Traditional Visual Search vs. X-Ray Image Inspection in Students and Professionals: Are the Same Visual-Cognitive Abilities Needed?

Objective The study’s objective was to assess a new personnel selection and assessment tool for aviation security screeners. A mobile app was modified to create a tool, and the question was whether it could predict professional screeners’ on-job performance. Background A variety of professions (airport security, radiology, the military, etc.) rely on visual search performance—being able to detect targets. Given the importance of such professions, it is necessary to maximize performance, and one means to do so is to select individuals who excel at visual search. A critical question is whether it is possible to predict search competency within a professional search environment. Method Professional searchers from the USA Transportation Security Administration (TSA) completed a rapid assessment on a tablet-based X-ray simulator (XRAY Screener, derived from the mobile technology app Airport Scanner; Kedlin Company). The assessment contained 72 trials that were simulated X-ray images of bags. Participants searched for prohibited items and tapped on them with their finger. Results Performance on the assessment significantly related to on-job performance measures for the TSA officers such that those who were better XRAY Screener performers were both more accurate and faster at the actual airport checkpoint. Conclusion XRAY Screener successfully predicted on-job performance for professional aviation security officers. While questions remain about the underlying cognitive mechanisms, this quick assessment was found to significantly predict on-job success for a task that relies on visual search performance. Application It may be possible to quickly assess an individual’s visual search competency, which could help organizations select new hires and assess their current workforce.

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Individual Differences in Visual Cognitive Abilities

Journal of Vision ◽

10.1167/11.11.1265 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 11 (11) ◽

pp. 1265-1265

Author(s):

E. Ayeroff ◽

G. Alvarez

Keyword(s):

Individual Differences ◽

Cognitive Abilities ◽

Visual Cognitive

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THE IMPROVEMENT OF PROFESSIONAL TRAINING ORGANIZATION OF THE X-RAY SCREENING SYSTEMS OPERATORS BY USING THE EYE MOVEMENTS REGISTRATION SYSTEM AND METHODS OF CLUSTER AND DISCRIMINANT ANALYSIS

Civil Aviation High TECHNOLOGIES ◽

10.26467/2079-0619-2018-21-3-45-36 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 21 (3) ◽

pp. 45-36

Author(s):

A. K. Volkov ◽

V. V. Ionov

Keyword(s):

Visual Search ◽

Eye Movements ◽

Eye Tracking ◽

Eye Movement ◽

Professional Training ◽

Visual Fatigue ◽

Registration System ◽

X Ray ◽

Tracking Technology ◽

Screening Systems

The X-ray screening systems operators’ professional training is based on the CBT (computer-based training) principle, which has algorithms of adaptive training. These algorithms in existing computer simulators include feedback mechanisms on the basis of trainability exponents – such as the frequency of detecting dangerous objects, the frequency of false alarms and detection time. Further enhancement of the operators’ simulator training effectiveness is associated with the integration of psychophysiological mechanisms providing monitoring of their functional state. Based on the analysis of the particularities of x-ray screening systems operators’ professional training associated with the formation of competences in dangerous objects visual search, the most perspective method is the Eye tracking technology. Domestic and foreign studies of the eye movements characteristics while solving professional tasks in training process are actively developed in various areas. There are no studies of visual search peculiarities in domestic practice in contrast to exterior studies. This research is aimed at considering the usage of Eye tracking technology in the training of x-ray screening systems operators. As the result of the experimental research with the use of mobile eye-tracker Sensomotoric Instruments Eye Tracking Glasses 2.0 the statistical data of eye movement parameters of two groups of subjects with different levels of training have been received. The application of cluster and discriminant analyses methods allowed to identify General classes of these parameters, as well as to obtain the discriminants functions for each group under examination. The theoretical significance of the peculiarities of the operators’ eye movement studies is to identify the patterns of prohibited items visual search. The practical importance of implementation of Eye tracking technology and statistical analysis methods is to increase the reliability of assessment the level of formed competence of x-ray screening systems’ operators in visual search, as well as to develop the potential system of operators’ state monitoring and assessing their visual fatigue.

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Visual-search observers for assessing tomographic x-ray image quality

Medical Physics ◽

10.1118/1.4942485 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 43 (3) ◽

pp. 1563-1575 ◽

Cited By ~ 21

Author(s):

Howard C. Gifford ◽

Zhihua Liang ◽

Mini Das

Keyword(s):

Visual Search ◽

Image Quality ◽

X Ray

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Resuming a Dynamic Task Following Increasingly Long Interruptions: The Role of Working Memory and Reconstruction

Frontiers in Psychology ◽

10.3389/fpsyg.2021.659451 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 12 ◽

Author(s):

Katherine Labonté ◽

François Vachon

Keyword(s):

Working Memory ◽

Visual Search ◽

Cognitive Abilities ◽

Negative Impact ◽

Working Memory Capacity ◽

Task Context ◽

Dynamic Task ◽

Task Interruption ◽

Task Resumption

Studies examining individual differences in interruption recovery have shown that higher working memory capacity (WMC) attenuated the negative impact of interruption length on resumption, at least in static contexts. In continuously evolving (or dynamic) situations, however, working memory may not be as central to the effective resumption of a task, especially in the case of long interruptions. One of the main theories of task interruption suggests that dynamic task resumption could depend on a reconstruction of the primary task context, that is, a visual examination of the post-interruption environment. To better define the role of working memory and reconstruction processes in interruption recovery, the current study examined the association between (1) dynamic task resumption following interruptions of various lengths and (2) two cognitive abilities chosen to operationalize the processes under study, namely, WMC and visual search capacity. Participants performed a multiple object tracking task which could be uninterrupted or interrupted for 5, 15, or 30 s while the hidden stimuli continued their trajectory. They also completed tasks measuring the two cognitive abilities of interest. The results revealed that WMC contributed to post-interruption accuracy regardless of interruption duration. On the contrary, visual search capacity was related to faster resumption in the 15-s and 30-s interruption conditions only. Those results show that working memory plays a preponderant role in resumption not only in static, but also in dynamic contexts. However, our study suggests that this mechanism must share the limelight with reconstruction following lengthy interruptions in dynamic settings.

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