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Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society 39th Annual Meeting
Time and place:
1995
Series:
This is a preferred venue for people like Christopher D. Wickens, Michael S. Wogalter, Colin G. Drury, Thomas B. Malone, and Robert S. Kennedy. Part of the The Human Factors Society Annual Meeting conference series.
Conf. description:
The Human Factors and Ergonomics Society Annual Meeting is the annual conference of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society.
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27 Sep 2010 in San Francisco, CaliforniaPublisher:
References from this conference (1995)
The following articles are from "Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society 39th Annual Meeting":
Articles
Goodman, Michael J. and Tijerina, Louis (1995): Heavy Vehicle Driver Workload Assessment. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society 39th Annual Meeting 1995. .
p. 1-5
Reising, John M., Liggett, Kristen K., Solz, Thomas J. and Hartsock, David C. (1995): A Comparison of Two Head-Up Display Formats Used to Fly Curved Instrument Approaches. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society 39th Annual Meeting 1995. pp. 1-5.
“With the advent of the Global Positioning System (GPS), pilots will be able to fly curved instrument approaches. Since current head up display (HUD) symbology was not specifically designed to present this curved information, a study was conducted to determine the most effective set of HUD symbology to assist pilots in flying curved approaches. The military standard HUD symbology was compared with the Pathway HUD format. Dependent measures collected for the comparison were root mean square (RMS) course deviations, RMS altitude deviations, and RMS airspeed deviations. Results showed that there was a significant difference in pilot performance for all dependent measures -- subjects performed better using the Pathway HUD format than the standard HUD symbology in all cases. Pilots comments attributed the advantage of flying the Pathway HUD format to the fact that they could see their route in the form of a highway from their present position to a point 45 seconds into the future. This allowed them to anticipate necessary control movements.”
p. 1004-1005
Robbins, Malcolm C. (1995): The Effectiveness of Emergency Vehicle Audio Warning Systems. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society 39th Annual Meeting 1995. pp. 1004-1005.
“This paper explores the effectiveness of audio emergency warning devices (sirens) fitted to public safety vehicles. The paper demonstrates why, under certain conditions, (sirens) are not effective in warning other vehicles. This lack of effectiveness is shown by both technical explanation and by an actual reconstruction of an automobile accident in which the driver failed to recognize the siren from the on-coming emergency vehicle.”
p. 1006-1010
Blackman, Harold S. and Byers, James C. (1995): Development of a Behaviorally Based Human Reliability Analysis Method. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society 39th Annual Meeting 1995. pp. 1006-1010.
“Human reliability analysis (HRA) assesses the safety and risk significance of human tasks. This paper describes the development and testing of a behaviorally based human reliability analysis method. A general criticism of HRA methods is the inability to tie HRA methods back to first principles in human behavior. The method described here, developed for the accident sequence precursor (ASP) program of the U. S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), begins by first describing an information processing model of human behavior, and then using it to define a comprehensive list of factors that influence human performance. These psychological factors are then distilled into the practical and operational factors more commonly identified in nuclear power plant operation. Appropriate adjustments for level of detail are then made to the factors and a further model developed to evaluate the effect of dependency between human actions. The application of the method to the ASP models for two nuclear power plants is discussed.”
p. 1011-1014
Richards, Robert E., Novak, Steven, Haney, Lon N., Romero, Henry A. and Blackman, Harold S. (1995): Enhancing Human Reliability Analysis through Visualization: First Steps. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society 39th Annual Meeting 1995. pp. 1011-1014.
“Over the last 15 years practitioners and researchers in the area of human factors and human reliability analysis (HRA) at the Idaho National Engineering Laboratory (INEL) have been developing improved methods and tools for performing HRAs. During this last year a major focus has been placed on applying visualization to enhance HRA processes and the communication of HRA results. The team has explored various metaphors, concepts, and has built some initial visualization prototypes. This paper is a summary of the project's progress to date with emphasis on the conceptual and theoretical development to date. Secondarily, the paper describes, briefly, some of the prototyping efforts.”
p. 1015-1019
Vredenburgh, Alison G. and Cohen, H. Harvey (1995): Does Culture Affect Risk Perception?. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society 39th Annual Meeting 1995. pp. 1015-1019.
“As forensic consultants in the areas of Human Factors and Safety, the authors have frequently been asked to testify on cases concerning the "reasonableness of conduct" and assumption of risk of plaintiffs and defendants. The principal goal of this study is to determine whether there are differences in risk-perception among various racial and cultural groups. Participants in the study identified themselves as either Caucasian, Mexican-American, Asian-American, or African-American. Risk perception was measured with a survey designed specifically for this research, which included items generated from activities that resulted in accidents frequently investigated by the authors. Subjects were selected from intact church congregations and ethnically identified social clubs. The independent variable in this study was the cultural or ethnic identity of the subjects. The dependent variable was risk perception. Using an ANOVA, cultural differences were found. Consistent with past research, women were found to perceive higher risk. Level of education was not found to be related to risk perception.”
p. 1020-1024
McDonald, Daniel P., Gilson, Richard D., Mouloua, Mustapha and Deaton, John E. (1995): The Effect of Collateral Alarms on Primary Response Behavior. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society 39th Annual Meeting 1995. pp. 1020-1024.
“The growing complexity of aircraft systems has increased the likelihood for false alarms as well as multiple alarm occurrences. Understanding patterns of diagnostic and response behaviors to these alarms is important for system efficiency and safety. The present study was designed to examine whether inexperienced operators will utilize collateral alarms as a confirmation about the validity a given alarm, while ignoring the base rate probability for that alarm being true. Two experiments were conducted to determine whether participants' confidence levels in a 50% true alarm would vary as a function of the number of collateral alarms. The procedures were similar for both experiments, in that zero to five collateral alarms were presented to participants along with a given 50% true alarm. However, while the first experiment was a repeated-measures design, the second experiment was conducted as a between-subjects design to insure that results of the first experiment were not an artifact of design. Both experiments yielded similar results, showing that inexperienced operators, when reporting their confidence in the validity of a given alarm, are influenced by the presence of other alarms. Moreover, overconfidence occurred when several collateral alarms were present, whereas under-confidence occurred when a minimum number were present. These findings indicate that collateral alarms may be used as a confirmation for alarm diagnostics by inexperienced operators, thereby they are assuming that multiple alarms are systematically related. Practical implications for training and effective alarm system design are discussed.”
p. 1025-1027
Alexander, David C. (1995): The Economics of Ergonomics: Part II. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society 39th Annual Meeting 1995. pp. 1025-1027.
“The economics of ergonomics is important from a managerial and technical standpoint. This paper continues the discussion on the economics of ergonomics. It includes both conceptual and practical viewpoints, and includes examples to illustrate the techniques described.”
p. 1028-1032
Zwahlen, Helmut T., Kim, Dae Sig and Gerth, Richard J. (1995): An Evaluation of Mounting Step Dimensions and Handhold/Handrail Dimensions on Semi-Trucks, Agricultural, and Industrial Vehicles. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society 39th Annual Meeting 1995. pp. 1028-1032.
“This study reviews the literature with regard to falls and slips occurring when operators are mounting or dismounting high profile vehicles (HPV's) and discusses the major applicable design standards and guidelines for mounting steps and handhold/handrails. A checklist for the evaluation of mounting steps and handholds/handrails on HPV's is designed (3 major categories: step dimensions, handhold/handrail dimensions, and step surface factors). A sample of 31 HPV's consisting of 12 semi-trucks, 9 agricultural vehicles, and 10 industrial vehicles were selected, and their mounting steps, handhold/handrail, and step surface dimensions were measured. The checklist results show that primarily due to the lack of a 3 point system, none of the semi-trucks conformed well to the standards and guidelines and must be considered as inadequate from a compliance and safety point of view! Similar conclusions were drawn for the other HPV's.”
p. 103
Strybel, Thomas Z. (1995): The Benefits of Auditory Spatial Information in Visual Processing. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society 39th Annual Meeting 1995. p. 103.
“Techniques for the production of externalized, "3-dimensional" sound images for acoustic signals presented via headphone were developed in the past decade. These 3-D sound systems simulate both interaural time and intensity cues, and cues based on the action of the pinnae on incoming sound sources (e.g. Wenzel, Wightman and Foster, 1988). It has been anticipated that these 3-D sound systems would be useful in the cockpit and other work settings because they provide a natural method directing an operator to some event in the environment. This symposium is a progress report on research which has either examined potential applications of 3-D sound systems in the workplace, or attempted to understand how auditory spatial cues direct visual attention. Researchers at NASA Ames Research Center and Wright Patterson Air Force Base have identified cockpit tasks that can benefit from auditory spatial cueing. Some of these tasks include gate identification, blunder avoidance, and traffic identification of approaching and receding targets. The benefits of audio spatial cueing are usually measured by determining the reduction in search latency that is realized when searching for targets with and without auditory spatial cues. These benefits can be explained by the findings that both simple detection and identification times are faster and more constant across the frontal hemifield when auditory spatial cues are presented with the target. Furthermore, for sounds presented in the central visual field, auditory spatial cues can either supplement or substitute for abrupt visual onsets in directing visual attention. Wenzel, E. M., Wightman, F. L. and Foster, S. H. (1988). A virtual display system for conveying three-dimensional acoustic information. Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 32nd Annual Meeting, 86-90.”
p. 1033-1037
Frostenson, Candace K. (1995): Lessons Learned from Occurrences Involving Procedures at Los Alamos National Laboratory in 1994. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society 39th Annual Meeting 1995. pp. 1033-1037.
“This study used the Department of Energy (DOE) Occurrence Reporting and Processing System (ORPS) data to investigate occurrences reported during one year at Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL). ORPS provides a centralized database and computerized support for the collection, distribution, updating, analysis, and validation of information in occurrence reports about abnormal events related to facility operation. Human factors causes for occurrences are not always defined in ORPS. Content analysis of narrative data revealed that 33% of all LANL 1994 adverse operational events have human factors causes related to procedures. Procedure-caused occurrences that resulted in injury to workers, damage to facilities or equipment, or a near-miss are analyzed.”
p. 1038-1042
Deppa, Shelley Waters (1995): Legislating Choking Hazard Labels for Toys -- The Human Factors Perspective. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society 39th Annual Meeting 1995. pp. 1038-1042.
“The Federal Small Parts regulation banned toys with small parts intended for children less than three years old because of the hazard of choking. However, choking incidents continued to occur because children had access to older children's toys. To address this problem, Congress recently passed an Act requiring choking hazard labels for balloons, small balls, marbles, and toys containing small parts intended for children between three and six years old. This paper discusses the analysis of choking incidents, the development of labels, the events leading to passage of the Act requiring labels for toys, and a critique of the final labels. Balloons and toys most likely to be given to children less than three will now be labeled with an explicit warning about choking. However, these labels would have been more effective had they followed standardized labeling format. This deficiency has negative implications for other labels.”
p. 104-108
Perrott, David R., Cisneros, John, McKinley, Richard L. and D'Angelo, William R. (1995): Aurally Aided Detection and Identification of Visual Targets. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society 39th Annual Meeting 1995. pp. 104-108.
“The experiments described in this report provide baseline performance measures of aurally directed detection and search for visual targets in an observer's immediate space. While the simple target detection task was restricted to the frontal hemi-field (extending 180 degrees in azimuth and 150 degrees in elevation), visual search performance (discrimination of which of two light arrays was present on a given trial) was evaluated for both the frontal and rear hemi-fields. In both tasks, the capacity to process information from the visual channel was improved substantially (a 10-50 percent reduction in latency) when spatial information from the auditory modality was provided concurrently. While performance gains were greatest for events in the rear hemi-field and in the peripheral regions of the frontal hemi-field, significant effects were also evident for events within the subject's central visual field. The relevance of these results to the development of virtual 3-D sound systems is discussed.”
p. 1043-1047
Fleger, Stephen A. and McWilliams, Michael R. (1995): Control Room Human Factors Assessment at a Bulgarian Nuclear Power Plant. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society 39th Annual Meeting 1995. pp. 1043-1047.
“This paper presents the results of a preliminary assessment of human factors concerns associated with the six reactor control rooms at the Kozloduy Nuclear Power Plant in Bulgaria. This initiative was sponsored by the Committee of Energy, Bulgaria, as part of a multi-faceted project that examined emergency operating procedures, training, and risk-based maintenance practices at Kozloduy. The goal of the study was to determine the overall adequacy of the interfaces, from a human error prevention perspective, between operator and plant processes as found in the control rooms, and if warranted, to develop a program plan for conducting subsequent detailed control room design reviews. The need for this study was stimulated in part by a report prepared by the International Atomic Energy Agency which found that WWER-440 model 230 reactor control rooms were in urgent need of human factors attention. This paper summarizes the findings from the human factors portion of the study, and discusses potential concerns associated with applying U.S. developed human factors engineering criteria to an eastern European nuclear power plant.”
p. 1048-1052
Vredenburgh, Alison G. and Cohen, H. Harvey (1995): Enhanced Motorcycle Visibility through Use of Motorcycle Conspicuity Enhancement System. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society 39th Annual Meeting 1995. pp. 1048-1052.
“The most common cause of motorcycle accidents is the violation of the motorcyclist's right-of-way by another vehicle driver. There are two factors in the causation of multi-vehicle accidents involving motorcycles. The first factor concerns design and the second factor involves human performance capabilities. The purpose of this study is to design and test a Motorcycle Conspicuity Enhancement System (MCES) by using a similar methodology as that used by Ramsey and Brinkley (1977) who tested various daytime conspicuity enhancement devices. The following study uses a similar method as that used in the 1977 study. Several phases are required to complete the design and testing of the MCES. First, a device that can be used for testing in the next phases was developed. In the second phase, the device in configured; and finally, in the third phase, it will be tested on the road. A motorcycle and driver will be positioned on a side street perpendicular to the traffic flow. During one hour test periods, the MCES will be mounted and operating for 30 minutes and then dismounted for 30 minutes. Variance and Chi-square analyses will be used.”
p. 1053-1056
Park, Min-Yong (1995): Noise Evaluation of Karaoke Facilities in Korea. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society 39th Annual Meeting 1995. pp. 1053-1056.
“An experiment was conducted to evaluate potential noise exposures to naive commercial "Karaoke" users using a 2-way, mixed-factors design with 2 independent variables of Noise Source (no-singer, 1-singer, and 2-singer) and Music Type (Trot, Ballad, and Rock). Each member of two singer groups (a total of 18 subjects) sang 5 popular songs of each music type in each singing condition. Equivalent continuous sound pressure levels (L{sub:eq}) and maximum sound pressure levels (Max L{sub:p}) were measured for data analysis purposes. The statistical analyses indicate that noise levels were significantly different according to noise source and music type. The levels under most popular singing conditions were very serious, especially when two people were singing: higher than the OSHA's 95 dBA exposure limit. Rock music generated above 95 dBA even under 1-singer source. Max L{sub:p} often exceeded the OSHA's 115 dBA non-permissible level under some singing situations. A spectrum analysis revealed that Karaoke noise may have a potential impact on the speech band (500 - 4000 Hz) hearing. Some noise abatement strategies and ergonomic issues are discussed.”
p. 1057-1061
Silver, N. Clayton, Wogalter, Michael S., Brewster, Blair M., Glover, Barbara L., Murray, La Tondra A., Tillotson, Cheryl A. and Temple, Tallah L. (1995): Comprehension and Perceived Quality of Warning Pictorials. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society 39th Annual Meeting 1995. pp. 1057-1061.
“The present study assessed the comprehensibility and quality of warning pictorials in the presence and absence of explicit context. Context was provided by a photograph and a verbal description of an environmental scene in which the pictorial might appear. A total of 248 individuals performed a comprehension test on a randomly-assigned pictorial from each of three referent categories (Keep Out, Electrical Shock, and Do Not Dig). Following this task, 185 participants were shown five pictorials (four others plus the one they had seen) associated with each of the three referent categories and then rated and ranked them on their quality to convey the referent message effectively. Results indicated that the context manipulation enhanced comprehension for pictorials two out of three referent categories. Confidence intervals indicated that comprehension levels of all the Electrical Shock symbols would fall within the ranges specified by ISO's 67% and ANSI's 85% comprehension criteria. Three of the Do Not Dig pictorials and none of the Keep Out pictorials fell within the acceptable ISO and ANSI comprehension criteria. Statistically significant average point biserial correlations were obtained between the comprehension and quality scores for each referent category. Implications for warning pictorial test and design are discussed.”
p. 1062
Clark, Laura L., Casali, John G., Waldron, Randy L. and Hanes, L. Thompson (1995): A Human Factors Approach to Powering a Manual Folding Wheelchair: The Quick-Connect Power Drive/Steer Attachment. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society 39th Annual Meeting 1995. p. 1062.
p. 1063
Guckenberger, Dutch and Stanney, Kay M. (1995): Poor Man's Virtual Reality. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society 39th Annual Meeting 1995. p. 1063.
“Research in virtual reality (VR) technology generally requires a significant up front investment. Unfortunately, while many organizations would like to investigate the potential VR could bring to their endeavors, this prohibitive initial investment often deters their interest. Low end VR solutions have previously been presented, however, such approaches generally are limited in use to individuals who have extensive knowledge of computer programming. This demonstration presents a low-cost means of providing stereoscopic virtual scenes. The only requirements include two televisions with two cable channels broadcasting the same field-of-view (FOV) with the eye point displacement set at approximately the inter-pupillary distance (alternatively, the system can be designed with two PCs synchronized by an ethernet connection). A mirrored headset is used to seemlessly integrate the 2 FOVs to their respective eyes, delivering the left eye view to the left eye and the right eye view to the right eye. This is a novel integration of existing 3D TV technology that allows full screen per eye resolution, rather than the "skinny" screens currently provided by 3D TV systems. Such "Poor-man's" VR systems are envisioned as being suitable to equip remote sites, such as distance learning centers, to receive and display virtual worlds generated by a central high-end system. Further, in the case of new interactive television networks, cooperative interaction between many remote nodes could be facilitated. Other applications include: computer-supported cooperative work; military or disaster mission rehearsal: and telepresence training. The key concept of the proposed approach is utilization of existing networks to empower users to access and utilize VR technology. This approach would reduce the cost per user thus making it economically, as well as technologically feasible to distribute VR applications to the masses.”
p. 1064
Rhoades, Timothy P., Frantz, J. Paul, Horst, Donald P., Laughery, Kenneth R. and Purswell, Jerry L. (1995): Examining the Value of Expert Testimony Regarding Warnings. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society 39th Annual Meeting 1995. p. 1064.
“This alternative format session is designed to examine the value of expert testimony related to warnings. Specific objectives of the session include informing HFES members of the views of some members of the legal community who question the value and appropriateness of expert testimony regarding warnings; identifying appropriate responses to such positions; discussing the basic role that experts play in assisting the litigation process; and describing and discussing the perceptions and experiences of HFES members regarding the value of their activities in forensic matters. This session begins with a brief description of articles authored by an attorney, William Hardie, whose position is summarized by the following statement: "The defendant should try to exclude all opinion evidence on warnings, leaving the evaluation of the warnings to the jury and lawyer's arguments.... The legal principles applicable to liability for failure to warn were developed by courts without the benefit of communication theorists. These legal principles are based on common sense, fairness, and the knowledge of ordinary people. In this spirit, juries are not well served by witnesses who are nothing more than professional advocates." (Hardie, 1991) Session participants will respond to the above general proposition as well as other specific questions underlying Hardie's position and their own experiences as testifying experts. After participants answer directed questions, the format will allow for directed discussion between participants. Finally, the chair will attempt to articulate the common ground and differences between positions and solicit comments from the audience.”
p. 1065
Anshel, Jeffery (1995): The Eye-Computer Ergonomic Evaluation (Eye-CEE) System for VDT Users. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society 39th Annual Meeting 1995. p. 1065.
