Measuring Human Performance as a Function of Speech Communication Using the Close Combat Test Bed (CCTB) Facility

1992 ◽  
Vol 36 (3) ◽  
pp. 237-241
Author(s):  
Leslie A. Whitaker ◽  
Leslie J. Peters ◽  
Jennifer Mitchell
Keyword(s):  
Speech Intelligibility ◽  
Human Performance ◽  
Performance Model ◽  
Speech Communication ◽  
Test Bed ◽  
Present Program ◽  
Communication Structure ◽  
Auditory Performance ◽  
Transmission Factors ◽  
The Impact

Auditory communication is critical for the successful completion of many tasks which require information be transmitted among crew members. The purpose of the present program of research is to determine the impact that speech communication has on performance of such tasks. As guidance for this program, a model of auditory communication has been developed. This model describes performance as a function of three factors: transmission, linguistic, and individual. The model assumes that variables affecting these three factors alter the level of auditory workload and task performance is a consequence of this workload (Peters, 1991). The present paper describes the effects of two transmission factors: speech intelligibility and communication structure. Speech intelligibility was measured using the Modified Rhymes Test. Communication structure was defined as command, interrogative, and discussion levels. Three studies have been completed in this research program. The focus of the present paper is the most recent study, completed at the Ft. Knox Close Combat Test Bed, an M1A1 tank simulator facility. After describing the results of this study, the results of all three studies are reviewed and found to be consistent with the auditory-performance model proposed by the authors.

Communication between Crews: The Effects of Speech Intelligibility on Team Performance

1993 ◽  
Vol 37 (9) ◽  
pp. 630-634 ◽  
Author(s):  
Leslie A. Whitaker ◽  
Starr L. Fox ◽  
Leslie J. Peters
Keyword(s):  
Task Performance ◽  
Team Performance ◽  
Speech Intelligibility ◽  
Speech Communication ◽  
Test Bed ◽  
Radio Communication ◽  
Communication Structure ◽  
Complex Tasks ◽  
Transmission Factors ◽  
The Impact

Speech is a critical method of communication among group members while they are trying to accomplish a task. The present research program is designed to determine the impact of speech communication on performing a variety of communication-intensive tasks. A model describing performance as a function of auditory workload has guided this research. This model states that transmission, linguistic, and individual factors each contribute to auditory workload and hence influence task performance. The current study focused on two transmission factors: speech intelligibility and communication structure. Previous work in this program has reported the performance of two- or three-person crews operating alone to accomplish various tasks. The present study examined the team performance of two crews operating interactively to accomplish more complex tasks. Speech intelligibility was varied from 100% to 25% and was measured using the Modified Rhymes Test. Twelve crews were tested at the Closed Combat Test Bed using M1A2 tank simulators. The results of this study are consistent with those predicted by the auditory workload model; decrements in task performance occur at higher levels of intelligibility for more complex tasks than for less complex tasks. In addition to the task performance measured in this study, verbal protocols taken from recorded transcripts were coded as evidence of the changes in communication structure when speech intelligibility is varied. The implications of these findings for communication using cellular telephones and radio communication are discussed.

Modeling Operational Criteria for Evaluating Speech Communication

1994 ◽  
Vol 38 (17) ◽  
pp. 1135-1139
Author(s):  
Leslie A. Whitaker ◽  
Leslie J. Peters
Keyword(s):  
Conceptual Model ◽  
Speech Intelligibility ◽  
Electronic Circuit ◽  
Speech Communication ◽  
Operational Conditions ◽  
Test And Evaluation ◽  
Degraded Speech ◽  
Research Findings ◽  
Operational Criteria ◽  
The Impact

Thesis: Evaluation of systems can be conducted best under controlled circumstances which approximate operational conditions. In the present paper, we have examined this thesis as it applies to the test and evaluation of multi-person systems. Our specific focus has been the development of a conceptual model of speech communication requirements and the study of the impact of degraded speech intelligibility on performance of these multi-person systems. To obtain the control necessary to evaluate performance using speech intelligibility, an electronic circuit was developed and employed in a series of simulated tests of operational tasks. The application of these research findings to the task of system test and evaluation is described in the present paper.

scholarly journals A Model-Based Approach to Prioritizing Medical Safety Practices

