Abstract

A NINGUNO NOS EXTRAÑA que la profesión de bibliotecario-documentalista derive hacia gestor de información. Ni es extraño que quienes durante siglos se han ocupado de ordenar, organizar y hacer accesible la información escrita en los papeles ahora quieran continuar su trabajo con la información escrita con bits. A estas alturas ya no es nada nuevo.

Abstract

Innovations and technological trends in 2016 are discussed along with a holistic analysis of where the Internet can may lead today’s society. The relationship between users/clients and institutions/brands is considered. The paradigm for the internet has shifted; internet marketing, communication, and information management revolve around the topics of artificial intelligence, immediacy, personalization, big data, internet of things, and multiple forms of interaction.

Abstract

In recent years, multiple sets of interaction patterns have been proposed for use in the design and the development of website interfaces. The semantic web also has enhanced websites with semantic content. This paradigm shift allows the reexamination of usual end-user tasks, which, as semantic web end-user tasks, might remain the same, be completely changed, or give rise to the development of new tasks. We have defined a list of semantic web end-user tasks and built an inventory of most of the interaction patterns proposed for semantic web use. We then classified these patterns according to the semantic web end-user tasks where they can be used and analyzed how interaction patterns can improve the functionality of each of those semantic web end-user tasks.

Abstract

The differential effects on training and training outcome of four methods of problem selection were investigated in a computer-based training for air traffic control. In one method, training problems were given to the participants in a fixed predetermined sequence, from simple to complex. In the other methods, problems were selected dynamically, based on three different learner variables. These were mental effort, performance and mental efficiency, which is a variable that combines mental effort and performance measures to determine problem efficiency. After the training, transfer was measured. The hypothesis that dynamic problem selection would lead to more efficient training than non-dynamic problem selection was confirmed. The second hypothesis, that dynamic problem selection based on mental efficiency would lead to more efficient training and better transfer than dynamic problem selection based on performance or mental effort alone was not supported. However, the efficiency measures of the three variables were distorted by the differential effects of these variables on the acquisition phase. A possible explanation for the results is that selection based on performance stimulates rule automation, whereas selection based on mental effort or mental efficiency leads to schema acquisition.

Abstract

This dissertation explores the topic of human-automation teamwork in Air Traffic Control (ATC). ATC is a high stakes environment where complex automation is being introduced while the human operator has the legal responsibility. With increasing demands on productivity in various industries (as also in ATC), automation is introduced for efficiency, maintaining safety, and to keep the workload of the human operator within acceptable limits. However, previous research has shown that automation may cause negative effects on the human operator and performance, such as forcing the operator out of the control loop, which might lead to problems or confusion. Previous research suggests a need for strengthening human-automation collaboration where automation is seen as a team member to keep the operator in the loop. In order to achieve such teamwork, the design of the automation needs to be human-centred, i.e. that the automation is designed for the underlying need of the operator. The aim of this dissertation is to explore teamwork in ATC from several angles to understand how the air traffic controllers are working in current ATC environments and how automation could be designed to support human-automation teamwork. The included studies rely on interviews, simulations, and questionnaires, all with operational air traffic controllers as participants. The results indicate that for both human-human teamwork and human-automation teamwork, teamwork factors such as adaptability and mutual performance monitoring (knowing what the other team members are doing) are important for the work performance in current ATC environments, where mutual performance monitoring is especially important during stressful situations. When designing automation, lessons learned from human-human teamwork should be considered. The work within the scope of this dissertation identifies and concerns two human-automation teamwork aspects: boundary awareness and implicit communication. These are proposed to support the operator’s knowledge about the automation and the communication flow between the operator and the automation. Boundary awareness is the operator’s knowledge of the automation’s abilities, its boundaries (what it can or cannot manage), and about consequences if it would go outside of these boundaries. Implicit communication is the unspoken or implied small cues that the operator and the automation can use to communicate with each other. It is proposed that implicit communication can be based on the work patterns of the operator. The knowledge gained through the work in this dissertation can be used as a foundation for further research and design of automation regarding operator knowledge about the automation boundaries and the communication within the team. Denna avhandling utforskar teamwork mellan människa och automation inom flygtrafikledning. Flygtrafikledning är en högriskmiljö där komplex automation introduceras samtidigt som den mänskliga operatören har det juridiska ansvaret. Med ökade krav på produktivitet inom olika industrier (och även inom flygtrafikledning) så introduceras automation för effektiviteten, för att bibehålla säkerheten och för att hålla arbetsbelastningen för den mänskliga operatören inom acceptabla gränser. Tidigare forskning har däremot visat att automationen kan orsaka negativa effekter på den mänskliga operatören och på prestationen, som till exempel att tvinga ut operatören utanför kontrolloopen vilket leder till problem och förvirring. Tidigare forskning föreslår ett starkare samarbete mellan människa och automation där automationen är sedd som en teammedlem för att behålla operatören i loopen. För att uppnå ett sådant samarbete behöver automation vara människo-centrerad, att automation med andra ord är designad för operatörens underliggande behov. Syftet med denna avhandling är att utforska teamwork från olika vinklar inom flygtrafikledning för att förstå hur flygledare jobbar i nuvarande flygtrafikledningsmiljöer och för att förstå hur automation skulle kunna designas för att stödja teamwork mellan människa och automation. Studierna som denna avhandling bygger på har använt sig av intervjuer, simuleringar och enkäter, alla med operativa flygtrafikledare som deltagare. Resultatet tyder på att för både människa-människa teamwork och människa-automations teamwork så är teamwork faktorer så som flexibilitet och ömsesidig övervakning av teammedlemmarnas prestationer viktiga där övervakning av teammedlemmarnas prestationer är speciellt viktigt under stressiga situationer. När man designar automation bör man ta lärdom från teamwork mellan människor. Vidare så identifierar och behandlar arbetet inom denna avhandling två aspekter gällande teamwork mellan människa och automation: gränsmedvetenhet och implicit kommunikation. Dessa aspekter är föreslagna vi att stötta operatörens kunskap om automationen och kommunikationsflödet mellan operatören och automationen. Gränsmedvetenhet är operatörens kunskap om automationens förmågor, dess gränser och dess konsekvenser när automation går utanför dessa gränser. Implicit kommunikation är de outtalade eller implicita ledtrådar som operatören och automationen kan använda för att kommunicera med varandra. Det är föreslaget att implicit kommunikation kan baseras på arbetsmönster från operatören eller från prediktioner från automationen. Kunskapen från denna avhandling kan användas som ett underlagför vidare forskning och design av automation gällande operatörers kunskap om automationens gränser och kommunikationen inom teamet.

