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Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting

Time and place:

1992

Conf. description:

The Human Factors and Ergonomics Society Annual Meeting is the annual conference of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society.

Next conference:

is coming up

Oct22

22 Oct 2012 in Boston, Massachusetts, USA

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 HFES Annual - The Human Factors Society Annual Meeting conference series.

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References from this conference (1992)

The following articles are from "Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting":

Articles

Barfield, Woodrow and Rosenberg, Craig (1992): Comparison of Stereoscopic and Perspective Spatial Display Formats for Exocentric Judgment Tasks. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. .

p. 1

(1992): List of Workshops. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. p. 1.

p. 1002

Horowitz, Avraham D. (1992): Human Factors Issues in Automotive Front-to-Rear-End Collision Warning Systems. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. p. 1002.

“Crash avoidance technology is an area of ongoing research in Europe and in the US. The increasing interest in crash avoidance is shared by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and by car manufacturers. There are three main types of vehicle crashes: (1) single vehicle, (2) vehicles crashing at an intersection, and (3) vehicles driving in the same direction when the "following" car crashes into the "lead" vehicle. This last type of crash is called "rear-end" or more descriptively "front-to-rear-end." This symposium focuses upon this last type of crash because technological advances in radar and/or laser technology could assist drivers in avoiding a crash into a lead vehicle by warning the driver of an impending danger ahead. The technological challenge for avoidance of single vehicle or intersection crashes is more complex and far from a technological solution. While the technological development of collision warning systems is ongoing, little research is available in the area of human factors. We need to know more about the potential of collision warning systems in avoiding crashes, how to design the human-machine interface in terms of warning timing and types of display, and the effects of a warning system on driver performance.”

p. 1003-1005

McGehee, Daniel V., Dingus, Thomas A. and Horowitz, Avraham D. (1992): The Potential Value of a Front-to-Rear-End Collision Warning System Based on Factors of Driver Behavior, Visual Perception and Brake Reaction Time. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. pp. 1003-1005.

“The potential value of a front-to-rear-end collision warning system based on factors of driver behavior, visual perception and brake reaction time is examined in this paper. Twenty-four percent of all motor vehicle crashes involving two or more vehicles are front-to-rear-end collisions. These collisions demonstrate that several driver performance factors are common. The literature indicates that drivers use the relative size and the visual angle of the vehicle ahead when making judgments regarding depth. In addition, drivers often have difficulty gauging velocity differences and depth cues between themselves and the vehicle they are following. Finally, drivers often follow at distances that are closer than brake-reaction time permits for accident avoidance. It is apparent that the comfort level of close following behavior increases over time due to the rarity of consequences. Experience also teaches drivers that the vehicle in front does not suddenly slow down very often. On the basis of these driver behavior and human performance issues, a front-to-rear-end collision warning system that provides headway/following distance and velocity change information is considered. Based on the driver performance issues, display design recommendations are outlined. The value of such a device may be demonstrated by the added driver safety and situation awareness provided. The long-term goal would ultimately be the reduction of one of the most frequent type of automobile crashes.”

p. 1006-1010

Regan, D., Hamstra, S. and Kaushal, S. (1992): Visual Factors in the Avoidance of Front-to-Rear-End Highway Collisions. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. pp. 1006-1010.

“Two visual factors in the avoidance of front-to-rear-end collisions are (a) judging time to collision so as to control braking optimally on a moment-to-moment basis, and/or (b) judging one's heading relative to the lead car so as to steer appropriately. It is known that time to contact equals {Theta}/(d{Theta}/dt) and it is also known that the eye is sensitive to {Theta} and, separately, (d{Theta}/dt) ({Theta} is the angular size and (d{Theta}/dt) is the rate of increase of angular size). But whether the eye is sensitive to the ratio ({Theta}/(d{Theta}/dt) and, if so, whether drivers use this information are further questions. We report here that the human visual system does contain neurons sensitive to the ratio {Theta}/(d{Theta}/dt) rather independently of {Theta} and (d{Theta}/dt). It is important that the driver looks directly at the lead vehicle: sensitivity to (d{Theta}/dt) falls off steeply in peripheral view. But, over a wide range, sensitivity to (d{Theta}/dt) is independent of contrast. In addition to the classical disparity-driven system for binocular depth perception, there is a separate binocular system for motion in depth. Precise judgements (0.2 deg) of heading are supported by this stereomotion system, but on the other hand about 20% of the population have stereomotion "blind spots" (i.e. field defects). Monocularly-available informations can also support precise judgements of heading, and field defects seem to be rare. Field studies on flight simulators and telemetry-tracked jet aircraft showed that laboratory measures of sensitivity to (d{Theta}/dt) and to the rate of expansion of the optical flow field predicted intersubject differences in performance on flying tasks that were closely related to the rear-end collision situation.”

p. 1011-1013

Horowitz, Avraham D. and Dingus, Thomas A. (1992): Warning Signal Design: A Key Human Factors Issue in an In-Vehicle Front-to-Rear-End Collision Warning System. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. pp. 1011-1013.

“Warning signal effectiveness issues associated with the design of a front-to-rear-end collision warning system are discussed. Potential negative effects are that warnings may occur rarely, startling the driver and adding to cognitive load and stress, or alternatively, warnings may occur frequently and be ignored by the driver. To minimize negative effects, four design concepts are considered: (a) a graded sequence of warnings, from mild to severe, (b) a parallel change in modality, from visual to auditory, (c) individualization of warnings, and (d) a headway -- distance to lead car -- display.”

p. 1014-1018

Young, Stephen L., Wogalter, Michael S. and Brelsford, Jr. John W. (1992): Relative Contribution of Likelihood and Severity of Injury to Risk Perceptions. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. pp. 1014-1018.

“The degree of caution that people are willing to take for a given product is largely determined by their perceptions of the risk associated with that product. Research suggests that risk perceptions are determined by the objective likelihood or probability of encountering potential hazards (Slovic, Fischhoff, and Lichtenstein, 1979). However, there is also research suggesting that objective likelihood plays little or no role in determining risk perceptions. Rather, risk is determined by the subjective dimension of the hazard or in other words, the severity of injury (Wogalter, Desaulniers and Brelsford, 1986, 1987). The present research examined aspects of these two studies in an attempt to reconcile the observed differences. Subjects evaluated either the Wogalter et al. (1986, 1987) products or the Slovic et al. (1979) items on eight rating questions. Results demonstrated that severity of injury was the foremost predictor of perceived risk for the Wogalter products, but that likelihood of injury was primarily responsible for ratings of risk for the Slovic items. The two lists differed substantially on all the dimensions evaluated, suggesting that the content of the lists is responsible for the contrary findings. In a second study, subjects rated another set of generic consumer products. These ratings showed a pattern of results similar to the Wogalter products. Overall, this research: (a) explains the basis for conflicting results in the risk perception literature, and (b) demonstrates that severity of injury, and not likelihood of injury, is the primary determinant of people's perceptions of risk for common consumer products.”

p. 1019-1023

Smith, K. and Hancock, P. A. (1992): Managing Risk Under Time Stress. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. pp. 1019-1023.

“The evolution of automated and semi-automated systems is rendering continuous regulation relatively obsolete, leaving periodic "management" interventions as the main way in which operators exercise control. Consequently, the human is now more frequently required to respond in uncertain, unusual, or "emergency" conditions. Such circumstances connote high stress environments. Consequently, the research reported here investigates expertise at decision making under stress. The source of stress is ubiquitous in occurrence, namely time pressure. We present a process model that explains and predicts the decision behavior of skilled operators as they manage risk under time stress. The model identifies three components of decision making, (1) attention, (2) assessment, and (3) intervention. Attention (1) scans widely among information displays and focuses action narrowly upon one of three procedures for (2) assessing the attended information. Separate procedures assess ({alpha}) the risks posed by the environment, ({beta}) risks generated by interacting with the environment, and ({gamma}) uncertainty about those risks. The uniquely appropriate intervention (3) is selected by a small set of rules that match heuristically the assessments of risk and uncertainty to a short list of alternative actions. The model is validated with respect to the operation of skilled operators in the domain of currency exchange. In comparing performance versus simulation data, the model identifies the one procedure that resists automation -- the assessment of risks posed by the environment. This assessment involves causal arguments that often rely upon extensive domain knowledge. In contrast, attention to displays, heuristic matching, and the procedures for assessing uncertainty and the risk of interaction can be delegated to an automated decision support system. This result has clear implications for the design of systems to support skilled decision making under emergency conditions: decision support systems for dynamic environments like currency trading must notify the operator of the occurrence of system parameters that require assessments of environmental risk and incorporate these assessments into automated procedures that recommend appropriate interventions.”

p. 102-105

Neville, Kelly J., French, Jonathan, Bisson, Roger U., Boll, Patricia A. and Storm, William F. (1992): Sleep and Flight Duration Effects on the Subjective Fatigue of Pilots during Operation Desert Storm. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. pp. 102-105.

“Subjective fatigue of 11 C-141 pilots serving in the United States Air Force Military Airlift Command (MAC) during the Desert Storm campaign was assessed in a 30-day field study. Subjective fatigue measures were obtained from pilots at the beginning and end of each duty day using the Profile of Mood States (POMS) fatigue dimension. Also, a 7-point fatigue rating was recorded every 4 hours. The two fatigue measures were each evaluated with respect to (1) 48-hr cumulative flight time, (2) 48-hr cumulative sleep time and (3) 30-day cumulative flight time. The data indicate that at least 15 hours of sleep per 48-hr time period is needed to avoid pilot fatigue. Recent flight time was also found to be related to subjective fatigue, but this relationship seems rooted loss of sleep during long flights. Cumulative 30-day flight time, which is the measure currently used to regulate flight hours, was not related to increases in subjective fatigue.”

p. 1024-1028

Weegels, M. F. (1992): Accidents with Consumer Products. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. pp. 1024-1028.

“This paper deals with the question to what extent various factors, suggested in the literature, can be identified as contributory to the occurrence of accidents with consumer products. Data have been gathered in an on-site investigation of accidents. Contributory factors taken into consideration in the method of data collection include characteristics of the use actions, the product, the situation and the user. The explorative study revealed that the relevance of the various contributory factors is limited. This would imply that the development of general guidelines for the anticipation of accidents in the design of everyday products is seriously hampered.”

p. 1029-1033

Wogalter, Michael S., Kalsher, Michael J. and Racicot, Bernadette M. (1992): The Influence of Location and Pictorials on Behavioral Compliance to Warnings. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. pp. 1029-1033.

“The efficacy of two warning-related factors to produce cautionary behavior in a chemistry laboratory task was examined. Experiment 1 compared the effects of a posted-sign warning and a within-instruction warning on behavioral compliance. The results showed that a warning embedded in a set of task instructions produced significantly greater compliance (the wearing of protective gear) than a similar, larger warning posted as a sign nearby. Experiment 2 reexamined the effect of location and also examined the influence of the presence versus absence of pictorials. The results of Experiment 2 confirmed the location effect of Experiment 1. No influence of pictorials was noted, although there was a nonsignificant increase in compliance when pictorials were added to the within-instruction warning. The results indicate that warning placement is important for eliciting behavioral compliance to safety messages. Explanations such as differences in field of view and perceived relevance are discussed.”

p. 1034-1038

Hoefnagels, Rene and Schoone-Harmsen, Marian (1992): Test Methods in Safety Standards -- Application of Human Factors Data --. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. pp. 1034-1038.

“Safety standards for consumer products can offer an important contribution to accident reduction. This paper describes how effective testing methods for safety requirements, which are part of a safety standard, may be developed. In order to be effective, testing methods for the evaluation of products on aspects of safety must be valid, reproducible, and efficient. Various forms of testing methods are discussed with regard to their effectiveness. The development of testing methods for trapping hazards, which can be applied to all kinds of products, is described in a case study. For this purpose, a number of accident scenarios have been drawn from data on trapping hazards. In each scenario a testing method is described, and criteria based on human factors data is added. Accident scenarios have proved to be an extremely useful link between accident data and the simulation of performance on which a testing method can be based. Because human factors data is usually gathered for other purposes, implementation of this data in safety standards must be done with great caution. We recommend the use of man-models in testing methods for optimal results. Furthermore, we recommend the verification of test conditions and criteria by user trials or panel tests.”

p. 1039-1043

Williamson, Ann M., Feyer, Anne-Marie and Cairns, David (1992): Occupation and the Causes of Fatalities at Work. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. pp. 1039-1043.

“The circumstances of all work-related fatalities occurring in Australia over a three year period were analysed to determine how they differed between occupational groups. Correspondence analysis was used to examine the relationship between the sequence of events immediately preceding the accident, the involvement of unsafe work practices and type of work being performed. There were clear differences in the causes of deaths at work between occupational groups which provide information about the most likely targets for accident prevention.”

p. 1044

Smillie, Robert J., Snyder, Harry L., Gunning, David, Inaba, Kay and Booher, Harold R. (1992): What is More Important in Information Design -- the Hardware and Software Used to Process and Present the Information, or the Principles Used to Determine the Content and Format of the Information?. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. p. 1044.

“Proposition: Information Design is nothing more than an interface issue, i.e., the human user and the presentation medium. Research on the following topics is sufficient to design and develop legible, comprehensible, interactive, adaptable electronic display systems: - eye movement, - visual performance, - audition, - document design, - information processing, - data base design/organization, - visual angle, - hypermedia techniques, - color phenomenon, - electronic presentation display technology. After controlling for training, the differences in human performance (reading, understanding, etc.), using such display systems are more a function of the psychophysical factors (spatial, temporal, and chromatic) than information design factors (data organization, graphical representation, and simple english). Therefore, consistent and quantifiable improvement can only be obtained through improvements in image quality that correlate with the psychophysical factors.”

p. 1045

Burke, Mike (1992): Ergonomics Analysis and Problem Solving Software Program. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. p. 1045.

“A new software program, Ergonomics Analysis and Problem Solving can be used to assist in the performance of consistent ergonomic analyses. The program works by taking the operator through a series of simple steps to compile comprehensive job-task breakdown, perform a consistent ergonomic risk factor identification, and prepare a list of effective interventions. The operator will enter specific information about the job being studied. This specific information will be integrated into several interim reports as well as a final report.”

p. 1046

Keifer, Kellie S., Lanham, Jennifer S., Kirlik, Alex and Shively, R. Jay (1992): Star Cruiser: A Laboratory Task for Investigating Dynamic Decision Making. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. p. 1046.

“Star Cruiser is a complex laboratory task that was designed to study decision making processes. It is intended to provide a rich perceptual environment in which to study the perceptual decision heuristics utilized by operators in similar tasks (Shively&Kirlik, 1991, Kirlik, Markert&Shively, 1990). In addition, a great deal of flexibility is offered by its script-style control. Researchers interested in such areas as workload, situational awareness, and skill development may also find it useful. It is presently being utilized in laboratories at NASA-Ames and Georgia Tech, where it was jointly developed, but the software is now available for distribution to other interested laboratories.”

p. 1047

Oser, Randall L., Franz, Thomas M. and Zovko, Jean (1992): Aircrew Coordination Training for All Crew Members: Enhancing the Capability of Full Mission Flight Simulators. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. p. 1047.

“According to aviators and researchers, the optimal environment for aircrew coordination training (ACT) is in flight simulators (Prince, Oser, Salas,&Shrestha, 1992). However, most flight simulators are designed solely for cockpit personnel, and additional personnel in multi-crewed aircraft (e.g., crew chiefs, flight attendants) are typically excluded from this vital phase of training. This demonstration presents a PC-based Crew Chief Station specifically designed to enable the inclusion of military helicopter crew chiefs into simulator-based ACT scenarios.”

p. 1049

Wells, Maxwell J., Krueger, Myron, Sheridan, Thomas B., Ellis, Stephen and Cott, Harold Van (1992): "There is Nothing New in Cyberspace": A Motion for Debate. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. p. 1049.

“Cyberspace is the environment created during the experience of virtual reality. Therefore, to assert that there is nothing new in cyberspace alludes to there being nothing new about virtual reality. Is this assertion correct? Is virtual reality an exciting development in human-computer interaction, or is it simply another example of effective simulation? Does current media interest herald a major advance in information technology, or will virtual reality go the way of artificial intelligence, cold fusion and junk bonds? Is virtual reality the best thing since sliced bread, or is it last week's buns in a new wrapper? There are experts who support both views. The best-thing-since-sliced-bread protagonists point to potential applications in training, communications, entertainment and human-computer interaction. They use terms like "intuitive", "circumambience", and "presence." The opposition use terms like "so what?", "when?", and "right!". Are the proponents harbingers or visionaries? Are the opponents sceptics or Luddites? Predicting the impact of technology is notoriously difficult. Hindsight allows us, for example, to express pitiful disdain towards the engineer who saw no future for the telephone, or the clerk who could not be convinced of the benefits of the photocopier. Experts are no better, or no worse, at predicting than the rest of us. The value of experts is in their ability to fit current ideas and events into the context of past events, and to do so in a coherent and engaging manner.”

p. 1050

Marics, Monica and Smith, Mary R. (1992): Communications Technical Group Forum: From Pots to Pixels. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. p. 1050.

“Plain Old Telephone Service (POTS) is undergoing many changes. The phones themselves may no longer be "plain"; the service is no longer limited to just connecting two voices. This forum concentrates on the design, evaluation, and standardization of telephone-based interfaces. There are four central topics: (1) the current design issues with treating the telephone as an interface for users of many services; (2) the concerns of national and international standards bodies for phone-based interfaces; (3) the human factors issues surrounding the incorporation of speech synthesis and speech recognition into the telephone network; and (4) innovative design responses to current limitations. Overall is a trend from POTS to pixels.”

p. 1059

Mitropoulos-Rundus, David B. (1992): Photo CD Consumer Player User Interface Design. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. p. 1059.

“During this demonstration, the user interface for one model of a Photo CD Player will be presented. This product, currently available to consumers, plays both Photo CD discs and Audio CDs. The Photo CD technology as it relates to consumers will be introduced as well as Human Factors design goals and intended usage. Demonstration of the product will be used to show how well the user interface met these design goals. User interface evaluation techniques and the design direction for future player models will be discussed.”

p. 1060

Bowers, Clint A. and Braun, Curt (1992): A Low Fidelity Paradigm for Research in Aircrew Coordination Performance. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. p. 1060.

“The ability for groups of individuals to work together as a team is quickly becoming a prerequisite in the modern workplace. Surprisingly, however, this increased demand for effective teams has not been accompanied by improved technology for the study of teamwork. One factor that complicates the issue in the study of teams is the level of fidelity required to perform useful research on team processes and performance. These issues have previously been assumed to require high fidelity, full-mission simulators. However, it has recently been suggested that inexpensive low fidelity simulations might be sufficient for this purpose (Driskell&Salas, in press). Therefore, the present demonstration presents an application for low fidelity simulation that appears to be useful as a tool for aircrew coordination research.”

p. 1061

Heasly, Christopher C. and Malone, Thomas B. (1992): Integrated Decision/Engineering Aid (IDEA) -- Enhancements. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. p. 1061.

“Integrated Decision/Engineering Aid (IDEA) incorporates a standard process and a set of automated tools to support the application of the DoDs Human/System Integration (HSI) program, the Army's Manpower and Personnel Integration (MANPRINT) initiative and Human Factors Engineering (HFE) throughout the materiel development process. IDEA provides the HSI/HFE analyst with guidelines data and tools to integrate HSI/HFE into the acquisition of: (a) non-developmental items (NDIs), (b) product improvements, and (c) new system developments, focusing on the activities and products at each phase of the materiel acquisition process. The purpose of the session is to demonstrate how IDEA is utilized in the definition of the HSI/MANPRINT requirements in support of the system development/acquisition process. Specifically, participants will have an opportunity to view the presenter operate the various components of IDEA. Emphasis will be placed on review of the overall architecture, arrangement and organization of the modules, and the recent additions/modifications. A handout identifying the objective(s) and product of each analysis, as well as the data requirements, will be made available to participants. From the demonstration and the handout participants will be familiar with the scope, capabilities and limitations of IDEA.”

p. 1062

Levitan, Lee, DeMers, Robert E. and Schipper, Brian (1992): A High Performance, Low Cost, Active, Two Degree of Freedom Hand Controller. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. p. 1062.

“Honeywell has developed a unique, motor driven, two degree of freedom hand controller that offers high levels of performance and ease of programming variables of importance for controller responsiveness and user acceptance. The simple design leads to relatively low cost and high reliability when compared with other designs. Independent motors lead to improved performance for a given motor size and ease of adding redundant motors.”

p. 1063

Mast, Truman M. and Peters, Joseph I. (1992): Intelligent Vehicle Highway Systems (IVHS): Human Factors Issues in Subsystem Development. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. p. 1063.

“Intelligent Vehicle-Highway Systems (IVHS) is a major U.S. Department of Transportation initiative to improve the safety and efficiency of our nation's highways. IVHS includes five related components: Advanced Traffic Management Systems (ATMS); Advanced Traveler Information Systems (ATIS); Commercial Vehicle Operations (CVO); Advanced Vehicle Control Systems (AVCS); and, Advanced Public Transportation Systems (APTS). Although the Federal Highway Administration has initially chosen to address each of these components separately, a number of issues are shared by all components. One critical common element deals with the capabilities of the humans in the system. Appropriate guidelines that consider the needs and capabilities of operators, maintainers, and users will be critical for efficient functioning of each system. Efforts are underway to define and resolve critical human factors issues related to IVHS components. This symposium addresses four of the five more highway related IVHS components. For each of these components, presenters will define the key engineering characteristics, hypothetical scenarios that focus on human-system interfaces, and examples of human factors issues that must be considered in the design of IVHS systems.”

p. 1064-1067

Alicandri, Elizabeth and Moyer, M. Joseph (1992): Human Factors and the Automated Highway System. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. pp. 1064-1067.

“The Intelligent Vehicle-Highway System (IVHS) is an important and broad ranging Department of Transportation program to reduce congestion and increase safety on the nation's highway system. The Automated Highway System (AHS) represents the full realization of one IVHS subsystem, Automated Vehicle Control Systems. Efforts are underway to define and resolve critical human factors questions related to the AHS. As part of the process, human factors issues will be identified through development of hypothetical AHS scenarios. This requires a generic AHS scenario be presented, and affiliated human factors issues identified.”

p. 1068-1072

Peters, Joseph I. and Roberts, King M. (1992): Human Factors and Advanced Traffic Management Systems. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. pp. 1068-1072.

“Advanced Traffic Management Systems (ATMS) are those components of Intelligent Vehicle Highway Systems (IVHS) that integrate traffic detection, communication, and control functions to be responsive to dynamic traffic conditions and increase the efficiency of existing traffic networks. ATMS provide the management foundation that will enable and integrate other IVHS components such as Commercial Vehicle Operations, Advanced Traveler Information Systems, Advanced Vehicle Control Systems, and Advanced Public Transportation Systems. This paper defines Advanced Traffic Management Systems. It also describes the functions that may take place within an ATMS-class Traffic Management Center (TMC), a scenario that a future TMC operator may encounter, and some of the human factors issues that must be addressed in the design of an ATMS-class TMC.”

p. 1073-1077

Perez, William A. and Mast, Truman M. (1992): Human Factors and Advanced Traveler Information Systems (ATIS). In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. pp. 1073-1077.

“The nation's motoring public is increasingly burdened by recalcitrant transportation problems, many of them directly attributable to increasing traffic congestion. In response to this, the US. Department of transportation is actively moving on several fronts to address this problem. One of the more promising approaches to relieving congestion is through the design and implementation of new technology in the Intelligent Vehicle/Highway System (IVHS). IVHS is composed of five elements: Advanced Traffic Management Systems (ATMS), Advanced Traveler Information Systems (ATIS), Commercial Vehicle Operations (CVO), Advanced Vehicle Control Systems (AVCS), and Advanced Public Transportation Systems (APTS). This paper will discuss human factors issues associated with ATIS.”

p. 1078-1081

Boehm-Davis, Deborah A. and Mast, Truman M. (1992): Human Factors and Commercial Vehicle Operations. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. pp. 1078-1081.

“The Commercial Vehicle Operations (CVO) segment of the IVHS program is targeted at users of interstate trucks, local delivery vans, buses, taxis, and emergency vehicles. Specifically, the goals of the CVO program are to improve (a) the efficiency and effectiveness of traffic management and regulatory administration by government; (b) the efficiency and effectiveness of fleet management; (c) safety for operators of commercial vehicles and others affected by them; and (d) driver performance. Although a number of technologies have been developed to support these goals, the human factors aspects of these systems have not been examined.”

p. 1082-1086

Connelly, Edward and Myers, Kent (1992): Combat Effectiveness Measures: An Update. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. pp. 1082-1086.

“An approach is presented for evaluating the mission effectiveness of combat units. The formal evaluation scheme is unusual in that it works with complex tradeoffs and deals flexibly with the changing conditions of combat. The scheme is centered on an index measure in which many indicators are related through a nonlinear mathematical model. The model mimics the pattern by which an expert evaluator judges whole performance.”

p. 1087-1091

Kirkpatrick, Mark, Dutra, Lisa A., Lyons, Robert A., Osga, Glenn A. and Pucci, John J. (1992): Tactical Symbology Standards. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. pp. 1087-1091.

“CRT displays aboard U.S. Navy ships use a standardized monochrome Naval Tactical Data System (NTDS) symbol set to represent properties of symbols such as platform type (e.g. Aircraft Carrier, Combat Air), environment (e.g. air, surface, subsurface), and identification (e.g. hostile, friendly). A color symbol set has been proposed in NATO Standardization Agreement 4420, Display Symbology and Colours for NATO Maritime Units (1990). The U.S. Navy is currently considering ratification of this Standardization Agreement (STANAG). Empirical comparisons of operator performance using the NTDS symbology versus those using the color-filled NATO STANAG symbology were conducted. Two additional experimental symbologies were also created. The first, called NTDS Equated, is a color version of the NTDS symbol set, and the second experimental symbol set, called NATO Outline, is a color outline version of the color filled NATO STANAG symbol set. Test subjects were asked to find (hook) specific symbols during a tactically relevant scenario. Time to the first correct hook and percentage of correct hooks were subjected to analyses of variance (ANOVA). Experimental results revealed that the NATO STANAG symbol set outperformed all other symbol sets in terms of symbol recognition time, and outperformed the NTDS Standard symbol set for symbol recognition accuracy as well. The results indicated that tactical information can be transferred more quickly and accurately to watch standers through effective use of symbol coding. Test subjects familiar with the NTDS symbology expressed a preference for the color symbol sets in opinion surveys administered after the experiment. General conclusions resulting from comparisons across symbol sets were that color fill was more effective than color outline, and that operator performance gains were achieved as a result of color coding and greater information content on the symbol. This paper presents the human performance assessment that was conducted, the results, and the implications of the findings for ratification of NATO STANAG 4420.”

p. 1092-1095

Whitaker, L. A. and Moroney, W. F. (1992): Improving the Interface between Human Factors Data and Designers: Exemplified in a CASHE Reaction Time Prototyper. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. pp. 1092-1095.

“This paper describes the process involved in the development of a reaction time test bench for the Computer Aided Systems Human Engineering (CASHE) program, which is based on a strategy for converting human factors information into simulation software, using a test bench metaphor. The metaphor takes its strength from the familiarity systems designers have with test benches and breadboarding facilities currently at their disposal. The purpose of this paper is to provide a description of this software development activity, illustrate the procedure we followed, specify the decision points we encountered, and relate our lessons learned. Our goal was to convey functional specification information to the software developers in a parsimonious, unambiguous, structured manner to facilitate the development of both the software and the user interface, while complying with hardware system constraints. Development of the Reaction Time (RT) Test Benches involved the following tasks: collect and digest the Engineering Data Compendium entries; analyze the variables; determine the scope of the relevant variables to be tested; select the test bench phenomena to be demonstrated; and develop each of the deliverables. These deliverables included the variable range tables, initial variable settings, the control flow and storyboard graphics. We believe that this task is typical of the input human factors specialists can provide to designers in a variety of contexts and hence generalizes beyond this specific application.”

p. 1096-1100

Steiner, Bruce A. (1992): Human Engineering Requirements for Rapid Prototyping of Operator/Maintainer Interfaces: A Proposed Military Standard. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. pp. 1096-1100.

“A proposed military standard was developed that establishes and defines the methodology to incorporate the use of rapid prototyping of operator/maintainer machine interface design into the system design process. The specification includes the work to be accomplished by the contractor or subcontractor in prototyping interfaces and evaluating those interfaces under operationally equivalent conditions. The tasks outlined provide the basis for defining, integrating and validating operator interface prototyping methodologies, as well as the software interface. Two data item descriptions were also developed; Rapid Prototyping Program Plan, and Rapid Prototyping Design Approach Document. The Rapid Prototyping Program Plan is the single document which describes the contractor's entire system prototype engineering program, identifies its elements, and explains how the elements will be managed. The Rapid Prototyping Design Approach Document provides a source of data with which to evaluate the extent to which the rapid prototyping design meets system engineering requirements and other human engineering criteria. This paper presents the main topics from the proposed standard.”

p. 1101-1105

Benel, Russell A. (1992): Metaprototyping: System Prototyping for ATC System Development. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. pp. 1101-1105.

“This paper identifies a significant emerging problem in the definition and development of future ATC system enhancements. Metaprototyping (prototyping at the system level) in the Integration and Interaction Laboratory (I-Lab) will allow the FAA to initiate a new process for RE&D of the future NAS that will support the active involvement of system operators and users. Initial simulation studies have begun and will continue to address interaction among planned, future ATC automation programs in support of the people within the NAS. Preliminary results from these studies and the process for the conduct of metaprototyping will be described. The key difference between the I-Lab effort and previous prototyping is the integration of concepts, models and system elements within the context of the future system as opposed to prototyping of individual components or system elements. The I-lab is a tool for systems engineering and research activities to envision the future and guide development to achieve that vision. At each step the resulting information will be used to support the FAA's efforts to establish and maintain a future system definition and relevant research and development programs to achieve enhanced efficiency for the end-users, and NAS resources and personnel. In addition, the process by which system prototyping is effected will be established including the roles of RE&D organizations, outside researchers, operational personnel, and system users.”

p. 1106-1109

Monk, Donald L., Swierenga, Sarah J. and Lincoln, Janet E. (1992): Developing Behavioral Phenomena Test Benches. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. pp. 1106-1109.

“A research and development program is underway to produce an innovative design support system for crew station designers. Known as the Performance Visualization Subsystem of the Computer Aided Systems Human Engineering Program (CASHE: PVS), this design tool will have data visualization and prototyping capabilities that will enable designers to "go beyond" the human perception and performance information available in the PVS database. Interactive software modules (called test benches) are being developed to allow designers to explore behavioral phenomena under different stimulus and response conditions. The objective of this paper is to describe a method we have used to translate the information in the PVS database into test bench specifications for software development. The basic approach in test bench design is: 1) to rely on standardized tasks and conditions where possible and 2) to provide designers with pedagogical illustrations of perceptual and performance effects. The procedures used in developing test bench specifications included identifying good candidates for test bench simulations, prioritizing the set of proposed test benches according to selection criteria developed by the design team, and recruiting subject matter experts to generate test bench specifications that will be used by the software engineers to implement the test bench code. The result of this effort will be a commercially available software product that will help crew station designers more effectively understand and apply human factors principles in the design process.”

p. 111-115

Rowe, Anna L., French, Jonathan, Neville, Kelly J. and Eddy, Douglas R. (1992): The Prediction of Cognitive Performance Degradations during Sustained Operations. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. pp. 111-115.

“Opportunities for fatigue related accidents are greatest when extended duty cycles must be maintained. A means to plan for the influence of fatigue would be useful to best utilize crew resources. Equations were derived to predict performance degradations associated with fatigued cognitive abilities. During a 30-hour sleep deprivation study, nine male subjects were required to perform a 45-minute cognitive performance battery every 120 minutes. Plasma melatonin levels also were obtained. Cognitive performance measures sensitive to fatigue were determined and used to derive composite response time and accuracy scores. The equations that best described the composite scores included a linear component (hours awake weighting) and a circadian component (melatonin weighting). The respective prediction equations accounted for 33% of the variance in response time performance (p < .0001) and 18% of the variance in accuracy performance (p < .0005). Tests on the beta weights indicated that accuracy predictions were more enhanced by the circadian component than were those for response time. This work represents a mathematical description of fatigued performance that is sensitive to circadian cycles and requires minimal input data. The results might be used to recommend the best crew rest times and when additional crew should be employed as individual performance falls below critical thresholds during sustained operations.”

p. 1110-1112

Bowen, Charles D. (1992): Prototype Classification and User Interface Management during the Requirements Analysis Phase of System Acquisition. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. pp. 1110-1112.

“Much has been written about the value of prototyping during the requirements analysis phase of system acquisition. This paper focuses on the classification of prototypes as they impact the user interface. Using a style guide to manage the user interface during the prototyping process is also examined. A distinction between different categories of prototypes, can be drawn in terms of the amount of functionality provided to the user. Consequently, three distinct types of prototypes can be differentiated: conceptual, detailed design and operational prototypes. The conceptual prototype presents the user with the least amount of functionality and is often undertaken to derive functional requirements and to exhibit a proposed solution to a problem. The detailed design prototype exhibits more functionality and is often used by human factors personnel to collect detailed user feedback and performance data to make specific tradeoff decisions and to derive a more detailed design of the user interface. An operational prototype is a complete system that has been fully tested by selected end users, but is not sold as a commercial product. Once the category of prototype is established, a style guide is helpful in managing the development of the user interface. Ensuring consistency within a prototype is the principal role of a user interface style guide. Recent experience in the creation of a style guide for a prototyping effort for the US Air Force has led to a number of suggestions. These suggestions are discussed and future efforts in the development of user interface style guides is indicated.”

p. 1113-1117

Kantowitz, Barry H. (1992): Heavy Vehicle Driver Workload Assessment: Lessons from Aviation. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. pp. 1113-1117.

“Assessment of heavy vehicle driver workload can benefit from earlier research on pilot workload. Four workload issues are particularly salient: performance, methodology, measurement, and conceptual problems. Since an airplane is not a heavy ground vehicle, and since there are many differences between pilots and truck drivers, aviation workload tools cannot be applied to ground vehicles without some caveats. A summary of ten lessons learned from aviation workload is given.”

p. 1118-1122

Braune, Rolf J. and Graeber, R. Curtis (1992): Human-Centered Designs in Commercial Transport Aircraft. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. pp. 1118-1122.

“Based on airline pilot surveys, industry committees and workshops, conducted on advanced technology "glass cockpit" airplanes, concerns have been raised about the application and long-term effects of automation technologies. It has been pointed out that purely technology-driven designs had resulted in unintended and unforeseen negative consequences. In order to counter this trend it has been proposed to shift the focus from technology-centered designs to what has become known as human-centered design. There are three primary objectives within a human-centered design philosophy: (1) the design should enhance the user's abilities, (2) the design should help overcome user limitations, and (3) the design should foster user acceptance. This paper discusses the human-centered design objectives within the context of commercial transport airplane developments. Representative examples of a human-centered design are presented.”

p. 1123-1127

Sanquist, Thomas F. (1992): Human Factors in Maritime Applications: A New Opportunity for Multi-Modal Transportation Research. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. pp. 1123-1127.

“Human error has been shown to cause 65-80% of maritime casualties; this figure is similar to that of other industries. However, there has been little systematic research and development work in the area of maritime human factors. This paper presents a model of five technical domains that comprise a useful framework for conceptualizing human factors in the maritime industries. The multi-modal research potential in the areas of fatigue and the cognitive impacts of automation are discussed.”

p. 1128-1132

Malone, Thomas B., Heasly, Christopher C., Kirkpatrick, Mark, Perse, Randy M., Vingelis, Patricia J. and Welch, Daniel L. (1992): Human System Integration (HSI) and MANPRINT Requirements and Tools. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. pp. 1128-1132.

“The U.S. Army Human Engineering Laboratory (USAHEL) approach to HSI in the early stages of materiel development is to base the process for accomplishing HSI/MANPRINT on the HFE front-end analysis methodology as described in MIL-H 46855B. The USAHEL under contract with Carlow International Incorporated is developing an HSI standardized and formalized process tied to the events, activities, products and milestones for all phases of the WSAP and incorporating a set of automated tools and information systems to support the application of the HSI process. The system, including the process, associated tools and information resources, have been designated the HSI Integrated Decision/Engineering Aid or IDEA. A major element of IDEA then is the standardized and formalized HSI process tied to the events, activities, products and milestones of each phase of the WSAP as directed in DoD 5000.1, 5000.2, and 5000.2M, and incorporating a set of automated tools to support the application of the HSI process. The HSI process architecture contained in IDEA is an interactive graphic which has the following characteristics: a) it is integrated with the WSAP activities, products and requirements for each WSAP phase; b) it defines and describes HSI activities, events, inputs/outputs, products and methods for each WSAP phase, and provides guidelines on the application of the activities and methods and on the contents and format of the products; c) it incorporates the tools required to apply the HSI methods and to accomplish the HSI activities; d) it is focused on personnel readiness and effectiveness requirements; e) it addresses the development of a new system, a non-development item (NDI), or product improvement; and f) it provides a formal mechanism for getting HSI issues and concerns addressed early in system acquisition.”

p. 1133-1137

Gentner, Frank C. and Crissey, Mona J. (1992): Liveware Survey of Human Systems Integration (HSI) Technologies: Need for Comprehensive Survey and Available Database. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. pp. 1133-1137.

“Downsizing the Department of Defense (DoD) means accomplishing more with fewer people. Enlightened design that considers all requirement and interaction issues simultaneously is the key to productivity. In the past, human issues have been difficult to quantify or depict during the systems engineering process. Recently, there has been an explosion of affordable HSI technologies. Despite the new DoD directives that require HSI analyses throughout acquisition, it is difficult to identify the most appropriate technology for HSI analyses. Defense acquisition managers, contractors, and the HSI research and development (R&D) community need a database of information about HSI tools, databases, and test facilities. They need this database to identify technology available in each of the Liveware domains of Manpower, Personnel, Training, (MPT) Safety, Health Hazard Prevention, and Human Factors Engineering (HFE) and to fully integrate human consideration into the acquisition process. However, no comprehensive catalog of HSI technology exists. Under the sponsorship of the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense (Force Management and Personnel) HSI office and North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Research Study Group.21 (RSG.21), TPDC and CSERIAC are surveying the HSI community for a comprehensive database of HSI technologies, an ambitious effort requiring the help of all HSI technology developers, owners, and users. This paper reviews previous HSI-related technology studies. It supports the thesis that a comprehensive survey and database are needed to improve prioritization of HSI technology R&D; aid in HSI technology identification and use; and take full advantage of the new acquisition climate. It also describes the survey and database which is now being populated, and highlights the need for HSI community participation.”

p. 1138-1142

Hallbert, Bruce P., Rodriguez, Michael A., Harbour, Jerry L., Caccamise, Donna J. and Keller, John W. (1992): Development of Job Performance Aids to Increase Human Performance Reliability: A Case Study in the Evaluation of Human Factors Principles. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. pp. 1138-1142.

