Search

Psychological approaches to the troubleshooting of complex military equipments are designed to improve the selection, motivation, and training of technicians. Methods for enhancing the understanding of the physical relations in equipment, the hierarchical analysis and practice of sub-skills, and the general logic of searching behavior are aspects considered. The "aiding" approach provides technicians with an information base in special booklets, diagrams, computer programs, and directed sequences. The "maintainability" approach concentrates on designing equipments for troubleshooting ease. When these approaches are applied to troubleshooting problems, the great majority can be solved. For troubleshooting equipments already in service, proceduralized aiding is probably the best for immediate solutions, especially for many one term military technicians. Aids must be designed from a behavioral standpoint and be specially prepared, tested, and debugged. The most effective aids, however, will not find all troubles, and people with relatively deep skill levels will always be required. To provide such people, research is needed in the visualization and memory of complex physical events, the learning of long branching sequences, individual differences in search behavior, and enhancement of human reasoning by small computerized devices. (Author/RAA)

A self directed learning system was developed, based on an earlier version of a computer based system; this revised system contains features designed to make it easier to use and improved pedagogical strategies. The experimental test described in this report was designed to separate the effects of training in self directed learning from the use of the system itself. Data were collected on four different measures of learning: (1) effective learning, (2) selective learning, (3) planning, and (4) verbal report. Results of the experiment indicated that there were no significant differences among treatment groups in performance data even though one of the experimental groups outperformed the other groups significantly on the measure of verbal report, and on all other measures as well. (Author/JEG)

Two experiments were conducted to establish the psychological validity of the text type distinction. In the first, 20 college students sorted 12 texts on the basis of their similarities. The resultant sortings were subjected to a clustering analysis. Despite the fact that other bases for grouping texts existed--a number of pairs of semantically related texts of different types were included--text type emerged as a powerful determiner of group membership. In the second experiment, 13 students listened to recorded texts and then tried to recall them. As was predicted, text type had a significant effect on recall, with stories being recalled more fully than were instructions or definitions. (Three sample texts used in the experiments, together with their text structures and semantic representations, are contained in an appendix.) (Author/FL)

The University of Southern California (USC) Library School offered an experimental self-paced, independent learning program during the 1976-1977 academic year to help those students who desire this type of professional training but are unable to attend classes on a daily or semi-weekly basis in the traditional pattern of scheduling. Program objectives included allowing students to pursue a degree or continuing education program under circumstances convenient to them, researching and evaluating the independent study curriculum as compared with the regular traditional program, and producing not "finished" graduates but life-long learners. Six courses were offered in several time frames: late afternoon, evening, and Saturday. For each course, faculty members developed supplementary enrichment materials, course outlines, modules, and study guides. Student evaluation consisted of refined pretests developed for each of the three types of classes, periodic tests and examinations, and post-tests. Findings indicate that the program was successful because all of the students increased their scores between the pre- and post-tests, self-paced students' performance was generally equal to that of students in the regular program, and they tended to have fewer incompletes. Recommendations and suggestions for future programs are included. (JPF)

It is proposed in this report that theories about reading processes and about the structure of what is read can be readily formulated in schema theory terms. Previous work on the structure of texts is first reviewed and problems with earlier formalisms and scoring methods are discussed. Analyses are then presented of the structure of three types of texts--short stories, instructions, and explanations--and three experiments are described in which differences in readers' recall of the different text types were assessed. In experiment one, 22 college students read and summarized six texts of different types and later recalled three of them; in experiments two and three, students heard tape-recorded texts, one at a time, performed a brief interfering task after each text, and then recalled the text. Results of the experiments, which are reported and discussed, revealed that stories were the easiest, and definitions the most difficult, to recall and understand, and that recalls of definitions showed significantly more reordering than did recalls of instructions, which, in turn, had more reordering than did the recalls of stories. Forty-one illustrative figures and eight tables of results are included. (GW)

This study explores the extent to which scores on four separate complex reasoning solution processes could predict performance on difficult problems. Definitions are provided for the four processes--intra-sentence processing, inter-sentence processing, ordering, and collecting--and previous work done in the field is outlined. The procedures used in obtaining scores for the four processes and the results of the initial experiment are discussed. The description of a training demonstration, designed to teach the skills needed in complex problem solving, includes the results of this exercise. A discussion of the success of the training procedure, a list of references, and typical sentence-inference sheets are also provided. (RAO)

