Fratricide: defective decision making

Motivation – to explore the applicability of a Human Factors methodology for the investigation of fratricide. Research approach – The EAST methodology was used to analyse an incident of fratricide and its ability to explore the Famous Five of Fratricide (F3) model was investigated. Findings/Design – the analysis revealed that EAST was able to provide explicit discussion of the Famous Five of Fratricide (F3) models five causal factors of communication, cooperation, coordination, schemata and situation awareness. Research limitations/Implications – the research explored a single case study and as such is couched at the initial phases of investigation. Originality/Value – the analysis provides a contribution to the knowledge urrounding fratricide both with respect to the novel application of the EAST methodology to an incident of fratricide, and also the causal factors identified by EAST within the fratricide incident. Take away message – the EAST methodology provides an innovative way of exploring causality in incidents of fratricide<br/

Combining social network analysis and the NATO Approach Space to define agility. Topic 2: networks and networking

This paper takes the NATO SAS-050 Approach Space, a widely accepted model of command and control, and gives each of its primary axes a quantitative measure using social network analysis. This means that the actual point in the approach space adopted by real-life command and control organizations can be plotted along with the way in which that point varies over time and function. Part 1 of the paper presents the rationale behind this innovation and how it was subject to verification using theoretical data. Part 2 shows how the enhanced approach space was put to use in the context of a large scale military command post exercise. Agility is represented by the number of distinct areas in the approach space that the organization was able to occupy and there was a marked disparity between where the organization thought it should be and where it actually was, furthermore, agility varied across function. The humans in this particular scenario bestowed upon the organization the levels of agility that were observed, thus the findings are properly considered from a socio-technical perspective

Impact of the ASCO 2007 Presentation of HOG Lun 01-24/USO-023 on the Prescribing Plans of American Medical Oncologists for Patients with Stage IIIB Non-small Cell Lung Cancer

Introduction:Nonoperative treatment of stage III non-small cell lung cancer has evolved over the past 30 years. The current approach in the Unites States most often includes concurrent chemoradiotherapy.Methods:We have used live, case-based research events to document prescribing plans among American medical oncologists for first-line therapy in patients with N3 stage IIIB non-small cell lung cancer. Changes in prescribing plans documented before and after the 2007 American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) presentation of a Hoosier Oncology Group trial testing the role of consolidation docetaxel chemotherapy in this setting are presented.Results:Data from 2007 show a post-ASCO shift away from plans for docetaxel consolidation, increased use of concurrent chemoradiotherapy alone, and stable to increased plans for concurrent chemoradiation followed by additional cycles of the chemotherapy used during concurrent management (20%). Preliminary data from 2008 confirm the durability of these changes.Conclusions:The findings of the Hoosier Oncology Group trial support a transition away from docetaxel consolidation. A trend in this direction among American medical oncologists is clear from our data. However, nearly 20% of oncologists studied in 2008 still plan to use docetaxel consolidation. Furthermore, a majority of those studied after ASCO 2007 continue to report plans to use more than two cycles of chemotherapy as part of their preferred treatment recommendation despite no level I evidence to support this approach

Phenological overlap of interacting species in a changing climate: an assessment of available approaches

Abstract Concern regarding the biological effects of climate change has led to a recent surge in research to understand the consequences of phenological change for species interactions. This rapidly expanding research program is centered on three lines of inquiry: (1) how the phenological overlap of interacting species is changing, (2) why the phenological overlap of interacting species is changing, and (3) how the phenological overlap of interacting species will change under future climate scenarios. We synthesize the widely disparate approaches currently being used to investigate these questions: (1) interpretation of longterm phenological data, (2) field observations, (3) experimental manipulations, (4) simulations and nonmechanistic models, and (5) mechanistic models. We present a conceptual framework for selecting approaches that are best matched to the question of interest. We weigh the merits and limitations of each approach, survey the recent literature from diverse systems to quantify their use, and characterize the types of interactions being studied by each of them. We highlight the value of combining approaches and the importance of longterm data for establishing a baseline of phenological synchrony. Future work that scales up from pairwise species interactions to communities and ecosystems, emphasizing the use of predictive approaches, will be particularly valuable for reaching a broader understanding of the complex effects of climate change on the phenological overlap of interacting species. It will also be important to study a broader range of interactions: to date, most of the research on climateinduced phenological shifts has focused on terrestrial pairwise resourceconsumer interactions, especially those between plants and insects

Structural basis of cooperative DNA recognition by the plasmid conjugation factor, TraM

