Showing papers on "Task analysis published in 2004"

Attention and inhibition in bilingual children: evidence from the dimensional change card sort task

Abstract: In a previous study, a bilingual advantage for preschool children in solving the dimensional change card sort task was attributed to superiority in inhibition of attention (Bialystok, 1999). However, the task includes difficult representational demands to encode and interpret the task stimuli, and bilinguals may also have profited from superior representational abilities. This possibility is examined in three studies. In Study 1, bilinguals outperformed monolinguals on versions of the problem containing moderate representational demands but not on a more demanding condition. Studies 2 and 3 demonstrated that bilingual children were more skilled than monolinguals when the target dimensions were perceptual features of the stimulus and that the two groups were equivalent when the target dimensions were semantic features. The conclusions are that bilinguals have better inhibitory control for ignoring perceptual information than monolinguals do but are not more skilled in representation, confirming the results of the original study. The results also identify the ability to ignore an obsolete display feature as the critical difficulty in solving this task.

If not now, when?: the effects of interruption at different moments within task execution

Abstract: User attention is a scarce resource, and users are susceptible to interruption overload. Systems do not reason about the effects of interrupting a user during a task sequence. In this study, we measure effects of interrupting a user at different moments within task execution in terms of task performance, emotional state, and social attribution. Task models were developed using event perception techniques, and the resulting models were used to identify interruption timings based on a user's predicted cognitive load. Our results show that different interruption moments have different impacts on user emotional state and positive social attribution, and suggest that a system could enable a user to maintain a high level of awareness while mitigating the disruptive effects of interruption. We discuss implications of these results for the design of an attention manager.

The Task-Based Approach: Some Questions and Suggestions.

Abstract: This article first addresses the question of what tasks are. It suggests that rather than accept the common ‘communicative’ definition, we should return to a broader definition and then focus on key dimensions that distinguish (from the learner’s perspective) different types of task, notably degrees of task-involvement and degrees of focus on form or meaning. This approach helps us to conceptualize the complementary roles of form-focused and meaning-focused tasks in our methodology. It also shows the continuity between task-based language teaching and the broader communicative approach within which it is a development. Finally the article asks whether ‘task-based approach’ is really the most appropriate term at all for describing these developments in language pedagogy.

Learner proficiency and focus on form during collaborative dialogue

Abstract: One of the challenges in content-based instruction in second language classrooms is how to focus on form in a way that is both effective and appropriate. The use of collaborative tasks that push learners to consciously reflect on their own language use (i.e., produce ‘language-related episodes’) while conveying meaning has been proposed as one way to accomplish this goal. Studies investigating the use of collaborative tasks that encourage learners to produce language-related episodes (LREs) have been shown to affect positively L2 development. However, little is known about how the proficiency of each dyad member affects how and how much dyads produce LREs during collaborative tasks. Therefore, the study reported in this article investigated how grouping learners by their relative proficiency (high-high, high-low, or low-low) affected the amount, type (lexical or grammatical) and outcome (correct, unresolved, or incorrect) of LREs produced during a passage reconstruction task, completed by twenty-one pairs...

The Cost of a Voluntary Task Switch

Abstract: Task-switching paradigms are widely used to study executive control. However, standard paradigms may not require active control to switch tasks. We examined voluntary task switching by having subjects choose which task to perform on a series of bivalent stimuli. Subjects performed parity or magnitude judgments on single digits. Instructions were to perform the two tasks equally often and in a random order. The response-to-stimulus interval (RSI) was either 100 or 1,000 ms, manipulated between blocks. Task alternations were slower than task repetitions, and this switch cost was greater at the short RSI than at the long RSI (310 and 94 ms, respectively). Additionally, subjects produced more task repetitions than expected if the tasks were performed in a random sequence. These results show costs associated with a voluntary task switch, when subjects must actively control the choice of the task to be performed.

Assessment of Cognitive Load in Multimedia Learning with Dual-Task Methodology: Auditory Load and Modality Effects

Abstract: Using cognitive load theory and cognitivetheory of multimedia learning as a framework,we conducted two within-subject experimentswith 10 participants each in order toinvestigate (1) if the audiovisual presentationof verbal and pictorial learning materialswould lead to a higher demand on phonologicalcognitive capacities than the visual-onlypresentation of the same material, and (2) ifadding seductive background music to anaudiovisual information presentation wouldincrease the phonological cognitive load. Weemployed the dual-task methodology in order toachieve a direct measurement of cognitive loadin the phonological system. In bothexperiments, the modality effect could beconfirmed in the patterns of secondary taskperformance and in the primary learning task.