A general purpose maintenance trainer, which has the potential to simulate a wide variety of electronic equipments without hardware changes or new computer programs, has been developed and field tested by the Navy. Based on a previous laboratory model, the Generalized Maintenance Trainer Simulator (GMTS) is a relatively low cost trainer that offers intensive training in equipment set-up, troubleshooting, and system assessment. It uses a software database and microfiche photographs to simulate electronic equipment, and the executive computer programs that manage all interactions between students and the system are programmed in UCSD Pascal. A database representing a satellite communications system was also developed to demonstrate the trainer's capabilities and to permit gathering of supportability data. The GMTS hardware and software have been refined and documented to meet the research objective of providing the intensive training desired at low cost. Testing and evaluation of the trainer in the school environment are scheduled. (MER)

This volume summarizes the results of a 2-year technology assessment of personal computers. The purpose of this study was to explore possible future modes of growth of the personal computer and related industries, to assess the impacts and consequences of that growth, and to present some of the policy issues and options which may arise as a consequence of the development of personal computer technology. However, due to limitations of time, funds, and personpower, detailed analyses were restricted to three main issue areas: (1) the growth of personal computer technology, (2) the expected impacts of the technology, and (3) the public policy implications in areas of education, employment, and international trade. Much of the information generated in this report was based upon the results of Delphi surveys. Tables of data are included. (Author/LLS)

This volume reports on the initial phase of a technology assessment of personal computers. First, technological developments that will influence the rate of diffusion of personal computer technology among the general populace are examined. Then the probable market for personal computers is estimated and analyzed on a functional basis, segregating it into four submarkets: the home, education, small business, and large organizations. Next, some possible evolutionary forms of the personal computer are briefly described along with an alternative mode of development of personal computing. In conducting this phase of the assessment, the researchers utilized a survey of existing personal computer users and market growth models for large ticket consumer durable goods to predict the probable growth and maturation patterns of the personal computer market. Tables of data are included as well as an extensive bibliography. (Author/LLS)

A technology assessment of personal computers was conducted to study both the socially desirable and undesirable impacts of this new technology in three main areas: education, employment, and international trade. Information gleaned from this study was then used to generate suggestions for public policy options which could influence these impacts. Four primary methods were used to develop the information for the policy analysis stages of the assessment: (1) search and analysis of the relevant literature, (2) development of a series of scenarios of alternative futures, (3) performance of two Delphi surveys and a cross-impact analysis based on these scenarios, and (4) interviews and/or surveys of the potentially affected stakeholders and decision makers. Tables of data are included as well as a list of references. Appendices include Delphi questionnaires with summaries of findings and an employment questionnaire used in the study. (LLS)

In 1972, the University of Southern California School of Engineering established a 4-channel interactive instructional television network. It was designed to allow employees of participating industries to take regular university science and engineering courses and special continuing education courses at or near their work locations. Final progress reports of two National Science Foundation (NSF) grants which built upon this program are provided in this document. Through NSF funding, semi-public television classrooms were set up in two industrial parks allowing employees from many different small and medium sized companies to pursue part-time degree and continuing education programs. As part of the overall program, (1) special continuing education courses were developed; (2) other courses from other sources representing a broad range of topics were presented; (3) students were able to earn a certificate of Master's degree equivalency in engineering; (4) opportunities were provided for company personnel to preview videotaped courses from other sources which they might use in company training; (5) criteria for evaluating non-university video courses were developed; and (6) efforts to promote the use of this program in particular and video courses in general were made. (DC)

Reported in this document are findings from an evaluation of three kinds of prosocial children's programming broadcasted by the NBC network during the 1980-81 season. The prosocial programmings evaluated were "Drawing Power,""Play Alongs," and "How to Watch TV". The primary goals of the study, as stated by NBC, were to evaluate the appeal and impact of these programmings on young children (ages 5 to 12 years), and to obtain additional ideas about prosocial programming for the 1981-82 season. Following a brief introductory overview of the study, sections II, III, and IV present the results obtained for each of the above programmings. Each section begins by describing the prosocial programming being evaluated and the particular appeal and impact of the programming addressed. This is followed by a description of the methods used, a presentation of the results, and a short summary. Section V of the report describes pilot research, conducted by the second author as a pilot study for her doctoral dissertation, on how children think and feel about prosocial programming. The report ends with a brief general discussion of this study's findings and their importance for network Saturday morning prosocial programming. Copies of the various instruments used to collect data are included in appendices A to N. (MP)