“A study of criticality safety, commissioned by the U.S. Department of Energy, was conducted by Scientech Inc. at the Rocky Flats nuclear weapons facility. The study concluded that human performance is the driving factor in the risk of an inadvertent criticality incident at the Rocky Flats Plant (RFP). A study of the infractions which have occurred at this facility bears this point out. A human factors team was established to identify a means of reducing human error in every day operations. The team determined that the posted instructions near each work area are key to operators having a clear understanding of operating requirements. An evaluation of the posted instructions revealed that they were very complex, required operators to monitor multiple parameters, and resulted in the operators' attention being divided between operational tasks and the task of monitoring nuclear safety parameters. Alternative graphics, textual, and graphics and textual formats combined with color coding were developed to improve comprehensibility, understandability, controllability, and usability in the Job Performance Aids (JPAs). Results of field tests of the different formats provide clear indication that operators prefer short, concise textual statements summarizing important information over both other formats. Although operators indicated interest in the graphics formats, the magnitude of change in presentation techniques and the generalizability of the icons argued against their immediate use. Issues in the development of candidate JPAs and other usability requirements are discussed.”

p. 1143-1147

Lee, John D. and Moray, Neville (1992): Operators' Monitoring Patterns and Fault Recovery in the Supervisory Control of a Semi-Automatic Process. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. pp. 1143-1147.

“Although technological innovations have changed the role of operators from active participants to supervisors of semi-automatic processes, an understanding of the cognitive demands of supervisory control has not kept pace. In particular, little is known about when, and how well, operators might intervene and switch control from automatic to manual. This research addresses this issue by monitoring the information use and control actions of operators of a simulated semi-automatic pasteurization plant. The results of this experiment shows that individual differences in operators' monitoring patterns during the normal operation of the plant correspond to differences in their ability to mitigate the effects of faults. Specifically, an operator who controls the plant well during both normal and fault conditions tends to observe the plant frequently, integrating control actions with other control actions, and does not fixate on narrow sub-systems of the plant. On the other hand, an operator who performs poorly when exposed to faults tends to observe the plant less often, fails to integrate control actions, and fixates attention on a narrow subset of plant variables. Although all operators interacted with the plant using the same interface and automation, large individual differences in the operators' monitoring patterns, and the associated differences in performance suggest that individuals' attitudes, motivation, and training may play a critical role in the successful implementation of automation.”

p. 1148-1152

Village, Judy, Campbell, Brian and Cull, John (1992): Ergonomic Analysis of Materials Handling and Design Guidelines for a New Central Public Library. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. pp. 1148-1152.

“In the first phase of this two-year project, workplace factors contributing to hand, arm and back injuries among employees at a large central public library were identified and prioritized. A central research committee was established consisting of Library Management, Union representatives and an Ergonomist. The next phase involved formation of four sub-committees to procure and prototype new equipment, develop new methods of working, evaluate the new equipment and methods, and make recommendations to the central research committee. The Ergonomist facilitated the process by helping committees remain systematic and objective in their approach and evaluations. In some cases more detailed analyses were conducted using computerized lifting models and electromyographic (EMG) analysis of muscle activity. Efforts resulted in recommendations for the current library facility and conceptual design guidelines for architects planning the new Central Public Library.”

p. 1153-1157

Sawhney, R. S. and Knight, L. J. (1992): Safety, A Strategic Tool for Improving Manufacturing Systems. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. pp. 1153-1157.

“Often, manufacturing systems operate under the common perception that safety projects are generally detrimental to successful manufacturing operations. On the contrary, emphasizing safety on all levels of a corporation can not only create an overall more positive attitude in the workplace while reducing worker's compensation and insurance costs, but it can also improve the manufacturing capabilities of an organization Within this paper, a model is presented which can prove safety-related ventures can be lucrative in measurable manufacturing terms. The model shows that accepting safety-related projects and approaching safety standards more positively will actually improve manufacturing strategy components such as quality, productivity, utilization, and reliability. It also includes redefining the mission statement of the corporation, developing a manufacturing strategy emphasizing safety, and implementing safety measures in all aspects of the corporation. Such evaluations in measurable terms will result in greater percentages of safety projects being accepted because relevant information will be communicated to managers in terms they can easily understand. Results indicate that there is a correlation between implementing safety projects and the improvement of manufacturing capabilities. Therefore, one can infer that safety, like quality, cost, and time, is a strategic tool to be used for improving manufacturing, and not merely a tangential issue.”

p. 1158-1162

Spelt, P. F. (1992): Human Factors and Safety Issues Associated with Actinide Retrieval from Spent Light Water Reactor Fuel Assemblies. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. pp. 1158-1162.

“A major problem in environmental restoration and waste management is the disposition of used fuel assemblies from the many light water reactors in the United States, which present a radiation hazard to those whose job is to dispose of them, with a similar threat to the general environment associated with long-term storage in fuel repositories around the country. Actinides resident in the fuel pins as a result of their use in reactor cores constitute a significant component of this hazard. Recently, the Department of Energy has initiated an Actinide Recycle Program to study the feasibility of using pyrochemical (molten salt) processes to recover actinides from the spent fuel assemblies of commercial reactors. This project concerns the application of robotics technology to the operation and maintenance functions of a plant whose objective is to recover actinides from spent fuel assemblies, and to dispose of the resulting hardware and chemical components from this process. Such a procedure involves a number of safety and human factors issues. The purpose of the project is to explore the use of robotics and artificial intelligence to facilitate accomplishment of the program goals while maintaining the safety of the humans doing the work and the integrity of the environment. This project will result in a graphic simulation on a Silicon Graphics workstation as a proof of principle demonstration of the feasibility of using robotics along with an intelligent operator interface. A major component of the operator-system interface is a hybrid artificial intelligence system developed at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, which combines artificial neural networks and an expert system into a hybrid, self-improving computer-based system interface.”

p. 116-120

Guidi, Mark A. and Holland, Dwight (1992): Operational and Human Factors Implications of Physiological Deconditioning in Long Duration Spaceflight. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. pp. 116-120.

“A major factor in determining the success of any manned long duration space mission will be how well the human body can endure the microgravity environment. Data collected from long duration space missions conducted by both the United States and the former Soviet Union have shown that almost every system in the human body is adversely affected by microgravity. These adverse affects, taken individually or in concert, can have operational implications for a long duration space mission. Data collected to date indicate that significant human factors complications could arise due to the deconditioning of the musculoskeletal, cardiovascular and hematological systems that occur in a microgravity environment, resulting in decrements in overall astronaut performance. This paper examines some of these deconditioning effects, their immediate operational implications and possible countermeasures.”

p. 1163-1165

Modrick, John A. (1992): The Role of Complexity in Human Performance, Memory, and Training. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. pp. 1163-1165.

“The objective of this symposium is to discuss research dealing with the role of complexity in functions and tasks commonly allocated to the operators/users of systems. Systems of greater capability are being designed and the complexity of operation is increasing. Conceptual/experimental approaches to complexity are reviewed under the categories of procedural, cognitive, and conceptual complexity. Specific projects are reviewed on the effects of complexity on memory for procedures, information extraction for displays, and flight operations in the glass cockpit.”

p. 1166-1170

Modrick, John A. (1992): Review of Concepts and Approaches to Complexity. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. pp. 1166-1170.

“The objective of this paper is to review research dealing with the role of complexity in functions and tasks commonly allocated to the operators/users. This topic is complex and not well-structured. We have reviewed principal approaches to provide better structure for the psychological domain of complexity. The research reviewed is partitioned into three categories: procedural, cognitive, and conceptual complexity. What we were after in the review was to find quantifiable attributes of complexity in cognitive tasks and skills and how to use these attributes to manage complexity during system design.”

p. 1171-1175

Wisher, Robert A. (1992): The Role of Complexity on Retention of Psychomotor and Procedural Skills. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. pp. 1171-1175.

“This paper describes the relative effects of task complexity on the retention of a skill over prolonged periods of non use. The paper focuses on the decay of skills and knowledges of the 20,000 reservists called up for active duty during Operation Desert Storm. Reservists were tested upon reentry to determine the extent of skill decay since their release, up to one year, from active. These data were analyzed with multiple regression and analysis of variance techniques. The major findings were: (a) procedural skills and knowledge about Army jobs decayed mostly within six months, but psychomotor skills (weapons qualifications) did not begin decay until ten months; and (b) previous skill qualification score was the best predictor of skill decay followed by aptitude score.”

p. 1176-1180

Chechile, Richard A. (1992): A Review of ANETS: A Model of Cognitive Complexity of Displays. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. pp. 1176-1180.

“The ANETS model for representing and measuring the degree of the cognitive complexity of visual displays is described in general. Moreover, the results from several studies are described briefly that address the model's predictive power, the reliability of model usage, and the relationship to perceptual measures of display quality. Finally a model-based approach for interface design is discussed as possible and desirable.”

p. 1181-1184

Lyall, Elizabeth A. and Cooper, Barry (1992): The Impact of Trends in Complexity in the Cockpit on Flying Skills and Aircraft Operation. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. pp. 1181-1184.

“Models of human performance which include concepts of task or procedural complexity have been used to evaluate the design of specific procedures which are dictated either by the airline or the flight environment (such as a specific airport). The procedures and environment as they currently exist can be modeled producing a profile across time of the output variable of the model. The variable that has been of most interest to us is pilot workload. One way in which we are using these modeling procedures is to compare a complex departure procedure with another departure procedure which is considered to be typical of most departures. Pilot workload profiles were obtained for the pilot-flying and the pilot-not-flying for each departure. A comparison was made of the profiles from the two departures and it was indicated that the more complex departure greatly increased the workload of the pilots, especially the pilot-flying. The complex departure procedure was analyzed looking particularly at the requirements that produced large peaks in pilot workload for either pilot, and recommendations are being made for changes to the procedure based on this analysis. The value of using such a modeling procedure in the airline environment will be discussed including other possible application areas.”

p. 1185-1189

Hale, Steven and Piccione, Dino (1992): Application of the Subjective Workload Assessment Technique to Aviation Test and Evaluation. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. pp. 1185-1189.

“A study was performed to assess pilot workload associated with the employment of an air-to-air weapon system integrated onto an attack helicopter. Mental workload was assessed using the Subjective Workload Assessment Technique (SWAT). Pilots performed simulated engagements against an airborne target under varying conditions of engagement type, time of day, target background, and target range. The results indicated significant differences in SWAT ratings as a function of time of day and engagement type. To a lesser degree, SWAT ratings were also sensitive to changes in target background and range. These results are consistent with laboratory and simulation studies which have shown SWAT to be sensitive to changes in task demand and further demonstrate the utility of SWAT for assessing operator workload in the less structured test and evaluation environment.”

p. 1190-1194

Grant, Barry S. and Wierwille, Walter W. (1992): An Accuracy Analysis of Techniques for Measuring the Durations of In-Car Manual Tasks. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. pp. 1190-1194.

“Human factors research of automobile driver behavior often calls for timing in-car manual tasks. The present study was designed to compare the accuracy, bias, and consistency of various techniques for measuring in-car manual task durations. Additionally, this research was intended to reveal how closely these techniques approach the preciseness of the frame-by-frame video analysis method, which is time-consuming and expensive to perform. Six subjects were required to use an electronic stopwatch to measure "hand-off-wheel" times for 30 driver tasks. Each subject performed this procedure three times: while sitting as an observer in the back seat of a research vehicle, while watching a real-time video recording of task performance, and while watching a one-sixth real-time video recording of task performance. Timing Method (three levels), Duration of in-car task (three levels), and Subject (six levels) served as independent variables. Dependent measures gathered were raw timing error (a measure of response bias), absolute timing error (a measure of response accuracy), and squared timing error (a measure of response consistency). Timing error was obtained by subtracting the measured time for a particular task from the "true" task time obtained by using the frame-by-frame video analysis technique. Analysis of the data indicated a significant effect of method on response bias. Specifically, use of the slow-motion video technique resulted in overestimation of in-car task durations, and use of the two real-time techniques resulted in estimates of task durations that were either equal to or less than the true durations. Significant effects of Subject, Gender, and Subject x Method were also revealed. The results suggest that the on-road timing technique should be used in the future, since this procedure requires little in terms of cost and implementation time, and errors are small when compared with the frame-by-frame technique.”

p. 1195-1199

Rowe, Anna L., Cooke, Nancy J., Neville, Kelly J. and Schacherer, Chris W. (1992): Mental Models of Mental Models: A Comparison of Mental Model Measurement Techniques. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. pp. 1195-1199.

“Although use of the mental model construct has proliferated in recent research, the construct lacks a clear definition and an agreed upon method of measurement. Furthermore, the reliability and validity of the different measurement techniques in use have not been established, thereby making generalizations across studies of mental models difficult. The purpose of the current project was to assess several methods of measuring mental models in terms of their reliability/stability over time. Subjects' mental models of the automobile engine system were elicited on two occasions separated by one week, using seven different knowledge elicitation techniques. Subjects' level of experience was also measured to allow comparisons between experts and novices. The results indicate that each of the measurement techniques tended to be reliable for both experts and novices. However, reliability tended to be greater for experts than novices. Additionally, experts tended to agree with each other more than did the novices. Some evidence also indicated that the results from the similarity ratings and subsequent Pathfinder analysis converged with those from the structured interviews.”

p. 1200-1204

Endestad, Tor, Holmstroem, Conny B. O. and Volden, Frode S. (1992): Effects of Using a Diagnostic Rule-Based Expert System Developed for the Nuclear Industry. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. pp. 1200-1204.

“This experiment, conducted at the OECD Halden Reactor Project, Halden, Norway in the spring 1991, aimed to assess the effect on nuclear power plant operators diagnostic behaviour when using a rule based diagnostic expert system. The rule based expert system used in the experiment is called DISKET (Diagnosis System Using Knowledge Engineering Technique) and was originally developed by the Japan Atomic Energy Research Institute (JAERI). The experiment was performed in the Halden man-machine laboratory using a full scope pressurized water reactor simulator. Operator performance in terms of quality of diagnosis is improved by the use of DISKET. The use of the DISKET system also influences operators problem solving behaviour. The main difference between the two experimental conditions can be characterised as while the DISKET users during the diagnosis process are following a strategy which is direct and narrowed, the non-DISKET users are using a much broader and less focused search when trying to diagnose a disturbance.”

p. 1205-1209

Hackman, George S. and Biers, David W. (1992): Team Usability Testing: Are Two Heads Better Than One?. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. pp. 1205-1209.

“The purpose of the study was to compare a team usability testing paradigm with that of the typical single user paradigm in terms of the quantity and quality of the user's verbalization (i.e. thinking out-loud) and performance. The study employed a three group design in which the type of usability paradigm (Single, Observer, Team) was manipulated. Users first learned to use an off-the-shelf database management package by means of a short tutorial and then engaged in six structured tasks. While engaging in the tasks, the users either thought-out-loud alone (Single condition), in the presence of an observer (Observer condition), or as participants of a team working on the tasks together (Team condition). Results indicated that there were no significant differences among the three conditions in terms of performance nor any extensive differences in their subjective evaluation of the software. However, users in the Team condition spent more total time verbalizing than those in the Single or Observer condition. More importantly, results of a verbal protocol analysis revealed that the Team spent more time making statements which had high value for designers than did the other two conditions (which did not differ from one another). When broken out by individual users in the Team, there were no significant differences between individual team members and users in the other two conditions in making high value comments. The results suggest that the Team paradigm may be more efficient in extracting high value information without any noticeable differences in performance or subjective impression of the software.”

p. 121-125

Seidler, Karen S. and Wickens, Christopher D. (1992): Distance Metrics in Multifunction Displays. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. pp. 121-125.

“The need to scan and integrate sources of information in multifunction displays (MFDs) forces consideration of the relationships between the screens in the database. This paper develops a spatial metaphor that can be used to explore these underlying relationships. Three metrics of distance -- navigational (the number of choice points lying between screens), organizational (the structure of the hierarchy), and cognitive (the user's mental representation of information relatedness) -- were identified and empirically examined by using a simulated, hierarchically arranged, menu-driven MFD in an aviation context.”

p. 1210-1214

Schrier, Jaclyn R. (1992): Reducing Stress Associated with Participating in a Usability Test. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. pp. 1210-1214.

“Although usability tests are typically conducted with a purpose of making products less stressful for people to use, the usability testing process itself can be stressful for many test participants. The combination of trying to use a new product, being videotaped, and being watched by others, is a potentially stressful environment for many people. Although the Subject Precautions section of the Human Factors Society Code of Ethics clearly states that "the exposure of human or animal research subjects to ... stress" should be "commensurate with the significance of the problem being researched," the Code of Ethics does not provide guidance for reducing exposure of human subjects to stress. This paper describes several practical extensions to the Subject Precautions that can help reduce stress associated with participating as a subject in a usability test. The recommendations in this paper are based on anecdotal evidence gathered in numerous usability tests conducted in both laboratory and field settings. Recommendations are included for preparing the test environment, recruiting test participants, and interacting with participants during testing.”

p. 1215-1219

Held, Joseph E. and Biers, David W. (1992): Software Usability Testing: Do Evaluator Intervention and Task Structure Make Any Difference?. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. pp. 1215-1219.

“The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the effect of evaluator intervention, task structure, and user experience on the users subjective evaluation of software usability. The study employed a 2 X 2 X 2 factorial between-subjects design with two levels of Evaluator Intervention (Intervention vs. Non-Intervention), 2 levels of Task Structure (Guided-Exploration [free-form] vs. Standard Laboratory), and 2 levels of User Experience (Novice, Experienced). The users were asked to learn to use and then subjectively evaluate a restricted subset of 12 common word processing features over four hours of participation. Day 1 was a training day and Day 2 was a test day. The major finding was that the user's subjective impression of the software was affected by both user Experience and evaluator Intervention. For difficult to use word processing features, experienced users rated the features as more difficult to use under the intervention than non-intervention condition. For novice users, this difference was in the opposite direction but not significant. The same pattern of results was obtained for the subjective rating of ease of learning, overall evaluation of the software, and confidence in ability to use the software. These results were interpreted within context of attribution theory. The effect of structure, although not as prevalent, interacted with user experience in the evaluation of screen features and system capabilities. The relative lack of task structure effects was attributed to the difficulty in implementing free form learning and the number of problems encountered in use of the software under Guided Exploration which counteracted any of its benefits.”

p. 1220-1224

Wright, Richard B. and Converse, Sharolyn A. (1992): Method Bias and Concurrent Verbal Protocol in Software Usability Testing. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. pp. 1220-1224.

“Concurrent verbal protocols are gaining wide acceptance in software usability testing. In this study, the impact concurrent verbalization has on task performance during a software usability test was investigated. Subjects randomly assigned to two levels of verbalization were asked to complete four tasks of varying difficulty using a disk utility package. Subjects in the verbalization condition were asked to provide an explanation for each step taken to complete a task. Subjects in the control condition were allowed to complete each task silently. Dependent variables were task time, error frequency, and responses to subjective measures of mental workload and ease-of-use. Subjects in the verbalization condition committed fewer errors and consumed less task time than subjects in the silent condition. Further, the mean difference in error frequency and task time between conditions increased with task difficulty. These results were extremely important in revealing a potential method bias in usability tests.”

p. 1225-1226

Moroney, William F. (1992): Subjects in Human Factors. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. pp. 1225-1226.

“Humans are the "raison d'etre" for human factors, yet what do we really know about the characteristics of those who serve as our subjects and on whom our science is built? What do we need to know? Most authors gloss over the topic briefly and tersely describe the subjects as "10 male and 10 female college age students." The articles then move onto what many consider to be the real action: the experimental design, test procedures, and statistical analysis. A conclusion is reached and generalized to the population. When is this appropriate/inappropriate? What population do the subjects (Ss) represent? What are the characteristics of our current Ss? Are subject differences even relevant? What, if anything, can be gained by examining subject by condition interactions? What techniques do we have which will allow us to go beyond performance data, and examine the subjects cognitive processes? What changes can we expect to see in the worker/user population which should influence our subject selection strategies? The four papers presented in this symposium will address these issues, provide some answers, and certainly raise some questions.”

p. 1227-1231

Moroney, William F. and Reising, Jack (1992): Subjects in Human Factors: Just Who Are They?. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. pp. 1227-1231.

“Humans are the "raison d'etre" for human factors, yet what do we really know about the characteristics of those who serve as our subjects and on whom our science is built? What do we need to know? This article addresses issues related to subject selection and data reporting, provides some recommendations, and hopefully raises some questions. Our subjects, as volunteers, differ from the population they are drawn from in many ways, specifically individuals volunteer as a function of the type of experiment. Volunteers have a greater sense of personal responsibility than non-volunteers. They tend to be higher in the need for social approval, and more social than non-volunteers. Volunteers for experiments involving risk taking score significantly higher in risk taking/arousal seeking, and are less anxious than non-volunteers. They are also less authoritarian and less conforming than non-volunteers. Finally, volunteers tend to be better educated than non-volunteers Articles, which reported findings on human subjects and were published in Human Factors (N=84) or Ergonomics (N=64) between August 1989 and April 1991, were reviewed. Forty percent of the Human Factor articles did not provide sufficient detail for the reader to determine if the subjects were fulfilling a course requirement, paid or unpaid. Our literature seems to be based on individuals between 18 and 30 years of age. In the issues of Human Factors, which were reviewed, among those articles reporting data derived from subjects, the gender of 42 percent of the subjects could not be determined from the article. In 27 percent of the human factor articles demographic data were not reported. It is recommended that authors provide additional information on the characteristics of their subjects, so that researchers and practitioners alike can develop an informed opinion about the applicability/limitations of the findings. As a minimum, details on age (mean, SD, median and range), gender, and specific demographics should be reported.”

p. 1232-1236

Bittner, Jr. Alvah C. and Bramwell, Allen T. (1992): Subjects in Human Factors: Evaluation of Subject-Condition (SxC) Interactions. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. pp. 1232-1236.

“The opportunities presented by subjects-condition (SxC) interactions are discussed after an introduction to their nature. Operator Strategy Differences (SDs), Scale-of-Measurement Effects (SOMs), and Condition Requirement Differences (CRDs) are each seen as potential sources of SxC interactions. It is shown that SxC interactions can (1) frequently be detected using an analysis of "error" variances approach, (2) be characterized in terms of their nature, and (3) enhance the utility of research results (once characterized). It is recommended that subjects-condition (SxC) interactions be routinely evaluated in human factors research.”

p. 1237-1240

Meister, David and Enderwick, T. P. (1992): Subjects in Human Factors: What Are They Thinking?. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. pp. 1237-1240.

“Failure to debrief test subjects (Ss) is dangerous, because Ss may be responding to the measurement situation in a highly idiosyncratic way which could produce corrupted results. Much of S's behavior, particularly in advanced problem-solving systems, is covert and so must be reported directly by S. Since verbalization during measurement is inadmissible, a method is proposed of debriefing S following the test.”

p. 1241-1243

Fleming, Tammy E., Morrissey, Stephen J. and Kinghorn, Rhonda A. (1992): Subjects in Human Factors: Who Should They Be?. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. pp. 1241-1243.

“The already diverse workforce in America is expected to diversify at an even greater rate over the next decade. Projected workforce changes include those of age, gender, and race. The recently passed Americans with Disabilities Act also ensures that a growing number of persons with diverse physical needs will enter the workforce. Data from Moroney and Reising (1992) provide some clear indications of the types of subjects currently used in human factors experiments. Not surprisingly, these subjects represent a range of persons that is much less narrow than the range represented in the current and projected workforce. If not corrected, the differences between human factors subjects and those of the American workforce will increase at a magnified rate. To ensure that the results produced from human factors experiments are useful and valid, researchers should first analyze the diverse characteristics of their intended users and select subjects who possess these characteristics.”

p. 1244-1248

Wei, Kuang C. and Otto, Norman C. (1992): Engine Sound Quality Evaluation Using Semantic Differential Method. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. pp. 1244-1248.

“There is an emerging effort in the automotive industry to explore a new horizon of quality, e.g. sensory comfort, beyond the traditional measure of reliability and durability. This is evidenced by the birth of a new engineering field, referred to here as sensory engineering. The objective is to evaluate and characterize human's feeling and incorporate these findings into the engineering and design of the product. In this paper, engine sounds from various passenger vehicles were examined using this approach. Five sound samples under wide-open-throttle acceleration condition and five under constant speed conditions were evaluated using the semantic differential method. Results showed that subject's perception of these sounds can be very well characterized in a semantic space made of three factor axes. Significant difference of mean factor scores appeared along 'smooth, reliable,&desirable', 'loud/whining', and 'special&modern' axes. These results can be used to refine the engine design to achieve a better acoustic quality of the engine.”

p. 1249-1253

Whitmore, Mihriban, Aldridge, Ann M., Morris, Randy B., Pandya, Abhilash K., Wilmington, Robert P., Jensen, Dean G. and Maida, James C. (1992): Integrating Microgravity Test Data with a Human-Computer Reach Model. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. pp. 1249-1253.

“Future space vehicles such as the Space Station Freedom will be equipped with computers that have direct manipulation capabilities. The human factors challenge is to provide an optimal human-systems interface which will accommodate a wide range of users and tasks in a microgravity environment. A series of experiments have been conducted by the Man-Systems Division at Johnson Space Center to resolve anthropometric issues related to human reach capabilities and limitations impacting workstation design. To facilitate this goal, two approaches, "Performance-based" and "Model-based" analyses, were integrated to investigate the human reach mapped onto the workstation display panels. Microgravity maximum reach sweep data were collected onboard NASA's KC-135 Reduced Gravity Aircraft. A three-dimensional (3-D) interactive graphics system, PLAID, was used to generate anthropometrically correct human computer models. Video tapes recorded during the flights were used to extract information for positioning each human representation in the computer model relative to the workstation. The approach, findings and implications of the evaluations are discussed in the paper.”

p. 1254-1258

Cuomo, Donna L. and Bowen, Charles D. (1992): Stages of User Activity Model as a Basis for User-System Interface Evaluations. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. pp. 1254-1258.

“This paper discusses the results of the first phase of a research project concerned with developing methods and measures of user-system interface effectiveness for command and control systems with graphical, direct manipulation style interfaces. Due to the increased use of prototyping user interfaces during concept definition and demonstration/validation phases, the opportunity exists for human factors engineers to apply evaluation methodologies early enough in the life cycle to make an impact on system design. Understanding and improving user-system interface (USI) evaluation techniques is critical to this process. In 1986, Norman proposed a descriptive "stages of user activity" model of human-computer interaction. Hutchins, Hollan, and Norman (1986) proposed concepts of measures based on the model which would assess the directness of the engagements between the user and the interface at each stage of the model. This first phase of our research program involved applying three USI evaluation techniques to a single interface, and assessing which, if any, provided information on the directness of engagement at each stage of Norman's model. We also classified the problem types identified according to the Smith and Mosier (1986) functional areas. The three techniques used were cognitive walkthrough, heuristic evaluation, and guidelines. It was found that the cognitive walkthrough method applied almost exclusively to the action specification stage. The guidelines were applicable to more of the stages evaluated but all the techniques were weak in measuring semantic distance and all of the stages on the evaluation side of the HCI activity cycle. Improvements to existing or new techniques are required for evaluating the directness of engagement for graphical, direct manipulation style interfaces.”

p. 1259-1263

Lewis, James R. (1992): Psychometric Evaluation of the Post-Study System Usability Questionnaire: The PSSUQ. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. pp. 1259-1263.

“Usability evaluators used an 18-item, post-study questionnaire in three related usability tests. I conducted an exploratory factor analysis to investigate statistical justification to combine items into subscales. The factor analysis indicated that three factors accounted for 87 percent of the total variance. Coefficient alpha analyses showed that the reliability of the overall summative scale was .97, and ranged from .91 to .96 for the three subscales. In the sensitivity analyses, the overall scale and all three subscales detected significant differences among the user groups; and one subscale indicated a significant system effect. Correlation analyses support the validity of the scales. The overall scale correlated highly with the sum of the After-Scenario Questionnaire ratings that participants gave after each scenario. The overall scale also correlated moderately with the percentage of successful scenario completion. These results are consistent with the hypothesis that these alternative measurements tap into a common underlying construct. This construct is probably usability, based on the content of the questionnaire items and the measurement context.”

p. 126-130

Hale, II Joseph P. (1992): Anthropomorphic Teleoperation: Controlling Remote Manipulators with the DataGlove. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. pp. 126-130.

“A study was conducted to assess the capabilities and limitations of the DataGlove, a lightweight glove input device that can output signals in real time based on hand shape, orientation, and movement. The DataGlove was used as an input device to control the Proto-Flight Manipulator Arm (PFMA), a large telerobotic arm with an 8-foot reach. Twelve volunteers (six males and six females) participated in a 2x3(x2) full-factorial experiment in a simple retraction, slewing, and insertion task. Two within-subjects variables, time delay (0,1, and 2 seconds) and PFMA wrist flexibility (rigid/flexible) were manipulated. Gender served as a blocking variable. Retraction, insertion, and slew times, as well as total task time were collected as the dependent variables. An analysis of variance found a main effect of time delay for slewing and total task times. A post hoc Newman-Keuls pairwise comparison of the means was performed for the significant effects. Slew times with no time delay were significantly faster than slew times with either 1- or 2-second time delays. Total task time with no time delay was significantly faster than total task time with a 2-second time delay. PFMA wrist flexibility had no significant main effect on the ability of the subject to accurately and effectively operate the PFMA with the DataGlove. It was concluded that the DataGlove is a legitimate teleoperations input device that provides a natural, intuitive user interface and should be considered in future trades in teleoperation systems' designs.”

p. 1264-1268

Fisher, Donald L., Wisher, Robert A., Townsend, James T. and Sabol, Mark A. (1992): Simulation and Analysis of Perceptual-Motor Skill Training. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. pp. 1264-1268.

“This paper examines the application of order-or-processing networks to the simulation of performance of a complex skill, the copying of high-speed Morse code. A sequence of processing stages and memory buffers is described that is presumed, on the basis of earlier work, to represent the task. Two models of this sequence, distinguished by their assumptions regarding concurrent processing of characters, are also presented. Simulations were run on these models to find the parameters that yielded the best fit to performance data from 19 students undergoing the early stages of military Morse code training. The implications of the results to an analysis of early performance and the potential benefits of applying the same technique to data obtained from students late in training are discussed.”

p. 1269-1273

Ryder, Joan M., Zaklad, Allen L., Zachary, Wayne and Purcell, Janine A. (1992): A Cognitive Framework for Integrated Embedded Training and Decision Aiding. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. pp. 1269-1273.

“This research has developed a theoretically-based cognitive model and design framework for Integrated Decision Aiding/Training Embedded Systems (IDATES). Based on a review of empirical studies of novice-expert differences and of theoretical and computational models of skill acquisition, we defined a three-stage cognitive hierarchy model as the basis for our IDATES framework. The levels of novice, intermediate, and expert are discrete stages which differ along two primary dimensions: problem representation and problem-solving procedure. Both decision aiding and training must be targeted to the problem representation and cognitive processes of the user/trainee. Thus, there must be three levels of decision aiding targeted to novice, intermediate, and expert decision makers. Furthermore, there are two types of training: incremental training to improve performance within each of the three expertise levels, and representational training to elicit a jump to the next higher level of problem representation. Two implications arise from the IDATES cognitive model. First, integrated cognitive/behavioral task analyses are able to drive both the embedded training requirements and the decision aiding requirements, although the three skill levels must be separately addressed. Second, a single integrated architecture can underlie all the decision aiding and embedded training components of a given IDATES application.”

p. 1274-1278

Keough, Barbara, Shalin, Valerie L. and McKenna, Paul (1992): A Training Approach for Context-Sensitive Skills: An Example with Typeface Selection. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. pp. 1274-1278.

“Cognitive task analysis and Computer Science have revolutionized training technology with intelligent tutoring systems (Wenger, 1987). However, some key assumptions determine the success of such systems: 1) Student knowledge is rule-based, so that performance may be evaluated according to the presence or absence of rules and 2) The computer and the student have access to the same information about the problem context. In the instructional task domain we are addressing -- typeface selection -- neither assumption is appropriate. Each selection emerges as an interaction with the parameters and contingencies of the particular problem (Suchman, 1987). Furthermore, an important property of typeface is its evocative or emotional power -- a property that cannot be represented adequately in a computer. Our objective is to develop a satisfactory compromise using computer-aided instruction, specifically for the domain of typeface selection. Following Clancey (1983) and Winograd&Flores (1986), we recognize that some of the knowledge we seek to train will simply not "be in" the computer. However, it may be reflected in the design and organization of training exercises, which set up a sensitivity to the important dimensions of the problem. We take advantage of the computer medium to demonstrate typeface and layout transformations of preprogrammed text examples, as well as text examples entered on-line by the student. In addition, a hypertext style menuing system allows the student to access any part of the system from any point. In this paper we provide a description of the system we have built for training in the domain of typeface selection, and discuss the relevance of this system for two applications concerns in human factors: 1) The design of messages for public display and 2) The training of context sensitive skill.”

p. 1279-1283

Xiao, Yan, Milgram, Paul and Doyle, D. John (1992): Incident Evolution and Task Demands: An Analysis and a Field Study of 'Going Sour' Incidents. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. pp. 1279-1283.

“When managing complex systems, cognitive demands or problem-solving situations can appear in different ways. In some situations, problems surface gradually while being recognised, identified and treated. This category of situations has been labelled as 'going sour' incidents. Within these incidents, there are a number of interesting and unique features warranting special attention. The present research project attempts to depict the task demands associated with going sour incidents. After initial analysis of complexity and some field observations, initial hypotheses were generated. Subsequent field study has provided support for the hypotheses. Major findings on going sour incidents include (1) problem-solving spans a long period of time and requires synthesis of information over this period; (2) trouble spots have to be checked repeatedly as the environment is likely to change over time; (3) interventions are required before obtaining sufficient number of signs; and (4) multiple hypotheses must be maintained and examined as the underlying problem changes appearance slowly from one form to another.”

p. 1284

Gopher, Daniel (1992): Development of Skill Trainers Based on Computer Games: Prospects and Issues. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. p. 1284.

“In recent years, there has been an increase in the number and power of calls for a systematic development of new principles for the design of training simulators (e.g. Baudhuin, 1987; Donchin, 1989; Gopher, Weil, Bareket and Caspi, 1988; Lintern, 1991). Such principles may replace the long prevailing physical fidelity approach, which has been enshrined by its compelling appeal to Folk Psychology (Flexman and Stark, 1987). The guiding principle of physical fidelity is that the closer the resemblance between a training simulator and the real system, the better it is as a training device. An alternative approach considered in this panel draws on contemporary concepts and models in human performance and learning theory. Departure from the physical fidelity principle is called upon by the reality of modern technology as much as it is motivated by enhanced scientific knowledge and improved methodology. With the rapid advance of technology, the constraints and limitations of the physical fidelity approach become clearer and more prohibitive. On the one hand, the increased sophistication of engineering systems, their much enhanced performance envelope and the extreme operational environments (e.g. air, space, underwater, nuclear), preclude on the job training. On the other hand, development of high fidelity simulation becomes either impossible or a difficult and costly undertaking. Consequently, the vast majority of existing training simulators represent a compromise. The extent of the compromise and its impact on the value of training and transfer are difficult to assess. Modern microprocessor technology and the development of rich, colorful and challenging computer game environments, provide powerful tools with which the foundations of a new approach can be studied and tested. Indeed, this was the rationale that has guided an international research collaboration directed towards the development of training strategies embedded in a complex computer game named Space Fortress (Donchin, Fabiani&Sanders, 1989). The three studies reported in the panel, are an outgrowth of this work. All three employed a modified version of the Space Fortress game (SF-II) which was developed at the Human Engineering Laboratory of the Technion - Israel.”

p. 1285-1290

Gopher, Daniel, Weil, Maya and Bareket, Tal (1992): The Transfer of Skill from a Computer Game Trainer to Actual Flight. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. pp. 1285-1290.

“A study was conducted at the flight school of the Israeli Airforce to test the transfer of skills from a complex computer game to flight. The context relevance of the game to flight was argued on the basis of a skill oriented task analysis, anchored in contemporary models of the human processing system. The influence of two embedded training strategies was compared, one focusing on the specific skills involved in performing the game, the other designed to improve the general ability of trainees to cope with the high attention load of the flight task. Flight scores of two groups of cadets who received 10 hours of training in the computer game were compared with those of a matched group of cadets without game experience. Both game groups performed significantly better than the no game group in the subsequent test flights. They also had higher final percentage of graduation from the flight training program. The game has now been incorporated in the regular training program of the airforce.”

p. 1291-1295

Hart, Sandra G. and Battiste, Vernol (1992): Field Test of Video Game Trainer. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. pp. 1291-1295.

“A field study was conducted at the US Army Aviation Center to determine whether workload-coping and attention-management skills developed through structured video game experience would generalize to flight training. Three groups of 24 trainees were compared (1) One received 10 hours of training on an IBM-PC version of Space Fortress, replicating an earlier study; (2) The second played a commercial video game (Apache Strike) for 10 hours which also required tracking, monitoring, situation assessment, and memory; (3) The third matched group receive no game training. Flight school records were monitored during the next 18 mos to compare performance of the three groups during initial flight training. Check ride ratings began to show an advantage for the group trained with Space Fortress by the Instrument stage of training, as predicted. Furthermore, attrition rates were lower for this group, replicating the results of an earlier study conducted by Gopher (1990) in the Israeli Air Force Flight School.”

p. 1296-1300

Shebilske, Wayne L. and Regian, J. Wesley (1992): Video Games, Training, and Investigating Complex Skills. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. pp. 1296-1300.

“We are utilizing Space Fortress in a basic research program that is designed to integrate cognitive and social learning theory in the development of group protocols for training complex skills. We present evidence that groups of 2, 3 and 4 can learn Space Fortress as well as 1 using 1/2, 1/3 and 1/4 the trainer time and resources respectively. We also present preliminary empirical steps towards individualizing training within groups according to individual differences in selective attention. We discuss implications for developing automated instruction that is designed for small groups rather than for individuals.”

p. 1301-1305

Cooper, Brian P., Eggemeier, F. Thomas, Elvers, Greg C. and Adapathya, Ravi S. (1992): Secondary Task Assessment of the Workload Associated with Spatial Pattern Search under Automatic and Controlled Processing. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. pp. 1301-1305.

“This experiment investigated the workload associated with both a consistently mapped (CM) and variably mapped (VM) version of a memory/visual search task that required the processing of spatial pattern information representative of that found with some Command and Control (C{squared}) systems. A secondary loading task paradigm which required concurrent performance of an additional spatial pattern search task was employed. The results demonstrated superior dual-task performance relative to single-task baselines on both the primary and secondary tasks when the CM version of the task was performed. The results indicate that the development of automatic processing through training can reduce the workload associated with processing spatial patterns of the type employed by C{squared} operators.”

p. 1306-1310

Corso, Gregory M., Hodge, Kevin A. and Fisk, Arthur D. (1992): Learning in Consistent Search-Detection Tasks: Type of Search (Memory vs. Visual) Determines Type of Learning. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. pp. 1306-1310.