What a to-do: studies of task management towards the design of a personal task list manager

Abstract: This paper reports on the results of studies of task management to support the design of a task list manager. We examined the media used to record and organize to-dos and tracked how tasks are completed over time. Our work shows that, contrary to popular wisdom, people are not poor at prioritizing. Rather, they have well-honed strategies for tackling particular task management challenges. By illustrating what factors influence task completion and how representations function to support task management, we hope to provide a strong foundation for the design of a personal to-do list manager. We also present some preliminary efforts in this direction.

Effect of the presence and difficulty of task on strategy use: an exploratory study

Abstract: Assessing use of language learning strategies has become common place around the world. One strategy assessment tool is the questionnaire, which usually asks students to report on their typical, general use of language learning strategies. Because of this general focus, most questionnaires do not require respondents to complete an actual language task as part of strategy assessment. Although general learning strategy questionnaires will remain important, task-based strategy assessment may have an increasing role. This article analyzes the meaning of task, discusses task-based research, and presents a rationale for task-based strategy assessment. The article describes a recent exploratory study about (1) effects of including or not including a language task as part of strategy assessment procedures and (2) how students' reported strategies differ when the language task is easy versus difficult. An important interaction arose between task difficulty and students' proficiency levels. The article concludes with implications for task-based strategy assessment.

Rating non-technical skills: developing a behavioural marker system for use in anaesthesia

Abstract: Studies of performance in medicine are often based on observation. Videotape provides a valuable tool for recording events from both real environments and simulators. When analysing observational data it is important that robust tools are used, particularly when investigating non-technical (cognitive and social) skills. This paper describes the method used to identify the key non-technical skills required in anaesthesia and to develop a behavioural marker system for their measurement. A prototype taxonomy was designed on the basis of a literature review; an examination of existing marker systems; cognitive task analysis interviews; an iterative development process involving workshops; and cross-checking in theatre. The resulting anaesthetists' non-technical skills (ANTS) system comprises four skill categories (task management, team working, situation awareness, and decision making) that divide into 15 elements, each with example behaviours. Preliminary evaluation using ratings of videotaped scenarios indicated that the skills were observable and could be rated with reasonable agreement.

To match or not to match? Methodological issues in autism-related research.

Abstract: Studies of autism typically adopt a factorial matched-groups design aimed at eliminating nonspecific factors such as mental retardation as explanations of performance on experimental tasks. This paper reviews the issues involved in designing such studies and interpreting their results and suggests that the best approach to matching may be to equate performance on carefully designed control tasks. However, we also argue that the interpretation of such studies is often complicated by the fact that associations between background measures and experimental task performance are not clear. Consequently, we also advocate the use of regression techniques that allow the researcher to determine the factors that relate to task performance and to assess the extent of group differences on the task of interest having taken these factors into account.

Impact of Environmental Uncertainty and Task Characteristics on User Satisfaction with Data

Abstract: Today, more than ever before, organizations are faced with the task of processing volumes of information under more uncertain and more competitive environments. This study investigates the impact of environmental uncertainty and task characteristics on user satisfaction with data by using IS and organizational theories. Responses were matched from 77 CEOs and 166 senior managers, who were end users of IS. The partial least squares technique indicated that environmental uncertainty has a positive impact on task characteristics. Task characteristics have a direct and mediating impact on user satisfaction with data. Our findings also demonstrated that user satisfaction with data could be better understood by overlapping IS and organizational theories, rather than by treating the subject matter in disjoint fields. The paper concludes with discussions and implications for researchers and practitioners.