Abstract

Colours play an important role in our everyday life. Yet, it is something that we might not pay too much attention to, it is just there, even if we may have our favourite colours and likewise. However, sometimes the colours have a very specific meaning and is a medium of communication. One example of this is air traffic control systems as the one used in Sweden, Denmark, Austria, Ireland, and Croatia. However, despite using the same system, all but Denmark and Sweden use different colour schemes in the human computer interface of the radar screens. A decision was taken within the common organisation, COOPANS, to change this and harmonize the colour scheme, but how will that be received by the users, the air traffic controllers? This thesis aimed at investigating how usable the controllers in the different countries, except Croatia, found the new colour scheme and how easy they thought it would be to adapt to. The question was how this was affected by the fact they are using different colour schemes today? Data was collected with questionnaires during simulations in high fidelity simulator platforms at the air traffic control centres in Malmö, Copenhagen, Vienna, and Shannon. It was found that there were some differences between the sites which could not be explained by the controlled for factors, age, gender, and experience. Among the differences found, one was that the perceived usability differed between controllers in Malmö and Copenhagen respectively. Hence, since they are using the same colours today, the differences seem to be a result of expectations and opinions about the current colour schemes rather than exactly which colour scheme that are currently used. There was also a trend that the opinions from the first impression seemed to be reinforced within the group during the simulation. The major differences however were found to be on individual level.

