National and international crises in the early 21st Century, whether natural, technological or man-made, emphasize the need for highly reliable organizations (HROs) to conduct emergency response in a relatively error-free way. Urban search and rescue units provide a pivotal intermittent role in these high-risk environments. Traditional HRO research focuses on a concept known as "collective mind" -- heedful interactions of responders that accomplish reliability. Rather than focusing on collective mind, this study uses a practice-based communication approach to examine the material interplay of bodies, objects, and sites using ethnography and grounded theory. In-depth interviews, participant observations, and organizational documents were coded and contrasted to find patterns in material interplay. More specifically, this study examines how these material features interact to orchestrate reliable practices through ecological coherence, a bonding of multiple forces to construct meaning and improvisation. The study has implication for HRO theory through focusing on the role of the body rather than emphasizing cognitive judgment in collective action. Collective body shifts the discussion of mindful processes to embodied practices and offers insights into the ways responders enact safety and perform responses in dynamic, high-risk environments.

O trabalho dos usuários em sistemas de informação é uma atividade social que envolve grupos de pessoas que cooperam entre si para desempenhar as mais variadas funções. A natureza da cooperação, por si só é complexa e depende dos indivíduos envolvidos, do ambiente físico e da organização onde o trabalho se desenvolve. Os aspectos ligados ao trabalho cooperativo dos usuários não são considerados no enfoque tradicional da engenharia de software, uma vez que o usuário é visto de modo independente do meio ou grupo em que está inserido, com o modelo individual generalizado para o estudo do comportamento coletivo envolvendo todos os usuários. O objetivo deste trabalho é propor um processo de requisitos de software para tratar as questões envolvendo o trabalho cooperativo em sistemas de informação que apresentem coordenação distribuída nas ações dos usuários e a comunicação entre eles ocorre, preponderantemente, de modo indireto por meio dos dados inseridos no uso do software. Para tanto, a pesquisa faz uso de conceitos da ergonomia, da cognição e da engenharia de software. Utiliza-se a pesquisa-ação como metodologia de pesquisa em três ciclos, aplicada durante o desenvolvimento de um sistema de workflow corporativo em uma empresa de pesquisa tecnológica. No primeiro ciclo, o processo trata da definição dos requisitos do domínio do problema e das contribuições individuais dos usuários. No segundo ciclo, as contribuições do grupo (suas ações e inter-relações) são consideradas com as contribuições individuais pela simulação da solução proposta. No terceiro ciclo, o processo trata do refinamento dos requisitos do trabalho cooperativo, com o software em uso real no ambiente de trabalho. Os resultados obtidos no final do ciclo 2 e início do ciclo 3 durante a aplicação do processo em campo, mostraram a necessidade de melhoria do processo. Esta evolução é necessária, visto que a inclusão do sistema informatizado altera o ambiente de trabalho dos usuários, passando da interação face a face para a interação mediada pelo software. Os resultados obtidos evidenciaram que o maior grau de consciência dos usuários sobre como os inter-relacionamentos de suas atividades são realizados contribuem para um decréscimo em seus erros individuais, diminuindo o retrabalho de recodificação do software e acima de tudo o uso inadequado do sistema, evitando a propagação das consequências desses erros nos resultados finais do trabalho em grupo. / Users\' work in information systems is a social activity that involves people groups cooperating to perform many different functions. The nature of cooperation itself is complex and depends on the people involved, on the workplace environment and on the organization in which the work develops. Aspects related to the users\' cooperative work are not considered in the traditional approach of software engineering, since the user is viewed independently of his/her workplace environment or group, with the individual model generalized to the study of collective behavior of all users. This work proposes a process for software requirements to address issues involving cooperative work in information systems that provide distributed coordination in the users\' actions and the communication among them occurs indirectly through the data entered while using the software. To achieve this goal, this research uses ergonomics, cognition and software engineering concepts. Research-action is used as a research methodology applied in three cycles during the development of a corporate workflow system in a technological research company. In the first cycle, the proposed process exposes the definition of the problem domain requirements and the users\' individual contributions. In the second cycle, the contributions of the group (their actions and inter-relationships) are considered together with the individual contributions through the simulation of the proposed solution. In the third cycle, the process deals with the refinement of the cooperative work requirements with the software in actual use in the workplace. The results at the end of cycle 2 and the beginning of cycle 3 during the process application in the field show the need for process improvement. This is necessary because the inclusion of a computer system changes the users workplace, from the face to face interaction to the interaction mediated by the software. The results show that the highest degree of users\' awareness as the interrelationship of their activities are carried out contributes to a decrease in their individual errors, reducing software recoding rework and above all the inappropriate use of the system, avoiding the spread of the consequences of these errors in the final results of the group work.

