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INTRODUCTION The beneficial effects of spacing practice are well established even when the interval between practice opportunities is filled with other activities (Carlson & Yaure, 1990; Glenberg, 1979). Accordingly, a […], We compared an alternating task modules (ATM) protocol - which alternated sessions on Space Fortress, Phoenix (video-game-like tasks), and algebra word problems - with a massed protocol, which blocked sessions on the tasks. The protocols were isochronal (equal in duration), each entailing one week of training and testing. ATM gave the men and women an advantage in learning and retention on Space Fortress and algebra word problems; it did not change their performance on Phoenix. Arousal, not confidence or motivation, was implicated in the ATM advantage. The practical implication of demonstrating and describing ATM benefits is that real-world training often requires minimal durations. This pragmatic constraint favors ATM over frequently investigated anisochronal schedules, in which spacing practice over long durations is more effective than massing practice in short durations. Evaluations of retention, arousal, motivation, and confidence began the process of testing theories that might be expanded to explain and enhance ATM benefits.

INTRODUCTION Automation is ubiquitous in many modern work settings, but perhaps most so in aviation. Automation in aviation, as in other domains, has increased demands on the pilot to monitor […], The present study examined the effects of task complexity and time on task on the monitoring of a single automation failure during performance of a complex flight simulation task involving tracking, fuel management, and engine-status monitoring. Two groups of participants performed either all three flight simulation tasks simultaneously (multicomplex task) or the monitoring task alone (single-complex task); a third group performed a simple visual vigilance task (simple task). For the multicomplex task, monitoring for a single failure of automation control was poorer than when participants monitored engine malfunctions under manual control. Furthermore, more participants detected the automation failure in the first 10 min of a 30-min session than in the last 10 min of the session, for both the simple and the multicomplex task. Participants in the single-complex condition detected the automation failure equally well in both periods. The results support previous findings of inefficiency in monitoring automation and show that automation-related monitoring inefficiency occurs even when there is a single automation failure. Implications for theories of vigilance and automation design are discussed.

A recent study analyzed 98 students assigned to six tasks and examined the aspects of individual differences and task characteristics to determine whether they could be used as predictors of task scheduling. Also analyzed was whether scheduling influenced job performance. Results indicate that students completed boring tasks earlier, and complex tasks later. Results also demonstrate that students with a high need for achievement finished tasks later. Additionally, results indicate that early task completion generated superior performance, and successful workload and prior performance was related to earlier task completion.

This article examines the concept of practice knowledge and its relationship to the use of various sources of knowledge to perform specific job tasks. The authors sent questionnaires to social workers who had received master's degrees two and seven years previously from two Northwestern U.S. universities, and received responses from 90 for a response rate of 41 percent. The questionnaires solicited information on the use and ratings of various knowledge sources in the respondents' work. The respondents indicated they used various sources in various ways, but the findings show only a weak correspondence between the importance assigned to the sources and how frequently they were used. The authors suggest a need exists to explore how different knowledge sources are synthesized into information applicable to the work setting, and propose that practice knowledge be examined in terms of such a synthesis. They further argue that knowledge synthesis may play a major role in knowledge use and in various problem-solving and decision-making processes outside the human services. (Reprinted by permission of the publisher.)

A survey of 419 participants on 22 teams in eight sports tested three hypotheses on the moderating influences of interdependence between leader behaviors, performance, and satisfaction. Winning coaches of high-interdependence sports demonstrated greater leader-initiating structure than did losing coaches of high-interdependence teams or winning coaches of low-interdependence teams. High-interdependence sports studied include: (1) basketball, (2) ice hockey, (3) football, and (4) volleyball. Low-interdependence sports examined include: (1) swimming, (2) tennis, (3) track, (4) golf, and (5) wrestling. Study results suggest that managers of highly interdependent teams or work groups should address the need to control and coordinate member tasks through direct supervision, formal rules, policies, or procedures.

A study of the relationship between the extent of use of information technology and task characteristics of two jobs using the Job Diagnostic Survey reveals results that parallel past research. The amount of use is positively correlated with variety of skill, feedback from agents, and dealing with other people among clerks. No correlation was found, however, between extent of use and task identity, task importance, and response from the job.