Abstract

This paper aims to explore the perceptual recognition of topographical building patterns from real-world OpenStreetMap data on virtual globes. An implementation was developed in which all geographical and contextual information was layered and, for the purpose of this study, what solely remained were building patterns as viewed from above. This was developed as a module for the planetarium visualization software Uniview. The aim was to determine how cities with different building patterns were perceived by participants in terms of size, scale, and building density. This was measured as the comparative difference between city pairs, that is, how much they differed in the percentage of the area that they covered. Two quantitative studies were conducted, one smaller controlled study with 19 participants and one larger online crowd-sourced study with 72 participants. The results show that participants are generally able to discern building patterns when the comparative difference is greater than a certain critical threshold. This critical threshold was determined to be at approximately 0.5% for both studies and for accuracy levels above 60%. Thus it was concluded that below this critical threshold users should be provided with visual feedback or other means of identifiers in order to allow for definite recognition, depending on what kind of information a certain type of visualization is trying to convey. Den här rapporten avser att utforska den perpetuella igenkänningen av topografiska byggnadsmönster genom att använda geografisk data från OpenStreetMap som avbildas på virtuella sfärer. En implementation utvecklades där geografisk data samt kontextuell information ordnades i överlappande lager som filtrerades, och där endast byggnadsmönster sett från ovan kvarstod. Denna modul utvecklades för Uniview som är en mjukvara för visualisering i planetarier. Målet var att avgöra hur deltagare uppfattade städer med olika byggnadsmönster med hänsyn till storlek, skala, samt byggnadsdensitet. Detta mättes genom den procentuella skillnaden mellan städer, dvs. skillnaden i procent för varje stads geografiska utsträckning. Två kvantitativa studier utfördes, en mindre kontrollerad studie med 19 deltagare samt en större nätbaserad studie med 72 deltagare. Resultatet visar att deltagare generellt kunde bedöma den procentuella skillnaden i byggnadsmönster upp till en viss kritisk gräns. Denna kritiska gräns fastställdes till runt 0.5% för båda studier och för noggrannhetsnivåer över 60%. Slutsatsen från detta är att användare bör ges visuella indikatorer för nivåer under denna kritiska gräns för att säkerställa definitiv igenkänning beroende på vilken information som skall förmedlas i en viss typ av visualisering.

Abstract

Driverless cars are a hot topic in today’s industry where several vehicle manufacturers try to create a reliable system for automated driving. The advantages of highly automated vehicles are many, safer roads and a lower environmental impact are some of the arguments for this technology. However, the notion of highly automated cars give rise to a large number of human factor issues regarding the safety and reliability of the automated system as well as concern about the driver’s role in the system."br/""br/"The purpose of this study was to explore the effects of systematic variations in traffic complexity and external time pressure on decision-making time in a simulated situation using a web-based testing platform. A secondary focus was to examine whether measures of cognitive performance and driver attitudes have an effect on decision-making time."br/""br/" The results show that systematic variations in both time pressure and traffic complexity have an effect on decision-making time. This indicates that drivers are able to adapt their decision-making to facilitate the requirements of a certain situation. The results also indicate that intelligence; speed of processing and driver attitudes has an effect on decision-making time.

Abstract

The aviation industry evolves all the time in every possible sphere with new the technology that is advancing and the increasing amount of traffic on the airports. The air traffic control services has come a long way with automated systems and more advanced technology and the work of the air traffic controller (ATCO) has become more efficient to meet the higher demands for more traffic. But along with highly automated systems and work efficiency there can be a lack of safety instead if there is too much to do for the controller. A new concept in the aviation industry is developing; multiple remote towers, which means that one ATCO can be several miles away from the airports and handle two or more airports at the same time from the same work station. The air traffic controllers has to monitor the aircrafts, direct the traffic, make decisions and make sure that the pilots follows the instructions. At the same time the ATCO need to monitor the systems as well, making sure that everything is working as it is supposed to. To be able to maintain a safe environment for the controllers and the aircrafts, on and surrounding the runways, the controllers need to have situation awareness and the system they are working within need to be resilient to be able to cope with the different kind of situations that might occur. This study has focused on the role of the ATCO in air traffic control towers and by eye-tracking mapped what the controllers are looking at while handling arrivals in two different air traffic control towers. An episode analysis was made on several episodes that took place during different kinds of conditions in the two different air traffic control tower simulators, one single tower simulator and one multiple remote tower simulator. Patterns in the controllers’ way of handling arrivals were identified and the results from the controllers’ eye-movements shows that the ATCOs have a habitual behaviour pattern and that for almost every arrival they will act in the same way. The ATCO in the single tower simulator used the air radar several times during the episodes while in the multiple remote tower simulator the ATCOs almost never looked at the air radar. The radio was used more by the controllers in the multiple remote tower than in the single tower and it is discussed if this is something that can take too much time from an ATCO in a multiple remote tower. The results also highlights the importance of the strip-table, a tool used by the controllers during every step of the arrival process. The conclusions are that the system (controllers and non-human agents) has situation awareness and that the air traffic controllers have a clear frame of the situation. The results from this study can be seen as a guideline and a start for further research in this field and for the development of multiple remote towers. Further research should investigate in the controllers’ ability of reframing in situations of runway incursions and other unexpected events and the usage of the radio in multiple remote towers.