“The introduction of Video Display Terminals into the workplace has been accompanied by complaints of visual problems associated with their use. Research has indicated that the source of the problem may be the set-up of the workstation and/or inappropriate work practices rather than any visual or ocular defect. The Eye-CEE System for VDT Users is a software program that actually tests the vision of users in their normal working environment in order to more accurately detect vision difficulties.”
p. 1066
Denning, Rebecca and Smith, Philip J. (1995): A Cooperative Learning Environment to Teach Problem-Solving Skills. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society 39th Annual Meeting 1995. p. 1066.
p. 1067
Wisowaty, John J. (1995): Continuous Speech Interface for a Movie Locator Service. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society 39th Annual Meeting 1995. p. 1067.
p. 1068-1071
Hulse, Melissa C., Dingus, Thomas A., McGehee, Daniel V. and Fleischman, Rebecca N. (1995): The Effects of Area Familiarity and Navigation Method on ATIS Use. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society 39th Annual Meeting 1995. pp. 1068-1071.
“This paper describes the driver performance and behavioral interaction results of a comparison between visitors to a major city (Orlando) and local drivers while using differing navigation configurations of an Advanced Traveler Information System (ATIS). The system utilized for the study was TravTek, a device which provided in-vehicle information via color touch screen CRT, steering wheel buttons, and synthesized voice. The TravTek driver interface was developed with the intent of providing navigation, service and attractions, and roadway incident and traffic information to the driver. Both visitors and local users tested six different navigation-aid configurations. The six navigation-aids included: static turn-by-turn graphics and a moving map both with and without voice, a paper map and a textual direction list. The research showed that visitors drove more cautiously, but they made more glances to the navigation-aids when compared to local users. In addition, visitors went off-route and got lost less frequently than local users. Visitors apparently were more careful in driving and navigating to their destinations.”
p. 1072-1076
Green, Paul and George, Kellie (1995): When Should Auditory Guidance Systems Tell Drivers to Turn?. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society 39th Annual Meeting 1995. pp. 1072-1076.
“This two-part experiment examined how far from an intersection an auditory route-guidance system should present the final turn instructions (e.g., "Turn right."). In part 1, 48 drivers followed instructions from a simulated in-vehicle navigation system ("In approximately 2 miles, turn right at the traffic signal."), responding "Is this it?" when they thought they had reached the desired intersection. In response, the computer gave the appropriate guidance ("No, continue..." or "Turn..."). In part 2, they repeatedly approached 2 different intersections. Feedback from previous trials ("too far," "too close," "OK") was used to adjust when messages (e.g., "Turn left.") were presented. Regression analysis revealed that last turn messages should be provided approximately 450 feet before an intersection (approached at 40 mi/h), with that value being adjusted 15 feet for each mile per hour change. Adjustments are also made for gender (plus or minus 56 feet), age (plus or minus 60 feet), and turn direction (plus or minus 48 feet).”
p. 1077-1081
James, Christina, Ehret, Brian D., Philips, Brian, James, W. Spencer and Alicandri, Elizabeth (1995): Effects of Rotation and Location on Advanced Traveler Information System Displays. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society 39th Annual Meeting 1995. pp. 1077-1081.
“This experiment compared the performance of rotated to conventional Advanced Traveler Information System (ATIS) displays. Rotated and conventional ATIS displays were presented in two locations: Heads-up display (HUD) and instrument panel mounted (IPM). Using a part-task driving simulator, subjects evaluated whether an intersection presented on an ATIS display matched the intersection they were approaching. The results indicated that benefits of rotated displays may be location dependent. Although the results do not clearly indicate an optimal display rotation, the HUD location resulted in improved older driver performance.”
p. 1082-1086
Fain, W. Bradley (1995): Analysis of the Influence of Traffic Information Messages on Route Selection. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society 39th Annual Meeting 1995. pp. 1082-1086.
“Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) can reduce traffic congestion by displaying congestion-related delay information on roadside variable message signs or in-vehicle displays. Message format and content may have a significant impact on the percentage of drivers who decide to make a route diversion. In this study, the effect of various traffic information message types on driver routing decisions was evaluated. Results suggest that messages including both an advisory and a descriptive component promote situation awareness and rapid decision making, both of which are critical for this application.”
p. 1087-1091
Grant, Barry S., Kiefer, Raymond J. and Wierwille, Walter W. (1995): Drivers' Detection and Identification of Head-Up versus Head-Down Telltale Warnings in Automobiles. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society 39th Annual Meeting 1995. pp. 1087-1091.
“Previous automotive head-up display (HUD) research reported in the human factors literature has focused almost exclusively on the presentation of speed information. This paper, however, reports the results of a study which focused on telltale warning detection and identification. In this on-road study, eight younger (21 to 36 years) and eight older (63 to 72 years) drivers were tested. During a short familiarization drive, an unexpected brake telltale was presented up to four times in either a head-up or head-down display condition. The ability of drivers to detect (i.e., visually fixate upon) and identify (i.e., report) the brake telltale was assessed via self-reports and video analysis of the drivers' eye movements in response to telltale onsets. Later in the study, drivers were explicitly instructed to perform various tasks, including telltale detection, under both display conditions. Detection rates for an expected brake telltale were analyzed. Results of the study suggest that drivers will detect and identify briefly presented telltale warnings sooner, and with greater probability, when they are presented on a HUD as opposed to a conventional head-down display.”
p. 109-113
Strybel, Thomas Z., Boucher, Jan M., Fujawa, Greg E. and Volp, Craig S. (1995): Auditory Spatial Cueing in Visual Search Tasks: Effects of Amplitude, Contrast, and Duration. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society 39th Annual Meeting 1995. pp. 109-113.
“The effectiveness of auditory spatial cues in visual search performance was examined in three experiments. Auditory spatial cues are more effective than abrupt visual onsets when the target appears in the peripheral visual field or when the contrast of the target is degraded. The duration of the auditory spatial cue did not affect search performance.”
p. 1092-1096
Sayer, James R., Mefford, Mary Lynn and Fancher, Paul S. (1995): Consumer Acceptance of Adaptive Cruise Control Following Experience with a Prototype System. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society 39th Annual Meeting 1995. pp. 1092-1096.
“Reactions to adaptive cruise control (ACC) were solicited from drivers following use of an ACC equipped vehicle for one hour in an actual highway environment. Participant's impressions were obtained through questionnaires, administered immediately following the exposure, and later in focus groups. Individuals of varying age and conventional cruise control usage took part in the study. The issues of comfort, safety, ease-of-use, and estimated worth were addressed. While participants offered favorable responses towards ACC, despite having limited safety concerns, they were willing to pay surprisingly little for the added convenience provided. The issues of driver over-dependency on technology, system reliability, and customized features appear to warrant additional investigation to overcome consumer's hesitation towards purchasing and using ACC and similar forms of advanced vehicle control systems.”
p. 1097-1101
Kiefer, Raymond J. (1995): Human Factors Issues Surrounding an Automotive Vision Enhancement System. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society 39th Annual Meeting 1995. pp. 1097-1101.
“Although night vision systems have been used extensively for a wide variety of military applications, only recently have such systems been considered for automotive applications. This paper provides a technological primer for an automotive application of a vision enhancement system (or VES), and reviews the human factors literature, general human factors issues, and accident data relevant to such a system. The automotive VES consists of two primary components, an infrared sensor and a display. VES information can be displayed to the driver in a contact analog fashion on a head-up display, or in a non-contact analog fashion on either a head-down or head-up display. The primary potential benefit of a VES is to improve the driver's ability to see critical driving events (e.g., pedestrians, bicyclists, roadway direction) under nighttime driving conditions.”
p. 11-15
Beringer, Dennis B. and Harris, Howard C. (1995): Navigation Display Integration in the General Aviation Environment: Performance using the Horizontal Situation Indicator. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society 39th Annual Meeting 1995. pp. 11-15.
“Much effort has been invested in examining integrated instrumentation for advanced aircraft cockpits, but little comparable effort has been directed toward the greatest number of aircraft presently flying -- those in the general aviation environment. This study examined the benefits of a simple and widely available integrated instrument, the horizontal situation indicator (HSI), in the performance of simple navigation and orientation tasks by private pilots. Tested in the context of the multiple-processor Basic General Aviation Research Simulator (BGARS), pilots exhibited significantly fewer navigational reversals and orientational errors when using the HSI (in comparison with their performances when using the traditional VOR and Directional Gyro combination). These results were consistent with but even more definitive than an earlier sample of instructor pilots. Similar benefits in procedural error reduction were also found when instrument index markers, or "bugs," were used as short-term memory aids.”
p. 1102-1106
Nygren, Thomas E. (1995): A Conjoint Analysis of Five Factors Influencing Heavy Vehicle Drivers' Perceptions of Workload. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society 39th Annual Meeting 1995. pp. 1102-1106.
“Conjoint analysis, a multi-factor subjective scaling technique, was used in a study of heavy vehicle drivers to obtain a measure of their perceived workload demands under different driving conditions. These included combinations of low and high levels of traffic density, lighting, roadway type, visibility, and traction. A tradeoff comparison analysis was used to collect the conjoint scaling data from a subset of the complete 2x2x2x2x2 design. Results indicated that an additive factor representation fit the data very well, but that the five factors had very different importance weights. The drivers' orderings of perceived demand appeared to be inversely related to their control over the conditions. The two most important factors (traction and visibility) are effectively environmental factors that cannot be easily controlled by the driver. The other three factors (traffic density, highway type, and lighting) can, at least to some extent, come under the control of the driver. Implications of these results and the use of conjoint scaling methodology are discussed.”
p. 1107-1111
Kantowitz, Barry H. (1995): Simulator Evaluation of Heavy Vehicle Driver Workload. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society 39th Annual Meeting 1995. pp. 1107-1111.
“Six primary-task and four secondary-task workload measures were investigated in a fixed-base truck simulator. Twelve commercial drivers each drove twelve simulator modules, each 55,000 feet in length. Independent variables were road geometry, traffic density, and secondary task. All primary task measures except steering rate were not influenced by the addition of a secondary task. Two secondary tasks, reaction time to reading the vehicle tachometer and immediate recall of a 7-digit auditory number, provided effective measures of driver workload.”
p. 1112-1116
Kiger, Steven M., Rockwell, Thomas H. and Tijerina, Louis (1995): Developing Baseline Data on Heavy Vehicle Driver Visual Workload. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society 39th Annual Meeting 1995. pp. 1112-1116.
“This study focused on the development of baseline measures of driver visual allocation under normal operating conditions. Thirty licensed truck drivers drove an instrumented heavy truck over a 459 km fixed route in which road type and ambient lighting condition were varied. An on-board video recording system was used to record the subject's visual glances throughout the run. During the run subjects performed three driving tasks: open road driving, car following and in-cab tasks requested by the experimenter. Over all conditions, the mean time off the road was 1.01 s and the mean road scene glance duration was 2.18 s. The results indicated that road type and driving task were significant factors affecting driver visual workload indicators. Ambient light level was not a significant factor affecting the visual allocation of truck drivers.”
p. 1117-1121
Tijerina, Louis, Kiger, Steven M., Rockwell, Thomas H. and Tornow, Carina (1995): Workload Assessment of In-Cab Text Message System and Cellular Phone Use by Heavy Vehicle Drivers on the Road. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society 39th Annual Meeting 1995. pp. 1117-1121.
“This study assessed the driver workload imposed by a text messaging system and cellular phone on heavy vehicle drivers under various driving conditions. Sixteen (16) professional commercial vehicle operation (CVO) licensed drivers drove an instrumented heavy truck over a 4-hour period on public roads under various conditions of ambient lighting (day or night), traffic density (light or heavy), and road type (divided or undivided). Within driving condition combinations, various levels of text message reading, cellular phone dialing, radio tuning, and communications dialogue were completed by the driver. Continuous measures were taken of visual allocation, steering and accelerator activity, speed maintenance and lane-keeping performance. Results of in-vehicle device use are presented and provide insights into useful workload measures and methods, as well as a contribution to the literature on cellular phone and in-vehicle text messaging system ergonomics.”
p. 1122-1126
Sweeney, Margaret M., Ellingstad, Vernon S., Mayer, David L., Eastwood, Mary D., Weinstein, Elaine B. and Loeb, Bernard S. (1995): The Need for Sleep: Discriminating between Fatigue-Related and Nonfatigue-Related Truck Accidents. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society 39th Annual Meeting 1995. pp. 1122-1126.
“Truckdriver fatigue is a major factor in driving accidents. The National Transportation Safety Board found fatigue to be the most frequently cited”
p. 1127-1131
Dingus, Thomas A. (1995): A Meta-Analysis of Driver Eye-Scanning Behavior while Driving. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society 39th Annual Meeting 1995. pp. 1127-1131.
“A meta-comparison of link analyses was performed using two eye scanning studies. One study was an analysis of the Etak navigator performed by Antin, Dingus, Hulse and Wierwille, (1990). Antin and his associates compared the Etak system to a paper map control condition and a memorized route baseline condition. The second study was an evaluation of the TravTek system performed by Dingus, McGehee, Hulse, Jahns, Natarajan, Mollenhauer and Fleischman (1995). The TravTek Camera Car Evaluation tested six different navigation conditions (a TravTek visual display of a full, heading-up route map with voice guidance, the same TravTek route map without voice guidance, a TravTek visual display showing a graphic representation of static turn-by-turn information, the same turn-by-turn screens without voice guidance, a textual paper direction list with large legible font, and a conventional paper map). The eye glance data shown in the comparison of these two studies revealed several interesting findings. In all conditions, scanning of instruments, mirrors and signs/landmarks was a low frequency occurrence and largely constant. Increases in visual attention by a navigation condition draws attention from forward, left and right roadway scanning resources. Thus, navigating draws upon potentially valuable accident avoidance resources in some circumstances. The eye scanning results also shared the relative benefits of the addition of a highlighted route to a moving map display, the simplification of a visual display from a full map to a turn-by-turn graphic, and the addition of a voice supplement to a navigation aid.”
p. 1137-1141
Folds, Dennis J., Beers, Tonya M., Stocks, Dana R., Coon, Vicky E., Fain, W. Bradley and Mitta, Deborah (1995): A Comparison of Four Interfaces for Selecting and Controlling Remote Cameras. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society 39th Annual Meeting 1995. pp. 1137-1141.
“Many Traffic Management Centers (TMCs) rely heavily on remote cameras for detecting and verifying incidents, and for maintaining surveillance of the roadway system. A TMC operator may have access to dozens, or even hundreds, of remote cameras. In the present experiment we compared four interfaces (joystick, keyboard, mouse, and touchscreen) for selecting and controlling remote cameras. Preset cameras (i.e., views were restricted to a predefined set of pan, tilt, and zoom coordinates) were also compared to manual cameras (i.e., no presets). The touchscreen interface was found to be more prone to produce errors in selecting cameras. Preset cameras were found to be superior to manual cameras in most aspects. The good performance of subjects using the keyboard interface is especially noteworthy. Implications for TMC design are discussed.”
p. 114-118
Begault, Durand R. (1995): Head-Up Auditory Display Research at NASA Ames Research Center. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society 39th Annual Meeting 1995. pp. 114-118.
“The use of spatialized ("3-D") audio techniques for head-up auditory displays for commercial aircraft has been investigated at NASA Ames Research Center since 1989. Results from two completed studies are presented, where a 3-D audio Traffic alert and Collision Avoidance System (TCAS) was designed and evaluated in a full mission simulation context. An experiment-in-progress evaluates the application of 3-D audio for gate identification and collision avoidance with other aircraft, as part of NASA's Terminal Area Productivity-Low Visibility Landing and Surface Operations (LoVlaso) program.”
p. 1142-1146
Lowe, Brian D., You, Heecheon, Bucciaglia, Joseph D., Gilmore, B. J. and Freivalds, Andris (1995): An Ergonomic Design Strategy for the Transit Bus Operators' Workspace. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society 39th Annual Meeting 1995. pp. 1142-1146.
“Transit bus operators suffer from and complain of numerous musculoskeletal ailments and discomfort over the course of a work day. This result is not surprising when one critically evaluates the operators' work station in many transit buses. Ergonomic efforts in the design of the transit bus have lagged far behind those of the automobile and most aircrafts. This paper presents the design methodology and results of a project directed towards developing design guidelines for the transit bus operators' workstation. Two phases of the project are reported here: the preliminary geometric layout of the seating area with respect to driver anthropometry and component dimensions and the evaluation of a laboratory mock-up based on the results of the first two phases. The goal of this project is to apply relevant human engineering design principles to the transit bus so that future generations of bus operators can work in a safer, more comfortable, and more productive environment.”
p. 1147-1151
Greene, Frances A., Huchingson, R. Dale and Koppa, Rodger J. (1995): Comparison of Simulation and Field Legibility Distances for Symbol Highway Signs. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society 39th Annual Meeting 1995. pp. 1147-1151.
“Past laboratory studies of warning symbol traffic signs have underestimated legibility distances by as much as a factor of two when compared with field studies. For this research, six warning symbol signs were investigated in both a field and laboratory setting using a group of older (over age 65) and young drivers. In the two settings, legibility distance, defined as the distance at which the sign is correctly identified, was collected. As a major part of this research, a new laboratory simulation technique was developed -- a methodology which optimizes factors criticized in earlier studies, thus increasing fidelity. Previously reported large within-subject variability, evident in both age groups, was found to diminish contributions of experimental variables (Greene, Koppa, Zellner, and Congleton, 1994). Correlation coefficients between laboratory and field legibility distances were computed and appear very promising. The newly developed laboratory simulation was a successful first step in correcting problems associated with laboratory studies of the past.”
p. 1152-1154
Bedny, Gregory and Meister, David (1995): Temporal Characteristics of Work Activity. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society 39th Annual Meeting 1995. pp. 1152-1154.
“This paper is another effort to explain the differences between Russian and Western ergonomics. The focus here is the temporal aspect of the Russian theory of work activity. Russians use time as a means of analyzing the task and of evaluating operator performance.”
p. 1155-1159
Folds, Dennis J. and Mitta, Deborah (1995): Using Operator Role Theory to Guide Function Allocation in System Development. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society 39th Annual Meeting 1995. pp. 1155-1159.
“Operator role theory provides a conceptual framework for guiding function allocation during the system design process, and for analyzing the allocation of functions in an existing or proposed design. The present paper describes the basic tenets of operator role theory and presents a method for using those tenets in the processes of system analysis and design. Operator role theory holds that there are four generic operator roles that are possible in a given function. These four roles (Direct Performer, Manual Controller, Supervisory Controller, and Executive Controller) describe different relationships between humans and automation. The concepts and methods have been used and proven useful in system analysis and design for two helicopter cockpit systems, a computer control system interface, and a traffic management center.”
p. 1160-1164
O'Hara, John M., Stubler, William, Brown, William, Wachtel, Jerry and Persensky, J. (1995): Comprehensive Guidance for the Evaluation of Human-Systems Interfaces in Complex Systems. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society 39th Annual Meeting 1995. pp. 1160-1164.
