CSL
Notes
A quarterly newsletter of the Cognitive Science Laboratory,
The Catholic University of America, Washington, D. C. 20064.
FROM THE EDITOR..........
Carol Cairns
Take a look at a possible CSL logo merging
the "Propeller Heads" with the "Brain Heads" as Raja
designated the Human Factors and Cognitive Neuroscience divisions
in the last issue. Yang "unveiled" her creation at the February
4th Lab Meeting which Raja led with his discussion
of "Neuroergonomics, the Study of Brain and Behavior at Work"
(see THE DIRECTOR SPEAKS). Very creative, Yang!
This issue re-introduces a feature from past issues, THE GUEST
COLUMN, with a contribution this month from John Deaton, a CSL
alumnus. Additionally, Jacqueline Duley submitted an IN MY OPINION
article. In hope of making both regular features, I invite all
readers of "CSL NOTES" to participate; we also invite your
comments on our newsletter and, from CSL alumni, updates on your
what avenues your life/career have taken you. Fax, mail, or e-mail
any contributions to me.
Check CSL NEWS for alumni updates: two CSL babies were born in
November: Cory Harrison Byrne on the 14th and Cassidy
Madeline Hilburn (who debuted six weeks early!) on the 30th,
and, on a sad note, Toufik Bahri passed away November 17, 1997,
of cancer.
Work progresses on the flight simulator and ATC stations in G-8
where subject testing has progressed with air traffic controllers.
And data collection continues on the aging grants. With new additions
to the CSL staff (see CSL NEWS), we are bursting at the seams
on the second floor, as we continue to be a productive research
team (see NEW PUBLICATIONS and conference/presentation reports).
Raja has two books ready to hit the bookshelves: The Future
of Air Traffic Control. Human Operators and Automation, the
second in a series of reports by the Panel on Human Factors in
Air Traffic Control Automation of which Raja is a member and The
Attentive Brain, which Raja edited and will be [hopefully]
off the presses in time for the Cognitive Neuroscience Society
meeting in San Francisco in April.
Check out the topics of our regular Wednesday lab meetings. This
will continue, as introduced in the last issue of "CSL NOTES"
to be a regular feature. All readers are invited to attend.
Subject waiting area in G-6.
Thanks to Jackie for donating a rug
and picture to make the area a little more warm and comfortable.
THE DIRECTOR SPEAKS on..........NEUROERGONOMICS:
The Study of Brain and Behavior at Work
Raja Parasuraman
What is Neuroergonomics?
Neuroergonomics is the study of brain and behavior at work.
This interdisciplinary field is concerned with investigations
of the neural bases of human perception, cognition, and performance
in relation to systems and technologies in the "real world", for
example, in the use of computers and various other machines at
home or in the workplace, and in operating vehicles such as aircraft,
cars, trains, and ships. Neuroergonomics has two major goals:
(1) to use existing and emerging knowledge of human performance
and brain function to design such systems for safer and more efficient
operation; and (2) to advance understanding of human brain function
in relation to cognitive processes and performance in real-world
tasks.
Historical Background.
The constituent disciplines of neuroergonomics are neuroscience
and ergonomics (or human factors). Both are twentieth-century,
post World War II fields, and the rise of both areas can be linked
to technological developments, particularly digital computers,
initiated by engineers and physicists.
Traditionally, ergonomics has not paid much attention to neuroscience
or to the results of studies concerning brain mechanisms underlying
human perceptual, cognitive, affective, and motor processes. At
the same time, neuroscience, and its more recent off-shoot, cognitive
neuroscience, has only been partially concerned with whether its
findings bear any relation to human functioning in real (as opposed
to laboratory) settings, with the exception of applications to
clinical disorders. Neuroergonomics is a response to this twin
disregard.
The relative neglect by ergonomics of human brain function is
consistent with a functionalist approach to the philosophy
of mind. Such an approach implies that the characteristics of
neural structure and functioning are largely irrelevant to the
development of theories of mental functioning. In contrast,
cognitive neuroscience suggests that such characteristics constrain
and in some cases determine theories of human mental processes.
The relative neglect by neuroscience of applications in ergonomics
can be traced to the recency of the field. There is also a tendency
to think of applications of neuroscience solely to understanding
abnormalities of mental function, that is, to neurological
and psychiatric disorders such as dementia and schizophrenia.
