Dr. Mary (Missy) Cummings, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, USA
Dr. Benjamin Knott, General Dynamics AIS, USA
Dr. Eduardo Salas, University of Central Florida, USA
Dr. James Szalma, University of Central Florida, USA

Future tactical command and control (C2) will undoubtedly be affected by a shift toward network-centric warfare (NCW), a concept of operations that relies on sophisticated information and communication technologies for enabling real-time collaboration and heightened shared situational awareness among geographically-distributed individuals and teams. One of the necessary components of NCW is the availability of appropriate and effective collaboration tools and an understanding of how they affect individual and team performance efficiency, problem solving, decision making, situation awareness, workload, and communication. This is especially true given that these teams will be faced with making high-stake decisions under non-optimal conditions characterized by time stress, incomplete and/or inaccurate information, rapidly changing situations, and uncertainty. To date, the majority of research on collaboration technologies has been limited to face-to-face collaboration versus computer-mediated collaboration, with much of it showing an advantage for face-to-face collaboration in terms of speed and quality of the team’s decisions. Moreover, it has been noted that theoretical models of collaborative decision making, frameworks and models of collaboration technologies and processes, and empirical data describing the impacts of collaboration technology on team processes are lacking. Accordingly, the Air Force Research Laboratory’s Collaborative Tools for Tactical Command and Control Research Program assembled a multi-university research consortium to examine the impact of collaboration technologies on selection, workload, and team decision making in tactical command and control teams in simulated network-centric environments. This proposed panel comprises consortium members and represents a range of world-renown experts in mental workload assessment, cognitive neuroscience, human-system interaction, computer supported collaboration, humans and automation, and team decision making and team performance. The purpose of the panel will be to report and discuss the research that was conducted as part of the 18-month consortium project.

Mary (Missy) Cummings received her B.S. in Mathematics from the United States Naval Academy in 1988, her M.S. in Space Systems Engineering from the Naval Postgraduate School in 1994, and her Ph.D. in Systems Engineering from the University of Virginia in 2003. A naval officer and military pilot from 1988-1999, she was one of the Navy's first female fighter pilots. She is currently an assistant professor in the Aeronautics & Astronautics Department at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and is the director of the Humans and Automation Laboratory (http://halab.mit.edu ). Her research interests include human supervisory control, human-unmanned vehicle interaction, bounded collaborative human-computer decision making, direct perception decision support, information complexity in displays, and the ethical and social impact of technology.

Benjamin Knott is a human factors research scientist with General Dynamics Advanced Information Systems in Dayton, Ohio. His general interest is in behavioral science as it relates to the design of human-machine interfaces. His current emphasis is on studying the impact of collaboration and communication technologies on the performance of military tactical command and control teams. Past research and development activities include the design of natural language speech recognition user interfaces for telecommunications applications, the examination of virtual environments as an advanced interface for military training and mission rehearsal, and the study of virtual environments for assessment and rehabilitation of individuals with neuropsychological impairment. Benjamin received a Ph.D. in Applied Experimental Psychology from The Catholic University of America, Washington DC.

Eduardo Salas is Trustee Chair and Professor of Psychology at the University of Central Florida. He also holds an appointment as Program Director for Human Systems Integration Research Department at the Institute for Simulation & Training. Previously, he was a senior research psychologist and Head of the Training Technology Development Branch of NAVAIR-Orlando for 15 years. During this period, Dr. Salas served as a principal investigator for numerous R&D programs focusing on teamwork, team training, advanced training technology, decision-making under stress, learning methodologies and performance assessment.

James Szalma is an assistant professor in the psychology department at the University of Central Florida. He received a Ph.D. in Applied Experimental/Human Factors psychology in 1999 from the University of Cincinnati. His primary research interests include human performance of cognitively demanding signal detection tasks, and the workload and stress associated with cognitive performance. He is also interested in the individual differences that contribute to variation in performance and stress response. His lab, the Performance Research Laboratory (PERL), is currently investigating how operator characteristics and task characteristics interact to influence performance in systems utilizing adaptive automation, as well as the validity of Fuzzy Signal Detection Theory for performance evaluation in threat detection.

Scott Galster is an Engineering Research Psychologist and Program Manager at the Air Force Research laboratory at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio. His research interests include human factors issues surrounding automation, display design, supervisory control of automated agents, and the evaluation of technologies that facilitate individual and team decision making in tactical battle management command and control environments. He is the Program Manager for the Collaborative Tools for Tactical Command and Control research group. Scott received his Ph.D. in Applied Experimental Psychology from The Catholic University of America, Washington, DC.

