Digital Commons Network^™

Distributed Information Behavior Among Flight Crews In A Simulated Environment, Terry L. Von Thaden Phd

International Symposium on Aviation Psychology - 2005

The purpose of this study was to assess concepts from Information Science to develop and initially validate a framework to study the information behavior of flight crews in the civil aviation domain. Distributed use of information within groups remains a weak link between actual information, the meaning given to information, and the sense made of the information. Principles from information science, psychology, and communication studies are used to analyze how flight crews in a simulated environment (fail to) make use of essential, safety critical information through analysis of the corresponding flight transcripts using a six-point Information Behavior Grid. The results …

Supporting Pilots In Recovering Trajectories With Tunnel-In-The-Sky Displays, Ernst J.G. Verschragen, Max Mulder, M.M. (René) Van Paassen

International Symposium on Aviation Psychology - 2005

Tunnel-in-the-sky displays have shown great potential for reducing pilot workload and navigation error. Although it is a well-evaluated concept, only little research has been conducted on situations in which the pilot has (deliberately or not) flown outside of the tunnel. This paper describes the experimental evaluation of various alternatives to support pilots in recapturing their nominal trajectory. The concepts studied include the use of guiding arrows, path deviation indicators, a symbol representing the tunnel and a “return tunnel”. Results from a pilot-in-the-loop experiment indicate that a “return tunnel” performed best on situation awareness and workload aspects and that most pilots …

Attentional Tunneling And Task Management, Christopher D. Wickens

International Symposium on Aviation Psychology - 2005

This paper discusses attentional tunneling as one cause of breakdowns in task management. The phenomenon is defined, and empirical evidence is then reviewed to show the conditions in which the phenomenon is created by head up display location, compelling 3D displays, fault management, and automation induced complacency. Statistical and methodological issues are reviewed regarding the generalization of the phenomenon in the laboratory to real world mishaps

A Summary Of Unmanned Aircraft Accident/Incident Data: Human Factors Implications, Kevin W. Williams Ph.D.

International Symposium on Aviation Psychology - 2005

A review and analysis of unmanned aircraft (UA) accident data was conducted to identify important human factors issues related to their use. UA accident data were collected from the U.S. Army, Navy, and Air Force. The percentage of involvement of human factors issues varied across aircraft from 21% to 68%. For most of the aircraft systems, electromechanical failure was more of a causal factor than human error. One critical finding from an analysis of the data is that each of the fielded systems is very different, leading to different kinds of accidents and different human factors issues. A second finding …

Pilot Dependence On Imperfect Diagnostic Automation In Simulated Uav Flights: An Attentional Visual Scanning Analysis., Christopher Wickens, Stephen Dixon, Juliana Goh, Ben Hammer

International Symposium on Aviation Psychology - 2005

An unmanned air vehicle (UAV) simulation was designed to reveal the effects of imperfectly reliable diagnostic automation – a monitor of system health parameters – on pilot attention, as the latter was assessed via visual scanning. Four groups of participants flew a series of legs under different automation conditions: a baseline (no automation) control, and automation which was either 100% reliable, 60% reliable with a low-threshold bias to produce false alerts, and 60% reliable with a high threshold to produce misses. A high workload mission completion task and ground surveillance task were simultaneously imposed. Consistent with the reliance-compliance model of …

Why’D They Do That? Analyzing Pilot Mindset In Accidents And Incidents, Ed Wischmeyer Ph.D.

International Symposium on Aviation Psychology - 2005

In teaching a series of classes that analyzed “classical” airline accidents, it was observed that human behavior in such accidents was often understood better when the “mindset” of the protagonists was studied explicitly, rather than implicitly, and that the time element was also useful in such analyses. Often pilots took actions not explainable by traditional error models, and not predictable from known influences. These observations started a series of iterations that eventually converged on the PEEMBO model (Predispositions, Environment, Events, Mindset and mental condition, Behaviors, and missed Opportunities.) The PEEMBO model now appears mature enough for routine use in accident …

