Predicting misdiagnoses in the transition from competence to expertise. This project aims to test whether the utilisation of cues predicts vulnerability to misdiagnosis during skill acquisition. This project uses newly developed measures of cue utilisation, together with innovative, on-line scenarios and a longitudinal design, to measure different types of misdiagnosis amongst qualified radiologists, pathologists and pilots as they acquire expertise. With potential applications in medicine, avia ....Predicting misdiagnoses in the transition from competence to expertise. This project aims to test whether the utilisation of cues predicts vulnerability to misdiagnosis during skill acquisition. This project uses newly developed measures of cue utilisation, together with innovative, on-line scenarios and a longitudinal design, to measure different types of misdiagnosis amongst qualified radiologists, pathologists and pilots as they acquire expertise. With potential applications in medicine, aviation, energy, transportation, and defence, the expected outcomes will facilitate interventions such as targeted training and the provision of technical support, that will guide the diagnostic process and thereby reduce the impact of misdiagnoses on individuals and infrastructure.Read moreRead less
Development of a validated tool to help manage the risk of human fatigue in the workplace. Our world has embraced many benefits of the 24-hour society. However, these benefits can not be delivered without the costs: one significant cost is human fatigue. A recent federal parliamentary inquiry recommended that a fatigue risk management approach be applied to the regulation of working hours within industry. A key requirement of such an approach, and the aim of the proposed project, is to develo ....Development of a validated tool to help manage the risk of human fatigue in the workplace. Our world has embraced many benefits of the 24-hour society. However, these benefits can not be delivered without the costs: one significant cost is human fatigue. A recent federal parliamentary inquiry recommended that a fatigue risk management approach be applied to the regulation of working hours within industry. A key requirement of such an approach, and the aim of the proposed project, is to develop a scientifically validated tool to help manage the work-related fatigue associated with hours-of-work. Ultimately, this will reduce the costs of our 24-hour society on employees, their families, organisations and the wider community.Read moreRead less
Cognitive Cue Analysis: Seeing the Unseen in Human Performance. The aim of this project is to examine a radically new approach to the assessment of pilots. We have created a new theoretical model that links the way in which cues are accessed to the application of various skills including decision-making. In validating this model, our objective is to develop a tool that will assist the evaluation of particular skills in a wide range of environments, including aviation. This significance of this p ....Cognitive Cue Analysis: Seeing the Unseen in Human Performance. The aim of this project is to examine a radically new approach to the assessment of pilots. We have created a new theoretical model that links the way in which cues are accessed to the application of various skills including decision-making. In validating this model, our objective is to develop a tool that will assist the evaluation of particular skills in a wide range of environments, including aviation. This significance of this project lies in the development of an innovative model of the relationship between between cues and the application of skills. We expect that the outcomes of this project will lead to much more efficient and accurate assessments of performance, and the opportunity to target particular skills. This will lead to savings for training organisations and increased safety in transportation industries.Read moreRead less
It's only human: Understanding why errors occur in skilled behaviour. There is evidence that error plays a major role in the causes of workplace injury and errors in skilled behaviour are the most common type of error leading to occupational accidents. It is likely that skill-based error is also important in causing fatal and severe injury in other settings. If we want to reduce or prevent injury, tackling the causes of error, and especially skill-based error, must be a prime target. By reduci ....It's only human: Understanding why errors occur in skilled behaviour. There is evidence that error plays a major role in the causes of workplace injury and errors in skilled behaviour are the most common type of error leading to occupational accidents. It is likely that skill-based error is also important in causing fatal and severe injury in other settings. If we want to reduce or prevent injury, tackling the causes of error, and especially skill-based error, must be a prime target. By reducing skill-based error in the workplace, current estimates suggest that loss of life would be reduced by about 200 cases per year and annual direct and indirect costs to the community by $484 million. Similar benefits are likely to emanate from reducing skill-based error in other settings.Read moreRead less