“The theoretical and practical importance of search paradigms has been well established. This experiment was designed to extend understanding of learning processes in search tasks. Subjects trained under memory, visual, or hybrid memory/visual search conditions and then either transferred to a different search condition (e.g., train on memory, transfer to visual search) or served as controls (e.g., train on memory, transfer to memory search). Asymmetrical transfer was observed. These results have implications for current theories of attention as well as applicability in training situations.”

p. 131-135

Stealey, Sheryl L. and Mount, Frances (1992): Viewing Evaluation of the Two Cupola Locations on Space Station Freedom (SSF). In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. pp. 131-135.

“Analyses are continuing in the Man-Systems Division of NASA Johnson Space Center, on the restructured Space Station Freedom (SSF). Viewing requirements for the SSF indicate that assembly and extravehicular crew operations should be viewed by direct means whenever possible. To analyze the extent to which the Cupola meets this requirement, positions on the port side of Node 2 and the zenith side of Node 1 were evaluated. These analyses utilized the tasks from Mission Build (MB) 6 through 16 to investigate these two Node positions. The analyses conducted were based on a 4-position rating scale (Excellent, Good, Marginal, and Inadequate) which solicited data from both expert crewmembers and specialists in the field of robotic assembly operations. To remedy the potential direct viewing problems identified through this investigation, it was recommended that additional camera ports be placed along the truss and on the modules to provide indirect orthogonal viewing for berthing operations and pressurized module attachment. It was also recommended that additional Node positions be investigated to determine the optimal location for the Cupola based on crew considerations, direct viewing requirements, lighting issues, and operational tasking issues.”

p. 1311-1315

Lee, Mark D. (1992): Degree of Task Consistency and Maintenance of Skill Level in Semantic Category Visual Search. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. pp. 1311-1315.

“The present experiment investigated the effect of varying the degree of task consistency on the performance and maintenance of skill in a semantic category visual search task. It is well established that for a wide variety of tasks, skill development is a function of the degree of task consistency. However, the effect of inconsistency on established skills has not been investigated to date. The present experiment included a consistent Training Phase, an Adjusted Consistency Phase, and a Retraining Phase. Subjects were trained for 6,000 Consistently Mapped (CM) trials on two different categories. Subjects then performed 4,000 trials in which one of the previously trained categories remained 100% consistent, while the other category became either 100, 67, 50, or 33% consistent. Task consistency was then restored and participants performed another 4,200 CM trials. The Retraining Phase included a New CM category. Results indicated that performance was disrupted by inconsistency, and that disruption increased as consistency decreased. Upon the retum of task consistency, performance improved rapidly, although some performance disruption was still evident. The results are discussed in terms of visual search theories, and for their relation to training design.”

p. 1316-1320

Jarrard, Stephen W. and Wogalter, Michael S. (1992): Recognition of Non-Studied Visual Depictions of Aircraft: Improvement by Distributed Presentation. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. pp. 1316-1320.

“This experiment examined the effects of three methods of presentation, one massed and two distributed, on recognition of complex visual stimuli (military aircraft). Also examined was whether the effects of these methods differ as a function of the view at test (same or different from the studied view). In the massed presentation, aircraft were exposed once for eight seconds with each exposure separated by a blank interval of 20 seconds. In the successive distributed condition, each target aircraft was presented four times in a row for two seconds with each exposure separated by blank intervals of five seconds. In the random distributed condition, the aircraft were presented for the same on-off time intervals as the successive distributed condition, but the sequence of the study list was random. Results showed that recognition performance, as assessed by measures of hits, false alarms, and discrimination accuracy was significantly better when the same view was given at study and at test versus a different view. While presentation method did not produce an effect by itself, it did interact with test view. With a different view at test, distributed presentation showed a small, but significant, improvement in recognition performance compared to massed presentation. These results are discussed with regard to the high likelihood that most real-word visual stimuli are seen in a different views at subsequent exposures. Distributed presentation may be a useful way to prepare individuals for a different view at a later time.”

p. 1321-1325

Redding, Richard E. (1992): Analysis of Operational Errors and Workload in Air Traffic Control. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. pp. 1321-1325.

“The Federal Aviation Administration has embarked on a major curriculum redesign effort to improve the training of en route air traffic controllers. Included in this effort was a cognitive task analysis. One component of the task analysis was an analysis of operational errors, to obtain insights into cognitive-perceptual factors contributing to controller decisionmaking error. The data suggest that a failure to maintain situation awareness is the primary cause of controller error. These results highlight the importance of the controller task "maintain situation awareness", and are consistent with the findings of the other analyses. An approach for training situation awareness skills is presented in relation to models of expertise developed from other analyses: an expert mental model of air traffic control, and a task decomposition listing thirteen primary controller tasks. The findings and training paradigm have implications for training other complex high-performance tasks performed in a real-time, multi-tasking environment.”

p. 1326-1330

Redding, Richard E., Cannon, John R. and Seamster, Thomas L. (1992): Expertise in Air Traffic Control (ATC): What is It, and How Can We Train for It?. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. pp. 1326-1330.

“The Federal Aviation Administration has embarked on a major curriculum redesign effort to improve the training efficiency of en route air traffic controllers. Included in this effort was a comprehensive cognitive task analysis conducted in several phases, spanning several years. Eight different types of data collection and analysis procedures were used, resulting in an integrated model of controller expertise. This paper provides a description of controller expertise, and describes the training program under development. This is one of the first examples of cognitive task analysis being applied to study expertise in complex cognitive tasks performed in time-constrained, multi-tasking environments.”

p. 1331-1334

Thomas, Gary S., Obermayer, Richard W., Raspotnik, William B. and Waag, Wayne L. (1992): Modeling Pilot Expertise in Air Combat. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. pp. 1331-1334.

“The purpose of this effort was to model expert pilot performance and decision making in one-versus-one (1v1) air-to-air combat. Several knowledge-elicitation techniques were used to extract air combat expertise from a former fighter pilot, who served as the subject-matter-expert (SME). Unstructured and then structured interviews were used to elicit the goals and sub-goals of air-to-air combat, plus some of the pilot behaviors necessary to accomplish the goals. The SME also flew a number of combat sorties against another former fighter pilot in the Simulator for Air-to-Air Combat (SAAC) to demonstrate pilot performance required to accomplish the goals of air combat. Based on the SME's verbal protocols, a group of air combat rules were developed. A rule-based production system was then designed to incorporate the resulting knowledge base. The production system was also designed to be capable of analyzing an existing data base of air combat engagements. Expert system development required additional input from the SME to identify specific values of flight parameters required by the production system. Upon completion and SME verification of the expert model, it will be validated by comparing its performance to that of our SME in simulated air-to-air combat. If the model can successfully describe expert pilot performance, the model will be used to provide diagnostic performance feedback in conjunction with SAAC training.”

p. 1335-1339

Fiorita, Annette L., Middendorf, Matthew S. and McMillan, Grant R. (1992): Maintaining Subject Motivation in Long-Term Experiments Using Performance Incentives and Penalties. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. pp. 1335-1339.

“Experienced subjects participated in four consecutive experiments in which they performed a simulated low-level flight task. The study spanned several months, and various motivational techniques were employed with each experiment. Since the task involved low-level flight, accurate altitude control was desirable, and crash rates were of major concern. Based on both verbal and written subject debriefings, it was concluded that (1) providing lists of top scores promoted competition and motivated the subjects to improve their altitude control performance, (2) penalizing scores and negative reinforcement in the form of posted crash lists were effective in reducing crash rates, and (3) monetary awards were a minor source of motivation but were not considered a primary incentive to the subjects.”

p. 1340-1341

Baker, David P. (1992): Team Process Measurement for Team Training: Issues and Innovations. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. pp. 1340-1341.

“The objective of this symposium is to examine the measurement of teamwork skills (i.e., team process), and the impact of these measurement capabilities on team training. These skills are one of the most difficult components of team performance to both measure and train, because they are not readily quantifiable like team inputs and outputs. Therefore, the papers included in this symposium examine the measurement of team process from the standpoint of theories, methodologies, applications, and psychometric properties.”

p. 1342-1345

Zalesny, Mary D. and Salas, Eduardo (1992): Measuring Process in Team Performance and Training. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. pp. 1342-1345.

“What if we took seriously the fact that team performance is not synonymous with individual performance? Although teams appear to be the new workhorses of economic and social goal accomplishment, the processes by which they accomplish their goals remains relatively unexplicated and not well understood. In this paper, we argue that coordination is an important unifying construct for defining, measuring, researching, and training effective team performance.”

p. 1346-1350

Law, J. Randolph and McFadden, Terry J. (1992): Training and Evaluating Team Process Skills in the Commercial Aviation Environment. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. pp. 1346-1350.

“The majority of aviation incidents and accidents are attributable to human error (Billings&Reynard, 1984). Most of these human errors involve the ineffective use of team process factors, which are often referred to as Crew Resource Management (CRM) skills in the commercial aviation literature (Helmreich&Foushee, in press). In addition to these applied concerns, a revised version of McGrath's (1964) theory of group performance (Foushee&Helmreich, 1988) suggests that one must analyze the process (i.e., team process) by which a group's inputs (e.g., personality, attitudes) are transformed into group outcomes (e.g., task performance, mission safety) in order to understand how a task-oriented group functions. Therefore, team process attracts theoretical as well as practical interest. The NASA/UT/FAA Line/LOS Checklist (LLC: Helmreich, Wilhelm, Kello, Taggart,&Butler 1991) is one measure of team process that has proven useful in assessing CRM skills in training and in actual line operations. This paper briefly reviews concepts in team process and summarizes the LLC research findings pertaining to the use of CRM skills in commercial aviation.”

p. 1351-1355

Prince, Ashley, Brannick, Michael T., Prince, Carolyn and Salas, Eduardo (1992): Team Process Measurement and Implications for Training. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. pp. 1351-1355.

“The purpose of this research was to establish the construct validity of a behaviorally anchored rating scale developed to measure team process behaviors. This scale contains six skills (i.e. leadership, assertiveness, decision making/mission analysis, situation awareness, communication, adaptability/flexibility) that were identified through a prior needs analysis with training specialists and subject matter experts. Student and instructor pilots (104 individuals, 51 teams) participated in two team tasks (simulated aviation tasks) which were designed to elicit the team process behaviors identified for the rating scale, and were rated on their behaviors. A multitrait-multimethod analysis on the resulting ratings (Campbell and Fiske, 1959) was conducted. Evidence of convergent and discriminant validity as well as some method bias were found when the method investigated was team task. Implications for the use of the team process scale in training are discussed.”

p. 1356-1360

Dwyer, Daniel J. (1992): An Index for Measuring Naval Team Performance. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. pp. 1356-1360.

“The evaluation of team training within the Navy often relies on instructor assessments of human performance. Often, assessments are subjectively derived and may, therefore, contain biases. Consequently, a method for objectively measuring Navy team performance was developed in an attempt to supplement commonly found subjective assessments. The technique is based upon collecting observable indicators of effective and ineffective behaviors across several critical functions of the anti-air warfare (AAW) team. The effective and ineffective indicators are mathematically combined to form a performance index ranging from 0.00 (low) to 1.00 (high) to reflect the team's overall performance level. The AAW Team Performance Index (ATPI) provides a systematic, consistent, and objective measurement approach linked to specific exercise events. The development and use of the ATPI are described.”

p. 136-140

Klute, Glenn K. and Rodriguez, Albert (1992): Test and Evaluation of a Zero-G Treadmill Restraint System. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. pp. 136-140.

“Manned spaceflight missions result in human exposure to reduced gravity environments, during which the human body undergoes some pronounced physiological changes. Exercise has been identified as a practical and operationally acceptable countermeasure to the physiological responses to "zero-gravity". At the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's Johnson Space Center, a new treadmill is under development for use on Shuttle flights. One of the main challenges of this project is the development of an effective restraint system. The restraint system must place a body weight load on the subject while the subject exercises in zero-gravity. Additionally, the restraint system must allow the subject to exercise in zero-gravity at various percent grades (treadmill slopes). This paper discusses the restraint system of a prototype treadmill and zero-gravity test results. The results indicate the manually operated, prototype restraint system has some limitations and that a real-time feedback system utilizing a servo operated adjustment mechanism would significantly enhance performance.”

p. 1361-1362

Griffith, Doug, Ruck, Hank, Converse, Sharolyn A., Smith, Philip J. and Brock, John (1992): Training and Human Factors: Implications for Work Force Competitiveness & National Educational Problems. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. pp. 1361-1362.

“This panel discussion will examine the proposition that the field of human factors has technology relevant to two national problems: work force competitiveness and education. Specific examples of relevant technology will be presented and discussed.”

p. 1363-1367

Venturino, Michael and Geiselman, Eric (1992): Quantifying the Goodness of Mental Representations of Spatial Relationships. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. pp. 1363-1367.

“A fundamental purpose of a display format is to allow the human operator to construct and maintain an accurate representation of reality. In order for display designers to know how to portray spatial information, one must understand how humans represent and use spatial relationships. The purpose of this study was to determine the effective use of four different types of spatial display formats in the performance of a spatial discrimination task. Forty subjects initially viewed a display portraying simulated radar returns representing the relative position of two other aircraft (in formation), and then chose which of two spatial alternatives portrayed the true spatial relationship viewed previously. Results showed that subjects' ability to discriminate between the spatial alternatives was adversely affected by the type of display format used, and the degree of distortion of the true spatial relationships. The results are interpreted in terms of the resolution of one's mental representation of spatial relationships.”

p. 1368-1372

Dror, Itiel E. (1992): Visual Mental Rotation: Different Processes Used by Pilots. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. pp. 1368-1372.

“Air Force pilots and control subjects were tested on a visual "mental rotation" task. Nine of the 16 pilots, as well as all of the 16 control subjects, required more time to rotate greater angular distances. The performance of the other 7 pilots was unique: their response time did not increase with greater angular rotations. The results suggest that visual mental rotation can be accomplished by at least two different processes. One process involves incremental object rotations in a multi-step mapping -- like an actual physical rotation of an object -- going through intermediate stages. This process requires more time to rotate greater angular distances. The other process involves direct translation in a single-step mapping. In this process, the starting position transforms into the final position in one mapping without any intermediate steps, and thus does not require more time to rotate greater angular rotation. The lack of intermediate stages, which may allow small perturbations in location to be corrected, affects the accuracy of this process; this is particularly apparent when more complex stimuli are rotated. The pilots who did not show incremental rotation effects had different and distinct error patterns, their errors increased when rotating the more complex stimuli.”

p. 1373-1377

Aretz, Anthony J. (1992): Perceptual Skill and the Cerebral Hemispheres. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. pp. 1373-1377.

“The purpose of this experiment was to determine if there is a relationship between the development of a perceptual skill and the visual field of presentation for verbal and spatial stimuli. Subjects performed an extended practice Sternberg task in which targets were presented in either the left visual field (LVP) or right visual field (RVF). Both verbal (letters) and spatial (3x3 grid patterns) stimuli were used. The results indicated that visual field was not a significant factor for simple verbal stimuli. However, there was an initial LVF, or right hemisphere (RH), advantage for spatial stimuli that switched to a RVF, or left hemisphere (LH), advantage after a skill develops. These data support an analytic role for the LH, which may be the focus for feature detection expertise. Another finding was that individual differences in cerebral dominance may influence the development of perceptual skill. Together these data shed light on possible biological constraints of human information processing models.”

p. 1378-1382

Caird, J. K. and Hancock, P. A. (1992): Perception of Oncoming Vehicle Time-to-Arrival. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. pp. 1378-1382.

“An experiment was conducted in a fixed-base driving simulator which manipulated the time-to-arrival (T{sub:a}) of an oncoming vehicle, the viewing distance to that vehicle and the type of oncoming vehicle to determine the perceptual basis for a left-turn decision. Forty-eight participants were randomly assigned to a group where either a motorcycle, a compact car, a full-size car, or delivery truck represented the oncoming vehicle. There were an equal number of participants of each gender in the four groups. As T{sub:a} was increased, underestimation of vehicle arrival time also increased. Significant main effects were found for T{sub:a}, gender of participants, vehicle type, and viewing distance, and for interactions for gender x T{sub:a} and gender x vehicle type. Males and females differed in their accuracy of judgments for vehicle types, where males were more accurate in estimating the arrival of delivery vans and motorcycles than their female peers. The pattern of results for the size of the approach vehicle were consistent with a margin-of-safety explanation which argues that driver underestimation of the arrival times of larger vehicles generally allows larger margins-of-safety than for smaller vehicles. The importance of these findings for the development of advanced in-vehicle collision avoidance and warning systems is briefly considered.”

p. 1383-1387

Uhlarik, John and Joseph, Kurt M. (1992): Spatial and Temporal (RAPCOM) Visual Display Formats and the Proximity Compatibility Principle. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. pp. 1383-1387.

“RAPCOM (rapid communication) displays involve temporal presentation of information in the same spatial location and have been suggested to have useful potential for human-computer interactions involving high information transfer rates (cf., Matin and Boff, 1988). An experiment was conducted to evaluate the relative effectiveness of various spatial and temporal display formats for presenting information pertaining to the likelihood of aircraft stall using the simulated dynamics of a light aircraft. Specific spatial and temporal characteristics of the display formats were based on the proximity compatibility principle (PCP) which attempts to integrate findings regarding the benefits and limitations of displaying multiple sources of information in similar or "proximal" ways (Wickens and Andre, 1990; Carswell and Wickens, 1990). The effectiveness of these display formats were compared for judgments which required the integration of three display parameters (airspeed, bank, and flap angle) to determine stall probability with those requiring focused attention necessitating the recall of the specific value of one of the parameters. For the complex monitoring task used in this experiment, temporal display formats were generally associated with the most accurate performance. Furthermore, the overall pattern of results was not consistent with design guidelines suggested by the PCP, and suggest difficulties when attempting to define "proximity" in terms of physical metrics based on spatial or temporal parameters.”

p. 1388-1392

Joseph, Kurt M. and Uhlarik, John (1992): The Effects of Legibility and Display Size on Performance for RAPCOM and Spatial Display Formats. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. pp. 1388-1392.

“Information formatting in terms of optimal spatial and temporal parameters has become an important issue with the advent of computer automated displays. One temporal format involving sequential presentation of information, termed RAPCOM (for rapid communication; cf., Matin and Boff, 1988), has the potential to increase performance in situations involving high information transfer rates. The present study investigated the relative contributions of two spatial parameters comparing RAPCOM with more conventional spatial formats involving simultaneous presentation of information. The parameters of character size and spatial separation were examined because they are important determinants of display legibility and visual search, respectively. Performance was assessed in terms of speed and accuracy for a task that required observers to recall integers presented in either an analog or digital format. The findings showed that accuracy performance decreased as the information became spatially separated. Specifically, RAPCOM formats produced the best performance and the large spatial separation the worst performance. A different pattern of results was obtained for character size, depending on whether the display indicators were analog or digital. For analog dials, character size had no systematic effect on performance. However, for digital dials, character size produced an interaction in that the fastest and most accurate performance of all conditions was associated with the spatial format consisting of large characters and small spatial separation. In other words, under conditions associated with high legibility and relatively low visual search, more traditional spatial formats exceeded performance levels associated with the RAPCOM format. These findings are relevant for designers when trying to evaluate the relative merits inherent in spatial versus temporal display formats.”

p. 1393-1397

Hollands, J. G. (1992): Alignment, Scaling, and Size Effects in Discrimination of Graphical Elements. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. pp. 1393-1397.

“Recent work in graphical perception has attempted to identify the mental operations used by an observer when extracting information from a graphical display (e.g., Hollands and Spence, in press; Simkin and Hastie, 1987). The current research varied the alignment, scaling, and size of proportions shown in pie charts and divided bar graphs. Subjects were required to discriminate between two proportions (i.e., which proportion is larger?), each shown relative to its own whole. Response times and errors were measured. Results from Experiment 1 show that for both pies and divided bars, the time penalty for discriminating unaligned proportions was dependent on the size difference between the two proportions, with a greater penalty with a smaller percent difference. Results from Experiment 2 show that different scaling slowed subjects considerably, especially when the size difference was small, and especially with divided bars. The results are interpreted in terms of hypothesized alignment, scaling, and discrimination operations. The practical implications for graphical design are also discussed.”

p. 1398-1402

Tsang, Pamela S. and Shaner, Tonya L. (1992): Does Secondary Task Measure Outcome Conflict or Resource Allocation?. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. pp. 1398-1402.

“The secondary task technique was used to test two alternative explanations of dual task decrement: outcome conflict and resource allocation. Subjects time-shared a continuous tracking task and a discrete Sternberg memory task. The memory probes were presented under three temporal predictability conditions. Dual task performance decrements in both the tracking and memory tasks suggested that the two tasks competed for some common resources, processes, or mechanisms. Although performance decrements were consistent with both the outcome conflict and resource allocation explanations, the two explanations propose different mechanisms by which the primary task could be protected from interference from the concurrent secondary task. The primary task performance could be protected by resource allocation or by strategic sequencing of the processing of the two tasks in order to avoid outcome conflict. In addition to examining the global trial means, moment-by-moment tracking error time-locked to the memory probe was also analyzed. There was little indication that the primary task was protected by resequencing of the processing of the two tasks. This together with the suggestion that predictable memory probes led to better protected primary task performance than less predictable memory probes lend support for the resource explanation.”

p. 1403-1407

Velazquez, Velma L. and Tsang, Pamela S. (1992): Is Performance Tradeoff an Experimental Artifact?. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. pp. 1403-1407.

“The purpose of the present study was to examine the utility of the resource notion, which is the basis for the secondary task technique of workload assessment. The unbiased optimum-maximum method proposed by Navon (1984) was used to manipulate task priority without conveying to the subjects that time-shared performance must tradeoff. Three task pairs that fell on a continuum of degree of shared resources were tested. The data showed that performance tradeoff is not an experimental artifact. Moreover, the data suggested that increased degree of shared resources led to increased resource allocation optimality and decreased time-sharing efficiency, as predicted by multiple resource theories. The present data suggests that resource theories are useful in explaining dual task performance, and that the secondary task can be a useful workload assessment tool.”

p. 1408-1412

Martin-Emerson, Robin and Wickens, Christopher D. (1992): The Vertical Visual Field and Implications for the Head-Up Display. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. pp. 1408-1412.

“The present study evaluated dual-task performance as a function of the vertical separation between a tracking task and a discrete-response task, to provide data relevant to the positioning of aircraft head-up display (HUD) information. The data were consistent with Sanders' (1970) research on visual scanning where a nonlinear decrease in performance as a function of the horizontal separation between two displays was observed. Performance is equivalent across a range of visual angles from superimposition to 6.4{deg} vertical separation between displays. The cost to performance is increased for moderate vertical separations (9.6{deg} to 22.5{deg}) where visual scanning is required. At larger separations, the performance cost increases linearly with visual angle, where head movements may begin to supplement eye movements in order to access information. The function which describes the cost of vertical separation was observed to be larger at both small and moderate visual angles when the information in the two displays required integration. The data suggest that nonconformal HUD information may be placed a few degrees down from a superimposed position without a significant performance loss.”

p. 141-145

Turner, Marilyn L. (1992): Memory Performance as a Function of Age, Reattribution Training and Type of Mnemonic Strategy Training. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. pp. 141-145.

“This experiment investigated whether mnemonic strategy training, occurring over a two-month period, would result in improved memory performance when combined with reattribution training. It was also hypothesized that the old and young may differ in their ability to perform nonverbal and verbal mnemonics. Therefore, age-related differences in memory performance were investigated as a function of whether the mnemonic was verbal (Alphabet Search Method) or non-verbal (Method of Loci), and whether or not reattribution training was combined with mnemonic training. Subjects were 34 old (Mean age = 69.5) and 34 young (Mean age = 22.8) adults. Memory performance was measured on the California Verbal Learning Test, the Nelson-Denny Vocabulary Test, the Beck Depression Inventory and four memory span tasks, prior and following a two-month period of weekly mnemonic strategy training sessions. A third of the subjects were trained with the Method of Loci, a third with Alphabet Search, and the remaining third served as the waitlist control group. In addition, half the young and old subjects from each mnemonic group did, and half did not, participate in a reattribution training workshop. Results clearly showed that mnemonic strategy training was useful for the old and young. However, the combination of reattribution and mnemonic strategy training only enhanced old, not young, memory scores when the type of strategy required verbal skills (Alphabet Search). The implication was that mnemonic strategy training may be more effective for the old if combined with reattribution training, and, if the mnemonic requires verbal rather than non-verbal skills.”

p. 1413-1417

Backs, Richard W. and Ryan, Arthur M. (1992): Multimodal Measures of Mental Workload during Dual-Task Performance: Energetic Demands of Cognitive Processes. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. pp. 1413-1417.

“Fifteen male volunteers participated in a dual-task study in which the central processing load of visual memory and tracking tasks and the physical load of the tracking task were orthogonally manipulated to produce varying levels of task difficulty. Multiple modes of assessment were used to measure mental workload (MWL) across difficulty levels, including: performance, subjective, cardiovascular, and metabolic. To our knowledge, this study is the first to demonstrate metabolic change with manipulations of cognitive task difficulty; others have found only baseline-to-task changes. The relation of the metabolic demands of the task to central processing resource utilization provided support for a structural energetic model of attention that may help to explain measure dissociations. The results of the present study indicated that heart period was only sensitive to central manipulations of task difficulty that affected energetic resources. Performance and subjective MWL were sensitive to all cognitive components of the tasks. We suggest that cardiovascular measures will associate with other measures only when the manipulations of task difficulty require energetic adjustment, and would expect these measures to dissociate when energetic adjustment is not required.”

p. 1418-1419

Doll, Theodore J. (1992): Visual Target Acquisition: Bridging the Gap from Vision Research to Applied Models. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. pp. 1418-1419.

“The purpose of this symposium is to provide a forum for technical exchanges between vision researchers and those interested in visual target acquisition. The symposium will also introduce those in the audience who are not specialists in these areas to important concepts from modern vision research, and provide an introduction to models of visual target acquisition. These topics play an important role in many applications in which human factors specialists are called upon to provide inputs (e.g., computer graphics, image quality, aviation displays, camouflage). However, information on these topics is not readily available. Few reports on visual target acquisition modeling have been published in the open literature, and the topic is not covered in most human factors texts. Basic vision research and linear-systems models are available in the open literature, but this material requires considerable background before it can be used effectively. This, in fact, is probably the major reason why there has been little communication between the applied community and vision researchers to date. This symposium will help to remedy this problem, and encourage the transfer of knowledge from those involved in basic research to those concerned mainly with applications.”

p. 1420-1424

Doll, Theodore J., McWhorter, Shane W. and Schmieder, David E. (1992): Visual Search and Detection in Background Clutter. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. pp. 1420-1424.

“Two traditions of vision modeling have coexisted for many years with little or no transfer of information between them. Those interested in models of visual target acquisition for real-world scenarios have developed engineering models, which are essentially empirical summaries of visual performance data. On the other hand, basic researchers in visual psychophysics and neurophysiology have developed quantitative models of pattern perception. The basic research models have increased in generality and scope to the point that they are potentially powerful tools for addressing certain real-world needs that have recently come to the fore. The needs include quantitative, theory-based methods for evaluating target signatures, effects of background clutter, and observer false alarm rates. This paper reviews the shortcomings of existing target acquisition models, and reports work in progress to develop an improved model of target acquisition that incorporates a model of pattern perception from basic vision research.”

p. 1425-1429

Birkmire, Deborah P., Karsh, Robert, Barnette, B. Diane and Pillalamarri, Ramakrishna (1992): Target Acquisition in Cluttered Environments. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. pp. 1425-1429.

“The relationship of human target acquisition times and detection probabilities to electronically measured visual clutter was investigated. Ninety computer-generated scenes simulating infrared imagery and containing different levels of clutter and zero, one, two, or three targets were produced. Targets were embedded in these scenes counterbalancing for range and position. Global and local clutter were measured using both statistical variance and probability of edge metrics. Thirty-three aviators, tankers, and infantry soldiers were shown still-video images of the 90 scenes and were instructed to search for targets. Analyses indicate differences between the aviators and tankers in search times and types of errors. Results of multiple regression analyses of global clutter, local clutter, range, target dimension, target complexity, number of targets, and experience on search times are given and discussed in terms search strategies.”

p. 1430-1434

Cannon, Mark W. (1992): A Model of Mechanisms Mediating Spatial Pattern Perception. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. pp. 1430-1434.

“A model consisting of multiple tuned and oriented spatial filters followed by non-linear transducer functions is described. The model was originally derived to account for human perception of contrast while viewing isolated stimuli. The model can also account for human estimates for the image sharpness of spatially filtered real world scenes. The model has several shortcomings uncovered by recent experimental results involving suppression of the apparent contrast of a foveally presented grating patch by a peripheral grating.”

p. 1435-1439

Kosnik, William (1992): Controlling Contrast in Target Acquisition Simulations Involving Complex Backgrounds. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. pp. 1435-1439.

“Visual target acquisition (TA) often involves detecting targets against natural backgrounds that have complex luminance distributions. The purpose of this study was to evaluate a simple technique that controls target contrast in the presence of varying backgrounds. Target contrast was measured by the root mean square (rms) method and was controlled by adjusting only the target luminance, leaving the background unchanged. The technique was tested in a TA paradigm in which observers searched for an aircraft that was embedded in 1) a uniform background, 2) a natural terrain background, or 3) a moving natural terrain background. Four target contrast levels were tested. The results showed that TA time varied with background and target contrast. Significant differences in TA time were observed among the different backgrounds for targets of the same physical contrast, especially at low contrast levels. Although contrast had a systematic effect on TA performance, factors other than contrast influenced TA performance. It was concluded that background structure increased TA time by camouflaging targets and by introducing distractors to the task. Such an approach could be used to model TA performance under conditions where target and background complexity are an inherent feature of the TA task.”

p. 1440-1444

Swartz, Merryanna, Wallace, Daniel and Tkacz, Sharon (1992): The Influence of Frame Rate and Resolution Reduction on Human Performance. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. pp. 1440-1444.

“Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) are used to conduct a variety of reconnaissance missions with human operators interpreting the transmitted imagery at ground stations. Current UAV data link designs require limited capacity which will result in a cost to the operator. Two common techniques to reduce video data rates exist, data compression and simple data reduction such as lowering of frame rate and resolution. The objective of this research was to determine the degree to which data volume can be reduced in terms of frame rate, spatial and grey-scale resolution, while retaining sufficient information to support human performance. Two studies were conducted to examine the influence of frame rate, resolution, and compression trade-offs. Experiment I utilized real mission imagery to assess operator performance in target detection, recognition, and designation. Experiment II used a simulation with dynamically manipulated UAV parameters to assess the influence of frame rate and resolution on target designation and tracking. Results indicate that frame rate has a greater influence than resolution on human performance in all four tasks. Overall, operators can perform tasks at rates reduced to 4 frames per second. Half resolution over the total display does not adversely affect performance except in recognition tasks. When resolution is calculated as a function of dynamically-controlled UAV parameters, 8 TV lines across the target appears to result in the best performance; however, these data are not as consistent as those in Experiment I.”

p. 1445-1449

Benel, Russell A. and Benel, Denise C. R. (1992): Influence of Background Appearance on Visual Accommodation. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. pp. 1445-1449.

“Many experimental and real-world viewing situations provide a context in which the target stimulus is displayed against a background set at a different but determinate distance. Conversely, other situations occur where the background distance is indeterminate, i.e., a textureless background. There has been evidence accumulating over the past two decades to suggest that the assumption of accurate visual accommodation will not be sustained under all these circumstances. Although earlier assumptions held that the centrally located stimulus would determine the level of accommodation, this experiment tests that assumption by varying the cues to background distance (well-textured, lighted, distant background and the same background unilluminated) and the distance to the target stimulus. Two groups of six participants observed targets (2 deg.) at six distances (0.9, 1.8, 3.7, 7.3, 14.6 and 29.3 m) and their visual accommodation was measured with a laser optometer. Results indicated that the group viewing the visible distant background evidenced a more distant accommodative response with the typical lag of accommodation. These results indicate that conditions of accommodation in the natural environment may have a profound effect on accommodative accuracy. In turn, this inaccuracy has been shown by others to correlate with inaccuracies in the perception of size and distance. Inaccurate accommodation has been found to delay target detection appreciably as well. Ameliorative approaches are discussed.”

p. 1450-1454

Geiselman, Eric E. and Osgood, Robert K. (1992): A Comparison of Three Attitude Display Symbology Structures during an Attitude Maintenance Task. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. pp. 1450-1454.

“The present study evaluated a new aircraft attitude display concept. The new symbology format, or Theta display, was developed by integrating the features of the conventional attitude/direction indicator (ADI) and head-up attitude reference display (HUD) into a single format. Number of trials to reach a specific performance criterion and tracking performance were collected as dependent variables on an attitude maintenance task. The results show that performance and training time were better with both the Theta display and the ADI than with the HUD. The findings support the hypothesis that an attitude display formed of the integration of ADI and HUD symbology will demonstrate a performance benefit over a pure HUD format.”

p. 146-150

Cooper, Brian P., Lee, Mark D., Goska, Robert E., Anderson, Marjo M., Gay, Jr. Paul E., Fickes, Lynne Ann and Fisk, Arthur D. (1992): Age-Related Effects in Consistent Memory Search: Performance is the Same but What about Learning?. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. pp. 146-150.

“Two experiments were conducted to investigate the mechanisms which underlie the learning in consistently mapped (CM) memory search. In Experiment 1, old and young adults were trained in both CM and variably mapped (VM) category search. The training results replicate previous findings by Fisk and Rogers (1991). Even though older adults are initially at a disadvantage relative to young adults, the comparison times of young and old adults are near zero after CM training. For VM, older adults remain at a disadvantage relative to younger adults, even after extensive training. A full reversal manipulation was implemented in Experiment 2 to investigate the learning in memory search. Initially, the young subjects were less affected by the full reversal condition compared to the performance of the older adults. However, older subjects quickly recovered and both young and old were performing at trained CM levels within 60 trials of additional practice. These results suggest: (a) attention is not being trained in CM memory search; (b) automatic category activation does not contribute much, if at all, to the performance improvement in memory search; and (c) age-invariant learning mechanisms account for performance improvement in CM memory search.”

p. 1460-1463

Nutter, Elizabeth H. and Converse, Sharolyn A. (1992): Analogue and Digital Displays for the Detect, Diagnose, and Correct Phases in Fault Management. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. pp. 1460-1463.

“Performance effects of using different display information formats for the detect, diagnose and correct task components of fault management were evaluated in this preliminary study. Data for accuracy and response times were collected for a detect task, a detect and diagnose task, and a detect, diagnose and correct task across three levels of display information format. Levels of display information format included a digital format, an analogue format, and a combined (digital and analogue) format. Predictions for the appropriate level of display information format for the fault mangement tasks were based on the multiple information format concept. In general, the results obtained in this study failed to support the predictions of the multiple information format concept.”

p. 1464-1468

Nugent, William A. and Broyles, James W. (1992): Assessment of Graphics and Text Formats for System Status Displays. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. pp. 1464-1468.

“This study compared the relative effectiveness of three computer-based formats for displaying Navy system status data. Response speed and accuracy data were collected for each format on four tasks typically performed in a shipboard Combat Information Center (CIC). The three presentation formats were character readout (CRO), text-only, and text-graphics. Results showed the text-only and text-graphics formats produced faster, more accurate performance than the CRO on count and compare tasks; however, no reliable performance differences were found between presentation formats for identify and criterion tasks. Predictions concerning an advantage for the text-graphics format over the text-only format on certain types of tasks were not supported by the study findings. The practical applications and design implications of these findings are discussed.”

p. 1469-1473

Gopher, Daniel, Kimchi, Ruth, Seagull, F. Jacob, Catz, Irit and Trainin, Ori (1992): Flying with Dichoptic Displays: The Interplay between Display Characteristics and Attention Control. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. pp. 1469-1473.

“Interest in the study of attention control under dichoptic conditions is instigated by the contemporary development of night-vision systems based on single-eye helmet-mounted displays. Two experiments were conducted to investigate the concurrent performance of a tracking task and letter classification under dichoptic display conditions. Subjects were required to fly a simulated helicopter path while classifying letter pairs presented intermittently. Experimental instructions in Experiment A specifically emphasized a two-dimensional interpretation of the visual field. Under these instructions, the presentation of a common visual axis to the two eyes provided by the flight-tunnel did not aid subjects, and their performance deteriorated in dichoptic conditions. In Experiment B, the instructions to subjects were changed to advocate a three-dimensional interpretation of the display. Under these instructions, dichoptic performance-levels were substantially improved when the tunnel was present. These results imply that the presence of a common visual axis is not automatically beneficial. In order to improve performance, attention should be intentionally directed to utilize information supporting a three-dimensional frame of mind. These findings have important implications for understanding the dynamics of performance with single-eye helmet-mounted displays, and the training of pilots in their use.”

p. 1474-1478

Hughes, Kelly L. (1992): Appropriate Ambient Illumination and Pupillary Dilation for Calibration of an Eyegaze Response Interface Computer Aid. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. pp. 1474-1478.

“The illumination and pupillary dilation requirements for calibration on an eyegaze response interface computer aid (ERICA) were studied. The purpose of this study was to determine whether decreases in ambient illumination level would facilitate calibration and increase the probability of use by subjects. Monocular versus binocular calibration was also studied to determine whether the occlusion of one eye would cause the pupil of the other to dilate, therefore allowing the use of a higher level of illumination during calibration. Twenty subjects (10 monocular and 10 binocular) were tested at four ambient illumination levels (10, 50, 100, and 210 lux) in both ascending and descending orders of presentation. Analyses of frequency and pupil diameter data revealed a statistically significant increase in calibration at lower levels of illumination. An increased frequency of calibration for monocular (versus binocular) viewing conditions was also found.”

p. 1479-1482

Trautman, Edward and Moskal, Patrick (1992): Display Viewing Distance Preferences for Two Structural Configurations. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. pp. 1479-1482.

“This investigation was conducted to more fully define the physical characteristics of individuals engaged in ordinary reading tasks. Eye to display viewing distances were measured for subjects reading from both a handheld configuration and from a structurally fixed configuration which approximated an electronic display. Estimates of each subject's resting point accommodation were also obtained and compared to observed viewing distances. Findings revealed significant differences between handheld and fixed configuration displays. Relationships between display viewing distance and resting point accommodation were not apparent. The resting posture of accommodation and seated posture are discussed as potential contributors to determination of viewing distance preferences.”

p. 1483-1487

Hoffmann, Errol, Mannering, Sean and Schoner, Simon (1992): Response Time as a Measure of Compatibility for Linear Displays with Rotary Controls. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. pp. 1483-1487.

“Forty subjects responded to a set of 64 different combinations of linear displays and rotary controls presented by photographic slides. The subject's task was to rotate a control to increase the numerical value on the display. It was expected that response time for an arrangement having a strong stereotype would be faster than one with a weaker stereotype. Data showed there a strong relationship between these two measures of compatibility for horizontal displays with controls either on the top or bottom of the display; there was no significant relationship for any of the vertical layouts. Comparing horizontal and vertical displays, the average response times were 1.25 and 1.55 seconds and average stereotype strengths were .86 and .73, respectively. Thus on both criteria, horizontal displays were superior to vertical displays. Response time was found to be dependent on the magnitude of the component principle making the greatest contribution to the strength of the overall stereotype. In the case of horizontal displays this was the clockwise-to-right principle; for vertical displays it was Warrick's principle or, if this was not applicable, the scale-side principle.”

p. 1488-1492

Schmidt, Jeffrey and Elvers, Greg C. (1992): The Influence of Color, Closure and Correlation on Integral and Separable Performance with Object Displays. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. pp. 1488-1492.