A Real-Time Automated Transcription Tool For Tactical Communications Assessment, David T. Williamson, Lt Mathew D. Purtee

International Symposium on Aviation Psychology - 2005

This paper describes the development of a real-time automated transcription tool for assessing tactical communications in a DIS environment. Java-based tools were developed to capture simulated radio communications data from tactical training exercises conducted at the Warfighter Training Research Division of the Air Force Research Laboratory’s Human Effectiveness Directorate. A representative set of audio data was handtranscribed and used as training material for a class-based statistical language model using a commercially available speech recognition system. The language model was designed to allow run-time input of callsign data to provide increased flexibility. The resulting system is a real-time automated speech-to-text transcription …

Head-Up Display Symbology For Surface Operations: Eye Tracking Analysis Of Command-Guidance Vs. Situation-Guidance Formats, John Wilson, Becky L. Hooey, David C. Foyle

International Symposium on Aviation Psychology - 2005

This study investigated pilots' taxi performance and distribution of visual attention with four different head-up display (HUD) symbology formats: Command-guidance, Situation-guidance, Hybrid, and a baseline, No-route guidance. Taxi speed and centerline accuracy were highest with Hybrid and Situation-guidance whereas Commandguidance and No-guidance resulted in increased visual attention to the head-down map display and side window displays. These results are thought to be due to lack of sufficient preview information with the Command-guidance symbology. The conformal route information of the Situation-guidance and Hybrid HUD formats provided a common reference with the environment, which may have supported better distribution of attention.

Metrics Of Information Complexity For Air Traffic Control Displays, Jing Xing

International Symposium on Aviation Psychology - 2005

Information complexity associated with visual displays is a bottleneck that limits their use. While automation tools are designed to bring new functions to users and increase their capacities, they also creates new tasks associated with acquiring and integrating information from displays. In particular, a complex display increases information load to human operators and reduces usability. Thus the efficiency of the tool largely depends on the complexity of displayed information. To evaluate the costs and benefits of an automation system, it is important to understand how much information is shown on the display, and whether the information is too complex for …

Pilots' Conflict Detection With Imperfect Conflict Alerting System For The Cockpit Display Of Traffic Information, Xidong Xu, Christopher D. Wickens, Esa M. Rantanen

International Symposium on Aviation Psychology - 2005

Twenty-four pilots viewed dynamic encounters between the pilot’s “ownship” and an intruder aircraft on a 2-D simulated Cockpit Display of Traffic Information (CDTI) and estimated the point and time of closest approach. A three-level alert system provided a correct categorical estimate of the projected miss distance (MD) on 83% of the trials. The remaining 17% of alerts incorrectly predicted MD. The data of these pilots were compared with a matched “baseline” pilots, who viewed identical trials without the aid of automated alerts. Roughly half the pilots depended on and benefited from this automation, and others did not. Those who benefited …

Effects Of Workload And Likelihood Information On Human Response To Alarm Signals, Ernesto A. Bustamante, James P. Bliss

International Symposium on Aviation Psychology - 2005

The purpose of this study was to examine how workload and likelihood information would affect participants’ responses to alarm signals while they performed a battery of tasks. As expected, participants’ overall response rates and false alarm response rates were significantly lower, and true alarm response rates were significantly higher when they used a likelihood alarm system. These results were particularly noticeable under high workload conditions. Results from this study suggest that although people may respond less often to alarm signals when they are provided with likelihood information, they will more likely respond to true signals rather than false alarms. Therefore, …

Eid For A Terrain-Aware Synthetic Vision System, Clark Borst, Marieke Suijkerbuijk, Max Mulder, Rene M.M. Van Passen

International Symposium on Aviation Psychology - 2005

Synthetic Vision Systems (SVS) are likely to become an integral part of the commercial flight deck in the future. The introduction of SVS is driven by the need to increase safety, most notably to reduce Controlled Flight Into Terrain (CFIT). Various avionics companies and research institutes have successfully developed SVS that have shown to increase the pilot’s situational awareness regarding to attitude, position and clearance relative to the terrain. To further increase the pilot’s terrain awareness, we believe that more meaningful information should be added to the synthetic view on the outside world. This can be accomplished by showing the …

Developing Pilot Skills In Crm Assessment: An Effective Tool For The Check Pilot, Jose Manuel Ponz Cantó

International Symposium on Aviation Psychology - 2005

The European Joint Aviation Authorities eventually opted for making the check pilot responsible for CRM skills assessment. Along the way, several options were considered; NOTECHS, a version of LOSA, or even special tests for CRM skill demonstration.

