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There are a number of factors which may influence the validity of experimental studies, including the incentives offered and the instructions provided to participants. These have been little-studied in the driving domain. The aim of this study was to investigate how manipulating these factors influenced participants’ feelings of ‘presence’ (i.e. the extent to which they believed they were actually driving and not in a simulated environment). The findings showed that imposing a penalty system for poor driving performance and providing ‘good driving’ instructions did not significantly affect presence ratings. This has a number of plausible explanations, including research study participants’ inherent need to perform well under test conditions and the small range of performance variability expected in a normal driving scenario. The financial penalty resulted in slightly slower speeds, although none of the participants drove excessively quickly, supporting the argument that study participants tend to perform diligently under test conditions irrespective of incentives or instructions. Participants in the penalty and instructions conditions gave higher ratings for negative effects (related to physically feeling unwell), suggesting that these conditions made them more aware of the physical symptoms of being in a simulator (but not that participants were actually experiencing more sickness). The results can be viewed positively in terms of reliability and generalizability across different driving simulator studies, as variations in study design (i.e. how instructions are delivered to participants and whether participants are paid to participate) do not have a significant effect on performance.

The purpose of this study was to investigate whether the NATO Problem-Approach Space could be mapped to optimal performance of different team structures. The results show that the five team communication structures (chain, Y, circle, wheel, and all-connected) did not generally perform as predicted based on findings in the literature. The team structures all performed most optimally in the same Problem Space conditions: static rate of change, strong information position, and familiarity with the task. Moreover, contrary to predictions, the all-connected team structure did not perform particularly well at all. Instead, the Y team structure produced the highest levels of performance and was, therefore, judged to be the most successful team structure overall. The Y team structure can be seen as a simplified form of typical military command structures including staff officers and subordinate units. Therefore, the findings of the study serve as a reinforcement of the effectiveness of the classic command and control structure.

Civilian rotary-wing aircraft pilots typically rely on visual information from the external environment to guide flight, but are increasingly required to operate in degraded visual environments. The current study evaluated the impact of a head-up display (HUD) upon pilot performance, perceived situation awareness and workload. A 2 × 2 repeated measures design required qualified rotary-wing pilots (N = 6) to fly in clear and degraded visual conditions both with and without the HUD. In degraded visual conditions, the HUD significantly improved pilot perceived situation awareness whilst simultaneously reducing workload. Objective flight technical performance data offered preliminary support for a positive change in pilot behaviour when using the HUD in degraded visual conditions.

Although task analysis of pedestrian detection can provide us with useful insights into how a driver may behave in emergency situations, the cognitive elements of driver decision-making are less well understood. To assist in the design of future Advanced Driver Assistance Systems, such as Autonomous Emergency Brake systems, it is essential that the cognitive elements of the driving task are better understood. This paper uses verbal protocol analysis in an exploratory fashion to uncover the thought processes underlying behavioural outcomes represented by hard data collected using the Southampton University Driving Simulator.

Automation essentially enables drivers to become “hands and feet free” but not necessarily “mind-free” during vehicle operation and on these grounds, increased vehicle automation may contribute to safety concerns rather than overcome them. Although automated systems were originally designed to improve driver safety by reducing driver fatigue, stress and ultimately error, there is growing concern within the Ergonomics and Human Factors community that automation may introduce additional complexity into the driving task placing increased pressure on drivers to monitor both the environment and behaviour of vehicle sub-systems. This paper considers how increasing the level of automation within the sub-tasks of driving may affect the traditional role of the driver. Using the Distributed Cognition approach and Operator Sequence Diagrams as a representational aid, this paper indicates that the level at which automation is set significantly affects the dynamism of the system network.

Modern interfaces within the aircraft cockpit integrate many flight management system (FMS) functions into a single system. The success of a user's interaction with an interface depends upon the optimisation between the input device, tasks and environment within which the system is used. In this study, four input devices were evaluated using a range of Human Factors methods, in order to assess aspects of usability including task interaction times, error rates, workload, subjective usability and physical discomfort. The performance of the four input devices was compared using a holistic approach and the findings showed that no single input device produced consistently high performance scores across all of the variables evaluated. The touch screen produced the highest number of 'best' scores; however, discomfort ratings for this device were high, suggesting that it is not an ideal solution as both physical and cognitive aspects of performance must be accounted for in design.This study evaluated four input devices for control of a screen-based flight management system. A holistic approach was used to evaluate both cognitive and physical performance. Performance varied across the dependent variables and between the devices; however, the touch screen produced the largest number of 'best' scores.

