This thesis hypothesizes that providing task specific information to individual team members will improve coordination and decision-making, and therefore team performance, at time critical tasks. Major themes addressed in this research include teams and team processes, mental models, team mental models, work domain analysis, and hierarchical task analysis. Furthermore, the theory behind the development of complementary models is introduced. A unique method to identify the information sources and requirements in a complex team environment is first discussed in general and then specifically applied in two domains. The findings are presented of two experiments examining the effects of imposing different information distribution strategies that range from no complementariness to full complementariness of information. Team communication, team and individual task performance, workload, and timeliness and effectiveness of team decision making were assessed in nominal and off-nominal conditions. The first experiment used an automobile simulator and examined team navigation while driving. A second experiment was designed to incorporate additional measures to more specifically investigate individual performance, team workload, and clarity of information requirements using a UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter simulator. The procedures used for both experiments provided for dynamic yet controlled environments through which critical factors that influence team process and performance could be evaluated accurately. Results of these experiments provide empirical evidence that providing task relevant information to individual team members in a time critical environment, while limiting their access to non-relevant information, improves individual and team performance. Furthermore, there is evidence of increased individual performance that indicates this method of distributing information among team members may provide individual crewmembers with a more accurate task relevant mental model of their own environment. This research provides new insight into how the distribution of information among team members effects the development of mental models, information requirements, team and individual performance, and communications, and highlights several directions for future research. The information distribution design principles presented in this thesis address the heterogeneity of teams; teams cannot be thought of as groups of identical individuals. The results concerning the communication, workload, performance and team of mental models were consistent across the domains in this research.

Published Article / A retired physicist attempting to master elements of music theory in a short time found the Mental Model of the keyboard layout invaluable in overcoming some of the related learning challenges and this has been followed up in collaboration with a professor of Music Education. Possible cognitive mechanisms for his response are discussed and it is concluded that his engrained learning habits, which emphasise models as found in physics, are potentially of wider applicability. A survey of the use of Mental Models among competent young musicians indicated that although various models are widely used, this is largely subconscious. The practical question of whether exposure of students to the keyboard would assist them in mastering music theory remains unresolved.

Designers use various representations to externalize their ideas, physical models being an important one. Physical models are widely used by designers and their use is promoted as an effective design tool by industry and government agencies. However, very little is known about the cognitive effects of physical models in the design process; the available guidelines are conflicting. Some researchers argue for the frequent implementation of physical models, while others observe that the use of physical models fixates designers. In light of these conflicts, the research discussed in this dissertation focuses on understanding the cognitive effects of physical models and developing guidelines for aiding designers in their implementation. A combination of controlled lab studies and qualitative studies is adopted to achieve said goal. The results from the controlled studies show that physical models supplement designers’ erroneous mental models and help them to come up with more ideas satisfying the problem requirements. These studies also demonstrate that design fixation is not inherent in physical modeling, but it is caused by the Sunk Cost Effect. According to Sunk Cost Effect, as designers spend more time building physical models of their initial ideas, they tend to fixate more to the variations of those ideas. A qualitative study on industry-sponsored projects and development cases of award-winning products further supports these results in more realistic situations. Further, the studies reported in this dissertation show that physical models can be effective tools for the mitigation of fixation to undesirable design features in a flawed example; however, these results can also depend upon the experience level of a designer in solving open-ended design problems. With these insights from the series of studies, a set of guidelines and a Model Error Reeducation Method (MERM) are formulated and tested with novice designers. MERM helps designers in identifying critical loads and interface designs they miss in their original designs, before prototyping. The results from the testing of this method show that this method is very useful in avoiding said errors in physical modeling.

This paper investigates the behavior of bicycle commuters using qualitative behavior research techniques. Bicycle commuters are observed in context of their commute rides and video taped for analysis. Interviews and cognitive mapping processes are used to draw out commuters' perceptions to external activity and their behavior modifications in response. The behavior and perception data are used to illustrate mental models of bicycle commuters: how they differ among riders and how an individual rider's mental model evolves along their commute. A clear understanding of bicycle commuters' mental models and behaviors associated with them can be used to create a framework for development of a tool for self-assessment of commuting experiences.