Opening the Door to Non-Programmers: Authoring Intelligent Tutor Behavior by Demonstration

Abstract: Intelligent tutoring systems are quite difficult and time inten- sive to develop. In this paper, we describe a method and set of software tools that ease the process of cognitive task analysis and tutor development by allowing the author to demonstrate, instead of programming, the behav- ior of an intelligent tutor. We focus on the subset of our tools that allow authors to create "Pseudo Tutors" that exhibit the behavior of intelligent tu- tors without requiring AI programming. Authors build user interfaces by di- rect manipulation and then use a Behavior Recorder tool to demonstrate al- ternative correct and incorrect actions. The resulting behavior graph is an- notated with instructional messages and knowledge labels. We present some preliminary evidence of the effectiveness of this approach, both in terms of reduced development time and learning outcome. Pseudo Tutors have now been built for economics, analytic logic, mathematics, and language learn- ing. Our data supports an estimate of about 25:1 ratio of development time to instruction time for Pseudo Tutors, which compares favorably to the 200:1 estimate for Intelligent Tutors, though we acknowledge and discuss limitations of such estimates.

A comparison of performance on the Towers of London and Hanoi in young children.

Abstract: Background: The Towers of London (TOL) and Hanoi (TOH) have been viewed as equivalent measures of planning and/or problem solving, although recent evidence in adults suggests that the underlying measurement characteristics of these two tasks may differ As tower tasks are one of the few instruments that can be used to assess executive functioning in young children, the cognitive demands for both tasks merit further examination Methods: The relation among tower tasks and those of short-term memory, inhibition, and shifting ability were examined in a sample of 118 typically developing young children (M age = 4 years, 9 months, SD = 6 months) Half the children completed TOL and half completed TOH, with groups matched with respect to age, sex, and child vocabulary Results: Whilst performance on a shifting task uniquely predicted TOH performance, none of the executive function measures were related to TOL performance after statistically controlling for the influence of baseline naming speed For both tower tasks, performance on a shifting task contributed more strongly on complex trials that required more moves in the counter-intuitive direction relative to the end-state goal, whereas inhibition task performance only predicted performance on complex TOL trials Conclusions: Successful tower task performance may be determined, at least at higher levels of complexity, by mental flexibility in this age range However, overall the findings suggest that TOL and TOH are not interchangeable tasks even in young children, and more generally, raise methodological issues regarding the complex nature of executive function tasks

Do monsters dream? Young children's understanding of the fantasy/reality distinction

Abstract: Young children are often thought to confuse fantasy and reality. This study took a second look at preschoolers’ fantasy/reality differentiation. We employed a new measure of fantasy/reality differentiation— a property attribution task— in which children were questioned regarding the properties of both real and fantastical entities. We also modified the standard forced-choice categorization task (into real/fantastical) to include a ‘ not sure’ option, thus allowing children to express uncertainty. Finally, we assessed the relation between individual levels of fantasy orientation and fantasy/reality differentiation. Results suggest that children have a more developed appreciation of the boundary between fantasy and reality than is often supposed.

Feedback specificity, learning opportunities, and learning.

Abstract: Although increasing feedback specificity is generally beneficial for immediate performance, it can undermine certain aspects of the learning needed for later, more independent performance. The results of the present transfer experiment demonstrate that the effects of increasing feedback specificity on learning depended on what was to be learned, and these effects were partially mediated through the opportunities to learn how to respond to different task conditions during practice. More specific feedback was beneficial for learning how to respond to good performance and detrimental for learning how to respond to poor performance. The former relationship was partially mediated by feedback specificity's effect on learning opportunities during practice. The results have implications for designing feedback interventions and training to maximize the learning of various aspects of a task.

Working memory, task switching, and executive control in the task span procedure.

Abstract: Four experiments explored the task span procedure: Subjects received lists of 1-10 task names to remember and then lists of 1-10 stimuli on which to perform the tasks. Task span is the number of tasks performed in order perfectly. Experiment 1 compared the task span with the traditional memory span in 6 practiced subjects and found little difference. Experiment 2 compared the task span and the memory span in 64 unpracticed subjects and also found little difference. Experiment 3 compared practice with consistent and varied lists to address retrieval from long-term memory. Experiment 4 manipulated the number of task switches and found that it had little effect on task spans. The results suggest there is no trade-off between storage and task switching, which supports some theories of executive control and challenges others.

