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Objective: This study examined the impact of monitoring instructions when using an automated driving system (ADS) and road obstructions on post take-over performance in near-miss scenarios. Background: Past research indicates partial ADS reduces the driver's situation awareness and degrades post take-over performance. Connected vehicle technology may alert drivers to impending hazards in time to safely avoid near-miss events. Method: Forty-eight licensed drivers using ADS were randomly assigned to either the active driving or passive driving condition. Participants navigated eight scenarios with or without a visual obstruction in a distributed driving simulator. The experimenter drove the other simulated vehicle to manually cause near-miss events. Participants' mean longitudinal velocity, standard deviation of longitudinal velocity, and mean longitudinal acceleration were measured. Results: Participants in passive ADS group showed greater, and more variable, deceleration rates than those in the active ADS group. Despite a reliable audiovisual warning, participants failed to slow down in the red-light running scenario when the conflict vehicle was occluded. Participant's trust in the automated driving system did not vary between the beginning and end of the experiment. Conclusion: Drivers interacting with ADS in a passive manner may continue to show increased and more variable deceleration rates in near-miss scenarios even with reliable connected vehicle technology. Future research may focus on interactive effects of automated and connected driving technologies on drivers' ability to anticipate and safely navigate near-miss scenarios. Application: Designers of automated and connected vehicle technologies may consider different timing and types of cues to inform the drivers of imminent hazard in high-risk scenarios for near-miss events. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To design and develop a Portable Auditory Localization Acclimation Training (PALAT) system capable of producing psychoacoustically accurate localization cues; evaluate the training effect against a proven full-scale, laboratory-grade system under three listening conditions; and determine if the PALAT system is sensitive to differences among electronic level-dependent hearing protection devices (HPDs). Background: In-laboratory auditory localization training has demonstrated the ability to improve localization performance with the open (natural) ear, that is, unoccluded, and while wearing HPDs. The military requires a portable system capable of imparting similar training benefits as those demonstrated in laboratory experiments. Method: In a full-factorial repeated measures design experiment, 12 audiometrically normal participants completed localization training and testing using an identical, optimized training protocol on two training systems under three listening conditions (open ear, TEP-100, and ComTac™ III). Statistical tests were performed on mean absolute accuracy score and front-back reversal errors. Results: No statistical difference existed between the PALAT and laboratory-grade DRILCOM systems on two dependent localization accuracy measurements at all stages of training. In addition, the PALAT system detected the same localization performance differences among the three listening conditions. Conclusion: The PALAT system imparted similar training benefits as the DRILCOM system and was sensitive to HPD localization performance differences. Application: The user-operable PALAT system and optimized training protocol can be employed by the military, law enforcement, and various industries, to improve auditory localization performance in conditions where auditory situation awareness is critical to safety. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: This study developed a fixation-related electroencephalography band power (FRBP) approach for situation awareness (SA) assessment in automated driving. Background: Maintaining good SA in Level 3 automated vehicles is crucial to drivers' takeover performance when the automated system fails. A multimodal fusion approach that enables the analysis of the visual behavioral and cognitive processes of SA can facilitate real-time assessment of SA in future driver state monitoring systems. Method: Thirty participants performed three simulated automated driving tasks. After each task, the Situation Awareness Global Assessment Technique (SAGAT) was deployed to capture their SA about key elements that could affect their takeover task performance. Participants eye movements and brain activities were recorded. Data on their brain activity after each eye fixation on the key elements were extracted and labeled according to the correctness of the SAGAT. Mixed-effects models were used to identify brain regions that were indicative of SA, and machine learning models for SA assessment were developed based on the identified brain regions. Results: Participants' alpha and theta oscillation at frontal and temporal areas are indicative of SA. In addition, the FRBP technique can be used to predict drivers' SA with an accuracy of 88% using a neural network model. Conclusion: The FRBP technique, which incorporates eye movements and brain activities, can provide more comprehensive evaluation of SA. Findings highlight the potential of utilizing FRBP to monitor drivers' SA in real-time. Application: The proposed framework can be expanded and applied to driver state monitoring systems to measure human SA in real-world driving. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: This study investigated the effect of auditory working memory task on situation awareness (SA) and eye-movement patterns in complex dynamic environments. Background: Many human errors in aviation are caused by a lack of SA, and distraction from auditory secondary tasks is a serious threat to SA. However, it remains unclear how auditory working memory tasks affect SA and eye-movement patterns. Method: Participants (n = 28) were randomly allocated to two groups and received different periods of visual search training (short versus long). They subsequently completed a situation awareness measurement task in three auditory secondary task conditions (without secondary task, auditory calculation task, and auditory 2-back task). Eye-movement data were collected during the situation awareness measurement task. Results: The auditory 2-back task significantly reduced overall SA, Level 1 SA, dwell times, and total percentage of fixation time on task-related areas of interests in the SA measurement task. Overall SA and Level 3 SA were not reduced by the auditory 2-back task in individuals in the longer visual search training time condition. Conclusion: Auditory working memory load impairs SA in the perception and projection stage; however, greater experience can overcome impairment of SA in the projection stage. Application: This study provided possible approaches to preventing loss of SA: (1) improving crew members' communication skills to ensure the accurate and clear transmission of information, reducing the difficulty of processing information, and (2) providing targeted cognitive training tailored to each pilot's level of experience. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: This study develops a computational model to predict drivers' response time and understand the underlying cognitive mechanism for freeway exiting takeovers in conditionally automated vehicles (AVs). Background: Previous research has modeled drivers' takeover response time in emergency scenarios that demand a quick response. However, existing models may not be applicable for scheduled, non-time-critical takeovers as drivers take longer to resume control when there is no time pressure. A model of driver response time in non-time-critical takeovers is lacking. Method: A computational cognitive model of driver takeover response time is developed based on Queuing Network-Model Human Processor (QN-MHP) architecture. The model quantifies gaze redirection in response to takeover request (ToR), task prioritization, driver situation awareness, and driver trust to address the complexities of drivers' takeover strategies when sufficient time budget exists. Results: Experimental data of a preliminary driving simulator study were used to validate the model. The model accounted for 97% of the experimental takeover response time for freeway exiting. Conclusion: The current model can successfully predict drivers' response time for scheduled, non-time-critical freeway exiting takeovers in conditionally AVs. Application: This model can be applied to the human-machine interface design with respect to ToR lead time for enhancing safe freeway exiting takeovers in conditionally AVs. It also provides a foundation for future modeling work towards an integrated driver model of freeway exiting takeover performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: The current study examined the effects of music on Hazard Perception – a skill that serves as a proxy for safe driving. Background: There is contradictory evidence whether or not music engagement leads to decremented driver performance and compromises traffic safety. Method: In the study, 36 participants performed a standard Video-Based Hazard Perception Test under three aural conditions: Road and Traffic Sounds (RS); RS + Driver-Preferred Music; RS + Alternative Music. Results: The results show no effect of aural backgrounds (including music) on the situation awareness portion of the driving task. Conclusion: Music background might affect later stages of the driving task such as response selection and/or response execution (mitigation). Application: The investigation of human factors related to vehicular control should include how (where) music might trigger failures in perception and/or behaviour. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: This study evaluated the causal relationships among situation awareness (SA), cohesion, and autonomic synchrony (S E ) within teams. SA is often a team effort and should be more accurate in better-functioning teams. Background: Cohesive teams perform better overall, although the relationship appears reciprocal; the relationship to SA has not been considered previously. S E is a collective neurocognitive activity that has been connected to team coordination, communication, and performance in some circumstances. Method: In this experiment, 71 undergraduates, organized into 16 teams, played two matches of a first-person shooter computer game and completed self-report measures of cohesion and SA. S E was determined through time series analysis of electrodermal responses using the driver-empath framework. Results: Empaths and those who came from more synchronized teams reported less cohesion in the team. Granger causality regression showed reciprocal relations among SA, S E , and cohesion that were both positive and negative after controlling for match difficulty. Conclusion: The cohesion-SA relationship is similar to the reciprocal cohesion-performance relationship. S E plays an important and independent role in both the social and cognitive aspects of team behavior. It is possible, furthermore, that individuals who are more attuned to their co-workers reported a more accurate, and less obliging, social situation. Application: Results are applicable to situations requiring teamwork in a dynamic environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: This study aims to evaluate the effect of in-vehicle audio warning at flashing-light-controlled grade crossings based on driving simulation and eye-tracking systems. Background: Collisions at flashing-light-controlled grade crossings have severe consequences. In-vehicle audio warning has the potential to regulate driver behavior. However, whether this improvement occurs through priming drivers' visual search patterns is not yet clear. Method: Drivers' visual activity and behaviors were recorded. The effect of a warning was tested with a series of flashing light trigger times (FLTTs) ranging from 2s to 6s with a 1s increment. Different driving conditions (i.e., clear and fog) and driver experience were considered in the experiment design. Results: Warnings could guide the allocation of both overt and covert attention, as well as raise drivers' situation awareness, manifesting as the enhanced perception of signs and better understanding of the flashing red light. Significant improvement in the stop-compliance rate was found in warning scenarios, particularly with a late FLTT. The decreased saccade duration and increased fixation duration on the signal implied a dilemma-zone effect when the FLTT was lower than 4s. Furthermore, reduced fixation duration on signs and signals was found in foggy conditions. Non-professional drivers had a wider search range than their counterparts. Conclusion: In-vehicle audio warning is an effective countermeasure for improving crossing safety by optimizing visual search strategy. Application: In-vehicle audio warnings warrant promotion at grade crossings based on the driver assistance system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: This study aimed to investigate the self-study methods used by pilots while grounded and their perception of competence decline and confidence upon their return to flying. Background: Previously, long absences from flying were managed on a case-by-case basis. Thousands of pilots returning to flying as the pandemic eases have burdened airline training systems. Limited research has been conducted on the decline in skills of airline pilots while operationally absent from the cockpit. Few studies have considered this topic in the context of a pandemic. Method: A questionnaire study was conducted with 234 airline pilots who were grounded during the COVID-19 pandemic. Results: Uncertainty regarding sudden and indefinite periods of grounding made it challenging to maintain motivation to self-study. This matter was aggravated by the additional financial and personal stress caused by the state of the airline industry and the outcomes of the pandemic. The participants anticipated a decline in manual flying skills as the worst outcome after being absent from the flight deck. However, these pilots proved quick to recover these skills when they resumed flying. It took significantly more time for pilots to regain proficiency in applying knowledge, procedures and compliance with regulations, situation awareness and workload management. Conclusion: The study proposes recommendations for pilots and airlines to harness essential self-study practices in competency areas identified to have significantly declined. Application: The outcome of this paper guides airlines, pilots and regulators in better understanding how grounded pilots observe skill decline in a broader range of competencies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: In this review, we investigate the relationship between agent transparency, Situation Awareness, mental workload, and operator performance for safety critical domains. Background: The advancement of highly sophisticated automation across safety critical domains poses a challenge for effective human oversight. Automation transparency is a design principle that could support humans by making the automation's inner workings observable (i.e., "seeing-into"). However, experimental support for this has not been systematically documented to date. Method: Based on the PRISMA method, a broad and systematic search of the literature was performed focusing on identifying empirical research investigating the effect of transparency on central Human Factors variables. Results: Our final sample consisted of 17 experimental studies that investigated transparency in a controlled setting. The studies typically employed three human-automation interaction types: responding to agent-generated proposals, supervisory control of agents, and monitoring only. There is an overall trend in the data pointing towards a beneficial effect of transparency. However, the data reveals variations in Situation Awareness, mental workload, and operator performance for specific tasks, agent-types, and level of integration of transparency information in primary task displays. Conclusion: Our data suggests a promising effect of automation transparency on Situation Awareness and operator performance, without the cost of added mental workload, for instances where humans respond to agent-generated proposals and where humans have a supervisory role. Application: Strategies to improve human performance when interacting with intelligent agents should focus on allowing humans to see into its information processing stages, considering the integration of information in existing Human Machine Interface solutions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: This study used the looking-at-nothing phenomenon to explore situation awareness (SA) and the effects of working memory (WM) load in driving situations. Background: While driving, people develop a mental representation of the environment. Since errors in retrieving information from this representation can have fatal consequences, it is essential for road safety to investigate this process. During retrieval, people tend to fixate spatial positions of visually encoded information, even if it is no longer available at that location. Previous research has shown that this "looking-at-nothing" behavior can be used to trace retrieval processes. Method: In a video-based laboratory experiment with 2 (WM) x 3 (SA level) within-subjects design, participants (N = 33) viewed a reduced screen and evaluated auditory statements relating to different SA levels on previously seen dynamic traffic scenarios while eye movements were recorded. Results: When retrieving information, subjects more frequently fixated emptied spatial locations associated with the information relevant for the probed SA level. The retrieval of anticipations (SA level 3) in contrast to the other SA level information resulted in more frequent gaze transitions that corresponded to the spatial dynamics of future driving behavior. Conclusion: The results support the idea that people build a visual-spatial mental image of a driving situation. Different gaze patterns when retrieving level-specific information indicate divergent retrieval processes. Application: Potential applications include developing new methodologies to assess the mental representation and SA of drivers objectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Investigating take-over, driving, non-driving related task (NDRT) performance, and trust of conditionally automated vehicles (AVs) in critical transitions on a test track. Background: Most experimental results addressing driver take-over were obtained in simulators. The presented experiment aimed at validating relevant findings while uncovering potential effects of motion cues and real risk. Method: Twenty-two participants responded to four critical transitions on a test track. Non-driving related task modality (reading on a handheld device vs. auditory) and take-over timing (cognitive load) were varied on two levels. We evaluated take-over and NDRT performance as well as gaze behavior. Further, trust and workload were assessed with scales and interviews. Results: Reaction times were significantly faster than in simulator studies. Further, reaction times were only barely affected by varying visual, physical, or cognitive load. Post-take-over control was significantly degraded with the handheld device. Experiencing the system reduced participants' distrust, and distrusting participants monitored the system longer and more frequently. NDRTs on a handheld device resulted in more safety-critical situations. Conclusion: The results confirm that take-over performance is mainly influenced by visual-cognitive load, while physical load did not significantly affect responses. Future take-over request (TOR) studies may investigate situation awareness and post-take-over control rather than reaction times only. Trust and distrust can be considered as different dimensions in AV research. Application: Conditionally AVs should offer dedicated interfaces for NDRTs to provide an alternative to using nomadic devices. These interfaces should be designed in a way to maintain drivers' situation awareness. Précis: This paper presents a test track experiment addressing conditionally automated driving systems. Twenty-two participants responded to critical TORs, where we varied NDRT modality and take-over timing. In addition, we assessed trust and workload with standardized scales and interviews. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Evaluating the ability of a Gibsonian-inspired artificial intelligence (AI) algorithm to reduce the cognitive workloads of military Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) operators. Background: Military UAV operators use the command-and-control (C2) map for developing mission-relevant situation awareness (SA). Yet C2 maps are overloaded with information, mostly irrelevant to the mission, causing operators to neglect the map altogether. To reduce irrelevant information, an intelligent filtering algorithm was developed. Here we evaluate its effectiveness in reducing operators' cognitive workloads. Method: Two-stage operational scenarios were conducted with professional ex-military UAV operators, using two filter protocols and a no-filter control. High-end real-time techniques were used to continuously assess workload from muscle behavior and machine learning models. Results: Lower cognitive workload was found when applying the algorithm's protocols, especially when fatigue started to accumulate (Stage II). However, concerns about the quality of SA arose. Conclusion: The algorithm was positively evaluated for its ability to reduce operators' cognitive workloads. More evaluations of operators' SA are required. Application: The algorithm demonstrates the possibility of integrating AI to improve human performance in complex systems, and can be applied to other domains where spatial-temporal information needs to be contextually filtered in real time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Examine the extent to which increasing information integration across displays in a simulated submarine command and control room can reduce operator workload, improve operator situation awareness, and improve team performance. Background: In control rooms, the volume and number of sources of information are increasing, with the potential to overwhelm operator cognitive capacity. It is proposed that by distributing information to maximize relevance to each operator role (increasing information integration), it is possible to not only reduce operator workload but also improve situation awareness and team performance. Method: Sixteen teams of six novice participants were trained to work together to combine data from multiple sensor displays to build a tactical picture of surrounding contacts at sea. The extent that data from one display were available to operators at other displays was manipulated (information integration) between teams. Team performance was assessed as the accuracy of the generated tactical picture. Results: Teams built a more accurate tactical picture, and individual team members had better situation awareness and lower workload, when provided with high compared with low information integration. Conclusion: A human-centered design approach to integrating information in command and control settings can result in lower workload, and enhanced situation awareness and team performance. Application: The design of modern command and control rooms, in which operators must fuse increasing volumes of complex data from displays, may benefit from higher information integration based on a human-centered design philosophy, and a fundamental understanding of the cognitive work that is carried out by operators. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Propose areas of future space human factors research. Background: Deep space, long-duration human spaceflight missions to the Moon and Mars still require advances in space human factors research. Key drivers relate to astronauts living and working in isolation, new novel technologies required to accomplish exploration missions, and the longer durations of these. Results: Three areas of research are proposed for methods and techniques: (1) to enable more autonomous astronauts; (2) to monitor crew and improve ground team situation awareness; and (3) to detect and support changes in long-duration team coordination. Conclusions: Future human exploration missions will benefit from advances in space human factors research. Application: Human factors researchers can contribute to human spaceflight by prioritizing these research topics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: We use a set of unobtrusive measures to estimate subjectively reported trust, mental workload, and situation awareness (henceforth "TWSA"). Background: Subjective questionnaires are commonly used to assess human cognitive states. However, they are obtrusive and usually impractical to administer during operations. Measures derived from actions operators take while working (which we call "embedded measures") have been proposed as an unobtrusive way to obtain TWSA estimates. Embedded measures have not been systematically investigated for each of TWSA, which prevents their operational utility. Methods: Fifteen participants completed twelve trials of spaceflight-relevant tasks while using a simulated autonomous system. Embedded measures of TWSA were obtained during each trial and participants completed TWSA questionnaires after each trial. Statistical models incorporating our embedded measures were fit with various formulations, interaction effects, and levels of personalization to understand their benefits and improve model accuracy. Results: The stepwise algorithm for building statistical models usually included embedded measures, which frequently corresponded to an intuitive increase or decrease in reported TWSA. Embedded measures alone could not accurately capture an operator's cognitive state, but combining the measures with readily observable task information or information about participants' backgrounds enabled the models to achieve good descriptive fit and accurate prediction of TWSA. Conclusion: Statistical models leveraging embedded measures of TWSA can be used to accurately estimate responses on subjective questionnaires that measure TWSA. Application: Our systematic approach to investigating embedded measures and fitting models allows for cognitive state estimation without disrupting tasks when administering questionnaires would be impractical. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To investigate the impact of interface display modalities and human-in-the-loop presence on the awareness, workload, performance, and user strategies of humans interacting with teleoperated robotic systems while conducting inspection tasks onboard spacecraft. Background: Due to recent advancements in robotic technology, free-flying teleoperated robot inspectors are a viable alternative to extravehicular activity inspection operations. Teleoperation depends on the user's situation awareness; consequently, a key to successful operations is practical bi-directional communication between human and robot agents. Method: Participants (n = 19) performed telerobotic inspection of a virtual spacecraft during two degrees of temporal communication, a Synchronous Inspection task and an Asynchronous Inspection task. Participants executed the two tasks while using three distinct visual displays (2D, 3D, AR) and accompanying control systems. Results: Anomaly detection performance was better during Synchronous Inspection than the Asynchronous Inspection of previously captured imagery. Users' detection accuracy reduced when given interactive exocentric 3D viewpoints to accompany the egocentric robot view. The results provide evidence that 3D projections, either demonstrated on a 2D interface or augmented reality hologram, do not affect the mean clearance violation time (local guidance performance), even though the subjects perceived a benefit. Conclusion: In the current implementation, the addition of augmented reality to a classical egocentric robot view for exterior inspection of spacecraft is unnecessary, as its margin of performance enhancement is limited in comparison. Application: Results are presented to inform future human–robot interfaces to support crew autonomy for deep space missions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: In future deep space exploration missions, crew will have to work more autonomously from Earth. Greater crew autonomy will increase dependence on automated systems. This study investigates the performance effects of different strategies to automate procedural work for space exploration operations. Background: The following strategies are investigated for performing procedural work: • Manual Work uses no procedure automation and crew performs all actions. • Shared Work uses procedure automation to perform some actions within a procedure while crew performs other actions. • Supervised Work uses procedure automation to perform procedure actions while crew supervises the automation. Method: Twenty-seven participants participated in a planetary habitat scenario-based simulation using electronic procedures with automatable actions to investigate the effect of these strategies on situation awareness (SA) and workload. This study used a modification of the Situation Presence Assessment Method to measure SA and the Bedford Workload Scale to measure subjective workload. Results: Mean response times and accuracy for SA queries show no significant difference among the three strategies. Bedford Workload ratings compared across the three strategies indicate that participants rated their workload as highest in the Manual Work condition, followed by the Shared Work condition, and lowest in the Supervised Work condition. Conclusion: The study hypothesized that increased levels of automation would lead to lower subjective workload and decreased SA. Although no significant difference in SA was observed, subjective workload was lower in automation strategies. Based on subjective ratings, 93% of participants preferred some form of automation, with 56% preferring the Shared Work automation condition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Investigate the effects of scheduling task complexity on human performance for novice schedulers creating spaceflight timelines. Background: Future astronauts will be expected to self-schedule, yet will not be experts in creating timelines that meet the complex constraints inherent to spaceflight operations. Method: Conducted a within-subjects experiment to evaluate scheduling task performance in terms of scheduling efficiency, effectiveness, workload, and situation awareness while manipulating scheduling task complexity according to the number of constraints and type of constraints. Results: Each participant (n = 15) completed a set of scheduling problems. Results showed main effects of the number of constraints and type of constraint on efficiency, effectiveness, and workload. Significant interactions were observed in situation awareness and workload for certain types of constraints. Results also suggest that a lower number of constraints may be manageable by novice schedulers when compared to scheduling activities without constraints. Conclusion: Results suggest that novice schedulers' performance decreases with a high number of constraints, and future scheduling aids may need to target a specific type of constraint. Application: Knowledge on the effect of scheduling task complexity will help design scheduling systems that will enable self-scheduling for future astronauts. It will also inform other domains that conduct complex scheduling, such as nursing and manufacturing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: The goal of this systematic literature review is to investigate the relationship between indirect physiological measurements and direct measures of