But if cognitive neuroscience is the study of the neural basis
of mental functions, then there is no reason why applications
to normal functioning in the real world cannot be examined.
Neuroergonomics: The Merging of Ergonomics and Cognitive
Neuroscience
Cognitive neuroscience and ergonomics are exciting fields because
both may be poised for a Great Leap Forward in the 21st century.
The 1990s were declared the "Decade of the Brain" by the
White House, and there is tremendous excitement at the prospect
of arriving at a deep understanding of the neural basis of cognition
in the years ahead. As this decade comes to an end, a proposal
has been made to declare the years 2000-2010 the "Decade of Behavior"
to emphasize the importance of understanding mechanisms of human
behavior to several key societal problems. At the same time, ergonomics
is coming of age in terms of its increasing acceptance by industry.
There is now at least tacit recognition that any device or system
that is used by humans, from small consumer items such as personal
computers to large systems such as jet aircraft, cannot be effectively
operated without adequate consideration of ergonomics and human
factors in the design process.
Currently, cognitive neuroscience and ergonomics are disparate
disciplines, and their goals are such that they rarely interact.
Neuroergonomics represents the merger and extension of these goals
in new directions. To the extent that cognitive neuroscience advances
theoretical knowledge on human functioning, it can influence the
application of that knowledge to the design of systems. At the
same time, ergonomics may provide an avenue for examining the
practical utility of basic findings generated by cognitive neuroscientists.
The shift from the Decade of the Brain to the proposed Decade
of Behavior provides an appropriate background for promoting a
new discipline devoted to examining both brain and behavior in
relation to work.
Examples of Neuroergonomics Research.
What kinds of research work falls within the domain of neuroergonomics?
Here are some examples.
- Using knowledge of brain mechanisms and neurochemical systems
that control circadian rhythms to devise optimal schedules for
shift work or to minimize circadian disruption due to travel across
time zones.
- Developing functional brain imaging measures of cerebral blood
flow to index mental workload during complex, multi-task performance
so as to optimize the design of human-machine systems.
- Using event-related brain potentials to examine individual
differences in attentional abilities in younger and older pilots.
- Examining cortical mechanisms of human motivation in relation
to attention and job performance.
- Developing animal models of human vigilance or sustained attention
to discover the neural mechanisms underlying performance decrement
during long-duration tasks such as those in aviation and air-traffic
control.
- Understanding the neural basis of performance of real-world,
complex perceptual-motor tasks such as driving.
- Exploring the neural basis of human error patterns using event-related
brain potentials and functional brain imaging.
More development-oriented work might include the following:
- Applying knowledge of brain and cognitive architectures to
produce "neural chips" (as opposed to traditional VLSI architectures)
that could produce intelligent user interfaces with exceptionally
fast computing systems. These could be used to develop "neuroergonomic
aids" for the physically incapacitated.
- Using new insights into the computational and neural basis
of spatial navigation to develop improved virtual reality systems.
- Using real-time measurement of brain electrical potentials
for adaptive control of computer interfaces by the physically
disabled.
- Developing improved robots for underwater and ocean-floor
search based on principles of echolocation used by dolphins.
Future Directions.
At the moment, neuroergonomics is only an idea whose time has
come. But there appears to be a core group of investigators who
have made significant contributions that can legitimately be associated
with this nascent field. Neuroergonomics offers researchers an
avenue for exercising their budding interests.
I should like to solicit your opinions on the ideas presented
here. Is neuroergonomics viable? Would it be useful to form an
informal association of researchers with interests in this area?
What might be possible methods for further developing this idea?
A small conference? A journal? A web-based discussion group?
If you can think of others who would be interested in joining
this interest group, please pass on this on to them or give them
our web address
(http://www.cua.edu/org/csl/neuroerg.cfm)
where they will find
this document. Responses and feedback would be welcome. Address
comments to me c/o Cognitive Science Lab, The Catholic University
of America, Washington, D.C. 20064; or you can either
e-mail (parasuraman@cua.edu)
or fax (202-319-4456) your comments. Your interest is appreciated.
REPORT ON SOCIETY FOR NEUROSCIENCE 27TH ANNUAL
MEETING..........
Yang Jiang
More than 29,000 "neural heads" from all over the world
attended the 27th annual meeting of Society for Neuroscience in
New Orleans, October 25-30. Attention and the neural basis of
attention remained the hot topics and stimulated much work by
neuroscientists at the conference, especially cognitive neuroscientists.