Thinking about thinking aloud: a comparison of two verbal protocols for usability testing

Abstract: We report on an exploratory experimental comparison of two different thinking aloud approaches in a usability test that focused on navigation problems in a highly nonstandard Web site. One approach is a rigid application of Ericsson and Simon's (for original paper see Protocol Analysis: Verbal Reports as Data, MIT Press (1993)) procedure. The other is derived from Boren and Ramey's (for original paper see ibid., vol. 43, no. 3, p. 261-278 (2000)) proposal based on speech communication. The latter approach differs from the former in that the experimenter has more room for acknowledging (mm-hmm) contributions from subjects and has the possibility of asking for clarifications and offering encouragement. Comparing the verbal reports obtained with these two methods, we find that the process of thinking aloud while carrying out tasks is not affected by the type of approach that was used. The task performance does differ. More tasks were completed in the B and R condition, and subjects were less lost. Nevertheless, subjects' evaluations of the Web site quality did not differ, nor did the number of different navigation problems that were detected.

User Experiments with Tree Visualization Systems

Abstract: This paper describes a comparative experiment with five well-known tree visualization systems, and Windows Explorer as a baseline system. Subjects performed tasks relating to the structure of a directory hierarchy, and to attributes of files and directories. Task completion times, correctness and user satisfaction were measured, and video recordings of subjects' interaction with the systems were made. Significant system and task type effects and an interaction between system and task type were found. Qualitative analyses of the video recordings were thereupon conducted to determine reasons for the observed differences, resulting in several findings and design recommendations as well as implications for future experiments with tree visualization systems

Task analysis and human-computer interaction: approaches, techniques, and levels of analysis

Abstract: In this paper we critically review task analysis models and techniques. These approaches to task analysis are discussed in order to develop a richer picture of human activity, while analyzing their limitations, general weaknesses, and possibilities for improvement. We consider their ability to determine the appropriate set of atomic actions in a task, their effect on workers’ motivational needs, their support of users’ cognitive and sociocultural processes, and their effectiveness in supporting interface design. We note that the major approaches have focused on very different levels of analysis, and call for greater integration of these different levels in task analysis theory.

On the development of the mental number line: more, less, or never holistic with increasing age?

Abstract: Magnitude is assumed to be represented along a holistic mental number line in adults. However, the authors recently observed a unit-decade compatibility effect for 2-digit numbers that is inconsistent with this "holisticness" assumption (H.-C. Nuerk, U. Weger, & K. Willmes, 2001). This study used the compatibility effect to examine whether the mental number line representation of magnitude changes toward greater or less holisticness in children from Grades 2-5. The results indicate that decades and units of 2-digit numbers are processed separately rather than holistically from Grade 2 on. However, this separate processing seems to develop from a more sequential (left-to-right) to a more parallel processing mode. Moreover, children may use different strategies depending on task demands. The results are interpreted in the framework of Siegler's overlapping waves model.

Method and apparatus and program storage device including an integrated well planning workflow control system with process dependencies

Abstract: A method of well planning in an automatic well planning system comprises the steps of: selecting one or more tasks in a task manager; verifying by a task dependency a proper order of the one or more tasks; retrieving by the task manager from a task base one or more sets of instructions associated with the one or more tasks selected in the task manager and verified by the task dependency; retrieving by the task manager from an access manager one or more sets of input data associated with the one or more sets of instructions retrieved by the task manager from the task base; verifying that each set of input data of the one or more sets of input data retrieved by the task manager from the access manager is received by a corresponding one of the one or more sets of instructions retrieved by the task manager from the task base; executing, by the task manager, the one or more sets of instructions and using, by the task manager, the one or more sets of input data during the executing step thereby generating a set of results; and recording or displaying, by a task view base, the set of results on a recorder or display device

Promoting Effective Task Interpretation as an Important Work Habit: A Key to Successful Teaching and Learning