A research project was conducted to determine if dynamic skill training differs in important ways from knowledge system instruction. The term dynamic skills was used to mean sets of intellectual processes responsible for selective perceptions in a real time driven content and for the selection and performance of appropriate responses in that context; knowledge systems was used to mean sets of related facts that are commonly taught as a body of coherent subject matter. The research was conducted on a microcomputer-based experimental simulation training system. Experimental subjects were taught to perform a simulation task based on the job of an air intercept controller. The training program permitted controlled differences in instructional treatment for different groups of students in order to explore empirical issues in dynamic skill training. The results of the research show that dynamic skill training differs in important ways from knowledge system instruction; e.g., the demands placed upon students' cognitive processing resources are different in the two types of learning. Ten references are listed. (Author/LLS)

A computer-based aid to self-directed learning, developed to meet the needs of on-the-job trainees, has been implemented on the PLATO computer system using the touch-panel capability of the PLATO-IV terminal. This document describes the training sequence for the self-directed learning system, the system's task domains, task elements (the sentence generator and the essay generator), and a cognitive model for self-directed learning. Although results from a pilot experiment do not indicate that the computer-based system significantly improved learning ability, an interpretation of those results provides directions for future research. (RL)

Recent developments in cognitive psychology and artificial intelligence have shown that various types of prior knowledge play important roles in understanding during text processing and have resulted in a new kind of model for conceptual processing, "procedural semantics." This paper discusses two types of units, or schemata, which, according to this theory, are responsible for conceptually driven processing in reading: the form-schema accounts for readers' syntactic or formal expectations; the content-schema accounts for readers' semantic expectations. Models for specific form- and content-schemata are proposed; implications for effective strategies for adult reading are derived from the premises of the model; and four kinds of reading strategies (single-pass, exhaustive multi-pass, extractive multi-pass, and selective multi-pass) are characterized in terms of the model. In addition, potential applications, suggested by the consequences of the theory, are described. These include uses for headings in texts, means for constructing advance organizers for texts, and training of readers to make more effective use of texts by being sensitive to their motivating tasks and by exploiting their capacities for generating expectations about the meaning of the texts, through conceptually driven processing. (Author/LJR)

This document describes a five-week program designed to assist and train paraprofessionals in the classroom. Goals of the program include the following: That paraprofessionals and community volunteers become more effective and knowledgeable about their students, about teacher relationships, their role, school functioning, and more accepted as performing a valuable, professional role. Five general topics are treated: (1) role clarification and communication; (2) child growth and development; (3) multicultural studies; (4) basic skills in mathematics and reading; and (5) classroom management. The program is designed to be flexible and adaptable to meet the expressed needs of individual schools. (JD)

Procedural semantics models have diminished the distinction between data structures and procedures in computer simulations of human intelligence. This development has theoretical consequences for models of cognition. One type of procedural semantics model, called schema theory, is presented, and a variety of cognitive processes are explained in terms of the theory. Specific cognitive processes discussed include semantic and episodic memory, consciousness, cognitive strategies, orienting tasks and self-direction, inference and depth of processing, and insight in various contexts. Three dimensions for distinguishing or comparing schemata are proposed: function, abstractness, and scope. The contrasts between multistore models of cognition and schema theory are summarized. (Author/AA)

This report presents information about the health status of older workers as it relates to extended work lives. The report contains unpublished data on the health status of civilian, noninstitutionalized middle-aged and older adults; the data are disaggregated so that narrow age differences within the older population can be observed and are presented to reveal the health patterns of the cohorts for whom worklife extension would be most relevant (persons aged 62-64 and 65-69). Following the executive summary and introduction, the major part of the report is presented in chapter 3, "Health and the Older Population," which addresses the challenge of defining and measuring health. Standard measures of health, such as the presence/absence of disease, physical and functional impairment, work disabilities, and mobility and activity limitations, are discussed. Other measures of health (use of medical services) and physiological measures are also described. Numerous data tables accompany the text. Chapter 4 presents issues related to health, aging, and work which arise from the consideration of the data presented previously and discusses the need for further research. The report is summarized in chapter 5. (MCF)