Raja chaired a session on selective attention. Another speaker
in the session was CSL alumnus Scott Adams who presented
"Electrophysiological
attention signals in three sense modalities" co-authored
with Wesdorp at NIAAA and Raja. Also from the CSL, Pam and Raja's
poster "Changes in the ability to dynamically adjust the attention
focus from young to old age to Alzheimer's disease"
was presented in one of the sessions on Alzheimer's.
The keynote speaker was Dr. Goldman-Rakic, who spoke on "Working
memory". She and her colleagues not only have explored working
memory in monkeys using single-cell recording, but also have taken
the working memory study all the way to the subcellular level.
These studies inspired many recent imaging studies on human working
memory. I presented a poster on the imaging project that I worked
on with Alex Martin and Jim Haxby, NIMH, and Raja, titled: "fMRI
of face working memory using rapid and random stimulus presentation".
I enjoyed New Orleans, its unique attraction, food, and jazz.
Yet, with several sizable conferences going on at the same time,
it was a bit crowded to my liking. The next annual meeting will
be held in Los Angeles, November 7-12, 1998; check
http://www.sfn.org
for further information.
REPORT ON 38TH ANNUAL MEETING OF THE PSYCHONOMIC
SOCIETY..........
Yang Jiang
Raja and Yang attended the 38th annual meeting of the Psychonomic
Society in Philadelphia, November 20-23 . The Psychonomic Society
is a prestigious society whose members are accomplished psychologists.
A Ph.D. in psychology alone is not enough for membership. During
the meeting, our poster "Effects of Visual Motion Priming In
Young and Older Adults", by Raja, Yang, Pam, and Camilla
was well received.
On a personal note, while in Philadelphia, I met another Professor
Parasuraman (Raja's sister Saroj) and stayed at her house.
Incidently, I found that she just won a best writing award at
a major conference, had a new book in her field published, and
she is a great cook. Do all these sound amazingly familiar to
you?
For your information: The Psychonomic Society's next annual
meeting will be held in Dallas, Texas, November 19-22, 1998. For
more information, see
http://www.sig.net/~psysoc/about.cfm.
LAB SYSTEMS MANAGER'S REPORT..........
Tony Masalonis
In recent months, the CSL has seen additions and improvements
in the software and networking departments. We've been
keeping up with Apple's operating system updates, as most
of the desktop Macs in the lab are now running OS 8.x. Important
additions to our software library are the newest Mac-OS and Windows
versions of the SPSS statistical programs. Also, following a resurgence
in the CSL of the ever-loving macro viruses, we've added
the latest SAM (Symantec Antivirus for Macintosh) to our collection
of virus protection programs.
In October, our lab's computers got a little more breathing
room on our little section of the CUA network, with the addition
of ten new Internet addresses. Also, most of our networked computers
are now connected to the new campus fiber optic line. In other
networking news, the CSL Web page (see notice below) now includes
a counter to gauge our ever-increasing popularity. The counter,
found at the bottom of the home page, measures the number of hits
since January 12, 1998. Networking improvements for the near future
include plans to install additional modem lines to allow multiple
users to simultaneously dial into the CSL network. Armed with
the correct phone numbers and passwords, it will be easier than
ever to share files with lab Macs and PCs, and control computers
remotely.
CSL NEWS..........
REMEMBERING......
Time for reflection...Toufik Bahri passed away last November
17 of cancer. Toufik came to The Catholic University of America
as an MA student in the Fall of 1984 and started working as a
Research Assistant in the Cognitive Science Lab in 1985. Accepted
into the PhD Applied Experimental Program, he defended his dissertation
on November 13, 1989. Following graduation, he continued in the
Cognitive Science Lab as a post-doctoral Research Fellow until
March 1991. After leaving the CSL, he accepted an assistant professorship
at the Psychology Department, University of Algiers, Algeria.
He later accepted a position at Psychology Department, University
of El Ain, United Arab Emirates, where he remained with his wife
Nafissa until his death in a hospital in Algiers. Dramatically,
his father died the week before from a heart failure. As Toufik
was athletic and did not smoke or drink alcohol, his untimely
death came as a shock to his classmates Drs. Deaton and Mouloua.
Both held a wake in his memory in December in Orlando, Florida.