“Three variables were manipulated in an attempt to determine the conditions of optimal performance using object-like displays. Uniquely color coding the vertices of the object did not appear to cause a significant change in separate or integral task accuracy. The introduction of a display based on the Gestalt law of closure in which the middle third of each side of the object was removed improved separate task accuracy relative to the object display. Separate task accuracy for the closure display was not as good as the bar display. Integration task accuracy was not harmed by this manipulation. The validity of the emergent feature for information integration was manipulated. Lower levels of validity reduce integration task accuracy for all displays equally. Thus, if information integration is the operator's primary task, display designers should consider using the closure display in place of the object display. The usefulness of both object and closure displays may be limited since the emergent feature may be less than 100% valid for the information integration task in many real world situations. This is due to constraints in the geometry of object displays.”

p. 1493-1497

Converse, Sharolyn A., Kozar, Sandra and Batten, David (1992): Color Coding to Facilitate Performance of Focused Attention Tasks with Object Displays. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. pp. 1493-1497.

“A study was performed to test the hypothesis that color coding can be used to enhance the speed and accuracy of performance on a focused attention task when object displays are employed. Subjects performed both a focused attention and an integration task while viewing a rectangle display that represented the readings of four system parameters. The object displays were presented to subjects in one of four color coding conditions: (1) monochrome; (2) parameter type; (3) parameter state; or (4) system state. Study results indicated that the system state color code significantly reduced integration task response time without degrading integration task accuracy. For the focused attention task, there was no significant difference between monochrome and the remaining color code conditions for either response time or accuracy.”

p. 1498-1502

Carswell, C. Melody and Emery, Cathy (1992): Effects of Stimulus Complexity and Cognitive Style on Spontaneous Interpretations of Line Graphs. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. pp. 1498-1502.

“Thirty adult subjects studied each of eighteen single-function line graphs for self-determined periods. The structural complexity of the stimulus graphs was varied in three ways: through addition of data points, reversal of trends, and elimination of symmetry. Subjects provided written interpretations immediately following examination of each graph. Indirect indices of comprehensibility (i.e., increased graph study times and increased content in the written interpretations) suggested that trend reversals were the primary determinant of complexity. While the number of data points and the presence or absence of symmetry were not associated with longer study times or greater overall content production, varying these structural features did lead to strategic shifts in the interpretive emphasis on global versus local features of the graphically-displayed data. Specifically, the presence of symmetry or the addition of data points led to increases in global content and decreases in local content. Lastly, cognitive style of subjects was systematically related to graphical interpretation. Impulsive subjects were less likely than reflective subjects to interpret local features of the graph, and were also less sensitive to variation in structural characteristics.”

p. 1503-1507

Mitchell, Jennifer A. and Biers, David W. (1992): Decision Statistic Mapping and Number of Information Dimensions on Decision Making with Graphical Displays. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. pp. 1503-1507.

“This study sought to: (1) analytically separate the components of a graphical display which contributed to performance on integrated and separable tasks; and (2) determine the effect of the number of dimensions of information which had to be integrated. To that end, the study employed a 7 X 3 mixed design with seven displays manipulated between-subjects and the number of information dimensions (three, six, and nine) manipulated within-subjects. The seven displays examined included two bar graphs (non-object and object formats), two midline displays (non-object and object formats), a direct graphical display, and two numerical displays (numerical separable and numerical integrative). Based upon propositions generated from emergent feature theory, the ability to integrate information in these displays should be a function of the faithfulness, saliency, and directness of mapping the decision statistic onto the display. Results indicated that the displays which directly represented the integrated decision, the numerical integrative and the direct graphical displays, resulted in the best performance. Intermediate performance was obtained on those displays (i.e. the object bar graph, the non-object midline, and the object midline) which incorporated faithfulness, saliency, or both, respectively. The worst performance on the integrated task was exhibited for those displays (i.e. the numerical separable and the non-object bar) which did not represent directness, faithfulness, or saliency. For both the integrated and separable tasks, accuracy increased as the number of information dimensions increased. The unexpected direction of this effect was attributed to subjects' investing more resources in performing the task at the six or nine cue levels due to the perceived increase in difficulty of the task.”

p. 1508-1512

Scerbo, Mark W., Greenwald, Catherine Q. and Sawin, David A. (1992): Vigilance: It's Boring, It's Difficult, and I Can't Do Anything About It. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. pp. 1508-1512.

“The present study was designed to examine the role of boredom, perceived mental workload, and perceived control in vigilance. Subjective estimates of boredom and mental workload were measured before and after a 40 minute vigil during which movements of a computer mouse were monitored. In addition, subjects were administered Rotter's (1966) locus of control inventory. Subjects who made progressively more movements over time reported the highest levels of boredom and workload. In addition, the subjects with the highest performance levels were the most cautious in their responding, had an internal locus of control, and tended to experience less frustration. Significant, positive correlations were also observed between the boredom and workload scores suggesting that boredom may be an important contributor to mental workload in sustained attention.”

p. 151-155

Babcock, Renee L. (1992): An Examination of the Adult Age Differences on the Raven's Advanced Progressive Matrices. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. pp. 151-155.

“The purpose of the current project was to examine the nature of the age-related differences on the Raven's Advanced Progressive Matrices (APM). Three components were hypothesized to be involved in correctly solving the APM problems. These included a rule-identification component, a rule-application component (involving a one-rule spatial transformation), and a rule-coordination component. The project was designed to examine the influence of each of the hypothesized components on the age-related variance on the APM. Two tests presumed to measure each hypothesized component were presented to 183 adults between the ages of 21 and 83. Hierarchical regression analyses indicated that although all of the hypothesized components accounted for a significant amount of the variance on the APM (approximately 50% each), only performance on the tasks measuring rule application accounted for a unique proportion of the age-related variance on the APM. Implications of the results in regards to following symbolic instructions in assembly of objects and in driving are discussed.”

p. 1513-1517

Becker, Ami B., Warm, Joel S., Dember, William N., Sparnall, JoAnn, DeRonde, Laura and Hancock, Peter A. (1992): Effects of Aircraft Noise on Vigilance Performance and Perceived Workload. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. pp. 1513-1517.

“This study examined the effects of exposure to intermittent jet aircraft noise played through stereophonic speakers (70dBA or 95dBA maximum intensity) on performance efficiency and perceived workload in a 40-min visual vigilance task. The noise featured a Doppler-like quality in which planes seemed to approach from the monitor's left and recede to the right. Performance in noise, measured in terms of perceptual sensitivity (d'), was significantly poorer than in a quiet condition. Moreover, in comparison to subjects performing in quiet, those who operated in noise were less able to profit from knowledge of results (KR) regarding performance efficiency. In addition to its negative effects upon signal detectability, noise significantly elevated perceived workload, as indexed by the NASA-TLX. This effect was robust; it was not mitigated by KR, even though KR served generally to reduce the overall level of perceived workload in the study. The consistency of the effects of noise in regard to both performance efficiency and perceived workload challenges a recent conclusion offered by Koelega and Brinkman (1986) that lawful relations are not observable in studies of the effects of noise on vigilant behavior.”

p. 1518-1521

Molloy, Robert and Parasuraman, Raja (1992): Monitoring Automation Failures: Effects of Automation Reliability and Task Complexity. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. pp. 1518-1521.

“Two studies examined the effects of automation reliability and task complexity on the monitoring of automation failures during performance of a flight-simulation task. In the first study, 24 students performed tracking and resource management tasks while an automation routine monitored for system malfunctions over four 30-minute sessions. Detection of automation failures was significantly higher for variable reliability automation (mean = 81.6%) than for constant reliability automation (mean = 32.7%), indicating that constant-reliability automation induced complacency in monitoring. The effect of automation reliability was eliminated when 16 more subjects were required to complete the monitoring task only. Neither group of subjects exhibited a vigilance decrement. In the second study monitoring performance and vigilance decrement were examined for a situation in which only one automation failure occurred during a session. 36 students were randomly assigned to one of three task groups: simple (visual discrimination task), single-complex (monitoring only) or multi-complex (tracking, resource management, and monitoring). In both the simple and the multi-complex tasks, more subjects detected the automation failure in the first ten minutes of a session than in the last ten minutes of a session (67%-17% and 75%-42% respectively). Subjects in the single-complex condition detected the automation failure equally well in both time periods (92%-83%). The results point to two areas of potential costs in the automation of a task: (1) constant patterns of automation reliability can lead to inefficiency in monitoring automation failures, and (2) infrequent automation failures in multi-task conditions can lead to a vigilance decrement. While these costs should not prohibit the implementation of automation, they should be considered in the design of any automated system.”

p. 1522-1525

Effken, Judith A., Kim, Nam-Gyoon, Kadar, Endre and Shaw, Robert E. (1992): Enhancing Computer Displays to Support Coordination of Hemodynamic Monitoring and Treatment. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. pp. 1522-1525.

“Although the amount of clinical data available through critical care monitoring systems has steadily increased, little integration of that data occurs. Consequently, higher order relationships cannot be obtained directly. An ecological psychology approach to display design that attempts to reduce the cognitive load for the clinician by directly displaying the functional relationships between parameters is compared with a traditional approach in a monitoring and control task. Analysis of performance by Critical and Non-Critical Care Nurses and Novices suggests that the integrated display facilitates performance for all groups.”

p. 156-160

Boyer, Douglas L., Pollack, Jay G. and Eggemeier, F. Thomas (1992): Effects of Aging on Subjective Workload and Performance. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. pp. 156-160.

“Demographics indicate that the population in the United States and other industrialized nations is growing older, and that the number of older workers and systems users can be expected to increase substantially over the next several decades. In order to assess possible differences between age groups the mental workload experienced by older adults as compared to that experienced by younger adults was investigated. Two tasks were utilized to assess short term memory (continuous recognition) and psychomotor (first-order unstable tracking) performance. The workload of each task was assessed with the Subjective Workload Assessment Technique (SWAT). Memory task performance measures and subjective workload ratings indicated a decrement in performance and an increase in workload for the older group relative to the younger group. Psychomotor task performance measures and subjective workload ratings indicated no difference between the age groups. It is hypothesized that the memory task makes greater demands on central processing resources than the psychomotor task used in this study. In support of this hypothesis, an analysis of the changes in ratings on the individual SWAT dimensions of time, mental effort and psychological stress revealed that an increase occurred only on the mental effort dimension for the memory task. This study implies that designers should 1) reduce or provide design features that lessen memory laden task performance for older workers, and 2) give more weight to the reduction of central processing resource requirements in trade-off studies.”

p. 166-170

Ranney, Thomas A. and Simmons, Lucinda A. S. (1992): The Effects of Age and Target Location Uncertainty on Decision Making in a Simulated Driving Task. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. pp. 166-170.

“Spatial localization has been identified as an age-sensitive process in selective attention. Because visual search in driving involves uncertainty concerning the location of information necessary for maneuvering decisions, an experiment was conducted to examine the effects of age and target location uncertainty on a simulated driving task. Seventeen younger subjects (aged 30 to 45 years) and 13 older subjects (aged 65 to 75 years) completed three tasks including two reaction-time tasks and a simulated driving task. The reaction-time tasks included three conditions (simple left, simple right, and two-choice) in a laboratory and in a stationary vehicle. The simulated driving task was conducted on a closed driving course while subjects sat in a stationary vehicle. Subjects were required to select one of two lanes using information presented either on a changeable-message sign or on traffic signals. In the high-certainty condition, subjects were told where to look for relevant information; in the low-certainty condition, they were told that information could appear in either place. Response times were measured from sign or traffic signal onset to the subject's activation of the vehicle turn signal. The results indicated small non-significant differences between age groups for the reaction-time tasks. Significant age-related differences were found in the simulated lane-selection task. Older subjects were 15% slower overall than the younger subjects. Uncertainty concerning the location of relevant information slowed decision-making speed for all subjects, but proportionately more for the older subjects (16% versus 11% for the younger age group). Uncertainty slowed responses to the changeable message sign more than to traffic signals for subjects in both age groups. The results are consistent with the spatial localization hypothesis, and suggest that older drivers may have more difficulty than younger drivers locating targets in visual search while driving. The results also suggest that effective use of changeable-message signs requires placement in locations with high expectancy, and allowing drivers sufficient time to locate the sign before reading the scrolling message.”

p. 17-21

Rueb, Justin, Vidulich, Michael and Hassoun, John (1992): Establishing Workload Acceptability: An Evaluation of a Proposed KC-135 Cockpit Redesign. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. pp. 17-21.

“Workload assessment has become a common part of system evaluation. Workload assessment is an important adjunct to performance measurement because the operator is sometimes flexible enough to disguise excessively demanding systems by expending additional effort to overcome optimal information processing limits. This is often referred to as the problem of determining a "workload redline." The present paper recounts an evaluation of a proposed redesign of the KC-135 tanker aircraft cockpit. The current KC-135 cockpit has three crew positions: pilot, copilot, and navigator. As part of a proposed redesign, modern automation capabilities to replace the navigator were considered. Ten operational KC-135 crews and two KC-10 crews were studied while performing missions of differing levels of workload in a high-fidelity simulator. Three main classes of data relevant to the redline issue were collected: Performance data, Subjective Workload Assessment Technique (SWAT) ratings, and Subjective WORkload Dominance (SWORD) ratings. Evaluation of the performance results demonstrated that the redesigned cockpit could be flown in accordance to regulations. This was a necessary first step, but could not ensure that acceptable workload had been obtained. Taken together, the SWAT and SWORD results strongly suggested that acceptable performance can be achieved at acceptable levels of workload. In conclusion, the present study is a prototypical example of using available assessment tools to determine system acceptability. These tools should be useful for many other system evaluations.”

p. 171-174

Jackson, Andrew S., Beard, Earl F., Wier, Larry T. and Stuteville, J. E. (1992): Multivariate Model for Defining Changes in Maximal Physical Working Capacity of Men, Ages 25 to 70 Years. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. pp. 171-174.

“The purpose of this study was to develop a multivariate model with cross-sectional data that defined the decline in VO2max over time, and cross-validate the model with longitudinal data. The cross-sectional sample consisted of 1,608 healthy men who ranged in age from 25 to 70 years. VO2max was directly measured during a maximum Bruce treadmill stress test. Regression analysis showed that the cross-sectional age and VO2max relationship was linear, r = 0.45 and the age decline in VO2max was 0.48 ml/kg/min/year. Multiple regression developed the multivariate model from age, percent body fat ({percent}fat), self-report physical activity (SR-PA), and the interaction of SR-PA and {percent}fat (R = 0.793). Accounting for the variance in percent body fat and exercise habits decreased the influence of age on the decline of VO2max to just -0.27 ml/kg/min/year. This showed that much of decline in maximal physical working capacity was due to physical activity level and percent body fat, not aging. The multivariate equation was applied to the data of the longitudinal sample of 156 men who had been tested twice (Mean Age{Delta} = 3.1 {plusmn} 1.2 years). The correlation between the measured and estimated change in VO2max over time ({Delta}VO2max) was 0.75. The results of the study showed that changes in body composition and exercise habits had more of an influence on changes in maximal physical working capacity than aging. The developed model provides a useful way to quantify the changes in physical working capacity with aging.”

p. 175-179

Kirkpatrick, Mark, Perse, Randy M., Dutra, Lisa A., Creedon, Michael A. and Cohen-Mansfield, Jiska (1992): Development of a Memory Aid Design Concept for Older Users. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. pp. 175-179.

“This study was conducted to develop a design concept for an electronic memory device to enhance medication compliance in older users. The effort was supported by a Phase I Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grant from the National Institute on Aging (NIA). A user-oriented approach was used to develop a design concept for a memory device for older users. One hundred seniors were interviewed to identify their physical, physiological and cognitive capabilities and limitations, as well as their preferences for memory aid functions. Specific design requirements were gathered from user testing of six currently available memory aids with 30 of the original 100 elderly subjects. The interview and user testing results were consolidated to provide the basis for tradeoff criteria for memory and interface concepts, and for the development specifications for an optimal interface design for a memory aid designed specifically for the elderly user. A design concept was developed for a medication device that would be easy to use, would reduce the likelihood of scheduling errors, and would be non-threatening to older users who might otherwise be intimidated by an electronic device. The Phase I effort focused on enhancing medication compliance, which is a priority issue with the senior population.”

p. 180-184

Metz, Stephen, Isle, Brian, Denno, Sandra and Odom, James (1992): Thermostats for Individuals with Movement Disabilities: Design Options and Manipulation Strategies. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. pp. 180-184.

“Using common household products is often difficult for people with neuromuscular disorders, spinal cord injury, or arthritis. We need to better understand their capabilities when designing and adapting products that are easier for them to use. In this study, individuals with movement impairments used two experimental home control thermostats with features that allowed easier positioning and viewing. The participants employed a variety of grasping and manipulation strategies, including some that were not anticipated by the designers. Participants' preferences indicated that the appearance of the product, not just effective control design, was an important factor in their judgments. We discuss the implications of the study results for universal design and adaptation of traditional products for the elderly and those with disabilities.”

p. 185-189

Dyck, Jennifer L. and Smither, Janan Al-Awar (1992): Computer Anxiety and the Older Adult: Relationships with Computer Experience, Gender, Education and Age. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. pp. 185-189.

“Research in the area of computer anxiety has traditionally concentrated on the younger adult. In this study older adults (55 years and over) were compared to younger adults (30 years and under) on levels of computer anxiety and computer experience. Subjects in the study completed a demographic and computer experience questionnaire, and two computer anxiety scales. Previous research findings indicating a negative relationship between computer anxiety and computer experience was replicated for both young and older adults. Additional findings indicated that older adults were less computer anxious and had less computer experience than younger adults. Furthermore, older subjects indicated more liking for computers than younger subjects. However, while young males liked computers more than young females, no differences between older males and older females were found on the computer liking subscale. Some discrepancies between the two computer anxiety scales suggest further research is needed to validate computer anxiety scales for use with older adults.”

p. 190-192

Smither, Janan Al-Awar (1992): The Processing of Synthetic Speech by Older and Younger Adults. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. pp. 190-192.

“This experiment investigated the demands synthetic speech places on short term memory by comparing performance of old and young adults on an ordinary short term memory task. Items presented were generated by a human speaker or by a text-to-speech computer synthesizer. Results were consistent with the idea that the comprehension of synthetic speech imposes increased resource demands on the short term memory system. Older subjects performed significantly more poorly than younger subjects, and both groups performed more poorly with synthetic than with human speech. Findings suggest that short term memory demands imposed by the processing of synthetic speech should be investigated further, particularly regarding the implementation of voice response systems in devices for the elderly.”

p. 193-197

Zachary, Wayne and Hicinbothom, James (1992): Tools for Communicating with Chemical Information: A Cognitive Engineering Analysis. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. pp. 193-197.

“A major challenge for human factors is designing specialized systems to mesh with the domain expertise and mental representations of the system users. Systems for computational chemistry are an important example. Chemists use chemical structure diagrams (CSDs) as part of their basic language of communication, along with chemical formulae, narrative text, graphs and charts. Current computer tools for communicating with CSDs in written contexts are often found by chemists to be incomplete, difficult to use, and offering inappropriate functionality. This problem arises from ineffective human computer-interfaces that, in turn, can be traced to a lack of understanding on how skilled chemists use, think about, and communicate with CSDs. A formal cognitive human factors analysis is applied to address this deficiency. The analysis is developed through critical incident interviews, question-answering protocols, and thinking aloud protocols. Its results include a GOMS-type cognitive model of the drawing/manipulation process and of the conceptual structures underlying that process. Existing CSD drawing tool interfaces can be seen to provide little support for the conceptual structures or cognitive processes identified. The model developed in this research is being used to develop a user-oriented HCI for chemical structure manipulation systems.”

p. 198-201

Sherry, Marion M. (1992): Methodology for Software Documentation Reuse. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. pp. 198-201.

“This paper describes a documentation writing methodology developed and used by the author to address some of the issues of consistency in documentation and product function, redundancy of research and solution, and product usability (including timeliness of delivery and quality of support) for a software product engineered, developed and deployed in a multi-organizational or corporate environment. The methodology is compatible with technical systems engineering, development and testing documentation requirements, and is applicable to software products for which there are existing or anticipated "user guides". The method used to accomplish these goals is the incorporation of existing user guide formats, wherever possible, in the documentation of technical specifications for detailed engineering, development and testing requirements. This paper describes the "cycle of documentation" methodology employed, identifies opportunities to use this methodology, and describes some of the benefits derived from using the methodology (both initially intended and later discovered).”

p. 2-6

Barnett, B. J., Arbak, C. J., Olson, J. L. and Walrath, L. C. (1992): A Framework for Design Traceability. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. pp. 2-6.

“Methods are needed for implementing findings of theoretical research early in the design phase and tracing them through to final designs. This paper describes one such approach in applying what is known about cognitive psychology, human factors, and development techniques to interface design. The basic technique used to provide a design framework was an adaptation of the Quality Function Deployment (QFD) house of quality. This paper describes the QFD structure and how it was adapted to provide that critical link between theoretical research findings and resulting interface design concepts. The discussion focuses on three topics: basic concepts within the house of quality, the house of quality adapted for interface design, and application to the design process. A number of benefits are realized from use of this approach. First, it describes directly the relationship between human processing characteristics, design requirements, and design solutions. Second, it characterizes the nature of conflicts among alternative design solutions. Third, it indicates areas of potential applied research. Finally, it provides a single, hierarchical construct that carries through from the initial conceptual design to final product evaluation. The benefit of this approach to interface design is that a broad spectrum of theoretical and experimental research is summarized into a manageable design tool, which may provide insights to human factors practitioners, design engineers, and subject matter experts alike.”

p. 202-206

Warren, Robert E. (1992): Telephone Service Center Call Duration Improvement. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. pp. 202-206.

“Call handling duration in a telephone service center was substantially improved by providing users easier access to mainframe data systems. Switching from a system that allowed access to only one system at a time to one that provided a separate window for each system produced an estimated 7% improvement in call handling duration. The improvement was most marked for those calls which required multiple system access.”

p. 207-210

Thomas, John C. and Stuart, Rory (1992): Virtual Reality and Human Factors. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. pp. 207-210.

“The terms "Virtual Reality", "Artificial Reality", and "Cyberspace" have been prevalent in the popular press recently. There has also been considerable professional interest. (See Table 1 of recent conferences). This field is an outgrowth of three factors: 1) increases in available technologies of display, storage, and CPU along with new interface devices. 2) increases in the awareness of the importance of the "user interface" and 3) an increase in the awareness of the need for better means of collaboration. While "Virtual Reality" is arguably not completely new, it is only in the last few years that these technological and social trends mentioned above have resulted in the growth of "Virtual Reality" as a field. We argue that "Virtual Reality" is an important phenomenon for the human factors community in at least three distinct ways. First, like other new technologies, Virtual Reality requires human factors research to reach its full potential. Second, Virtual Reality offers the human factors professional an important new tool of investigation. Third, as a tool of communication and collaboration, virtual reality may serve as a medium for collaborative design and/or a means for communicating the results of human factors issues.”

p. 211-215

Virzi, Robert A., Resnick, Paul and Ottens, Don (1992): Skip and Scan Telephone Menus: User Performance as a Function of Experience. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. pp. 211-215.

“We present the results of a laboratory study comparing three styles of audio menus. One of these styles is the technique predominantly employed in interactive voice response (IVR) systems today. Two alternatives to this Standard technique were evaluated in this study. One of these alternatives was first proposed in Resnick and Virzi (1992), which they called Skip and Scan menus. This new style was hypothesized to be superior to Standard menus for intermediate users, but was expected to show limitations for one-time callers and expert users. The third menu alternative we evaluated combines elements of the Standard and Skip and Scan menus and was hypothesized to be superior in a broad range of usage conditions. Performance was measured over 36 tasks and two IVR applications. In all but the first few trials, the Skip and Scan menu style reported in Resnick and Virzi led to performance equal to or better than the other two menu styles. Standard menus showed a performance benefit for the first few trials of the first application only: this benefit was not present in the second application. There were no differences among the techniques in the trials simulating expert behavior.”

p. 216-220

Chin, John P., Herring, Richard D. and Familant, M. Elliott (1992): A Usability and Diary Study Assessing the Effectiveness of Call Acceptance Lists. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. pp. 216-220.

“Nuisance or unwanted calls have always been a problem to subscribers of phone services. One possible solution is a network based service that allows subscribers to control the calls they receive by using a call acceptance list. When the call acceptance list is activated, all callers not on the list would be automatically routed to a voice messaging system. Those callers on the list would be allowed to ring the subscriber's telephone. This study assessed the effectiveness of call acceptance lists in reducing unwanted telephone calls. Participants used a prototype telephone-based interface to establish a list of telephone numbers from which they would always accept calls. At the same time, they logged each of their incoming calls in a diary, recording the telephone number that originated the call, and whether they wished to receive the call. The call acceptance list significantly reduced the number of unwanted calls”

p. 22-25

Singh, Indramani L., Molloy, Robert, Parasuraman, Raja and Parasuraman, Saroj (1992): Development and Validation of a Scale of Automation-Induced "Complacency". In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. pp. 22-25.

“In the present studies, a scale was developed for measuring attitudes toward automation technology that reflect a potential for complacency. In the first, developmental study, a 20-item questionnaire consisting of statements concerning various aspects of automation was administered to 139 undergraduates at Catholic University. Factor analysis of the complacency potential rating scale (CPRS) revealed five independent factors, namely: general, confidence-, reliance-, trust-, and safety-related complacency. The internal consistency reliability coefficients of the five factors and the scale as a whole were found to be high, and the scales revealed satisfactory test-retest reliabilities. The pattern of correlations among CPRS score, age, gender, computer use, and computer experience were consistent with previous studies examining attitudes toward microcomputer usage (Igbaria and Parasuraman, 1991). In the second, validation study, the 20-item CPRS was cross-validated on a sample of 175 undergraduate students at Drexel University. Factor analysis similarly revealed five factors with high alphas. The results indicate that the potential for complacency can be evaluated by assessing attitudes towards automation technology.”

p. 221

Herring, R. D., List, J. A. and Youngs, E. A. (1992): Screen-Assisted Telephony and Voice Service Usability. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. p. 221.

“Many voice phone services are complicated to use, and several human factors obstacles may explain their lower than expected penetration and usage rates among subscribers. Usability difficulties with conventional telephones include: deciding which services are appropriate, knowing which services are available for a particular call, remembering complicated commands, and executing commands via conventional phones (e.g., network-based speed dialing). Bellcore sought to determine whether network services could be more efficient or acceptable to users if engineered to interface with more intelligent Customer Premises Equipment (CPE). For these reasons, it compared service usability of conventional CPE with an experimental screen-assisted telephone designed to help overcome these human factors obstacles. The experimental telephone provided a "context-sensitive" visual display showing available services, context-sensitive "soft keys" that accessed these services with a single key press, and a visual display of telephone numbers on list services. Usability tests showed that the experimental screen-assisted telephone provided significant gains for two services with respect to conventional CPE. The gain for Three-Way Calling (90% vs. 40% success) appeared due to automating the switch hook flashes that the service requires. The gain for Speed Calling (69% vs. 25% success) appeared due to eliminating the need to assign and remember dialing codes, and to providing feedback when an entry was incorrect. The experimental telephone also provided an average gain over all services tested (75% vs. 61% success), but this did not reach statistical significance. The results are an encouraging early attempt at creating richer visual displays for more usable network services.”

p. 222-226

Gardner-Bonneau, Daryle Jean (1992): Human Factors Problems in Interactive Voice Response (IVR) Applications: Do We Need a Guideline/Standard?. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. pp. 222-226.

“The purpose of this paper is to present a case for the development of a user interface design guideline or standard for interactive voice response applications, to be widely disseminated throughout business and industry. A number of sample problems are cited, based on the author's consulting experience in this area, which serve to demonstrate that many of the problems encountered in IVR application development, particularly in scripting/dialogue design and use of automated speech recognition as a front-end, are not only solvable, but easily avoidable, given the current human factors knowledge base. The paper also discusses the Specification Document developed by the Voice Messaging User Interface Forum (1990, April), and the reasons why it cannot be applied, as written, to the user interface design of more complex IVR applications. Finally, the author proposes an approach to developing the proposed guideline/standard.”

p. 227-231

Fusco, Marc E. and Katz, Robert B. (1992): Catch a Rising Tone: Selecting a Tone for a New Calling Service. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. pp. 227-231.

“The tone used in the new service Caller ID on Call Waiting (CIDCW) must be reliably detected by customer premises equipment (CPE), so that it can prepare to receive caller ID data, and it should alert customers to new calls but without being annoying. To help select a tone, the first experiment of this study examined the acceptability of a series of high-frequency dual tones that might be able to perform the required CPE signaling. Subjects were presented with the tones under circumstances in which they would typically be heard (while talking and listening over the telephone) and rated the sound quality of the tones. Long bursts of tones were presented as well as short bursts prepended or appended to the 440-Hz tone used in Call Waiting service. The results suggested that customers may find high-frequency dual tones acceptable. To determine acceptable parameters of tones, in the second experiment, subjects rated the loudness of selected tones as their length and power were varied.”

p. 232-236

Hamada, Hiroshi and Chiba, Jin'ichi (1992): Control of Prosodic Features for Keyword Emphasis in a Text-to-Speech Synthesizer. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. pp. 232-236.

“For the purpose of designing a method to control the main speech parameters for keyword emphasis in a text-to-speech synthesizer, the relation between speech parameters and emphasis level is determined from experiments. Twelve subjects are instructed to modify keyword emphasis to achieve natural sounding speech from three sentences. An interactive speech editor with a graphical user interface is developed for the experiments. The editor allows the subjects to control speech intensity, speech rate and average fundamental frequency of the keyword, and of the other sentence components. Furthermore, subjects can also control pause (silence) duration preceding and following the keyword. Extracted relations between prosodic feature parameters and emphasis level shows that speech intensity and speech rate are independent of sentence content. Speech intensity increases linearly and speech rate decreases linearly with emphasis level. On the other hand, average fundamental frequency and pause duration depend on sentence content, and relatively large changes are required to strongly emphasize keywords using pause insertion and increased fundamental frequency.”

p. 237-241

Whitaker, Leslie, Peters, Leslie J. and Mitchell, Jennifer (1992): Measuring Human Performance as a Function of Speech Communication Using the Close Combat Test Bed (CCTB) Facility. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. pp. 237-241.

“Auditory communication is critical for the successful completion of many tasks which require information be transmitted among crew members. The purpose of the present program of research is to determine the impact that speech communication has on performance of such tasks. As guidance for this program, a model of auditory communication has been developed. This model describes performance as a function of three factors: transmission, linguistic, and individual. The model assumes that variables affecting these three factors alter the level of auditory workload and task performance is a consequence of this workload (Peters, 1991). The present paper describes the effects of two transmission factors: speech intelligibility and communication structure. Speech intelligibility was measured using the Modified Rhymes Test. Communication structure was defined as command, interrogative, and discussion levels. Three studies have been completed in this research program. The focus of the present paper is the most recent study, completed at the Ft. Knox Close Combat Test Bed, an M1A1 tank simulator facility. After describing the results of this study, the results of all three studies are reviewed and found to be consistent with the auditory-performance model proposed by the authors.”

p. 242-246

Harrison, Beverly L., Chignell, Mark and Baecker, Ronald M. (1992): Out of Site, Still in Mind? A Case Study in Video Mediated Communication. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. pp. 242-246.

“Video mediated communication alters our perception of the way in which we interact and communicate. In contrast to face to face or audio only (e.g., telephone) communication, there is relatively little systematic research on the effect of video conferencing on communication within groups of people at dispersed locations (Harrison, 1991b; Harrison et al, 1992b; Sellen, 1992; Wolf, 1988; Cohen, 1982; Short, Williams, and Christie, 1976). In this paper we describe a study of how participants at three distant locations perceived differences between face to face (within site) and video mediated (between site) communication. Results indicate that participants perceived between site, mediated communication to be unnatural and uncomfortable. They felt there were problems with gaining floor control and with conversation flow. Additionally, participants perceived the between site, mediated communication to be less interactive, less social, and less enjoyable than the face to face, within site communication. The insights gained through this and other case studies, summarized here, will be used to guide our future research. This study is one in a series of field trials and controlled experiments aimed at understanding the human factors issues associated with video communication and the design of such systems.”

p. 247

Haas, Ellen C. (1992): Auditory Perception. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. p. 247.

“Auditory perception involves the human listener's awareness or apprehension of auditory stimuli in the environment. Auditory stimuli, which include speech communications as well as non-speech signals, occur in the presence and absence of environmental noise. Non-speech auditory signals range from simple pure tones to complex signals found in three-dimensional auditory displays. Special hearing protection device (HPD) designs, as well as additions to conventional protectors, have been developed to improve speech communication and auditory perception capabilities of those exposed to noise. The thoughtful design of auditory stimuli and the proper design, selection, and use of HPDs within the environment can improve human performance and reduce accidents. The purpose of this symposium will be to discuss issues in auditory perception and to describe methods to improve the perception of auditory stimuli in environments with and without noise. The issues of interest include the perception of non-speech auditory signals and the improvement of auditory perception capabilities of persons exposed to noise.”

p. 248-252

Haas, E. C. (1992): A Pilot Study on the Perceived Urgency of Multitone and Frequency-Modulated Warning Signals. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. pp. 248-252.

“In some environments, there is a serious mismatch between the perceived (psychoacoustic) urgency of a warning and its situational urgency. This pilot study investigated effect of pulse format, pulse duration, and time between pulses on the perceived urgency of warning signals. The intent was to determine the best combination of variables and levels of variables to use in a formal study on the perceived urgency of warning signals. The results indicated that only pulse format and time between pulses were significant. Subjects rated sequential pulses as being less urgent than any other format. Signals with shorter inter-pulse intervals were rated as significantly more urgent. Pulse format and time between pulses were determined to be variables which should be used in future research.”

p. 253-257

Good, Michael D. and Gilkey, Robert H. (1992): Masking between Spatially Separated Sounds. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. pp. 253-257.

“The development of optimal three-dimensional auditory displays requires a more complete understanding of the interactions among spatially separated sounds. Free-field masking was investigated as a function of the spatial separation between signal and masker sounds within the horizontal, frontal, and median planes. The detectability of filtered pulse trains in the presence of noise maskers was measured using a cued, two-alternative, forced-choice, adaptive staircase procedure. Signal and masker combinations in low (below 2.3 kHz), middle (1.0-8.5 kHz), and high (above 3.5 kHz) frequency regions were examined. As the sound sources were separated within the horizontal plane, signal detectability increased dramatically. Similar improvement in detectability was observed within the frontal plane. As suggested by traditional binaural models, interaural time cues and interaural intensity cues are likely to play a major role in mediating masking release in both the horizontal and frontal planes. Because no interaural cues exist for stimuli presented within the median plane, traditional models would not predict a release from masking when the stimuli are separated within this plane. However, with high frequency signals, masking release similar to that observed in the horizontal and frontal planes could be observed in the median plane. The current literature suggests that sound localization in the median plane may depend on direction-specific spectral cues that are introduced by the pinna at high frequencies. The masking release observed here may also depend on these "pinna cues."”

p. 258-262

Casali, John G. (1992): Technology Advancements in Hearing Protection: Active Noise Reduction, Frequency/Amplitude-Sensitivity, and Uniform Attenuation. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. pp. 258-262.

“Conventional hearing protection devices have often been implicated in compromised auditory perception, degraded signal detection, and reduced speech communication abilities. Recent technological developments have been used to augment hearing protectors in an attempt to alleviate these problems for the user, while at the same time providing adequate attenuation. Operational characteristics, design features, performance data, and applications for active noise reduction, sound transmission, frequency-selective, adjustable attenuation, amplitude-sensitive, and uniform attenuation devices are discussed.”

p. 26-29

Sarter, Nadine B. and Woods, David D. (1992): Mode Error in Supervisory Control of Automated Systems. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. pp. 26-29.

“Mode errors are one kind of breakdown in human-computer interaction. The concept was developed originally in the context of relatively simple reactive computerized devices such as word processors. When a device possesses multiple modes, where something is done one way in one mode and another way in another mode, there is increased potential for erroneous actions. In this paper we extend and expand the concept of mode error to supervisory control of automated resources in event-driven situations such as pilot interaction with cockpit automation. In this type of situation, the state of the automated system can change in response to either operator input, situation factors or system factors. This creates complexities in tracking system mode changes over time, surprises created by "uncommanded" mode changes, and the possibility of errors of omission as well as commission in managing multiple system modes. Progress in our understanding of mode error in the context of highly automated systems is important in our ability to develop effective countermeasures for mode-related problems in human-computer cooperation.”

p. 263-267

Gerth, Jeffrey M. (1992): Systematic Errors Occur in the Discrimination of Complex Audio Signals. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. pp. 263-267.

“Previous research suggests that the temporal pattern of dissimilar sounds may be a basis for confusion. To extend this research, the present study used complex sounds formed by simultaneously playing components drawn from four sound categories. Four temporal patterns, determined by sound duration and duty cycle were also used, producing a total of 16 basic components. The density (i.e., number of components played simultaneously) ranged from one to four. Subjects heard a sequence of two complex sounds and judged whether they were same of different. For trials in which the sounds differed, there were three possible manipulations: the addition of a component, the deletion of a component, and the substitution of one component for another. Overall accuracy was 94 percent across the 144 dissimilar sound complexes. As density increased, a significantly greater number of errors occurred for all classes of manipulations. Changes in individual temporal patterns across a variety of manipulations of sounds involving adding, deleting and substituting components were accurately discriminated. Subjects were least accurate in detecting substitutions of a pattern. A single sound category was identified in error prone sequences which was most often involved as the changing component from first to second sound presentation. Suggestions for the design of easily discriminated sounds are discussed.”

p. 268-271

Lu, H. and Aghazadeh, F. (1992): Infogrip Chordic Keyboard Evaluation. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. pp. 268-271.

“This paper presents a preliminary evaluation of a computer data entry device called Infogrip Chordic Keyboard. Learning time, typing speed and accuracy, and operator discomfort are examined. The result shows that the 30 chords can be learned in two hours. The subjects could type 49 characters per minute with the accuracy of 98.3 percent after two hours training.”

p. 272-275

Kroemer, K. H. E. (1992): Use and Research Issues of a New Computer Keyboard. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. pp. 272-275.

