Task analysis

About: Task analysis is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 10432 publications have been published within this topic receiving 283481 citations.

Measuring cognitive task demands using dual task methodology, subjective self-ratings, and expert judgments: A Validation Study

Abstract: This study explored the usefulness of dual-task methodology, self-ratings, and expert judgments in assessing task-generated cognitive demands as a way to provide validity evidence for manipulations of task complexity. The participants were 96 students and 61 English as a second language (ESL) teachers. The students, 48 English native speakers and 48 ESL speakers, carried out simple and complex versions of three oral tasks—a picture narrative, a map task, and a decision-making task. Half of the students completed the tasks under a dual-task condition. The remaining half performed the tasks under a single-task condition without a secondary task. Participants in the single condition were asked to rate their perceived mental effort and task difficulty. The ESL teachers provided expert judgments of anticipated mental effort and task difficulty along with explanations for their ratings via an online questionnaire. As predicted, the more complex task versions were found and judged to pose greater cognitive effort on most measures.

Reliable Task Offloading for Vehicular Fog Computing Under Information Asymmetry and Information Uncertainty

Abstract: Vehicular fog computing has emerged as a cost-efficient solution for task processing in vehicular networks. However, how to realize effective server recruitment and reliable task offloading under information asymmetry and uncertainty remains a critical challenge. In this paper, we adopt a two-stage task offloading framework to address this challenge. First, we propose a convex–concave-procedure-based contract optimization algorithm for server recruitment, which aims to maximize the expected utility of the operator with asymmetric information. Then, a low-complexity and stable task offloading mechanism is proposed to minimize the total network delay based on the pricing-based matching. Furthermore, we extend the work to the scenario of information uncertainty and develop a matching-learning-based task offloading mechanism, which takes both occurrence awareness and conflict awareness into consideration. Simulation results demonstrate that the proposed algorithm can effectively motivate resource sharing and guarantee bounded deviation from the optimal performance without the global information.

Adaptive Automation of a Dynamic Control Task Based on Secondary Task Workload Measurement

Abstract: Adaptive automation (AA) has been proposed as a method for regulating human workload and abating out-of-the-loop performance problems in complex systems control. The majority of AA or adaptive manual control studies, to this point, have facilitated control allocations using either preprogrammed schemes based on desired system performance, comparisons of human performance with established goals, or psychophysical variable monitoring to represent workload levels and determine appropriate control allocations for moderating workload. This study further explored the psychophysical assessment approach by using a secondary task measure of workload to facilitate control allocations in a complex primary task. An experiment was conducted in which participants performed a secondary gauge-monitoring task along with a simulated radar monitoring and target elimination task. Differences in single-secondary task performance and performance observed while also functioning in the primary task were used to direct operator-m...

Learning a new bimanual coordination pattern: reciprocal influences of intrinsic and to-be-learned patterns.

Abstract: According to dynamic pattern theory, intrinsically stable bimanual coordination patterns affect, and are affected by, the acquisition of a new coordination pattern. In Experiment 1, subjects practiced either a 45 degrees or a 135 degrees relative phase pattern for 4 days; in Experiment 2, they practiced a 90 degrees relative phase pattern over 6 days. Retention tests were conducted 4 weeks after the last practice session in both experiments. Performance on both the in-phase (0 degree) and anti-phase (180 degrees) patterns was also measured on each day. Contrary to predictions, the experiments revealed that reciprocal effects between the intrinsic patterns and the new pattern were only temporary, and did not affect learning in any permanent way. As well, learning a new pattern was not differentially affected by its relation to an intrinsic pattern. Though commonly believed to be prevalent in skill acquisition, negative transfer effects are rather uncommon in motor learning research (Schmidt, 1988). One reason for this is that the locus of negative transfer effects is cognitive, found most commonly in tasks where the translation required between thought and action has been altered from what might be considered natural (e.g., Lewis, McAllister, & Adams, 1951). It is this issue of what is natural that is the core of the present research: how something that can be performed "naturally" (efficiently and without practice) affects new learning and how new learning affects what was once considered natural. Most would agree that the acquisition of a new motor skill is influenced by the existing skills possessed by an individual (Adams, 1987; Schmidt, 1988). For many researchers, however, this influence is little more than an annoyance, and motor learning research is replete with laboratory tasks that were created to avoid the influence of existing skills on new learning. In some cases, tasks were designed to be so simple that subjects were assumed to have a mastery of the fundamental skills involved in achieving successful performance before the new task was practiced. Reaction time, line positioning, and target aiming tasks are examples. Another type was the "novel" task, which was designed to require motor skill that no subject would have acquired previously. In theory, a novel task required new learning, and the uniqueness of the task ensured that existing skills would contribute minimally to new learning. Rotary pursuit tracking, mirror tracing, and free-standing ladder climb tasks are examples of novel tasks that have been used for this purpose. However, as with very simple tasks, the use of novel tasks provided little information about the role of existing skills in new learning. When the influence of existing skills on new learning was the purpose, researchers faced a different problem the experimental design. Historically, researchers typically used a transfer design for this purpose (see Schmidt, 1988, for review). For example, one group of subjects would learn Task A followed by practice on Task B. Their performance on the second task (the transfer task) was compared to the performance of a control group that learned Task B without having previously learned Task A. The relative performance of the experimental and control groups on Task B reflected the influence of previous experience on Task A. Although this design has been used extensively (Adams, 1987), there are limitations. The most important is the problem of individual differences, as the influence of previous learning is made by comparing separate groups of individuals. The potential problems with this type of between-group design include Hawthorne effects, counterbalancing, and equating group performances prior to practice (see Schmidt, 1988, Chapter 11, for more discussion). As well, the amount of practice that is given to the experimental group on Task A is a critical variable: how well Task A has been learned, and how this is evaluated (i.e., what performance on task A is compared to). …