The conjugative transfer of F-like plasmids such as F, R1, R100 and pED208, between bacterial cells requires TraM, a plasmid-encoded DNA-binding protein. TraM tetramers bridge the origin of transfer (oriT) to a key component of the conjugative pore, the coupling protein TraD. Here we show that TraM recognizes a high-affinity DNA-binding site, sbmA, as a cooperative dimer of tetramers. The crystal structure of the TraM–sbmA complex from the plasmid pED208 shows that binding cooperativity is mediated by DNA kinking and unwinding, without any direct contact between tetramers. Sequence-specific DNA recognition is carried out by TraM’s N-terminal ribbon–helix–helix (RHH) domains, which bind DNA in a staggered arrangement. We demonstrate that both DNA-binding specificity, as well as selective interactions between TraM and the C-terminal tail of its cognate TraD mediate conjugation specificity within the F-like family of plasmids. The ability of TraM to cooperatively bind DNA without interaction between tetramers leaves the C-terminal TraM tetramerization domains free to make multiple interactions with TraD, driving recruitment of the plasmid to the conjugative pore

Developing guidelines for distributed teamwork: review of the literature and the HFI DTC’s distributed teamwork studies

Distributed teams are increasingly being employed within complex systems and rapid technological advances are affecting the ways in which they work and can potentially work. Despite this, guidance on how distributed teams should work, how they should be organised and trained, what communications technology they should use and how support systems should be designed is not readily available. This report presents, based on a review of the relevant literature and also a series of naturalistic case studies undertaken previously by the HFI DTC, a series of initial guidelines on how teams, systems, technology and procedures should be designed and organised in order to enhance distributed team working performanc

Challenges for digitisation – learning from analogue mission planning teams

This paper aims to consider the conventional, analogue, mission planning process with the objective of identifying the decision making constraints and challenges for digitisation. Prototypes of digital mission planning systems are beginning to be devised and demonstrated, but there has been concern expressed over the design of such systems which fail to understand and incorporate the human aspects of socio-technical systems design. Previous research has identified many of the potential pitfalls of failing to take Human Factors considerations into account as well as the multiplicity of constraints acting on the planners and planning process. An analysis of mission planning in a Battle Group is presented, based on an observational study by the authors. This study illustrates the efficiency of an analogue process which has evolved over many generations to form the Combat Estimate, a process that is mirrored by forces throughout the world. The challenges for digitisation include ensuring that the mission planning process remains easy and involving, preserving the public nature of the products, encouraging the collaboration and cooperation of the planners, and maintaining the flexibility, adaptability and speed of the analogue planning process. It is argued that digitisation should not become an additional constraint on mission planning

The famous five factors in teamwork: a case study of fratricide

The purpose of this paper is to propose foundations for a theory of errors in teamwork based upon analysis of a case study of fratricide alongside a review of the existing literature. This approach may help to promote a better understanding of interactions within complex systems and help in the formulation of hypotheses and predictions concerning errors in teamwork, particularly incidents of fratricide. It is proposed that a fusion of concepts drawn from error models, with common causal categories taken from teamwork models, could allow for an in-depth exploration of incidents of fratricide. It is argued that such a model has the potential to explore the core causal categories identified as present in an incident of fratricide. This view marks fratricide as a process of errors occurring throughout the military system as a whole, particularly due to problems in teamwork within this complex system. Implications of this viewpoint for the development of a new theory of fratricide are offered. <br/

Great expectations: a thematic analysis of situation awareness in fratricide

This paper explores the role of Situation Awareness (SA) in accidents within the military domain, specifically in Close Air Support (CAS) missions. Several major examples of military fratricide (friendly fire) have arisen in such scenarios, and from the experience gained so far it is clear that poor SA has played a critical role. The study reported in this paper took place in a networked training facility, and two teams of army and air force personnel performed simulated CAS missions. One team performed in an effective manner, while the other team committed an error. Communications data from these two teams was subject to an analysis that enabled information networks to be created, which in turn provided a novel representation of systemic SA. The results demonstrated that SA differed in several critical and specific ways between the more effective and less effective teams. Of particular interest is that ‘better’ SA was found to be not merely ‘more’ SA, but more SA of appropriate stimuli. Linked to this is the finding that more communications do not necessarily support improvements in SA. Indeed, in this case fewer communications events were implicated in better team performance and SA. The findings confirm the importance of SA to safety within the military domain, but with several important and sophisticated caveats. The paper also contributes recommendations for improving SA in these environments, and a novel method for its measurement in challenging military contexts