“For use with computers, the traditional QWERTY keyboard has been enlarged to more than 100 keys. This has generated postural and motoric challenges for the user, including cumulative trauma disorders. Among the proposed ergonomic solutions is the Ternary Chord Keyboard (TCK) which has only eight keys. Its evaluation posed use and research issues. TCK operation requires fast and finely controlled force and displacement by the fingertips in a horizontal plane, i.e., "rocking" of keys instead of their familiar "tapping". Associated mental tasks include memorization of the chords for each character. Experiments were performed (a) on TCK prototypes to measure the time needed to memorize and learn its operation, and to assess keying performance; and (b) on specially designed experimental apparatus to measure finger mobility, strength, and speed. The results indicate that finger mobility, strength and tapping performance were not well correlated with keying performance. All subjects were able to learn to operate the TCK, requiring memorization of 58 chords, within two to ten hours. After additional about 10 hours of use, they were inputting averages of 70 characters per minute, or more, with an accuracy of better than 97 percent. These results indicate that key operation such as with the TCK, which is rather different from the traditional QWERTY keyboard use, is feasible.”

p. 276-280

McMulkin, Mark (1992): Description and Prediction of Long-Term Learning of a Keyboarding Task. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. pp. 276-280.

“The goal of this study was to determine an equation ("learning function") that describes long-term learning of a new keyboard. Five subjects learned 18 characters on a chord keyboard, then improved keying speed by inputting typical numeric keypad text for about 60 total hours. Their performance, in characters typed per minute, was recorded for every trial. Of the various functions that were considered to describe performance, the best fitting equation was a Log-Log relationship of the form CPM{sub:i} = e{sup:b{sub:0}}T{sub:i}{sup:b{sub:1}}, where CPM{sub:i} is the performance in characters per minute on the i-th trial (T{sub:i}) and b{sub:0} and b{sub:1} are fitted coefficients. A second goal was to investigate how many trials of performance are needed before the entire learning function can be determined. The coefficients of the Log-Log function were determined using only the first 25, 50, 75, 100, 125, 150, 175, and 200 of the initial performance points (out of about 550 total actual data points). The mean squared error (MSE) was calculated for each of these fits and compared to the MSE of the fit using all points. From the results of MSE data, it appears that at least 50 performance data points are required to reduce the prediction error to an acceptable level.”

p. 281-282

Loricchio, David F. (1992): Key Force and Typing Performance. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. pp. 281-282.

“The IBM Design Center in Boca Raton studied the operating-point key force for a portable computer keyboard. Alden, Daniels, and Kanarick (1972) report that typists prefer operating-point key forces of between 25 and 150 grams. We compared different key forces that fell within the range recommended by Alden et al. The only difference between the keyboards we studied was the amount of force required to activate the keys. The first keyboard (58 keyboard) required 58 grams of force to activate the keys. The second keyboard (74 keyboard) required 74 grams of force to activate the keys. Sixteen skilled typists used both keyboards to enter text. Input speed was significantly faster on the 58-gram keyboard. A significant number of typists preferred the 58-gram keyboard. The results suggest that the optimal key force for portable computer keyboards is less than 74 grams.”

p. 283-287

Santos, Paulo J., Baltzer, Amy J., Badre, Albert N., Henneman, Richard L. and Miller, Michael S. (1992): On Handwriting Recognition System Performance: Some Experimental Results. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. pp. 283-287.

“Performance of a rule-based handwriting recognition system is considered. Performance limits of such systems are defined by the robustness of the character templates and the ability of the system to segment characters. Published performance figures, however, are typically based on pre-segmented characters. Six experiments are reported (using a total of 128 subjects) that tested a state-of-the-art recognition system under more realistic conditions. Variables investigated include display format (grid, lined, and blank), surface texture, feedback (location and time delay), amount of training, practice, and effects of use over an extended period. Results indicated that novice users writing on a lined display (the most preferred format) averaged 57% recognition performance. By giving subjects continuous feedback of results, training, and after about 10 minutes of use, the system averaged 90.6% character recognition. Following three hours of interrupted use and with performance incentives, subjects achieved an average 96.8% accuracy with the system. Future work should focus on improving the ability of the recognition algorithm to segment characters and on developing non-obtrusive interaction techniques to train users, to provide feedback and to correct mis-recognized characters.”

p. 288-292

Barry, Timothy P., Liggett, Kristen K., Williamson, David T. and Reising, John M. (1992): Enhanced Recognition Accuracy with the Simultaneous Use of Three Automated Speech Recognition Systems. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. pp. 288-292.

“Two studies were performed to test the efficacy of using three different automated speech recognition devices in parallel to obtain speech recognition accuracies better than those produced by each of the individual systems alone. The first experiment compared the recognition accuracy of each of the three individual systems with the accuracy obtained by combining the data from all three systems using a simple "Majority Rules" algorithm. The second experiment made the same comparison, but used a more sophisticated algorithm developed using the performance data obtained from experiment 1. Results from the first experiment revealed a modest increase in speech recognition accuracy using all three systems in concert along with the Simple Majority Rules (SMR) algorithm. Results from the second experiment showed an even greater improvement in recognition accuracy using the three systems in concert and an Enhanced Majority Rules (EMR) algorithm. The implications of using intelligent software and multiple speech recognition devices to improve speech recognition accuracy are discussed.”

p. 293-297

Plaisant, Catherine and Sears, Andrew (1992): Touchscreen Interfaces for Alphanumeric Data Entry. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. pp. 293-297.

“Touchscreens have been demonstrated as useful for many applications. Although a traditional mechanical keyboard is the device of choice when entering alphanumeric data, it may not be optimal when only limited data must be entered, or when the keyboard layout, character set, or size may be changed. A series of experiments has demonstrated the usability of touchscreen keyboards. The first study indicated that users who type 58 wpm on a traditional keyboard can type 25 wpm using a touchscreen and that the traditional monitor position is suboptimal for touchscreen use. A second study reported on typing rates for keyboards of various sizes (from 6.8 to 24.6 cm wide). Novices typed approximately 10 wpm on the smallest and 20 wpm on the largest of the keyboards. Users experienced with touchscreen keyboards typed 21 wpm on the smallest and 32 wpm on the largest. We then report on a recent study done with more representative users and more difficult tasks. Thirteen cashiers were recruited for this study and were required to complete ten trials in which they typed names and addresses with punctuation. Results indicate that the users improved rapidly from 9.5 wpm on the first trial to 13.8 wpm on the last trial, reaching their fastest performance after only 25 minutes. Although custom interfaces will be preferred for special types of data (e.g. telephone numbers, times, dates, colors) there will always be situations when limited quantities of text must be entered. In these situations a touchscreen keyboard can be used.”

p. 298-302

Tullis, Thomas S. and Kodimer, Marianne L. (1992): A Comparison of Direct-Manipulation, Selection, and Data-Entry Techniques for Reordering Fields in a Table. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. pp. 298-302.

“A useful feature of data base systems is to allow the user to change the order in which fields appear in the columns of a table. The purpose of this study was to compare the usability of seven different user interfaces for performing this task in the Microsoft Windows environment. The fields to be reordered were file name, file number, size, and creation date. The seven approaches studied covered a range of interaction styles, including dragging and dropping, menu selection, text entry, and button pressing. Fifteen Windows users completed a set of two practice trials using each approach, followed by a set of twelve main trials. For each trial, the user was shown the current order of the fields and a target order to change to. The completion times showed significant differences according to the approach used. Overall, a data-selection technique using radio buttons and a data-entry technique using a single entry area were significantly faster than all of the others. Another data-entry technique, involving multiple entry areas, was consistently the slowest. Somewhat surprisingly, given the current trend toward direct-manipulation interfaces, the two approaches involving dragging and dropping were not among the most effective approaches.”

p. 30-34

Thornton, Coleen, Braun, Curt, Bowers, Clint and Morgan, Jr. Ben B. (1992): Automation Effects in the Cockpit: A Low-Fidelity Investigation. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. pp. 30-34.

“The effects of automation and task difficulty on flight performance, subjective and objective workload, and a problem solving task were investigated in a low fidelity flight simulator. Forty-eight, two-person crews flew two forty-five minute scenarios that required the crew to select and obtain relief supplies for delivery to a disaster site. Two levels of automation (i.e., presence or absence of an autopilot) and two levels of task difficulty (i.e., presence or absence of wind and turbulence) were combined to yield a 2 x 2 design. Twenty-four crews performed in both levels of automation and one level of task difficulty. Results indicated that although crews in the automated condition reported less subjective workload, only one of the three measures of flight performance was affected by automation. In contrast, objective workload, as measured by performance of a secondary task, was increased for the pilot in the automated condition. In addition, under high task difficulty, problem solving was worse in the automated condition than in the manual condition. The results are discussed in terms of their support of earlier hypothesized effects of automation in the cockpit.”

p. 303-305

Loricchio, David F. (1992): A Comparison of Three Pointing Devices: Mouse, Cursor Keys, and a Keyboard-Integrated Pushbutton. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. pp. 303-305.

“The IBM Design Center in Boca Raton studied an integrated pointing device for a personal computer keyboard. The device, a pushbutton, is a flat, round button that tilts and moves the cursor in the direction of tilt. We wanted to know if this device would be acceptable to computer users. Twelve participants used the pushbutton, a mouse, and the cursor movement keys to select targets and edit text. Participants without previous mouse experience hit significantly more targets with the pushbutton than with the mouse. Participants with previous mouse experience performed significantly better on both tasks with the mouse, and preferred the mouse over the pushbutton and the cursor keys. Several participants said that the pushbutton was too sensitive and difficult to control. The results suggest: 1. The pushbutton tested in this study would not be acceptable to users; 2. The pushbutton operation could be more accurate if the force-to-motion mapping were improved.”

p. 306-310

Chase, Joseph D., Casali, Sherry Perdue and Hartson, H. Rex (1992): The Predictability of Cursor Control Device Performance Based on a Primitive Set of User Object-Oriented Cursor Actions. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. pp. 306-310.

“The ability to predict performance with a cursor control device on a complex task by measuring performance on a simple task would be useful in evaluating alternative input devices in many types of novel situations. A user would simply have to perform simple cursor movements with each candidate device, and predictions could be made of his/her performance with the devices on any given software application. Such an approach would reduce tedious trial and error procedures, as well as eliminate the time necessary to first learn various software applications. The current study employed the User Action Notation (UAN), a task-oriented notation that describes the behavior of the user and the interface during their cooperative performance of a task, to decompose complex tasks into primitive components. A set of primitive cursor actions was developed which contains the elementary cursor actions found in complex tasks. A graphics software application was then evaluated, using the UAN, with respect to the frequency of occurrence of each of the primitive user-cursor actions. Individual's ability to perform each primitive user-cursor action with three different input devices was then be measured. These measures were used to form estimates of the individual's ability to perform the graphics task with each input device. Correlations between predicted performance and measured performance on the graphics task were found to exceed 0.9. Results demonstrate the success of the method described herein for predicting complex task performance based on simple task performance, as well as, the usefulness of the UAN for decomposing complex tasks into primitive components.”

p. 311-315

Casali, Sherry Perdue (1992): Cursor Control Device Use by Persons with Physical Disabilities: Implications for Hardware and Software Design. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. pp. 311-315.

“Computer technology has the potential to offer individuals with physical limitations greater levels of independence and increased opportunities for meaningful employment, but this can only be realized when the individual can interact efficiently with the computer. Choosing a cursor control device is particularly important given the growing popularity of direct-manipulation style interfaces. Twenty persons with impaired hand and arm function (as a result of a spinal chord injury) and 10 nondisabled persons performed a target acquisition task with five cursor control devices: a mouse, trackball, cursor keys, joystick, and tablet. Even persons with profound impairment were able to compensate for their disability and operate each device by using minor device modifications and/or unique operating strategies. These modifications and compensation techniques are described. Regardless of the physical skill level of the user, the rank ordering of the five devices with respect to target acquisition time was the same. The mouse, trackball, and tablet provided better performance than the keys, which provided better performance than the joystick. Dragging was particularly problematic for persons with motor control limitations, as was acquiring small targets. The implications of the results for hardware and software design are discussed.”

p. 316-320

Kelley, J. F. and Ukelson, J. (1992): COAS: Combined Object-Action Selection: A Human Factors Experiment. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. pp. 316-320.

“12 participants with a high level of domain experience used two different, mouse-based, interaction techniques to carry out three workstation file management tasks of varying complexity. One technique followed a standard Object-Action model; the other was a newly developed technique called COAS (Combined Object-Action Selection). There was little difference in performance on a simple task; performance for participants using the new technique was 38% faster on a moderately complex task and was 21% faster on a complex task. The file management application, interaction techniques and experiment were implemented in an OS/2 Presentation Manager style using ITS (Interactive Transaction System).”

p. 321-325

Widjaja, T. Kiki (1992): The Impact of Color Coding in Program Debugging. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. pp. 321-325.

“The potential of using color as a program debugging aid was investigated in this research. The study assessed program debugging performance of eighteen subjects in three different color coding conditions: black and white, color-grouping that arranged loops and nested structures in five shades of green, and color-flagging that highlighted potential error areas in orange. Completion time, accuracy, and types of error detected, subjective preferences, and rate of visual comfort for each condition was recorded. This research suggested that color coding substantially improved error detections in C programs.”

p. 326-330

Bishu, Ram R. and Zhan, Ping (1992): Increasing or Decreasing? The Menu Direction Effect on User Performance. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. pp. 326-330.

“Although the breadth/depth issue in menu design has been identified to have significant effects on user performance, the effects of menu direction and dimension have not been well investigated, especially as iconic menus as concerned. This study investigated the effects of menu direction and dimension on user selection performance by using two different dimensions (sizes) of iconic menu systems (16-item and 32-item). The direction of the menus consisted of "increasing" and "decreasing", with the depth of menu ranging from 2 to 3 levels. The findings indicated that "decreasing" direction menus were significantly quicker and more accurate than "increasing" menus. However, for the smaller size menus (16 item menus), user performance accuracy was better with the "increasing" direction menus. Overall, the results showed that "decreasing" direction menus are superior to "increasing" menus. It is suggested that for small size iconic menus (e.g., up to 32 items), items should be organized in "decreasing" direction, especially when speed is of particular importance to the selection task.”

p. 331-335

Gibbons, Stephen C. (1992): Organizing the Domain of Menus. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. pp. 331-335.

“This paper will present a global definition for menu systems and propose a domain structure in support of this definition. A literature review was conducted to provide broad, integrated coverage and critical assessment of past and present research trends. This effort provides the background necessary to present our definition of menu dialogues by outlining the present state of domain knowledge. The proffered definition divides the domain into three areas: allowable menu system structures, identifiable menu system objects; and menu system sequence control aspects. These three areas are expanded in the paper to support the definition and function as an organizational framework for the domain.”

p. 336-340

Lin, Rungtai (1992): An Application of the Semantic Differential to Icon Design. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. pp. 336-340.

“Previous studies have indicated that the semantic differential was effective in evaluating comprehension of icons. However, the capability of semantic differential ratings depends on whether the underlying rating factors have been chosen properly. It is necessary to find out what cognitive factors affect the evaluation of an icon. Then, these factors can be used as the basis for semantic differential ratings on the proposed icons during the design stage. Most of the studies are focused on the evaluation after the design is completed. Very few have ever mentioned the approaches of icon evaluation at the design stage to ensure the design quality. Therefore, the purpose of this study is intended to derive and validate the cognitive factors that affect icon designs, and to provide designers with a tool having predictive information for evaluating and modifying the proposed icons at an early design stage.”

p. 341-345

Lin, Rungtai and Kreifeldt, John G. (1992): Understanding the Image Functions for Icon Design. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. pp. 341-345.

“Because icons vary from very representational to extremely abstract symbols in a user interface, an important issue faced by designers when designing an icon is how to select an appropriate design style for the image. There are no simple rules that can be followed by designers to determine the design style. The present study is intended to help designers to choose a proper design style for the icon at an early design stage. First, a classification of icons is summarized and the levels of stylization are discussed and demonstrated with examples. Then, thirty icons from several drawing packages and generally used symbols are selected, and a matching test is conducted to obtain the correct matching rates. The results are presented with some explanations for icon recognition and confusion, and finally how to select the right image function for icon design is discussed.”

p. 346-350

Hale, II Joseph P. (1992): Assessment of a Head-Mounted Miniature Monitor. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. pp. 346-350.

“Two experiments were conducted to assess the capabilities and limitations of the Private Eye, a miniature, head-mounted monitor. The first experiment compared the Private Eye with a cathode ray tube (CRT) and hard copy in both a constrained and unconstrained work envelope. The task was a simulated maintenance and assembly task that required frequent reference to the displayed information. A main effect of presentation media indicated faster placement times using the CRT as compared with hard copy. There were no significant differences between the Private Eye and either the CRT or hard copy for identification, placement, or total task times. The goal of the second experiment was to determine the effects of various local visual parameters on the ability of the user to accurately perceive the information on the Private Eye. The task was an interactive video game. No significant performance differences were found under either bright or dark ambient illumination environments nor with either visually simple or complex task backgrounds. Glare reflected off the bezel surrounding the monitor did degrade performance. It was concluded that this head-mounted, miniature monitor seems well suited for in situ operations that require ready reference to information and could serve a particularly useful role in microgravity environments.”

p. 35-39

Lyall, Elizabeth A. (1992): The Effects of Mixed-Fleet Flying of the Boeing 737-200 and -300. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. pp. 35-39.

“The performance effects of pilots concurrently flying two derivatives of the Boeing 737 (-200 and -300) were assessed at America West Airlines using data gathered in flight and from a pilot survey. The B737-200 and -300 differ in levels of flightdeck automation. An activity analysis methodology was used to gather the in-flight data. Seven of the activities observed were used as dependent measures in the analyses. It was found that the pilots did significantly more hand-flying when they were on a trip in which they flew both the -200 and -300 (a mixed trip), than when they only flew one plane type (a pure trip). Also, on mixed trips where the pilots flew the -200 and then the -300: after they switched into the -300 they engaged in more flight-relevant talking and they looked out the window less than pilots who flew the -300 and then the -200, or a pure trip. These were the only significant results related to mixing the plane types. It was concluded that the airline environment studied did not show significant detrimental performance effects due to mixed-fleet flying. This was supported by the survey data where 75% of the pilots responded that it is alright to mix the planes. Implications of mixed-fleet flying on training and scheduling are discussed, and the recommendations made to America West are presented.”

p. 351-355

Hsu, Shang H. and Shen, Chou (1992): Multiple Monitors vs. Windowing Presentation Styles for Shop-Floor Controls. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. pp. 351-355.

“Windowing systems seem to provide promising alternatives to display massive information for multi-tasking and real-time control systems. However, the benefits of windowing systems might be offset by the workload resulting from window management. The purpose of this study was to compare the relative advantages of tiled window, overlapping window, and twin monitors for high-demand and low-demand information-processing shop-floor control tasks. It was found that tiled windowing system was superior to the other two for high-demand tasks while twin monitors was the best for low-demand tasks.”

p. 361-364

Bullemer, Peter T., Metz, Stephen V. and Richardson, Rose Mae (1992): A User Interface Design Concept for Visualization of Multidimensional Process Models. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. pp. 361-364.

“We describe a user interface design concept for the interactive visualization of multidimensional industrial process models. Key features of the design include: a matrix layout of 3-D and 2-D graphical plots, an interaction area for visualizing integral relationships and selecting context for viewing individual x-y functions, and a reference area extending throughout the matrix for maintaining focus on desirable values of product quality. These features are motivated by task-specific needs to develop conceptual models of the physical processes used in making products. Conceptual models enable process engineers to determine the optimal operating ranges for controllable process parameters.”

p. 365-368

Gillan, Douglas J. and Neary, Michael (1992): A Componential Model of Human Interaction with Graphs. II. Effects of the Distances among Graphical Elements. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. pp. 365-368.

“Based on task analyses of people using graphs, Gillan and Lewis (1992) have developed a model that describes how people interact with graphs. The model proposes that for simple tasks (e.g., comparisons and subtraction) and common graphs (e.g., line, scatter, and bar graphs), graph users apply combinations of five component processes -- Searching for indicators, Encoding the value of indicators, performing Arithmetic Operations on the values, making Spatial Comparisons among the indicators, and Responding. The model further suggests that the combination and order of the components that the user applies depends on a user's task and the type of graph. The present research investigated two predictions from the model concerning spatial relations in a graph: (1) that response times to answer comparison questions should be sensitive to varying the distance between two indicators, but not to varying the indicator-to-axis distance, and (2) that response times to answer difference questions should be sensitive to the distance between the indicator and the y-axis, but not to the distance between the indicators. In the experiment, subjects used line and bar graphs to answer comparison and difference questions in which the appropriate distances varied systematically. The results of the research supported both predictions, thereby providing empirical validation of the model. In addition, some aspects of the model were not anticipated by the model, suggesting the need to enhance the componential model.”

p. 369-373

Smith, John B., Smith, Dana Kay and Kupstas, Eileen (1992): Machine-Recorded Protocols: Tools and Techniques. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. pp. 369-373.

“The UNC Textlab/Collaboratory Project has developed a set of tools and techniques for recording and analyzing machine-recorded protocols of users while they work with an application system developed by our project -- in the case described here, a hypertext-based writing environment, called WE. A tracking facility automatically records users' actions. Replay allows a researcher to recreate and view a user session in time proportional to the original, in uniform time, and in manually controlled steps. Our grammar incorporates a cognitive model of the users' mental behaviors for the task of expository writing and parses protocols to produce parse trees that show users' strategies for working sessions. Finally, our display tools work with these data to produce static and animated representations from which researches can infer user strategies and patterns of behavior. In this paper, we discuss the tools we have developed and issues they raise. While this methodology is described with respect to a particular task and system, it is quite general and could be used for other systems and purposes. A brief conclusion outlines our current and future work, including our plans for a comprehensive protocol analysis environment that can be used by other researchers as well as our group and our plans to extend our tools and method to record, analyze, and display multiple protocol streams for groups of individuals working collaboratively.”

p. 374-378

Hix, Deborah and Ryan, Tim (1992): Evaluating User Interface Development Tools. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. pp. 374-378.

“This paper describes a procedure for quantitatively evaluating and comparing user interface development tools, and presents results of evaluating for user interface development tools with the procedure. For each tool, summary numeric ratings for functionality and usability are presented. General conclusions about the four tools and about the tool evaluation procedure itself are also discussed.”

p. 379-383

Fath, Janet L. and Bias, Randolph G. (1992): Taking the "Task" Out of Task Analysis. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. pp. 379-383.

“Task analysis is a well-accepted component of user-centered design. It is often left out of the design process, however, due to a lack of practical methods, the difficulty in predicting the amount of resource required to perform it, and a short supply of people with the appropriate skills. A solution to these problems is a structured set of activities that compose a task analysis and relate to the overall design process. The general framework into which these activities fit has three phases: Data Collection, Data Analysis, and Design. During the Data Collection phase, user and task data are collected and validated. The Data Analysis phase requires analyzing the user and task data in a way that results in suggestions for information representation, navigation, terminology, and consistency. Finally, the Design phase requires translating the suggestions from the Data Analysis phase into a viable product. A prototype task analysis workbook was developed to assess the feasibility of the structured approach to task analysis. The workbook includes tools for data collection, data analysis, and design, as well as instructions for how to use the tools. Over a period of two years, the workbook was used in five different development projects. A representative from each group was interviewed to determine how the workbook was used and which parts were most useful. Results of the interviews indicate that the workbook approach has merit.”

p. 384-388

Greitzer, Frank L. and Spalding, Nancy J. (1992): Maintaining Stasis: Why User Acceptance of Advanced Technology is So Hard to Get (And What to Do about It). In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. pp. 384-388.

“The focus of this paper is on user-centered systems engineering activities supporting the acquisition, requirements gathering, and preliminary design of a major technology advancement for an operating commercial command and control system. Major activities included establishment of user-centered customer and developer organizations, knowledge acquisition, human-machine interface design and prototyping, scenario and system simulation development, and demonstration of the proposed system. Because the system was designed with substantial user input, it received a high degree of user acceptance.”

p. 389-393

Cohill, Andrew M. (1992): Architects at Work: The Structure of Design Information. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. pp. 389-393.

p. 394-398

Weiland, Monica Zubritzky, Cooke, Boyd and Peterson, Brad (1992): Designing and Implementing Decision Aids for a Complex Environment Using Goal Hierarchies. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. pp. 394-398.

“In dynamic tactical environments such as Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW), operators must continuously balance goals for safety with mission goals and objectives as the tactical situation evolves. These high-level goals introduce specific constraints on operator actions that often conflict with one another. Being able to assess and balance conflicting constraints is thus a key element of the operator's cognitive processes. This design effort extends the COGNET (COGnition as a NEtwork of Tasks) modelling methodology in order to identify and resolve goal/constraint conflicts as they arise in the tactical context. COGNET is a meta-model, or architecture, for building and embedding models of human operators in real-time, multi-tasking systems. It integrates the GOMS notation for building operator task models with the blackboard architecture for building a knowledge representation, and production rules that link the tactical situation with the changing knowledge representation. An extension to the model was added in the form of AND/OR tree diagrams that represent the relationship between high level goals and lower level constraints on operator actions. The goal/constraint trees were modelled for the Submarine Operational Automation System (SOAS) operator using expert knowledge elicitation techniques. Results of the modelling effort indicate that operators must often keep track of many conflicting constraints in making decisions on ship course, speed, and depth, and often do not consider the complete set of constraints because of the limits on working memory. This finding highlights the need for decision aids for managing goals and goal conflicts. Applications of the goal/constraint hierarchies with a COGNET model framework to the design and implementation of SOAS decision aids are discussed.”

p. 399-403

Wiklund, Michael E., Thurrott, Christopher and Dumas, Joseph S. (1992): Does the Fidelity of Software Prototypes Affect the Perception of Usability?. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. pp. 399-403.

“The objective of this study was to investigate whether the aesthetic refinement of a software prototype is related to subjects' ratings of the usability of the prototype. We purchased a commercially available electronic device offering the functions of dictionary, calculator, and thesaurus (hereafter referred to as the Dictionary). We created four user interface prototypes of the Dictionary using line art, half-tone, gray scale, and color images of the product. The prototypes varied in the degree to which the displayed image resembled the physical look of the real product in terms of depth, tone, color, etc. All of the prototypes were interactive in that subjects could, with a mouse, make the prototypes operate like the Dictionary. Five groups of ten subjects each then made their ratings and performed tasks using either one of the prototypes or the Dictionary. The subjects rated ease of learning and use, forgiveness of mistakes, and aesthetics for the version they used, before and after performing tasks. Subjects who used a prototype also repeated a task using the real product and compared the two in terms of similarity of interaction and aesthetics. The results indicated that the aesthetic quality of prototypes within the range we varied did not bias users for or against the prototype's perceived usability. However, we learned that half-tone prototypes should be avoided when their coarse shadings decrease legibility. In addition, we found that making prototypes mimic the response time of a product or a design concept is important. When the real product produces slower response times, prototype performance may give an overly optimistic picture of the product's usability.”

p. 40-42

Judge, Carol Lynn, Bushman, James B., Vidulich, Michael A., Houck, Michael R., Siem, Frederick M., Comstock, Jr. J. Raymond and Dominguez, Cynthia O. (1992): Situation Awareness: Modelling, Measurement, and Impacts. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. pp. 40-42.

p. 404-408

Carter, Jim A. (1992): Managing: To Succeed with Rapid Prototyping. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. pp. 404-408.

“Rapid prototyping is a powerful tool both for analyzing user requirements and for involving the users in the design of suitable user interfaces. With it, the analysts/designers have users focus on frequent presentations of incomplete prototypes in order to get realistic expressions of the users' needs and wants. If not properly managed, these presentations may miss their objectives and either become high pressure sales pitches for designs or endless cycles of minor changes. Suitable management methods are required to ensure that the use of prototyping provides its expected benefits. The process oriented nature of prototyping requires some different management techniques from those used to manage more traditional and artifact oriented analysis and design activities.”

p. 409-413

Bailey, Robert W., Allan, Robert W. and Raiello, P. (1992): Usability Testing vs. Heuristic Evaluation: A Head-to-Head Comparison. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. pp. 409-413.

“The importance of user testing, heuristic evaluation and iterative design in the development of computer software programs was examined. In the first study, twenty-five subjects with limited computer experience, were randomly divided into five groups of five subjects each. All groups were asked to perform a telephone bill inquiry task using two character-based screens. After having one group perform, one change per screen was made before beginning the testing of the next group. The system was improved three times. A final experimental group completed the same task using an "ideal" system designed and presented by Molich and Nielsen (1990). Rather than the 29 changes originally suggested by Molich and Nielsen, our results showed that only one change to each of the original screens was necessary to achieve the same performance and preference levels as those demonstrated by their "ideal" system. The same task was repeated using a graphical user interface. A heuristic evaluation suggested up to 43 potential changes, whereas the usability test demonstrated that only two changes optimized performance. These findings demonstrate one of the major weaknesses of heuristic evaluations, and the importance of usability testing in the design and development of human interfaces.”

p. 414-417

Ashlund, Stacey and Hix, Deborah (1992): IDEAL: A Software Tool to Evaluate Interface Usability. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. pp. 414-417.

“This paper reports on the design, prototype implementation, and formative evaluation of a software tool -- IDEAL (Interface Design Environment and Analysis Lattice). IDEAL integrates usability engineering techniques and behavioral task representations with a graphical hierarchy of user tasks to support formative evaluation of an evolving user interface. Representative users of IDEAL -- interface designers and evaluators -- participated in two phases of formative evaluation of IDEAL. Empirical evaluation showed IDEAL to be useful as an automated tool for managing the interrelated tasks of user interface development, including interaction design, usability specification, creation of benchmark tasks, and formative evaluation, that are currently performed manually.”

p. 418-422

Woods, David D., Johannesen, Leila and Potter, Scott S. (1992): The Sophistry of Guidelines: Revisiting Recipes for Color Use in Human-Computer Interface Design. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. pp. 418-422.

“A survey study of color guidelines for user-computer interface design was undertaken and assessed against relevant knowledge about the human perceptual system. The main problem found is that some guidelines are dissociated from knowledge of how the human perceptual system works in relation to the constraints of the computer as a medium for perception. The guidelines approach, whose goal is to produce straightforward, concise recommendations for a diverse audience, may encourage this situation. Some specific problems and gaps in color guidelines are discussed. An alternative approach based on gearing guidance to the difficulties and common problems faced by designers is sketched.”

p. 423-427

Carter, Richard J. and Wachtel, Jerry A. (1992): Advanced Control Room Design Review Guidelines: Merging Old and New. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. pp. 423-427.

“The nuclear power industry is currently developing operator interface systems based on innovative applications of digital computers. To assure that this advanced technology is incorporated in a way that maximizes the potential safety benefits of the technology and minimizes the potential negative effects on human performance, human factors principles must be considered. NUREG-0700 contains guidelines for the review of operator interfaces. However, in light of the rapid technological advances in digital technology which have taken place in the eleven years since its publication, it is no longer adequate to assess the rapidly changing human-system interfaces. A research program, the purpose of which is to upgrade NUREG-0700, has been initiated. Thus far a set of draft advanced control room design review (ACRDR) guidelines has been complied. Three tasks, which were oriented towards integrating the applicable guidelines in NUREG-0700 into the ACRDR document, are described in the paper.”

p. 428-432

Fox, Jeffrey A. (1992): The Effects of Using a Hypertext Tool for Selecting Design Guidelines. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. pp. 428-432.

“Designing a User-System Interface (USI) is a complex task that has been approached in many ways. One approach has been to use USI design guidelines to help improve the quality and consistency of USIs. To be effective, a general set of guidelines must be tailored to a specific application. This study investigated the effects of using a hypertext design aid (DRUID, Dynamic Rules for User Interface Design) for the selection of USI guidelines by both experienced and novice guideline users. Results indicate that, in general, the participants performed their tasks as well with DRUID as with the book. However, the participants accessed the material differently for each medium and they selected more guidelines that were relevant when using the paper book. Subjectively, the software was preferred because it provided assistance in the selection process and provided additional time-saving design aids not available in the book.”

p. 43-47

Liggett, Kristen K., Reising, John M. and Hartsock, David C. (1992): The Use of a Background Attitude Indicator to Recover from Unusual Attitudes. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. pp. 43-47.

“The purpose of this study was to evaluate various cues on a background display format that depicted attitude information. A combined head-down display format was evaluated where the central rectangular area focused on tactical information and the background border presented attitude information. The attitude information, in essence, framed the tactical display format. A comparison was conducted among variations of the original background attitude indicator (BAI) created by General Dynamics personnel. Three types of cues were investigated: color shading, color patterns, and pitch lines with numbers. These cues were tested individually and in combination with one another. Results showed that in terms of initial input time, the combination of color shading and color patterns performed the best.”

p. 433-437

Ogawa, Katsuhiko and Yonemura, Shun-ichi (1992): Usability Analysis of Design Guideline Database in Human-Computer Interface Design. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. pp. 433-437.

“Human-computer interface design guidelines are useful for developing well designed interfaces but the designer must be able to access the guideline appropriate to the application. Research is conducted to understand how designers access design guideline databases and then methods are tested to improve the usability of the databases. A design guideline database of approximately 300 guidelines is developed using a hypermedia approach. The system employs a book metaphor interface to characters and graphics in a Japanese environment. The subjects of the usability analysis are software designers who did not have any background in human factors. They were provided with the representation of a bad interface design on a piece of paper, and were instructed to improve the design through the use of the guideline database. Two common strategies were identified by observing the designers' actions: a hypothesis strategy and a checklist strategy. These strategies were analyzed using the quantities and quality of improvements recommended. The optimum database usage checks interface violations by employing the browsing function of the database; sometimes key word searches are used.”

p. 438-442

Parsons, H. McIlvaine (1992): The Turing Test of 1991. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. pp. 438-442.

“Interactive computer programs and human participants competed in a Turing Test at the Boston Computer Museum last November in the first year of a competition to determine, ultimately, whether such programs can be indistinguishable from humans in dialogues. The test is named for the British mathematician and computer pioneer who proposed it in 1950. This paper describes the competition, its preparation, and problems which await resolution in future Turing Tests that may culminate in a $100,000 award. The 1991 test was "restricted" in its rules and procedures lest a full test disadvantage the computer programs too severely. The contest posed issues concerning dialogue domains, language processing, inclusion of cognitive tasks, and other features. Since a Turing Test could be interpreted as involving "thinking" and "intelligence" (though Turing had little use for such terms), future tests should intrigue human factors.”

p. 443-447

Gillan, Douglas J. and Bias, Randolph G. (1992): The Interface between Human Factors and Design. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. pp. 443-447.

“Software designers with limited knowledge of human factors often play a crucial role in the design of user interfaces. The thesis of this paper is that the field of human factors needs to be concerned with the design of interfaces between itself and the rest of the design community. We identify the mission objective for the human factors-design interface as improving the overall quality of design by enhancing communication and the transfer of knowledge. A selected set of requirements for the interface includes (1) communication, from human factors to designers, of proven and relevant design approaches, and (2) communication, from designers to human factors, of pertinent design constraints and methods of integrating human factors concerns and data into design. A discussion of concepts for the human factors-design interface describes and analyzes educational technologies (e.g., video classes and short courses), an electronic gatekeeper (a bulletin board-like system through which human factors experts and designers communicate), and design analysis software (which automatically apply human factors principles to designs).”

p. 448-452

Carter, Jim A. (1992): Standards, the Future, and Designers. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. pp. 448-452.

“This paper explores the growing relationship between HCI developers and HCI standards. It includes a comprehensive background of WHO (more than just users and developers), WHAT (there are standards and then there are Standards), WHERE (a variety of HCI standards are coming from a variety of groups), WHEN (standard development takes time), WHY (standards are inevitable). It then discusses HOW these standards will effect HCI developers and in particular the HCI design process and compliance with HCI standards. It concludes with agendas of standard related activities both for HCI standardizers and for HCI development organizations.”

p. 453-457

Jones, Peter H. and Biers, David W. (1992): Relative Contribution of Training and Interface Design to Mental Model Assimilation. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. pp. 453-457.

“The purpose of the study was to determine the relative efficacy of training (advance organizers) and interface design in the formation of a mental model of a menu-oriented data base management system. The study employed a 2 X 5 factorial between-subjects design with two levels of Menu Interface (Data vs. Task) and 5 levels of Advance Organizers (None, Functional Job Description, Spatial Menu Map, Data Menu Map, Task Menu Map). Subjects engaged in a series of tasks which simulated the operation of a video store. Results indicated that the task-oriented menu interface resulted in less task completion time, fewer errors, and greater lexical model assimilation than did the data-oriented menu interface. There were no significant differences in these same measures as a function of advance organizer condition (training). This suggests that the actual interface itself may have more to do with the formation of a mental model and that some interface designs lead to better assimilation of the system model than do others. The failure to obtain an effect of advance organizers was attributed to lack of use of the training material, task and interface simplicity, and subject familiarity with the task domain.”

p. 458-459

Cochran, Edward L. (1992): Designing Control Rooms for the Year 2000: New Technologies, New Techniques?. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. pp. 458-459.

“Control rooms are one of the most visible areas of applied human factors, and they represent perhaps the most thorough integration of the various disciplines that comprise the field. Control rooms may well be revolutionized by the turn of the century through the widespread application of technologies that are just now emerging. This symposium will explore, from a variety of perspectives, the technologies likely to affect the next generation of control rooms. We hope to stimulate debate about which emerging technologies are likely to have significant impact, how control room designers should incorporate those technologies in the near term (and plan for them in the long term), and how the enhanced capabilities of the operators of large systems of the future could affect the design of those systems.”

p. 460-464

Cochran, Edward L. (1992): Control Room User Interface Technology for the Year 2000: Evolution or Revolution?. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. pp. 460-464.

“Control rooms -- central facilities used to manage large systems such as industrial processes and communication networks -- are a relatively recent innovation. As the operators of large systems are asked to perform more efficiently, use more sophisticated control systems, and take on more duties and responsibilities, developers of control room equipment have sought to improve operators' ability to interact effectively with their systems. Control rooms have evolved as a result: Pen recorders and mechanical gauges were replaced by text displays on low-resolution monochrome cathode ray tubes, which were in turn supplanted by higher resolution color graphics displays. A new generation of technology now emerging from multiple disciplines will greatly affect control rooms. Some of these technologies, such as bigger displays, improved simulations, and better graphics, represent evolutionary advances. Others, including artificial intelligence technologies such as user intent recognition and context-sensitive aiding, user interface technologies such as virtual reality, multimedia, and true three-dimensional displays, and systems technologies such as object-oriented programming techniques and high-performance communications, may well revolutionize the control rooms of the future, replacing supervisory control with collaborative operations in which the system and the operator will share tasks associated with planning, conducting, and optimizing operations.”

p. 470-474

Flach, John M. and Bennett, Kevin B. (1992): Graphical Interfaces to Complex Systems: Separating the Wheat from the Chaff. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. pp. 470-474.