PANEL MEMBERS:

Dr. LorRaine Duffy, Navy/SPAWAR, San Diego, California, USA
Dr. Allen Dukes, Air Force Research Laboratory, WPAFB, Ohio, USA
Dr. Nahum Gershon, The MITRE Corporation, Virginia, USA
Dr. Ben Knott, General Dynamics AIS, USA

ABSTRACT:

Context and/or environment plays a key role in determining the applicability of any technology. The goal of the panel is to assemble a diverse group of researchers and subject matter experts to discuss the use of chat/IM in dynamic, goal-driven settings. An important aspect is understanding the strengths and weaknesses of chat/IM, and using this understanding as a criterion when considering the implementation of chat/IM as a design solution. Just as important is the end-use environment, which may be a business setting, military environment, or as an emergency responder. This panel will focus on the myriad end-use environments in which IM/chat technology may be applied.

Each panelist will give a short presentation or demonstration involving an IM/Chat issue. Examples include a research project involving the interpretation of brevity during an IM/Chat session, a demonstration of a graphical IM capability, and discussion of the use of IM/Chat from a policymaking standpoint. Such topics will help provide material for open discussion during the latter half of the session. The overall goal of the session is to generate thought and discussion, from a system design, usability evaluation, and regulatory standpoint, regarding applications and requirements appropriate for the effective use of IM/Chat technology across all potential end-use environments.

PANLEISTS SHORT BIOS:

LorRaine Duffy received the Ph.D. in Social/Organizational Psychology from the University of Utah. Her current research is in the areas of collaborative technology development, virtual team performance assessment and prediction, and distributed team decision-making enhancement. She has been involved in the development of collaborative training systems, virtual environments, enhanced network-aware applications, collaborative evaluation methodologies, and middleware for multi-transport algorithms.

Allen Dukes is a Computer Scientist at the Air Force Research Laboratory at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio. His work includes providing support to the Collaborative Tools for Tactical Command and Control research Program. His activities include developing task oriented collaborative tools as well as integration and testing through human-in-the-loop experimentation. Allen received his BS in Computer Engineering from Wright State University, OH in 2004.

Scott Galster is an Engineering Research Psychologist and Program Manager at the Air Force Research laboratory at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio. His research interests include human factors issues surrounding automation, display design, supervisory control of automated agents, and the evaluation of technologies that facilitate individual and team decision making in tactical battle management command and control environments. He is the Program Manager for the Collaborative Tools for Tactical Command and Control research group. Scott received his Ph.D. in Applied Experimental Psychology from The Catholic University of America, Washington, DC.

Nahum Gershon grew up in a melting pot- a real one. This multi-lingual environment was cerebral but also literal and oral. So naturally, he desired, since he was a child, to be a scientist, an aspiration he fulfilled specializing in the areas of chemistry, physics, and biology. Later in life, he discovered that humans cannot live on reason & linear thinking alone, so he went through years of personal transformation. Today, Nahum works on combining creative expressions like storytelling, film, and visual and interactive design with technology, social processes, and strategic planning. He can be still logical (and very much so), but he does it only when it’s appropriate. Nahum is a Senior Principle Scientist at the MITRE Corporation where he focuses on research and practical applications of presentation and visualization of data and information, as it relates to perception, storytelling, society, and culture. Routinely, he tries very hard not to torture his audience with PowerPoint slides and bully bullets whenever possible. In his free time, Nahum, among other things, participates in a number of national and international committees. He enjoys life.

David Kancler is a Human Factors Psychologist at the University of Dayton Research Institute. His work includes numerous projects in the military maintenance community, as well as system development and usability testing for government and commercial customers. His recent work includes the design and development of a job performance aid for the Air Force flightline technician, including the use of an instant messaging capability to allow the user access to other maintainers and technical representatives. Mr. Kancler received his MA in Human Factors Psychology and Experimental Design from the University of Dayton in 1992.

Benjamin Knott is a human factors research scientist with General Dynamics Advanced Information Systems in Dayton, Ohio. His general interest is in behavioral science as it relates to the design of human-machine interfaces. His current emphasis is on studying the impact of collaboration and communication technologies on the performance of military tactical command and control teams. Past research and development activities include the design of natural language speech user interfaces for telecommunications applications, the examination of virtual environments as an advanced interface for military training and mission rehearsal, and the study of virtual environments for assessment and rehabilitation of individuals with neuropsychological impairment. Benjamin received a Ph.D. in Applied Experimental Psychology from The Catholic University of America, Washington DC.

Back to top