“Advanced human-system interface (HSI) technologies are being developed in the commercial nuclear power industry. These HSIs may have significant implications for plant safety in that they will affect the ways in which the operator interacts with and supervises an increasingly complex system. The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) reviews the HSI aspects of nuclear plants to ensure that operator performance and reliability are supported. The NRC is developing guidance to support its review of these advanced designs. The guidance consists of an evaluation methodology and an extensive set of human factors guidelines which are used in one aspect of the evaluation. The paper describes the guidance development of the evaluation methodology and the guidelines. While originally developed for nuclear plant evaluation, the methodology is applicable to other types of complex human-machine systems as well.”
p. 1165-1169
Connelly, Edward (1995): Building Performance Measures: A Human Factors Problem. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society 39th Annual Meeting 1995. pp. 1165-1169.
“Performance assessments via institutionalized performance measures are a key part of the ongoing, global restructuring of corporate, industrial, government, and military ways of doing business. Corporations, recognizing that the "game" is played for keeps, are reorganizing to survive and prosper in the national and international environment. Often, this restructuring is not just adding new technology, although it typically takes advantage of new technology. Instead, this is a work environment change supporting effective work interactions. Led by the training and human resources personnel, employees learn to share goals, to communicate effectively and to help each other solve problems in order to function as an effective team. Results of these efforts are truly inspiring. Organizations such as Kodak, IBM, Ford, and others have turned things around, producing profitable units providing quality products and services, and having fun while doing it (Anfuso 1994). A key part of this turn-a-round is the common understanding of how performance is evaluated, a result achieved via instutionalized performance measures. A performance measure is a definition of how performance is to be assessed. The definition is always based on an individual's subjective preference of the worth of demonstrated performances or proposed activities. When the individual is an authority whose performance assessments significantly impact the performance of other individuals and the organization, then that individual's assessment concept demands attention. A performance measure, acceptable to that authority by virtue of it rating performances the same way the authority does, can systematize the assessment process by communicating what data are to be collected and how those data are to be processed to determine the performance rating. Extracting information from authorities for building performance measures does not require advances in computer technology or mathematics. Instead, it requires creating an environment in which the authority can interact with a facilitator to consider alternative workplace outcomes and can provide ratings of the desirability of each outcome. To demonstrate this interaction as a human factors problem, this paper describes the environments necessary to extract the definitions of good performance from authorities. These definitions are the basis for building the equivalent performance measures.”
p. 1170-1174
Forsythe, Chris and Ashby, M. Rodema (1995): User-Driven Product Data Manager System Design. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society 39th Annual Meeting 1995. pp. 1170-1174.
“With the infusion of information technologies into product development and production processes, effective management of product data is becoming essential to modern production enterprises. When an enterprise-wide Product Data Manager (PDM) is implemented, PDM designers must satisfy the requirements of individual users with different job functions and requirements, as well as the requirements of the enterprise as a whole. Concern must also be shown for the interrelationships between information, methods for retrieving archival information and integration of the PDM into the product development process. This paper describes a user-driven approach applied to PDM design for an agile manufacturing pilot project at Sandia National Laboratories that has been successful in achieving a much faster design-to-production process for a precision electro mechanical surety device.”
p. 1175-1179
Battiste, Vernol and Downs, Michael (1995): Development of a Navigation/Situation Display to Improve Aerial Fire Fighting Safety and Efficiency. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society 39th Annual Meeting 1995. pp. 1175-1179.
“Aerial fire fighting is a high-risk, high-cost aviation environment. Normal aviation risks are magnified, sometimes significantly, by a number of factors. Over the years a number of accidents (mid-air collisions and controlled flight into terrain), near mid-air collisions, and other serious incidents involving fire fighting aircraft have occurred. The causes of these accidents or incidents have been primarily attributed to loss of situational awareness in the relatively unstructured aerial environment surrounding wildland fires. In an effort to improve safety and efficiency researchers at NASA Ames Research Center are working with aerial fire fighters to develop a standard phraseology, air space structure, and a navigation/situation display. This paper will focus on the results of an initial communication analysis, and will present a prototype airspace structure, and the preliminary design and evaluation of the navigation/situation display.”
p. 1180-1184
Sanderson, Penelope, Iozzo, Nick, Buberel, Jason and Au, Irene (1995): The Advising Workbench: Participation-Based Development of a Software Environment to Support Student Advising. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society 39th Annual Meeting 1995. pp. 1180-1184.
“This paper describes the development, design, and evaluation of the Advising Workbench (AWB), a software development environment being developed at University of Illinois to support students, faculty, and professional advisors in the advising process. A participatory design strategy is being used with human factors design students taking part in the development of the AWB as researchers, designers, evaluators and, of course, as eventual users. Various systems-oriented conceptual tools have been used during the development of the AWB, such as hierarchical task analysis (HTA) and link analysis. Most notably, the AWB accesses University of Illinois course information from the World Wide Web (WWW). The AWB represents a test of many concepts, such as (1) the viability of tying student advising support to sources on the WWW, (2) the effectiveness of a large-scale participatory design exercise with human factors undergraduate students, and (3) the adequacy for naive users of our interpretation of the standard Macintosh interface. The AWB has excited considerable interest and support on campus, and early feedback from field testing is encouraging.”
p. 1185-1189
Wallace, Daniel F., Dawson, John A. and Blaylock, Clent J. (1995): Tactical Information GUI Engineering and Requirements Specification (TIGERS): Top-Down HMI Engineering Process. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society 39th Annual Meeting 1995. pp. 1185-1189.
“The actual design of graphical user interfaces (GUIs) for supervisory control systems largely falls to software developers, as opposed to qualified human engineers (HEs). This is due in large part to the disconnect among the primary players (operational subject matter experts (SMEs), software developers, & human engineers) and the lack of a suitable communications vehicle to bring all these critical perspectives to bear in the design process. We define a process, TIGERS (Tactical Information GUI Engineering & Requirements Specification), which provides a vehicle whereby SMEs can play a more active role in defining the system "process" from a top-down perspective. Together with a human engineer, the SME articulates the critical decisions to be made, the information, and information sources required to support each decision. This articulation uses "operational sequence diagrams" (OSDs) as the primary tool or medium for communication. Once the OSDs are so articulated, the human engineer can better define the optimal display format of that information, define the critical system events that impact that decision, and obtain validation reviews from the SME and developer. This articulation of the tasks, and information requirements are then sufficient to permit actual system design. Byproducts from this process are workload simulation parameters, explicit documentation of the HMI design process, and a traceability matrix to support design specification. We present this approach, provide two case studies, and identify how it can be applied to other systems development projects.”
p. 119-123
McKinley, Richard L., D'Angelo, William R., Haas, Michael W., Perrot, David R., Nelson, W. Todd, Hettinger, Lawrence J. and Brickman, Bart J. (1995): An Initial Study of the Effects of Three-Dimensional Auditory Cueing on Visual Target Detection. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society 39th Annual Meeting 1995. pp. 119-123.
“Developments in virtual environment technology are enabling the rapid generation of systems that provide synthetic visual and auditory displays. The successful use of this technology in education, training, entertainment, and various other applications relies to a great extent on the effective combination of visual and auditory information. Little is known about the basic interactions between the auditory system and the visual system in real environments or virtual environments. Therefore, the purpose of the current study was to begin to assess the effectiveness of various combinations of visual-auditory information in supporting the performance of a common task (detecting targets) in a virtual environment.”
p. 1190-1193
Miller, Douglas L., Volanth, Alton J., Wolfman, G. Jonathan and Mullins, R. Timothy (1995): Electronic Meeting Systems in Computer Human Interface Design: A Case Study. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society 39th Annual Meeting 1995. pp. 1190-1193.
“The increasing economic and practical necessity of groups or teams of individuals working together to accomplish shared objectives can be observed in many diverse organizations (Alvai and Keen, 1989, Kraemer and King, 1988). This trend is reflected in many ways in complex system development environments. For example, the growing emphasis on concurrent engineering practices, and the application of tools that better organize and coordinate engineering efforts across diverse groups (e.g., CASE tools), both require and reflect the need for coordinated group activities. In turn, the growth of group work environments has led to growing interest and need for tools that can support and enhance the effectiveness of group work activities. Such a tool is an electronic meeting system (EMS). This case study reports the effectiveness of an EMS applied as part of a computer-human interface (CHI) design evaluation methodology, in the design of an air traffic control system.”
p. 1194-1198
Caldwell, Barrett S., Everhart, Nick C., Paradkar, Piyusha V. and Suh, Hyun-Suk (1995): Issues of Dependence and Reliance on Technological Advancement: Examples from American Football and Air Traffic Control. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society 39th Annual Meeting 1995. pp. 1194-1198.
“This paper addresses aspects of dependence and reliance on new technologies, using American football and air traffic control as examples. Football has developed an audio communication system between the coach and quarterback in a hostile environment (auditory signal in a noisy stadium). Should technological breakdown occur, performance could suffer if the users are not proficient with backup systems (hand signals transmitted from the sideline). Dependence on technology takes a more serious form in air traffic control, as thousands of lives depend on technology performing as expected. Backup systems exist, but suffer from the same weaknesses as the existing system and cannot handle the volume of system activity. The possibility of technological failure needs to be considered before implementing and relying on new systems, and can often be mediated by careful and innovative thinking before new technology is adopted.”
p. 1199-1203
Stubler, William F. and O'Hara, John M. (1995): Group-View Displays for Enhancing Crew Performance. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society 39th Annual Meeting 1995. pp. 1199-1203.
“Group-view displays present information to multiple personnel simultaneously. Recent developments in human-system interface technologies have the potential of increasing the effectiveness of group-view displays in control centers. While established human factors guidelines exist for many visual characteristics of group-view displays, limited guidance has been available regarding the functions that these display systems should provide to enhance crew performance in control room settings. This paper draws research findings from the areas of teamwork, computer-supported cooperative work, and human-computer interface design to describe four functions that group-view displays may perform to support various aspects of team performance in advanced control centers.”
p. 1204-1208
Wourms, David F., Gentner, Frank C. and Farrell, Jennifer L. (1995): AC-130U Gunship Aft-Scanner Ergonomic Review: Design Solutions for Program Office. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society 39th Annual Meeting 1995. pp. 1204-1208.
“Concerned about neck/back pain and diminished alertness attributed to awkwardness of AC-130U Spectre Gunship aft-scanner workstations, the Special Operations Forces Development System Office (SOF DSO) requested that the Crew System Ergonomics Information Analysis Center (CSERIAC) review the literature for design solutions. Aft-scanners recline face-down toward the aircraft's tail while leaning downward into a bubble window to detect launches of Surface-to-Air Missiles (SAMs). To scan territory below and to the sides of the Gunship, numerous head/neck movements are required. No neck/head rests exist to support the scanner during long missions over hostile territory. Diminished visual alertness can result from fatigue of maintaining the "unnatural" prone position. Long-term back and neck discomfort may follow. The comprehensive CSERIAC literature review verified adverse physiological effects and identified specific design solutions, including ones used during World War II flight tests. The DSO has already implemented several of these solutions and may implement additional solutions to increase mission effectiveness.”
p. 1209-1213
Quill, Laurie L. and Kancler, David (1995): Subjective Workload Measurement: An Aid in Evaluating Flightline Maintenance Systems. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society 39th Annual Meeting 1995. pp. 1209-1213.
“Armstrong Laboratory, Logistics Research Division performed an evaluation to determine whether flightline maintenance was improved by using a computerized, integrated maintenance information system (IMIS) for different types of users. The laboratory's evaluation overcame several logistical problems common to conducting research outside a laboratory setting. Such problems include obtaining representative subjects, controlling for extraneous variables, and gathering adequate sample data. The present study includes 24 maintenance technicians (12 avionics specialists and 12 crew chief non-specialists). Each subject performed 12 maintenance tasks (6 using electronic and 6 using paper presentation). Subjective workload ratings and objective performance times were measured. Subjective workload (using National Aeronautics and Space Administration-Task Load Index (NASA-TLX)) and objective performance results revealed similar interactions. Using paper-based presentations, crew chiefs gave significantly higher subjective workload ratings than avionics specialists and significantly longer total performance time (e.g., time-to-complete). However, there were no significant differences between the two groups when using electronic-based presentations.”
p. 1214-1218
Plott, Beth M., Scott-Nash, Shelly, Hallbert, Bruce P. and Sebok, Angelia L. (1995): Computer Modeling of a Nuclear Power Plant Operating Crew to Aid in Analysis of Crew Size Issues. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society 39th Annual Meeting 1995. pp. 1214-1218.
“An analytical approach to addressing the implications of nuclear power plant shift sizing is needed as an augmentation to the classical empirical approach. The research reported in this paper was to evaluate the feasibility and validity of one potential analytical approach as a means of evaluating the consequences of crew reduction on crew performance in a nuclear power plant setting. The approach selected for analysis was task network modeling and simulation using a tool named Micro Saint. Task network modeling allows the human factors engineer to extend the information from a task analysis and generate a computer simulation of crew performance that can predict critical task times and error rates. Through modeling, the current and proposed processes can be evaluated and analyzed in order to understand, identify, and test opportunities for process improvement or reengineering. For this effort, models of a conventional nuclear power plant during four extremely demanding scenarios were developed. Task analysis and timing data were collected at the Imatran Voima Nuclear Power Plant at Loviisa, Finland. The task analyses were collected over a two week period by interviewing reactor operators, reviewing procedures, and conducting walk-throughs. We then refined the models and incorporated workload modeling constructs. At the completion of the modeling effort the models were executed and the data collected were used to predict crew performance in varying staffing conditions.”
p. 1219-1223
Allender, Laurel, Kelley, Troy D., Salvi, Lucia, Lockett, John, Headley, Donald B., Promisel, David, Mitchell, Diane, Richer, Celine and Feng, Theo (1995): Verification, Validation, and Accreditation of a Soldier-System Modeling Tool. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society 39th Annual Meeting 1995. pp. 1219-1223.
“Increasingly, system developers are relying on modeling and simulation to support early design decisions. In turn, to support effective, timely use of models and simulations, verification, validation, and, in some cases, accreditation (VV&A) are required. The soldier-system analysis tools collectively known as Hardware vs. Manpower (HARDMAN) III underwent a formal VV&A process, the first of its type in the Army. The first phase comprised the core task network modeling capability and the effects implemented as additions to or modifications of the task data-mental workload estimation and environmental degradation, personnel characteristics, and training. A review board of representative users, policy-makers, technical experts, and soldier proponents evaluated the findings against eight criteria -- configuration management, software verification, documentation, data input requirements, model granularity, validity of modeling techniques and embedded algorithms, output, and analysis timelines. All criteria were satisfied and formal accreditation was granted with only limited caveats.”
p. 1224-1227
Dahl, Susan G., Allender, Laurel, Kelley, Troy and Adkins, Richard (1995): Transitioning Software to the Windows Environment -- Challenges and Innovations. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society 39th Annual Meeting 1995. pp. 1224-1227.
“Over the past ten years, the U.S. Army Research Laboratory (ARL) Human Research and Engineering Directorate (HRED) has developed tools and techniques to support Manpower and Personnel Integration (MANPRINT). Most notably, a set of tools was developed in the DOS environment that has become known as the Hardware vs. Manpower (HARDMAN) III tools. These software tools provide an analytical basis to address the ways in which the Army's manpower, personnel, and training elements are affected by a new system. During the last two years, ARL HRED has begun an effort to improve the capabilities of this tool set by moving them into the Microsoft Windows environment. This paper describes the process through which this complex DOS tool set was redesigned to provide a better functional capability as well as to take advantage of the graphical user interface provided by this environment.”
p. 1228-1232
Dennison, Thomas W. and Gawron, Valerie J. (1995): Tools and Methods for Human Factors Test and Evaluation: Mockups, Physical and Electronic Human Models, and Simulation. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society 39th Annual Meeting 1995. pp. 1228-1232.
p. 1233-1237
Biers, David W. (1995): SWAT: Do We Need Conjoint Measurement?. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society 39th Annual Meeting 1995. pp. 1233-1237.
“The present study sought to determine the utility of the unweighted sum as an alternative to conjoint measurement in forming a workload composite measure with the Subjective Workload Assessment Technique (SWAT). The data from a simulator study designed to identify pilot workload associated with alternative cockpit configurations in a night air interdiction mission were reanalyzed using a percentage measure (SUMPCT) based on the unweighted sum of the three SWAT rating scales. Results indicated that the CONJOINT and SUMPCT workload composites were highly correlated and were equally sensitive to detecting differences in the independent variables. The reasons for the equal sensitivity of the two composite measures are discussed. This study adds to the growing body of evidence that one can form a composite measure of workload using the SWAT rating scales without the necessity of having to conduct the time-consuming card sort.”
p. 1238-1242
Lickteig, Carl W. (1995): Evaluation of Digital Communications on Performance of an Armor Battalion. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society 39th Annual Meeting 1995. pp. 1238-1242.
“The U.S. Army is forging a digital communication system for combat vehicles as we enter the Information Age. Justification for this investment assumes it will improve soldier and unit performance. This evaluation assessed the performance of an armor battalion equipped with digital command, control and communication systems that vertically linked its platoon, company and battalion echelons in distributed interactive simulation. Participants included 210 soldiers in duty assignments that included a fully-manned, point platoon operating under company and battalion level commanders. Findings indicated that digital communication systems can provide significant improvements, over voice-only communications, on some important measures tested under an armor battalion's maneuver functions: move on the surface, navigate, process direct fire targets, and engage direct fire targets. The evaluation's method provides an example of how soldier-in-the-loop simulation can efficiently assess performance improvements anticipated from technologies such as digital communication systems, prior to critical but costly field evaluation.”
p. 124-128
Tsang, Pamela S. and Shaner, Tonya L. (1995): Age, Expertise, Structural Similarity, and Time-Sharing Efficiency. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society 39th Annual Meeting 1995. pp. 124-128.
“Interactive effects of age, expertise, and structural similarity on time-sharing efficiency were examined. Half of 90 subjects who ranged from age 20 to 80 years were nonpilots. The other half were pilots who were considered to have expertise in time-sharing. Five dual tasks were selected to represent various cognitive aspects of flight performance and to represent various degrees of structural similarity defined by Wickens' multiple resource model. Several main findings were of note. One, time-sharing efficiency increased as structural similarity decreased. Two, time-sharing efficiency decreased with increased age. Three, pilots had higher level of time-sharing efficiency than nonpilots. Four, expertise in time-sharing appeared to be able to moderate some of the deleterious age effects. Theoretical and practical implications of these findings were considered.”
p. 1243-1247
Westra, Daniel P. and Hutchins, Susan G. (1995): An Experimental Plan for the Evaluation of a Decision Support System. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society 39th Annual Meeting 1995. pp. 1243-1247.
“This paper describes an experimental plan for the evaluation of display modules that comprise an experimental decision support system (DSS) for combat information center (CIC) decision makers. A description of the test bed simulation known as the decision-making evaluation facility for tactical teams (DEFTT) is given. A rationale for the development of the test tasks (scenarios) is also given. The initial effort and rationale for developing the display modules is described along with a brief description of the performance measurement system. Data have been collected for subjects' performance in the DEFTT system without the DSS and the results of these baseline runs are given.”
p. 1248
Klein, Gary and Mosier, Kathy (1995): Applying the Naturalistic Decision-Making Perspective to Training. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society 39th Annual Meeting 1995. p. 1248.