Eventually, it was decided that CRM skills should not be evaluated outside of the pilot´s flying environment (we believe quite rightly), and such skills, or behavioural markers should only be assessed during flight checks.

Thus, the problem was apparently solved. However, no provisions were made for the training of check pilots in CRM assessment, and no special training other than required in the …

Atcs Age And En Route Operational Errors: A Re-Investigation, Dana Broach

International Symposium on Aviation Psychology - 2005

Public Law 92-297 requires that air traffic control specialists (ATCSs), hired on or after May 16, 1972, retire at age 56. This law is based on testimony given in 1971 that as controllers aged, the cumulative effects of stress, fatigue (from shift work), and age-related cognitive changes created a safety risk (U.S. House of Representatives, 1971). The hypothesis has been considered in two studies of en route operational errors (OEs) with contradictory results (Center for Naval Analyses Corporation (CNAC), 1995; Broach, 1999). The purpose of this re-investigation was to test the hypothesis that controller age, controlling for experience, was related …

Speech Errors Management In Air Traffic Control Communications: A Detailed Study, Jean-Leon Bouraoui, Nadine Vigouroux

International Symposium on Aviation Psychology - 2005

Many studies have reported on some human factors influencing the communication process, especially in aeronautical framework (see Davison (2003) for example). When spoken, communication comprises three different components: production, perception and understanding. The communication is often disturbed by one or many errors that affect one or several of these components. Consequently, one way to make air traffic control (ATC) communications more efficient and robust is to have as much knowledge as possible on these problems and their usual management. This paper presents the interests brought by corpus-based studies to Air Traffic Control (ATC) applications, especially interactions/communication between controllers and pilots. …

Ab Initio Training In The Glass Cockpit Era: New Technology Meets New Pilots: A Preliminary Descriptive Analysis, Paul A. Craig, John E. Bertrand, Wayne Dornan, Steve Gossett

International Symposium on Aviation Psychology - 2005

The Aerospace Department at Middle Tennessee State University and the NASA Langley Research Center entered into a cooperative agreement in 2003. The project is named the SATS Aerospace Flight Education Research (SAFER) and is part of NASA’s Small Aircraft Transportation System (SATS) initiative. The SATS project envisions a future flight environment that employs small aircraft to transport people and cargo from point to point using smaller, under utilized airports instead of major gridlocked airports. The aircraft used in the SATS vision would take advantage of a range of emerging technologies including glass cockpits, new structures, and new engines. But with …

Overview Of Attachment Disorder And Effective Treatments For Children, Kathryn H. Hedican

Graduate Research Papers

When children experience extreme chronic trauma as a result of the effects of the disruption of healthy attachment patterns, a disorder known as Reactive Attachment Disorder (RAD) can develop. The importance for mental health counselors to understand the etiology of RAD cannot be overemphasized. Symptoms most often associated with this disorder include the inability to trust, failure to develop intimate relationships, or show affection, lack of self-confidence, low self-esteem, and anti-social behaviors and attitudes (Levy & Orlans, 1998 as cited in Sheperis, Renfro-Michel, & Doggett, 2003). Highlighting the foundational work of Erikson, Harlow, Bowlby, and Ainsworth includes a brief overview …

Cognitive Tunneling, Aircraft-Pilot Coupling Design Issues And Scenario Interpretation Under Stress In Recent Airline Accidents, Meredith A. Bell, Eugenio L. Facci, Razia V. Nayeem