“There seems to be a clear consensus that graphical interfaces provide an opportunity to integrate data from complex process in a way that can greatly enhance the problem solving ability of human operators in the future. However, this consensus is masked by a proliferation of terms to express this position in the basic and applied research literatures (e.g., "integrality," "configurality," "proximity-compatibility," "visual momentum," "direct manipulation," and "ecological interface"). While the subtle nuances that distinguish among these terms are of academic interest, designers have greater concern for the general principles that might be gleaned from across the subtle distinctions. Base on a thorough review of the basic and applied literature (Bennett&Flach, In press), we argue that there is one basic characteristic of graphical representations that is critical for supporting problem solving. A good graphical display is one whose geometric (space/time) constraints reflect the functional constraints in the process being represented. In this presentation, we will demonstrate what we mean by a "functional constraint" in a process and a "geometric constraint" in a display. We will demonstrate alternative mappings from "functional constraints" to "geometric constraints." We will also discuss the implications of these mappings for the type of processing (cognitive versus perceptual) required of the human operator.”

p. 475-479

Otto, Norman C. and Wakefield, Gregory H. (1992): The Design of Automotive Acoustic Environments: Using Subjective Methods to Improve Engine Sound Quality. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. pp. 475-479.

“The sensory environment of the vehicle is an area where customer expectations have greatly increased in recent years. For example, sound quality has become a very important factor in determining customer perception of vehicle quality and value. In this paper, a method for evaluating sound quality is presented and used in an engine design application. As part of the design of a future midsize vehicle, 14 engine component modifications were being considered as ways to improve sound quality. A subjective evaluation was carried out to determine if these modifications had any effect on perceived sound quality and, if so, which modifications provided the greatest sound quality benefit. A paired comparison method was used in which subjects judged, first, similarity and, then, preference. The similarity results showed that the vehicle sounds were indeed perceived quite differently. Additional analysis, using multidimensional scaling, revealed that most of these differences could be attributed to just three of the modifications (lightweight valvetrain, crankshaft counterweight, and accessory drive). The preference results confirmed that these three components also governed the valuative judgements. As a result of this study, these modified components were included in the final vehicle design. More generally, the subjective evaluation and analysis procedure described here offers a means for bringing human factors into the design of automotive acoustic environments.”

p. 48-51

Weinstein, Lisa F., Ercoline, William R. and Bitton, D. Foster (1992): The Utility of a Ghost Horizon and Climb/Dive Ladder Tapering on a Head-Up Display. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. pp. 48-51.

“As part of an Air Force effort to standardize HUD symbology, an unusual attitude recovery task was employed to investigate the utility of a cue, the ghost horizon, that indicates the direction of the actual horizon when the climb/dive ladder horizon line is not within the HUD field of view. Six HUD-experienced and 6 non-HUD-experienced military pilot subjects were used to determine whether there was improvement, with the ghost horizon, in ability to recover from nose-down unusual attitudes in a flight simulator. The ghost horizon was evaluated with 3 different climb/dive ladder line configurations (tapered, non-tapered, reverse tapered). In terms of accuracy of the initial stick input, the ghost-horizon configurations resulted in significantly better performance (about 11% better) than did the non-ghost-horizon configurations. The ghost horizon had no effect on initial stick input reaction time or total recovery time. The climb/dive ladder line taper configuration did not affect accuracy, initial stick input reaction time, or total recovery time. Subjective data indicated that the pilots did not have a strong preference for any of the configurations. These findings suggest that the ghost horizon is a useful aid to unusual attitude recovery performance, and may reduce spatial disorientation.”

p. 480-484

Erlichman, Jason (1992): A Pilot Study of the In-Vehicle Safety Advisory and Warning System (IVSAWS) Driver-Alert Warning System Design. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. pp. 480-484.

“This pilot study was conducted to obtain preliminary information regarding alternative signalling presentations and symbologies for the Driver-Alert Warning System design within the In-Vehicle Safety Advisory and Warning System Program sponsored by the Federal Highway Administration. Preliminary analysis had been conducted by both Hughes Aircraft Company and The University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute. The pilot study concentrated of the driver attributes of understanding, relative effectiveness and signalling format. Thirteen subjects were exposed to the new pictograms prototyped on a Macintosh computer and were requested to verbalize their understanding and preferences in regard to varying signalling characteristics. These characteristics included, a) monochrome, b) color, c) blink, d) tone, e) text message and f) voice message. The results indicated that, as a group, the combination of color, audio tone, text and voice message was the preferred signalling presentation. Gender differences were noted with the female subjects indicating a preference for the combination that included color and blink. All pictograms were recognizable by the subjects and all subjects agreed that IVSAWS would be a substantial aid to the driver.”

p. 485-489

Kweon, O'Seong, Schlegel, Robert E. and Purswell, Jerry L. (1992): Power Window Control Location Stereotypes. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. pp. 485-489.

“A paper-and-pencil survey instrument and an operational test were used to assess stereotype strength for automobile power window controls. Control panel layout (square vs. linear) and mounting plane were examined along with stereotype differences between subjects with technical backgrounds and those with non-technical backgrounds. A total of 273 participants ranging in age from 16 to 50 completed the survey instrument which requested responses to questions about which control was expected to activate a specified window. Subject preference for a particular control configuration was also solicited. A square control layout mounted on the instrument panel exhibited the strongest stereotype (94% of consistent responses for a single pattern) although it was the least preferred (22%). A square configuration mounted on the door panel possessed the second strongest stereotype (67% and 28% of consistent responses for the top two response patterns) and the highest preference (47%). A linear configuration mounted on the door panel exhibited a weaker stereotype (57% and 36% of consistent responses for the top two response patterns) and was preferred by 31% of the subjects. Preference tended to follow familiarity with controls in existing vehicles rather than ease of use or isomorphic arrangement. Twenty-four of the survey participants were also tested using actual power window controls mounted in a vehicle mockup. The subject's task involved moving the left hand as quickly as possible from the steering wheel to the subject's selected control upon presentation of a pictorial or verbal cue to raise or lower a specific window. Cue presentation and measurement of reaction time and movement time were provided by a PC. The square control layout mounted on the instrument panel was superior in terms of response time, stereotype strength and response consistency.”

p. 490-493

Loring, Beth A., Wiklund, Michael E. and Smith, Clark (1992): Menu System Suited to Novice and Experienced Users of an Automobile Navigation System. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. pp. 490-493.

“Computer-based products require designers to make trade-offs between the product's initial and long term ease of use. The trade-off decisions are particularly important in the design of a computer-based automobile navigation system (ANS). An ANS designed for the mass market must serve the needs of both first time users, such as rental car drivers, and those who may purchase cars equipped with the device and use it on a daily basis. In our efforts to design the user interface to an ANS, we sought a means to protect new users from advanced functions that would frustrate the early learning experience. At the same time, we sought a smooth method for everyday users to access advanced functions. In this paper, we briefly explain automobile navigation systems, and then discuss our design solution.”

p. 494-498

Vaubel, Kent P. and Young, Stephen L. (1992): Components of Perceived Risk for Consumer Products. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. pp. 494-498.

“The present study examined the underlying dimensions associated with perceived risk for consumer products. Eighty undergraduate students evaluated 40 products using seventeen rating questions. Principal components analysis was then performed on the ratings. Results indicated the presence of three underlying components or dimensions along which the products varied. The first component dealt with qualitative aspects of the risks associated with a product, such as the degree to which potential hazards were known (or knowable) and the immediacy of their onset. The second component concerned subjects' familiarity with the product. The third component was associated with quantitative aspects of the risks and reflected notions about the magnitude of the potential harm (in terms of the number of potential victims) that might be incurred as a result of using the product. Subsequent regression analyses revealed that each dimension was significantly related to subjects' rated intent to act cautiously with a product. Overall, these results suggest that people do not perceive consumer products unidimensionally. Rather, such perceptions are best conceptualized as reflecting multiple underlying facets.”

p. 499-503

Ayres, Thomas J., Gross, Madeleine M., Horst, Donald P. and Robinson, J. Neil (1992): A Methodological Taxonomy for Warnings Research. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. pp. 499-503.

“Beginning with several empirical papers in the late 1970's, there has been considerable research concerned with assessing the effectiveness of such attempted safety interventions as on-product warnings and safety signs. The focus of research on warnings has shifted from a debate on whether warnings work to systematic investigation of the factors that do or could influence safety-related product-user behavior. From the perspective of safety, the logical test of a warning must be reduction of the frequency and/or severity of accidents and injuries. A taxonomy of available research methods is described; strengths and problems associated with each method are discussed. Although research on topics related to warnings may legitimately address a wide variety of psychological issues, informed safety policy-making should rely primarily on well-controlled real-world studies. Within the restricted aim of making unambiguous contributions to generalizations that can inform safety policy, some methodological cautions are appropriate for both researchers and practitioners.”

p. 509-513

Schoorlemmer, W. and Kanis, H. (1992): Operation of Controls on Everyday Products. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. pp. 509-513.

“Previous research shows that the self-reliance of physically impaired people can be seriously jeopardized by their inability to operate controls on everyday products. In the research reported in this paper a study is made into the operational difficulties faced by people suffering from Parkinson's disease, from spasticism, from visual impairments, and by physically non-impaired subjects. This paper reports the forces that can be exerted by these subjests, the way they actually manipulate controls, and the operational difficulties the subjects experience including both the force exertion and other operational difficulties. Finally, design implications are briefly looked into.”

p. 514-518

Gallimore, Jennie J., Brown, Michael E., Clarkston, Timothy P. and Petachi, Paul A. (1992): Effectiveness of the C-Sharp for Reducing Ergonomic Problems at VDT Workstations. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. pp. 514-518.

“The C-Sharp was designed to help reduce some of the ergonomic problems associated with long-term use of visual display terminal (VDT) workstations. The C-Sharp projects the viewed image at a farther distance than typical VDTs to reduce the amount of muscular work involved in accommodation and convergence to near targets. This may help to reduce or eliminate visual strain and temporary myopia. It was also designed to eliminate glare. The present study was conducted to evaluate the C-Sharp from a human factors standpoint and to assess its ability to reduce problems related to VDT use. Results indicate that the C-Sharp meets many of the recommendations of the American National Standard for Human Factors Engineering of Visual Display Terminal Workstations. The C-Sharp also allows bifocal wearers to keep their necks in natural postures rather than tilted backwards. In general, the C-Sharp has potential to reduce problems associated with VDT use.”

p. 519-522

Goonetilleke, Ravindra S. and Himmelsbach, Jennifer A. (1992): Shoe Cushioning and Related Material Properties. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. pp. 519-522.

“This study investigated the effect of dynamic material properties on the Perceived Level of Cushioning (PLC) in shoes. An Impact Tester was used to characterize the material properties. Three pairs of shoes were used in the two experiments conducted. Experiment 1 was aimed at establishing the effects during standing while experiment 2 was an attempt to relate the effects during walking. A 7-point scale was used to rate PLC. The results showed that during standing, PLC may be related to stiffness of the material, compression, and the time to reach maximum deceleration. However, during walking, PLC appears to be related to the maximum deceleration as measured by the Impact Tester.”

p. 52-56

Degani, Asaf, Palmer, Everett A. and Bauersfeld, Kristin G. (1992): "Soft" Controls for Hard Displays: Still a Challenge. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. pp. 52-56.

“Future trends in design of controls and displays for cockpit sub-systems (electrical, pneumatics, fuel, etc.), will undoubtedly focus on replacing dedicated "hard" controls with reconfigurable "soft" controls depicted on the sub-system schematic display. This concept would allow for direct manipulation of mechanical components via the display. The case study reported here discusses the approach, redesign, and evaluation of soft controls and multi-functional displays for the Advanced Concepts Flight Simulator (ACFS), a two-engine, "generic" airliner. The redesign effort focused on the input interface (a touch sensitive screen), the display concept, and improving "navigation" among sub-system displays. The paper concludes with a summary of questionnaire data and comments of 26 airline pilots who flew a four-segment mission in the simulator. The subjective results indicated that pilots favored the direct manipulation concepts and the ability to link alerts, procedures, and configuration tasks. However, the technology used to support this concept still requires improvements.”

p. 523-527

Akagi, Kenichi (1992): A Computer Keyboard Key Feel Study in Performance and Preference. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. pp. 523-527.

“A study was conducted to compare user preference and performance of four keyboards having different key force and travel characteristics. Two keyboards had linear spring key action, one with low (key force) resistance (42.5 grams) and one with high resistance (70.9 grams). The other two keyboards had tactile (snap) action, one with low resistance (35.5 grams) and one with high resistance (70.9 grams). All four keyboards were manufactured by the same company, and were visually identical in size, layout, color, etc. There was no difference in typing sound and traveling distance among the four keyboards. Twenty four touch typists typed material taken from a college psychology textbook for seven to eight minutes on each keyboard. Between changing keyboards, the participants rested one minute. The two low resistance (35.5 grams tactile, 42.5 grams linear spring action) keyboards produced 23.3% more errors (57% of total errors) than the two high resistance keyboards (43% of total errors). There was a 10.28% difference in errors between the low resistance spring and the low tactile action keyboards, and there was only a 2.95% difference in error between the high resistance spring and the high resistance tactile action keyboards. The lighter the key resistance, the more errors were produced. The average typing speed of all of the participants indicated that there was no significant typing speed difference among the four keyboards. The keyboards preferred by the participants were almost evenly distributed among the low resistance linear (42.5 grams, 29% of participants), the low resistance tactile (35.5 grams, 29% of participants) and the high resistance tactile (70.9 grams, 25% of participants) keyboards. The high resistance linear (70.9 grams, 17% of participants) keyboard was chosen least.”

p. 528-532

Kalsher, Michael J., Wogalter, Michael S. and Gilbert, Carolyn M. (1992): Connoted Quantity of Food-Label Modifier Terms. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. pp. 528-532.

“This descriptive study examined a set of modifier terms (e.g., reduced, enriched) that might be used to indicate amounts of substances in food products. In the context of a mock shopping task, participants were asked to complete a survey that assessed the implied meaning of each of 55 terms, 28 connoting varying degrees of decrease and 27 connoting increase. For each set of modifier terms, participants estimated the amount that each term implied and the likelihood that they would purchase a food product with the term paired with substances that they were advised to consume or avoid. The results showed that the terms used in this study connoted a broad range of quantities. Several alternative terms not currently used or under consideration by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration may be effective in helping consumers make finer distinctions among products and, presumably, wiser purchase decisions. The results also suggest that caution be exercised when selecting modifier terms since some terms are less consistent in their connoted meaning than others. Thus, instead of arbitrarily selecting modifier terms and then initiating expensive, large-scale nutrition training programs to train the public, it is recommended that a limited number of modifier terms based on their extant meaning to a broad segment of the population should be used. Future research on developing an optimal set of modifier terms is discussed.”

p. 538-542

MacKinnon, David P., Stacy, Alan W., Nohre, Liva and Geiselman, R. Edward (1992): Effects of Processing Depth on Memory for the Alcohol Warning Label. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. pp. 538-542.

“The experiment examined: (1) the effects of different types of processing of the alcohol beverage warning label on memory for the label content, (2) potential measures of memory for the alcohol warning label, and (3) whether cues to the alcohol warning label increase memory for the content of the label. We hypothesized that the warning label may be processed in three ways: (1) persons may read the label, (2) persons may read the label and describe its content to others, and (3) persons may see the label but not cognitively process the label. Processing effects were operationalized as three orienting tasks to the label (read, paraphrase, and count) which were compared to a control condition (no experimental exposure to the warning label). Four tests (free recall, recognition, word-stem completion, and controlled association) were compared. In one additional condition, subjects were cued to the warning label without prior experimental exposure. The free recall test was the most sensitive measure to different levels of processing. Average memory scores for the paraphrase and read conditions were higher than the count and control conditions. Average memory performance in the cued condition was superior to the control condition, suggesting that subjects remember the content of the warning from exposure to the label outside this experiment.”

p. 543

Deivanayagam, S., Bishu, Ram R., Freivalds, Andris, Green, Paul and Lee, Chin (1992): Innovative Ideas for Laboratory Exercises. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. p. 543.

“The panel session is designed to provide a forum for educators to exchange information about the laboratory class exercises. It was observed at the Educators Professional Group there are many common features in the first course taught in human factors/ergonomics area across the nation. The requirement of laboratory experience is one such common feature. The importance of the panel session can be stated in terms of the benefits for all human factors educators. The laboratory experience forms an important and effective component of human factors education. Curriculum updating is a continuous process and educators are always seeking innovative ideas and effective means of delivering the subject matter. The panel session, it is hoped, will serve the purposes of curriculum improvement and delivery in a small but definite way.”

p. 544-547

Stramler, Jr. James H. (1992): The Dictionary for Human Factors/Ergonomics: A Significant Reference Work in Human Factors. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. pp. 544-547.

“Terminology is probably the most important factor in learning or working in any field. The Dictionary for Human Factors/Ergonomics is the result of a major effort to prove the first single source containing a large proportion of the terms used in all areas of human factors/ergonomics. A number of benefits accrue from having this work available. Some of the problems encountered in writing this dictionary are discussed. The ultimate goal for this work is to serve as a terminology standard in human factors/ergonomics.”

p. 548-552

Caldwell, Barrett S. (1992): Human Factors and Educational Quality. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. pp. 548-552.

“This paper discusses the demands on and by universities to update and improve educational delivery in an increasingly difficult economic context. The actions of a number of universities consider the criteria of Total Quality Management (TQM) as a strategy for improving educational quality. However, from a human factors approach, the most immediately obvious types of quality interventions may prove inadequate to address the complexity of the instructional space setting. Drawing on a combination of previous and current work in the field of educational quality improvement, the author addresses the need for an integrated human factors approach that includes ergonomic, aesthetic, and facilities management issues. Such an approach is largely absent from the research and applications literature. Much of the existing knowledge applicable from a human factors standpoint is isolated and fragmented, and does not address the classroom as a complex system. The author also presents the concept of a Classroom and Laboratory Instructional Quality (CLIQ) evaluation facility which can contribute a realistic and effective educational experience for future generations of human factors professionals. The CLIQ facility, while providing important research and training experience, can also serve large numbers of undergraduate students by identifying quality improvement strategies to enhance current and future classrooms and other instructional spaces.”

p. 553-555

Freivalds, Andris and Goldberg, Joseph H. (1992): Integrated Workstations for the Instruction of Job Design and Evaluation. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. pp. 553-555.

“There are pressing needs to enhance the quality of undergraduate engineering instruction, including human factors engineering. Specific curricular and philosophical issues include: 1) Integration of Work Measurement and Human Factors, 2) Applications driven laboratories, 3) Open-ended problems, 4) Compartmentalization of knowledge, 5) White-collar work. In summary, the end goals of this laboratory development are innovative job design and evaluation workstations, which can provide students with real-world, open-ended problems. Two different workstations are proposed: a workstation appropriate for typical blue-collar assembly work and a workstation appropriate for white-collar computer driven work. The white-collar workstation will simulate modern-computer driven office jobs, and the common factors influencing their productivity, such as speed, accuracy, noise, illumination, etc. The blue-collar workstation would be centered around a typical assembly process found in the U.S. automotive industry. Specifically, carburetor assembly will be utilized because of the large number of fairly intricate parts, the highly repetitive and rapid assembly process, and the need for power driven tools. These also happen to be the prime factors that are thought to increase the incidence of cumulative trauma disorders in U.S. industry. The students will examine tool parameters, and be able to adjust the support of the tool with tool balancers, cut the detrimental impact of power tools on the hand, using the reaction torque bars and implement novel approaches, such as arm rests or arm slings as used in Sweden.”

p. 556-560

Ellis, R. Darin and Goldberg, Joseph H. (1992): Introductory Human Factors Engineering Courses: What is Currently Taught. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. pp. 556-560.

“Course syllabi were requested from 43 U.S. undergraduate engineering programs to assess the structure and content of introductory Human Factors Engineering courses. Such information is valuable for new faculty and those who want to redesign their courses. Educators in industry also must constantly evaluate their courses to ensure their material is current. Syllabi were received from 27 of the programs. Factors considered were textbooks, credits, ABET credit categories, grading, and TA usage. Course topics were analyzed by frequency of appearance across the courses. The most popular topics were vision and hearing-related, displays, anthropometry, and workspace evaluation and design. Less popular topics, included liability, technical writing, shiftwork, and occupational stress.”

p. 561-562

Goldberg, Joseph H., Champney, Paul C., Karn, Keith S., Riley, Michael W. and Peacock, Brian (1992): First Course in Human Factors Engineering: What Should be Taught?. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. pp. 561-562.

“Industry and academia often have differing desires in the introductory Human Factors education of engineering students. Industry seeks solutions to current problems, whereas academia can communicate state-of-the-art concepts without immediate application. This panel session united members of academia and industry for discussion of what topics and structure should underlie a one-semester, introductory, survey course in Human Factors Engineering. Each panel member expressed his opinion of what should be in such a course, followed by discussion aimed at achieving consensus of opinions.”

p. 563-565

Braun, Curt C. (1992): Increasing the Breadth of the Human Factors Scientist-Practitioner. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. pp. 563-565.

“It has been 40 years since the Department of Defense first commissioned the development of the Human Engineering Guide to Equipment Design. In this, the 40th anniversary year, it is fitting to examine the training of human factors purveyors and provide suggestions for supplemental training where little formal training exists. Review of current human factors education programs reveals that many of the published guidelines are, to a greater degree, being fulfilled. These findings should be encouraging, yet human factors educators, students, and practitioners alike are hesitant to conclude that psychologists or human factors specialists are necessarily complete upon attaining these skills. Many newly graduated human factors practitioners, while competent in human processes, do not possess the skills and background necessary to perform in a variety of domains. The goal of this symposium is to address the issues of human factors training by providing curriculum material designed to build upon fundamental skills.”

p. 568-571

Kline, Paul B. and McAlindon, Peter J. (1992): A Human Factors Tool Kit. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. pp. 568-571.

“The variety of tools and techniques available to help the human factors professional apply basic research data to the real world is constantly increasing. Despite this, there are few available sources of objective information about tools. Most of the information available to practitioners comes in the form of advertisements and professional contacts. Unfortunately, the emphasis is often on newest or latest when less expensive 'low tech' solutions may work just as well. Moreover, there are likely tools or techniques known to practitioners in one area of the human factors that are unknown to individuals in other areas of the discipline. The current effort seeks to identify tools useful to the human factors professional and to increase awareness of existing tools which can facilitate the application of Human Factors data to the real world. An added emphasis was placed on those tools which can be employed easily and inexpensively.”

p. 57-61

Selcon, S. J., Taylor, R. M. and Shadrake, R. A. (1992): Multi-Modal Cockpit Warnings: Pictures, Words, or Both?. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. pp. 57-61.

“This paper examines the requirement for, and benefits of, multi-modal information presentation in cockpit warning systems. It also attempts to provide an account of the nature and levels of processing involved when information from one source is integrated with a supposedly redundant additional source to provide a performance gain in choice reaction time (RT) tasks, and its applicability to other cockpit systems. An experiment is described which used warning/caution 'icons' (pictorial representations of danger situations) and verbal warning messages, both singly and in combination. The visual icons were generated by RAF aircrew, using an iterative design process, as being meaningful pictorial representations of real-world warnings. Subjects were required to identify whether the situations presented warnings i.e. high priority/immediate action or cautions i.e. low priority/immediate awareness. The results obtained showed a significant decrease in response latencies when correlated bi-modal information was given as compared to the uni-modal conditions. The high level of abstraction of these icons strongly implied that the performance gains occurring must be as the result of the integration of 'information' rather than 'data'. Subjective Situational Awareness Rating Technique (SART) scores also showed that benefits may also be accrued through reduced workload and increased depth of understanding. The results of these experiments are considered in terms of current Information Processing and Neural Network theories and an attempt to provide a cognitive model of this integrality effect is also described.”

p. 572-574

Urban, Julie M., Braun, Curt C. and Weaver, Jeanne L. (1992): The Human Factors Toxicologist. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. pp. 572-574.

“Toxicology is a relatively new science in which much work is needed. The human factors professional is uniquely qualified to contribute to this field in a variety of ways. On a long-term basis, the work of the human factors professional is needed for a) the development of appropriate testing procedures to identify situations of unknown exposure, and b) the monitoring of research on the effects of specific toxins to serve the basis of legal exposure standards. There is also an immediate need for the human factors professional's knowledge of systems integration, design, and training to protect the human from the toxins to which he/she may be currently exposed in a variety of environments.”

p. 575-577

McVey, G. F., McCrobie, Daniel E., Evans, Deane, Parsons, H. McIlvaine, Templar, John A., Konz, Stephan and Caldwell, Barrett S. (1992): Interactions between Environmental Design and Human Factors Specialists. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. pp. 575-577.

“Most of the interactions between human factors specialists, such as ergonomists, and environmental specialists such as facility planners and architects tend to be task specific and do not follow any accepted process. Consequently, the success of such interactions are usually a function of serendipity rather than informed expectation. It is anticipated that by gathering such specialists in an open discussion, relevant issues may be addressed and successful interaction procedures introduced and discussed. Such a forum is desirable for developing an understanding of the differences, educational and operational, between environmental design specialists, and human factors specialists, as well as for exploring the ways their communications can be enhanced. It is anticipated that by sharing their experiences with the attendees, the presenters will identify relevant on-going knowledge transfer activities, and also introduce and discuss practical problem-solving and communication methods that can be used with assurance by the attendees themselves when faced with similar problems in the future. This panel will focus on issues that arrive out of situations where human factors specialists and environmental design specialists are joined together in project development. The specialties represented include architecture, facility planning, environmental psychology, ergonomic research, industrial design and engineering, and equipment and furniture design and manufacturing.”

p. 578-581

Malassigne, Pascal and Amerson, Thomas L. (1992): In the Era of ADA, Do We Really Have Accessible Bathrooms: A Survey. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. pp. 578-581.

“A postal opinion survey examined several issues related to use of home modifications, bathrooms and bathroom fixtures by 783 adults with disabilities. Key research issues included the following questions: 1. What are the types of approaches and transfers to bathtubs and toilets made by non-ambulatory people, and how do they differ from the approaches and transfers of those who are semi-ambulatory? 2. How effective are grab-bars in transferring to and from the bathtub or the toilet? 3. What are the design features of the lavatory which are liked or disliked by semi and non-ambulatory users? Of those responding to the questionnaire, 60% were older than 50 years of age; so the opinions or experiences expressed may be more reflective of an older population. Of the non-ambulatory respondents, 83% used a manual chair and 17% used an electric wheelchair. Among semi-ambulatory respondents, 28% used a cane or crutches for assistance. Most respondents lived with family, and modifications were made in 69% of these homes to enhance independence in daily activities. Nearly half of the respondents were unsatisfied with their bathroom fixtures. Although there was a relatively wide range of responses depending upon the type of disability impairment of respondents, strong preferences (or dislikes) were noted for fixture designs.”

p. 582-585

O'Neill, Michael J. (1992): AutoNet: An Application of a Neural Network Simulation as a Tool for Planning Office Layout. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. pp. 582-585.

“When people have trouble finding their way through office gettings, there are costs in terms of poor communication, lost efficiency, time, and stress (Brill, et. al., 1984; O'Neill, 1991; Weisman, 1981; Zimring, 1981). To cope with wayfinding problems, facilities managers often have to resort to partial solutions, like complex signage, color coding schemes, and other methods to guide people. AutoNet is an experimental computer-aided design and planning tool that predicts the paths people will take through a building based on the layout of the space and their level of experience. AutoNet represents environmental information by using an artificial 'neural network' simulation. The mechanisms of this simulation are based on the physiology of the brain. Knowledge about the layout of the environment is represented through a network of interconnected processing elements, modeled on the behavior of groups of neurons in the brain. Thus it can create its own rules for predicting worker behavior rather than using predetermined sets of rules that a typical expert system would rely on. This system has great flexibility since there are no rules to rewrite for each setting it evaluates. The predictive validity of this simulation was empirically validated (O'Neill, 1991). This software runs within a popular and commonly available CAD software package in an MS-DOS environment. AutoNet is viewed as a "macro-ergonomic" tool to enhance the office work environment (Hedge&Ellis, 1990).”

p. 591-595

Hashimoto, Shusa and Nihei, Tadashi (1992): Environmental Evaluation of Control Rooms in Nuclear Power Plants. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. pp. 591-595.

“In recent years, it has been expected more than before that the indoor environment of control rooms in nuclear power plants will be made more comfortable without inhibiting function. In order to derive the environmental problems of control rooms in nuclear power plants that should be discussed, the design standards and operators' complaints were investigated. As a result, some problems such as unsuitable lighting, noisy acoustics and operators' dissatisfaction with their enclosed circumstances were derived. In order to improve the indoor environments and to establish comprehensive environmental evaluation methodology, experiments on environmental factors such as indoor view, noise level, glare on VDU and shift time-zone that were thought to be related to the above problems were conducted. 6 subjects' psychological, physiological and behavioral responses to their environments were measured in the environmentally changeable laboratory, which was mocked up like a control room. Subjects were imposed to do 2 kinds of VDU tasks. From Principal Component Analysis of the experimental results, some psychological, physiological and behavioral indices for evaluating indoor environments were obtained. Furthermore, the relationship between these indices and environmental factors was obtained by Multiple Regression Analysis. The multiple correlation values shows that the environmental factors were most reflected in the psychological evaluation indices. However, other indices are also important because psychological comfort does not always mean good physiological conditions or good task performance. The space functions of the room as a control room and operator's physicological condition should be considered for comprehensive environmental evaluation. The result shows that the introduction of dark green louver, potted plants/artificial window and noise reduction are desirable in control rooms.”

p. 596-597

Hornick, Richard J., Besco, Roben O., Harris, James L., Laughery, Sr. Kenneth R. and Sanders, Mark S. (1992): Forensics Practice -- Headaches and Remedies. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. pp. 596-597.

“Attorneys are increasingly using human factors practitioners to perform analyses and to testify as expert witnesses in product liability and personal injury cases. Previous panels and symposia have addressed a variety of technical considerations and applications in those arenas. However, there are many practical challenges in providing such services to the legal community in an effective and personally satisfying manner. This panel is focused on the practical matters faced by the individual human factors consultant providing services to the legal community. The panel is intended to explore different experiential perspectives regarding effective procedures for dealing with the unique demands of the litigation field.”

p. 598-602

Laughery, Kenneth R., Young, Stephen L. and Rowe, Anna (1992): Swimming Pool Diving Accidents: Human Factors Analyses of Case Study Data. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. pp. 598-602.

“As many as 350 serious spinal cord injuries occur in the United States every year as a result of diving into swimming pools. While there is substantial data on the demographics of injured divers and the events surrounding their injuries, there has been little analysis of the human factors issues associated with this type of accident. Data from 12 swimming pool diving accidents were analyzed in terms of their human factors issues, and the data revealed a number of consistent findings. By virtue of the fact that pools are fairly common, people generally perceive them to be safe. Compounding this sense of security are several interesting perceptual issues about the water depth and the potential risks. People inherently overestimate distances under water, and this effect is exacerbated by cloudy water. Also, all of the divers in this study were young males, who tend to be excessively optimistic and who hold an unrealistic sense of control over potential hazards. This characteristic of male divers was substantiated by the fact that, even when they knew the water was shallow, they unsuccessfully attempted a "shallow dive". In addition to these perceptions and control factors, there appears to be a lack of appreciation of the hazards associated with diving into swimming pools. Quadriplegia or death are not commonly perceived to be a consequence of diving. Several suggestions are offered which could lead to a reduction in the number and magnitude of swimming pool diving accidents. One approach is to provide an appreciation of the hazards and consequences associated with diving so people can exercise reasonable judgment about when and where to dive.”

p. 603-607

Chy-Dejoras, Evangeline A. (1992): Effects of an Aversive Vicarious Experience and Modelling on Perceived Risk and Self-Protective Behavior. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. pp. 603-607.

“A 2 x 3 between-subjects design was used to determine the effects of modelling and aversiveness of a vicarious experience on perceived risk and self-protective behavior. Modelling and aversiveness of experience were manipulated using an instructional videotape. Unprotected model and protected model conditions were compared. Benign, slightly aversive, and highly aversive conditions were compared. The dependent variables were self-protective behavior and perceptions regarding the hazardousness of the product, severity of injury, likelihood of injury, likelihood of an accident, and familiarity with the product. More subjects in the protected model group exhibited self-protective behavior compared to the control group. There was no difference in levels of perceived risk between the two groups. Aversiveness had an effect on self-protective behavior. The slightly aversive group showed an incidence of self-protective behavior significantly greater than that of the control group and the highly aversive group. Examination of the nature of manipulation used in the slightly aversive condition suggests that an ambiguous portrayal of the consequences of a hazard while implying its potential to inflict harm causes people to behave cautiously. The incidence of self-protective behavior in the highly aversive group did not differ significantly from that of the control group despite a significant difference in perceived levels of hazardousness. This is explained as a manifestation of the so-called "self-protective attribution of responsibility." Perceived hazardousness was found to be the primary predictor of self-protective behavior. Perceived severity and likelihood of injury were found to be the primary predictors of perceived hazardousness. A strong association was found between self-protective behavior and perceived personal susceptibility to injury.”

p. 611-615

Johnson, Daniel (1992): A Warning Label for Scaffold Users. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. pp. 611-615.

“The purpose of this research project was to develop a warning label which would: a) alert scaffold workers to the potential of danger when working on scaffolds, and b) to increase the likelihood they would seek out and read the safety guidelines supplied with the scaffolds. A warning was developed and tested on 150 potential users. It significantly increased subjects' behavioral intentions to seek safety information before working on a scaffold they had not been on before. This was true for inexperienced and experienced scaffold workers. This effect was not found for scaffolds the subjects supposedly had been on before. Highly experienced workers were less likely to comply with the warning than less experienced workers. It was concluded that the warning would increase the use of safety guidelines by those working on a scaffold that was new to them. But a new warning on a scaffold a worker had already been on would have no effect on the reading of safety guidelines.”

p. 616-620

Smith, Leighton L. (1992): Qualifying as an Expert Witness and a Perspective on Negligence. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. pp. 616-620.

“This article discusses the process of qualifying as an expert witness in court cases. The author's personal experience as a human factors expert witness in a representative case is described and used as an illustrative example. The role of the expert witness in typical injury litigations is described. The difficulty in convincing judges to allow such testimony by experts is also discussed. The value of human factors expert witness testimony is shown through the particulars of an inadvertent landing gear retraction accident lawsuit. In addition, a discussion of the negligence phase of these types of litigations is provided and it is demonstrated again using the landing gear case as illustration, how human factors expert witness testimony can be extremely integral to the judgment of negligence.”

p. 62-65

Sterman, M. B., Kaiser, D., Mann, C. and Francis, J. (1992): Topographic EEG Correlates of the Basic Attributes Test for Air Force Candidate Selection. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. pp. 62-65.

“Topographic EEG data were collected from subjects performing on three selected subtests of the Basic Attributes Test. Spectral analysis focused on the 8-12 Hz frequency band showed differences in cognitive demand among subtests, and individual differences in cognitive resource utilization which were related to performance.”

p. 621-625

Sloan, Gary D. (1992): The Application of an Expanded Accident Sequence Model to Forensic Human Factors. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. pp. 621-625.

“There are several models that assist the human factors specialist in identifying those behaviors that most likely contributed to an accident's occurrence. Of particular importance to forensic human factors specialists are models that can also serve as demonstrative aids in communicating the bases of their opinions to jurors. One such aid is a version of Ramsey's (1978) accident sequence model. The model, which has been expanded by the author, traces sequentially the activities that likely take place within the individual before an accident occurs. The expanded model prompts the investigator to ask the following questions: (1) Was the hazard detected? (2) If so, was it identified? (3) If correctly identified, were its characteristics perceived accurately? (4) If perception was veridical, was the individual alert to the danger? (5) If alert to the danger, did they appreciate the degree of risk involved? (6) If their assessment of risk was realistic, did the individual want to avoid the hazard? (7) And if they sought to avoid the hazard, could they to do so under the existing conditions? The author draws from cases in which he served as an expert witness to illustrate the model's application.”

p. 626-630

Cohen, David M. and Cohen, H. Harvey (1992): The Effects of the Image Factor in Televised Advertising on Consumer Perception. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. pp. 626-630.

“A review of the literature suggests that televised commercials display a definite image in presenting their product, and that airing of the commercial will have a predictable effect on consumer perception of the product advertised. The present study involved a questionnaire in which 140 subjects were asked to design a commercial using directed choices for one of four motor vehicle types: a mini-van, a pickup truck, a sports car or a luxury car. The hypothesis was that most subjects would design a commercial that reflected a definite image which would vary amongst vehicle types. Though the results did not support the original hypothesis in all respects, there were patterns of similarity in the responses which led to modification of the hypothesis, that being that image does not dictate the way motor vehicles in the commercials are perceived, but rather it directs the way they are perceived in accordance with viewers' varying needs and desires.”

p. 631-632

Nickerson, Raymond S. (1992): The NAS/NRC Committee on Human Factors: What It is and What It Does. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. pp. 631-632.

“The National Research Council's Committee on Human Factors attempts to identify human-factors research needs of special interest to its sponsors and of importance to the country as a whole. This paper gives a brief overview of what the committee is and how it functions, by way of introduction to the succeeding presentations, which describe three of its current activities.”

p. 633-635

Beck, Donald (1992): U.S. DOE's Office of Technology Development Solves Environmental Restoration and Waste Management Problems. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. pp. 633-635.

“DOE's 30-year goal is, by the year 2019, to clean up its current inventory of inactive sites and facilities and, on a much faster track, bring its nuclear-related sites and facilities into compliance with applicable Federal, State, and local laws and regulations. The U.S. DOE Environmental Restoration and Waste Management (EM) Office of Technology Development has program responsibility for providing new and more effective technologies for meeting DOE's 30-year compliance and cleanup goal. The Office of Technology Development seeks to resolve major technical issues and advance rapidly beyond current technologies for Environmental Restoration and Waste Management activities.”

p. 636-639

Nickerson, Raymond S. (1992): What Does Human Factors Research Have to Do with Environmental Management?. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. pp. 636-639.

“Human factors research has not focused much on the problem of environmental change and its management. The problem has many aspects that interrelate in complex ways. Its roots are in human behavior, so if approaches toward solutions are to be effective, they must involve modifying that behavior or mitigating its detrimental effects. A few suggestions of directions that human-factors efforts aimed at helping manage environmental change might take are made, but the main point of the paper is a plea for more discussion of the topic among human-factors researchers. Such discussion would result, it is assumed, in the identification of specific ways in which the field could contribute significantly to the development of solutions to the problem.”

p. 640-643

Moray, Neville (1992): Toward an Agenda for Error Research. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. pp. 640-643.

“There has been a great increase in interest in human error and its impact on the individual and society in recent years. The present symposium is but one example of this in a restricted area. Several general accounts of human error and the psychological mechanisms which underlie it have appeared in recent years, but for the most part these have concentrated on accounts of error based on research on the cognitive psychology of the individual. In this paper I discuss a more general framework for the study of error, not for the purpose of understanding it alone, but rather for putting into place a program for mitigating its effect in the larger arena of social impact. Only by integrating research at a variety of levels and using a variety of techniques can we hope to understand and control the effects of error.”

p. 644-648

Resnick, Marc L. and Chaffin, Don B. (1992): Some Ergonomic Considerations in the Design of Material Handling Devices. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. pp. 644-648.