“One way to evaluate the Naturalistic Decision Making (NDM) framework is by its value in recommending and guiding training interventions. NDM researchers have shown that people do not use classical strategies, such as multiattribute utility analysis, in operational settings. A variety of NDM models have been proposed to explain how people actually do make decisions under conditions such as uncertainty and time pressure. Yet there is little purpose in training these strategies, since they describe what people already do. The challenge to NDM researchers is to build on these descriptions, and recommend training interventions that are practical and effective. The symposium presents the work of four NDM researchers engaged in developing training interventions. The paper by Klein describes a decision-centered training approach that has been used to embed process training in a curriculum for firefighters. The paper by Orasanu discusses strategies for improving the decision-making skills of commercial pilots. The paper by Mumaw and Roth addresses training of nuclear power plant operators to make better judgments and decisions during nonroutine events. The paper by Cohen describes the development of a training program to improve the situation awareness skills of Army officers.”
p. 1249-1252
Klein, Gary and Wolf, Steve (1995): Decision-Centered Training. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society 39th Annual Meeting 1995. pp. 1249-1252.
“What can the Naturalistic Decision Making (NDM) perspective tell us about training people to make better decisions? The NDM framework offers four guidelines for training. (i) Build expertise, rather than teaching generic analytical strategies; (ii) Support, rather than replace, the strategies people use; (iii) Make the decision requirements specific to the task context; (iv) Model the cognitive processes of subject-matter experts. Training can be implemented using better scenarios and through cognitive modeling. A recent project is described, in which decision-centered training was used at the National Emergency Training Center to revise a set of course materials. The revisions emphasized opportunities to improve situation awareness skills through better specification of critical cues and patterns, and recommendations about using the debriefs following exercises to probe for cognitive processes underlying judgments and decisions.”
p. 1253-1257
Mumaw, Randall J. and Roth, Emilie M. (1995): Training Complex Tasks in a Functional Context. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society 39th Annual Meeting 1995. pp. 1253-1257.
“We have reviewed training programs for complex skills that have strong decision-making components, such as nuclear power plant operations and air traffic control. In each case, we found that an ISD approach is routinely applied to training-program design. The ISD framework can aid training designers in designing individual modules of instruction but seems to provide insufficient guidance on designing the larger training-program structure. We found two types of problems. First, because a good understanding of skill acquisition is not used to drive training-program design, training activities can be ineffective or inefficient. Second, because it is difficult to get insights on cognitive skills with traditional task analysis, the core decision-making task is not trained explicitly. Trainees are typically on their own to discover decision-making skills. We developed an alternative framework for training-program design called the Functional Context Approach. This approach attempts to restore efficiency to skill acquisition and improve training of critical decision-making skills.”
p. 1258-1262
Orasanu, Judith (1995): Training for Aviation Decision Making: The Naturalistic Decision-Making Perspective. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society 39th Annual Meeting 1995. pp. 1258-1262.
“This paper describes the implications of a naturalistic decision making (NDM) perspective for training air crews to make flight-related decisions. The implications are based on two types of analyses: (1) identification of distinctive features that serve as a basis for classifying a diverse set of decision events actually encountered by flight crews, and (2) performance strategies that distinguish more from less effective crews flying full-mission simulators, as well as performance analyses from NTSB accident investigations. Six training recommendations are offered.”
p. 1263-1267
Sanquist, Thomas F., Lee, John D. and McCallum, Marvin C. (1995): Methods for Assessing Training and Qualification Needs for Automated Ships. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society 39th Annual Meeting 1995. pp. 1263-1267.
“Changes in maritime technology are occurring at a rapid pace. A wide range of new technologies are being introduced on ships that are either under construction or currently operational. A recent report entitled Minding the Helm (National Research Council, 1994) identified a number of navigation technologies that have the potential to improve shipping performance, such as electronic chart information display systems (ECDIS), integrated bridge designs, and automatic docking systems. The NRC report also points out that the introduction of new technology poses certain risks, including lack of familiarity by the mariner. One recommendation is that "training requirements for new technologies ... need to be determined and .... training provided prior to using technology." This recommendation challenges traditional methods of training needs assessment, which focus on observable behavior and global job descriptions. Modern automated systems place much greater emphasis on the unobservable aspects of human judgment and decision making, and therefore require more refined methods of training needs assessment. This report describes the application of four human factors methods to assessing training requirements for automated ships. The focus of the methods is on internal representations or cognitive activity. The four methods include operator function modeling (OFM), cognitive task analysis, knowledge, skill and ability analysis (KSA), and comprehension assessment / error analysis. The techniques were developed on the basis of existing human factors methods, and tailored for application to automated maritime equipment. They are intended to complement and enhance the Instructional Systems Development process.”
p. 1268-1272
Lampton, Donald R., McDonald, Daniel P., Singer, Michael and Bliss, James P. (1995): Distance Estimation in Virtual Environments. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society 39th Annual Meeting 1995. pp. 1268-1272.
“This paper describes an experiment to evaluate a procedure for measuring distance perception in immersive VEs. Forty-eight subjects viewed a VE with a Head Mounted Display (HMD), a Binocular Omni-Oriented Monitor (BOOM), or a computer monitor. Subjects estimated the distance to a figure of known height that was initially 40 ft away. As the figure moved forward, subjects indicated when the figure was perceived to be 30, 20, 10, 5, and 2.5 ft away. A separate group of 36 subjects performed the task in a real-world setting roughly comparable to the VE. VE distance estimation was highly variable across subjects. For distance perception involving a moving figure, in the VE conditions most subjects called out before the figure had closed to the specified distances. Distance estimation was least accurate with the monitor. In the real world, most subjects called out after the figure had closed to or passed the specified distances. Ways to improve the procedure are discussed.”
p. 1273-1277
Jentsch, Florian G., Tait, Tamara, Navarro, Guillermo and Bowers, Clint (1995): Differential Effects of Feedback as a Function of Task Distribution in Teams. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society 39th Annual Meeting 1995. pp. 1273-1277.
“Variables affecting the outcome of cooperative team efforts have garnered increased research attention in recent years. Of these variables, feedback may have one of the greatest effects. Questions, however, remain about what kind of feedback to give and to whom. Previous research has indicated that team members maximize those tasks for which they are given feedback. These gains appear to occur at the expense of other tasks for which no feedback is provided and sometimes result in reduced overall team performance. The current experiment investigated the differential effects of feedback in triads with different task distributions. The results of the study indicated that feedback given to team members who had to complete two tasks simultaneously resulted in tradeoffs: Team members optimized that task for which they received feedback, sometimes at the expense of the competing task. When the team members receiving feedback had no competing tasks, these tradeoffs did not occur. In contrast, feedback in this setup appeared to potentially improve performance not only on the task for which feedback was given, but on the competing task as well. A possible explanation is that in these cases, feedback reduced the communication and coordination demands and freed team resources that could be used to improve other tasks.”
p. 1278-1282
Stout, Renee J. (1995): Planning Effects on Communication Strategies: A Shared Mental Model Perspective. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society 39th Annual Meeting 1995. pp. 1278-1282.
“Teams play an unquestionably vital role in modern society, yet much is still unknown about how teams coordinate their activities to attain adaptive and effective performance. The current effort attempted to gain insight into how team members are able to anticipate and predict each other's needs, enabling coordinated task accomplishment. It did so by integrating the literature across three broad areas related to teamwork and testing two specific hypotheses of how teams function. Results indicated that planning is a critical skill necessary for teams to understand each other's informational requirements and to communicate in an efficient manner. Implications for training this crucial skill are discussed.”
p. 1283
Gramopadhye, Anand K. (1995): Training Effectiveness in Industry. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society 39th Annual Meeting 1995. p. 1283.
p. 1284-1288
Goonetilleke, Ravindra S., Drury, Colin G. and Sharit, Joseph (1995): What Does an Operator Need to Learn?. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society 39th Annual Meeting 1995. pp. 1284-1288.
“Using a simulated geosynchronous satellite relocation task, three types of training schemes, namely, in-the-loop, out-of-the-loop, and a composite of these two methods were evaluated. Verbal protocols in addition to performance and strategy measures were used to understand learning in this complex task. The results point toward an amplitude hypothesis of learning where two distinct phases are evident. In the first, large amplitude fluctuations exist due to the lack of a good mental model of the system dynamics. In the second, the amplitude fluctuations are low, and the performance improvements are dramatic suggesting the end of the mental model development phase and a gradual improvement in the system optimization parameters leading to the traditional power law learning curve. Based on the results, it may be concluded that to learn a system or process well, the operator needs to: 1. Develop a good mental model of the system dynamics to minimize the large fluctuations in performance, and 2. Understand the optimization criteria to improve performance with low amplitude variations.”
p. 1289-1293
Ellis, R. Darin and Goldberg, Joseph H. (1995): Training Older Workers in Industry. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society 39th Annual Meeting 1995. pp. 1289-1293.
“The work force of the near future will contain both a larger number and percentage of workers over the age of 55. Many of these older workers will re-enter the full-time work force in new areas or will transition into pools of contingent workers. Recent changes in labor law will also help keep older workers in the work place longer. The combination of these factors creates a situation where understanding the training and retraining needs of older workers is critical for continued productivity improvements. This paper summarizes the general state of current knowledge on training older workers, focusing on visual inspection and computer system usage. Generalizable aspects of training programs which have been successful are then considered, followed by identification of the areas in which research is most lacking.”
p. 129-133
Czaja, Sara J., Sharit, Joseph and Nair, Sankaran N. (1995): Age Differences in Perception of Workload for a Computer Task. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society 39th Annual Meeting 1995. pp. 129-133.
“Research concerned with age and work activities is an important area of investigation since the workforce is aging and there are concerns regarding economic dependency as well as labor shortages for certain occupations. Previous work by the research team indicated age differences in the performance and perceptions of task difficulty and fatigue for three simulated real-world computer tasks. This study is an extension of that research and is investigating the extent to which age differences in performance and perceptions of workload are moderated by experience and task practice. One hundred and twenty subjects aged 25 yrs. to 75 yrs. performed a real-world data entry task. Data will be presented regarding age differences in the perception of workload, stress, discomfort, and attitudes towards computers. The implications of these results for design interventions will be discussed.”
p. 1294-1298
Batra, Sanjay, Bishu, Ram R. and Donohue, Brian J. (1995): The Potential of Computerized Interactive Training in Manufacturing. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society 39th Annual Meeting 1995. pp. 1294-1298.
“Advances in manufacturing technology has fundamentally changed the skill and knowledge requirements of machine operators. Our paper explores the potential training applications of computer-based multimedia or hypermedia environments in advanced manufacturing. We developed a prototype interactive training program for electrodischarge machining (EDM). The EDM Trainer relies heavily on graphic imagery and is based on a graphical direct manipulation design model. Ten highly skilled machinists/tool makers were recruited to evaluate the program. Participants received conceptual questions before and after training. We tracked user interactions with the program and finally, we had them answer a questionnaire. The results indicated that the trainer was effective in helping operators gain explicit conceptual knowledge. Operators were able to use the trainer right away and they took advantage of a variety of navigation links to freely explore the program.”
p. 1299-1303
Gramopadhye, Anand, Kimbler, Delbert, Kimbler, Elisabeth, Bhagwat, Sameer and Rao, Pradeep (1995): Application of Advanced Technology to Training for Visual Inspection. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society 39th Annual Meeting 1995. pp. 1299-1303.
“Automation in the manufacturing industry has changed the nature of tasks from ones having large motor components to ones that have significant cognitive components. For example, several complex inspection tasks which exist in modern industry involve significant cognitive, decision making and recognition skills. Often workers are not adequately equipped to perform these tasks imposed by the new manufacturing environment. Thus, while the demands of modern manufacturing may be increasing, workers' skills on the shop floor may in fact be diminishing. Training is the natural response to close this gap between task demands and worker skills. This paper reviews the principles of training and deduces their relevance to training for visual inspection. An example of use of these principles in developing a computer-based training program for visual inspection is given. Finally, the paper reports a study to support the application of advanced technology to visual inspection training for contact lens inspection.”
p. 1304-1305
Moses, Franklin L. and Salas, Eduardo (1995): Distributed Simulation for Military Training of Teams/Groups. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society 39th Annual Meeting 1995. pp. 1304-1305.
“This Symposium consists of four interrelated presentations and a video about using simulation and simulators to train teams/groups that are geographically disbursed. The presentations are part of the Multi-Service Distributed training Testbed (MDT2) project. The purpose of the project is to develop and test the utility of training using wide area communication networks to link simulators for military use. It brings together training, human factors, and engineering communities across the Services in pointing-the-way to effective use of emerging technology to train. Although the focus is on military applications, the principles of training have broad implications for non-Defense use -- fire fighting and emergency management among others.”
p. 1306-1310
Moses, Franklin L. (1995): The Challenge of Distributed Training. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society 39th Annual Meeting 1995. pp. 1306-1310.
“How to effectively train teams or groups to work together in complex environments faced by the military is difficult, expensive, and often dangerous. This presentation discusses the challenge of using a newer technology -- Distributed Interactive Simulation -- to accomplish training previously addressed only with real equipment in field exercises. It discusses the challenge of effectively training people at geographically disbursed locations and the importance of such training. It provides the context for understanding the engineering of such a distributed network for training and for the initial research on using it and measuring the outcome. The presentation features a video about tools for such training.”
p. 1311-1315
Bell, Herbert H. (1995): The Engineering of a Training Network. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society 39th Annual Meeting 1995. pp. 1311-1315.
“This presentation describes the architecture and engineering development of the Multi-Service Distributed Training Testbed (MDT2). It summarizes the basic principles underlying Distributed Interactive Simulation (DIS) and the major components of MDT2. It then discusses the problem of simulator interoperability and describes some of the interoperability problems encountered during in developing MDT2. MDT2 demonstrates that widely dissimilar training devices can be successfully linked to create a virtual testbed for training research.”
p. 1316-1320
Dwyer, Daniel J., Oser, Randall L. and Fowlkes, Jennifer E. (1995): A Case Study of Distributed Training and Training Performance. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society 39th Annual Meeting 1995. pp. 1316-1320.
“This paper describes the first actual application of a distributed training network to the military mission called Close Air Support (CAS). It represents a "case study" and is based upon a set of data collected on military personnel during a one-week series of exercises in a distributed training environment. We describe the objectives of the measurement process, discuss the development and use of the measurement tools, provide several observations based upon the data collected, and offer several preliminary conclusions related to measuring training performance in distributed environments.”
p. 1321-1325
Mirabella, Angelo (1995): MDT2 System Assessment and Effectiveness. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society 39th Annual Meeting 1995. pp. 1321-1325.
“This presentation describes the rationale and method for assessing "subjective" reactions of training network users -- players and observer/controllers. Subjective assessment about team/group training is as important as the objective measures described in the prior presentation. It is critical that players and exercise controllers view the experience as useful and effective. It is equally critical to pay attention to their ideas for product improvement. MDT2 participants reacted very favorably to the training. They offered many constructive ideas for improving training management, exercise design, and tactical realism. Key findings are summarized in the paper. In addition, the potential applications of this technology to non-Defense needs are addressed: fire fighting and emergency management.”
p. 1326-1329
Denning, Rebecca and Smith, Philip J. (1995): Effects of Teaching Strategies on Group Dynamics and Individual Learning. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society 39th Annual Meeting 1995. pp. 1326-1329.
“The purpose of this study is to investigate the use of adaptive teaching strategies to enhance training in cooperative learning settings. The Biology Sleuth is a multi-media learning environment developed as a testbed to vary the distribution of critical resources and the use of teaching strategies, and to study their effects on group dynamics and individual learning. Students work in a cooperative environment, aided by various resources including a knowledge-base, each other, the software, and the teacher. This study examines the effects of two teaching strategies in this environment and suggests these strategies can have a large impact on both group dynamics and individual learning. A 35% improvement (p < .05) was measured in the treatment group. This suggests that while many design features are chosen while developing training tools, designers also need to explicitly consider how these environments can be adapted during use to maximize the learning experience.”
p. 1330-1334
Xiao, Y., Milgram, Paul and Doyle, D. J. (1995): Medical Case Rounds: A Medium for Training and Studying Real-Life Decision Making. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society 39th Annual Meeting 1995. pp. 1330-1334.
“Case rounds are a prominent and important means of training in medical domains. As part of a field study of anesthesiologists' problem solving activities, we audiotaped the discussion of 10 cases spreading over 4 case rounds. This paper describes the method used in data collection and analysis, followed by the major findings of the study. The study identified three types of skills transferred in case rounds: procedural knowledge, sensitivity to precursors of potential problems, and the ability to prepare for contingencies. The study also showed the potential of case rounds in studying cognitive activities in naturalistic settings.”
p. 1335-1339
Goettl, Barry P. and Gomez, Cathy Connolly (1995): The Role of Observational Learning in Automated Instruction of Complex Tasks. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society 39th Annual Meeting 1995. pp. 1335-1339.
“This study tested the prediction that observational learning will be more effective for motor tasks having substantial cognitive demands than for those that do not. Subjects were divided into three treatment groups: performers, observers, and no-observe controls. In Phase I, subjects were trained on a computer-based flight task requiring relatively little cognitive demands. In Phase II, subjects were trained on a different flight task that had significant cognitive and strategic demands. In Phase I, performers were superior to both observers and controls; the observers did not differ significantly from the controls. In Phase II, observation showed a beneficial effect for females. The female observers performed as well as the female performers. The results of this study suggest that observational learning benefits tasks with significant cognitive components more than tasks that are primarily psychomotor. Implications for computer-based training are discussed.”
p. 134-138
Humphrey, Darryl G., Kramer, Arthur F. and Schneider, Donnelle R. (1995): Visual Search and the Older Adult: Not All is Lost. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society 39th Annual Meeting 1995. pp. 134-138.
“Plude and Doussard-Roosevelt (1989) reported age-related search slope differences in a conjunction search task but not in a feature search task. According to Feature Integration Theory (Treisman & Gelade, 1980), older adults may suffer an impairment in the feature integration mechanism required for conjunction searches. We extend this work by examining age-related differences a series of feature, conjunction, and triple conjunction search tasks. The results of the feature and conjunction search tasks support the previous findings. However, the results of the triple conjunction search task suggest that the conjunction search impairment is not universal. As the triple conjunction search results are difficult to accommodate within Feature Integration Theory, the results are discussed within the framework of the Guided Search model of visual selective attention.”
p. 1340-1344
Connolly-Gomez, Catherine and Goettl, Barry P. (1995): Investigating Tradeoffs between Practice and Observation in Automated Instruction. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society 39th Annual Meeting 1995. pp. 1340-1344.
“This study examined the performance to observation ratio in training a complex computer-based flight simulator task. Subjects were divided into five different groups. One group performed 100% of the time during training, the second group performed 75% of the time and observed 25% of the time, the third group performed 50% of the time and observed 50% of the time, the fourth group”
p. 1345-1349
Goettl, Barry P. (1995): Part-Task Training of Complex Tasks: Utility of Backward Transfer. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society 39th Annual Meeting 1995. pp. 1345-1349.
