Automation in human-machine networks: how increasing machine agency affects human agency

© 2018, Springer International Publishing AG. Efficient human-machine networks require productive interaction between human and machine actors. In this study, we address how a strengthening of machine agency, for example through increasing levels of automation, affect the human actors of the networks. Findings from case studies within air traffic management, emergency management, and crowd evacuation are presented, shedding light on how automation may strengthen the agency of human actors in the network through responsibility sharing and task allocation, and serve as a needed prerequisite of innovation and change

Situation Awareness Information Requirements For Commercial Airline Pilots

Situation awareness is presented as a fundamental requirement for good airmanship, forming the basis for pilot decision making and performance. To develop a better understanding of the role of situation awareness in flying, an analysis was performed to determine the specific situation awareness information requirements for commercial aircraft pilots. This was conducted as a goal-directed task analysis in which pilots' major goals, subgoals, decisions and associated situation awareness information requirements were delineated based on elicitation from experienced commercial airline pilots. A determination of the major situation awareness information requirements for visual and instrument flight was developed from this analysis, providing a foundation for future system development which seeks to enhance pilot situation awareness and provide a basis for the development of situation awareness measures for commercial flight

Spectroscopy of an extreme [OIII] emitting active galactic nucleus at z = 3.212: implications for the reionisation era

Reionization-era galaxies often display intense nebular emission lines, both in rest-frame optical ([O III] + H β) and ultraviolet (UV; C III], C IV). How such strong nebular emission is powered remains unclear, with both active galactic nuclei (AGNs) and hot stars considered equally viable. The UV continuum slopes of these early systems tend to be very blue (β −1) than typical star-forming systems in the reionization era. To investigate the properties of AGNs in the reionization era, we have conducted a search for potential examples of rare analogues with blue continua at intermediate redshift (⁠z ∼ 2−3). Our goals are to determine whether AGNs with intense line emission and blue continua exist and thereby to establish the range of rest-frame UV and optical line ratios in this population. In this paper, we report the detection of an X-ray luminous AGN at z = 3.21 (UDS-24561) with extreme [O III] + H β line emission (equivalent width = 1300 Å) and a blue UV continuum slope (β = −2.34). MMT/Binospec and Keck/MOSFIRE spectra indicate rest-frame UV line ratios consistent with AGN photoionization models and rest-frame optical lines with both a narrow component [full width at half-maximum (FWHM) =154kms−1] and extended broad wings (FWHM =977kms−1⁠), consistent with outflowing gas. We describe how such objects can be identified in future James Webb Space Telescope emission line surveys in the reionization era, thereby providing a valuable census of AGN activity at z > 6 and understanding their contribution to cosmic reionization

Distributed visualization of gridded geophysical data: the Carbon Data Explorer, version 0.2.3

Due to the proliferation of geophysical models, particularly climate models, the increasing resolution of their spatiotemporal estimates of Earth system processes, and the desire to easily share results with collaborators, there is a genuine need for tools to manage, aggregate, visualize, and share data sets. We present a new, web-based software tool – the Carbon Data Explorer – that provides these capabilities for gridded geophysical data sets. While originally developed for visualizing carbon flux, this tool can accommodate any time-varying, spatially explicit scientific data set, particularly NASA Earth system science level III products. In addition, the tool's open-source licensing and web presence facilitate distributed scientific visualization, comparison with other data sets and uncertainty estimates, and data publishing and distribution

Genetic differentiation of Glossina morsitans centralis populations

Variation at mitochondrial and microsatellite loci was used to study the breeding and dispersal structure of Glossina morsitans centralis, in six natural populations from Botswana, the Caprivi Strip (Namibia), Zambia, and in a laboratory culture derived from Singida, Tanzania. Only seven mitochondrial haplotypes were found. Mean diversity averaged over the six natural populations was 0.216 ± 0.085. The fixation index FST = 0.866 indicated a high degree of genetic differentiation among populations. Fifty-three alleles were detected among six microsatellite loci and six natural populations. Mean microsatellite diversity was 0.702 ± 0.091. Depending on the estimating model used, fixation indices varied from 0.15 to 0.225 confirming that G. m. centralis populations are strongly subdivided. For all FST estimates, positive correlations were detected between pair-wise genetic distance measures and geographical distances. The difference in fixation indices estimated from mitochondrial or nuclear loci was explained by the greater sensitivity of mitochondrial genomes to genetic drift. Population differentiation can be explained by genetic drift and the subsequent recovery of extant populations from small, discontinuous populations. These data confirm genetically the collapse and retreat of G. m. centralis populations caused by the rinderpest epizootic of the late 19th and early 20th centuries