International Symposium on Aviation Psychology - 2005

By building upon a number of accident reports and on cognitive psychology literature, this paper addresses the effect of stress on the reasoning abilities and on the perceptual processes of pilots. We examine several cases, including American Airlines 587 (New York, 2001), United Airlines 173 (Portland, 1978), KLM 4508 (Tenerife, 1977), Northwest Airlines 6231(Thiells NY, 1974), and Eastern Airlines 401 (Everglades, 1972), in which pilots have, or may have, contributed to an accident by incorrectly interpreting the unfolding scenario, and specifically by disregarding alternative interpretations of the unfolding scenario. While current research efforts have yet to provide guidance on how …

Line Pilot Performance Of Memory Items, Howard Au

International Symposium on Aviation Psychology - 2005

An evaluation of Boeing 737 line pilot performance of memory items in 5 abnormal checklists was performed in a single-blind experiment using tabletop exercises at the crew base of a major U.S. airline. A study of 16 pilots shows that performance of memory items results in errors in identifying the failure, selecting the proper checklist to be completed, and checklist step errors.

Weight Loss Practices In Amateur Wrestlers And Its Relationship To Disordered Eating, Lyndsey M. Manderfield

Graduate Research Papers

The premise behind many athletic programs is to encourage wellness, a state of well being in both physical and emotional aspects. This research paper reviews how wrestling and other athletic programs where weight plays a significant role, may affect eating and other weight-related habits. It addresses whether weight loss practices in wrestling play a role in disordered eating patterns of its participants.

Oppositional Defiant Disorder : Using Family Therapy And Parent Training Techniques For Effective Treatment Outcomes, Caroline S. Dieken

Graduate Research Papers

Oppositional Defiant Disorder (ODD) clinically affects children and adolescents through the display of unwanted disruptive, hostile, defiant, and oppositional behaviors. Development of these can be linked to parental psychopathology, family and marital dysfunction, poor parent-child interaction, atypical parenting, maternal age, substance abuse, poor supervision, and inconsistent or harsh discipline. The effects of ODD lead to impaired social functioning, depression, low self-esteem, academic failure, substance abuse, delinquency, and family discord. Compared to other treatments ( e.g., medication, behavior modification, punishment, or removal from the home) the most effective course of treatment for ODD is the use of family therapy and parent …

Thirteen Years Of Reflection On Auditory Graphing: Promises, Pitfalls, And Potential New Directions, John H. Flowers

Department of Psychology: Faculty Publications

While developments in sound production hardware now make the creation of auditory graphs possible for casual users of personal computers, some of the same pitfalls to effective auditory display development that arose in the early 1990’s continue to impede effective applications of this promising technology. Most of these pitfalls stem from lack of adequate understanding about key properties of auditory perception and attention and from inappropriate generalizations of existing data visualization practices. At the same time, however, we now know about some strategies that appear to work and offer promise for making sonification a useful and accepted tool for data …

Introduction: Moral Development Study In The 21st Century, Carolyn P. Edwards, Gustavo Carlo

Department of Psychology: Faculty Publications

Questions of right and wrong, good and bad, lawful and unlawful, have been debated by philosophers, theologians, scholars, and ordinary people since ancient times. The moral domain represents humanity's answers to three questions: What is the right thing to do? How is the best state of affairs achieved? What qualities make for a good person? However, the scientific investigation of the moral life has a much shorter intellectual history than does philosophical and religious reflection; nevertheless, it is not new. Moral development theory and research emerged as a critical topic over 100 years ago, at the beginning of the 20th …

Is Prosecution "Medically Appropriate"?, Douglas Mossman Md

Faculty Articles and Other Publications

Each year, U.S. courts send thousands of incompetent defendants to hospitals for treatment, where psychiatrists frequently administer psychotropic medication that can alleviate symptoms and allow the defendants to proceed with criminal adjudication. Although defendants and their attorneys usually do not object to such treatment, treatment refusals in two recent, nationally prominent cases-those of Russell Eugene Weston, Jr., the accused Capitol shooter, and Charles T. Sell, a dentist charged with filing false insurance claims-have focused legal and media attention on whether and under what conditions competence restoration can be forced on an unwilling defendant.

