Nonlinear Dynamical Systems for Theory And Research In Ergonomics

Nonlinear dynamical systems (NDS) theory offers new constructs, methods and explanations for phenomena that have in turn produced new paradigms of thinking within several disciplines of the behavioural sciences. This article explores the recent developments of NDS as a paradigm in ergonomics. The exposition includes its basic axioms, the primary constructs from elementary dynamics and so-called complexity theory, an overview of its methods, and growing areas of application within ergonomics. The applications considered here include: psychophysics, iconic displays, control theory, cognitive workload and fatigue, occupational accidents, resilience of systems, team coordination and synchronisation in systems. Although these applications make use of different subsets of NDS constructs, several of them share the general principles of the complex adaptive system

Explaining Implicit and Explicit Affective Linkages in IT Teams: Facial Recognition, Emotional Intelligence, and Affective Tone

Over 80 percent of task work in organizations is performed by teams. Most teams operate in a more fluid, dynamic, and complex environment than in the past. As a result, a growing body of research is beginning to focus on how teams’ emotional well-being can benefit the effectiveness of workplace team efforts. These teams are required to be adaptive, to operate in ill-structured environments, and to rely on technology more than ever before. However, teams have become so ubiquitous that many organizations and managers take them for granted and assume they will be effective and productive. Because of the increased use of team work and the lack of sufficient organizational and managerial sufficient best practices for teams, more research is required. Team Emotional Intelligence (TEI) is a collective skill that has been shown to benefit team performance. However, measures for TEI are relatively new and have not been widely studied. Results show TEI is a viable skill that affects performance in IT teams. In technology-rich environments, the teams’ coordination can vary on levels of the expertise needed when TEI behaviors are employed. Cooperative norms play an important role in team interactions and influence TEI. Physiological measures of team emotional contagion and TEI, as well as psychometric measures of team affective tone results show causal affective linkages in the emotional convergence model. These results suggest that combined physiological and psychometric measures of team emotion behavior provide explanatory power for these linkages in teams during IS technology system use. These findings offer new insights into the emotional states of IS teams that may advance the understanding team behaviors for improved performance outcomes and contribute to the NeuroIS literature

Technological advances, human performance, and the operation of nuclear facilities

2017 Spring.Includes bibliographical references.Many unfortunate and unintended adverse industrial incidents occur across the United States each year, and the nuclear industry is no exception. Depending on their severity, these incidents can be problematic for people, the facilities, and surrounding environments. Human error is a contributing factor in many such incidents. This dissertation first explored the hypothesis that technological changes that affect how operators interact within the systems of the nuclear facilities exacerbate the cost of incidents caused by human error. I conducted a review of nuclear incidents in the United States from 1955 through 2010 that reached Level 3 (serious incident) or higher on the International Nuclear Events Scale (INES). The cost of each incident at facilities that had recently undergone technological changes affecting plant operators' jobs was compared to the cost of events at facilities that had not undergone changes. A t-test determined a statistically significant difference between the two groups, confirming the hypothesis. Next, I conducted a follow-on study to determine the impact of the incorporation of new technologies into nuclear facilities. The data indicated that spending more money on upgrades increased the facility's capacity as well as the number of incidents reported, but the incident severity was minor. Finally, I discuss the impact of human error on plant operations and the impact of evolving technology on the 21st-century operator, proposing a methodology to overcome these challenges by applying the systems engineering process