Human Factors Psychology Commons^™

Measuring Novel Antecedents Of Mental Illness: The Questionnaire Of Unpredictability In Childhood, Laura M. Glynn, Hal S. Stern, Mariann A. Howland, Victoria B. Risbrough, Dewleen G. Baker, Caroline M. Nievergelt, Tallie Z. Baram, Elysia P. Davis

Psychology Faculty Articles and Research

Increasing evidence indicates that, in addition to poverty, maternal depression, and other well-established factors, unpredictability of maternal and environmental signals early in life influences trajectories of brain development, determining risk for subsequent mental illness. However, whereas most risk factors for later vulnerability to mental illness are readily measured using existing, clinically available tools, there are no similar measures for assessing early-life unpredictability. Here we validate the Questionnaire of Unpredictability in Childhood (QUIC) and examine its associations with mental health in the context of other indicators of childhood adversity (e.g., traumatic life events, socioeconomic status, and parenting quality). The QUIC was …

Challenges For Flight Instructors Teaching Weather Information, Robert Thomas, Thomas A. Guinn

Aviation Weather Training Research

• Flight Instructors face a challenge when teaching/learning weather information
• Multiple overlapping resources for aviation weather
• AC takes longer timeframe to update –problem for quick updates of information

Assessing Ga Pilots' Preflight Weather Planning Mental Models, Yolanda Ortiz, Beth Blickensderfer, Thomas A. Guinn

General Aviation Weather Display Interpretation

Purpose, To assess GA Pilots' ability to:

• Obtain the Appropriate Weather Information
• Interpret the Data
• Apply the Information to a Given Flight Route

Interpreting Aviation Weather Products: Follow-Up Study With Aopa Members, Beth Blickensderfer, Thomas A. Guinn, Thomas Bob, Jayde King, Yolanda Ortiz, Nick Defilippis, Quirijn Berendschot, Jacqueline Mcsorley

General Aviation Weather Display Interpretation

Purpose

• Use the questions we developed in Phase I
• Include pilots that are more representative of GA (age, flight hours/experience); Collaborate with AOPA
• Examine: Knowledge about aviation weather products; Differences between levels of flight certificate and/or ratings

Spatio-Temporal Distribution Of Negative Emotions In New York City After A Natural Disaster As Seen In Social Media, Oliver Gruebner, Sarah R. Lowe, Martin Sykora, Ketan Shankardass, Sv Subramanian, Sandro Galea

Department of Psychology Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

Disasters have substantial consequences for population mental health. We used Twitter to (1) extract negative emotions indicating discomfort in New York City (NYC) before, during, and after Superstorm Sandy in 2012. We further aimed to (2) identify whether pre- or peri-disaster discomfort were associated with peri- or post-disaster discomfort, respectively, and to (3) assess geographic variation in discomfort across NYC census tracts over time. Our sample consisted of 1,018,140 geo-located tweets that were analyzed with an advanced sentiment analysis called ”Extracting the Meaning Of Terse Information in a Visualization of Emotion” (EMOTIVE). We calculated discomfort rates for 2137 NYC census …

Aviation Weather Education: Challenges Using Current Faa Guidance, Thomas A. Guinn, Robert Thomas

Aviation Weather Training Research

Observed Challenges

• Incorrect product information
• Guidance not keeping pace with new products
• Multiple formats of same product
• Potentially unnecessary information
• Missing product information
• Limited focus on interpretation

Using Sunflower Plots And Classification Trees To Study Typeface Legibility, Edgar C. Merkle, Barbara S. Chaparro

Barbara S. Chaparro

This article describes the application of sunflower plots and classification trees to the study of onscreen typeface legibility. The two methods are useful for describing high-dimensional data in an intuitive manner, which is crucial for interacting with both the typographers who design the typefaces and the practitioners who must make decisions about which typeface to use for specific applications. Furthermore, classification trees help us make specific recommendations for how much of a character attribute is “enough” to make it legible. We present examples of sunflower plots and classification trees using data from a recent typeface legibility experiment, and we present …

Survey Of Aviation Technical Manuals, Phase 2 Report: User Evaluation Of Maintenance Documents, Alex Chaparro, Loren S. Groff, Barbara S. Chaparro, Deborah Scarlett