This project attempted to replicate a 1981 study by Munro, Fehling, Blaise, and Towne, which found that instructional feedback for dynamic skill training is most effective when the student chooses when and if feedback is to be received. Using a simpler task, this study focused on an Air Intercept Controller Simulation program. The effectiveness of computer-generated voice output in instruction and simulation in dynamic skill training were also addressed in an experiment in computer-based instruction. Both the intrusiveness and delivery mode (text-voice) factors had statistically significant effects on student errors. Performance was superior in the groups which received feedback in a textual mode and had control over sequence and presence of feedback. The next highest performance group received feedback in a computer voice mode and also had control over feedback. The third highest group received immediate textual-mode feedback to errors, while the poorest performance group received immediate computer voice feedback. Results suggest that instruction in dynamic skills should be non-intrusive, and that current inexpensive voice synthesis technology is inappropriate for dynamic skill training. Six data tables and six figures are included, and a list of crucial and non-crucial errors is appended. (Author/LMM)

This report examined media audiences for the arts using data gathered in the Survey of Public Participation in the Arts (SPA) covering approximately 18,000 U.S. adults in 1982 and 16,000 adults in 1985. The SPA questionnaire covers the use of television, radio, and recordings as a means to participate in seven particular arts activities, which include jazz music, classical music, opera, musical stage plays or operettas, non-musical stage plays, ballet, and the collections of art museums or galleries. The data showed that well over half of all adults participated in at least one of the seven art forms either through television, radio, or recordings during the past year. Annual reaches of the SPA art forms through media are in most cases several times as great as the reaches of comparable live events or activities. Media audiences for the arts consistently have an average higher income and education level and are more likely to live in urban areas. Residents of non-urbanized areas do not substitute media participation for live participation any more than do residents of urban areas. Overall, the media provides a window to the world of the most talented artists and arts organizations. Tables are used throughout the report to illustrate the findings. Appendices include the SPA questionnaire and the comparative demographic and geographic determinants of arts attendance and media use. (SM)

This study is a description of the initial socialization of low-income children, aged 3 to 6 years, who were recruited by a middle- and upper-income elementary college-laboratory school. Data for this study were obtained through observations of 11 recruited children and their classmates during a 4-year period. These observations were supplemented by informal conversations, interviews, and school documents and files. It was found that although the school was perceived by the community as excellent, and had many fine qualities, the recruited children were adversely affected by other qualities. The school's pedagogy gave little attention to social outcomes such as cross-cultural and interracial understanding; the assimilationist ideology of the school excluded pluralistic curricula; and the "color-blind" universalism accepted in the school obscured the need for "affirmative" treatment of some children. It is concluded that the optimum programs for desegregated early childhood education are traditional, developmentally oriented ones in which: (1) schooling is an extension of the family; (2) a flexible pedagogy allows for recognition of children's previous and concurrent socialization; and (3) the needs of the children are considered more important than the demands of an explicit curriculum. (PCB)

Previous research has shown that heightened fear of crime in the elderly does not reflect actual crime rates as much as a perceived vulnerability due to diminished physical and economic resources. As part of a larger Los Angeles study on personal emergency response systems, this study examined the relationships among fear of crime, crime rates, leaving one's residence, self-reported health, income, and sense of personal mastery in the elderly. Sixty older adults (11 males, 49 females; mean age, 77.5 years), who were medically vulnerable and living alone, were interviewed and completed numerous paper measures of health, personal mastery, and fear of crime. A supplemental index of actual crime was established through police statistics. An analysis of the results showed that men tended to report leaving their residences slightly more often than women and endorsed higher levels of functional health, health status, mastery, and income. Women expressed significantly more fear than did men, but residential patterns or crime rates did not differ significantly by sex. Physical inabilities rather than fear of crime affected the frequency with which a frail older adult left his residence. The findings suggest that effective intervention with elderly individuals should focus on physical and mental health services that increase mobility through personal mastery of the environment. (BL)

