Formulating the cognitive design problem of air traffic management

Evolutionary approaches to cognitive design in the air traffic management (ATM) system can be attributed with a history of delayed developments. This issue is well illustrated in the case of the flight progress strip where attempts to design a computer-based system to replace the paper strip have consistently been met with rejection. An alternative approach to cognitive design of air traffic management is needed and this paper proposes an approach centred on the formulation of cognitive design problems. The paper gives an account of how a cognitive design problem was formulated for a simulated ATM task performed by controller subjects in the laboratory. The problem is formulated in terms of two complimentary models. First, a model of the ATM domain describes the cognitive task environment of managing the simulated air traffic. Second, a model of the ATM worksystem describes the abstracted cognitive behaviours of the controllers and their tools in performing the traffic management task. Taken together, the models provide a statement of worksystem performance, and express the cognitive design problem for the simulated system. The use of the problem formulation in supporting cognitive design, including the design of computer-based flight strips, is discussed

Submillimeter (λ < 1 mm) Continuum Imaging at CSO: A Retrospective

This contribution is submitted on behalf of all students, postdocs, and staff inspired and supported by Tom Phillips to build an instrument and then wait for low precipitable water vapor. Over the 20+ years of its existence, the Caltech Submillimeter Observatory (CSO) has seen a succession of ever more powerful detectors to measure continuum emission in the shortest submillimeter bands available from Mauna Kea. These instruments have been trained on the nearest solar systems, the most distant galaxies, and objects in between. I show several images collected over the 5+ year history of the SHARC II camera and anecdotal comparison with past work

Vise to hold bones or other irregular objects

Vise with stationary vee-shaped jaw and segmented notched jaw for holding irregular shaped objects is described. Operation of the device and specific application to holding bones are explained. Diagram of equipment is provided

Solution of linear equations and the inversion of matrices

Thesis (M.A.)--Boston UniversityIt has been noted that the writing of a system of linear equations in matrix form quite naturally suggests the computation of an inverse matrix which may then be used to compute solutions to a system of equations in which the coefficients remain the same but the constants have been changed. The elementary properties of matrices and determinants have been reviewed and a general method of matrix inversion based on these properties was considered. The very considerable practical deficiencies of this theoretically attractive method suggested that the method would be almost completely worthless for a system larger than two by two [TRUNCATED

Immigrants' contributions in an aging America

Two great demographic forces are shaping our future: the swelling ranks of retirees (without comparable increases in native-born workers) and growing numbers of immigrants. Forward-looking immigration policy should recognize America’s increasing need for workers, taxpayers, and purchasers of baby boomer homes.Immigrants ; Labor market

Conception of the cognitive engineering design problem

Cognitive design, as the design of cognitive work and cognitive tools, is predominantly a craft practice that currently depends on the experience and insight of the designer. However, the emergence of a discipline of cognitive engineering promises a more effective alternative practice, one that turns on the prescription of solutions to cognitive design problems. In this paper, the authors first examine the requirements for advancing cognitive engineering as a discipline. In particular, they identify the need for a conception for explicitly formulating cognitive design problems. A proposal for such a conception is then presented