Barbara S. Chaparro

This report contains the results from Phase 2 of a 3-phase research effort. Phase 1 (Human Factors Survey of Aviation Technical Manuals Phase 1 Report: Manual Development Procedures) of this research effort surveyed the procedures used by five manufacturers to develop maintenance documentation. Several potential human factors issues were identified in the development processes employed by these manufacturers. They included the reactive rather than proactive use of user evaluations, the limited use of user input and procedure validation, no systematic attempts to track error, and the lack of standards for measuring document quality. In Phase 2, a written survey was …

Efficacy Of Virtual Models In A Production Systems Course, Lawrence Whitman, Barbara Chaparro

Barbara S. Chaparro

Wichita State University has developed an integrated set of virtual reality models of an aircraft assembly line. These models are intended to provide students an ‘artifact’ of industrial and manufacturing engineering by providing a realistic environment for initial learning and application. By utilizing a virtual model of the line, students are able to view the process and interrogate the process details, make changes and observe the effects, and gain a better understanding of the concepts and their interrelationships. This paper presents the method used to assess if virtual models (computer models of a real factory) lead to: improved perception of …

Advancing Research On Psychological Stress And Aging With The Health And Retirement Study: Looking Back To Launch The Field Forward, Alexandra D. Crosswell, Madhuvanthi Suresh, Eli Puterman, Tara Gruenewald, Jinkook Lee, Elissa S. Epel

Psychology Faculty Articles and Research

Objectives

The Health and Retirement Study (HRS) was designed as an interdisciplinary study with a strong focus on health, retirement, and socioeconomic environment, to study their dynamic relationships over time in a sample of mid-life adults. The study includes validated self-report measures and individual items that capture the experiences of stressful events (stressor exposures) and subjective assessments of stress (perceived stress) within specific life domains.

Methods

This paper reviews and catalogs the peer-reviewed publications that have used the HRS to examine associations between psychological stress measures and psychological, physical health, and economic outcomes.

Results

We describe the research to date …

Transformative Reminiscence Training For Older Adults: Increasing Self-Positive Reminiscence During Self-Directed Life Reviews, Deena Gayle Hitzke

CUP Ed.D. Dissertations

For this dissertation, I tested whether Transformative Reminiscence Training is a viable alternative to facilitated life reviews for older adults. Facilitated life reviews involve structured reminiscence, which is designed to enhance the self-positive functions of identity consolidation, problem solving, and meaning-making death preparation (Korte, 2012). Transformative Reminiscence Training combines life review methods with consciousness raising. It is based on Paulo Freire’s critical theory (2000) and includes psychosocial, perspective transformation, and narrative identity life review education. Using a pre-posttest, randomized experimental design, I explored whether Transformative Reminiscence Training would result in (a) the completion of a self-directed life review, (b) increased …

Improving Operator Situation Awareness By Phasor Measurement Unit (Pmu) Data Visualization, Esa M. Rantanen, Ernest Fokoue, Jacob Haut, Chandini Ramesh, Kathleen Gegner, Thomas Overbye, Komal Shetye

Articles

The application of phasor measurement unit (PMU) data in the power industry is currently an area of intense interest. The key driver for PMU technology is to use the precise time sources provided by Global Positioning System (GPS) satellites to accurately measure the relative voltage and current phase angles at buses across an interconnect at a very high sampling rate. Presenting PMU data to power system operators in a format that is truly useful for them and that affords improved situation awareness (SA) and fast and accurate decision making is a particular challenge to display design. This report describes development …

The Influence Of Religion On The Criminal Behavior Of Emerging Adults, Christopher Salvatore, Gabriel Rubin

Department of Justice Studies Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

Recent generations of young adults are experiencing a new life course stage: emerging adulthood. During this ‘new’ stage of the life course, traditional social bonds and turning points may not be present, may be delayed, or may not operate in the same manner as they have for prior generations. One such bond, religion, is examined here. Focusing on the United States, emerging adulthood is investigated as a distinct stage of the life course. The criminality of emerging adults is presented, a theoretical examination of the relationship between religion and crime is provided, the role of religion in emerging adults’ lives …

The Effects Of Cultural Factors On Safety In Aviation Focusing On Asian And Western Cultures, Ji Yeon Song

Student Works

Several aviation accidents from the past, such as the Asiana Flight 214 crash at San Francisco International Airport in 2015, have highlighted possible effects of Korean hierarchy culture on the safety of flight. Previous research conducted primarily with the use of surveys revealed that Asian pilots are less likely to report an unsafe condition out of fear that it will damage their relationships with coworkers and superiors. Western pilots see reporting as dealing with the problem and not a person, thus they feel more open to it. This study looked at student pilots’ ability to recognize and deny an unsafe …

