Decision-Making Problems in Sociotechnical Systems

The object of research is a human in complex sociotechnical systems (STS). A particular case of the sociotechnical system is the human-machine system (HMS). The subject of research is the professional activity of a person in the sociotechnical system, the structure of his professionally important qualities, the methods of assessing the professional suitability of a person, and the methods of training and training of operational personnel. The model of vocational aptitude and the process of decision-making in the class of hierarchical systems were developed based on the hierarchy analysis method. Intelligent processing of data was requested to be carried out by the use of decision support systems, which provides support to multicriteria decision in a complex system. The experimental research of vocational aptitude assessment for operators of transport-technological machines was carried out. The outputs of the decision support systems were obtained individual operator’s portraits (IOP) and integrated estimation capabilities. As a result, it became possible to reduce the preparation cost of professionals and to raise the level of the operator’s professional skills. In addition, based on the IOP, we can customize the HMC interface

Optimal solutions for complex design problems: Using isoperformance software for human factors trade offs

A major application of isoperformance is as a trade-off methodology of the three major drivers of system design; equipment, training variables, and user characteristics. The flexibility of isoperformance allows each of these three components to be nearly any rational variation. For example, aptitude may be military Armed Forces Qualification Testing (AFQT) categories, cutoff scores within a selection procedure, or simply dichotomizing high and low scorers (pass/fail). Equipment may be new versus old, 'smart' versus dumb, high versus low resolution, etc. Training may be short versus long or varieties of media types (lecture versus CAI/CBI versus self-paced workbooks). In its final computerized form isoperformance lets the user set an operational level of performance (e.g., a jet pilot in a simulated emergency must take prescribed corrective action and clear the plane in several seconds, pilot astronauts will check out all shuttle flight systems within 30 minutes, or Mission Specialists must handle sucdessfully a required number of job elements). At this point the computer program guides the user through any requested trade-offs of the three components while maintaining the specified operational level of performance through isoperformance curves. A demonstration of the computer program is currently available

Aerospace medicine and biology: A continuing bibliography with indexes (supplement 341)

This bibliography lists 133 reports, articles and other documents introduced into the NASA Scientific and Technical Information System during September 1990. Subject coverage includes: aerospace medicine and psychology, life support systems and controlled environments, safety equipment, exobiology and extraterrestrial life, and flight crew behavior and performance

Working Close to Home: WIRE-Net's Hire Locally Program

Hire Locally is an employment program that matches Cleveland's west side residents with industrial jobs employers would otherwise have searched far and wide to fill. The program is part of the nonprofit Westside Industrial Retention and Expansion Network, or WIRE-Net. This report documents the program's innovation in developing a sectoral strategy to meet labor market demands while also setting a broad agenda for community improvement. It also shares key program elements and recommendations to ensure that future programs are more effective

NONPROCEDURAL SYNTHESIS OF SCENARIOS OF PROFESSIONAL TRAINING OF ERGATIC SYSTEM OPERATORS

Предлагается технология непроцедурного синтеза сценариев профессиональной подготовки операторов эргатических систем. Применение функционально-целевого подхода обеспечивает формальный синтез на основе концептуальной модели сценариев профессиональной подготовки, в структурно-алгоритмической организации которых отражена структура предметной области. Такой подход позволяет осуществить рационально обоснованный синтез сценариев профессиональной подготовки с точки зрения целей функционирования эргатической системыThe study is aimed at developing information technology to support the nonprocedural synthesis of scenarios for professional training of ergatic system operators. The application of the functionally-targeted approach provides a formal basis for synthesis based on the conceptual model of professional training scenarios which structural-algorithmic organization reflects the structure of the domain. This approach allows for rationally justified synthesis and choice of scenarios of professional training from the perspective of ergatic system operation goal

The Economics of Employment Testing

Greater use of employment tests for selecting workers will have important effects on the economy. First, the rewards for developing the competencies measured by the tests will rise and this will increase the supply of workers with these competencies. Employment tests predict job performance because they measure or are correlated with a large set of developed abilities which are causally related to productivity and not because they are correlated with an inherited ability to learn. Our economy currently under-rewards the achievements that are measured by these tests and the resulting weak incentives for hard study have contributed to the low levels of achievement in math and science. Greater use of tests to select workers will also change the sorting of workers across jobs. Its impacts on total output depends on the extent to which the developed abilities measured by employment tests--academic achievement, perceptual speed and psychomotor skills--have larger impacts on worker productivity in dollars in some occupations than in others. This question is examined by analyzing GATB revalidation data on 31,399 workers in 159 occupations and by reviewing the literature on how the standard deviation of worker productivity varies across occupations. The analysis finds that indeed such differentials exist and therefore that reassigning workers who do well on a test to occupations where the payoff to the talent is particularly high will increase aggregate output. The magnitude of the output effect was estimated by reweighting the GATB revalidation data to be representative of the 71 million workers in the non-professional and nonmanagerial occupations and then simulating various resorting scenarios. Selecting new hires randomly lowered aggregate output by at least $129 billion or 8 percent of the compensation received by these workers. An upper bound estimate of the productivity benefits of reassigning workers on the basis of three GATB composites is that it would raise output by$111 billion or 6.9 percent of compensation. Reassignment based on tests had an adverse impact on Blacks and Hispanics but greatly reduced gender segregation in the work place and substantially improved the average wage of the jobs held by women. These results are based on a maintained assumption--the models of job performance which were estimated in samples of job incumbents are after corrections for measurement error and selection on the dependent variable yield unbiased estimates of true population relationships--that is almost certainly wrong. The biases introduced into the calculation by this assumption lower the estimated costs of introducing random assignment of workers to jobs, exaggerate the benefits of greater test use and exaggerate the changes in demographic composition of occupational work forces. The paper concludes with a discussion of ways in which employment tests can simultaneously strengthen incentives to learn, improve sorting and minimize adverse impacts on minority groups

Codebook and documentation of the panel study 'Labour Market and Social Security' (PASS) : Volume I: Introduction and overview. Wave 2 (2007/2008)

"The panel study 'Labour Market and Social Security' (PASS), established by the Institute for Employment Research (IAB), is a new dataset for labour market, welfare state and poverty research in Germany, creating a new empirical basis for the scientific community and for policy advice. This Datenreport provides an overview of the second survey wave, for which 12,487 individuals were interviewed in 8,429 households between December 2007 and July 2008. 10,114 individuals and 7,342 households were interviewed for the second time in the context of PASS. The spectrum of questions and the design of PASS are intended to close gaps in the existing stock of data. PASS has three main characteristics that extend analysis potential beyond that of the Federal Employment Agency's administrative data: 1. The panel takes the household context into account - including the situation before and after receipt of Unemployment Benefit II. 2. The panel is complete in that it covers all groups of persons and all employment biographies, not only people in dependent employment, unemployed people and those in need of assistance. The dataset also provides information on the status during phases of economic inactivity, self-employment or employment as civil servants. 3. The panel collects additional or significantly more detailed data on relevant characteristics such as attitudes, employment potential or job-search behaviour." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en)) Additional Information Questionnaires of the second wave. Here you can find the German version. Further information about the panel study "Labour Market and Social Security".IAB-Haushaltspanel, Datengewinnung, Erhebungsmethode, Stichprobe, Panel - Methode, Datenaufbereitung