This report describes the University of Southern California's (USC) gerontology career preparation project, which was funded for the following training activities in mental health and aging: (1) traineeships for graduate students in USC's doctoral track in clinical psychology and aging and in the Leonard Davis School of Gerontology master's track in direct service; (2) partial core support for the Andrus Older Adult Center, the major practicum site for clinical training; (3) expanded contacts with the aging network; (4) development of clinical case materials, currently in draft form; and (5) evaluation of the training program. The narrative section of the report describes the purpose and significance of the project, support for trainers in the program, and the Andrus Older Adult Center. A list of program graduates along with their dissertation titles and present positions is provided. The project's aging network linkages, the development of casebook materials, and the evaluation design and results are described. The five appendices include a discussion of trainee achievements, the Andrus Older Adult Center brochure, the evaluation of the Los Angeles City Personal Emergency Response System, drafts of selected casebook material, and project evaluation measures. (MCF)

This report describes the Intelligent Maintenance Training System (IMTS), a set of software tools for composing and delivering simulation-based technical training. The goal in developing IMTS was to generate instructional interactions from device models composed of instances of generic objects. Problem selection in IMTS relies on the use of a normative model that reflects the structure of the target device. Proficiency measures are maintained for each student in terms of this model and support the selection of problems of appropriate difficulty and type. IMTS incorporates a formulation of generic diagnostic expertise, termed Profile, that: (1) explains the significance of particular test outcomes and remediates student beliefs about symptom implications; (2) recommends what to do next, taking completed tests into account; (3) assesses student proficiency; and (4) debriefs the students following each fault isolation exercise. A number of findings and recommendations concerning alternative approaches to simulation, student monitoring, problem selection, and student aiding are presented. The next steps for IMTS development are also outlined, including techniques for simulation devices whose complete functional behaviors cannot be reasonably specified, and the addition of features to support procedural training. The text is supplemented by 23 figures. (24 references) (Author/EW)

Simulation-based software tools that can infer system behaviors from a deep model of the system have the potential for automatically building the semantic representations required to support intelligent tutoring in fault diagnosis. The Intelligent Maintenance Training System (IMTS) is such a resource, designed for use in training troubleshooting skills and in conducting research into intelligent instruction. The IMTS incorporates a generalized model of an expert diagnostician, termed Profile, to evaluate student performance and to recommend improved fault isolation strategies. The equipment expert uses domain-independent editing tools to construct the simulation using previously defined generic objects. As the diagrams are interactively assembled, an underlying representation of system content and structure is automatically produced, allowing the graphical simulation to change in response to student actions during training sessions. The first application of the IMTS will be as a trainer of fault isolation skills for the Bladefolding system of the SH-3H helicopter. In this application, the IMTS is coupled to the Generalized Maintenance Training System (GMTS), a videodisc-based simulator that displays high-resolution color views of the controls and indicators as they are manipulated by the student. Directions for future research are indicated and 21 references are provided. (Author/MES)

This summary of the activities of the third of a three-phased self-study, initiated in 1987, provides a current overview of preservation problems in the University of Southern California's (USC) Central Library System, focusing particularly on the organizational structure of the preservation activities and on recommended solutions for ensuring the survival of library collections or of their informational content. The report points to ideal standards and goals, advises reasonable alternatives and acceptable interim measures, and encourages creative thinking and openness to new uses of technological developments that will extend USC's preservation options. The implications of inaction are also described. Some of the preservation accomplishments over the last 5 years are identified, and first-year priorities are set for a preservation strategy in the context of a 5-year plan. The goals and recommendations address both preservation and treatment, with emphasis on those measures that will have the highest impact on the greatest number of materials, and yield the greatest benefit to the academic programs. (SD)

The Intelligent Maintenance Training System (IMTS) is a set of software tools that permit the composition and presentation of interactive graphical simulations for computer-based technical training. IMTS is designed to support training on the operation and maintenance of complex devices. Simulations are authored by device experts, who use the IMTS tools to draw the components of the device to describe their behavior, and to create simulations made up of the components. IMTS provides special support for maintenance training. An artificial expert on troubleshooting strategy, called "Profile," generates instruction and advice for students. RAPIDS is an additional set of tools, built on the foundation of IMTS, that enables the authoring of a wide variety of simulation-based training courses. Using RAPIDS, an expert creates lessons by performing in the simulation tasks that are to be taught to students. This technical report includes: (1) an overview of IMTS; (2) a description of the development and applications of derivative simulations; (3) a discussion of surface simulation authoring; and (4) a description of the use of RAPIDS to author instruction. An illustrated catalogue of simulations developed using IMTS is appended. (14 references) (Author/GL)