Variability in Human Performance

Variability in Human Performance PDF Author: Thomas J. Smith
Publisher: CRC Press
ISBN: 1466579714
Category : Technology & Engineering
Languages : en
Pages : 398

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Book Description
Understanding the conditions under which variability in performance may arise, and the processes related to its emergence, gives us insight into the development of techniques for improving the quality of performance. Variability in Human Performance details the scientific and the practical implications of human performance variability by providing a broad perspective on how and why such variability occurs across a number of disciplinary domains. The text takes an approach that rests upon the idea of context, or design, specificity in performance, namely that variability in performance is closely referenced to design factors in the environment in which performance is occurring. An exploration of the link between variability and related processes, the book introduces a comprehensive framework for understanding human performance variability, presented in terms of how human control of behavior is closely tied to design factors in the performance environment. The authors introduce empirical evidence, as well as practical examples and application areas, in support of this framework. The book begins with coverage of neurobiological and biomechanical basis of movement variability, then examines rich and extensive empirical evidence available for context specificity in cognitive performance and learning, as a basis for cognitive performance variability. The book then reviews the evidence for context specificity in: Student learning Displaced feedback conditions Human error behavior Affective performance Social and team performance The authors also explore work performance as influenced by complex sociotechnical systems and as a basis for performance variability, applying control systems concepts to an interpretation of the nature and basis of performance variability in all of these domains. They conclude by taking an evolutionary perspective on the origins and behavioral significance of human performance variability. The book then provides strategies on how individuals, groups, and organizations can significantly reduce variability in human performance that often leads to systems failures.

Variability in Human Performance

Variability in Human Performance PDF Author: Thomas J. Smith
Publisher: CRC Press
ISBN: 1466579714
Category : Technology & Engineering
Languages : en
Pages : 398

Get Book Here

Book Description
Understanding the conditions under which variability in performance may arise, and the processes related to its emergence, gives us insight into the development of techniques for improving the quality of performance. Variability in Human Performance details the scientific and the practical implications of human performance variability by providing a broad perspective on how and why such variability occurs across a number of disciplinary domains. The text takes an approach that rests upon the idea of context, or design, specificity in performance, namely that variability in performance is closely referenced to design factors in the environment in which performance is occurring. An exploration of the link between variability and related processes, the book introduces a comprehensive framework for understanding human performance variability, presented in terms of how human control of behavior is closely tied to design factors in the performance environment. The authors introduce empirical evidence, as well as practical examples and application areas, in support of this framework. The book begins with coverage of neurobiological and biomechanical basis of movement variability, then examines rich and extensive empirical evidence available for context specificity in cognitive performance and learning, as a basis for cognitive performance variability. The book then reviews the evidence for context specificity in: Student learning Displaced feedback conditions Human error behavior Affective performance Social and team performance The authors also explore work performance as influenced by complex sociotechnical systems and as a basis for performance variability, applying control systems concepts to an interpretation of the nature and basis of performance variability in all of these domains. They conclude by taking an evolutionary perspective on the origins and behavioral significance of human performance variability. The book then provides strategies on how individuals, groups, and organizations can significantly reduce variability in human performance that often leads to systems failures.

Nonlinear Analysis for Human Movement Variability

Nonlinear Analysis for Human Movement Variability PDF Author: Nicholas Stergiou
Publisher: CRC Press
ISBN: 131536008X
Category : Medical
Languages : en
Pages : 442

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Book Description
How Does the Body’s Motor Control System Deal with Repetition? While the presence of nonlinear dynamics can be explained and understood, it is difficult to be measured. A study of human movement variability with a focus on nonlinear dynamics, Nonlinear Analysis for Human Movement Variability, examines the characteristics of human movement within this framework, explores human movement in repetition, and explains how and why we analyze human movement data. It takes an in-depth look into the nonlinear dynamics of systems within and around us, investigates the temporal structure of variability, and discusses the properties of chaos and fractals as they relate to human movement. Providing a foundation for the use of nonlinear analysis and the study of movement variability in practice, the book describes the nonlinear dynamical features found in complex biological and physical systems, and introduces key concepts that help determine and identify patterns within the fluctuations of data that are repeated over time. It presents commonly used methods and novel approaches to movement analysis that reveal intriguing properties of the motor control system and introduce new ways of thinking about variability, adaptability, health, and motor learning. In addition, this text: Demonstrates how nonlinear measures can be used in a variety of different tasks and populations Presents a wide variety of nonlinear tools such as the Lyapunov exponent, surrogation, entropy, and fractal analysis Includes examples from research on how nonlinear analysis can be used to understand real-world applications Provides numerous case studies in postural control, gait, motor control, and motor development Nonlinear Analysis for Human Movement Variability advances the field of human movement variability research by dissecting human movement and studying the role of movement variability. The book proposes new ways to use nonlinear analysis and investigate the temporal structure of variability, and enables engineers, movement scientists, clinicians, and those in related disciplines to effectively apply nonlinear analysis in practice.

