Function allocation is the design decision which assigns work functions to all agents in a team, both human and automated. Efforts to guide function allocation systematically has been studied in many fields such as engineering, human factors, team and organization design, management science, and cognitive systems engineering. Each field focuses on certain aspects of function allocation, but not all; thus, an independent discussion of each does not address all necessary issues with function allocation. Four distinctive perspectives emerged from a review of these fields: technology-centered, human-centered, team-oriented, and work-oriented. Each perspective focuses on different aspects of function allocation: capabilities and characteristics of agents (automation or human), team structure and processes, and work structure and the work environment. Together, these perspectives identify the following eight issues with function allocation: 1)Workload, 2)Incoherency in function allocations, 3)Mismatches between responsibility and authority, 4)Interruptive automation, 5)Automation boundary conditions, 6)Function allocation preventing human adaptation to context, 7)Function allocation destabilizing the humans' work environment, and 8)Mission Performance. Addressing these issues systematically requires formal models and simulations that include all necessary aspects of human-automation function allocation: the work environment, the dynamics inherent to the work, agents, and relationships among them. Also, addressing these issues requires not only a (static) model, but also a (dynamic) simulation that captures temporal aspects of work such as the timing of actions and their impact on the agent's work. Therefore, with properly modeled work as described by the work environment, the dynamics inherent to the work, agents, and relationships among them, a modeling framework developed by this thesis, which includes static work models and dynamic simulation, can capture the issues with function allocation. Then, based on the eight issues, eight types of metrics are established. The purpose of these metrics is to assess the extent to which each issue exists with a given function allocation. Specifically, the eight types of metrics assess workload, coherency of a function allocation, mismatches between responsibility and authority, interruptive automation, automation boundary conditions, human adaptation to context, stability of the human's work environment, and mission performance. Finally, to validate the modeling framework and the metrics, a case study was conducted modeling four different function allocations between a pilot and flight deck automation during the arrival and approach phases of flight. A range of pilot cognitive control modes and maximum human taskload limits were also included in the model. The metrics were assessed for these four function allocations and analyzed to validate capability of the metrics to identify important issues in given function allocations. In addition, the design insights provided by the metrics are highlighted This thesis concludes with a discussion of mechanisms for further validating the modeling framework and function allocation metrics developed here, and highlights where these developments can be applied in research and in the design of function allocations in complex work environments such as aviation operations.

M. Tech. Electrical Engineering. / Investigates a new approach of wheelchair control, based on the user behaviour recognition. This objective involves two steps in the resolution of the problem. The first step is to determine the action the user initiates. Therefore, the present study will mostly refer to literatures on car driver behaviour modelling, as several studies have been conducted in that domain. The proposed model of user's behaviour presented here is based on probabilistic graphical model, for instance, Bayesian network. The second step is the generation of an assistive control signal that will compensate the user input, depending on the driving task inferred by the Bayesian network.Experiments have been conducted on a virtual environment model developed in Matlab and several users participated to the experiments. The results show a great potential of Bayesian Network model to infer on human behaviour and also a satisfying output from the ANFIS model as it delivers signals following the user's behaviour.