situation awareness (SA). Background: Across different environments and tasks, assessments of SA are often performed using techniques designed specifically to directly measure SA, such as SAGAT, SPAM, and/or SART. However, research suggests that indirect physiological sensing methods may also be capable of predicting SA. Currently, it is unclear which particular physiological approaches are sensitive to changes in SA. Method: Seven databases were searched using the PRISMA reporting guidelines. Eligibility criteria included human-subject experiments that used at least one direct SA assessment technique, as well as at least one physiological measurement. Information extracted from each article was the physiological metric(s), the direct SA measurement(s), the correlation between these two metrics, and the experimental task(s). All studies underwent a quality assessment. Results: Twenty-five articles were included in this review. Eye tracking techniques were the most commonly used physiological measures, and correlations between conscious aspects of eye movement measures and direct SA scores were observed. Evidence for cardiovascular predictors of SA were mixed. EEG studies were too few to form strong conclusions, but were consistently positive. Conclusion: Further investigation is needed to methodically collect more relevant data and comprehensively model the relationships between a wider range of physiological measurements and direct assessments of SA. Application: This review will guide researchers and practitioners in methods to indirectly assess SA with sensors and highlight opportunities for future research on wearables and SA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Evaluate and model the advantage of a situation awareness (SA) supported by an augmented reality (AR) display for the ground-based joint terminal attack Controller (JTAC), in judging and describing the spatial relations between objects in a hostile zone. Background: The accurate world-referenced description of relative locations of surface objects, when viewed from an oblique slant angle (aircraft, observation post) is hindered by (1) the compression of the visual scene, amplified at a lower slang angle, (2) the need for mental rotation, when viewed from a non-northerly orientation. Approach: Participants viewed a virtual reality (VR)-simulated four-object scene from either of two slant angles, at each of four compass orientations, either unaided, or aided by an AR head-mounted display (AR-HMD), depicting the scene from a top-down (avoiding compression) and north-up (avoiding mental rotation) perspective. They described the geographical layout of four objects within the display. Results: Compared with the control condition, that condition supported by the north-up SA display shortened the description time, particularly on non-northerly orientations (9 s, 30% benefit), and improved the accuracy of description, particularly for the more compressed scene (lower slant angle), as fit by a simple computational model. Conclusion: The SA display provides large, significant benefits to this critical phase of ground-air communications in managing an attack—as predicted by the task analysis of the JTAC. Application: Results impact the design of the AR-HMD to support combat ground-air communications and illustrate the magnitude by which basic cognitive principles "scale up" to realistically simulated real-world tasks such as search and rescue. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Situation awareness (SA) refers to people's perception and understanding of their dynamic environment. In primary care, reduced SA among physicians increases errors in clinical decision-making and, correspondingly, patients' risk of experiencing adverse outcomes. Our objective was to understand the extent to which electronic health records (EHRs) support primary care physicians (PCPs)' SA during clinical decision-making. Method: We conducted a metanarrative review of papers in selected academic databases, including CINAHL and MEDLINE. Eligible studies included original peer-reviewed research published between January 2012 and August 2020 on PCP–EHR interactions. We iteratively queried, screened, and summarized literature focused on EHRs supporting PCPs' clinical decision-making and care management for adults. Then, we mapped findings to an established SA framework to classify external factors (individual, task, and system) affecting PCPs' levels of SA (1–Perception, 2–Comprehension, and 3–Projection) and identified SA barriers. Results: From 1504 articles identified, we included and synthesized 19 studies. Study designs were largely noninterventional. Studies described EHR workflow misalignments, usability issues, and communication challenges. EHR information, including lab results and care plans, was characterized as incomplete, untimely, or irrelevant. Unmet information needs made it difficult for PCPs to obtain even basic SA, Level 1 SA. Prevalent barriers to PCPs developing SA with EHRs were errant mental models, attentional tunneling, and data overload. Conclusion: Based on our review, EHRs do not support the development of higher levels of SA among PCPs. Review findings suggest SA-oriented design processes for health information technology could improve PCPs' SA, satisfaction, and decision-making. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To examine the effects of action recommendation and action implementation automation on performance, workload, situation awareness (SA), detection of automation failure, and return-to-manual performance in a submarine track management task. Background: Theory and meta-analytic evidence suggest that with increasing degrees of automation (DOA), operator performance improves and workload decreases, but SA and return-to-manual performance declines. Method: Participants monitored the location and heading of contacts in order to classify them, mark their closest point of approach (CPA), and dive when necessary. Participants were assigned either no automation, action recommendation automation, or action implementation automation. An automation failure occurred late in the task, whereby the automation provided incorrect classification advice or implemented incorrect classification actions. Results: Compared to no automation, action recommendation automation benefited automated task performance and lowered workload, but cost nonautomated task performance. Action implementation automation resulted in perfect automated task performance (by default) and lowered workload, with no costs to nonautomated task performance, SA, or return-to-manual performance compared to no automation. However, participants provided action implementation automation were less likely to detect the automation failure compared to those provided action recommendations, and made less accurate classifications immediately after the automation failure, compared to those provided no automation. Conclusion: Action implementation automation produced the anticipated benefits but also caused poorer automation failure detection. Application: While action implementation automation may be effective for some task contexts, system designers should be aware that operators may be less likely to detect automation failures and that performance may suffer until such failures are detected. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: In the context of anesthesiology, we investigated whether the salience effort expectancy value (SEEV) model fit is associated with situation awareness and perception scores. Background: The distribution of visual attention is important for situation awareness—that is, understanding what is going on—in safety-critical domains. Although the SEEV model has been suggested as a process situation awareness measure, the validity of the model as a predictor of situation awareness has not been tested. Method: In a medical simulation, 31 senior and 30 junior anesthesiologists wore a mobile eye tracker and induced general anesthesia into a simulated patient. When inserting a breathing tube into the mannequin's trachea (endotracheal intubation), the scenario included several clinically relevant events for situation awareness and general events in the environment. Both were assessed using direct awareness measures. Results: The overall SEEV model fit was good with no difference between junior and senior anesthesiologists. Overall, the situation awareness scores were low. As expected, the SEEV model fits showed significant positive correlations with situation awareness level 1 scores. Conclusion: The SEEV model seems to be suitable as a process situation awareness measure to predict and investigate the perception of changes in the environment (situation awareness level 1). The situation awareness scores indicated that anesthesiologists seem not to perceive the environment well during endotracheal intubation. Application: The SEEV model fit can be used to capture and assess situation awareness level 1. During endotracheal intubation, anesthesiologists should be supported by technology or staff to notice changes in the environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: This meta-analysis reviews robot design features of interface, controller, and appearance and statistically summarizes their effect on successful human–robot interaction (HRI) at work (that is, task performance, cooperation, satisfaction, acceptance, trust, mental workload, and situation awareness). Background: Robots are becoming an integral part of many workplaces. As interactions with employees increase, ensuring success becomes ever more vital. Even though many studies investigated robot design features, an overview on general and specific effects is missing. Method: Systematic selection of literature and structured coding led to 81 included experimental studies containing 380 effect sizes. Mean effects were calculated using a three-level meta-analysis to handle dependencies of multiple effect sizes in one study. Results: Sufficient feedback through the interface, clear visibility of affordances, and adaptability and autonomy of the controller significantly affect successful HRI, whereas appearance does not. The features of the interface and controller affect performance and satisfaction but do not affect situation awareness and trust. Specific effects of adaptability on cooperation and acceptance, as well as autonomy on mental workload, could be shown. Conclusion: Robot design at work needs to cover multiple features of interface and controller to achieve successful HRI that covers not only performance and satisfaction, but also cooperation, acceptance, and mental workload. More empirical research is needed to investigate mediating mechanisms and