Movement System Variability

Movement System Variability PDF Author: Keith Davids
Publisher: Human Kinetics
ISBN: 9780736044820
Category : Medical
Languages : en
Pages : 384

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Book Description
This in-depth, multidisciplinary analysis of the latest research adds a new theoretical interpretation to the role of variability in movement behaviour. Many scientific disciplines are represented in the text and each chapter examines a range of topics.

FRAM: The Functional Resonance Analysis Method

FRAM: The Functional Resonance Analysis Method PDF Author: Erik Hollnagel
Publisher: CRC Press
ISBN: 135193595X
Category : Technology & Engineering
Languages : en
Pages : 216

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Book Description
Resilience engineering has consistently argued that safety is more than the absence of failures. Since the first book was published in 2006, several book chapters and papers have demonstrated the advantage in going behind 'human error' and beyond the failure concept, just as a number of serious accidents have accentuated the need for it. But there has not yet been a comprehensive method for doing so; the Functional Resonance Analysis Method (FRAM) fulfils that need. Whereas commonly used methods explain events by interpreting them in terms of an already existing model, the FRAM is used to model the functions that are needed for everyday performance to succeed. This model can then be used to explain specific events, by showing how functions can be coupled and how the variability of everyday performance sometimes may lead to unexpected and out-of-scale outcomes - either good or bad. The FRAM is based on four principles: equivalence of failures and successes, approximate adjustments, emergence, and functional resonance. As the FRAM is a method rather than a model, it makes no assumptions about how the system under investigation is structured or organised, nor about possible causes and cause-effect relations. Instead of looking for failures and malfunctions, the FRAM explains outcomes in terms of how functions become coupled and how everyday performance variability may resonate. This book presents a detailed and tested method that can be used to model how complex and dynamic socio-technical systems work, to understand why things sometimes go wrong but also why they normally succeed.

Safety and Reliability 92

Safety and Reliability 92 PDF Author: K.E. Peterson
Publisher: CRC Press
ISBN: 9781851668755
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 1226

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Book Description


Human Performance Modification

Human Performance Modification PDF Author: National Research Council
Publisher: National Academies Press
ISBN: 0309262720
Category : Technology & Engineering
Languages : en
Pages : 67

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Book Description
The development of technologies to modify natural human physical and cognitive performance is one of increasing interest and concern, especially among military services that may be called on to defeat foreign powers with enhanced warfighter capabilities. Human performance modification (HPM) is a general term that can encompass actions ranging from the use of "natural" materials, such as caffeine or khat as a stimulant, to the application of nanotechnology as a drug delivery mechanism or in an invasive brain implant. Although the literature on HPM typically addresses methods that enhance performance, another possible focus is methods that degrade performance or negatively affect a military force's ability to fight. Advances in medicine, biology, electronics, and computation have enabled an increasingly sophisticated ability to modify the human body, and such innovations will undoubtedly be adopted by military forces, with potential consequences for both sides of the battle lines. Although some innovations may be developed for purely military applications, they are increasingly unlikely to remain exclusively in that sphere because of the globalization and internationalization of the commercial research base. Based on its review of the literature, the presentations it received and on its own expertise, the Committee on Assessing Foreign Technology Development in Human Performance Modification chose to focus on three general areas of HPM: human cognitive modification as a computational problem, human performance modification as a biological problem, and human performance modification as a function of the brain-computer interface. Human Performance Modification: Review of Worldwide Research with a View to the Future summarizes these findings.