2006 ◽  
Vol 92 (4) ◽  
pp. 16-24
Author(s):  
Richard S. Marken
Keyword(s):  
Medical Errors ◽  
Human Performance ◽  
Randomized Trials ◽  
Performance Model ◽  
Safety Practices ◽  
Medical Safety ◽  
Model Based ◽  
Modeling Approach ◽  
The Impact

ABSTRACT This report shows how a model of skilled human performance can be used to evaluate safety practices aimed at reducing medical errors when randomized trials evidence regarding the effectiveness of such practices is not available. In the modeling approach, safety practices are described by a collection of variables, and the impact of these practices is estimated in terms of the effect of changes in these variables on the behavior of the model. The usefulness of this approach depends on having a model that is validated in terms of the available data. The report describes evidence for the validity of the human performance model and illustrates the use of the model to prioritize safety practices.

Translating Principles of Speech Science to Clinical Practice: Current and Future Trends in Craniofacial Disorders

2008 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
pp. 31-40 ◽  
Author(s):  
David J. Zajac
Keyword(s):  
Clinical Practice ◽  
Speech Intelligibility ◽  
Current Practice ◽  
Computer Assisted ◽  
Behavioral Management ◽  
Single Word ◽  
Future Directions ◽  
Speech Science ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Opinion Article

Abstract The purpose of this opinion article is to review the impact of the principles and technology of speech science on clinical practice in the area of craniofacial disorders. Current practice relative to (a) speech aerodynamic assessment, (b) computer-assisted single-word speech intelligibility testing, and (c) behavioral management of hypernasal resonance are reviewed. Future directions and/or refinement of each area are also identified. It is suggested that both challenging and rewarding times are in store for clinical researchers in craniofacial disorders.

The European Union and Global Governance

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas Christiansen
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Global Governance ◽  
Final Section ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Test Bed ◽  
Way Of Life ◽  
New Ideas ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Global Powers

This chapter discusses whether the European Union has a distinctive take on, and may make a particular contribution to, global governance, as well as the reverse image of the impact that global governance has in the development of integration in Europe. This includes a focus on collective norms and interests as expressed through common institutions, policies, and activities. In doing so, the chapter compares and contrasts the evolution of a supranational order in Europe with the growth of global regimes and the emergence of a multipolar world, and explores the nature of the EU’s relationships with other global powers and regions. In a final section, the chapter asks whether the EU’s relationship with global developments is best seen as a test-bed for new ideas, procedures, and concepts; a construction for the defence of a privileged way of life; or an archaic remnant of a different era.

scholarly journals Window operation behaviour and indoor air quality during lockdown: A monitoring-based simulation-assisted study in London

2021 ◽  
pp. 014362442110177
Author(s):  
Farhang Tahmasebi ◽  
Yan Wang ◽  
Elizabeth Cooper ◽  
Daniel Godoy Shimizu ◽  
Samuel Stamp ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Air Quality ◽  
Indoor Air Quality ◽  
Indoor Air ◽  
Energy Demand ◽  
Natural Ventilation ◽  
Probabilistic Models ◽  
Performance Model ◽  
Outdoor Environment ◽  
Ventilation Strategies ◽  
The Impact

The Covid-19 outbreak has resulted in new patterns of home occupancy, the implications of which for indoor air quality (IAQ) and energy use are not well-known. In this context, the present study investigates 8 flats in London to uncover if during a lockdown, (a) IAQ in the monitored flats deteriorated, (b) the patterns of window operation by occupants changed, and (c) more effective ventilation patterns could enhance IAQ without significant increases in heating energy demand. To this end, one-year’s worth of monitored data on indoor and outdoor environment along with occupant use of windows has been used to analyse the impact of lockdown on IAQ and infer probabilistic models of window operation behaviour. Moreover, using on-site CO2 data, monitored occupancy and operation of windows, the team has calibrated a thermal performance model of one of the flats to investigate the implications of alternative ventilation strategies. The results suggest that despite the extended occupancy during lockdown, occupants relied less on natural ventilation, which led to an increase of median CO2 concentration by up to 300 ppm. However, simple natural ventilation patterns or use of mechanical ventilation with heat recovery proves to be very effective to maintain acceptable IAQ. Practical application: This study provides evidence on the deterioration of indoor air quality resulting from homeworking during imposed lockdowns. It also tests and recommends specific ventilation strategies to maintain acceptable indoor air quality at home despite the extended occupancy hours.