underrepresented design features' effects. Application: Robot designers should carefully choose design features to balance specific effects and implementation costs with regard to tasks, work design aims, and employee needs in the specific work context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An up-to-date and thorough literature review is needed to identify factors that influence driver situation awareness (SA) during control transitions in conditionally automated vehicles (AV). This review also aims to ascertain SA components required for takeovers, aiding in the design and evaluation of human–vehicle interfaces (HVIs) and the selection of SA assessment methodologies.Conditionally AVs alleviate the need for continuous road monitoring by drivers yet necessitate their reengagement during control transitions. In these instances, driver SA is crucial for effective takeover decisions and subsequent actions. A comprehensive review of influential SA factors, SA components, and SA assessment methods will facilitate driving safety in conditionally AVs but is still lacking.A systematic literature review was conducted. Thirty-four empirical research articles were screened out to meet the criteria for inclusion and exclusion.A conceptual framework was developed, categorizing 23 influential SA factors into four clusters: task/system, situational, individual, and nondriving-related task factors. The analysis also encompasses an examination of pertinent SA components and corresponding HVI designs for specific takeover events, alongside an overview of SA assessment methods for conditionally AV takeovers.The development of a conceptual framework outlining influential SA factors, the examination of SA components and their suitable design of presentation, and the review of SA assessment methods collectively contribute to enhancing driving safety in conditionally AVs.This review serves as a valuable resource, equipping researchers and practitioners with insights to guide their efforts in evaluating and enhancing driver SA during conditionally AV takeovers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The goal of this study was to assess how different real-time gaze sharing visualization techniques affect eye tracking metrics, workload, team situational awareness (TSA), and team performance.Gaze sharing is a real-time visualization technique that allows teams to know where their team members are looking on a shared display. Gaze sharing visualization techniques are a promising means to improve collaborative performance on simple tasks; however, there needs to be validation of gaze sharing with more complex and dynamic tasks.This study evaluated the effect of gaze sharing on eye tracking metrics, workload, team SA, and team performance in a simulated unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) command-and-control task. Thirty-five teams of two performed UAV tasks under three conditions: one with no gaze sharing and two with gaze sharing. Gaze sharing was presented using a fixation dot (i.e., a translucent colored dot) and a fixation trail (i.e., a trail of the most recent fixations).The results showed that the fixation trail significantly reduced saccadic activity, lowered workload, supported team SA at all levels, and improved performance compared to no gaze sharing; however, the fixation dot had the opposite effect on performance and SA. In fact, having no gaze sharing outperformed the fixation dot. Participants also preferred the fixation trail for its visibility and ability to track and monitor the history of their partner’s gaze.The results showed that gaze sharing has the potential to support collaboration, but its effectiveness depends highly on the design and context of use.The findings suggest that gaze sharing visualization techniques, like the fixation trail, have the potential to improve teamwork in complex UAV tasks and could have broader applicability in a variety of collaborative settings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Identify a critical research gap for the human factors community that has implications for successful human–automation teaming. Background: There are a variety of approaches for applying automation in systems. Flexible application of automation such that its level and/or type changes during system operations has been shown to enhance human–automation system performance. Method: This mini-review describes flexible automation in which the level of automated support varies across tasks during system operation, rather than remaining fixed. Two types distinguish the locus of authority to change automation level: adaptable automation (the human operator assigns how automation is applied) has been found to aid human's situation awareness and provide more perceived control versus adaptive automation (the system assigns automation level) that may impose less workload and attentional demands by automatically adjusting levels in response to changes in one or more states of the human, task, environment, and so on. Results: In contrast to vast investments in adaptive automation approaches, limited research has been devoted to adaptable automation. Experiments directly comparing adaptable and adaptive automation are particularly scant. These few studies show that adaptable automation was not only preferred over adaptive automation, but it also resulted in improved task performance and, notably, less perceived workload. Conclusion: Systematic research examining adaptable automation is overdue, including hybrid approaches with adaptive automation. Specific recommendations for further research are provided. Application: Adaptable automation together with effective human-factored interface designs to establish working agreements are key to enabling human–automation teaming in future complex systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: We apply the high-reliability organization (HRO) paradigm to the diagnostic process, outlining challenges to enacting HRO principles in diagnosis and offering solutions for how diagnostic process stakeholders can overcome these barriers. Background: Evidence shows that healthcare is starting to organize for higher reliability by employing various principles and practices of HRO. These hold promise for enhancing safer care, but there has been little consideration of the challenges that clinicians and healthcare systems face while enacting HRO principles in the diagnostic process. To effectively deploy the HRO perspective, these barriers must be seriously considered. Method: We review key principles of the HRO paradigm, the diagnostic errors and harms that potentially can be prevented by its enactment, the challenges that clinicians and healthcare systems face in executing various principles and practices, and possible solutions that clinicians and organizational leaders can take to overcome these challenges and barriers. Results: Our analyses reveal multiple challenges including the inherent diagnostic uncertainty; the lack of diagnosis-focused performance feedback; the fact that diagnosis is often a solo, rather than team, activity; the tendency to simplify the diagnostic process; and professional and institutional status hierarchies. But these challenges are not insurmountable—there are strategies and solutions available to overcome them. Conclusion: The HRO lens offers some important ideas for how the safety of the diagnostic process can be improved. Application: The ideas proposed here can be enacted by both individual clinicians and healthcare leaders; both are necessary for making systematic progress in enhancing diagnostic performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: The purpose of this study was to identify, synthesize, and discuss objective behavioral or physiological metrics of surgeons' nontechnical skills (NTS) in the literature.Background: NTS, or interpersonal or cognitive skills, have been identified to contribute to safe and efficient surgical performance; however, current assessments are subjective, checklist-based tools. Intraoperative skill evaluation, such as technical skills, has been previously utilized as an objective measure to address such limitations.Methods: Five databases in engineering, behavioral science, and medicine were searched following PRISMA reporting guidelines. Eligibility criteria included studies with NTS objective measurements, surgeons, and took place within simulated or live operations.Results: Twenty-three articles were included in this review. Objective metrics included communication metrics and measures from physiological responses such as changes in brain activation and motion of the eye. Frequencies of content-coded communication in surgery were utilized in 16 studies and were associated with not only the communication construct but also cognitive constructs of situation awareness and decision making. This indicates the underlying importance of communication in evaluating the NTS constructs. To synthesize the scoped literature, a framework based on the one-way communication model was used to map the objective measures to NTS constructs.Conclusion: Objective NTS measurement of surgeons is still preliminary, and future work on leveraging objective metrics in parallel with current assessment tools is needed.Application: Findings from this work identify objective NTS metrics for measurement applications in a surgical environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: The aim of this paper is to provide a comprehensive and original review of the theoretical development of the individual operational cognitive readiness (OCR) theory.Background: Cognitive readiness (CR) is a concept that has the potential to predict the performance of human individuals and teams prior to engaging in complex, dynamic, and resource-limited task environments. However, the current state of the literature is confusing and laborious, with heterogeneous views regarding the theoretical frameworks among leading researchers.Method: This review (1) undertakes a systematic approach toward categorizing published CR literature into theoretical and measurement contributions across the different levels of CR, (2) carries a critical evaluation of the CR and OCR theoretical frameworks, and (3) provides directions for future research guided by gaps identified during the review process and other published literatures.Results: Results from the categorization of published CR literature provide a new, valuable, synthesized CR library for researchers to consult to streamline their CR literature review process. Critical examination of the CR and OCR theoretical frameworks leads to positing that new components should be explored for OCR.Conclusion: There are many possible directions for future