Risk assessments in Sociotechnical Systems (STS) tend to be based on error taxonomies, yet the term 'human error' does not sit easily with STS theories and concepts. A new break-link approach was proposed as an alternative risk assessment paradigm to reveal the effect of information communication failures between agents and tasks on the entire STS. A case study of the training of a Royal Navy crew detecting a low flying Hawk (simulating a sea-skimming missile) is presented using EAST to model the Hawk-Frigate STS in terms of social, information and task networks. By breaking 19 social links and 12 task links, 137 potential risks were identified. Discoveries included revealing the effect of risk moving around the system; reducing the risks to the Hawk increased the risks to the Frigate. Future research should examine the effects of compounded information communication failures on STS performance. Practitioner Summary: The paper presents a step-by-step walk-through of EAST to show how it can be used for risk assessment in sociotechnical systems. The 'broken-links' method takes a systemic, rather than taxonomic, approach to identify information communication failures in social and task networks.

Analytic models can enable predictions about important aspects of the usability of in-vehicle information systems (IVIS) to be made at an early stage of the product development process. Task times provide a quantitative measure of user performance and are therefore important in the evaluation of IVIS usability. In this study, critical path analysis (CPA) was used to model IVIS task times in a stationary vehicle, and the technique was extended to produce predictions for slowperson and fastperson performance, as well as average user (middleperson) performance. The CPA-predicted task times were compared to task times recorded in an empirical simulator study of IVIS interaction, and the predicted times were, on average, within acceptable precision limits. This work forms the foundation for extension of the CPA model to predict IVIS task times in a moving vehicle, to reflect the demands of the dual-task driving scenario.The CPA method was extended for the prediction of slowperson and fastperson IVIS task times. Comparison of the model predictions with empirical data demonstrated acceptable precision. The CPA model can be used in early IVIS evaluation; however, there is a need to extend it to represent the dual-task driving scenario.

In-vehicle information systems (IVIS) can be controlled by the user via direct or indirect input devices. In order to develop the next generation of usable IVIS, designers need to be able to evaluate and understand the usability issues associated with these two input types. The aim of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of a set of empirical usability evaluation methods for identifying important usability issues and distinguishing between the IVIS input devices. A number of usability issues were identified and their causal factors have been explored. These were related to the input type, the structure of the menu/tasks and hardware issues. In particular, the translation between inputs and on-screen actions and a lack of visual feedback for menu navigation resulted in lower levels of usability for the indirect device. This information will be useful in informing the design of new IVIS, with improved usability. STATEMENT OF RELEVANCE: This paper examines the use of empirical methods for distinguishing between direct and indirect IVIS input devices and identifying usability issues. Results have shown that the characteristics of indirect input devices produce more serious usability issues, compared with direct devices and can have a negative effect on the driver-vehicle interaction.

In recent years, the issue of usability of in-vehicle devices has received growing attention. This is in line with the increase in functionality of these devices, which has been accompanied by the introduction of various new interfaces to facilitate the user–device interaction. The complexity and diversity of the driving task presents a unique challenge in defining usability: user interaction with in-vehicle devices creates a ‘dual task’ scenario, in which conflicts can arise between primary and secondary driving tasks. This, and the safety-critical nature of driving, must be accounted for in defining and evaluating the usability of in-vehicle devices. It is evident that defining usability depends on the context of use of the device in question. The aim of this review therefore is to define usability for in-vehicle devices by selecting a set of criteria to describe the various factors which contribute to usability in this specific context of use.