The purpose of this research is to investigate undergraduate students&rsquo / mental models about the quantization of physical observables. The research was guided by ethnography, case study, and content analysis integrated to each other. It focused on second-year physics and physics education students, who were taking the Modern Physics course at the Department of Physics, at Middle East Technical University. Wide range of data was collected by interview, observation, test, diary, and other documents during 2008-2 academic semester. The findings obtained from the qualitative analysis of the data indicated the following conclusions: (1) Students displayed six different mental models, defined as Scientific Model, Primitive Scientific Model, Shredding Model, Alternating Model, Integrative Model, and Evolution Model, about the quantization of physical observables. (2) Students&rsquo / models were influenced by the external sources such as textbooks (explanations in textbooks, bringing textbook into the classes, and the use of one or both textbooks), instructional elements (explanations in instruction, taking notes in classes, and studying before and after the classes+taking notes in classes+attending classes regularly), topic order, and classmate / they were influenced by the internal sources such as meta-cognitive elements, motivation, belief (the nature of science and the nature of quantum physics concepts), and familiarity and background about the concepts. (3) The models displayed by students developed with the contribution of these sources in different proportions. Furthermore, although upgrading in models was observed within the cases of quantization, students&rsquo / mental models about the quantization of physical observables are context dependent, and stable during the semester.

There are two important trends in organizations today: 1) the increasing use of teams and 2) the increasing diversity in the workforce. The literature is in tune with these organizational trends, evidenced by a dramatic increase in research on team performance and the effects of diversity. However, there are still contradictory findings of the effects of team diversity on team processes and outcomes. To shed light on these inconsistencies, the cognitive construct of team mental model is introduced as a mediator of the relationship between team cognitive diversity and team performance. Team mental model is an emergent cognitive state that represents team members' organized understanding of their task environment (e.g., Klimoski&Mohammed, 1994) and has been shown to improve team performance (e.g., Edwards, Day, Arthur,&Bell, 2006; Mathieu, Heffner, Goodwin, Salas,&Cannon-Bowers, 2000). Specifically, with a sample of 94 student teams I investigated how team cognitive diversity affects team mental model similarity and accuracy, and through them, team performance. In addition, I examined team information processing mechanisms as moderators of the relationships between team cognitive diversity and team mental model similarity and accuracy. The results suggest that cognition at the team level plays an important role in the effective functioning of decision making teams. Specifically, the combination of team mental model similarity and accuracy predicts levels of team performance and information integration is an important moderator linking cognitive style diversity to task mental models, team processes, and team performance. The research model developed and tested seeks to advance understanding of the "black box" linking team diversity to team outcomes (Lawrence, 1997) and to provide guidance to managers leading cognitively diverse teams.

Existing guidelines detail assessment criteria that should be used to evaluate offshore emergency response (ER) team members’ performance; however, minimal research has investigated this testing. Therefore, using a Human System Integration approach, this thesis examines the impact of including an electronic Emergency Response Focus Board (ERFB) during simulation testing. Archival ER performance videos were analyzed, subject matter experts (SMEs) were interviewed, and an iterative human-centered design process was used to test prototype ERFBs. Situation awareness, accuracy, and reaction times were collected during ERFB testing in simulated emergencies. Results indicate that SMEs use different assessment factors to predict future ER performance and that the type of ERFB and offshore experience significantly influenced speed and accuracy of responses. Based on these results, it was concluded that a dynamic ERFB improves the development and maintenance of SA. Therefore, it was recommended that a similar ERFB configuration be implemented into future offshore ER assessments.

abstract: Legislative changes and discussions about the United States falling further and further behind other nations in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) achievement are growing. As they grow, STEM instruction in elementary school has earned its place as a national area of interest in education. In the case of Ivory School District, teachers are being asked to radically change their daily practices by consistently implementing inquiry-based STEM experiences in their classrooms. As such, teachers are being asked to scale a divide between the district expectations and their knowledge and experience. Many fourth grade educators are teachers who have been trained as generalists and typically do not have specific background or experience in the philosophy, instructional strategies, or content associated with STEM. Using a prototype approach, this study aims to understand how such teachers conceptualize STEM instruction and the relationship between their experience and conceptions. / Dissertation/Thesis / Ed.D. Educational Administration and Supervision 2013