Abstract: In this article we argue that to be successful in an academic arena, students must adopt a consistent approach to completing academic work (i.e., a work habit) that includes very carefully interpreting the demands of tasks that are presented to them in schools. To clarify why task interpretation is so critical to student success, and is thus an important instructional objective for teachers, we begin by presenting two vignettes illustrating links between task interpretation and students’ successful engagement in academic work. Then, we take a step back to describe what we mean by academic work and engagement and to explain how and why students’ knowledge about, conceptions of, and interpretations of tasks are so foundational to performance. We also describe how students’ task interpretation breaks down and why such breakdowns often occur. Finally, we close by advancing practical suggestions for teachers regarding how to structure activities, instruction, and evaluation to promote students’ adoption of task interpretation as an important work habit in the pursuit of effective learning. Sally is teaching a ninth grade English class. Her goal is for students to learn how to write various kinds of paragraphs. After showing some examples and talking with the class about the structure of a narrative paragraph, Sally asks the students to write one themselves. She writes the assignment on the chalkboard as she explains it to the class but notices that quite a number of students start talking to each other while her back is turned. As students work on the assignment, Sally circulates around the room. She reexplains the task to some students and reminds others to focus on their work. She notices that many students seem lost and that only a few students are doing a good job of following her very detailed instructions.

Computer-implemented process management system

Abstract: A task management system including a task server linking a plurality of system users, including at least one task definer, at least one task requestor and at least one task fulfiller all linked over a communications link. The task server includes a task processor for processing tasks, a task memory for storing task definitions and one or more graphical user interfaces (GUIs) for interfacing the system users to the task server to facilitate operation of said task processing system. The GUIs include task view interfaces, task fulfiller interfaces, which are used by task requesters and task fulfillers to request and fulfill tasks, respectively. The GUIs also include a plurality of administrative editor interfaces, which are used by task definers to define, group and sequence tasks.

Human Factors Methods for Design: Making Systems Human-Centered

Abstract: Human factors practice The Human-Made Environment The Systems Model Requirements Life Cycle The Development Process System Issues Human Factors Practice Summary Human Abilities and Limits Human Roles Input Mediation Output Response to Environment Motivation Adaptation Human Erroneous Actions or Error Group versus Individual Summary How We Think about Development Problems Reasoning Philosophical Thought Intelligence Problem Solving Behavior Impediments to Problem Solving Summary What Influences Development? Problems and Opportunities Influences on Research and Development Process Rapid Prototyping Personal conduct Summary Human Factors in Research and Development Applied Human Factors Research Observation Inferential Studies How to Choose Methods Summary Human factors methods Analysis Methods Pareto Analysis Operational Analysis (Mission Analysis) Analysis of Similar Systems Activity Analysis Verbal Protocol Analysis (Thinking Aloud, Directed Dialog) Critical Incident Study Management Oversight and Risk Tree Analysis (MORT) Error Analysis Root Cause Analysis Summary Design Guidance Methods Flow Analysis Time Line Analysis Link Analysis Function Allocation Task Description (task identification) Task Analysis Cognitive Task Analysis Technique for Human Error Rate Prediction (THERP) Work Design Decision Analysis Summary Evaluation Methods Simulation Fault Tree Analysis Failure Modes and Effects Analysis Operational Sequence Analysis Workload Assessment Summary Surveys: Interviews and Questionnaires Questionnaires Interviews Self-Administered Questionnaires Bias, Presumption and Non-Response Summary Usability Assessment Usability Usability Assessment Methods Usability Testing Usability Benefits and Issues Summary Controlled Studies Basic Controlled Studies Process Experimental Design Inferential Study Summary Application Cost-Effectiveness Value Cost-Benefit Analysis Cost-Effectiveness Determining Cost-Effectiveness Application to Practice Summary Effecting Change Research and Development is Change Working Relationships Traits for Change Change Management Change Evolution The Change Process Example Summary Communication Purpose Nature of Research and Development Communications Types of Human Factors Communications Summary Examples Bus Workstation International Currency Exchange Web Site Design Remote Site Collaborative Communications Tool Sharps Disposal Container Infusion Pump Reference Laboratory Assay System

The cognitive task analysis methods for job and task design: review and reappraisal

Abstract: This paper reviews and reappraises the current research on the cognitive task analysis methodology for job or task design and analysis. Specifically, it classifies the current cognitive task analysis methods for job or task design and analysis, sorts out commonalities and differences among all these cognitive task analysis methodology for job and task design and analysis by conducting pros and cons comparisons, and provides guidelines in selecting cognitive task analysis methods for job and task design and analysis. Moreover, based on the current literature review, a validated human-centered information-processing model for cognitive task performance was developed based on human information processing theory. This new model focuses on identifying all cognitive aspects of human performance in technical work, with the goal of assisting job (re)design to increase human job performance.