The structure of command teams is a significant factor on their communications and ability to process, and act upon, information. The NATO Problem Space was used in this study to represent three of the main dimensions in the battle-space environment: familiarity, rate of change, and strength of information position. Results show that the five common team structures (chain, Y, circle, wheel and all-connected) did not generally perform as predicted in team literature. Findings suggest that under dynamic and highly variable conditions, high levels of synchronisation and trust should be present. On the other hand, synchronisation and trust are less important in hierarchical, highly centralised structures, because team members are more willing to accept the authority of a single leader and this tight control ensures that these teams can perform well as long as the Problem Space is familiar, information is explicit and the environment does not change. Practitioner Summary: Some types of team structures are better suited to particular constraints of the battle-space than others. This research has shown that the much touted all-connected structure is often the worst performing structure and that the traditional hierarchy of command and control has much merit in the digital information age.

Helicopters have the potential to be an integral part of the future transport system. They offer a means of rapid transit in an overly populated transport environment. However, one of the biggest limitations on rotary wing flight is their inability to fly in degraded visual conditions in the critical phases of approach and landing. This paper presents a study that developed and evaluated a Head up Display (HUD) to assist rotary wing pilots by extending landing to degraded visual conditions. The HUD was developed with the assistance of the Cognitive Work Analysis method as an approach for analysing the cognitive work of landing the helicopter. The HUD was tested in a fixed based flight simulator with qualified helicopter pilots. A qualitative analysis to assess situation awareness and workload found that the HUD enabled safe landing in degraded conditions whilst simultaneously enhancing situation awareness and reducing workload. Continued development in this area has the potential to extend the operational capability of helicopters in the future.

Private vehicle use contributes a disproportionately large amount to the degradation of the environment we inhabit. Technological advancement is of course critical to the mitigation of climate change, however alone it will not suffice; we must also see behavioural change. This paper will argue for the application of Ergonomics to the design of private vehicles, particularly low-carbon vehicles (e.g. hybrid and electric), to encourage this behavioural change. A brief review of literature is offered concerning the effect of the design of a technological object on behaviour, the inter-related nature of goals and feedback in guiding performance, the effect on fuel economy of different driving styles, and the various challenges brought by hybrid and electric vehicles, including range anxiety, workload and distraction, complexity, and novelty. This is followed by a discussion on the potential applicability of a particular design framework, namely Ecological Interface Design, to the design of in-vehicle interfaces that encourage energy-conserving driving behaviours whilst minimising distraction and workload, thus ensuring safety.

Environmental concerns show that transport is responsible for almost a quarter of all greenhouse gas emissions, and it is also the fastest growing sector. Modal shift towards public transport could help slow down, or even reverse, this trend. There appear to be a number of constraints that are preventing this from happening. This paper explores the constraints to modal shift to rail transport from the perspective of cognitive work analysis, specifically the abstraction hierarchy, the contextual activity template and social organisational and cooperation analyses. Whilst these analyses may not present any new barriers, they do show how the constraints are interlinked in an explicit manner. These interrelations are important for two reasons. First, in consideration of constraint removal, one must anticipate the likely effects on the remainder of the system. Second, by linking functions and situations, new concepts of travel may be identified and explored.Practitioner Summary:The purpose of this study was to use a semi-structured approach to identifying constraints to modal shift from a variety of perspectives. It is argued that cognitive work analysis offers a new way of thinking about the modal shift problem and helps to generate new insights into potential solutions.

Usability must be defined specifically for the context of use of the particular system under investigation. This specific context of use should also be used to guide the definition of specific usability criteria and the selection of appropriate evaluation methods. There are four principles which can guide the selection of evaluation methods, relating to the information required in the evaluation, the stage at which to apply methods, the resources required and the people involved in the evaluation. This paper presents a framework for the evaluation of usability in the context of In-Vehicle Information Systems (IVISs). This framework guides designers through defining usability criteria for an evaluation, selecting appropriate evaluation methods and applying those methods. These stages form an iterative process of design-evaluation-redesign with the overall aim of improving the usability of IVISs and enhancing the driving experience, without compromising the safety of the driver.

This project involves the development of a model-based method for the evaluation of design concepts for In-Vehicle Information Systems (IVISs). The evaluation method is aimed specifically at assessing the usability of the Human Machine Interface (HMI) associated with these systems. It is aimed at the very early stages of design and is intended to provide designers with a quick and easy method of evaluating HMI concepts. The evaluation method will be validated and refined using the results from user trials conducted in a driving simulator and on-road, in an instrumented vehicle.