Toufik was 37 and survived by his wife, mother, brother, and two
sisters. We send his family our sympathy and love.
WELCOME!
Our ever-expanding staff in the Cognitive Science Lab welcomes
two new members. Alan Francis comes as post-doctoral Research
Fellow in the area of cognitive neuroscience, specifically, brain
imaging studies of attention in aging, at risk and Alzheimer patients.
He will be working both here at the CSL and at NIH with Dr. Alex
Martin. His junior research fellowship was at the Indian Institute
of Technology; he was awarded a Felix Scholarship to study at
Oxford University as visiting research student; and his PhD research
was on the cognitive neuroscience of Alzheimer's disease
at the Maudsley - Institute of Psychiatry, University of London.
Besides working tirelessly here in the Lab, Alan is also preparing
a home for the anticipated arrival of his wife and daughter who
will be coming soon from India. Our newest research assistant
Mary Roy is a sophomore psychology major, minoring in French.
Originally from Detroit, Michigan, she is active at CUA as the
captain of the varsity volleyball team, a member of the Kappa
Tau Gamma service sorority, and a volunteer on a Washington, D.C.
crisis hotline. Mary is working on Pam's NIA grant.
FAREWELL......
to Danielle Yates who has taken over the position as sophomore
class senator in the Undergraduate Student Government, applied
to be a Resident Assistant in one of the dorms on campus, and
will be a volunteer on a hotline starting in April. She hopes
to study abroad in Ireland for a semester. Good luck, Danielle!
ALUMNI UPDATES......
John Deaton: "It has been a fairly easy transition from
a military career to that of corporate life. Ironically, two of
the projects that I am currently working at CHI Systems were initiated
with my help while I was on active duty in the Navy. Best of all,
I get to work with many of the same people I did while on active
duty. The major difference between military and civilian life
is that I now have to make a most critical decision every morning
that was not necessary while in the Navy...what do I wear today?!"
Evan Byrne: As of this writing, Evan is in Singapore as
part of the NTSB team investigating the recent Silk Air crash.
Other news: "we had our second kid, Cory Harrison Byrne on Friday
14 November. He was 8 lbs 4 oz at birth and is now doing quite
well. Elliott has passive interest in the new guy and is not regressing
any because he already wasn't toilet trained."
Brian Hilburn: Cassidy Madeline Hilburn was born 30 November,
1997, in The Hague, The Netherlands. Scheduled to be a 1998 baby,
she decided to make her debut six weeks early weighing in at 2575
grams (5 lb 10 oz US) and 47 cm (18.5 in.) long. The whole enlarged
family is doing well...
CURRENT RESEARCH......
SPATIALLY CUED VISUAL PROCESSING OVER THE ADULT LIFE SPAN,
NIA (Pam Greenwood). Also related to the topic of visuospatial
attention, in collaboration with Gene Alexander at NIH, we have
obtained PET scans from young participants during performance
of a visual search task. We hope to see in these scans evidence
of active brain circuitry during processes of search. In addition,
in collaboration with Trey Sunderland at NIMH, we have collected
a large amount of data from individuals having first-degree relatives
with Alzheimer Disease. These individuals are being genetically
typed for possession of a combination of alleles associated with
altered risk of that disease.
Scott Galster submitted a proposal entitled "Evaluation
of Countermeasures for Performance Decrements due to Automation-Induced
Complacency in IFR Rated General Aviation Pilots" as a Graduate
Student Researchers Program grant to NASA Langley. The goal of
the research proposed is to expand on studies conducted at the
CSL on automation. This research will utilize the flight simulator
to confirm the presence of automation-induced complacency and
to evaluate the adaptive automation strategy as a countermeasure.
Stephanie Johnson is currently conducting a third follow-up
study on cross modal auditory attention and aging. She is also
working with traumatic brain injured patients using an ANAM database
which computes RT's and accuracy data at Washington Hospital Center.
ADAPTIVE TASK ALLOCATION IN THE COCKPIT (NASA Langley)
is nearing completion, and second-year funding has been received
for the NASA Ames grant DYNAMIC AUTOMATION TOOLS FOR AIR TRAFFIC
MANAGEMENT. Data collection and analysis progresses on both
projects.
PRESENTATIONS.........
Several lab members are working on presentations for various upcoming
meetings. Look for reports in the next issue.