“Previous studies using the backward transfer technique identified a set of component tasks that are potentially critical to a complex, desk-top flight simulator task. This study directly tested the importance of these tasks using a part-task training paradigm. One group of subjects received part-task training concentrating on the critical component tasks. A second group received part-task training on non-critical component tasks. The third group received whole-task training. Subjects receiving part-task training on the critical tasks performed as well as subjects in the whole-task condition. Females, but not males, receiving practice on the "non-critical" tasks were worse than females in the other two groups, suggesting an aptitude x treatment interaction. Results were not replicated on a transfer task. These data illustrate the importance of selecting component tasks for part-task training, and the utility of the backward transfer technique in identifying those tasks.”
p. 1350-1354
Jentsch, Florian G., Sellin-Wolters, Sandra, Bowers, Clint A. and Salas, Eduardo (1995): Crew Coordination Behaviors as Predictors of Problem Detection and Decision Making Times. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society 39th Annual Meeting 1995. pp. 1350-1354.
“Aeronautical decision making (ADM) is a critical skill that encompasses the ability to quickly identify, diagnose, and rectify problems during flight. ADM training has gained considerable importance because the lack of decision making skills and their inappropriate application have been cited as factors in several recent aircraft accidents. The current study investigated the relationship between crew coordination behaviors and the time required to identify a typical flight problem. Thirty-four military aircrews were observed during a flight simulation which involved a problem situation. The crews' coordination behaviors during the five minutes immediately preceding the problem were entered into a discriminant function analysis of the times required to identify and rectify the problem. The results indicated that crew coordination behaviors significantly predicted the time required to identify a problem. At the same time, these behaviors could not be used to discriminate effectively with respect to the time required for problem solving. The results are evaluated with respect to their usefulness for prescriptive ADM training approaches.”
p. 1355-1359
Ivaturi, Subarao, Gramopadhye, Anand K., Kraus, David and Blackmon, Robert (1995): Team Training to Improve the Effectiveness of Teams in the Aircraft Maintenance Environment. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society 39th Annual Meeting 1995. pp. 1355-1359.
“Previous task analysis of aircraft inspection/maintenance operations and FAA reports have reported the importance teamwork plays in completing aircraft inspection/maintenance tasks. Hence, it is necessary that we identify team training strategies that will improve team skills, thereby improving team performance within the aircraft inspection/maintenance environment. This paper reviews that state-of-the-art literature on team training. Drawing from the task analysis of aircraft inspection and maintenance operations, site visits to repair facilities and a detailed review of the various team models, a framework developed as a first step in understanding teamwork in aircraft inspection and maintenance operations is reported. The paper also reports the results of a study conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of team training in the aircraft maintenance environment.”
p. 1360-1364
Grubb, Paula L., Warm, Joel S., Dember, William N. and Berch, Daniel B. (1995): Effects of Multiple-Signal Discrimination on Vigilance Performance and Perceived Workload. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society 39th Annual Meeting 1995. pp. 1360-1364.
“Prior vigilance studies have shown that successive monitoring tasks involving absolute judgments are more capacity-demanding than simultaneous tasks which are comparative in nature. Most of these data stem from experiments utilizing simple discriminations and single-target displays, and, consequently, little is know regarding performance on sustained attention tasks with more complex displays. Observers in the present study monitored either one (0-bits display uncertainty), two (1-bit display uncertainty), or four (2-bits display uncertainty) indicators on a simulated aircraft display for the occurrence of critical signals presented in either a simultaneous or a successive format. Results indicated that correct detections declined as display uncertainty increased, and that this effect was more pronounced in the simultaneous format. Moreover, workload scores increased with display uncertainty, particularly in the simultaneous condition. These findings suggest that in more complex monitoring situations in which there is a scanning imperative successive tasks may have an advantage over their simultaneous counterparts.”
p. 1365-1369
Prinzel, Lawrence J., Scerbo, Mark W., Freeman, Frederick G. and Mikulka, Peter J. (1995): A Bio-Cybernetic System for Adaptive Automation. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society 39th Annual Meeting 1995. pp. 1365-1369.
“A bio-cybernetic, closed-loop system was validated for use in an adaptive automation environment. Subjects were asked to perform either a single task or multiple tasks from the Multi-Attribute Task Battery. EEG was continuously sampled while they performed the task(s) and an EEG index was derived (20 Beta/Alpha + Theta). The system switched between manual and automatic modes according to the level of operator engagement based upon the EEG index. The NASA-TLX was administered after each trial. The results of the study demonstrated that it was possible to moderate an operator's level of engagement through a closed-loop system driven by the operator's EEG. In addition, the system was sensitive to increases in task load. These findings show promise for designing adaptive automation technology around psychophysiological input.”
p. 1370-1374
Andre, Anthony D. and Cashion, Patricia A. (1995): Tracking Hesitations as a Function of Task/Control Integration. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society 39th Annual Meeting 1995. pp. 1370-1374.
“This study examines the issue of compatibility between task requirements (integrated vs. independent) and control configurations (integrated vs. separated) in the context of a dual-task environment. In the two experiments reported here, subjects were required to time-share a continuous tracking task with a discrete response task. The results showed a greater number of tracking hesitations when these tasks were mapped to separate controls than when they were mapped to the same control, regardless of the level of task integration employed here. We conclude that integrated controls produce less hesitations for time-shared integrated tasks and displays, but can not make conclusions concerning the optimal control configuration for time-shared independent tasks. The results also highlight the multi-dimensional nature of the concept of task integration and suggest that display and temporal dimensions of the concept might outweigh the response dimension.”
p. 1375-1379
Moroney, Brian W., Warm, Joel S. and Dember, William N. (1995): Effects of Demand Transitions on Vigilance Performance and Perceived Workload. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society 39th Annual Meeting 1995. pp. 1375-1379.
“This study examined the effects of transitions in task demand on vigilance performance and perceived mental workload. Task demand was manipulated through variations in background event rate -- the rate of cascade of neutral events which must be monitored in order to detect critical signals. As is typical in vigilance research, overall performance varied inversely with event rate in all phases of the study. The post-transition performance of observers shifted from a fast-to-slow event rate (high-to-low task demand) remained below that of their continuous slow event rate controls, and was thus unaffected by the shift. In contrast, the post-transition performance of monitors shifted in the opposite direction, slow-to-fast event rate, was affected by the shift. In this case, the performance of the shifted observers fell below that of their continuous fast event rate controls. These results challenge prior findings indicating that psychophysical contrast is the representative outcome of shifts in information-processing demand in vigilance tasks (Krulewitz, Warm, & Wohl, 1975). Consistent with previous findings, workload scores, as indexed by the NASA-TLX, fell at the mid-to-upper level of the scale. Shifted observers who experienced both high and low levels of task demand during the vigil showed differences in composite ratings on the Mental Demand subscale. These results serve to caution that workload measurements obtained through the NASA-TLX at the end of an experimental session containing variations in task demand do not simply reflect an averaging of the observer's demand experiences.”
p. 1380-1384
Laxar, Kevin V. and Benoit, Sandra L. (1995): The Conspicuity of Flashing Lights as Marine Aids to Navigation. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society 39th Annual Meeting 1995. pp. 1380-1384.
“Mariners frequently have trouble distinguishing lighted aids to navigation in areas with a high density of background lights. The Coast Guard is seeking ways to enhance the conspicuity, or likelihood of being noticed, of these aids. Literature has shown that a flashing light is more conspicuous than one that is steady. To improve conspicuity by determining optimal flash characteristics, we had 20 observers search for a flashing point of light among backgrounds of steady lights on a CRT screen. In single 360 trial sessions, observers indicated which of five screen sectors contained the flashing target, and accuracy and response time were recorded. Targets were flashed at 1, 2, and 3.85 Hz, each at duty cycles of .3, .5, and .8. An ANOVA showed significant effects of frequency, duty cycle, and background light density. Search time increased with number of background lights. Conspicuity improved as frequency increased and as duty cycle decreased.”
p. 1385-1389
Martin-Emerson, Robin and Kramer, Arthur F. (1995): Capture of Attention by Visual Onsets. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society 39th Annual Meeting 1995. pp. 1385-1389.
“The appearance of a new object within a multiple item display has been shown to capture attention in a stimulus-driven manner. Capture may be either beneficial or detrimental to performance depending on whether the new object is a target or distractor. In the present study we show that the ability of new objects to capture attention is mediated by the number of objects that change or morph. This finding establishes a boundary condition of the phenomena of attentional capture and has implications for the design of complex displays.”
p. 139-142
Fox, Starr Lynn, Eggemeier, F. T. and Biers, David W. (1995): Effects of Aging on Working Memory and Workload. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society 39th Annual Meeting 1995. pp. 139-142.
“The current study investigated the effects of aging on working memory and mental workload. Subjects performed a Brown-Peterson memory task using simulated air traffic controller/pilot communications. Perceived mental workload was measured using the NASA-TLX rating scale. Results revealed no significant recall performance differences between younger and older individuals. However, workload ratings indicated that older individuals experienced higher perceived workload than younger individuals. These findings suggest subjective workload ratings may be sensitive to age-related differences not demonstrated by performance measures.”
p. 1390-1394
Hess, Stephen M. and Detweiler, Mark C. (1995): The Effects of Response Alternatives on Keeping-Track Performance. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society 39th Annual Meeting 1995. pp. 1390-1394.
“A keeping-track task was used to explore the role of interference in dynamically updating memory. Subjects performed a keeping-track task in which all monitored attributes either shared four response alternatives, or were distributed such that each monitored attribute had its own unique set of four states. The response alternatives were distributed differently on the computer keyboard in these two conditions. Results suggest that the mapping effect seen in Yntema and Meuser's (1960) original experiments is best explained by interference: Accuracy was lowest when all attributes shared the same four states. Spatially distributing the response alternatives benefited accuracy when subjects kept track of multiple attributes with unique response sets, but having to choose from many response keys led to increased response times. These data suggest that keeping-track performance is sensitive to interference from shared attribute sets and to how the response environment is designed.”
p. 1395-1399
Bliss, James P. and McAbee, Patrick E. (1995): Alarm Responses in a Dual-Task Paradigm as a Function of Primary Task Criticality. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society 39th Annual Meeting 1995. pp. 1395-1399.
“Technological advances in visual and auditory alarm systems have enabled these systems to be easily implemented. Frequently, the resulting increase in alarm sensitivity is accompanied by an increase in false alarms, which may have potentially disastrous implications for complex task performance. Previous research has examined the nature of the cry-wolf effect in a dual-task paradigm and noted the influence of alarm criticality on alarm response performance. The goals of this research were to supplement that effort by examining the effect of primary task criticality on alarm responses. Seventy-eight undergraduate students performed the Manikin test from the DELTA battery while being presented alarms, 75% of which were true. A series of oneway ANOVAs assessed the effects of increasing primary task criticality on alarm responses. The results supported our hypotheses, indicating that as primary task criticality increased, participants' responses to alarms were degraded. The results are discussed with regard to human performance theories.”
p. 1400-1404
Ellis, Stephen R. and Menges, Brian M. (1995): Judged Distance to Virtual Objects in the Near Visual Field. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society 39th Annual Meeting 1995. pp. 1400-1404.
“Errors in judged depth of nearby virtual objects presented via see-through, helmet mounted displays are examined as a function of monocular, biocular and stereoscopic viewing conditions, accommodative demand and subjects' age. These errors are argued to be related to changes in binocular vergence. Suggestions for improved control of the judged distance to virtual objects and the cause of the judgment errors are briefly discussed.”
p. 1405-1409
James, K. R. and Caird, J. K. (1995): The Effects of Optic Flow, Proprioception, and Texture on Novice Locomotion in Virtual Environments. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society 39th Annual Meeting 1995. pp. 1405-1409.
“The ability of a user to move to different locations within a virtual environment (VE) is a fundamental action that subserves the activities of exploration and manipulation. By empirical analogy, the perceptual information used to locomote to a target within a virtual environment is compared to the perceptual information used to walk to a location in the real world. An experiment is reported that had participants move to a location as accurately as possible within a VE where a target object was presented. The amount of visual feedback available to participants was manipulated. Three conditions were compared: static viewing of the target and virtual environment before locomotion, the disappearance of the target object as movement to the object was initiated, and locomotion to the target while both object and environment were present. In addition, the composition of virtual environments was either textured or polygonal. Error measures indicated that users locomote within VE's with less accuracy than those that walk blindfolded in the real world. Texture had its largest effect on the accuracy of movement when optic flow was not available, that is, static estimates of distance. Discussions center on the relative contribution of visual, cognitive, and proprioceptive information to VE user movement accuracy.”
p. 1410-1414
Prothero, Jerrold D., Hoffman, Hunter G., Parker, Donald E., Furness, Thomas A. and Wells, Maxwell J. (1995): Foreground/Background Manipulations Affect Presence. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society 39th Annual Meeting 1995. pp. 1410-1414.
“A possible relation between vection and presence is discussed. Two experiments examined the hypothesis that "presence" is enhanced by manipulations which facilitate interpreting visual scenes as "background." A total of 39 participants in two experiments engaged in a pursuit game while in a virtual visual environment generated by an HMD and rated their experience of "presence" on 5 questions. Experiment 1 compared two viewing conditions: visual scene masking -- at the eye and a paper mask mounted on the screen with the same 60{deg} FOV, and showed that presence was enhanced by eye masking relative to screen masking. Experiment 2 replicated these findings with a double-blind experimental design.”
p. 1415-1419
Elias, Bartholomew (1995): Dynamic Auditory Preview for Visually Guided Target Aiming. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society 39th Annual Meeting 1995. pp. 1415-1419.
“The effects of a dynamic auditory preview display were examined in a visual target aiming task. A moving sound stimulus aligned with a visual target was presented over various distances beyond the bounds of a visual display. Results indicated reduced error magnitudes in aimed responses to visual targets with increasing auditory preview distance. In subsequent testing, the effects of position and velocity misalignments between the sound source and the visual target were assessed. In position misalignment conditions where the sound source lagged behind the visual target, higher error magnitudes were observed. However, when the auditory display preceded the visual target, performance improved. In velocity mismatch conditions, responses toward fast moving targets improved when a relatively faster sound source was previewed but were disrupted when a slower sound source was previewed. On the contrary, responses toward slow moving targets improved when a relatively slower sound source was previewed and were disrupted when a faster sound source was previewed.”
p. 1420-1424
Wickens, Christopher D., LaClair, Melanie and Sarno, Kenneth (1995): Graph-Task Dependencies in Three-Dimensional Data: Influence of Three-Dimensionality and Color. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society 39th Annual Meeting 1995. pp. 1420-1424.
“This study compared conventional 2D graphs with 3D graphs and color based graphs for presenting 3-dimensional data. These data were in the format representing the effects on Y, of 4 levels of X and 4 levels of Z. Z was represented by a parameter (line type) in the 2D display, by space (depth) in the 3D display, and Y was represented by color in the color display. Subjects answered questions about the displayed data that varied in the degree to which they required focused attention on a single data point, to integration across the entire data space. The results indicated that the 3D display supported slowest and least accurate performance for the focused attention questions, a cost that dissipated when the questions became more integrative. Performance with the color display suffered badly in both speed and accuracy with the most integrative questions. The 2D display performed consistently well in both speed and accuracy. The results are consistent with prior data and with emerging theoretical perspectives on graph-task dependencies.”
p. 1425-1429
Hollands, J. G., Pierce, Byron J. and Magee, Lochlan E. (1995): Displaying Quantitative Information in Two and Three Dimensions. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society 39th Annual Meeting 1995. pp. 1425-1429.
“Subjects made trend and difference estimates in an experiment with three display types: two-dimensional (2D), three-dimensional with monocular cues (3D mono), and three-dimensional with monocular cues and stereopsis (3D stereo). The results showed a general accuracy advantage for 2D displays, even for global trend estimates. Binocular stereopsis appeared to provide a slight advantage in accuracy for trend estimation. The data are partially consistent with the predictions of the Proximity Compatibility Principle. Possible mental operations used with the various displays are discussed.”
p. 143-147
Wogalter, Michael S. and Dietrich, David A. (1995): Enhancing Label Readability for Over-the-Counter Pharmaceuticals by Elderly Consumers. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society 39th Annual Meeting 1995. pp. 143-147.
“The most common information source for over-the-counter (OTC) pharmaceuticals is the container label. Most OTC labels contain so much text that the print must be substantially reduced in size to fit the available surface area. As a consequence, people with vision problems, such as the elderly, have difficulty reading the print. Some OTC drugs are being marketed in containers with easy-open caps to facilitate access (but at the same time, reduce child resistance). The increased surface area afforded by the cap design could be used to enhance the labeling. An experiment compared elders' (mean age of 75) evaluations to different label variants. Experimental bottles contained additional labeling attached to the cap that reiterated and extended some of the most important warnings and instructions. The additional labeling of the experimental bottles had print that was larger than the existing back label, and among them, differed in background color. These bottles were compared to two control conditions (one with the original store-bought label and one with the back and side labels removed). Participants ranked the containers on six dimensions (e.g., noticeability of the label, willingness to read the label, willingness to purchase the product). Results showed that the participants preferred the bottles with the additional cap labeling and most preferred the one with the distinctive fluorescent green color. Implications of these results are discussed.”
p. 1430-1434
Venturino, Michael, Miller, Sheryl L., Ercolano, Karenza A. and Josephson, Keith (1995): Interference and Information Organization in Dynamic Memory. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society 39th Annual Meeting 1995. pp. 1430-1434.
“Two experiments were performed in order to explore the relationship between two memory phenomena that determine one's ability to keep track of continually changing information: attribute similarity and information organization. In Experiment 1, attribute similarity was minimized while information organization was varied. Results showed that the memory requirements involved in maintaining numerous object-attribute associations (i.e., grouping) did not hinder subjects' ability to successfully retrieve information, but did affect temporal aspects of the retrieval process itself. In Experiment 2, information organization was varied under conditions of greater attribute similarity. In the presence of substantial information similarity, information organization had a beneficial effect, allowing for greater recall accuracy when the information could be meaningfully grouped, while also not incurring a temporal cost. The type of retrieval errors were also classified and discussed.”
p. 1435-1439
Segal, Leon D. and Andre, Anthony D. (1995): Changing Technology in Control Room Design: Is One Graphical Interface Worth 1000 Indicators?. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society 39th Annual Meeting 1995. pp. 1435-1439.
“This paper presents a review of human factors (HF) efforts toward the introduction of a graphical user interface (GUI) designed for operators in the control room of the world's largest wind tunnel at NASA's Ames Research Center, located in Moffett Field, California. Design of GUIs for the control room of this facility involved application of HF principles at many different levels of the design program: the design process itself, the environmental context for design, and the actual content of the graphical interface. This paper presents the particular challenges associated with transforming a control room from analog to digital, as well as the specific advantages and drawbacks of using GUIs in the context of large, multi-operator, environments.”
p. 148-152
Lin, Juli J., Williges, Robert C. and Beaudet, Douglas B. (1995): Accessible Remote Controls for Older Adults with Mildly Impaired Vision. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society 39th Annual Meeting 1995. pp. 148-152.