Engineering educators have called for research on how best to foster and assess the development of collaborative expertise, particularly around engineering design. Mental models are internal representations depicting understanding. The quality of mental models and their similarity amongst group members have been found to influence performance and group processes in a range of disciplines: For example, flight, military, medical, and business teams. The purpose of this thesis was to examine three attributes (content, structure, within-group similarity) of the mental models of first-year undergraduate engineering students hold about both collaboration and engineering design in the context of a course-based engineering design project. Participants were 251 undergraduate engineering students enrolled in a first-year engineering course. Mental models were measured using relatedness ratings. This exploratory study drew upon network analysis indices and used descriptive, correlational, and comparative statistical techniques. Findings indicate (a) monitoring was viewed as the least central collaborative idea represented in the engineering students’ mental models, (b) quality or expertise is indicated by the level of connection pruning in students’ mental models, (c) performance and the quality of mental models of collaboration are associated, and (d) within-group collaborative mental model compatibility was more related to performance than mental model overlap. This study contributes to engineering education by suggesting mental models of the collaborative process are an essential factor to consider when preparing undergraduate engineering students to engage in collaborative engineering design. / Graduate

This thesis bring together different disciplines – philosophy of mind, artificial intelligence, cognitive science, cybernetics and the performing arts – in a transdisciplinary investigation that raises new questions about the human mind and our relationship with computers and machines in a way that contributes to and helps elucidate the human computer interaction (HCI) debate. It chooses transdisciplinarity as the methodology best able to mobilize new ideas and generate a different approach to HCI, one that will develop fresh insights and produce critical ways of thinking about the problems of contemporary life in relation to our interaction with technologies (in the broadest sense of the term). The thesis reconciles the artificial with human nature by using transdisciplinary methods to reduce the friction between human beings and computers. It does this by revisiting early mechanical machines and automatons (from mythology and science), as well as exploring the subject in relation to elements of the performing arts. In the process, the thesis confronts the concepts of ‘artificial’ and ‘natural’ intelligence, and explores various models of mind and intelligence, as well as examining the physicality or materiality of artefacts in terms of their congruence with the paradigm of the ‘embodied mind’. The preliminary studies and literature review carried out for the research revealed that the model of the mind currently proposed by HCI as the basis for theories of how humans interact with computers is unsatisfactory, limited and very problematic, not least because it is a disembodied and representational conception of the human mind. In order to relieve HCI of this problematic issue, the thesis introduces the concept of the ‘embodied mind’, which brings a deeper understanding of how the mind works; its recognition that the human mind, body and the world are interrelated entities gives us a new insight into how we can improve our interactions with machines and computers. To achieve this, the research explores the conceptualization of human characteristics such as intelligence and cognition, and confirms 7 that these concepts are subject to change, manifested in different forms, distributed, situated and contextualized. Intelligence is not interpreted as a literal entity, as it is in cognitive psychology, or as a quality that belongs to or empowers human beings alone, but inspired by the philosophy of artificial intelligence (AI), the thesis argues that it is a manifestation that ‘emerges’ when favourable conditions facilitate interactions between agents and artefacts. Through a focused analysis and interpretation of early automatons, robots, and artificial and mechanical machines, the study explores the concept that technology is both a practice and an imaginative idea, and not just a concrete manifestation of a solution to human problems. It perceives automatons, especially ‘fraudulent’ automatons, as true archaeological discoveries, evidence of the fact that our human ambitions and ideas are not limited by the technological expressions of different eras; they represent a special repository of the desire to capitalize on and make such ideas manifest even when the technology for their materialization is not yet available. The thesis also brings ventriloquism and puppetry into the discussion, as both objects and performative practices, in order to highlight the human relationship with the material environment, as well as related aspects of human and non-human agency. This indicates that cybernetics could prove a useful framework for an understanding of elements of the relationship between the human and the artificial. The thesis therefore tackles the problems and limitations imposed by cognitive science, computer science and psychology, currently the main disciplines concerned with improving human relationships with computers and machines, but more specifically, it offers a more historically and philosophically informed contribution to the study of HCI.