GUEST COLUMN..........Life in the "Real
World"
John Deaton, PhD
My career has taken so many twists and turns that it's
difficult to characterize it in so many words. We all strive for
a professional career that both satisfies our financial needs
and at the same time provides an environment that challenges us
and allows us to pursue personal areas of interest. How we get
there is another question. It's probably a combination
of education, experience, and don't forget......LUCK!
Be that as it may, I'd like to give the readers of this
newsletter an idea of how these factors played into the shaping
of my career since my days at CUA.
I was on active duty in the Navy when I started my academic training
with Raja at CUA. I was fortunate in that I was "sponsored"
by the military, i.e., they paid me my regular salary as an active
duty officer as well as paying for all my tuition costs. The only
catch was that I had two years in which to finish my Ph.D. (I
had a Master's when I came to CUA). To make a long story
short, I did finish within the prescribed time period (many sacrifices
along the way), and continued my Navy career until I retired in
1995 in the Orlando area after 15 years of service as an Aerospace
Experimental Psychologist.
What does one do after 15 years in a military environment? Well,
one could go BACK to school--this time as faculty. Thus, I
spent the year after retiring at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University
(Daytona Beach, FL) as a Senior Research Associate conducting
aviation-related research in an academic environment that did
not entirely understand how R&D really works (the Navy was
an outstanding training ground for gaining this experience by
the way). By that, I mean the University didn't understand
that in order to attract research funds you need: 1) an adequate
research facility or lab, 2) previous history of successful completion
of funded research while not mandatory, is certainly helpful,
3) personnel with appropriate experience/background, etc., and
4) an administration that both appreciates and supports research
efforts. In sum, while my short-lived academic career was moderately
interesting, it became clear that opportunities for professional
growth would be severely limited. Next step: look for another
job (this was easy, given my background and experience). Finding
a job is not too difficult, but finding the RIGHT job is. Well,
I got half of it right! After four months working for Flight Safety
International it became painfully obvious that I made a wrong
decision. Not only was I not doing R&D anymore, but I was
"urged" to develop curriculum guides/manuals for aircraft
pilot training (someone needs to do it, but not me!). I made another
concerted effort to find yet another position, and this time I
was the right person at the right time (sound like luck may be
playing a part here?). I applied for a position working for CHI
Systems, Inc. (home-based in Philadelphia). They were looking
for someone to open their Orlando operations (what luck!), and
they knew me from past joint research efforts (luck again!).
This time I got it right! I'm back in R&D, and coincidentally,
working with many of the same people I did while on active duty.
Only this time, I have to decide what to wear each morning! (no
more uniforms). Ironically, I'm working on two projects
that I started during my active duty days. One of the projects
is associated with designing an interface for helicopter aircrew
that will assist them in assessing the health of their aircraft,
and the other program involves the application of adaptive automation
to integrate several emerging crewstation technologies (auto spin
recovery, auto ejection, auto terrain avoidance, etc.).
Just to give you an idea of "real world" applications of
some of the concepts we learned as grad students, I will now summarize
a few of the programs developed at CHI. The following are descriptions
of several efforts which involve cognitive and conceptual modeling
of complex domains and the design of novel computer-based approaches
to aid understanding and strategic decision-making (CHI does a
lot of this stuff):
ORGNET -- Tool for Modeling and Analysis of Distributed Decision-Making
Systems
The Navy is moving rapidly toward organizational structures which
decentralize and distribute decision-making in both tactical and
non-tactical environments. At the same time, such environments
are becoming increasingly complex and thus require thorough analysis
and design efforts before being implemented. This is a problem
that calls for powerful, quantitative, and general methodologies
that are practical enough to be applied directly and cost-effectively
to Navy organizations. The Principal Investigator and colleagues
at CHI Systems have created and demonstrated the COGNET methodology
and GINA toolset for modeling and analyzing the decision/information
needs of individual decision processes. Phase I addressed the
feasibility of extending these methodologies to distributed decision
making organizations. This extended COGNET methodology is termed
ORGNET (for Organizational Network of Tasks) and the associated
software for building and analyzing ORGNET models is termed PRO
(Program for Redesigning Organizations). Ultimately, ORGNET/PRO
will be used to: 1) Define a model of organizational functions;
2) Define individual role assignments; 3) Assess effectiveness
of role assignments in terms of quantitative organizational performance
measures. Results of Phase I indicated the feasibility of building
the ORGNET/PRO methodology. Phase II will focus on building ORGNET/PRO
and applying it to Aegis operations. Source of Funds: Naval
Air Warfare Center, Training Systems Division.
