard vital sign colors are intuitively understood by clinicians and can communicate deviations in patient state. Future research needs to evaluate ambient displays in real ICU environments and identify nurses, patients' and families' reactions to such displays.
Opportunities for Human Factors Measures in Military Operational Test and Evaluation
Authors: Ockerman Jennifer , Roberts David , Sciarretta Albert A. , Folds Dennis , McKee Susana , Reynolds Reta Morgan , Grier Rebecca 
Published: January 2012

Military Operational Test and Evaluation (OT&E) is conducted under operationally realistic conditions across a full spectrum of military operations to determine the readiness of a system to be fielded. OT&E seeks to assess the operational effectiveness and suitability of the system under test. Operational effectiveness measures the overall ability of a system to enable mission accomplishment when used by warfighters in a representative operational environment. Operational effectiveness seeks to evaluate organization, doctrine, and tactics. Operational suitability measures the overall ability of a system to be placed in field use. Operational suitability assesses reliability, availability, and human factors. To date, little effort has been placed on evaluating the warfighters' performance as part of the overall ability of the system to enable mission accomplishment. In fact, any warfighter performance issues are normally reported by exception, which means that it is not evaluated unless a problem is identified during testing (i.e., there is no formal plan to evaluate the warfighter performance component of overall system performance). Most analysis focused on the human factor has been done through the use of opinion surveys. Although, opinion surveys can provide insight into how well a warfighter likes a new system, they do not provide information on the new system's impacts on the warfighters' cognitive capabilities and ultimate performance, nor on the impact on the performance of a team of warfighters. Over many years, the human factors domain has developed measures of cognition (mental workload, situation awareness, decision making, etc.) and teamwork (collaboration, coordination, shared SA, social network analysis, etc.) that should be applied during military OT&E. These types of human factor measures can be used to evaluate both operational effectiveness and suitability, providing a method of analyzing the human component in mission effectiveness and the impact of the system under test on the human component. Without objectively evaluating the human component of the overall system, it is impossible to truly evaluate operational effectiveness and suitability. This panel will present the need for more objective, comprehensive, and automatically-collected human performance measurements in military OT&E, and earlier in the development and testing, especially in relation to command and control (C2) systems, as well as touch upon the potentially useful human factor measures currently available and how to select the correct ones to use.
Task Analysis and Reinforcement Strategies for the Mentally Disturbed: An Interdisciplinary Approach to Behavioral Engineering
Authors: Silverstein Leonard 
Published: January 2012

An analysis of tasks in a vocational training program was performed by a human factors specialist. Mentally disturbed patients enrolled in the program rated the tasks for importance, difficulty, and frequency of performance. Subsequent to the rating, tasks were assigned a numerical value or points. Individuals then selected tasks based on their own goals and standards. A daily log of the selected work samples was kept by patient self-report. This procedure was conceptualized as a self-reinforcement which was intrinsicallly related to the log keeping process. In addition, multiple generalized reinforcers were used such as need for approval and increased pay for productivity. When patients did well, i.e., made a high score, they were given higher wages and approval. Conversely, when they did poorly, i.e., made a low score, disapproval and criticism were expressed. In either case, daily feedback was provided along with a series of tasks graduated in difficulty, importance and frequency. This patterning of tasks was made possible by the “a priori” usuage of learning principles described by B.F. Skinner. Task analysis and work measurement techniques provided the means to set goals at the start of treatment. This systematic rendering of behavioral engineering in a work setting provided an interdisciplinary approach for changing coping processes in the mentally disturbed.
General Solutions to Nurses Travel in Linear and Circular Nursing Units
Authors: Lippert Stanley 
Published: January 2012

The hospital literature of the 1960's contains about a dozen reports or articles pertaining to the relative merits of circular vs. conventional (chiefly linear corridors flanked by patient rooms on both sides). The claims included items other than nurses travel, for example, patient visibility to nursing staff, subjective impressions, and building costs. This article is concerned only with general but quantitative comparisons of these two classes of nursing units with respect to nurses travel. Mathematical models have been developed which permit practically instant evaluation of nursing units where all patient rooms are for a single occupant or where all rooms are for two occupants. The model reflects changes in room size and internal arrangement. Examination of the architect's preliminary sketches permits the determination of superior ority of one layout over another in terms of travel. The fact that this is but one of hundreds of determinations to be made in hospital designs does not diminish its importance. The literature contains various claims to “efficiency” based on no objective criteria. The model provides a simple and objective determination of nurses travel, for any number of patients typically visited and for any pattern of randomness or orderliness in their assignments.
Large Space Telescope and Human Factors
Authors: Fisher H. T. 
Published: January 2012

Early in the 1980's NASA plans to orbit a Large Space Telescope using Space Shuttle as the launch platform. This orbiting telescope will permit scientists to observe the universe with a clarity never before attained through ground systems inhibited by the Earth's atmosphere. Current design goals indicate that the Telescope is to be designed for a fifteen year life span with the capability for on-orbit maintenance and, if required, earth return for servicing and refurbishment. Thus, NASA has decided to design a spacecraft for on-orbit EV manned maintenance thereby anticipating significant overall program cost savings. The design for orbital EV maintenance reaches across nearly every subsystem providing an excellent opportunity for complete human factors (crew systems) participation from system concept through design, integration, test, and ultimate operation. This shift in approach to on-orbit maintenance has resulted in major challenges such as designing for suited astronaut access to all subsystem equipment elements, minimization of contamination, handling of extremely sensitive instruments and their transfer through and within minimum volumes, development of translation techniques, incorporation of built-in crew work aids recognizing weight/volume limits and accomplishing the maintenance cycle within timelines imposed by mission, suit, and changeout constraints. These and other considerations will be discussed, alternative solutions presented, and recommendations made with particular reference to those factors which must be undertaken early to assure a timely and fundamentally sound crew systems program.
The Vocational Opinion Index: Developed to Measure Attitudes toward Work
Authors: Benson Stephen D. , Whittington Marna C. 
Published: January 2012

Successful transition from trainee status to worker status is dependent on three factors: (1) Adequate skill training; (2) Adequate placement opportunities; and (3) Appropriate job readiness posture. This study evaluated a psychometric instrument, the Vocational Opinion Index (VOI), designed to measure the job readiness posture component of the Transition process. Data was collected from over 3,000 people. The sample consisted of active trainees and graduates and dropouts of MDTA programs across the country. The results of this study showed that the JRP met the standard psychometric criteria for reliability and validity. A multidiscriminant analysis of the data yielded three multidiscriminant equations which correctly discriminated the worker status of over 80 percent of the sample.