“A three-phase methodology was used to design an accessible photo CD player for older adults with mildly impaired vision. During Phase I of the study, critical barriers to a photo CD player were identified that prevent older users with presbyopia from operating this product. These barriers included small Remote Control Unit (RCU) labeling, low label-background contrast, and inadequate feedback from the player system. During Phase II, cost-effective solutions were identified through research into existing literature and available technologies. Phase III evaluated the efficacy of these design modifications on both the accessibility and usability of the photo CD player. The results of the Phase III empirical study indicated that enlarging a RCU and using high contrast labeling significantly improved accessibility. Overall, these results support the use of such a three-phase methodology to design accessible consumer products for users with special needs.”
p. 153-157
Jamieson, Brian A., Cabrera, Elizabeth F., Mead, Sherry E. and Rousseau, Gabriel K. (1995): Training New Technology: Automatic Teller Machines and Older Adults. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society 39th Annual Meeting 1995. pp. 153-157.
“The purpose of the present study was to assess the benefits of providing on-line training for an automatic teller machine (ATM). An ATM simulator was developed for the study, and older adults (65-80) served as the subjects. Subjects were assigned to one of two conditions. Half of the subjects were given a written description of how the ATM worked. The other half went through an on-line tutorial, which showed them how to perform transactions on the simulator. After performing 30 transactions on the simulator, subjects were transferred to a new ATM simulator that was topographically different. The subjects who received the on-line tutorial performed more transactions correctly during acquisition, and were better able to transfer their skills to a different ATM simulator and to novel transactions.”
p. 158-162
Loring, Beth A. (1995): Design of a Touch Screen Microwave Oven for Older Consumers. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society 39th Annual Meeting 1995. pp. 158-162.
“The purpose of this study was to add to the knowledge of older consumers and their use of electronic products. The work involved redesigning a microwave oven by employing a touch screen interface. This provided a simpler panel with limited choices, step-by-step prompts and larger controls and displays. The design was tested for usability with 8 people over 60 and 8 under 60, in comparison to an existing microwave oven. Participants of all ages completed 4 out of 5 sample tasks faster with the touch screen model. The touch screen model was rated easier to learn and use on all tasks. This paper discusses the redesign of the microwave, the usability test, and final design recommendations.”
p. 16-19
Eisenhut, Sandra M. and Beaton, Robert J. (1995): Micro Saint Modeling of Visual Displays and Controls Consoles. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society 39th Annual Meeting 1995. pp. 16-19.
“An experiment was conducted to evaluate the feasibility of using a predetermined time system (PTS) with the simulation model Micro SAINT as a method for making design decisions for a navy electronic interactive display and control console. Prototypes for different configurations were created using a Macintosh workstation. Configurations varied across two levels of symbol set, color condition, and screen format for three different target density scenarios. A Micro SAINT simulation model, emulating a single integrated task performed by the operator for all 24 prototype configurations, was constructed. The model was validated by regressing predicted performance scores on actual performance scores obtained from six subjects operating the prototypes. The model also successfully predicted the performance of a second group of six subjects. Although the questions of how to acquire standard deviation data and task time distributions remain, the use of a PTS in network simulation modeling can provide objective data for console designs without incurring the high costs associated with actual prototype construction and testing.”
p. 163-166
Modrick, John A., Meyers, Susan and Papke, Robert (1995): Distribution of Discretionary Time by Retired People. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society 39th Annual Meeting 1995. pp. 163-166.
“This study is a survey of the activities of retirees of a Fortune 500 manufacturing company. The objective was to provide a baseline description of activities as people adjust to changes associated with retirement and decremental changes of aging. A sample of 40 retirees was interviewed to obtain information on 1) demographics, living conditions, and health; 2) distribution of time over activities of work, recreation, family, and volunteering; 3) changes associated with aging and socio-economic factors. It is intended to provide an activity picture that will be a context for identifying behavioral problems and devices, organizations, and supporting aids to enhance quality of life. Respondents represent the gamut of occupations and skill levels, socio-economic conditions, and ethnic diversity characteristics of a large, midwestern manufacturing corporation. The distribution of ages in the retiree population and sample were equivalent. The activities surveyed include reading, watching television, household chores and maintenance, skill or craft hobbies, intentional exercise, care-giving, volunteer work, and work for pay. Analyses include differences and changes in activities as a function of gender, age, length of retirement, health, and living situation. Volunteer work is analyzed in detail concerning type, location of the work, and time spent on it.”
p. 167-171
Baldwin, Carryl L. and Schieber, Frank (1995): Dual-Task Assessment of Age Differences in Mental Workload with Implications for Driving. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society 39th Annual Meeting 1995. pp. 167-171.
“Older drivers constitute the fastest growing segment of the driving population, in terms of both number of drivers and number of miles driven. Accident analyses reveal that older drivers are not able to fully compensate for emerging reductions in perceptual/cognitive capacity. Establishment of a method of assessing older drivers with perceptual/cognitive impairments which place them at risk of accidents is imperative. In this investigation, a subsidiary task of mental arithmetic was demonstrated to be sensitive to age differences in relative mental workload resulting from increased steering task complexity in a simulated driving task. As steering task difficulty increased, verbal response latency to concurrent mental arithmetic problems increased for older, but not younger, participants. Steering error remained stable across single and dual task conditions indicating that the secondary mental arithmetic task did not interfere with steering (primary task) performance. These results provide preliminary support for the use of this assessment technique outside of the laboratory in actual driving situations.”
p. 172-176
Guerrier, Jose H., Manivannan, P., Pacheco, Anna and Wilkie, Frances L. (1995): The Relationship of Age and Cognitive Characteristics of Drivers to Performance of Driving Tasks on an Interactive Driving Simulator. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society 39th Annual Meeting 1995. pp. 172-176.
“Older adults depend highly on the automobile to satisfy their mobility needs. They use the private car for the majority of their trips. However, driving is not without risks for older drivers and those who share the road with them. Drivers 65 and older contribute to more accidents per mile driven than younger drivers except those 18-24 years old. Furthermore, they are more likely to be injured or die as a result of such accidents than their younger counterparts. Current thinking suggests that the cognitive abilities of older drivers may be the best explanation for these accidents. This study investigated the contribution of age and specific cognitive, psychomotor, and perceptual dimensions upon the performance of driving tasks on an interactive simulator. The results suggest that age as such does not explain performance of driving tasks. Rather, age-sensitive cognitive characteristics of drivers provide a better understanding of performance of specific driving tasks.”
p. 177-181
Elkins, Erich and Quinn, John E. (1995): Design Locally, Validate Globally. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society 39th Annual Meeting 1995. pp. 177-181.
“A process for developing the user interface and the industrial design for products intended for international markets is presented. The process was derived from lessons learned while developing a business telecommunications device. The device required an interface that was easier to use and a product design that would be attractive to worldwide business users. The design process was based on two iterations of user testing. The first iteration included 51 users from three major U.S. metropolitan areas; while the second had 294 users from four European cities, three U.S., and two Asian. The recommended process requires that multiple competing designs be presented to users for iterative validation and revision before selecting the final design. The competing designs increase the likelihood that cultural differences are met and the best design solution is achieved.”
p. 182-186
Savage, Pamela A., Millen, David R. and Bayerl, Jeanne P. (1995): Designing Features for Display-Based Systems. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society 39th Annual Meeting 1995. pp. 182-186.
“The purpose of this paper is to provide a detailed description of the design process used to identify the optimal implementation of the Caller ID feature for a key/pbx telephone system for small businesses. A multidisciplinary team used an assortment of design methodologies such as: literature reviews, patent searches, competitive analysis, feature simulations, focus group research, focused interviews, and usability testing to generate their final design recommendation, which has recently been awarded a patent. Specifically, this paper will focus on: 1) the competitive analysis that included a product comparison and best-in-class analysis of three commercially available Caller ID products, 2) focus group research in which participants viewed slide show demonstrations of display-based features, made ease of use and feature desirability ratings, and then expressed their views toward the features in structured focus group discussion, and 3) focused interviews with customers who had been given Caller ID display units to trial.”
p. 187-191
Garberg, Roger B. (1995): Iterative Design of a Voice Name Dialing Service. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society 39th Annual Meeting 1995. pp. 187-191.
“Recent advances in automatic speech recognition (ASR) technology have enabled us to develop the first commercially available voice name dialing service that provides the user with voice control of all aspects of service operation, including training the ASR device, administering the dialing list, and placing calls to listed parties by saying their name. One of the principal challenges in designing the service has involved anticipating the sources of breakdowns, occasions in which the user is compelled to attend to an ASR capability that has failed to respond as expected. Iterative design-and-test studies have produced a service judged fun and easy to use in recent commercial trials. This paper describes the studies and the design details that have enabled us to avoid or accommodate a variety of potential breakdowns, and so realize the new potential of ASR in telecommunication applications such as voice name dialing.”
p. 192-193
Tobias, Jim, Benoit, Marilyn, Francik, Ellen and Palmer, Susan (1995): Customers with Disabilities: The Ultimate Usability Challenge. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society 39th Annual Meeting 1995. pp. 192-193.
“This panel will discuss both technical and organizational issues regarding guaranteeing that new telecommunications services are as accessible as possible to customers with disabilities. The panelists represent several large telecommunications companies and come from a variety of backgrounds and corporate organizations. Emphasis will be placed on the importance of universal design rather than creating specialized products.”
p. 194-197
Angiolillo, Joel S. (1995): The Minimal Remote: A Standard Input Device for Consumer Interactive TV. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society 39th Annual Meeting 1995. pp. 194-197.
“This paper is a polemic and a plea. The almost complete lack of user interface conventions in consumer entertainment equipment, if carried over to the new world of Consumer Interactive TV (CITV), will result in chaos and confusion for CITV users as well as developers. Interface designers of computer software know exactly what sort of input devices a computer user will have, namely, a QWERTY keyboard with 83 to 103 keys, including 10 to 12 function keys, a control key, escape key, a tilde, slash, and so on. In addition, the user will have a mouse (or an equivalent pointer) with two unlabeled buttons, one for "selection" and the other for "menu." This standardization of keys and labels allows great freedom in the design of software because software can be designed independently of any hardware. It also permits users to move from system to system with no relearning of the basic capabilities of the physical input device (albeit, how these "key primitives" are assembled into commands may require significant relearning.) As a community devoted to reducing the anxiety levels of consumers, our goal should be to create the same environment for CITV, a world that is a stranger to conformance and convention today. A basic set of core controls should be present on all CITV devices. We must define these core controls carefully because they will be the tools by which the future shape of CITV applications will be cut. In this paper, I argue that all CITV input devices should include * a pointer (with associated select key), * a twelve button dial pad, and * four function keys. Individual input devices can enhance this set of "core controls" (as a keyboard can add a separate number entry pad), but they should not omit any of them. I call this CITV input device with only the basic set of core controls a "Minimal Remote."”
p. 198-202
Bocker, Martin, Runde, Detlef and Muhlbach, Lothar (1995): On the Reproduction of Motion Parallax in Videocommunications. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society 39th Annual Meeting 1995. pp. 198-202.
“The paper addresses the question whether reproducing motion parallax increases the extent of telepresence in videocommunications. Motion parallax is defined as the change of the view due to the observer's movements. It was hypothesized that reproducing motion parallax (a) leads to more precise depth judgments by providing further depth cues, (b) allows 'interactive viewing', i.e. the observer can actively explore the visual scene by changing his/her position, and (c) compensates for stereoscopic "apparent movements". In a Human Factors study, two videoconferencing set-ups providing motion parallax (one stereoscopic and one monoscopic version) were compared with two set-ups (monoscopic and stereoscopic) without motion parallax. Each set-up was used and rated by 32 subjects. The results supported the hypotheses only in part. Even though there was some evidence for more "spatial presence" and for a greater explorability of the scene through motion parallax, the compensation of apparent movements could not be achieved.”
p. 20-24
Besco, Robert O. (1995): Releasing the Hook on the Copilot's Catch 22. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society 39th Annual Meeting 1995. pp. 20-24.
“The P.A.C.E. operational methodology presented here is designed to assist subordinate crew members in resolving the basic question of the junior airman: "To Intervene or Not to Intervene?." The P.A.C.E. system has unraveled "The Copilot's Catch 22: You are damned if you ignore the Captain's mistakes; you are damned if you do something about them." The four operational procedure steps of P.A.C.E. establish a systematic intervention progression of inquiries to reduce risks at each level of the sequence. The P.A.C.E. skills enable subordinate flight crew members to use proven operationally based procedures to effectively intervene when a Captain is not performing up to reasonable professional standards. P.A.C.E. procedures have been developed from case studies of voice recorder transcripts of National Transportation Safety Board aircraft accident reports. The P.A.C.E. methodology provides the skill and knowledge to implement new, operationally relevant components into Crew Resource Management training for each individual organization.”
p. 203-207
Garberg, Roger B. (1995): Automatic Speech Recognition Applications: A Study of Methods for Defining Command Vocabularies. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society 39th Annual Meeting 1995. pp. 203-207.
“Phoneme-based automatic speech recognition (ASR) technology enables designers to easily create custom command words or phrases that users can employ to request service operations. In this paper, I report results from two experiments concerning important dimensions of these ASR command vocabularies, including command naturalness/appropriateness and command recallability. Ease of recall is a critical dimension for assessing ASR commands used in multi-step applications since service subscribers may be engaged in several different cognitive activities that divide attention. Yet techniques for measuring command recallability can be difficult to implement owing to the time required for data collection and analysis. Results of these studies indicate that the dimension of command "naturalness" and memorability are closely related: under appropriate conditions, the simple procedures associated with measuring command naturalness or appropriateness can predict retrievability of command expressions.”
p. 208-212
Familant, M. Elliott and Detweiler, Mark C. (1995): Do Human Factors Color Recommendations Have Any Practical Value?. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society 39th Annual Meeting 1995. pp. 208-212.
“This study surveyed 342 directory-assistance (DA) operators regarding the text and background colors they used to display directory listings on their computer workstations. Color combinations were observed in use, recorded, and scored based on independent, published subjective ratings of color comfort and edge sharpness. Operators also answered a questionnaire that included information about: how often they changed colors and if they had experienced eye problems. No relationships were found between self-reported eye problems and observed color choices. However, operators using color combinations that were scored low on either comfort, edge sharpness, or both, were more likely to change the colors on their screens more frequently. This result provides evidence that independent ratings can provide practical guidance in making color recommendations.”
p. 213-217
Wharton, Cathleen, Eberts, Ray E., Angiolillo, Joel, Brigham, Fred, Givens, Beth, Laux, Lila, Neal, David and Owens, Michelle (1995): Human Factors Issues and the Internet II. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society 39th Annual Meeting 1995. pp. 213-217.
“The Communications and Computer Systems Technical Groups of the Human Factors Society are sponsoring a Special Symposium about Human Factors Issues and the Internet. During this symposium a series of speakers will provide an overview of the Internet, discuss Internet foundations such as video and graphics, present existing and newly developed application software for the Internet, highlight user needs and concerns for special user populations, and delve into privacy issues in the context of Internet ethics. The Internet, a networked collection of smaller networks, links computers together world-wide. Using basic tools such as Telnet, Gopher, and the World Wide Web, people can use their computers to connect to and access information from all over the world. Until recently, most Internet users were from the academic and business arenas. As the price of computers has dropped and access to the Internet has become both more widespread and affordable, people are now able to easily use the Internet from home and for purposes other than those associated with everyday work. This rapid expansion of the Internet and growth in user populations have caused human factors professionals to actively seek and investigate key human factors issues on the Internet. Some of the key questions include: * Given that the Internet is becoming prevalent in both homes and schools, what human factors concerns do we need to concentrate our efforts on now and in the future? * With the advent of CommerceNet and the increasing desire to both order goods and market services using the Internet, what work should we as human factors professionals undertake to make such services better? * Community networking (the integration of multimedia and network services in the home) is being driven by both broadband and narrowband technologies and services. How do we as human factors professionals shape such services to truly empower citizens? * One objective of the National Information Infrastructure is to achieve universal access. Does the Internet achieve universal access? How do we design and evaluate this universal interface? * The Internet is moving away from being a text-only world. Now, multisensorial and multimodal interactions are beginning to dominate. Are the tools, methods, and techniques of yesterday also applicable today? * The Internet can be thought of as a virtual world. How can human factors experts influence the design of and navigation through this virtual world? * Hypermedia applications are a natural for the Internet. Can we or should we have human factors design and usability standards (e.g., as in the use of color or universal icons) for such applications? * What are the promising Internet information retrieval and storage mechanisms? How do these mechanisms affect everyday tasks? For example, as personal agents become more common, how will they affect network-based communications? This symposium is designed to shed light on questions like these through a variety of presentations. A brief overview of each of these presentations follows.”
p. 218-222
Schumacher, Robert M., Root, Robert W., Wieringa, Douglas R. and Lew, Gavin S. (1995): The Human Factors Involved in Designing an Online Reference System. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society 39th Annual Meeting 1995. pp. 218-222.
“Throughout the last two years, we have been involved in an ambitious plan to move support documentation to an electronic document delivery system at Ameritech. The purpose of this panel is to provide a discussion of the human factors issues involved and the effort required to move from a paperbased environment to an electronic document management and delivery system. The starting state of Ameritech's documentation was similar to that of many large companies that have complex processes. The documents were written by dozens of authors over several years and varied widely in quality. Standards were loosely followed, if at all, and users were continually frustrated by their inability to find information. This unwieldy environment had countless direct and indirect impacts on customers, as well as on the bottom line. As we scoped the project we discovered that our challenges were legion: * Design a new document specification that fit the needs of the users, worked well on-line, exploited the capabilities of electronic information (e.g., hypertext), and could be put together by our current author population; * Develop and implement a collaborative authoring and work flow process to support document creation: * Establish standards for writing and document rendering: * Design an efficient, usable user interface to the electronic document: * Move tens of thousands of pages of hard copy to an online system: and * Get the system introduced and accepted by users -- not to mention wean them away from paper. In this panel, we hope to stimulate discussion around a variety of these topics. We will discuss four key areas: task analysis, process changes, authoring requirements, and user interface design.”
p. 223-227
Page, Colleen and Rahimi, Mansour (1995): Concurrent and Retrospective Verbal Protocols in Usability Testing: Is There Value Added in Collecting Both?. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society 39th Annual Meeting 1995. pp. 223-227.
“This study compared the relative sensitivities of the concurrent and retrospective verbal protocol methods in an error analysis of human-computer interaction. Twelve subjects performed bibliographic retrieval tasks in "walk-up-and-use" usability test sessions. Each subject provided concurrent "think aloud" verbal reports throughout task performance, and then provided retrospective verbal reports while viewing their video taped performance without sound. Verbal reports that related specifically to errors were encoded as mistakes or slips, in an error classification schema which distinguished errors of intent (mistakes), from unintentional errors (slips). These data were analyzed in a 2x2 (error type x verbal protocol) repeated measures analysis of variance. In a second design, verbal protocols were encoded by statement type and analyzed in a 3x2 (statement type x verbal protocol) repeated measures analysis of variance. This study demonstrated an interaction between concurrent and retrospective methodologies and the types of error-related statements elicited. In addition, this within-subjects study supported the findings of the previous between-groups study (Bowers and Snyder, 1990). The findings support the practice of collecting concurrent verbal reports and then following up with retrospective verbal reports to collect additional information about mistakes and complex design problems.”
p. 228-232
Dumas, Joseph S., Sorce, James and Virzi, Robert A. (1995): Expert Reviews: How Many Experts is Enough?. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society 39th Annual Meeting 1995. pp. 228-232.