O trabalho dos usuários em sistemas de informação é uma atividade social que envolve grupos de pessoas que cooperam entre si para desempenhar as mais variadas funções. A natureza da cooperação, por si só é complexa e depende dos indivíduos envolvidos, do ambiente físico e da organização onde o trabalho se desenvolve. Os aspectos ligados ao trabalho cooperativo dos usuários não são considerados no enfoque tradicional da engenharia de software, uma vez que o usuário é visto de modo independente do meio ou grupo em que está inserido, com o modelo individual generalizado para o estudo do comportamento coletivo envolvendo todos os usuários. O objetivo deste trabalho é propor um processo de requisitos de software para tratar as questões envolvendo o trabalho cooperativo em sistemas de informação que apresentem coordenação distribuída nas ações dos usuários e a comunicação entre eles ocorre, preponderantemente, de modo indireto por meio dos dados inseridos no uso do software. Para tanto, a pesquisa faz uso de conceitos da ergonomia, da cognição e da engenharia de software. Utiliza-se a pesquisa-ação como metodologia de pesquisa em três ciclos, aplicada durante o desenvolvimento de um sistema de workflow corporativo em uma empresa de pesquisa tecnológica. No primeiro ciclo, o processo trata da definição dos requisitos do domínio do problema e das contribuições individuais dos usuários. No segundo ciclo, as contribuições do grupo (suas ações e inter-relações) são consideradas com as contribuições individuais pela simulação da solução proposta. No terceiro ciclo, o processo trata do refinamento dos requisitos do trabalho cooperativo, com o software em uso real no ambiente de trabalho. Os resultados obtidos no final do ciclo 2 e início do ciclo 3 durante a aplicação do processo em campo, mostraram a necessidade de melhoria do processo. Esta evolução é necessária, visto que a inclusão do sistema informatizado altera o ambiente de trabalho dos usuários, passando da interação face a face para a interação mediada pelo software. Os resultados obtidos evidenciaram que o maior grau de consciência dos usuários sobre como os inter-relacionamentos de suas atividades são realizados contribuem para um decréscimo em seus erros individuais, diminuindo o retrabalho de recodificação do software e acima de tudo o uso inadequado do sistema, evitando a propagação das consequências desses erros nos resultados finais do trabalho em grupo. / Users\' work in information systems is a social activity that involves people groups cooperating to perform many different functions. The nature of cooperation itself is complex and depends on the people involved, on the workplace environment and on the organization in which the work develops. Aspects related to the users\' cooperative work are not considered in the traditional approach of software engineering, since the user is viewed independently of his/her workplace environment or group, with the individual model generalized to the study of collective behavior of all users. This work proposes a process for software requirements to address issues involving cooperative work in information systems that provide distributed coordination in the users\' actions and the communication among them occurs indirectly through the data entered while using the software. To achieve this goal, this research uses ergonomics, cognition and software engineering concepts. Research-action is used as a research methodology applied in three cycles during the development of a corporate workflow system in a technological research company. In the first cycle, the proposed process exposes the definition of the problem domain requirements and the users\' individual contributions. In the second cycle, the contributions of the group (their actions and inter-relationships) are considered together with the individual contributions through the simulation of the proposed solution. In the third cycle, the process deals with the refinement of the cooperative work requirements with the software in actual use in the workplace. The results at the end of cycle 2 and the beginning of cycle 3 during the process application in the field show the need for process improvement. This is necessary because the inclusion of a computer system changes the users workplace, from the face to face interaction to the interaction mediated by the software. The results show that the highest degree of users\' awareness as the interrelationship of their activities are carried out contributes to a decrease in their individual errors, reducing software recoding rework and above all the inappropriate use of the system, avoiding the spread of the consequences of these errors in the final results of the group work.

Human Systems Integration Capstone / Approved for public release;distribution is unlimited. / In the United States Air Force (USAF), a system is generally thought of in terms of technology; but there are other types of systems supporting our warfighters. A system is “a group of related parts that move or work together” (Merriam-Webster, 2014), suggesting that systems can also be a compilation of human activities and interactions. One such system is the Air Force Medical Service (AFMS). The AFMS has been charged with the delivery of healthcare for the USAF. It is an organization within which there are many workplaces, and these are prototypical of workplaces in the USAF. The USAF currently has no framework for developing organizations. This capstone project took an inside look into the organizational structure of the Keesler Air Force Base’s Base Operational Medicine Cell (BOMC). By conducting a macroergonomic analysis, I was able to make recommendations for an effective and fully harmonized organizational design. Human systems integration (HSI) played a pivotal role in the evaluation of the Keesler BOMC, as Manpower, Personnel, and Training (MPT) are key drivers in the development of organizations. The results of this analysis lead to the development of BOMC requirements and subsequently HSI requirements for organizations, or an HSI Framework for Organizations.

In her doctoral thesis the author would like to present the play Yoshitsune and the Thousand Cherry trees (Yoshitsune senbonzakura) as a unique piece of Japanese drama which has a great complexity and an outstanding place within the corpus of Japanese literature. Even if the play can be compared to Chushingura mono in its importance, Yoshitsune senbonzakura has not been widely translated to western languages. There are two exceptions, however: the English translation (Jones, Jr. 1993) and the German translation (Klopfenstein 1982). While comparing the two translations and using the most full original texts available (as preserved in Takeda Izumo and Namiki Sosuke Joruri Collection and Yuda Yoshio's Bunraku Joruri Collection), the author's goal is to present the play to Czech readers and its interpretation to Czech scholars. As for the flow and structure of the interpretation of Yoshitsune senbonzakura the author begins with an analysis of the historical background of the legend of Minamoto Yoshitsune, capturing the life of Yoshitsune from the time of Heiji rebellion (1159) when he was born to his death in 1189. Next the author concentrates on the legend itself as it evolved within the course of Japanese literature. With a shift from the court literature of Heian period towards the battlefield...