In its June 2003 decision in Sell …

The Identification Of Training Needs For Developing Aeronautical Decision Making Training Programs For Military Pilots, Wen-Chin Li, Don Harris, Chung-San Yu

International Symposium on Aviation Psychology - 2005

This research applies Human Factors Analysis and Classification System (HFACS; Wiegmann & Shappell, 2003) analyzing aviation accidents in the R.O.C. Air Force between 1978 and 2002 in order to identify the training needs of aeronautical decision-making (ADM). There were 523 accidents associated with 1762 human errors. The results indicated that decision errors had been involved in 223 (42.6%) accidents. Without in-depth analysis of decision errors in military aviation, it is unlikely to identify precisely the training needs of ADM and the nature of the training content required to prevent the decision errors in aviation (Patrick, 2003). This research found that …

Measurement Of Situation Awareness Effects Of Adaptive Automation Of Air Traffic Control Information Processing Functions, Carlene M. Perry, Noa Segall, David B. Kaber

International Symposium on Aviation Psychology - 2005

The goal of this research was to define a measure of situation awareness (SA) in an air traffic control (ATC) task and to investigate the effect of adaptive automation (AA) of various information processing functions on SA. An ATC simulation was used that was capable of presenting four different modes of control, including information acquisition, information analysis, decision making and action implementation automation, and a manual mode. Eight subjects completed two trials under each mode of control. Operator workload, assessed using a secondary task, was used to trigger automation of the primary ATC task. The SA measure was an adaptation …

Adolescent Eating Disorders : Causes, Implications, And Treatment, Margaret P. Messenger

Graduate Research Papers

The purpose of this research is to better understand eating disorders. Possible causes such. as social and cultural factors, family environment, and personal characteristics are stressed. Health complications for both adolescent males and females are discussed. Therapy approaches such as treatment and prevention for adolescents are also described.

Cognitive Systems Engineering Approach To Shared Situation Awareness For Unmanned Aerial Vehicles, Matthijs Amelink, Max Mulder, Rene Van Paassen, John Flach

International Symposium on Aviation Psychology - 2005

Integration of UAVs with Air Traffic Control (ATC) is a world wide problem. ATC is already troubled by capacity problems due to a vast amount of air traffic. In the future when large numbers of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) will participate in the same airspace, the situation cannot afford to have UAVs that need special attention. Regulations for UAV flights in civil airspace are still being developed but it is expected that authorities will require UAVs to operate “like manned aircraft”. The implication is that UAVs need to become full participants of a complex socio-technical environment and need to generate …

Cutting And Self-Mutilating Behaviors Among Adolescent Girls : A Counselor's Role In Understanding And Treatment, Carla C. Hughes

Graduate Research Papers

With the reported incidence of cutting and self-mutilating behaviors in adolescent girls on the rise, counselors need to take a look at the changing role they can play in helping these young girls understand the reasons underlying their self-destructive behaviors. The counselor can also help them find new ways to cope with the deep emotional trauma that precipitates the behavior. Understanding the causes and dynamics of this disorder will lead to better opportunities for effective treatment. This paper is intended to focus on the nature of the disorder and the role of counseling in bringing these young women back from …

The Effects Of Meritocracy Beliefs On Women’S Well-Being After First-Time Gender Discrimination, Mindi D. Foster, E. Micha Tsarfati

Psychology Faculty Publications

This study examined how meritocracy beliefs may buffer women from the negative psychological effects of an acute situation of gender discrimination. Although some research indirectly suggests that believing the meritocracy exists may increase well-being, group consciousness theories (e.g., Bartky, 1977) suggest that disbelieving the meritocracy exists will enhance psychological adjustment to gender discrimination. Women who reported little past experience with discrimination, and either believed or disbelieved the meritocracy exists were exposed to either a laboratory situation of discrimination or a non-discrimination failure (control) condition. Consistent with group consciousness theories, women experiencing discrimination reported greater well-being if they disbelieved the meritocracy …