Commander's Critical Information Requirements (CCIR)
Software for USMC
As the USMC fields JMCIS, there is a danger that USMC commanders
will be overwhelmed with the information provided by the system.
CHI Systems' CCIR project deals with this problem, by providing
the Commander with only the information that he truly needs for
decision making. This project is a technology feeder for the NCCOSC
Integrated Command Operations Center (ICOC) Advanced Technology
Demonstration. In this project, CHI Systems developed CCIRs in
conjunction with the MAGTF Staff Training Program office, a graphical
user interface (GUI) to allow selection and changing of CCIRs,
a message parser to extract critical information from formatted
digital message traffic, and filters to determine when information
meets CCIR requirements. The system also includes an alerting
mechanism for CCIR matches. Later stages of the project will interface
with a DARPA-developed natural language processing application
for unformatted, free text digital messages such as OTH-Gold Opnotes
and Lotus Notes. A prototype of the CCIR tool was demonstrated
to the ICOC ATD Working Group on 23 November 1996, and a prototype
participated in Operation Hunter Warrior (USMC portion of Army's
Force XXI program) in February 1997. This project is now being
transitioned to the USMC C4I software baseline as part of the
JMCIS Ashore and C2PC systems. Source of Funds: Naval Command,
Control, and Ocean Surveillance Center, San Diego, CA.
Development of Principles for Tactical Decision Making Under
Stress: A Model-Based Approach
CHI Systems played a major role in the Navy's Tactical Decision
Making Under Stress (TADMUS) program, which began in 1990 and
ended in 1995. The objective was to apply recent developments
in decision theory, individual and team training, and information
display to the problem of enhancing tactical decision quality
under conditions of stress through development of principles for
more effective decision support systems, man-machine interface
concepts, and training strategies and techniques. The primary
goal of CHI Systems project for the Naval Ocean Systems Center
was to develop design principles for decision support systems
and intelligent man-machine interfaces to aid Naval decision makers
in stressful conditions. The first phase of this effort consisted
of developing a COGNET model of ship self-defense (SSD) command
decision making, then extending this model via human experiments
to stressed decision making. In the second phase, the COGNET model
of stressed decision making was used along with general design
principles to construct an example decision aiding system for
Naval SSD. Source of Funds: Naval Research and Development
Center.
GINA - A Workbench for Developing User Interface Agents
Computerization of work, particularly information-based work which
has been traditionally performed by manual methods, has created
many problems for new computer users. As computer systems grow
more complex, their human users have increasing difficulty in
successfully and efficiently applying the underlying system functionality.
Research has begun to focus on using the human-computer interface
to solve such problems, by creating components of the user interface,
called 'agents' or 'interface agents', that cooperatively support
the human in a variety of ways. To date, however, these interface
agents have been the custom-built products of individual research
or system-development efforts. For the concept of interface agents
to reach its broader potential, more powerful tools are needed
for their development and maintenance. This research begins the
development of a Generator of INterface Agents (GINA). GINA is
developed around CHI Systems' interface agent-building methodology
called COGNET. The project developed a detailed GINA architecture,
and implemented and tested a skeletal version of the underlying
agent-execution engine. Source of Funds: Naval Air Warfare
Center, Training Systems Division.
Well, hopefully you get a pretty good picture of some of the projects
that CHI has been involved in for the past few years. Obviously,
they are quite technical and geared to real-world problems with
military applications. As a general rule, organizations like CHI
do not conduct fundamental research; that is best performed by
universities like CUA. Once one leaves an academic environment,
two things become clear: 1) the nature of your research becomes
more applied, and 2) you become more knowledgeable concerning
what areas are currently being funded by various agencies; this
is important since you'll most likely be submitting proposals
to secure funding to conduct your research. However, the payoffs
in some respects, are greater outside of academia. You can participate
in the development of real systems that may actually get fielded.
Also, you may have opportunities to work on projects that involve
sophisticated simulation and modeling on simulators worth millions
of dollars (my Ph.D. dissertation was done at the CUA lab on a
286 PC!). But, you know, I never regret my time working in the
lab. It gives you the tools that later prepare you to do the kind
of work I've mentioned.
IN MY OPINION..........