“Material handling devices (MHD's) are being proliferated in factory workplaces to prevent workers from being injured due to the lifting of heavy loads. These devices require exertions which have not been adequately studied from an ergonomic perspective. Jobs with MHDs often require complex 3-dimensional movements and loaded axial rotation. One type of MHD, an articulated arm, was used to investigate the effects of inertial load, arm joint friction, and positioning accuracy requirements. The kinematic variables of peak push and pull hand forces, velocities, and accelerations were measured or computed in both a task that allowed sagittally symmetric postures as well as one in which loaded axial torso rotation was required. Greater inertial loads increased the peak push and pull hand forces in all cases by an average”

p. 649-653

Kim, Y., Lee, K. and Aghazadeh, F. (1992): Fatigue Effect on Lifting Acceleration in Frequent Lifting. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. pp. 649-653.

“The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of fatigue, caused by frequent manual lifting, on lifting velocity and lifting acceleration. Ten male volunteers performed lifting at a rate of 4 times per minute, continuously, for two hours using the free-style posture. A box (30cm x 30cm x 20cm) with a fixed weight (15.9 kg) was used as the load for lifting. Heart rate, oxygen consumption, and EMG were also measured to estimate the level of fatigue. The posture as well as acceleration was recorded. The results show that the lifting acceleration at the end of two hour increased”

p. 654-658

Gallagher, Sean and Hamrick, Christopher A. (1992): Maximum Acceptable Weights of Lift for Common Coal Mine Supply Items. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. pp. 654-658.

“A series of psychophysical lifting studies was conducted to establish maximum acceptable weights of lift (MAWL) for three supply items commonly handled in underground coal mines (rock dust bags, ventilation stopping blocks, and crib blocks). Each study utilized 12 subjects, all of whom had considerable experience working in underground coal mines. Effects of lifting in four postures (standing, stooping under a 1.5 m ceiling, stooping under a 1.2 m ceiling, and kneeling) were investigated together with four lifting conditions (combinations of lifting symmetry and lifting height). The frequency of lifting was set at 4 per minute, and the task duration was 15 minutes. Posture significantly affected the MAWL for the rock dust bag (standing MAWL was 7% greater than restricted postures and kneeling MAWL was 6.4% less than stooped); however, posture interacted with lifting conditions for both of the other materials. Physiological costs were found to be significantly greater in the stooped postures compared to kneeling for all materials. Other contrasts (standing versus restricted postures, stooping under 1.5 m ceiling versus stooping under 1.2 m ceiling) did not exhibit significantly different levels of energy expenditure. Energy expenditure was significantly affected by vertical lifting height; however, the plane of lifting had little influence on metabolic cost. Recommended acceptable workloads for the three materials are 20.0 kg for the rock dust bag, 16.5 kg for the ventilation stopping block, and 14.7 kg for the crib block. These results suggest that miners are often required to lift supplies that are substantially heavier than psychophysically acceptable lifting limits.”

p. 659-663

Karwowski, Waldemar and Brokaw, Nina (1992): Implications of the Proposed Revisions in a Draft of the Revised NIOSH Lifting Guide (1991) for Job Redesign: A Field Study. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. pp. 659-663.

“The main objective of this research project was to compare the recommended load limits for lifting tasks derived based on the NIOSH (1981) Lifting Guide and the proposed NIOSH Draft Revisions of (1991). The study involved the following steps: 1) Identification of a total of 15 manual lifting tasks from 8 different jobs performed at the industrial site, with different tasks characteristics in order to cover most of the possible lifting conditions considered under the Draft Revisions to the NIOSH Guide (1991), 2) Description of the lifting tasks variables for the identified jobs, 3) Calculation of the RWL values for the identified jobs per 1991 Lifting Guide, as well as the AL and MPL values according the 1981 Lifting Guide, 4) Comparison of the actual loads lifted (L) with the values of RWL, AL and MPL, and calculation. The results showed that the Draft Guide of 1991 was much more restrictive with respect to defining the lifting acceptable jobs. Under this Guide, 10 out of”

p. 664-668

Woldstad, Jeffrey C., Rockwell, Christopher J., Johnson, Christian A., McMulkin, Mark and McMahan, Paul B. (1992): Isometric Strength Capability for a Vertical Wheel-Turning Task. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. pp. 664-668.

“This paper reports on the measured isometric strength capability of 125 male and 125 female college students performing a one-handed wheel turning task. Three measures of isometric strength were used: (1) a three-second average of steady state levels taken from a six-second exertion, (2) the largest value (peak) from the same six-second exertion, and (3) a maximum exertion level taken from a separate "ramp-to-peak" exertion. Standardized whole-body strength measurements for the legs, arms, and torso as well as grip strength were also taken for each subject. The results presented in this paper demonstrate average isometric wheel turning strengths (torques) ranging from 109 to 152 N-m for males and 66 to 91 N-m for females, depending upon the strength measure used. The three strength measures were highly correlated, but produced significantly different estimates of strength. The three-second average produced the lowest estimate while the ramp-peak value produced the highest. Wheel turning strengths were also highly correlated with the standardized whole-body strength measures and with grip strength. Multiple regression models developed to predict wheel turning strength using these values accounted for 69 to 71 percent of the variation in the measures. The model results also suggest that grip strength plays an important role in determining wheel turning strength capability.”

p. 669-673

Rice, Valerie J., Sharp, Marilyn A., Williamson, Tania L. and Nindl, Bradley C. (1992): Effects of Gender, Lift Height, Direction, and Load on the Ability to Estimate Weight. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. pp. 669-673.

“The study evaluated the effects of gender, lift height, direction (lift/lower), and load on the ability to correctly estimate weight handled. Seven women and six men lifted and lowered boxes to and from knuckle, waist, and shoulder heights. Subjects were asked to estimate weights corresponding to 50, 40, 30, and 20% of gender specific lifting strength to 152 cm. The difference between the actual and estimated weight (DIFF) was 100% greater for men than for women (F = 6.27, p = 0.03). When the percent difference was analyzed, there was no significant gender effect. The least accurate estimates occurred when lowering a weight from knuckle height (p < 0.05). The majority of subjects underestimated the weight and men underestimated more frequently than women (Chi{squared} = 12.57, p = 0.0004). Subjects over-estimated the weight more often at higher weights. The results suggest that both men and women tend to underestimate weight, especially when lowering from knuckle height, possibly putting them at risk for injury.”

p. 674-678

Schacherer, Chris, Rowe, Anna and Jackson, Andrew S. (1992): Development of Prediction Models for Physical Work Capacity: Practical and Theoretical Implications. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. pp. 674-678.

“The use of pre-employment physical abilities tests has often been criticized as discriminatory to women, older people, and members of certain minority groups. In the present study, body composition (%fat) and VO2 Max were measured in a sample of 771 men and 159 women ranging in age from 21 to 66 years. A hierarchical regression analysis revealed that body composition, age, gender, and the interaction between gender and body composition all accounted for statistically significant proportions of variance in VO2 Max. The results are discussed in terms of their support for the validity of pre-employment physical abilities tests for placement in jobs with a high aerobic component.”

p. 679-683

Chen, Feng, Aghazadeh, Feredyoun and Lee, Kwan Suk (1992): Utilization of Direct Estimation Method to Predict the Maximum Acceptable Weight of Symmetrical and Asymmetrical Lift. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. pp. 679-683.

“The objective of this research was to study the effectiveness and accuracy of using the direct estimation method to determine a worker's lifting capacity or MAWOL of symmetrical and asymmetrical lifting tasks. Sixteen lifting tasks involving four different lifting angles and lifting frequencies were studied. In the first part of the study, ten male subjects performed sixteen lifting tasks to predict the MAWOL for each task condition using the psychophysical method. In the second session of the study, the MAWOL for sixteen task conditions were estimated using the direct estimation method. The results of this study indicate that direct estimation is an accurate method to establish MAWOL quickly for a series of lifting tasks. Analysis of the MAWOLs determined by two different methods indicated no significant difference between these two values. However, a significant difference was found between the direct estimated MAWOLs and the psychophysically predicted MAWOLs at the frequency of 1 lift/min with 30{deg} or 60{deg} asymmetry. This finding indicates as the interval between lifts increases, subjects have difficulty in making accurate estimates of the stress of the specific task, therefor, the direct estimation method should be used with caution.”

p. 684-687

Eckbreth, Kelly A. (1992): Ergonomic Improvement of a Machine Maintenance Procedure: A Case Study. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. pp. 684-687.

“An employee who performs maintenance work on machinery used in the manufacture of electronics equipment reported to the company medical department and was diagnosed with elbow tendinitis. An ergonomic job analysis was conducted and solutions implemented to prevent future injuries. Significant improvements were realized as a result of new tools, engineering changes, personal protective equipment, process changes, and ergonomic training. The most significant were the reduction of musculoskeletal stresses suffered by these workers as well as substantial reductions in machine downtime per year.”

p. 688-691

Jackson, Andrew S., Osburn, Hobart G., Laughery, Kenneth R. and Vaubel, Kent P. (1992): Validity of Isometric Strength Tests for Predieting the Capacity to Crack, Open, and Close Industrial Valves. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. pp. 688-691.

“Cracking, opening, and closing valves are physically demanding tasks required of chemical plant process operators. This study determined if isometric strength tests predicted the capacity to: 1) crack valves; and 2) fully open or close them. The study involved three interrelated steps: 1) complete task analyses to define the torque required to crack valves and the total amount of work required to open or close industrial valves; 2) develop valve turning simulation tests; and 3) complete laboratory studies to define the level of isometric strength demanded for valve turning performance. A total of 405 valves at two major chemical plants were measured to find the torque required to crack, open, and close industrial valves. These data were used to develop two job simulation tests, one measured valve cracking capacity, and the second the endurance needed to open or close a valve. An electronic torque wrench measured valve cracking capacity in eight different ways, and a valve turning ergometer measured the subject's endurance to work for 15 minutes at a power output of 1,413.5 foot-pounds/minute. The sum of isometric grip, arm lift, and torso lift strength tests ({Sigma}IS) measured strength. The isometric strength and endurance work valve tests were administered to 26 men and 25 women. The isometric strength and valve cracking tests were administered to a second sample of 118 men and 66 women. The correlations between {Sigma}IS and work test performance were 0.65 and 0.83 for valve cracking and valve endurance tests respectively. Logistic regression models defined the strength level needed to crack valves and completely close valves.”

p. 692-696

Vaidyanathan, Viswanath and Fernandez, Jeffrey E. (1992): MAF for Males Performing Drilling Tasks. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. pp. 692-696.

“A laboratory experiment was conducted using the psychophysical approach to determine maximum acceptable frequency (MAF) for a simulated sheet metal drilling task under varying angles of wrist flexion. Fifteen male students served as subjects for this study. The subjects were asked to perform a simulated drilling task in five different wrist flexion postures. Results indicated that MAF was significantly reduced (p<0.001) for deviated wrist postures in the transverse plane. It was noted that there was a 33% decrease in MAF values from 0 degree wrist flexion (neutral posture) to 40 degree wrist flexion. These results imply that industrial guidelines for drilling operations involving wrist flexion must consider the MAFs in order to reduce the risk of cumulative trauma disorders.”

p. 697-701

Alexander, David C. and Orr, Gary B. (1992): The Evaluation of Occupational Ergonomics Programs. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. pp. 697-701.

“The purpose of this article is to acquaint the reader with alternatives that can be used to evaluate occupational ergonomics programs. These evaluations are helpful in monitoring the effectiveness of the ergonomics program as well as to direct and enhance future efforts. The adage, "You don't manage what you can't measure", describes the purpose of ergonomic program evaluations. The benefits of ergonomic program evaluations include: * Objective reviews of program content and effectiveness; * Specific targeted improvements for program changes; * Clear understanding of program goals; * More efficient and effective ergonomic programs.”

p. 702-706

Jung, Eui S., Kee, Dohyung and Chung, Min K. (1992): Reach Posture Prediction of Upper Limb for Ergonomic Workspace Evaluation. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. pp. 702-706.

“Proper assessment of reach posture is one of the essential functions for ergonomic workspace evaluation in CAD systems with a built-in man-model. In this study, each upper limb is modelled as a four-link system, consisting of trunk, upper arm, lower arm, and hand, being regarded as a redundant manipulator with a total of eight degrees of freedom. Inverse kinematics is introduced in this study to predict the trajectory of multi-link segmental movement. Among several kinematic methods for solving the multi-link system, the resolved motion method was found to be effective to solve this redundant manipulator model, and the joint range availability was used as a performance function in order to guarantee local optimality. Real reach postures taken from the subject were analyzed by Motion Analysis System and showed reasonable results when compared to those obtained from the model.”

p. 707-711

Fredericks, Tycho K., Fernandez, Jeffrey E. and Rodrigues, Clarence C. (1992): Predicting the Maximum Acceptable Weight of Lift for an Asymmetrical Combination Task. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. pp. 707-711.

“This paper presents prediction models based on a study of a combination lift and lower manual handling task that was designed to simulate the loading of grocery bags into a car trunk. Twelve male subjects performed an externally-paced task of lifting plastic grocery bags (with handles) loaded with weights from 15 cm above the floor and over a wooden sill. There were two different sill heights of 70 cm and 90 cm, and for each of these heights there were two frequencies of 3 and 6 lifts per cycle. A unique lifting sequence and a modified version of the psychophysical methodology was used to determine the maximum acceptable weight of lift (MAWOL). Prediction models were determined for MAWOL based upon task, physiological and anthropometric variables as well as a combinations of these. The results indicated that MAWOL could be predicted fairly well.”

p. 71-75

Granda, Thomas M. and Vingelis, Patricia J. (1992): An Evaluation of an Altitude Awareness Study. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. pp. 71-75.

“Because of the increase in altitude deviations at USAir during the spring and summer of 1990, an Altitude Awareness Program was instituted in September of 1990. The program emphasized cockpit altitude awareness procedures for pilots to utilize when handling altitude clearances and pilot altitude awareness in general. The program included a data collection and analysis effort involving voluntary pilot reported altitude deviations and potential deviations. USAir's program was subsequently expanded by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to include the air traffic controllers at six mid-Atlantic facilities. The study, like the program, focused on a team approach and a positive data collection environment. The study results show that there was a significant difference between the average monthly rates of FAA reported altitude deviations concerning USAir flights for the thirteen month period prior to initiation of the Altitude Awareness Program and the fourteen month period after the program started. An error classification analysis showed that most of the pilot and controller errors were identified as information processing, task prioritization, and decision making errors.”

p. 712-716

Deeb, Joseph M. and Drury, Colin G. (1992): Perceived Exertion in Isometric Muscular Contractions Related to Age, Muscle, Force Level and Duration. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. pp. 712-716.

“This research was concerned with studying the development and growth of perceived effort of long-term isometric contractions as a function of muscle group (biceps vs quadriceps), of subjects with different age groups (20-29 vs. 50-59 years old) on long-term muscular isometric contractions (5 minutes) at different levels of {percent}MVC (20,40,60,80 and 100 {percent}MVC). An experiment testing 20 subjects each performing 10 conditions (two muscle groups x five levels of {percent}MVC) showed that the older age group reported Significantly higher perceived exertion at higher levels of {percent}MVC and across time. Furthermore, subjects experienced a higher and faster increase in their perceived exertion when the level of {percent}MVC and time increased.”

p. 717-721

Kancler, David E., Robbins, Glen C., Moroney, William F. and Biers, David W. (1992): The Effects of Tool Type and Barrier on Time Required for a Remove and Replace Task. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. pp. 717-721.

“The Air Force's CREW CHEF is a computer-graphics model of the physical characteristics of a maintenance technician. It is used to evaluate the ability of maintenance personnel to work in areas with respect to arm reach, operation of hand tools, strength available for torquing with wrenches, strength for manual materials handling, vision analysis, and accessibility analysis. A new CREW CHIEF feature under development is the Task Time Estimator, which will predict the time required to perform a remove/replace task in an obstructed environment. The goal of this experiment was to gather time to completion data and determine the effect of different tool type combinations. The task, performed while standing erect in a simulated work area, was to remove and replace a flange coupling while reaching through a six by eight inch opening. On half of the trials a barrier was positioned so as to restrict hand and tool movement. On the other half of the trials, no barrier was used. Thirty subjects, representative of USAF personnel, were divided into five groups, each of which utilized a different combination of wrenches (ratchet/box, box/box, box/open, open/box, and open/open). The ratchet/box and box/box tool combination resulted in the fastest completion times. The open/box combination resulted in intermediate completion times, while the box/open and open/open conditions produced the slowest completion times. Barrier presence increased the time required to complete both tasks and removal took less time than installation. Several noteworthy interactions and implications regarding tool selection are discussed.”

p. 722-723

Fisher, Donald L., Andres, Robert O., Buchholz, Bryan, Hughes, Richard and Marras, William S. (1992): Applications of Optimization in Biomechanics: Consensus and Controversy. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. pp. 722-723.

“Increasingly, optimization is appearing as an integral part of biomechanical solutions to ergonomic problems. The primary objective of this panel is to introduce several different optimization tools and point out their related strengths and weaknesses. Optimization techniques have been used to solve a wide range of ergonomic problems. These problems include those which prove the most costly of the occupationally related disorders (in particular, lower back disorders) and those which are the most frequently reported of the occupationally related disorders (in particular, repetitive motion disorders). The problems addressed by this panel will include the above two disorders as well as several related ones. Specifically, mention will made of both lower back disorders (Marras) and repetitive motion disorders (Fisher) as well as slips and falls (Andres), mechanical trauma to the upper extremities (Buchholz), and more general problems requiring the determination of muscle forces (Hughes). The applications were also chosen to provide a window on the controversy which is attached to the use of various optimization techniques. Three elements of the controversy will be discussed: the verifiability of the ideal or optimal models of the biomechanical system; the tractability of the optimization techniques; and the generality of the optimization techniques.”

p. 724-728

Rajulu, Sudhakar L. and Klute, Glenn K. (1992): Biomechanical Analysis of Locomotion Patterns in Earth, Lunar, and Martian Gravity Environments. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. pp. 724-728.

“The primary objectives of this study were to determine the factors that affect stability during locomotion in both lunar and martian gravity environments and to determine the criteria needed to enhance stability and traction. This study tested the effects of three different speeds of locomotion and three different patterns of locomotion under three gravity conditions. The results showed some similarities across gravity levels with regard to changing the speed as well as the pattern of locomotion. Interestingly, the study also showed that as the gravity level decreased, the ratio of horizontal to vertical forces increased significantly. It appears that the tendency to move forward will be more in reduced gravity than compared to earth gravity. Thus, to ensure safe locomotion in reduced gravity, additional traction might be needed. Finally, selection of an appropriate traction material surface should be based on how well the ratio of horizontal to vertical forces is reduced.”

p. 729-732

Prabhu, Girish V., Helander, Martin G. and Shalin, Valerie L. (1992): Effect of Product Structure on Manual Assembly Performance. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. pp. 729-732.

“Using Maynard's description, an assembly task may be divided into various task elements like reach, select, grasp, move, position, and assemble (Ghosh and Helander, 1985). Activities such as "reach" and "move" are governed by biomechanics of body motions including human factors principles such as Fitts' law. This research investigated the effect of the structure of the assembly and the type of assembly instructions on performance. Two different product structures were used -- a vertical assembly, built bottom-up, and a hierarchical assembly, consisting of several sub-assemblies. Two different instruction strategies were used: 1. top-down sequential instructions 2. No Instructions. The research showed that vertical products were easier for manual assembly, when provided with instructions. For all three dependant measures, there was no interaction effect between the two factors, namely product structure and instructions. Average time for completion was significant for both factors i.e. product structures (F(1,20) = 4.417, p < 0.0485) and instructions (F(1,20) = 5.886, p < 0.0248). However, time for learning was significant only for product structure factor (F(1,20) = 5.239, p < 0.033). Also, trials to learn was significant only for product structure factor (F(1,20) = 4.449, p < 0.047).”

p. 733-737

Griffith, Debra A., Reddan, William and Schmitz, William (1992): Heat Stress Associated with the Use of Tyvek Coveralls in Asbestos Removal Inspection. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. pp. 733-737.

“This two-part study was undertaken to determine if increased heat stress was associated with the use of Tyvek suits at a given temperature and workload, and the effect of ambient temperature on the level of heat stress experienced within the suit. In the first part of the study the independent variables were: ambient condition (22.2{deg} C and 50% rh vs. 32.2{deg} C and 60% rh) and workload (20% vs. 40% of maximum VO{sub:2}). The eight subjects ranged in age from 27 to 63, with equal numbers of men and women. Treadmill walking was used to simulate workload. Each experimental run lasted 45 minutes. In the second part, workload was fixed at 40% of maximum VO{sub:2} and the suits were not worn. All other conditions were the same. Subjects (female, age 32; male, age 32; male, age 63) were chosen from the original eight. Results for the two parts were compared. Wearing the suit increased the heat stress upon an individual. Rectal temperature increased by an average of .17{deg} C, heart rate by 16 bpm, average heat stored by 54 kcals, and average sweat loss by .73 liters/m{squared}. Ambient temperature appeared to have a positive effect on the level of heat stress experienced within the suit. There were confounds, indicating a need for further study. It is recommended that ACGIH guidelines for work-rest ratio determination be followed, providing one adds 6{deg}-11{deg} C to the calculated ambient WBGT before entering the chart. These findings agree with the TLV WBGT Correction factors for clothing provided in the 1991 ACGIH guidelines on heat stress and the findings of Paull and Rosenthal (1987).”

p. 738-741

Myung, Rohae, Smith, James L. and Leamon, Tom B. (1992): Slip Distance as an Objective Criterion to Determine the Dominant Parameter between Static and Dynamic COFs. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. pp. 738-741.

“Dynamic friction seems to be more appropriate as a measure of floor slipperiness. However, static friction has been more commonly used and has been a good measure for non-slippery conditions. Therefore, an experiment was conducted to find the dominant COF (static or dynamic) in non-slippery floors and correlating slip distance with each COF. As a result, slip distance was found to be a good measure to represent floor slipperiness because it was exponentially related with static and dynamic COFs. In conclusion, static COF can be a good parameter in non-slippery conditions for prevention of slips and falls.”

p. 742-746

Hamrick, Christopher A. and Gallagher, Sean (1992): The Effects of Lifting Posture on Trunk Muscle Activity. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. pp. 742-746.

“Trunk muscle activity of twelve healthy males with coal mining experience was examined while each subject lifted a box under various conditions. The independent variables were four levels of posture (kneeling, stooped under a 1.2 m roof, stooped under a 1.6 m roof, and standing), height to which the box was lifted (35 cm or 70 cm), and weight of the lifting box (15 kg, 20 kg, or 25 kg). The dependent variables were the peak EMG values recorded during a lift for each of eight trunk muscles (left and right erectores spinae, left and right latissimus dorsi, left and right external oblique, and left and right rectus abdominis). Posture and weight of lift significantly affected peak activity of the left and right erectores spinae, the left and right latissimus dorsi muscles, and the right external oblique muscle. The latissimus dorsi muscle activity was highest in the low stooping posture, and was lowest in the kneeling posture, while erectores spinae activity was highest in the kneeling posture and decreased as the trunk became more flexed. Thus, the muscle activity during lifting tasks is affected by restricting a worker's posture. Consequently, many lifting guidelines and recommendations currently, in use may not be directly applicable to work being performed in restricted postures.”

p. 747-751

Mirka, Gary A. and Marras, William S. (1992): Modeling the Stochastic Nature of Trunk Muscle Forces. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. pp. 747-751.

“In an effort to understand the mechanism of low back disorders, researchers have developed EMG driven biomechanical models which estimate the magnitude of the internal reaction forces of the spine (compression and shear), by using information about the activity of the muscles of the trunk. But, because the trunk is multi-dimensional in nature, there is variability in the relative contribution of the various muscles, which implies variability in the reaction forces of the spine. Therefore, it may be more appropriate to discuss the range of spine reaction forces during a lift as opposed to the mean spine reaction force. The present research was an attempt to model the muscle forces stochastically and to develop a simulation model which predicts trunk muscle EMG that could occur during a lift. The simulated EMGs which resulted were then input into an EMG driven biomechanical model so the variability in spine reaction forces could be quantified. Under simple sagittally symmetric isometric conditions, compression which occurred at three standard deviations above the mean was 12% higher than that of the mean. The results for anterior shear (24% higher) and lateral shear (50% higher) showed even larger increases.”

p. 752-756

Lavender, Steven A., Tsuang, Yang-Hwei and Andersson, Gunnar B. J. (1992): Trunk Muscle Activation while Resisting Asymmetrically Applied Loads in an Axially Rotated Posture. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. pp. 752-756.

“The present investigation describes the electromyographic (EMG) response of eight trunk muscles during the application of loads to the torso while subjects maintained a twisted posture. The external moments of 20 and 40 Nm were applied to a harness system as each of the 10 subjects twisted 25 degrees. The applied moment direction was varied in 30 degree increments completely around the subjects (0 to 330 degrees). Surface EMG was used to monitor the left and right Latissimus Dorsi, Erector Spinae, External Oblique, and Rectus Abdominus. Multivariate and univariate analyses of variance (MANOVA and ANOVA) procedures showed significant main effects for all muscles and a significant moment magnitude by moment direction interaction effect in 6 of the 8 muscles. The greatest muscle activity was observed in the right Erector Spinae and the left External Oblique muscles. The results are also compared with an earlier study in which a similar loading paradigm was used as subject maintained a neutral upright posture.”

p. 757-760

Marras, William S., Lavender, Steven A., Leurgans, Sue E., Rajulu, Sudhakar L., Allread, W. Gary, Fathallah, Fadi A. and Ferguson, Sue A. (1992): Industrial Quantification of Occupationally-Related Low Back Disorder Risk Factors. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. pp. 757-760.

“Few assessment techniques have attempted to define the role of occupational trunk motion in the risk of occupationally-related low back disorder (LBD) even though laboratory studles have indicated that motion significantly increases spine loading. An in-vivo study was performed to assess the contribution of three-dimensional dynamic trunk motions to the risk of LBD during occupational lifting in industry. Over 400 industrial lifting jobs were studied in 48 industries. Specific manual materials handling jobs historically identify as either high risk or low risk for LBD were identified. A tri-axial electrogoniometer was worn by workers and documented the three-dimensional trunk motion characteristics associated with these high risk or low risk jobs. Workplace characteristics such as load moment arm, load weight, etc. were also documented for each of the repetitive lifting tasks. A multiple logistic regression model indicated that a combination of five trunk motion and workplace factors (lifting frequency, load moment, trunk lateral velocity, trunk twisting velocity, and trunk sagittal angle) predicted occupational-related LBD risk well. The analyses have enabled us to determine the LBD risk associated with combined changes in the magnitudes of the five factors. This model could be used as a quantitative, objective measure to redesign the workplace so that the risk of occupationally-related LBD is minimized.”

p. 76-80

Sterman, M. B., Mann, C. A., Eriksen, H. R., Olff, M. and Ursin, H. (1992): Electroencephalographic Correlates of Psychological Defense. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. pp. 76-80.

“The Kragh tachistoscopic method for measuring psychological defense mechanisms ("Defense Mechanism Test" -- DMT) has been claimed to be valid for selection of personnel for really dangerous tasks. The method consists of presenting a stimulus picture at initial exposure times that are too short for perception. To test whether this perceptual disturbance arises from an aberrant cognitive response to the situation, we studied the magnitude, topographic distribution, and temporal modulation of spectral density in the 8-12 Hz EEG frequency band during DMT testing in 22 male and 2 female active duty US Air Force personnel. Personnel with high defense mechanisms had significantly more attenuation of the 8-12 Hz activity during stimulus exposure than low defenders, implying an increased level of cortical activation. Personnel with low defense scores relax faster than those with high scores. The differences seem to occur even before threat is reported. High defense seems to require more and longer lasting data processing which may be too costly in dangerous situations.”

p. 761-764

Shealy, Jasper and Latko, Wendi (1992): Effects of Mass on Wrist Velocities and Accelerations. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. pp. 761-764.

“Upper Extremity Cumulative Trauma Disorders (UECTD) have been linked to risk factors such as frequency, forcefulness, posture and time for rest/recovery. More recently, wrist and forearm movement velocities and accelerations have been identified as significant correlates to UECTD in industrial tasks. In earlier work with biomechanical analysis of Sign Language Interpreting (SLI), we found that SLI involves frequencies, velocities and accelerations of wrist and forearm motions that greatly exceed those noted as UECTD high risk jobs. A primary difference between the workers in the industrial studies and our studies of SLI is that industrial workers typically hold objects in their hands, while in SLI, the hand is empty. In SLI, we have found the maximum velocities and accelerations reach as much as 70 to 80% of the maximum possible values. This study looks at the effect of holding graduated masses on the maximum velocities and accelerations for the wrist joint for the flexion/extension and radial/ulnar deviation and forearm pronation/supination motions. Five subjects were used. Each subject repeated a maximum voluntary motion three times in each configuration, starting from a stationary neutral position, with the forearm held stationary for the wrist movements. Four different masses were used (9.5, 125, 250 and 500 grams) to assess the effect of mass. Each mass was a cylinder of the same external dimensions. As a control, a hollow cardboard tube (9.5 grams) was used to measure the velocity and acceleration for essentially a no-load condition. Thus the hand was always in the same grip configuration. The results show that for the masses and hand-grip configurations used, the effect of the masses was not statistically significant for forearm pronation/supination, but was for wrist movements. The effect was greatest for flexion/extension, with about a 20% decline in velocity and acceleration at 500 grams versus the 9.5 gram weight.”

p. 765-769

Fletcher, Lisa, Park, Hee-Seok and Martin, Bernard J. (1992): Effects of Hand Vibration on Postural Stability. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. pp. 765-769.

“The present work was aimed at defining the contribution of vibration-induced perturbation of hand proprioceptive/exteroceptive feedback on standing equilibrium. A vibrating handle, free in space or fixed to a stationary support, was held in the dominant hand while maintaining an erect posture on a force platform, eyes closed. Four arm positions were used. The results show that body sways increase significantly during hand vibration exposure when the handle is fixed. Significant shifts of the center of pressure COP are elicited in every situations. Furthermore, the shifts of the COP are clearly oriented in the direction of the handle when this latter is fixed. It is suggested that the proprioceptive information issued from the hand contributes to the elaboration of a spatial reference and to the control of posture as a function of the environmental context. These results indicate that hand vibration exposure can be considered as a risk factor which may contribute to fall accidents.”

p. 770-774

McMullin, Dianne L. and Hallbeck, M. Susan (1992): Comparison of Power Grasp and Three-Jaw Chuck Pinch Static Strength and Endurance between Industrial Workers and College Students: A Pilot Study. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. pp. 770-774.

“Due to the ease of obtaining subjects, much ergonomics research utilizes students. However, is it valid to make a hypothesis concerning industrial workers from this student data? To evaluate the validity of such a generalization, ten industrial workers and ten students, five men and five women from each subject sample participated in the study. The functional range of motion for extension and flexion in the wrist and anthropometric measurements of the hand and arm were measured for each subject. In addition, the three-jaw chuck pinch force and endurance and power grasp force and endurance were also measured. The data was analyzed using both paired comparisons and ANOVA tests. Only power grasp force showed a strength difference between students and industrial workers. The students had 82.9% of the grasp force of the industrial workers.”

p. 775-778

Radwin, Robert G., Jeng, One-Jang, Gisske, Edward T. and Park, Young-Lae (1992): Development of a New Automated Tactility Test for Assessing Hand Sensory Function. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. pp. 775-778.

“Design and test results of an automated aesthesiometer for measuring gap detection threshold in a tactile inspection task are presented. What distinguishes this test from conventional tactility tests, such as two-point discrimination or monofilaments, is that it measures performance in a functional tactility task resembling those performed during manual work activities. Although test conditions are highly controlled, this test still permits natural finger probing activity while sensing surface feature defects like scratches, rather than sensing static unnatural sensory stimuli such as distinguishing two points, or detecting a point-pressure stimulus. The size of a precision scratch, or gap, introduced in an otherwise smooth surface is controlled using a micropositioner capable of producing a gap as small as 0.1 {micro}m. Finger contact force is also carefully controlled within 100 mg accuracy for loads between 25 g and 75 g using a precision balance beam system. This instrument is entirely under microcomputer control and can be administered on a table-top in the field. In this study, normative performance is compared between static and dynamic sensory function rapid method of limits threshold detection paradigm. Probability of detecting randomly presented stimuli was also studied.”

p. 779-782

Sluchak, Thomas J., Hoffman, Mark S., Cochran, David J., Marras, William S., Grant, Katharyn and Habes, Daniel (1992): Ergonomics Research Efforts in the Supermarket Industry. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. pp. 779-782.

“This panel is composed of researchers from private industry, academia and NIOSH, who are currently involved with ergonomics research in the supermarket industry. Presenters summarize their research efforts and discuss key ergonomics challenges present in the supermarket industry today.”

p. 783-787

Park, Donghyun (1992): Application of Survival Analysis to CTD Risk Assessment. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. pp. 783-787.

“This paper demonstrates the application of survival models to CTD (Cumulative Trauma Disorder) studies. Survival analysis techniques are usually applied to the analysis of prospective epidemiological studies examining related risk factors. However, survival models have never been used in CTD etiology, perhaps due to mathematical complexities imposed on survival analysis techniques and its interpretation. The other reason might be the fact that it has not been considered as serious as other diseases usually studied in epidemiology. However, the conditions and assumptions of survival models fit completely into CTD studies (the existence of concomitant variables, a heterogeneous study population, censored observations etc.). Thus it is inappropriate to analyze CTD problems (specifically etiology and prevention) using typical statistical technique (ANOVA or ordinary regression). In this study, 143 subjects participated from an automobile carpet manufacturing plant which was experiencing a high number of CTD cases (107 cases, 1988-1989) and two groups of potential risk factors were examined. They were mainly categorized into personal and job-related information. This information was collected through survey questionnaires and video-taping. As the first step of analysis, survival, hazard and probability density functions were estimated. The estimated survival function shows that CTD incidence rate”

p. 788-790

Stentz, T. L., Riley, M. W., Glismann, C. L., Ballard, J. L. and Sposato, R. C. (1992): Carpal Tunnel Syndrome Prevalence in a Heavy Railroad Maintenance and Repair Facility. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. pp. 788-790.

“Carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) is clinically evaluated with the aid of nerve conduction testing. CTS diagnosis is typically confirmed by the presence of higher than normal median nerve distal latencies accompanied by lower than normal conduction velocities depending on the degree of neuropathy. The main objective of this research was to estimate the prevalence of CTS in a population of 800 railroad maintenance workers. A non-random sample of 322 volunteer workers participated in the study. Demographic and anthropometric data was collected. Median nerve distal latencies and conduction velocities were measured on both hands. Based on the test results, subjects were separated into 6 classes of CTS severity from "normal" to "severe". Data analysis revealed some CTS was present. Analysis of wrist geometry did not confirm wrist squareness as a predictor of CTS.”

p. 791-795

Marley, Robert J. and Wehrman, Rob R. (1992): Grip Strength as a Function of Forearm Rotation and Elbow Posture. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. pp. 791-795.

“An investigation was performed to assess the effect of forearm rotation (pronation and supination) and elbow orientation upon maximum grip strength of 10 male and 10 female subjects. Seven positions of forearm rotation which ranged from 90 degrees pronation to 90 degrees supination in both the 90 degree elbow flexion (arm adducted, forearm horizontal) and 0 degree flexion (shoulder flexed, whole-arm extended forward and horizontal) postures were examined. Thus a total combination of 14 postures were documented. Results indicate that maximum grip strength decreased significantly with forearm pronation, relative to the "neutral" forearm posture (p = 0.086). Other rotation postures did not yield significantly different grip strength from the neutral, but there was a clear decreasing trend in grip strength with forearm rotation away from neutral, particularly in pronation. The 0 degree elbow flexion showed the highest average grip strength values compared to 90 degree elbow flexion postures. Also, in the 90 degree elbow flexion posture, grip strength tended to increase with some supination from neutral rotation. It is recommended that for repetitive grasping activities, the arm and forearm postures should be considered in evaluating maximum grip strength. A regression model is presented to estimate maximum grip strength as a function of forearm rotation and elbow posture.”

p. 796-800

Powers, James R., Hedge, Alan and Martin, Michael G. (1992): Effects of Full-Motion Forearm Supports and a Negative Slope Keyboard Support System on Hand-Wrist Posture while Keyboarding. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. pp. 796-800.

“The effects of full motion forearm supports and a negative slope keyboard support system on hand-wrist posture was tested. No differences in posture were found between normal use of a keyboard and that with full motion forearm supports. Use of the negative slop keyboard support system increased body-to-screen distance and reduced wrist extension so that the wrist was vertically neutral for keyboarding.”

p. 801-805

Hallbeck, M. Susan, Kamal, Abe H. and Harmon, Paul E. (1992): The Effects of Forearm Posture, Wrist Posture, Gender, and Hand on Three Peak Pinch Force Types. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. pp. 801-805.

“In many industries the hand is utilized as a fixture, pinching in various wrist postures and forearm postures. In an effort to quantify the effects of wrist posture, forearm posture, gender, and dominant/non-dominant hand upon three peak pinch forces, a study was performed. Three pinch types were tested in this study: index pad pinch, middle pad pinch, and three-jaw chuck pinch force. For each pinch exertion condition, one of five wrist postures were employed: neutral, 45{deg} extension, 65{deg} extension, 45{deg} flexion, and 65{deg} flexion. Each pinch was also performed in one of three forearm postures: neutral, full pronation, and full supination. Ten subjects between 20-25 years of age within each gender category were tested giving a total of 20 subjects. Each subject was asked to build up to his or her maximal voluntary contraction using a modified Caldwell regimen, and hold that pinch level for three seconds. Results were analyzed using analysis of variance (ANOVA) with significant effects (gender, hand, pinch type, wrist posture, and forearm posture) tested using post hoc analysis. The results and their implications are discussed.”

p. 806-810

Yun, Myung Hwan, Kotani, Kentaro and Ellis, Darin (1992): Using Force-Sensitive Resistors to Evaluate Hand Tool Grip Design. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. pp. 806-810.

“The pressure distribution of the hand is an important element in evaluating hand tool grip. For measuring the pressure distributions of the hand, a portable sensor glove was developed using force sensitive resistors of the conductive polymer type. Pressure distributions of three hand tools for three male subjects were measured. The pressure distribution pattern varied significantly between type of grip, location, and subjective exertion level. Factor analysis was used to identify the relative importance of each area of the hand doing grip action. The results showed that there is an 'active' area involved in gripping the hand tool and a 'control' area which supports the hand motion for the given task. Studies about hand tool pressure distributions will provide an important guideline in designing a new tool or improving an existing one. A microcomputer based system is being developed that records data on grip pressure distribution throughout a tool grip task. The digitized data then will be analyzed both graphically and statistically and will be used to evaluate various hand tools for industrial settings.”

p. 81

Shepherd, William T. (1992): Aiding, Training, and Information Systems for Aviation Maintenance and Operational Environments. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. p. 81.

“This session will demonstrate three technology-based tools to improve human performance in aviation environments. All presenters will use a projection display to show real-time examples of aiding or training and/or on-line documentation systems. As an added feature of this session a Hypermedia diskette of the session will be distributed to all session attendees. The diskette will contain the session papers, with appropriate hypermedia links within and among the papers. The diskette will be described in the Johnson, et al. presentation on integrated information systems.”

p. 811-815

Meindl, Beverly A. and Freivalds, Andris (1992): Shape and Placement of Faucet Handles for the Elderly. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. pp. 811-815.

