The Complexity Of Proceduralized Tasks

We think we have scientific knowledge when we know the cause. (Aristotle, Posterior Analytics Book II, Part 11) About 12 years ago, when I was a graduate student, many people were concerned about my Ph. D. topic – investigating the effect of the complexity of procedu- lized tasks on the performance of human operators working in nuclear power plants. Although they agreed with the fact that procedures (especially emergency operating procedures) play a crucial role in securing the safety of nuclear power plants, it was amazing that most of them pointed out a very similar issue: “I cannot understand why operating personnel see any difficulty (or complexity) in condu- ing procedures, because all that they have to do is to follow a simple IF-THEN- ELSE rule as written. ” Actually, this issue is closely related to one of the main questions I was recently asked, such as “Don’t you think your work is too acad- ic to apply to actual procedures?” or “I guess we don’t need to consider the c- plexity of procedures, because we can develop a good procedure using many pr- tical procedure writers’ guidelines. Then what is the real contribution of your work?” I absolutely agree with the latter comment. Yes, we can develop a good pro- dure with the support of many practical and excellent guidelines.

This book elaborates the artificial intelligence theories behind the Case-Based Teaching Architecture developed at the Institute for the Learning Sciences. The book is for anyone who wants a technical discussion, but who is not a trained AI researcher.

Every complex human-machine system includes a computer as a critically important means of work. However, an operator's interaction with a computerized system cannot be reduced to only performing computer-based tasks. Today human-computer interaction (HCI) is not limited to trained software users. People of all ages use all different kinds of gadget

Presents recent breakthroughs in the theory, methods, and applications of safety and risk analysis for safety engineers, risk analysts, and policy makers Safety principles are paramount to addressing structured handling of safety concerns in all technological systems. This handbook captures and discusses the multitude of safety principles in a practical and applicable manner. It is organized by five overarching categories of safety principles: Safety Reserves; Information and Control; Demonstrability; Optimization; and Organizational Principles and Practices. With a focus on the structured treatment of a large number of safety principles relevant to all related fields, each chapter defines the principle in question and discusses its application as well as how it relates to other principles and terms. This treatment includes the history, the underlying theory, and the limitations and criticism of the principle. Several chapters also problematize and critically discuss the very concept of a safety principle. The book treats issues such as: What are safety principles and what roles do they have? What kinds of safety principles are there? When, if ever, should rules and principles be disobeyed? How do safety principles relate to the law; what is the status of principles in different domains? The book also features: • Insights from leading international experts on safety and reliability • Real-world applications and case studies including systems usability, verification and validation, human reliability, and safety barriers • Different taxonomies for how safety principles are categorized • Breakthroughs in safety and risk science that can significantly change, improve, and inform important practical decisions • A structured treatment of safety principles relevant to numerous disciplines and application areas in industry and other sectors of society • Comprehensive and practical coverage of the multitude of safety principles including maintenance optimization, substitution, safety automation, risk communication, precautionary approaches, non-quantitative safety analysis, safety culture, and many others The Handbook of Safety Principles is an ideal reference and resource for professionals engaged in risk and safety analysis and research. This book is also appropriate as a graduate and PhD-level textbook for courses in risk and safety analysis, reliability, safety engineering, and risk management offered within mathematics, operations research, and engineering departments. NIKLAS MÖLLER, PhD, is Associate Professor at the Royal Institute of Technology in Sweden. The author of approximately 20 international journal articles, Dr. Möller's research interests include the philosophy of risk, metaethics, philosophy of science, and epistemology. SVEN OVE HANSSON, PhD, is Professor of Philosophy at the Royal Institute of Technology. He has authored over 300 articles in international journals and is a member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering Sciences. Dr. Hansson is also a Topical Editor for the Wiley Encyclopedia of Operations Research and Management Science. JAN-ERIK HOLMBERG, PhD, is Senior Consultant at Risk Pilot AB and Adjunct Professor of Probabilistic Riskand Safety Analysis at the Royal Institute of Technology. Dr. Holmberg received his PhD in Applied Mathematics from Helsinki University of Technology in 1997. CARL ROLLENHAGEN, PhD, is Adjunct Professor of Risk and Safety at the Royal Institute of Technology. Dr. Rollenhagen has performed extensive research in the field of human factors and MTO (Man, Technology, and Organization) with a specific emphasis on safety culture and climate, event investigation methods, and organizational safety assessment.

Current and emerging trends in the domains of health management and the work sector, the abundance of new consumer products pervading the marketplace, and the desires of many older adults to undertake new learning experiences means that older adults, like their younger counterparts, will need to continually engage in new learning and training. Thus

Man-Machine-Environment System Engineering: Proceedings of the 21st Conference on MMESE is the academic showcase of best research papers selected from more than 500 submissions each year. From this book reader will learn the best research topics and the latest development trend in MMESE design theory and other human-centered system application.MMESE focus mainly on the relationship between Man, Machine and Environment. It studies the optimum combination of man-machine-environment systems. In the system, the Man means the working people as the subject in the workplace (e.g. operator, decision-maker); the Machine means the general name of any object controlled by the Man (including tool, Machinery, Computer, system and technology), the Environment means the specially working conditions under which Man and Machine occupy together(e.g. temperature, noise, vibration, hazardous gases etc.). The three goals of the optimization of the system are safety, efficiency and economy.In 1981 with direct support from one of the greatest modern Chinese scientists, Qian Xuesen, Man-Machine-Environment System Engineering (MMESE), the integrated and advanced science research topic was established in China by Professor Shengzhao Long. In the letter to Shengzhao Long, in October 22nd, 1993, Qian Xuesen wrote: “You have created a very important modern science subject and technology in China!”.

This book offers analytical methods for studying human work in ergonomics and psychology that are similar to ones utilized by the engineering sciences. SSAT offers not only new qualitative but also formalized and quantitative methods of analysis. This book will describe quantitative methods of task complexity and reliability assessment, application