scholarly journals The Impact of Shape-Based Cue Discriminability on Attentional Performance

Vision ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 18
Author(s):  
Olga Lukashova-Sanz ◽  
Siegfried Wahl ◽  
Thomas S. A. Wallis ◽  
Katharina Rifai
Keyword(s):  
Temporal Processing ◽  
Visual Cues ◽  
Human Performance ◽  
Covert Attention ◽  
Orientation Discrimination ◽  
Know How ◽  
Processing Times ◽  
Attentional Performance ◽  
Cue Processing ◽  
The Impact

With rapidly developing technology, visual cues became a powerful tool for deliberate guiding of attention and affecting human performance. Using cues to manipulate attention introduces a trade-off between increased performance in cued, and decreased in not cued, locations. For higher efficacy of visual cues designed to purposely direct user’s attention, it is important to know how manipulation of cue properties affects attention. In this verification study, we addressed how varying cue complexity impacts the allocation of spatial endogenous covert attention in space and time. To gradually vary cue complexity, the discriminability of the cue was systematically modulated using a shape-based design. Performance was compared in attended and unattended locations in an orientation-discrimination task. We evaluated additional temporal costs due to processing of a more complex cue by comparing performance at two different inter-stimulus intervals. From preliminary data, attention scaled with cue discriminability, even for supra-threshold cue discriminability. Furthermore, individual cue processing times partly impacted performance for the most complex, but not simpler cues. We conclude that, first, cue complexity expressed by discriminability modulates endogenous covert attention at supra-threshold cue discriminability levels, with increasing benefits and decreasing costs; second, it is important to consider the temporal processing costs of complex visual cues.

Validating Human Performance Models: Building a House without Bricks

2020 ◽  
Vol 64 (1) ◽  
pp. 1511-1514
Author(s):  
Richard Steinberg ◽  
Raytheon Company ◽  
Alice Diggs ◽  
Raytheon Company ◽  
Jade Driggs
Keyword(s):  
Air Force ◽  
Human Performance ◽  
Control Program ◽  
Real Data ◽  
Performance Model ◽  
Force Model ◽  
Performance Models ◽  
Actual System ◽  
Support Design ◽  
Trade Offs

Verification and validation (V&V) for human performance models (HPMs) can be likened to building a house with no bricks, since it is difficult to obtain metrics to validate a model when the system is still in development. HPMs are effective for performing trade-offs between the human system designs factors including number of operators needed, the role of automated tasks versus operator tasks, and member task responsibilities required to operate a system. On a recent government contract, our team used a human performance model to provide additional analysis beyond traditional trade studies. Our team verified the contractually mandated staff size for using the system. This task demanded that the model have sufficient fidelity to provide information for high confidence staffing decisions. It required a method for verifying and validating the model and its results to ensure that it accurately reflected the real world. The situation caused a dilemma because there was no actual system to gather real data to use to validate the model. It is a challenge to validate human performance models, since they support design decisions prior to system. For example, crew models are typically inform the design, staffing needs, and the requirements for each operator’s user interface prior to development. This paper discusses a successful case study for how our team met the V&V challenges with the US Air Force model accreditation authority and successfully accredited our human performance model with enough fidelity for requirements testing on an Air Force Command and Control program.

Human Performance Evaluation of a Metaphor Graphic Display for Respiratory Data

1994 ◽  
Vol 33 (04) ◽  
pp. 390-396 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. G. Stewart ◽  
W. G. Cole
Keyword(s):  
Performance Evaluation ◽  
Human Performance ◽  
Pattern Detection ◽  
Data Sets ◽  
Complex Task ◽  
Graphic Display ◽  
Literal Sense ◽  
Single Number ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Human Problem

Abstract:Metaphor graphics are data displays designed to look like corresponding variables in the real world, but in a non-literal sense of “look like”. Evaluation of the impact of these graphics on human problem solving has twice been carried out, but with conflicting results. The present experiment attempted to clarify the discrepancies between these findings by using a complex task in which expert subjects interpreted respiratory data. The metaphor graphic display led to interpretations twice as fast as a tabular (flowsheet) format, suggesting that conflict between earlier studies is due either to differences in training or to differences in goodness of metaphor, Findings to date indicate that metaphor graphics work with complex as well as simple data sets, pattern detection as well as single number reporting tasks, and with expert as well as novice subjects.

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