“We asked five usability specialists to review the user interface to a phone-based, interactive voice response system. The experts were instructed to conduct their review independently in three one-hour sessions and to record each usability problem on a Problem Description Sheet along with the elapsed time from the beginning of the hour. Each expert then spent one hour reviewing their problem sheets and making a summary list of problems. Finally, the experts spent two hours together on a conference call discussing their impressions and coming to consensus on a prioritized list of problems and solutions. The results showed that when allocating expert time, it is more effective to have a greater number of experts spend fewer hours than to use fewer experts for more hours. The individual summaries included the majority of the severe problems, but left out many less severe problems and added new problems. The group report did not surface any new problems, but described the problems as being caused by more basic design flaws and proposed solutions that focused on the conceptual model on which the design was based.”
p. 233-237
Guerlain, Stephanie (1995): Using the Critiquing Approach to Cope with Brittle Expert Systems. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society 39th Annual Meeting 1995. pp. 233-237.
“We have conducted a series of studies aimed at understanding how to design cooperative problem-solving systems to deal with situations in which the computer is not fully competent (the "brittleness" problem). Results from an initial empirical study showed that an expert system acting as an automated assistant induced new errors in such situations, but that this did not occur when the system was designed to critique user's performance on the task. Guided by these results, a more complete critiquing system was then designed and evaluated. On cases where the computer was fully competent, outcome errors were completely eliminated (a 30-60% reduction in errors). On a case for which the system was brittle (less than fully competent), misdiagnosis rates were”
p. 238-242
Crosby, M. E. and Nordbotten, J. C. (1995): Graphic Data Model Perception. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society 39th Annual Meeting 1995. pp. 238-242.
“This paper describes an experiment in reading graphic data models which differ in graphic style. Computer science students participated in an experiment to determine if graphic style influences data model comprehension. Models with embedded graphic symbols, graphically separated symbols, or list structures were used. Protocol data, which consisted of verbal reports and eye-movements, was collected. Detailed analysis of this data provided insight into how students viewed the four types of data models. Results from this study suggest that the graphic style of the model effects the ease with which they are read and understood.”
p. 243-247
Gillan, Douglas J., Fogas, Bruce S., Aberasturi, Suzanne and Richards, Shannon (1995): Cognitive Ability and Computing Experience Influence Interpretation of Computer Metaphors. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society 39th Annual Meeting 1995. pp. 243-247.
“Metaphors play a central role in human-computer interaction. Research on general metaphor interpretation has shown that different types of people interpret metaphors differently. The present experiment examined the effects of cognitive ability and computer experience on the interpretation of computer-related metaphors. Subjects completed five cognitive tests, filled out a questionnaire concerning their experience with computers, and interpreted computer metaphor terms. Identification of a term as a metaphor was related to their frequency of computer use and nonverbal cognitive ability. Concreteness of metaphor interpretations decreased with increased knowledge of programming. Abstractness of interpretations increased with frequency of computer use. The discussion focuses on metaphors in the design of user interfaces for novices and experienced users.”
p. 248-252
Bohan, Jennifer A., Marshall, Rafael, Boehm-Davis, Deborah A. and Schmidt-Nielsen, Astrid (1995): The Role of Individual Differences in Determining Interaction Strategies and Performance on Computer Based Tasks. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society 39th Annual Meeting 1995. pp. 248-252.
“In completing any given task, whether it be driving or a computer task, individuals have a wide array of strategies available to them. Investigations of computer tasks have shown that individual differences of cognitive styles and abilities are related to the types of strategies individuals use to complete the task (Schmidt-Nielsen and Ackerman, 1993). Typically, those who have higher reasoning abilities use more sophisticated strategies for performing the task than those with a lower level of ability. Further, it has been demonstrated that these strategies tend to hold over a variety of tasks. For example, performance on a computer graphing task was shown to be correlated to cognitive reasoning ability. The current study extended the work of Schmidt-Nielsen and Ackerman and found that there were a wide variety of performance strategies and these strategies were correlated with reasoning ability, field dependency, and performance on the noun pair task.”
p. 25-29
Mortimer, Rudolf G. (1995): General Aviation Airplane Accidents Involving Spatial Disorientation. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society 39th Annual Meeting 1995. pp. 25-29.
“National Transportation Safety Board accident data for 1983-1991 were used to compare those general aviation accident cases that involved spatial disorientation (SD) with all others. About 2.1% of general aviation airplane accidents involved SD. Those accidents were associated with low ceilings, restricted visibility, precipitation, darkness and instrument flight conditions. Pilots in certain professions, particularly those in business, were more involved in SD accidents. Pilots in SD accidents were more often under pressure, fatigue, anxiety, physical impairment and alcohol or drugs. The pilots' total and night flying experience were inversely related to involvement in SD accidents. Spatial disorientation accidents accounted for a small number of crashes, but they were very severe -- fatalities occurred in”
p. 253-257
Brock, Derek, Hix, Deborah, Dievendorf, Lynn and Trafton, J. Gregory (1995): Extending the User Action Notation for Research in Individual Differences. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society 39th Annual Meeting 1995. pp. 253-257.
“Software user interfaces that provide users with more than one device, such as a mouse and keyboard, for interactively performing tasks, are now commonplace. Concerns about how to represent individual differences in patterns of use and acquisition of skill in such interfaces led the authors to develop modifications to the standard format of the User Action Notation (UAN) that substantially augment the notation's expressive power. These extensions allow the reader of an interface specification to make meaningful comparisons between functionally equivalent interaction techniques and task performance strategies in interfaces supporting multiple input devices. Furthermore, they offer researchers a new methodology for analyzing the behavioral aspects of user interfaces. These modifications are documented and their benefits discussed.”
p. 258-262
Seidler, Karen S. and Wickens, Christopher D. (1995): The Effects of Task and Multifunction Display Characteristics on Pilot Viewport Allocation Strategy. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society 39th Annual Meeting 1995. pp. 258-262.
“Twenty pilots searched through a 280 screen hierarchically organized data base of flight information in single task conditions, and in dual-task conditions which required concurrent monitoring of an altitude variable. Two screens were available that could either be shared between the two tasks, or fully allocated to the information access task (IAT). Search questions varied in the distance in the data base that needed to be traversed and in the extent to which they required working memory to integrate information between two screens. Subjects performed the dual task trials under either information or monitoring task emphasis, and when the monitoring task was either low or high bandwidth. The results indicated that longer single task traversals resulted from integration problems, from more distant nodes, and from nodes that shared the same top level of the hierarchy. The dual task results indicated that a measured strategic variable which facilitated performance on the IAT (the devotion of both screens to that task) was modulated as the IAT became more difficult with integration questions, as the IAT was emphasized, and as the monitoring task was at lower bandwidth. However, the result revealed that pilots failed to consider the length of the data base navigational path in their choice of single versus dual screen strategy.”
p. 263-267
Cope, Michael E. and Uliano, Kevin C. (1995): Cost-Justifying Usability Engineering: A Real-World Example. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society 39th Annual Meeting 1995. pp. 263-267.
“Human factors practitioners involved in designing graphical user interfaces (GUI) are constantly challenged with design compromises. These include the need to create an interface that contains maximum functionality and power, while striving to maintain sound human-computer interaction design principles. In a large client-server environment, subtle GUI changes to increase usability can have a significant impact on the bottom line. This paper describes a cost-benefit study comparing performance of two groups of test participants from a large wireless communication carrier. Each group performed test scenarios which isolated the effects of a single window both before and after it was redesigned. Results indicated that a single redesigned window will save an estimated $20,000 during the first year. These benefits were derived from estimating changes in end user productivity, errors, training time, and from savings obtained through decreased late design changes.”
p. 268-272
Layton, Charles F., Christodoulou, Michael J., Jackson, Joseph T. and Turner, Jonathan L. (1995): Lessons Learned in the Development of Mobile Electronic Performance Support Systems. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society 39th Annual Meeting 1995. pp. 268-272.
“There are a number of interacting constraints that affect the development of mobile electronic performance support systems (Gery, 1991). For example, users frequently want the resources of a desktop computer in a palm-sized box. Hardware technology, however, dictates that the greater the resources, the larger the device. Mobile electronic performance support systems are frequently initiated as a means to 'automate' manual processes. However, such processes must be redesigned to match the capabilities and requirements of mobile computing platforms. As a final example, the desktop conventions of "new, open, and save" used when working with documents are not necessarily the best conventions for mobile applications. This paper identifies many of the constraints involved in developing mobile computing applications and discusses them in the context of applications.”
p. 273-277
Wilson, Karen S., Inderrieden, Michael and Liu, Steven (1995): A Comparison of Five User Interface Devices Designed for Point-of-Sale in the Retail Industry. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society 39th Annual Meeting 1995. pp. 273-277.
“Although human performance on keyboards, pointing devices, and touch screens in the desktop environment has been studied and reported to the extent that the results can be used to determine productivity rates from those devices, little research has been conducted on devices used in controlled environments, like that of point-of-sale in the retail industry. While previous devices available for user interaction in this environment have been 2x20 displays and industry specific keyboards, current technology has moved the industry to implement CRTs, LCDs, full keyboards, touch screens and uniquely designed devices like the NCR DynaKey, an integrated LCD, keypad and dynamically assignable function keys. A full understanding of human performance on these devices was required to aid retailers in cost justifying their investment in them. Laboratory research was conducted to compare performance of basic point-of-sale tasks on a CRT with 56-key keyboard, 3 versions of an LCD touch screen, and the NCR DynaKey. Participants performed keying tasks, item modification tasks, a combination of item modification and scanning, and the same combination of item modification and scanning with a secondary monitoring task imposed. Time and error rates showed significant differences among the user interface devices for each of the task requirements in this research. Overall, mechanically keyed numeric entry was superior to touch screen numeric entry, mechanical keys were more advantageous with increased skill levels, and the integration of input mechanism and display as well as direct mapping between input and display enhanced performance.”
p. 278-281
Thomas, Peter J., Jones, Stephen R., Lees, David Y. and Meech, John F. (1995): Issues in the Design of Personal Office Support Systems. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society 39th Annual Meeting 1995. pp. 278-281.
“The work undertaken by office-based professionals who work closely together on information management tasks has been the object of various studies which seek to categorise and provide guidelines for the smooth performance of those tasks. However, current technology support to be found in many offices provides little in the way of integration between different information media and processes, usually relying on the workers themselves to 'adapt and survive' both in terms of 'personal work' and 'collaborative work'. This paper describes the complexities in the design of computer-based technologies to support through a detailed study of the design of a 'personal office support system' (POS) currently being undertaken.”
p. 282-286
Hsu, Shang H. and Huang, Chien C. (1995): Factors Affecting Remote Positioning Performance. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society 39th Annual Meeting 1995. pp. 282-286.
“The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of target width, movement direction, movement amplitude, and remote distance on remote positioning performance. Movement time and movement distance ratio were taken as measures of remote positioning performance. It was found that the effects of target width, movement amplitude, and movement direction on the two measures were significant. The effect of remote distance was significant only for movement distance ratio. The magnitude of the effect of target width on movement time was larger than that of movement amplitude; a modification of Fitts' Law was thus proposed. Moreover, there was an interactive effect between target width and movement direction -- i.e., movement direction had an effect only when the target width was small. Among the eight movement directions, upward vertical movement was the best for remote positioning. The results shed some light onto the design of remote control user interface.”
p. 287-291
Johnsgard, Todd J., Page, Stanley R., Wilson, Robert D. and Zeno, Ronald J. (1995): A Comparison of Graphical User Interface Widgets for Various Tasks. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society 39th Annual Meeting 1995. pp. 287-291.
“The purpose of the present study was to compare user performance, accuracy and preference while using standard user interface controls or "widgets" to complete specific types of tasks. Radio buttons were significantly faster, accurate, and preferred than any other widget for the mutually exclusive selection tasks. For the non-mutually exclusive selection tasks, check boxes were significantly faster and preferred. These widgets were superior due to the fact that all possible options were initially visible. As the number of options increased, the time to complete each task also increased. A practitioner's table for selecting effective widgets for specific types of tasks is provided. Further implications for user interface design and research are discussed.”
p. 292-296
McAlindon, Peter and Lee, Gene C. (1995): Perceived Workload between the Keybowl and the QWERTY Keyboard. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society 39th Annual Meeting 1995. pp. 292-296.
“The Keybowl alphanumeric input device was designed and developed to totally eliminate finger movement and drastically reduce wrist motion. Typing without finger movement requires a typist to adapt to a new method of key activation. This new method requires new mental, physical, and temporal demands, associated with new levels of performance, effort, and frustration. Together these requirements are measured to produce an overall measure of workload. Keybowl workload requirements are somewhat different than QWERTY keyboard workload requirements. With the significant reduction of finger and wrist motion comes concern over how much workload is expected in re-learning to type with the Keybowl. Typing workload was analyzed via the NASA Task Load Index. Typing workload analyses were performed to determine how the two groups of subjects (Keybowl and QWERTY) compared in terms of overall workload.”
p. 297-300
Park, Se Jin, Whang, Min Cheol and Kim, Chang Bum (1995): Measurement and Analysis of Pressure Distribution on the Bed. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society 39th Annual Meeting 1995. pp. 297-300.
“A new measurement system for body pressure on a bed was developed in this study. The thin film pressure sensor (FSR: Force Sensing Resistor) of an elastomer-type was used to prevent the distortion of contact pressure. The pressure distribution was measured by FSR and displayed on the monitor by color-coded contour patterns. The body pressure distribution and the objective data for four beds with different firmness were observed for possible correlation with the subjective evaluation. Ninety-eight occupants subjectively evaluated five beds for a short-term flying session about 1 hour. The pattern of the pressure distribution was analyzed to correlate approximately with the difference between comfortable and uncomfortable bed. The verification test on the recommended bed was performed by other twenty subjects through one week.”
p. 30-34
Holland, Dwight A. and Freeman, James E. (1995): A 10-Year Overview of USAF F-16 Mishap Attributes in the USAF from 1980-89. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society 39th Annual Meeting 1995. pp. 30-34.
“The F-16 Falcon jet fighter is a marvel of engineering. Having been in operational United States Air Force service since approximately 1980, this fly-by-wire aircraft can climb vertically, sustain a 9-G turn without the loss of airspeed, and fly greater than the speed of sound. With such capabilities, this aircraft was originally designed and conceived of as a daylight air-to-air "dog-fighting" pilot's dream. As time has passed, the F-16 aircraft has been tasked with carrying out much more diverse missions than only day air-to-air combat. The aircraft and highly-trained pilots that fly it now accomplish additional missions such as day and night ground attack. An examination of ten years of USAF Safety Center accident data revealed that the F-16 aircraft had 59 Class A operational mishaps during this period. This was the highest number for any single-seat fighter-attack aircraft, and second only to the Aggressor's "Red Flag" F-5 per 100,000 hours of flight time (Class A Accident Rates: F-16 2.86 v. F-5 4.76). Incidentally, about 73% of the Royal Netherlands Air Force pilots reported that they were more susceptible to spatial disorientation and loss of situation awareness in the F-16 compared to other fighter aircraft that they had flown. After 11 years of operational experience, 21 of 210 of the Netherlands' F-16 aircraft were destroyed. A detailed examination of the USAF database revealed that a host of human factors issues are pertinent to the F-16 such as the loss of situation awareness, spatial disorientation, G-induced loss of consciousness, etc.; all of which contributed heavily to the accident rates cited for this aircraft. Additionally, cockpit design issues relatable to man-machine interfacing present human factors challenges to the pilot as well”
p. 301-305
Kreifeldt, John G. and Nah, Keoun (1995): Adding and Subtracting Percentiles -- How Bad Can It Be?. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society 39th Annual Meeting 1995. pp. 301-305.
“When performing anthropometric analysis or design, it frequently happens that some particular anthropometric value is not tabulated although it would appear to be derivable by adding or subtracting two relevant and tabulated dimensions. Because percentile values are usually required, there is the temptation to add or subtract the relevant percentile values of the two tabulated dimensions. In some cases, this will produce minimal or no error between the actual percentile value and the result of adding/subtracting the tabulated values, while in other cases, the resulting percentile will be very seriously in error. The magnitude of the errors depends on the percentiles, correlation coefficient and ratio of the standard deviations of the two variates. This paper details the combinations of these three factors for which adding/subtracting two identical percentile values produces acceptable as well as grossly misleading results. Several tables, charts and equations are provided to aid in this common problem. The results may be particularly useful when only the ratio of standard deviations may be known or approximated rather than their individual values. In general, subtracting percentiles leads to greater errors than adding them.”
p. 306-310
Han, Sung H. and Kwahk, Jiyoung (1995): Single-Line Display Menu. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society 39th Annual Meeting 1995. pp. 306-310.
“Many electronic consumer products use a single line display which is capable of presenting a limited number of characters at a time. Although many design guidelines have been proposed, they are applicable only to the menus on ordinary CRT displays. This study examined the effects of four different variables: menu structure, user experience, navigation aid, and number of target items on designing the menu on a single line display. Four dependent measures, speed, accuracy, efficiency, and user preference of a target search task, were collected. The results showed that the 82 structure turned out to be an optimal menu structure for single-line display menus. The navigation aid improved the search performance of the inexperienced. Interestingly, multiple target search tasks recorded a better performance than single target search tasks. Based on the results, design implications were discussed.”
p. 311-315
Adams, Edie and Sanders, Elizabeth B.-N. (1995): An Evaluation of the Fun Factor for the Microsoft EasyBall Mouse. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society 39th Annual Meeting 1995. pp. 311-315.
“Microsoft was interested in measuring the "fun" value of a new input device, the Microsoft EasyBall mouse (designed specifically for two to six year olds), relative to three other input devices available in the marketplace. An evaluation was conducted as a means of ensuring that the ergonomic considerations incorporated into the design of a new child's pointing device addressed the emotional needs, as well as the physical and cognitive needs, of the intended users. A research and test methodology was established to look at this issue from multiple simultaneous perspectives, using both behavioral and verbal measures. Forty four children (half boys and half girls, mixed across the age levels) and their parents were included in the study. The children varied in their level of expertise with computer and/or video games. The same basic procedure was used for all the children, with adaptations made to accommodate the attention spans and skill levels of the youngest. The children indicated through a variety of converging measures that the Microsoft EasyBall mouse was their input device of choice. The patterns of behavior varied across the age groups, but the choices of the children were clearly in favor of the Microsoft EasyBall mouse. The parents were quite accurate at predicting which input device their child would pick. A detailed examination of the videotaped sessions provided cues that caused a rethinking of the initial question "How fun is the Microsoft EasyBall mouse relative to the other input devices?". The fun factor may have been more accurately described as a "feel good" factor. Results are discussed in terms of implications for expanding the typical physical and cognitive-based ergonomics analyses for consumer products to include emotional considerations as well.”
p. 316-320
Steenbekkers, L. P. A. (1995): Knowledge of Compatibility Rules among Children 2 to 13 Years of Age. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society 39th Annual Meeting 1995. pp. 316-320.