Thesis (MPhil)--Stellenbosch University, 2003. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: This study aims to investigate a work environment into which a new workflow system, that automates the work process, has recently been introduced. The study will focus on the level of work morale displayed by the people active in this new environment, as well as their perception of their work. The study takes the form of a case study carried out in the Nedcor Home Loans Application Processing Centre. This centre is the central area in which all home loan applications for the entire Gauteng, North West, Orange Free State, Mpumalanga and Limpopo regions are collated and processed. The applications from these regions translate into a total of between 9 and 13 thousand applications each month. The home loan application process is the most complex of the banking application processes as it involves a number of interfaces with external parties and systems. The workflow system was introduced in order to simplify, co-ordinate and accelerate this process. The study was conducted using D. A. De Vaus's Surveys in Social Research, Fourth Edition, a methodology for surveys in social research, as a guideline. A structured questionnaire was constructed in order to collect data regarding the opinions and behaviour of the sample members. A pilot study was conducted with 10 of the sample members in order to test and refine the survey instrument. Following this, the updated survey instrument was distributed to the sample group. The population of the case study environment consisted of less than 100 people all situated in one location. For this reason the entire survey population was selected as the sample population. The data collected described the sample members' attitudes towards work, their relationships with their colleagues, as well as their perceptions of their opportunities for personal growth, as a measure of their level of work morale. Information describing the employees perceived type of work was also collected. This was done by accumulating information regarding the level of thinking, responsibility and monotony that characterised their work, as well as the proportion of time that staff members spent interacting directly with the system. After the survey implementation, the data was collated and analysed. The reliability of the data was tested using Cronbach's alpha. Data that originated from concepts with Cronbach's alpha scores of below 0,6 were deemed to be unreliable and were removed from the dataset. A correlation analysis, using Spearman's rank correlation, was conducted on the remaining data. This analysis was aimed at establishing whether any correlations between the type of work carried out by an employee and his or her associated level of work morale exist. It was established that the level of work morale that characterised the case study environment was relatively low, as will be discussed in detail in Chapter 5. Furthermore, it was ascertained that the introduction of the system had a significant influence on the nature of the work carried out by the staff in the case study environment, and that a strong correlation existed between the type of work carried out by an employee and his or her associated level of work morale. From this it was concluded that the introduction of the system influenced the level of work morale found to characterise the case study environment. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die doelwit van hierdie studie is om 'n werksomgewing te evalueer waar 'n nuwe werkvloeistelsel, wat prosesse outomatiseer, onlangs geimplementeer is. Die studie fokus op die vlak van werk moraal wat vertoon word deur mense in hierdie nuwe omgewing, sowel as hulle persepsie van hul werk. Die studie neem die vorm aan van 'n gevallestudie wat uitgevoer is in die Nedcor Huislening Applikasie Sentrum. Hierdie sentrum is die sentrale plek waar alle huislening applikasies vir die Gauteng, Noordwes, Vrystaat, Mpumalanga en Limpopo gebiede versamel en verwerk word. Die hoeveelheid applikasies in hierdie gebiede is tussen 9 000 en 13 000 per maand. Die huislening applikasie proses is die mees komplekse proses van alle bank applikasie prosesse, aangesien dit 'n aantal integrasies met eksterne partye en stelsels vereis. Die werkvloeistelsel is geimplementeer om hierdie prosesse te vereenvoudig, te koordineer en te versnel. Die studie is uitgevoer deur D.A. De Vaus se "Surveys in Social Research, Fourth Edition, a methodology for surveys in social research" as 'n verwysingsraamwerk te gebruik. 'n Gestruktureerde vraelys is saamgestel om data te versamel oor die menings en gedrag van die lede in die toetsgroep. 'n Proefstudie is uitgevoer met 10 lede van die toetsgroep om die opname-instrument te toets en te verfyn. Daarna is die opgedateerde opname instrument onder die toetsgroep versprei. Die bevolking van die gevallestudie bestaan uit minder as 100 mense wat almal in dieselfde lokasie geplaas is. Om hierdie rede is die totale bevolking gekies as die toetsgroep. Die data wat versamel is het die lede van die toetsgroep se houdings teenoor hulle werk, hulle verhoudings met hulle kollegas, sowel as hulle persepsie van geleenthede vir persoonlike groei, beskryf. Die data is gebruik as 'n aanduiding van hul vlak van werk moraal. Data wat die werknemers se persepsie van hulle tipe werk weerspieel, is ook versamel. Data oor die denkvlak, verantwoordelikheid en eentonigheid van hulle werk, sowel as die hoeveelheid tyd wat personeellede spandeer het op direkte interaksie met die stelsel. Na die implementering van die opname, is die data versamel en geanaliseer. Die betroubaarheid van die data is getoets deur Cronbach se alpha toets toe te pas. Data, waar die indikator se Cronbach alpha telling minder was as 0.6, is geag as onbetroubaar en is verwyder van die datastel. 'n Korrelasie-analise is uitgevoer op die oorblywende data, deur gebruik te maak van Spearman se korrelasie mode. Die analise is daarop gefokus om te bepaal of daar enige ooreenstemming is tussen 'n werknemer se tipe werk en sy of haar verwante vlak van werkmoraal. Daar is gevind dat die vlak van werkmoraal wat hierdie studie kenmerk, relatief laag is. Dit sal verder bestudeer work in hoofstuk 5. Daar is ook bevind dat die instelling van die stelsel 'n beduidende invloed het op die werk wat uitgevoer word deur die betrokke personeel in die gevallestudie-omgewing. Daar is 'n sterk korrelasie tussen die tipe werk en die vlak van werk moraal van werknemers. Die gevolgtrekking is dus dat die instelling van die stelsel die vlak van werkmoraal beinvloed het in hierdie gevallestudie.

Doctorat en sciences psychologiques / info:eu-repo/semantics/nonPublished

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