research including evaluating domain-independent components of OCR and evaluating the relationship between biofeedback measures and performance in CR models.Application: The Defense domain continues to be the focal application of CR. However, CR could be used by other application domains, such as sports and emergency services, that require their working personnel to engage in complex, uncertain, and dynamic task environments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To examine evidence of sensitivity, predictiveness, and methodological concerns regarding direct, objective measures of situation awareness (SA).Background: The ability to objectively measure SA is important to the evaluation of user interfaces and displays, training programs, and automation initiatives, as well as for studies that seek to better understand SA in both individuals and teams. A number of methodological criticisms have been raised creating significant confusion in the research field.Method: A meta-analysis of 243 studies was conducted to examine evidence of sensitivity and predictiveness, and to address methodological questions regarding Situation Awareness Global Assessment Technique (SAGAT), Situation Present Assessment Technique (SPAM), and their variants.Results: SAGAT and SPAM were found to be equally predictive of performance. SPAM (64%) and real-time probes (73%) were found to have significantly lower sensitivity in comparison to SAGAT (94%). While SAGAT was found not to be overly memory reliant nor intrusive into operator performance, SPAM resulted in problems with intrusiveness in 40% of the studies examined, as well as problems with speed-accuracy tradeoffs, sampling bias, and confounds with workload. Concerns about memory reliance, the utility of these measures for assessing Team SA, and other issues are also addressed.Conclusion: SAGAT was found to be a highly sensitive, reliable, and predictive measure of SA that is useful across a wide variety of domains and experimental settings.Application: Direct, objective SA measurement provides useful and diagnostic insights for research and design in a wide variety of domains and study objectives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: The aim of the current study was to compare the traditional, verbal, and motoric tasks regarding their contributions to hazard perception measurement.Background: Traditional hazard perception tasks require the participants to respond to filmed traffic conflicts in an imprecise way, such as by pressing a button. More sophisticated tasks include either verbal specification or motoric localization of the perceived hazards. The present study investigated the participants' gaze behavior when they were provided with an identical set of traffic animations but were instructed to perform one of three types of hazard perception tasks.Method: In an eye tracking study, 69 drivers were shown animated traffic scenarios and instructed to perform the traditional (press button), verbal, or speeded motoric localization hazard perception task. Eye tracking revealed whether and when the participant had fixated a certain hazard cue.Results: The participants in the traditional task group were slower to fixate emerging hazards, but quicker to respond to them than the participants of the verbal and the motoric groups. As a specific benefit, the verbal task differentiated between different types of failures.Conclusion: Additional verbal or speeded motoric localization tasks seem to have increased the participants' alertness when watching the animations. The verbal task provides valuable additional information regarding the participants' performance. To approximate real-life hazard perception ability, it is recommended that researchers and practitioners use a combination of different hazard perception tasks for assessment and training. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: In this study, the influence of pretask resting neural mechanisms on situational awareness (SA)-task is studied.Background: Pretask electroencephalography (EEG) information and Stroop effect are known to influence task engagement independently. However, neural mechanisms of pretask resting absolute alpha (PRAA) and pretask resting alpha frontal asymmetry (PRAFA) in influencing SA-task which is undergoing Stroop effect is still not understood.Method: The study involved pretask resting EEG measurements from 18 healthy individuals followed by functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) acquisition during SA-task. To understand the effect of pretask alpha information and Stroop effect on SA, a robust correlation between mean reaction time, SA Index, PRAA, and PRAFA were assessed. Furthermore, neural underpinnings of PRAA, PRAFA in SA-task, and functional connectivity were analyzed through the EEG-informed fMRI approach.Results: Significant robust correlation of reaction time was observed with SA Index (Pearson: r = .50, pcorr = .05) and PRAFA (Pearson: r = .63; pcorr = .01), respectively. Similarly, SA Index significantly correlated with PRAFA (Pearson: r = .56, pcorr = .01; Spearman: r = .61, pcorr = .007), and PRAA (Pearson: r = .59, pcorr = .005; Spearman: r = .59, pcorr = .002). Neural underpinnings of SA-task revealed regions involved in visual-processing and higher-order cognition. PRAA was primarily underpinned at frontal-temporal areas and functionally connected to SA-task regions pertaining to the emotional regulation. PRAFA has correlated with limbic and parietal regions, which are involved in integration of visual, emotion, and memory information of SA-task.Conclusion: The results suggest a strong association of reaction time with SA-task and PRAFA and strongly support the hypothesis that PRAFA, PRAA, and associated neural mechanisms significantly influence the outcome of SA-task.Application: It is beneficial to study the effect of pretask resting information on SA-task to improve SA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Our objective was to determine whether there is a need to go beyond measures of automation deactivation time to understand the transition to manual driving after take-over requests (TORs) using the example of office tasks as nondriving-related tasks (NDRTs).Background: Office tasks are likely NDRTs during automated commutes to/from work. Complex tasks can influence how manual control and visual attention is recovered after TORs.Method: N = 51 participants in a driving simulator performed either one of two office tasks or no task (between subjects). We recorded reaction times in a high-urgency and low-urgency scenario (within subjects) and analyzed task interruption strategies.Results: 90% of the participants who performed an NDRT deactivated the automation after 7 to 8 s. However, 90% of the same drivers looked at the side mirror for the first time only after 11 to 14 s. Drivers with office tasks either interrupted the tasks sequentially or in parallel. Strategies were not adapted to the take-over situation or the task but appeared to be due to individual preferences.Conclusion: Drivers engaged in NDRTs may neglect lower priority subtasks after a TOR, such as mirror checking. Therefore, there is a need to go beyond measures of automation deactivation time to understand the transition to manual driving. Using analyses of attentional dynamics during take-over situations may enhance the safety of future car-driver handover assistance systems.Application: If low driver availability is detected, TORs should only be used as a fallback option if sufficient time and adaptive driver support can be provided. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: The objective of this study is to examine the effects of low and high degree of automation (DOA) on performance, subjective workload, situation awareness (SA), and return-to-manual control in simulated submarine track management.Background: Theory and meta-analytic evidence suggest that as DOA increases, operator performance improves and workload decreases, but SA and return-to-manual control declines. Research also suggests that operators have particular difficulty regaining manual control if automation provides incorrect advice.Method: Undergraduate student participants completed a submarine track management task that required them to track the position and behavior of contacts. Low DOA supported information acquisition and analysis, whereas high DOA recommended decisions. At a late stage in the task, automation was either unexpectedly removed or provided incorrect advice.Results: Relative to no automation, low DOA moderately benefited performance but impaired SA and non-automated task performance. Relative to no automation and low DOA, high DOA benefited performance and lowered workload. High DOA did impair non-automated task performance compared with no automation, but this was equivalent to low DOA. Participants were able to return-to-manual control when they knew low or high DOA was disengaged, or when high DOA provided incorrect advice.Conclusion: High DOA improved performance and lowered workload, at no additional cost to SA or return-to-manual performance when compared with low DOA.Application: Designers should consider the likely level of uncertainty in the environment and the consequences of return-to-manual deficits before implementing low or high DOA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: This article is a response to Wickens et al.'s (2019) critique of Jamieson and Skraaning (2019).Background: Wickens et al. (2019) offer a five-point critique of Jamieson and Skraaning (2019) that they claim tempers the strength of our conclusions.Approach: We first correct a misrepresentation in the critique and then respond to each of the criticisms.Results: We preserve the strength of our skeptical conclusions about the applicability of the lumberjack model to complex work settings.Applications: We continue to caution system designers about the lack of evidence supporting the lumberjack model in the context of complex work systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: The aim was to evaluate the relevance of the critique offered by Jamieson and Skraaning (2019) regarding the applicability of the lumberjack effect of human-automation interaction to complex real-world settings.Background: The lumberjack effect, based upon a meta-analysis, identifies the consequences of a higher degree of automation-to improve performance and reduce workload-when automation functions as intended, but to degrade performance more, as mediated by a loss of situation awareness (SA) when automation fails. Jamieson and Skraaning provide data from a process control scenario that they assert contradicts the effect.Approach: We analyzed key aspects of their