Variability in Human Drug Response

Variability in Human Drug Response PDF Author: Stephen E. Smith
Publisher: Elsevier
ISBN: 1483165116
Category : Medical
Languages : en
Pages : 181

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Book Description
Variability in Human Drug Response examines why individual patients differ significantly in their response to drug administration. This book is devoted mainly to pharmacokinetics and covers topics such as drug absorption, distribution, metabolism, and excretion. The sensitivity of tissues of the body to drugs and the importance of monitoring drug therapy are also discussed. This book is comprised of 10 chapters and begins with an introduction to variability in clinical response to administration of defined drugs, as well as the importance of closely matching dosage to the individual patient's requirement to achieve an optimal response to drug administration. The chapters that follow highlight the pharmacokinetic origin of most variability in the clinical response to drugs, along with the difficulties inherent in predicting the effect of drug administration in an individual patient. The role of genetic and environmental factors, disease, and the concomitant administration of other drugs in determining an individual's response to any therapeutic maneuver is also examined. The last chapter describes two methods of monitoring drug therapy: monitoring drug effects or monitoring the plasma levels of drugs. This monograph will be of interest to practicing clinicians and senior medical students.

Cognitive Reliability and Error Analysis Method (CREAM)

Cognitive Reliability and Error Analysis Method (CREAM) PDF Author: E. Hollnagel
Publisher: Elsevier
ISBN: 0080529291
Category : Technology & Engineering
Languages : en
Pages : 303

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Book Description
The growing dependence of working environments on complex technology has created many challenges and lead to a large number of accidents. Although the quality of organization and management within the work environment plays an important role in these accidents, the significance of individual human action (as a direct cause and as a mitigating factor) is undeniable. This has created a need for new, integrated approaches to accident analysis and risk assessment.This book detailing the use of CREAM is, therefore, both timely and useful. It presents an error taxonomy which integrates individual, technological and organizational factors based on cognitive engineering principles. In addition to the necessary theoretical foundation, it provides a step-by-step description of how the taxonomy can be applied to analyse as well as predict performance using a context-dependent cognitive model.CREAM can be used as a second-generation human reliability analysis (HRA) approach in probabilistic safety assessment (PSA), as a stand-alone method for accident analysis and as part of a larger design method for interactive systems. In particular, the use of CREAM will enable system designers and risk analysts to: • identify tasks that require human cognition and therefore depend on cognitive reliability • determine the conditions where cognitive reliability and ensuing risk may be reduced • provide an appraisal of the consequences of human performance on system safety which can be used in PSA.

Handbook of Applied Cognition

Handbook of Applied Cognition PDF Author: Francis T. Durso
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
ISBN: 047005963X
Category : Psychology
Languages : en
Pages : 918

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Book Description
Written by a team of leading international researchers under the guidance of Frank Durso, the second edition of the Handbook of Applied Cognition brings together the latest research into this challenging and important field, and is presented across thirty stimulating and accessible chapters. Stewarded by experiences editors from around the globe, the handbook has been fully updated with eleven new chapters covering materials that focus on the topics critical to understanding human mental functions in complex environments. It is an essential single-source reference for researchers, cognitive engineers and applied cognitive psychologists, as well as advanced students in the flourishing field of applied cognition.

2017-2018 Assessment of the Army Research Laboratory

2017-2018 Assessment of the Army Research Laboratory PDF Author: National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine
Publisher: National Academies Press
ISBN: 0309491576
Category : Technology & Engineering
Languages : en
Pages : 255

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Book Description
The Army Research Laboratory (ARL) is the corporate laboratory for the U.S. army, which bridges scientific and military communities. The ARL is critical in maintaining the United States' dominant military power through its advanced research and analysis capabilities. The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine's Army Research Laboratory Technical Assessment Board (ARLTAB) conducts biennial assessments of the scientific and technical quality of the facilities. These assessments are necessary to ensure that the ARL's resources and quality of programs are maximized. 2017-2018 Assessment of the Army Research Laboratory includes findings and recommendations regarding the quality of the ARL's research, development, and analysis programs. The report of the assessment is subdivided by the ARL's Science and Technology campaigns, including Materials Research, Sciences for Lethality and Protection, Information Sciences, Computational Sciences, Sciences for Maneuver, Human Sciences, and Analysis and Assessment. This biennial report summarizes the findings for the 2017-2018 period.