Consumers Should Use Some Human Factors Common Sense
Jacqueline Duley
It is often said that "human factors"
is nothing more than common sense. Someone with human factors
training will tell you that common sense will provide some basic
use in everyday living but larger systems such as aircraft, buildings,
automobiles, and software programs require a deeper understanding
of the interaction between system and user. This is not to say
however that a user cannot determine if a design allows for safe
operation. For example we all know that controls should
be reachable and we know that information should be displayed
large enough so that it can be easily read. So if we already possess
such common sense, why don't we use it when purchasing
a product?
On October 12, 1997 John Denver fatally crashed his aircraft into
Monterey Bay near Pacific Grove, California. Denver had recently
purchased the homebuilt Long-EZ, an aircraft designed by Burt
Rutan who is a well-known pilot, designer, and aviation enthusiast.
Although the investigation is still in progress, a preliminary
explanation by NTSB investigator George Petterson (GANews &
Flyer, Nov. 14, 1997) is that a non-standard fuel selector valve
in a non-standard location may have contributed to the crash.
The builder had not followed the blueprints for the aircraft design.
In purchasing this aircraft, Denver did not consider the significance
of the location of the fuel selector control.
Controls should be reachable. The purpose of the
fuel selector control in an aircraft is to switch from tank A
to tank B for the aircraft's fuel supply. The significance
of the location of such a control should seem obvious. If tank
A is permitted to become empty and the pilot cannot switch to
tank B-- no fuel, no fly! The fuel selector
control in Denver's aircraft was located behind the would-be
pilot's left shoulder instead of in front of the pilot.
If Denver was to change fuel tanks, he had to "release his right
hand from the Long-EZ's [flight] control stick, reach across
and behind his left shoulder, and find the fuel selector to change
tanks" (GANews & Flyer, Nov. 14, 1997). In fact, in order
to either gain more leverage or extended reach, other pilots interviewed
stated that Denver had borrowed a pair of vise grips.
Information should be displayed such that it can be easily
read. In addition, the location of the aircraft's
fuel quantity indicators may have also contributed to the fatal
crash. The indicators were positioned on the sides of the cockpit,
behind the front seat. Petterson stated that "the mechanic
who helped Denver before takeoff loaned him a mirror so he could
see the gauges" (GANews & Flyer, Nov. 14, 1997).
Knowing the above two facts, it should seem clear that operation
of this aircraft could not be done in a safe manner. Without the
ability to properly maintain the fuel supply, a pilot cannot fly
the aircraft safely. Proper maintenance of the fuel supply requires
knowledge of the fuel quantity which is obtained from the fuel
gauges and the ability to continually provide the engine
with fuel which is accomplished via control of the fuel selector.
As I mentioned earlier, the investigation is ongoing. There are
other possible contributors to this fatal crash. Even if the fuel
selector did not contribute to this crash, it may have been just
a matter of time and circumstance. But I think that we can see
this as an example of consumers -- Denver in purchasing the aircraft
& the aircraft's builder in not following the purchased
blueprints -- not using any human factors common sense.
READING FOR WORK..........
Enjoy Old Age. A Practical Guide by B. F. Skinner
and M.E. Vaughan. As an aging person, a former Harvard professor
of psychology offers specific pointers to making old age a time
of considerable joy and productivity. (Camilla)
Images of Mind, by M. I. Posner & M. E. Raichle
(1997). New York: Scientific American Library. Although the first
edition of this book is already a couple of years old, I think
it is still worth mentioning that the new edition (slightly modified)
is available in affordable paperback now ($19.95). The print is
in color and of good quality, too. A great introduction to cognitive
neuroscience! (Ulla)
..........OR PLEASURE
The Sun Also Rises, by Ernest Hemingway. I especially
enjoyed reading this a few months ago. It was pretty interesting
since at the time it was published it was considered to accurately
portray the lives of the younger generation after WWI. (Jackie)
Citizen Soldiers, by Steven Ambrose, an account
of the battle for Normandy in the weeks after D-Day in 1944. Though
I haven't actually finished this book, I still recommend it. Having
read an account of this some years ago by Churchill's biographer,
this book benefits from interviews with German survivors of the
battle to give a fuller picture. Ambrose's thesis is that
because of poor reconnaissance, the Allies were poorly trained
and equipped for the hedgerow fighting that dominated the days
and weeks following D-Day and solutions to the problems of fighting
came, not from officers, but from the ingenious, enterprising
"citizen soldiers" of the title; e.g., the New York City
cab driver who devised a scheme to modify tanks by welding railroad
track onto the front to ram into hedgerows. While providing a
history of the battle for Normandy, Ambrose also celebrates the
resourcefulness and pluck of the ordinary soldier. It also seems
to me that the extensive experience that many of these kids (and
they were kids) seem to have had with automobile engines gave
them a big advantage in keeping the army moving. (Pam)
Long After Midnight, by Iris Johansen is a fast-paced
thriller about genetic research. It is an easy-read and particularly
enjoyable on a rainy night, a charming romance. (Jennie)
COOL WEB SITES
Ulla:
http://www.interactive.hp.com/fish/
Have you ever seen a fish expressing his affection for you? Unfortunately,
for PC people only!