simulation, measures, and results which we argue limit the strength of their conclusion that the lumberjack effect is not applicable to complex real-world systems.Results: Our analysis revealed limits in their inappropriate choice of automation, the lack of a routine performance measure, support for the lumberjack effect that was actually provided by subjective measures of the operators, an inappropriate assessment of SA, and a possible limitation of statistical power.Conclusion: We regard these limitations as reasons to temper the strong conclusions drawn by the authors, of no applicability of the lumberjack effect to complex environments. Their findings should be used as an impetus for conducting further research on human-automation interaction in these domains.Applications: The collective findings of both Jamieson and Skraaning and our study are applicable to system designers and users in deciding upon the appropriate level of automation to deploy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: The objective of this study was to test the predictions of the routine-failure trade-off (or lumberjack) model in a full-scope simulator study with expert operators performing realistic control tasks.Background: A meta-study of degree of automation (DOA) studies concluded that DOA predicts task performance under both routine and automation failure conditions, workload, and situation awareness. Empirical support for this conclusion appears to be weak for complex work situations.Method: A full-scope nuclear power plant simulator experiment was conducted in which licensed operating crews completed realistic procedure execution tasks. Dependent measures selected from the lumberjack model were collected and analyzed for systematic effects.Results: Situation awareness increased with increasing DOA, which contradicts the lumberjack model. Anticipated workload and failure task performance effects were not observed.Conclusion: The experimental results add further evidence challenging the applicability of the lumberjack model to complex work situations.Application: Practitioners should use caution when extending the predictions of the lumberjack model based on data from simple work situations to complex work situations. Researchers should invest more resources in testing the predictive power of the lumberjack model in complex work situations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: We sought to determine the influence of message presentation rate (MPR) and sensory modality on soldier cognitive load.Background: Soldiers commonly communicate tactical information by radio. The Canadian Army is equipping soldiers with a battle management system (BMS), which also allows them to communicate by text.Method: We varied presentation modality (auditory vs. visual) and MPR (fast or slow) in an experiment involving a tactical scenario. Participants (soldiers) received messages and periodically provided situation reports to higher level command, and the scored reports were used to provide a measure of situation awareness (SA). The detection response task (DRT) and NASA-TLX were used to measure cognitive load.Results: The fast MPR reduced DRT accuracy and increased response times relative to slow MPR. The NASA-TLX results also showed higher subjective workload ratings for several subscales with fast MPR. Messages presented visually produced greater cognitive load, with slower DRT response times for the visual than the auditory condition. SA scores were higher with slower MPR and auditory presentation. There was no statistical interaction of presentation modality and rate for any measure.Conclusion: Fast MPR and visual presentation increased cognitive load and degraded SA.Application: These findings show that the DRT can be used to measure workload effectively in a tactical military context and that the method of information presentation affects how soldiers process information in a BMS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To investigate whether head-worn displays (HWDs) help mobile participants make better alarm management decisions and achieve better situation awareness than alarms alone.Background: Patient alarms occur frequently in hospitals but often do not require clinical intervention. Clinicians may become desensitized to alarms and fail to respond to clinically relevant alarms. HWDs could make patient information continuously accessible, support situation awareness, and help clinicians prioritize alarms.Method: Experiment 1 ( n = 76) tested whether nonclinicians monitoring simulated patients benefited from vital sign information continuously displayed on an HWD while they performed a secondary calculation task. Experiment 2 ( n = 13) tested, across three separate experimental sessions, how effectively nursing trainees monitored simulated patients' vital signs under three different display conditions while they assessed a simulated patient.Results: In Experiment 1, participants who had access to continuous patient information on an HWD responded to clinically important alarms 25.9% faster and were 6.7 times less likely to miss alarms compared to participants who only heard alarms. In Experiment 2, participants using an HWD answered situation awareness questions 18.9% more accurately overall than when they used alarms only. However, the effect was significant in only two of the three experimental sessions.Conclusion: HWDs may help users maintain continuous awareness of multiple remote processes without affecting their performance on ongoing tasks.Application: The outcomes may apply to contexts where access to continuous streams of information from remote locations is useful, such as patient monitoring or clinical supervision. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Examine the extent to which subjective workload and situation awareness (SA) can predict variance in performance at the between- and within-person levels of analysis in a simulated submarine track management task.Background: SA and workload are crucial constructs in human factors that are conceptualized as states that change within individuals over time. Thus, a change in an individual's subjective workload or SA over the course of performing a task should be predictive of their subsequent performance (within-person effects). However, there is little empirical evidence for this.Method: Participants monitored displays to track the behaviors of contacts in relationship to their own ship (Ownship) and landmarks. The Situational Awareness Global Assessment Technique measured SA, and the Air Traffic Workload Input Technique measured subjective workload.Results: When a participant's subjective workload rating increased, their subsequent performance decreased, but there was no evidence for within-person effects of SA on performance. We replicated prior between-person level effects of SA; participants with higher SA performed better than those with lower SA.Conclusion: Change in an individual's subjective workload rating (but not SA) was predictive of their subsequent performance. Because an increase in SA should increase the extent to which operators hold the knowledge required to perform subsequent tasks, further research is required to examine SA effects on performance at the within-person level.Application: Adapting automation is more likely to produce optimal outcomes if based on measurement of operator states that predict future task performance, such as workload. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: The aims of this study were (a) to determine whether near-miss incidents in financial trading contain information on the operator skills and systems that detect and prevent near misses and the patterns and trends revealed by these data and (b) to explore if particular operator skills and systems are found as important for avoiding particular types of error on the trading floor.Background: In this study, we examine a cohort of near-miss incidents collected from a financial trading organization using the Financial Incident Analysis System and report on the nontechnical skills and systems that are used to detect and prevent error in this domain.Method: One thousand near-miss incidents are analyzed using distribution, mean, chi-square, and associative analysis to describe the data; reliability is provided.Results: Slips/lapses (52%) and human-computer interface problems (21%) often occur alone and are the main contributors to error causation, whereas the prevention of error is largely a result of teamwork (65%) and situation awareness (46%) skills. No matter the cause of error, situation awareness and teamwork skills are used most often to detect and prevent the error.Conclusion: Situation awareness and teamwork skills appear universally important as a "last line" of defense for capturing error, and data from incident-monitoring systems can be analyzed in a fashion more consistent with a "Safety-II" approach.Application: This research provides data for ameliorating risk within financial trading organizations, with implications for future risk management programs and regulation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To determine whether inattentional blindness (IB) can be used to understand the psychological mechanisms around looked-but-failed-to-see (LBFTS) crashes involving motorcycles Background: IB occurs when an observer looks directly at an object yet fails to see it, thus LBFTS crashes may be a real-world example of IB. The study tests a perceptual cycle model in which motorcycles are detected less frequently because they fall lower on the attentional hierarchy for driving.Method: A driving-related IB task with photographs of driving situations investigated whether an additional stimulus, a taxi or motorcycle, would be more likely to be missed by participants. In Experiments 2 and 3, the "threat value" of objects in the scene were varied to determine the degree to which this influences participants' tendency to notice motorcycles.Results: Participants were twice as likely to miss a motorcycle compared with a taxi. Moreover, participants reported that they would expect to miss a motorcycle on the road. In Experiments 2 and 3, participants modulated their attention to accommodate motorcycles when necessary, suggesting that motorcycles are afforded the lowest level of attentional bandwidth.Conclusion: Inattentional blindness forms a good psychological framework for understanding LBFTS crashes, particularly in the context of attentional set, such that LBFTS crashes occur because motorcycles do not feature strongly in a typical driver's attentional set for driving.Application: The findings here are important because LBFTS crashes can be reduced if we can change the expectations of road users around the presence of motorcycles on the road. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: The goals of this study were to assess the risk identification aspect of mental models using standard elicitation methods and how university campus alerts were related to these mental models.Background: People fail to follow protective action recommendations in emergency warnings. Past research has yet to examine cognitive processes that influence emergency decision-making.Method: Study 1 examined 2 years of emergency alerts distributed by a large southeastern university. In Study 2, participants listed emergencies in a thought-listing task. Study 3 measured participants' time to decide if a situation was an emergency.Results: The university distributed the most alerts about an armed person, theft, and fire. In Study 2, participants most frequently listed fire, car accident, heart attack, and theft. In Study 3, participants quickly decided a bomb, murder, fire, tornado, and rape were emergencies. They most slowly decided that a suspicious package and identify theft were emergencies.Conclusion: Recent interaction with warnings was only somewhat related to participants' mental models of emergencies. Risk identification precedes decision-making and applying protective actions. Examining these characteristics of people's mental representations of emergencies is fundamental to further understand why some emergency warnings go ignored.Application: Someone must believe a situation is serious to categorize it as an emergency before taking the protective action recommendations in an emergency warning. Present-day research must continue to examine the problem of people ignoring warning communication, as there are important cognitive factors that have not yet been explored until the present research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: The aim of this study was to examine the human-automation interaction issues and the interacting factors in the context of conflict detection and resolution advisory (CRA) systems.Background: The issues of imperfect automation in air traffic control (ATC) have been well documented in previous studies, particularly in conflict-alerting systems. The extent to which the prior findings can be applied to an integrated conflict detection and resolution system in future ATC remains unknown.Method: Twenty-four participants were evenly divided into two groups corresponding to a medium- and a high-traffic density condition, respectively. In each traffic density condition, participants were instructed to perform simulated ATC tasks under four automation conditions, including reliable, unreliable with short time allowance to secondary conflict (TAS), unreliable with long TAS, and manual conditions. Dependent variables accounted for conflict resolution performance, workload, situation awareness, and trust in and dependence on the CRA aid, respectively.Results: Imposing the CRA automation did increase performance and reduce workload as compared with manual performance. The CRA aid did not decrease situation awareness. The benefits of the CRA aid were manifest even when it was imperfectly reliable and were apparent across traffic loads. In the unreliable blocks, trust in the CRA aid was degraded but dependence was not influenced, yet the performance was not adversely affected.Conclusion: The use of CRA aid would benefit ATC operations across traffic densities.Application: CRA aid offers benefits across traffic densities, regardless of its imperfection, as long as its reliability level is set above the threshold of assistance, suggesting its application for future ATC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: The aim of these studies was to examine the extent to which uncertainty in contact location in submarine track management affected operator situation awareness (SA), workload, and performance and whether operator SA predicted unique variance in performance.Background: We extend prior research by manipulating uncertainty in contact location and by including a sample of expert track managers in a submarine combat system.Method: In Experiment 1, university students completed a track management task. In Experiment 2, expert submariners were embedded in a real submarine combat system. Uncertainty was manipulated and SA was measured using the situation present assessment method.Results: Increased uncertainty led to higher student workload and moderately impaired SA and performance, and SA predicted incremental variance in performance. Uncertainty had no effect on expert SA or the accuracy of the tactical picture compiled. On average, experts took 20 s to accept SA queries (compared with 2.18 s for students). The time taken for experts to accept SA queries, but not their subsequent response to SA queries, was positively associated with their tactical picture accuracy.Conclusion: Uncertainty can negatively impact SA, workload, and performance. Some key findings from the laboratory were replicated using experts, but the fact that experts took on average 20 s to accept SA queries presents a challenge for using SPAM in submarine control rooms.Application: Contact location is uncertain due to the use of passive sonar and hostile deception. It is essential to measure track manager SA in order to inform work design and training. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: The objective of this study was to examine the potential benefits and impact on pilot behavior from the use of portable weather applications.Method: Seventy general aviation (GA) pilots participated in the study. Each pilot was randomly assigned to an experimental or a control group and flew a simulated single-engine GA aircraft, initially under visual meteorological conditions (VMC). The experimental group was equipped with a portable weather application during flight. We recorded measures for weather situation awareness (WSA), decision making, cognitive engagement, and distance from the aircraft to hazardous weather.Results: We found positive effects from the use of the portable weather application, with an increased WSA for the experimental group, which resulted in credibly larger route deviations and credibly greater distances to hazardous weather (≥30 dBZ cells) compared with the control group. Nevertheless, both groups flew less than 20 statute miles from hazardous weather cells, thus failing to follow current weather-avoidance guidelines. We also found a credibly higher cognitive engagement (prefrontal oxygenation levels) for the experimental group, possibly reflecting increased flight planning and decision making on the part of the pilots.Conclusion: Overall, the study outcome supports our hypothesis that portable weather displays can be used without degrading pilot performance on safety-related flight tasks, actions, and decisions as measured within the constraints of the present study. However, it also shows that an increased WSA does not automatically translate to enhanced flight behavior.Application: The study outcome contributes to our knowledge of the effect of portable weather applications on pilot behavior and decision making. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: This study tests the reliability of a system (FINANS) to collect and analyze incident reports in the financial trading domain and is guided by a human factors taxonomy used to describe error in the trading domain.Background: Research indicates the utility of applying human factors theory to understand error in finance, yet empirical research is lacking. We report on the development of the first system for capturing and analyzing human factors-related issues in operational trading incidents.Method: In the first study, 20 incidents are analyzed by an expert user group against a referent standard to establish the reliability of FINANS. In the second study, 750 incidents are analyzed using distribution, mean, pathway, and associative analysis to describe the data.Results: Kappa scores indicate that categories within FINANS can be reliably used to identify and extract data on human factors-related problems underlying trading incidents. Approximately 1% of trades (n = 750) lead to an incident. Slip/lapse (61%), situation awareness (51%), and teamwork (40%) were found to be the most common problems underlying incidents. For the most serious incidents, problems in situation awareness and teamwork were most common.Conclusion: We show that (a) experts in the trading domain can reliably and accurately code human factors in incidents, (b) 1% of trades incur error, and (c) poor teamwork skills and situation awareness underpin the most critical incidents.Application: This research provides data crucial for ameliorating risk within financial trading organizations, with implications for regulation and policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: We investigated how increases in task-relevant information affect human decision-making performance, situation awareness (SA), and trust in a simulated command-and-control (C2) environment.Background: Increased information is often associated with an improvement of SA and decision-making performance in networked organizations. However, previous research suggests that increasing information without considering the task relevance and the presentation can impair performance.Method: We used a simulated C2 task across two experiments. Experiment 1 varied the information volume provided to individual participants and measured the speed and accuracy of decision making for task performance. Experiment 2 varied information volume and information reliability provided to two participants acting in different roles and assessed decision-making performance, SA, and trust between the paired participants.Results: In both experiments, increased task-relevant information volume did not improve task performance. In Experiment 2, increased task-relevant information volume reduced self-reported SA and trust, and incorrect source reliability information led to poorer task performance and SA.Conclusion: These results indicate that increasing the volume of information, even when it is accurate and task relevant, is not necessarily beneficial to decision-making performance. Moreover, it may even be detrimental to SA and trust among team members.Application: Given the high volume of available and shared information and the safety-critical and time-sensitive nature of many decisions, these results have implications for training and system design in C2 domains. To avoid decrements to SA, interpersonal trust, and decision-making performance, information presentation within C2 systems must reflect human cognitive processing limits and capabilities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]