The estimation of vehicle speed under varying environmental and individual state conditions. Using innovative occlusion and training research designs on a driving The proposed project examines the contribution of a mental model approach to the perception of time and speed of own and other vehicles using innovative occlusion and training research designs on a driving simulator. Participants will be asked to make time and speed estimations under varying environmetal conditions such as urban and ru ....The estimation of vehicle speed under varying environmental and individual state conditions. Using innovative occlusion and training research designs on a driving The proposed project examines the contribution of a mental model approach to the perception of time and speed of own and other vehicles using innovative occlusion and training research designs on a driving simulator. Participants will be asked to make time and speed estimations under varying environmetal conditions such as urban and rural scenes, straight and curved roads, and with and without engine noise, and under drug states. The generality of the findings will be tested on an instrumented car. The project will increase our understanding of factors influencing speed perception, a critical component of safe driving behaviour.Read moreRead less
Cues as catalysts for skilled performance: identifying a mechanism to improve design, training, and selection in high technology control environments. This project will test a new model of expert diagnosis in high-technology environments such as power system control. By understanding skilled diagnosis, the project can inform selection, training, and the design of new interfaces to improve efficiency and prevent failures across a number of different environments in which skilled diagnosis is nece ....Cues as catalysts for skilled performance: identifying a mechanism to improve design, training, and selection in high technology control environments. This project will test a new model of expert diagnosis in high-technology environments such as power system control. By understanding skilled diagnosis, the project can inform selection, training, and the design of new interfaces to improve efficiency and prevent failures across a number of different environments in which skilled diagnosis is necessary.Read moreRead less
Difficulties of monitoring for rare events. This project aims to identify cognitive and neural processes involved in sustaining attention to moving displays under monitoring conditions.People are poor at monitoring for rare events: they tend to miss infrequent targets. This is a problem in automated systems for transport, rail and air traffic control. If a computer error occurs, the operator needs to intervene quickly. This project will develop a tool for studying monitoring and determine patter ....Difficulties of monitoring for rare events. This project aims to identify cognitive and neural processes involved in sustaining attention to moving displays under monitoring conditions.People are poor at monitoring for rare events: they tend to miss infrequent targets. This is a problem in automated systems for transport, rail and air traffic control. If a computer error occurs, the operator needs to intervene quickly. This project will develop a tool for studying monitoring and determine patterns of brain activity that predict a lapse of attention. The results should contribute to theories of vigilance and improve performance in real-world monitoring situations.Read moreRead less
Improving performance in high risk environments using guided distraction and iconic cues. This project tests a novel strategy to assist operators in high-risk automated environments, in order to maintain their performance in low workload situations. Using guided distraction, this project will be able to show improvements in attention to critical tasks and in overall system performance, thereby reducing the potential for error.
Predicting the diagnostic performance of individuals and organisations. Predicting the diagnostic performance of individuals and organisations. This project aims to address diagnostic error in advanced technology systems, by providing a mechanism to assess and improve individual diagnosticians’ performance. Organisations that rely on their employees’ diagnostic skills rarely assess them once the operators become qualified, so there is no basis for interventions that might prevent diagnostic erro ....Predicting the diagnostic performance of individuals and organisations. Predicting the diagnostic performance of individuals and organisations. This project aims to address diagnostic error in advanced technology systems, by providing a mechanism to assess and improve individual diagnosticians’ performance. Organisations that rely on their employees’ diagnostic skills rarely assess them once the operators become qualified, so there is no basis for interventions that might prevent diagnostic errors affecting thousands. This research tests a new method of assessing diagnostic skills based on how skilled operators respond to cues. This project will test how employees’ diagnostic skills change and whether this change corresponds to measures of organisational performance. This research is expected to provide organisations with a tool to pre-empt diagnostic errors that could minimise costs to the economy.Read moreRead less
Should we go halves? The impact of split work-rest schedules on sleep and cognitive performance. The purpose of this project is to determine whether it is better to have one long sleep or two shorter sleeps each day. The results of the project will inform the development of work schedules for industries and/or situations where it may be appropriate to work more than one shift per day (such as fly-in fly-out, emergency response).