Pam: http://igm.nlm.nih.gov:80/
On-line version of "Grateful Med" - the Medline search facility
which allows on line searching of the National Library of Medicine's
Medline data base - one can search for journal articles by author,
subject, etc.
Scott:
http:/www.versiontracker.com
Keep track of the latest available version of software available
for the mac; also allows you to or directs you to places where
you can download software (some free; some listed for purchase).
Tony: til.info.apple.com
Apple Technical Info Library, info about common Mac problems and
how to fix some of them.
Tony: Cheap flights! Many airlines offer discounted fares only
available on the internet. The best are the following four, because
they also allow you to sign up for weekly e-mail notifications
of last-minute discounts, so the info comes to you rather than
YOU going to get IT.
American (www.aa.com),
Continental (www.flycontinental.com),
TWA (www.twa.com),
and US (www.usairways.com).
www1.tip.nl/~t684359/cassidy.cfm
The Cassidy Madeline Hilburn home page.
CALENDAR OF EVENTS
March 25-28, 1998
Third Automation Technology and Human Performance Conference
Norfolk, Virginia
April 5-7, 1998
Cognitive Neuroscience Society
San Francisco, California
April 23-26, 1998
Cognitive Aging Conference
Atlanta, Georgia
May 21-24, 1998
American Psychological Society
10th Annual Convention
Washington, D.C.
May 27-29, 1998
International Conference on Human-Computer Interaction in
Aeronautics
Montreal, Canada
June 7-12, 1998
4th International Conference on Functional Mapping of the Brain
Montreal, Canada
October 5-9, 1998
Human Factors & Ergonomics Society
Chicago, Illinois
Lecture proposals due March 9
Poster proposals due April 20
November 7-12, 1998
Society for Neuroscience
Los Angeles, California
NEW PUBLICATIONS..........
Jiang, Y., Pantle, A.J., & Mark, L.S. (In Press). Visual inertia
of rotating 3D objects. Perception and Psychophysics.
Parasuraman, R. (Ed.) (In Press). The Attentive Brain. Cambridge,
Ma: MIT Press.
Wickens, C. D., Mavor, A., Parasuraman, R., & Mcgee, J. (1998).
The Future of Air Traffic Control. Human Operators And Automation
In Air Traffic Control. Washington DC: National Academy Press.
SCHEDULED WEDNESDAY TALKS
Dec 3, Dennis Rowe, Mitre Corporation, "Heart Rate Variability
and Mental Workload in Free Flight"
Dec 10, First Annual CSL Holiday Luncheon
Jan 14, New semester orientation
Jan 21, Raja Parasuraman, "Unconscious Priming of Visual Objects?"
Jan 28, Pamela Greenwood, "Spatial Attention in Healthy Elderly
at Risk for Alzheimer's Disease"
Feb 4, Raja Parasuraman, "Neuroergonomics"
Feb 11, No Meeting
Feb 18, No Meeting
Feb 25, Allyson Rosen, "On Constructing fMRI Experiments: Some
Examples"
Mar 4, Alan Francis, "Education and Semantic Memory in Dementia"
Mar 11, Mike Miller, "Specificity and Semantic Spread of Inhibition
in the Stroop Task"
Mar 18, Alex Martin, NIH, "fMRI and Repetition Priming"
Mar 25, 3rd Automation Technology Conference, no meeting
Apr 1, Yang Jiang, "Visual Motion Priming and Aging"
Apr 8, Tony Masalonis, "Effects of a Conflict Probe on Controller
Performance"
Cognitive Science Lab
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