Safety Analysis Of Automatic Dependent Surveillance – Broadcast (Ads-B) System, Rajee Olaganathan

Publications

ADS-B is one of the significant implementation systems of NextGen, to help pilots and air traffic controllers to create a safer, and more efficient National Airspace System (NAS). First, this research paper will briefly describe the ADS-B system, its design structure, ADS-B In and ADS-B Out systems, its efficiency both in pilot applications and in air traffic control applications, and then discuss about the system safety analysis. The preliminary hazard analysis and fault tree analysis will be done for the identified and selected hazards, and will be briefly discussed. The paper will conclude by providing recommendations to prevent/mitigate the hazards …

Human Factors Applied To Perioperative Process Improvement, Joseph R. Keebler, Elizabeth H. Lazzara, Elizabeth Blickensderfer, Thomas D. Looke

Publications

• Human factors/ergonomics (HF/E) is its own scientific discipline that can be applied to understanding performance in perioperative medicine.
• Humans are not perfect decision makers and are affected by a variety of factors that can greatly harm their ability to perform, including attention, bias, stress, and fatigue.
• HF/E has a unique perspective on human error, and HF/E can illustrate how moving away from blame can enhance safety.
• HF/E offers strategies for undertaking a systematic approach to assessment of work processes in perioperative medicine that can be used to increase safety and wellbeing of patients and providers.

Findings Of An Effect Of Gender, But Not Handedness, On Self-Reported Motion Sickness Propensity, Ruth E. Propper, Frederick Bonato, Leanna Ward, Kenneth Sumner

Department of Psychology Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

Discrepant input from vestibular and visual systems may be involved in motion sickness; individual differences in the organization of these systems may, therefore, give rise to individual differences in propensity to motion sickness. Non-right-handedness has been associated with altered cortical lateralization of vestibular function, such that non-right-handedness is associated with left hemisphere, and right-handedness with right hemisphere, lateralized, vestibular system. Interestingly, magnocellular visual processing, responsible for motion detection and ostensibly involved in motion sickness, has been shown to be decreased in non-right-handers. It is not known if the anomalous organization of the vestibular or magnocellular systems in non-right-handers might alter …

Examining The Different Learning Strategies Between Extroverts And Introverts Among Flight Students At Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, John R. Brooks

Student Works

Extroverts and introverts have unique approaches to new materials that make learning more efficient. In aviation where quick learning and responses are required, students may struggle because preferred comprehension strategies are not utilized. The research question is whether introverts/extroverts learn better when given the option to approach materials using strategies that match their personality type. 16 participants are placed into one of two different groups (either extrovert/introvert). The Eysenck Personality Questionnaire – Revised (EPQ-R) determines personality trait. Participants are then subdivided into one of four random groups. All participants are given instructions on how to complete two different flight maneuvers …

How Perceptual And Cognitive Factors Are Involved In A Car Accident: A Case Study, Vanessa Dominguez, Marc Gentzler

The Pegasus Review: UCF Undergraduate Research Journal

Several factors are considered in car accident analysis. Human factors research has shown that different perceptual and cognitive factors influence driving performance, leading to improvements in vehicle and road design. This case study provides a deeper understanding of the potential influence of major perceptual and cognitive variables on driving performance in general, including (a) driver expectancy effects, (b) glare, (c) general visibility such as lighting, (d) driver's dark adaptation, (e) road illusions, and (f) driver perception-reaction time. This analysis describes in detail how these certain perceptual and cognitive factors may have been involved in a particular car accident. Future research …

A Psychophysical Approach To Standardizing Texture Compression For Virtual Environments, Jeremy Flynn

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Image compression is a technique to reduce overall data size, but its effects on human perception have not been clearly established. The purpose of this effort was to determine the most effective psychophysical method for subjective image quality assessment, and to apply those findings to an objective algorithm. This algorithm was used to identify the minimum level of texture compression noticeable to the human, in order to determine whether compression-induced texture distortion impacted game-play outcomes. Four experiments tested several hypotheses. The first hypothesis evaluated which of three magnitude estimation (ME) methods (absolute ME, absolute ME plus, or ME with a …