“The 'modern' bathroom is an area which poses considerable barriers to the elderly, specifically a mismatch between the shape and the placement of faucet handles and their physiological capabilities. Fifteen residents of a retirement facility, with a mean age of 79.9 years, exerted their maximum turning torques in a randomized fully-crossed design incorporating the following factors: two positions (low-21 inches and high-42 inches), two angles (45{deg} and 90{deg}) and three types of handles (acrylic, star, and lever). Analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) of the data indicated that the type of handle and the position, along with the covariates: age, gender and subject height, were significant at p<.05. Angle and the covariates: weight and arthritis were not significant, most likely because weight is correlated with height and arthritis with age. The second order interactions of handle-angle and position-angle were also significant at p<.05. The lever handle was clearly superior with average torques produced being 50% greater than those from the acrylic and star handles. Torque levels on the acrylic handle and the star handle were very similar, with the acrylic handle slightly superior in the 45{deg}-angled position and the star handle being slightly better in the 90{deg}-angled position. Overall, the 45{deg}-low position resulted in the lowest torques, while the 45{deg} high position resulted in the highest torques. Age had a profound effect, with torque values decreasing an average of 10% over the 15 year age span of the subjects. Based on the study, it is recommended that plumbing systems with both high (42 inches) and low (21 inches) faucets with lever handles be installed where ever possible.”

p. 816-820

Bishu, R. R., Wei, Wang, Hallbeck, M. S. and Cochran, D. J. (1992): Force Distribution at Hand/Handle Coupling: The Effect of Handle Type. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. pp. 816-820.

“Handle location and geometry play an important role in container design and effectiveness. An ideal handle position and angle should minimize stress at L5/S1 and minimize average grip pressure on the two hands with force distributed evenly on both hands. Handles in such a position will be most comfortable for performing a MMH task and reduce the likelihood of compressive injuries on the lumbar spine. Most of the published research on container handles have used the psychophysical, biomechanical, and/or physiological methods to determine handle effectiveness. The force distribution at the exact point of energy transfer, namely the hand/handle interface has rarely been addressed by the scientific community. The intent of this study was to determine the force distribution at the hand/handle interface and use the same to compare the effectiveness of various handle types, positions, and angles. Six factors were tested in this experiment using a fractional factorial design. The pressure at the interface was measured using a number of force sensing resistors (FSRs) in each hand. The results indicate handle positions 2/2, 8/8, and 3/7 to be far superior to position 6/8. The average pressure at the FSR sites appear to be the least at handle angles of 0 degree. Further, the force distribution for the cut-out handle appears to be more uniform than that for the cylindrical handle (circular cross-section). Based on these findings recommendations are made for container designer.”

p. 82-86

Shepherd, William T. (1992): Human Factors Challenges in Aviation Maintenance. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. pp. 82-86.

“The FAA Office of Aviation Medicine has been conducting a research program for the past two years dealing with human factors issues in aircraft maintenance and inspection. As part of this program a series of workshops have been held with participation of a broad spectrum of air carrier industry representatives. These representatives, ranging from hanger floor technicians to vice-presidents, have identified a series of issues or challenges which present their most formidable human factors problems. The FAA research program has been designed to address these challenges. This paper describes five of these challenges and offers guidance on methods for dealing with them.”

p. 825-828

Yearout, Robert, Hewitt, Darlene, Lisnerski, Donald and Sprague, Kelli (1992): Managerial Implications of Extended Breaks on Predicting Performance Times for Industrial Tasks. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. pp. 825-828.

“Production Managers and Industrial Engineers have relied upon learning (progress) curves for over fifty years. However, until recently only the impacts of extended breaks on performance time predictions were considered. This study examined the effect of breaks on two typical simulated industrial tasks. Fifty-eight subjects performed either the traditional peg-board, a low cognitive task, or a spreadsheet graphic, a moderately-high cognitive task, for 28 iterations. Upon completion of the assigned task, a break period that ranged from 2 to 83 days was randomly assigned to each subject. After the break, subjects replicated their assigned task. Regression analysis was used to select the best model to predict the performance time for the first iteration after a break. An exponential model was selected for the low cognitive task and a multiple linear model for the moderately-high cognitive task. Both models selected were no-intercept models and had multiple correlation coefficients of 0.729 and 0.897 respectively. The ability to accurately predict the first iteration time after a break is a key element in calculating time lost to forgetting and determining the forgetting function. These models may be useful in assisting production managers and industrial engineers in establishing more realistic progress curves and accurate standard times, thus reducing excessive idle time.”

p. 829-833

Urban, Julie M., Bowers, Clint A., Morgan, Jr. Ben B., Braun, Curt C. and Kline, Paul B. (1992): The Effects of Hierarchical Structure and Workload on the Performance of Team and Individual Tasks. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. pp. 829-833.

“This study represents an attempt to understand the individual and team level performance processes and communication of tactical decision making teams. The findings of a past study on decision making in dyads (Kleinman&Serfaty, 1989) was replicated and extended to include (a) larger teams (b) hierarchically structured teams (c) concurrent performance of team and individual tasks, and (d) verbal communication, in an attempt to enhance the generalizability of the research. The major findings of the current study differ from those reported by Kleinman and his colleagues (1989).”

p. 834-837

Hendrick, Hal W. and Grabowski, Martha (1992): Cross Cultural Validation of a Function Analysis Model for Determining Minimal Safe Crew Size on Maritime Vessels. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. pp. 834-837.

“As part of a project for the National Research Council, a functional analysis model previously was developed and initially validated on two large maritime vessels for determining minimum safe crew size. The present study collected operations and maintenance data for all functions performed in port, in restricted waters, and at sea for three voyage profiles for two identical tankers. Structured interviews with crew members were used to collect the data. One ship was crewed by an all Korean crew; the other by Italian officers and Philippine seamen. Results from the two independent applications of the model were highly consistent for both qualitative and quantitative crew requirements. These results provided further validation both for the model and the method of data collection. The model then was used to project changes in crew requirements for different voyage profiles, thus demonstrating its utility as a management tool. Cultural differences in operations management were noted.”

p. 838-842

Hendrick, Hal W. and Grabowski, Martha (1992): A Process for Developing Functional Generic Models for Determining Personnel Requirements. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. pp. 838-842.

“A process for developing a practical, yet valid and easy to use model for determining personnel requirements is described. A step by step process, developed and validated by the authors is explained. Critical macroergonomic variables that must be made explicit and considered in the process are noted. Practical "lessons learned" by the authors in applying the model are given. The use of the model as a management tool in considering operational alternatives is illustrated.”

p. 843-847

Getty, Robert L. (1992): Continuous Improvement Efforts Often Dictate Organizational Change: What Are the Mechanisms for Change?. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. pp. 843-847.

“Organizational changes that occur to gain the objectives of continuous improvement are highly visible endeavors. However, there is little guidance regarding the specific change mechanisms to follow. There appears to be conflicting concepts of how to bring about change and how to utilize the existing organizational structure in the change processes. In an attempt to find a synthesis of the various concepts, each is explored with its recommended solution. The premise of this synthesis is that the organization in its present form must be thoroughly understood and the skills that have evolved are the primary mechanisms for any changes.”

p. 848-850

Eoyang, Glenda H. and Dray, Susan M. (1992): "It's Not Supposed to Work that Way!": Applying Chaos Science to Work in Organizations. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. pp. 848-850.

“Complex organizations require new and complex problem solving processes. Chaos science offers a new way of addressing complex organizational issues. This paper gives a 6-step method for managing complexity in organizations, based on the principles of Chaos science.”

p. 851-854

Caccamise, Donna J., Hallbert, Bruce P., Harbour, Gerald L. and Francis, Lee C. (1992): Human Factors Engineers as Change Agents. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. pp. 851-854.

“This paper describes a case study where the Human Factors Engineering (HFE) Department began as technical experts but gradually assumed a much larger role as change agents in transforming outdated job practices into streamlined processes that promote a positive, proactive safety culture. The consequences of success or failure in this endeavor were greater than usual because the setting was the Rocky Flats (RFP) nuclear weapons plant in Colorado. In 1989, the Department of Energy (DOE) asked EG&G to take over operations at RFP. Studies conducted at that time concluded that the human element was the primary day-to-day element of criticality risk at RFP (e.g., Mattson, 1989). From the beginning, one of EG&G's primary goals was to effect a "safety first" culture. In 1991, at DOE's request, EG&G established an on-site HFE group. This group has become involved in a variety of areas including human error issues, creating useable procedures, root cause analyses of safety incidents, improving job satisfaction, assessing the safety culture, providing ergonomic evaluations, and most recently, looking at the reorganization of a workforce of over 7000 people to meet a drastically new mission -- decommissioning and decontamination. In all these instances, the HFE group began as technical experts but quickly stepped into a larger role as agents for change in the way we do business.”

p. 855-858

Imada, Andrew S. and Bowman, Monte E. (1992): Change by Design, Human Factors by Necessity: Lessons in Participatory Ergonomics. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. pp. 855-858.

“Human factors is traditionally imported into organizations through training, education, and experts. In sharp contrast, this paper presents a case study which reduced safety and health costs significantly at two wood processing plants, not by introducing human factors, but by introducing an organizational change. This structural change, in turn created a need for human factors in redesigning work. Participation from three different level committees created an important understanding of how work redesign can be implemented to reduce accidents and injuries. This case reviews the organization, the change, results and implications for human factors interventions in organizations.”

p. 859-861

Nagamachi, Mitsuo and Imada, Andrew S. (1992): A Macroergonomic Approach for Improving Safety and Work Design. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. pp. 859-861.

“Over the past few years the concept of macroergonomics has heightened our awareness of how human factors can be successfully implemented in the work place. One application of this approach addresses the importance of psychological aspects of work that contribute to safe work performance. Traditionally safety interventionists, and to some extent, human factors professionals, have focused exclusively on the physical dimensions of work. Emphasizing the psychological and organizational impacts on safety represents a broader macroergonomic approach to human factors interventions. There is evidence that this approach has merit in reducing human suffering and costs.”

p. 862-866

Hoffman, Mark S. (1992): Considerations in the Design of Future Retail Point of Service (POS) Terminal Systems. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. pp. 862-866.

“Research studies were conducted in three types of retail stores: supermarkets, discount stores, and department stores. The purpose of these studies was to determine how cashiers and associates spend their time servicing customers, the inter-relationships between physical and cognitive workloads, and how these affect system performance. A detailed task analysis of the cashier's activities comparing performances in these stores was completed. Commonalities and differences in task performances were identified and measured. Task performances were grouped into one of three types: physical, POS, and management. The results showed that physical tasks were performed 39% of the total hour in a supermarket, 57% in the discount store, and 25% in the department store. Physical tasks are those most often identified in ergonomic research. Management tasks were more frequent in the department store; these tasks captured redundant information, i.e. tender approval identification that was already available in system files. These results provide a map for identifying and applying macroergonomic research techniques to integrate POS systems with new features into the retail industry.”

p. 87-91

Johnson, William B., Norton, Jeffrey E. and Utsman, Leonard G. (1992): Integrated Information for Maintenance Training, Aiding, and On-Line Documentation. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. pp. 87-91.

“Today's portable computer systems have the power, memory, and storage to support a broad spectrum of capabilities in maintenance environments. The computer hardware is a minor part of the success equation when compared to the intricacies of writing software and other design activities like knowledge base creation and interface development. The cost vs. benefit analysis is more likely to favor new technology when the same system can be used across multiple functions within a technical environment. The integration of training, job aiding, and on-line information is discussed in this paper. The software technologies of intelligent tutoring, expert-system job aiding, and multimedia information storage/retrieval will be described. Example systems are from the aviation and electric power generation maintenance environments.”

p. 872-874

Dray, Susan M. and George, Debra S. (1992): Looking Back for the Future: Learnings about User-Centered Design. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. pp. 872-874.

“This paper describes the results of focus groups done with I/S professionals and business users to identify "best practices" for design of distributed systems. Many of these are "obvious" to a Human Factors professional, but the value of this effort was to help others to identify them from their own experience.”

p. 875

Albin, Thomas, Dray, Susan M., Larson, Nancy, Nagamachi, Mitsuo and Neese, Regina (1992): Scenes from the Front Line: Implementing Ergonomics in Organizations. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. p. 875.

“The purpose of this panel is to discuss "real world" ergonomic interventions and applications which have been successful within organizations.”

p. 876-880

(Nelson), Julie A. Maryniak and Caldwell, Barrett S. (1992): Experience, Utility, and Situational Appropriateness: How Does Organizational Context Influence Usability of Electronic Communications Media?. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. pp. 876-880.

“This research investigates the relationship between user attitudes, organizational characteristics and the acceptance of a new electronic communication system in a university research group. The study also addressed users' perceived appropriateness of the new communication system and alternative media in specific organizational situations. The results of this study support previous research regarding the situational appropriateness of different communication media but did not support the hypotheses regarding user attitudes, support for innovation and the acceptance of the new electronic mail system. This study emphasizes the distinction between the usability of a technology and that technology's utility in the organization. While a system may be very easy to use, the usefulness of the implemented system will be the main determinant in how much the system is used.”

p. 881-885

Taha, Lilas H. and Caldwell, Barrett S. (1992): Communication Media Acceptance in Organizations: An Alternative Research Model. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. pp. 881-885.

“This paper describes an alternative approach to examining the role of situational, technological, and physiological factors in electronic media use in organizations. Existing models of media use tend to focus on one dimension of the communication process. Major theories discussed are Social Presence (Short, Williams, and Christie, 1976), Information Richness (Daft and Lengel, 1984; 1986), and Social Information Processing (Fulk, Steinfield, Schmitz, and Power, 1987). The authors' perspective derives from a combination of elements of these theories. In our view, communication media use is affected by interactions of three dimensions of factors: media characteristics, situational demands, and individual and organizational acceptance. The authors' current research is briefly described, with a sample of results which support the hypotheses of multidimensional interactions in acceptability of communication media in organizations.”

p. 886-889

Bradley, Gunilla (1992): Computers and Human Communication in the Organization -- A Psychosocial Perspective on the Individual and the Society in Change -- Research in Progress. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. pp. 886-889.

“The main purpose is to analyze the impact of computer technology and teletechnology on communication from a psychosocial perspective, with an emphasis on the interaction between people. A new infrastructure concerning communication is emerging on the society level and on the company level at the same time as computer use becomes more widespread in the private lives of families. The research problems concern analyzes of the structure of communication its quality, causal relations and long term effects. A crossdisciplinary approach is used and the research is performed through two types of intensive studies.”

p. 890-894

O'Neill, Michael J. (1992): Effects of Work Space Design and Environmental Control on Office Workers' Perceptions of Air Quality. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. pp. 890-894.

“This paper examines the influence of work space enclosure, individual difference variables (sex, job type), and control over the thermal environment on employee perceptions and satisfaction with air quality. The study population consisted of 200 office workers on five different floors of a single building that used either under-floor mounted air distribution units or a standard HVAC system. The under-floor units permit individual control over volume and direction of airflow in the work space. Four aspects of control were examined: availability of control; perceptions of control; exercised control; and; importance of thermal comfort as a goal. Dependent measures of air quality included: perceptions of air freshness; temperature; seasonal variations in temperature and satisfaction with temperature. The combined effects of work station enclosure and employee control were examined by means of multiple regression equations in which sex and occupational status were controlled. The results indicate that when the effects of sex and job status are statistically controlled, personal control and enclosure are significant predictors of employee perceptions. In order of importance; exercised control, perceived control, the importance of air quality as a goal; physical enclosure, and; availability of control all significantly influence perceptions of thermal comfort and satisfaction.”

p. 895-896

Taylor, James, Robertson, Michelle M., Helmreich, Robert L., Kanki, Barbara, Diehl, Alan and Sherman, Paul J. (1992): New Directions of Cockpit Resource Management (CRM) Training. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. pp. 895-896.

“Training in cockpit resource management training (now known generically as crew resource management training) for airline flight crews was introduced in the late 1970's. It has spread through many air carriers in the U.S. commercial aviation industry, to several foreign carriers and to various sectors of U.S. and Canadian military aviation. This training has also been extended from the cockpit to cabin crews to maintenance and to air traffic control. Although specific programs differ from one organization to another, CRM as used here typically involves training in several interpersonal and team-related concepts: (e.g., communication skills, team decision-making) as well as skills for individual decision making such as self-knowledge, situational awareness, and assertiveness skills. The effect of CRM training in airline flight operations has been widely studied during the 1980s. Numerous reports document CRM's positive impact on the attitudes and performance of flight crews (cf., Helmreich, Foushee, Benson,&Russini, 1986; Helmreich, Predmore, Irwin, Butler, Taggart, Willhelm, Clothier, 1991). Taken together the evidence shows that team coordination among aviation "mangers" and between them and subordinates, improves system effectiveness and safety. Teamwork in aviation has recently become a topic of importance and interest. For example, as a result of recent work researching team concepts in aviation maintenance, further investigations have been recommended by both industry and government groups as a national priority (Federal Aviation Administration "The National Plan for Aviation Human Factors," Washington, DC: 1991). CRM training has subsequently been introduced to maintenance and in Air Traffic Control as well. The intention of this panel is to discuss the underlying concepts of teamwork training, its historical perspective, and current research activities and state of the art of CRM training and its varied application in the aviation field. The first panelist will present a brief historical background and philosophy of CRM and how the foundation of CRM training was established. Building on this, the second panelist will discuss CRM research activities as it relates to flight crews in the commercial aviation area. The third panelist will present the implementation of CRM in the military setting and what effects it has had on flight crew safety and effectiveness. The application of CRM to maintenance operations will be the focus of the fourth paper which describes implementing a CRM-type training in maintenance and its effects on maintenance performance. Lastly, the fifth panelist will present the initial stages of assessing air traffic controller's attitudes towards management CRM-related concepts. Concluding the panel discussions will be the panel chair who will summarize and highlight the major points.”

p. 902-906

Stanney, Kay M. and Salvendy, Gavriel (1992): Diversity in Field-Articulation and Its Implications for Human-Computer Interface Design. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. pp. 902-906.

“The objective of this study was to investigate individual differences in cognitive styles related to spatial ability in order design computer interfaces which accommodated low spatial users. Seventy-four subjects were tested on spatial, visual and verbal cognitive tests. From the results of these tests, (12) subjects were selected and classified as low spatial/verbalizers and (12) as high spatial/visualizers. The two subject groups were tested on three interface designs: a graphical layout and an outline format, both intended to accommodate low spatial users, and a conventional hierarchical menu design. For each interface, the subjects completed (50) information search tasks. Duncan's Multiple Range comparisons (p<0.05) between the three interface designs indicated the following: in accordance with past studies, the performance of verbal subjects was 18% inferior to that of spatial subjects on the conventional interface which required subjects to self-induce the hierarchical system structure; by designing a graphical interface which provided the system structure and an interface with an outline format which eliminated the need for structuring, no differences were detected between the verbal and spatial groups. The implication was that the influences of individual differences in spatial ability on computer performance can be overcome by cognitively tailored interface designs.”

p. 907-911

Intano, Gabriel P. and Howse, William R. (1992): Predicting Performance in Army Aviation Flight Training. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. pp. 907-911.

“The Army Research Institute Aviation Research and Development Activity successfully implemented the Multi-Track Test Battery (MTTB) and associated classification functions in 1988. The battery and functions have been used to assign flight students to their combat skills aircraft. The present program determined the applicability of the battery to prediction of student performance in flight training. Performance evaluation in training consists of flight phase grades and academic phase grades. In addition to these grades, Overall Average Grade and Overall Flight Grade were also predicted using Forward Stepwise Multiple Regression procedures. Stepwise Multiple Discriminant Analysis was used to investigate two additional measures, flight deficiency training setback and flight deficiency attrition.”

p. 912-916

Rogers, Wendy A., Fisk, A. D. and Hertzog, C. (1992): Determinants of Visual Search Performance: Age and Practice Effects. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. pp. 912-916.

“In the present experiment, ability-performance relationships were used to assess changes in task requirements across practice. A variety of cognitive and speed ability measures were administered to each subject to measure the following factors: general, fluid, and crystallized intelligence; working memory; perceptual speed; semantic memory access speed; and psychomotor speed. Subsequently, ability-performance relationships were investigated across extensive practice on consistently mapped (CM) and variably mapped (VM) versions of a semantic category visual search task for young (17-30) and old (66-80) adults. The ability-performance relationships revealed similar patterns across CM and VM practice for both age groups. Namely, initial performance was predicted by general ability and semantic memory access, whereas later performance was predicted by perceptual speed. Thus although the mean data suggested that only the young adults had developed an automatic attention response in the CM condition, the locus of the differences between CM and VM or between age groups could not be localized through the ability-performance relationships. Only through a transfer manipulation designed to assess the automaticity of the response in the CM condition did we observe strikingly different ability-performance relationships for the young adults relative to the old adults.”

p. 917-920

Lohman, David F. (1992): Acquisition and Transfer of Spatial Rotation and Assembly Skills: Two Speed-Accuracy Studies. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. pp. 917-920.

“Two studies of the effects of practice on the acquisition and transfer of spatial skills are reported. Both used the methodology of the speed-accuracy study to generate performance curves for each subject in each condition. Interpretation of the parameters of models fitted to these data was guided by McClelland's (1979) cascade model. In the first study, subjects practiced either rotating or assembling polygons. Later, they were administered a transfer rotation or assembly task that presented either practiced or nonpracticed stimuli. In the second study, subjects practiced assembling forms for three sessions and were later posttested on the same transfer task used in Study 1. Following McClelland (1979), differences in asymptotes, curvatures, and intercepts of speed-accuracy curves between conditions were interpreted as reflecting changes in stimulus familiarity, changes in a slow (or rate limiting) process, and changes in a fast (or task-specific) process, respectively. Implications of the research for training and assessment of spatial abilities are discussed.”

p. 92-96

Latorella, K. A., Gramopadhye, A. K., Prabhu, P. V., Drury, Colin G., Smith, Marc A. and Shanahan, D. E. (1992): Computer-Simulated Aircraft Inspection Tasks for Off-Line Experimentation. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. pp. 92-96.

“Previous research on civil aircraft inspection and maintenance, (e.g., Shepherd, 1990) has shown the potential for human factors interventions. However, for specific interventions to be tested and detailed models to be developed a system for rapid, off-line experimentation is required. Two computer-simulated inspection tasks are described, one for non-destructive inspection and the other for visual inspection. Both systems have been used for experiments, the brief results of which are presented. Future extensions to the programs, and other experiments under way, are discussed.”

p. 921-925

Ackerman, Phillip L. (1992): Abilities and Individual Differences in Complex Skill Acquisition. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. pp. 921-925.

“A theoretically-driven, information processing based examination of ability-performance relations during the acquisition of a high-fidelity complex air traffic controller simulation task is described. Two laboratory experiments and one field experiment are reviewed that describe the results of extensive ability testing (including measures of general, reasoning, spatial, perceptual speed, and perceptual/psychomotor abilities) and individual differences in skill acquisition over protracted skill-learning sessions. Laboratory studies examine individual differences in the acquisition of skills on TRACON -- a Terminal Radar Approach Controller simulation. The field investigation examines acquisition of skills by FAA Air Traffic Controller Trainees. Results are reported from perspective of global/component abilities, and global/component criterion task performance measures. Results validate and further extend the Ackerman (1988) theory of the cognitive ability determinants of individual differences in skill acquisition. This research program demonstrates the benefits of ability component and task component levels of analysis over global analyses of ability-skill relations. Implications are discussed for developing refined selection instruments for the prediction of air traffic controller training success, and for other job tasks with demands for inconsistent information processing, as well as implications for design of tailored training procedures.”

p. 926-930

Braun, Curt C., Silver, N. Clayton and Stock, Barry R. (1992): Likelihood of Reading Warnings: The Effect of Fonts and Font Sizes. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. pp. 926-930.

“Legibility of a warning is a major issue in the labeling of various consumer products, and over the counter and prescription drugs. The purpose of the present research was to examine certain variables that are associated with legibility, namely font type, font weight, point size, and point size contrast between the signal word and the main body of the warning. A sample of undergraduate students and elderly people rated 24 Ultra Tide detergent labels for their likelihood to read the warning, the saliency of the warning, and readability of the warning. The results indicated that participants were more likely to read the warning in Helvetica type than in Times or Goudy. Times was more likely to be read than Goudy. Bold type was more likely to be read than Roman type. There was a greater likelihood of reading the warning when the main body was in 10 point size as compared to 8 point size. A 2 point size difference between the signal word and the main body of the warning produced a greater likelihood of reading the warning over a 4 point size difference. One possibility for this result is that the 4 point difference minimizes the importance of the main body of the warning, therefore making only the signal word salient.”

p. 931-934

Polzella, Donald J., Gravelle, Michael D. and Klauer, Ken M. (1992): Perceived Effectiveness of Danger Signs: A Multivariate Analysis. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. pp. 931-934.

“Fifty-eight subjects were shown randomly-ordered facsimiles of 80 OSHA-standard danger signs and rated the signs on 13 dimensions related to perceived effectiveness. The data were analyzed by means of principal components analysis and a series of multivariate and univariate analyses of variance. Signs containing a hazard label and instructions (e.g., GASOLINE -- NO SMOKING) were rated as least likely to be recalled at a later time; however, they were rated as easiest to understand, most informative, and most likely to be complied with. Signs containing a hazard label only (e.g., POISON) were rated as least informative and most difficult to understand; however, they were rated as most likely to be recalled, as depicting a high degree of danger, and likely to be complied with. Signs containing instructions only (DO NOT ENTER) were rated as generally less effective.”

p. 935-939

Wogalter, Michael S., Jarrard, Stephen W. and Simpson, S. Noel (1992): Effects of Warning Signal Words on Consumer-Product Hazard Perceptions. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. pp. 935-939.

“This experiment investigated the influence of warning signal words and a signal icon on perceptions of hazard for consumer products. Under the pretext of a marketing research study, 90 high school and college students rated product labels on variables such as product familiarity, frequency of use, and perceived hazard. Sixteen labels from actual household products were used and stored on a computer. Nine of the products labels were used to carry the nine signal word conditions. Five conditions presented the signal words NOTE, CAUTION, WARNING, DANGER, and LETHAL together with a brief warning message. In two other conditions a signal icon (exclamation point surrounded by a triangle) was presented together with the terms DANGER and LETHAL. The final two conditions were controls, one had a warning message but had no signal word, and the other had no warning message or signal word. Seven product labels were "fillers" that never contained a warning. Results showed that the presence of a signal word increased perceived hazard compared to its absence. Between extreme terms (e.g., NOTE and DANGER), significant differences were noted, but not between terms usually recommended in warning design guidelines. The presence of the signal icon had no significant effect on hazard perception. Implications of the results and the value of the research methodology for future warnings' investigations are discussed.”

p. 940-944

Kreifeldt, John G. (1992): Warnings and Expert Opinions: An Evaluation Methodology Based on Fuzzy Probabilities. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. pp. 940-944.

“A number of mandated and voluntary standards and guidelines expressed as good practice have been set out for the design of warnings. However, the question always arises as to whether or not a given warning will accomplish (or would have accomplished) its purpose of preventing injury whether or not it follows such guidelines. The answer to this question must be phrased in probabilities and sometimes only in qualitative form such as "low probability", "high probability", "more probable than not", etc. In order to obtain such answers, experts are often consulted for their opinions. A methodology is presented which can be used as a basis for checking the consistency of the final conclusions or opinions using the concept of "fuzzy probabilities" and conceptually simple computations. The methodology is also of use to the expert in formulating his opinion rationally and deducing its implications clearly. This methodology is presented here in the context of the opined probability of effectiveness of warnings and instructions although it may be used in any context in which the total proposition can be phrased as a set of interrelated sub propositions as is common in reliability theory, decision theory, etc.”

p. 950-954

Mauney, Daniel W., Robinson, Gary S. and Casali, John G. (1992): The Importance of Sound-Field Acoustic Specification for Hearing Protector Performance Measurement. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. pp. 950-954.

“Several real-ear attenuation at threshold (REAT) standards govern the attenuation testing of hearing protectors internationally. A characteristic common to many is the requirement of a diffuse sound field and the toleration of a wide range of reverberation times, allowing testing in an anechoic or a reverberant test room. This study explored the degree to which the diffuse environment can be degraded without significantly affecting the attenuation tested under ANSI S3.19-1974. In addition, the study compared a diffuse sound field generated in a reverberant room (as required by ANSI S3.19-1974 and CSA Z94.2-M1984) with a diffuse sound field generated in an anechoic room (as allowed by ANSI S12.6-1984, BSI 5108:1983, ISO 4869-1(E):1990, and SS 882151). Results indicate that degrading the diffusivity will result in statistically significant changes in attenuation, but the magnitude of change is small. In addition, small but significant differences exist between the two test chambers. Interpretation of these results depends upon the purpose of the testing. For applications where accuracy is critical, the statistically significant differences should not be ignored. However, for noncritical applications, such as simply predicting the amount of attenuation a particular worker is receiving with a specific hearing protector, the small magnitude of these differences do not preclude the use of these alternative environments. Therefore, actual protection levels achieved in the field can be empirically verified in either sound field.”

p. 955-959

Brackett, R. Quinn, Pezoldt, V. J. and Roush, Laura (1992): Estimating the Height of a Suspended Wire. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. pp. 955-959.

“Estimating the height of a wire above the ground is a task that may be required to avoid contacting electrical distribution lines with ladders, antennae, long poles, or other reach extending devices. It has been suggested that this task is difficult because wire is often presented against the homogeneous field of the sky. The accuracy of estimations under this condition may be poor when made on an absolute basis, that is using an internal frame of reference. However, accuracy should improve when the estimation is made on a relative basis, using some external frame of reference. In order to assess the accuracy of such estimations, forty subjects were each asked to give a verbal estimate of the height of a suspended wire, as well as to match the wire height using a horizontal reference pole and a vertical reference pole. As expected, the verbal, or absolute, estimates had a higher average percent error (17.1%) than the relative horizontal estimates (7.7%). Relative vertical estimates produced the most accurate values, within about 2.0% of the actual wire height. The degree of accuracy observed in subjects using external references suggests that the ability to avoid contact with overhead electrical distribution lines may be high, given appropriate knowledge, attention, and motivation.”

p. 960-964

Beringer, Dennis B. and Worringham, Charles J. (1992): Control/Response Compatibility, Muscle Synergy and the Virtual Visual Field: What You See Is What You Get. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. pp. 960-964.

“Three components were hypothesized which could affect operator response in the manual control of a system. These included muscle synergy compatibility (MS), geographic control/display compatibility (CD), and visual-field compatibility (VF). Disruption in one of these was suspected as a contributing factor in documented accident cases. A 2x2x2 between-subjects factorial design was used to evaluate all combinations of compatible and incompatible arrangements based upon these variables, using 64 undergraduate students as participants. A static-target acquisition task was used in which subjects manipulated a specially designed joystick to move a cursor to defined target locations. Performance measures included reaction time, movement time, homing time, and frequency and magnitude of directional reversals. Results indicated that visual field (VFJ compatibility/incompatibility significantly influenced reaction time, homing time, and reversal frequency and magnitude, while CD and MS manipulations had no significant main effects on performance. Significant gender effects were also found. The results of this study suggest that compatibility of control input and system response is judged primarily by direction of movement in the virtual visual field (self reference). This has implications for the design of systems such as small mobile cranes where the operator may be repositioned relative to a fixed directional control.”

p. 965-969

Mayer, David L. and Ellingstad, Vernon S. (1992): Using Transportation Accident Databases in Human Factors Research. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. pp. 965-969.

“Accident databases commonly contain factual information about the time and date of each accident, vehicle characteristics, number of persons killed and injured, and other kinds of factual data. These attributes of the environment and equipment are usually directly represented in databases. In contrast, detailed analysis of accident causes, including human factors information, are frequently not represented because they are much more difficult to obtain and code. This paper explores the suitability of transportation accident databases for use in human factors research. Given the goal of reducing the number and severity of transportation accidents, it is useful to use accident data as a tool to understand the common causes of accidents. Problems arise, however, because existing databases were typically not created explicitly for research purposes, and coding systems and file structures often omit or obscure useful information. Improved coding schemes and file structures that promote the use of databases for human factors research are discussed. Accident investigation methodologies that can improve the quality of human factors information in databases are also considered. Finally, problems associated with the use of existing databases are noted.”

p. 97-101

Layton, Charles F., Smith, Philip J., McCoy, C. Elaine and Bihari, Thomas E. (1992): An Empirical Evaluation of Tools to Aid in Enroute Flight Planning. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. pp. 97-101.

“After a number of background studies (including surveys, a simulator study, and interviews with commercial air traffic controllers, dispatchers, and pilots), several design concepts have been developed to guide in the design of tools to aid in enroute flight planning activities. Alternative versions of these tools have been implemented in the Flight Planning Testbed (FPT), a part-task simulation environment for studying interactions with flight planning tools. This testbed, which runs on a Macintosh IIfx, presents scenarios and records all interaction with the operators. Thirty commercial airline pilots participated in a between-subjects experiment involving three alternative system designs and four flight planning scenarios. The results provide some very interesting insights into planning strategies and the effects of cognitive tools on those strategies.”

p. 970-974

Roush, Laura, Pezoldt, V. J. and Brackett, R. Quinn (1992): Initial Driver Foot Placement as an Antecedent to Pedal Error. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. pp. 970-974.

“Two observational studies were conducted to examine driver foot pedal operation characteristics which may influence pedal activation errors. Driver behaviors were observed during controlled closed-course and natural driving situations to document individual pedal operating characteristics. A substantial portion of the drivers in both studies shifted from park to forward and/or reverse gears without positioning a foot over or on the brake pedal. A small percentage of drivers used both feet for pedal activation. The results of these studies suggest that pedal design and layout should take these behaviors into consideration. Either method would likely be less accurate and potentially more hazardous than when the right foot is directly over the brake pedal, and suggests the efficacy of a mechanical interlock to prevent gear selection from park to either forward or reverse gears until contact with the brake pedal is made.”

p. 975-979

Feyer, Anne-Marie and Williamson, Ann M. (1992): Work Practices and Fatigue in the Long-Distance Road Transport Industry in Australia. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. pp. 975-979.

“A Questionnaire was used to obtain information from 960 long distance truck drivers about the drivers' experience, type of employment and their working conditions, type of driving operation, as well as details of their last trip and their last working week. Operations specifically designed to combat driver fatigue by provision of a relief driver in a team operation did not appear to achieve their intended outcome. The potential benefits of such operations appeared to be outweighed by the greater distances and lack of flexibility that characterised these trips.”

p. 980-983

Grubb, Monty G. (1992): Individual Differences and Driver Response to Highway Intersections. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. pp. 980-983.

“Along the Nation's roadways one of the most dangerous environments is the intersection. Accident investigations suggest several individual driver characteristics that may be associated with increased risk at intersections. To analyze the relationships of a number of driver characteristics to driver behavior in a controlled setting a laboratory simulation of the roadway intersection was created. Seventy-two research participants, ranging in age from 18 to 74, were measured on a battery of performance tests, administered questionnaires related to health and driving history, and exposed to a video display of approaching intersections as driver responses were measured. Each participant viewed 14 intersections containing a variety of traffic control devices. During the driving simulation portion of the research workload was assessed using six variables chosen to reflect three response modes -- performance, subjective, and physiological. A MANOVA conducted to analyze the 3 (age level) by 2 (gender) factorial design indicated a main effect for both age and gender, based on three of the dependent variables -- pedal response errors, speed of response, and heart rate reactivity. The responses to the intersection simulation indicated greater workloads for older drivers and female drivers. In a second phase of the data analysis stepwise multiple regressions were used to determine which independent variables, from among a set of driver characteristics, functioned as the best predictors of these performance decrements. As expected from the earlier MANOVA and univariate tests, age accounted for more variance in driver response than any single information processing variable. However, information processing variables that were most predictive of performance decrements included: field dependency, visual acuity, and depth perception.”

p. 984-986

Rowe, Kent W. (1992): Sitting on the Ergonomic Hot Seat. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. pp. 984-986.

“Workstation design requires safe placement of electrical appliances so as to minimize the risks associated with electromagnetic radiation. The aim of this investigation was to measure the relative position of the worker to the source of the electric and magnetic emissions. Elevating chair-height exposed the CRT operator's abdomen region to greater levels of energy density emitted by the monitor screen. Likewise, lowering chair-height exposes the CRT operator's chest and face to greater levels of emission.”

p. 987-991

Brogmus, George Erich and Meshkati, Najmedin (1992): Human Factors Influencing Machine-Related High "Cost" Accidents in Industrial Operations. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. pp. 987-991.

“Using the Liberty Mutual Insurance Group Data Base, 13 Industrial machine-related accidents reported during 1990 with incurred losses over $200,000 each were analyzed for contributing human factors elements. The results indicate that machine-related high cost accidents in industrial operations have a multitude of human factors-related influences, both on the macro and micro-ergonomic levels.”

p. 992-996

Karwowski, Waldemar, Parsaei, H., Soundararajan, A. and Pongpatanasuegsa, N. (1992): Estimation of Safe Distance from the Robot Arm as a Guide for Limiting Slow Speed of Robot Motions. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. pp. 992-996.

“The main objective of this laboratory study was to determine the minimum distance from the robot considered as safe for monitoring purposes, and the corresponding perception of danger for close interaction in robot teaching tasks. Five speed levels of robot motions, i.e.: 10, 20, 30, 40 and 50 cm/sec, were used. The three motion types of the robot arm were forward, swing (from right) and swing (from left). The response variables were the minimum distance from the robot that the subject selected as safe for monitoring purposes, and the perception of danger due to robot speed at the selected safe distances. The subjects selected significantly different values of safe distances from the robot arm moving at the speed of 10 cm/s, than they did for the range of robot speeds from 20 to 40 cm/s. The corresponding perception of danger due to the robot motions at the selected safe distances was the lowest for the speed of 10 cm/s, while the values of perceived danger for the speed range of 20-40 cm/s did not significantly differ between each other. The above results indicate that the range of slow speeds of robot motions from 20 to 40 cm/s is similarly perceived by the subjects with respect to the potential hazards from the moving robot arm. It was suggested that the safe slow speed of robot motions for teaching and programming purposes lies somewhere between 10 and 20 cm/s, and that current recommendation of 25.0 cm/s for safe reduced speed of robot motions should be redefined.”

p. 997-1001

Brogmus, George Erich and Marko, Richard (1992): The Proportion of Cumulative Trauma Disorders of the Upper Extremities in U.S. Industry. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36th Annual Meeting 1992. pp. 997-1001.

“Numerous case studies indicate a high incidence of cumulative trauma disorders (CTDs) of the upper extremities. However, there have been few broad based attempts to give an assessment of the problem in industry overall. Using two large databases of accident information, CTDs were found to account for approximately 3% of all accidents and 3.5% of all accident costs in 1991. An increasing trend was clearly indicated over the past several years. Analysis was also done by state and job classification.”

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