“Lack of data, suitable to be used by designers of daily-life products, was a reason to start a national study on physical, psychomotor and behavioral characteristics of children between 2 and 13 years of age in the Netherlands. Data were gathered on several variables, one of them being technical comprehension. A measuring method was developed to measure knowledge of some commonly used compatibility rules. The results from almost 1000 children showed that age differences can be found at the ages between 5 and 9. For some of the youngest children the test appeared to be just a funny game, while for the older children the test might have been too childish. Influence was found for type of control. Direction of movement and orientation of the control had little influence on the results.”
p. 321-325
Hammond, Amy J. (1995): Adult Notions of Adults' and Children's Perceptions of Consumer Product Risk. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society 39th Annual Meeting 1995. pp. 321-325.
“An experiment was performed to examine adults' perceptions of other adults' and children's perceptions of risk. The differences in how adults assess risk to themselves, to other adults, and to children based on their own perceptions and on the perceptions they believe the "others" will hold for themselves were explored. Results found that adult subjects do judge risk as greater for others than for themselves, particularly for young children. A "superiority bias" was found, such that products were assessed to be more risky for others than others would assess for themselves. Implications of a discrepancy between the perceptions adults assign to children and the perceptions of children themselves is discussed.”
p. 326-330
Logan, Robert J., Augaitis, Sheila, Miller, Robert H. and Wehmeyer, Keith (1995): Living Room Culture -- An Anthropological Study of Television Usage Behaviors. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society 39th Annual Meeting 1995. pp. 326-330.
“Traditionally, research at Thomson has been conducted in the laboratory. This study, however, took place in users' homes. This work investigated the television (TV) viewing behaviors of nine households over an 10-week period and was designed to provide a better understanding of how and why people watch TV within the home. Applying a combination of methods from the fields of human factors and anthropology, viewing behaviors were observed via computer-logged TV commands, interviews, questionnaires, photographs, and other methods. Analysis of the resulting data will cover three major areas: 1) tabulation of computer-logged TV usage behaviors, 2) tabulation and interpretation of personal observations, and 3) comparison of the computer-logged data with the personal observations. This analysis will result in a more complete list of user requirements that includes both behavioral and emotional usability issues. Such requirements will be applied to the design of future consumer electronics.”
p. 331-335
Dolan, William R., Wiklund, Michael E., Logan, Robert J. and Augaitis, Sheila (1995): Participatory Design Shapes Future of Telephone Handsets. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society 39th Annual Meeting 1995. pp. 331-335.
“Telephone handset design has evolved for decades along with advancements in technology and manufacturing methods. Today, a handset could be reduced to a slim rod incorporating a miniaturized earpiece and microphone. However, most handsets look like the venerable K-type handset, such as those found today on many household and business telephones. Should future handsets continue to follow suit, or are there significant opportunities for improvement? Initially, we conducted five focus groups to answer this question. To begin each session, we photographed consumers holding handsets to assess gripping styles. Then, consumers rank ordered six conventionally designed handsets and six progressively designed handsets according to several ergonomic and emotional attributes. They also critiqued the handset designs according to personal preference and built clay models of their ideal handset. Based on this input, our team of human factors and industrial design specialists designed 6 new concepts, then obtained quantitative and qualitative feedback by conducting thirty focus groups in three metropolitan areas. This follow-on research, that included free association, sample handset assessment and, paired comparison and ranking exercises, identified significant opportunities to improve handset comfort, appearance, and emotional appeal. A Kruskall-Wallace H-test showed few significant differences in consumer preferences among 18 sample handsets. Our results indicate that users prefer a handset that can be shouldered, looks modern, feels good in the hand, and conforms to the face. We found that users are receptive to design innovation, but only if there is an ergonomic payoff. We include a discussion of detailed design recommendations in the last two sections.”
p. 336-340
Goonetilleke, Ravindra S. and Cann, Michael T. (1995): Perceived Differences in Running and Walking Shoes. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society 39th Annual Meeting 1995. pp. 336-340.
“Designers rely heavily on the past sales history of a particular shoe when attempting to make decisions regarding shoe characteristics of future shoes. Cushioning devices made of air, "super" gases, energy return rubber, and gel's have become popular. However, the question that needs to be asked is whether these devices are truly functional or whether they are primarily of aesthetic value. Shoe qualities such as cushioning, comfort, stability, shock absorption, and energy return play an important role during athletic activity. It is also known that the above mentioned characteristics have significant interactions with each other. Hence it is important to know the relevance of these interactions when designing shoes for a particular activity. The primary goal of this study was to investigate the interaction and relevance of shoe properties during running and walking. Four specially fabricated shoes were used in the study. The results indicate the following: Heel cushioning and shock absorption play an important role in the overall cushioning of a midsole. Runners perceive shoe-heel cushioning somewhat differently from those who use shoes for walking. Heel cushioning during running seems to be influenced by shock absorption, stability and possibly rebound. Heel cushioning during walking seems to be influenced by shock absorption and possibly rebound. Hence a good running shoe can in most cases satisfy the biomechanical needs during walking.”
p. 341-345
Vanka, Surya and Klein, David (1995): ColorTool: An Information Tool for Cross-Cultural Design. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society 39th Annual Meeting 1995. pp. 341-345.
“Color meanings vary dramatically across cultures. Sometimes globally marketed products fail, either commercially or in use, because designers were unaware of culture specific meanings associated with the colors they selected. Designers generally tend to base color decisions on aesthetic reasons, and on anecdotal knowledge of cultures. This is primarily because of the lack of truly useful information tools that can assist them in making informed cross cultural color choices. ColorTool is a computer based tool that designers can use to learn about culture-specific color dialects, to search for colors associated with specified meanings, or to check the cultural appropriateness of aesthetic color choices. This paper describes the development, use, and evaluation of ColorTool. Further, it discusses the potential for network tools that could involve cultural experts and even users in the color selection process.”
p. 346-350
Braun, Curt C., Glusker, Stephanie A., Holt, Ronda S. and Silver, N. Clayton (1995): Adding Consequence Information to Product Instructions: Changes in Hazard Perceptions. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society 39th Annual Meeting 1995. pp. 346-350.
“Product instructions represent one possible medium through which product hazard and safety information can be conveyed. Recent research has demonstrated that the likelihood of precautionary behavior increases when such behaviors are explicitly described within the product-use instructions. Although precautionary information has been provided within the instructions, some users are unable to translate this information into action. Moreover, the inclusion of explicit actions within product-use instructions has not been shown to influence perceptions of product related hazards. The present effort evaluated the utility of adding consequence information to product instructions. A sample of 193 participants evaluated the likelihood that they would be injured while using two different products displaying instructions that outlined only the actions to be performed, actions followed by consequences, consequences followed by actions, and actions with the product warning repeated within the instructions. The data revealed that instructions outlining the consequences before the actions yielded the highest likelihood of injury ratings. Measures of instruction complexity, however, revealed no significant differences between instruction sets. The data, in conjunction with previous findings, suggest that product-use instructions represent a viable means of conveying product hazards.”
p. 35-39
Scerbo, Mark W. (1995): The Effects of Positive Acceleration on Cognitive Performance: Big G -- Little Know. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society 39th Annual Meeting 1995. pp. 35-39.
“Researchers have been studying the effects of acceleration on humans for over 50 years. In that time we have acquired much information about the effects of positive Gz on human physiology, and yet, we know very little about its effects on cognitive abilities. The purpose of the present paper is to underscore the need for additional research in this area. First, a description of the G environment is presented. This is followed by a brief review of some of the relevant literature on psychomotor performance and reaction time. The papers ends with a survey of topics that beg experimental attention using the information processing model as its guide.”
p. 351-355
Kalsher, Michael J., Wogalter, Michael S., Brewster, Blair M. and Spunar, Marilyn E. (1995): Hazard Level Perceptions of Current and Proposed Warning Sign and Label Panels. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society 39th Annual Meeting 1995. pp. 351-355.
“A growing number of studies have investigated factors associated with various measures of warning effectiveness, including noticeability, comprehension, and most importantly, compliance. Some research has begun to examine the components comprising signs and labels (e.g., signal words, color). However, there has been virtually no research on people's perceptions of sign/label configurations that are currently found on warnings. The present study evaluates the warning styles that are specified in ANSI (1991) Z535.2 and Z535.4 standards, as well as a set of proposed styles. The results confirmed several specifications in current standards (e.g., the signal word DANGER was perceived as more hazardous than the other currently-specified signal words), whereas other specifications were not fully confirmed (e.g., the WARNING configuration as indicating higher hazard than the CAUTION configuration). Some newly developed warning styles (e.g., using the signal word DEADLY and a skull icon) show promise for better signaling highly hazardous conditions.”
p. 356-360
Barlow, Cassie B. and Hammond, Amy J. (1995): Decision Making Processes in Risky and Nonrisky Consumer Product Selection. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society 39th Annual Meeting 1995. pp. 356-360.
“Decision making in the domain of risk has traditionally been studied by examining gambling behavior. The control of outcome probabilities obtained in these paradigms masks much of the subjective nature of everyday risk decision choices, such as product selection and information search patterns. A study was undertaken to examine decision making processes in Risky and NonRisky consumer product decision tasks. Subjects completed two Information Display Board (IDB) decision tasks, one selecting a Risky consumer product (oral contraceptive) and one selecting a NonRisky consumer product (toothpaste). The results supported the hypotheses that consumers view the decisions to purchase risky and non-risky products differently and use different patterns of information acquisition in making decisions in the selection of these products. Few anticipated differences were found between Experienced and NonExperienced users of oral contraceptives in information acquisition. Implications for health care professionals providing oral contraceptive information to patients are discussed.”
p. 361-365
Morelli, Donald L., Johnson, Peter W., Reddell, Cheryl R. and Lau, Patricia (1995): User Preferences between Keyboards While Performing "Real" Work: A Comparison of. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society 39th Annual Meeting 1995. pp. 361-365.
“The proliferation of varying computer keyboard designs may pose problems to those who specify, purchase and ultimately use such devices. Are any of them "best" for my work? Will actual users derive any benefit from them? To assist in addressing such issues, we explored an approach to determining if any of three "alternative" keyboards provided a benefit to employees by increasing user comfort. A total of 34 employees participated in this study, each using an "alternative" keyboard for one week at a time while performing their actual work. After using each keyboard, including their standard "101" keyboard, subjects completed a questionnaire of seven psychophysical measures relating to the comfort and use of the keyboard. Questionnaire responses were tabulated and a Repeated Measures Analysis of Variance conducted. Statistically significant differences were found among and between the four keyboards on four of the seven psychophysical measures. Overall results showed little differences in user assessments between three of the keyboards, with the fourth keyboard assessed less favorably when significant differences were found. The results suggest that user assessments can produce significant results between keyboards, and that no one "best" keyboard exists for any given set of tasks and group of users.”
p. 366-368
Honan, M., Serina, E., Tal, R. and Rempel, D. (1995): Wrist Postures While Typing on a Standard and Split Keyboard. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society 39th Annual Meeting 1995. pp. 366-368.
“Fifty experienced typists participated in a laboratory based repeated measures study with two factors: keyboard height (three) and keyboard configuration (three). The work surface heights tested were 63, 67 and 71 cm. The three keyboard configurations tested were: standard (Apple Extended), alternative keyboard A (Microsoft Natural Keyboard) and alternative keyboard B (equivalent to Natural Keyboard with Leveler extended). Wrist and forearm posture data was acquired using electronic goniometers during 10 minutes of typing at each keyboard/height level. Across all heights tested, wrist extension, wrist ulnar deviation, and forearm pronation were statistically significantly closer to neutral when using alternative keyboard B than when using the standard keyboard.”
p. 369-373
Pekelney, Richard and Chu, Robin (1995): Design Criteria of an Ergonomic Mouse Computer Input Device. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society 39th Annual Meeting 1995. pp. 369-373.
“The rapid growth of graphical user interfaces on personal computers has led to the mouse input device playing a prominent and central role in the control of computer applications. As their use increases, mouse design and comfort issues are becoming more and more critical. This report describes the ergonomic design criteria and resulting product attributes of a commercially successful mouse computer input device. Although well-founded ergonomic principles were incorporated into the design criteria, very little ergonomic research has been published on the design of mice. There is a need for additional research on the ergonomics computer mouse input devices.”
p. 374-378
Kanis, H. and Hees, L. W. van (1995): Manipulation of Pushbuttons and Round Rotary Controls. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society 39th Annual Meeting 1995. pp. 374-378.
“This study focuses on the manipulation of pushbuttons and round rotary controls on consumer products in practice. It shows that these controls are operated in many different ways. The majority of the observed manipulations is applied both by physically impaired and non-impaired users. Variation occurs in both groups. However, variation which occurs in one group only, almost always occurs in the impaired group. People experiencing operational difficulties used hardly any new types of manipulation compared to smooth operation - that is when no difficulty is experienced in reaching a control, gripping it and exerting the required force. These findings suggest that operational difficulties function as incentives urging users concerned to resort to abilities which otherwise they would not have to draw on, rather than as constraints. From a design point of view the findings indicate that people facing difficulties in the use of everyday products would benefit from multi-operable controls, that is with a great degree of freedom for manipulation.”
p. 379-383
Shapiro, Ronald G., Brown, Megan L., Fogleman, Maxwell, Goldberg, Joseph H., Granda, Richard E., Hale, Joseph P. and Sanders, Elizabeth B.-N. (1995): Preparing for the Human Factors/Ergonomics Job Market. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society 39th Annual Meeting 1995. pp. 379-383.
“The panel is designed to help an individual decide on a specialization in human factors/ergonomics and to prepare to enter the human factors job market. Panelists were selected to represent a cross-section of the field, and are from the following sectors: the electronics industry (Megan Brown), loss prevention research (Max Fogleman), academia (Joe Goldberg), the computer industry (Dick Granda), the government (Joe Hale), and consulting (Liz Sanders).”
p. 384-388
Mozrall, Jacqueline Reynolds and Shealy, Jasper E. (1995): An Undergraduate Human Factors Workbook. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society 39th Annual Meeting 1995. pp. 384-388.
“The Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering (IME) Department at Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) requires undergraduate students to take two courses in human factors, with both courses possessing a laboratory requirement. In an effort to consolidate support materials for the undergraduate human factors courses, a supplemental workbook was developed. The workbook provides both the students and instructors with a varied selection of laboratory exercises and homework problems which are directly relevant to the material being covered in the lectures and laboratories. The workbook includes specific guidelines for the required laboratory format, a selection of laboratory exercises and homework problems, and appendices which include supplemental material related to the laboratory exercises and a large set of human factors references. The workbook has been very beneficial for instructors, for it provides an organized set of information which directly supports both the lecture and laboratory material. Questionnaire data obtained from students identified good features of the workbook, as well as areas which needed improvement.”
p. 389-393
Greenstein, Joel S. (1995): Introducing Human-Centered Design Early in the Engineering Curriculum. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society 39th Annual Meeting 1995. pp. 389-393.
“This paper focuses on the development and implementation of a cross-disciplinary, project-driven course on human-centered design. The sophomore-level course is required of all students in the industrial engineering major. The course prerequisites are a part of the college-wide freshman engineering curriculum, enabling students in other engineering majors to take the course as well. The primary objective of this course is to introduce the product development process and human-centered methodologies for designing engineering systems into the engineering curriculum. Additional objectives are to: * Let the students experience the product development process through a semester-long, real-world design project. * Prepare students to work with other specialists in the kind of cross-functional design teams employed in engineering practice. * Educate students to focus early and continually on the customers and users of their products. * Use a variety of writing and speaking activities to achieve active participation in the educational process, team building, and a class environment dedicated to professional success. * Enhance retention of engineering students by emphasizing collaborative learning and the product development process early in the curriculum.”
p. 394-398
Sojourner, Russell J., Olson, Wesley A. and Serfoss, Gary L. (1995): Performing the System Design Process: An Intelligent Way to Learn. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society 39th Annual Meeting 1995. pp. 394-398.
“Structuring the ideal human factors curriculum has received considerable interest in recent years. A common theme stresses the need for hands-on learning. The United States Air Force Academy recently developed a human factors design course that emphasized critical thinking skills through interactive, collaborative techniques. Steps critical to the system design process were taught to the students and were subsequently performed by student design teams. The teams then submitted competitive proposals for a workstation being built as part of an actual dormitory renovation project. A "winning" design was selected at the culmination of the course, and was later implemented by construction contractors. The design effort received universal praise by Academy management, architects, and civil engineering personnel. Educational success was measured by standardized student critique data which rated the course significantly higher than composite scores from all Academy offerings. Collaborative hands-on design appears to have been a successful method of teaching critical human factors principles.”
p. 399-403
Moroney, William F. and Cameron, Joyce A. (1995): Using Simulations in Teaching Human Factors: Bridging the Gap between the Academic World and the World of Work. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society 39th Annual Meeting 1995. pp. 399-403.
“The nature of the world of work in which human factors professionals practice requires both knowledge and skill. Students of human factors need educational experiences which demand more than the acquisition of information in order to be prepared for this world. To meet this need for a broader educational experience, we incorporated three simulations into the design of a graduate course in Human Factors in Systems Development. The decision to use these three simulations required not only a restructuring of the course content, but also a reconsideration of instructional procedures. Fortunately, in the field of education there are "models of teaching" which can assist individuals who want to use simulations in teaching by providing guidance in shaping curriculum, in designing instructional materials, and in guiding instruction. The purpose of this paper is fourfold: (1) to describe the curriculum and the simulations used, (2) to indicate the type of educational objectives associated with each simulation, (3) to share a model of teaching which is intended specifically for use in conjunction with the use of classroom simulations, and (4) to relate some ideas about other types of simulations that we have begun to incorporate into other courses. It is our belief that the use of simulations can enhance the learning of both content and skills. More important, it can provide students with opportunities to experience the consequences of their individual and group efforts at problem-solving and decision making, and it can help bridge the gap between the academic experience and the world of work.”
p. 40-44
Andre, Terence S. and Pouraghabagher, A. Reza (1995): Evaluation of Computer-Based Progress Indicators in the Missile Launch Control Center. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society 39th Annual Meeting 1995. pp. 40-44.
“Missile crew members are subject to certain inefficiencies in the daily operations of maintaining a missile on strategic alert. A computer-based display of procedural information offers several features that can assist a missile crew member. One of these features is the capability to provide progress information (i.e., feedback) to the operator during checklist execution. An experiment was conducted to examine differences between experts and non-experts in three computer-based formats with respect to the current paper-based system. The computer-based formats varied as to the type of feedback provided to the operators. The results indicated that experts responded faster and more accurately than non-experts. Computer-based checklists allowed experts and non-experts to substantially reduce their error rates compared to the paper-based system. User-initiated scrolling time for the computer-based formats had no impact on overall performance.”
p. 404-408
Stone, Nancy J., Smolensky, Mark W., Moroney, William F., Gardner-Bonneau, Daryle Jean and Stein, Earl S. (1995): Undergraduate Human Factors Education: Could it be Utilized and Marketed Better?. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society 39th Annual Meeting 1995. pp. 404-408.
“This panel session addresses the concern that undergraduate education in human factors has not been utilized or marketed effectively. Specifically, the panelists propose that an undergraduate course or program is a means by which to inform people about the human factors area, to prepare undergraduate students for employment with a bachelors degree, and to enhance the working student's skills needed in the workplace. Additionally, the use of undergraduate education as a proactive means to introduce and attract individuals to the field of human factors is presented.”
p. 409-411
Dowell, William R. (1995): An Estimation of Lumbar Height and Depth for the Design of Seating. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society 39th Annual Meeting 1995. pp. 409-411.
“