This thesis is a study into an engineering technology that enables us to investigate the cognitive aspects of systems. Where previous techniques have focused on individual human roles undertaking defined tasks, this work develops engineering technologies to understand the cognitive contribution of the human team participating in the system and how the deployment of machine decision making technologies can influence and change the possible human contribution in that system. This work first develops a framework for understanding an individual’s cognitive focus and then an engineering process that enables us to model the individual human cognitive contribution to the system and by combining these models to create a rich system model. This model can then be used to consider the deployment of advanced machine technologies, to identify new human or machine interaction requirements that are focused on maintaining the effectiveness of the human contribution. It then operationalises and verifies these engineering techniques by applying them to two systems. The first study chosen took an existing system whose effectiveness had been changed by the deployment of machine automation which has known problems; the use of the framework enabled the prediction of these problems and the identification of potential solutions. The second study investigated an existing human system and the potential deployment of machine technology. This study used the framework to create models of the human cognitive focus and joined them together to form a rich system model, into which the deployment of the machine technology was considered. This resulted in the ability to identify the impact of the machine technology across the entire human team, enabling the identification of additional requirements to support the human cognition and to maintain human knowledge.

Esta tese tem como problema de pesquisa “como analisar atividades e eventos na perspectiva da teoria dos sistemas cognitivos correlacionados com foco no trabalho e nos fenômenos emergentes das interações entre humanos e seus sistemas tecnológicos?” A partir disso, busca como objetivo, propor um protocolo para realização dessa análise. A pesquisa é realizada por meio de um estudo etnográfico no contexto da análise da atividade de cálculo das velocidades de decolagem em aeronaves de transporte comercial, sendo apresentada em cinco artigos. O primeiro descreve de que modos o campo da Engenharia de Sistemas Cognitivos (CSE) vem sendo constituído. Adicionalmente, é proposta uma agenda de pesquisa em sistemas socio‐técnicos complexos enfatizando a necessidade de trabalhos com o foco de análise nos fenômenos emergentes das interações, tomando o sistema cognitivo como unidade de análise. O segundo artigo visa à identificação e caracterização da atividade de cálculo das velocidades de decolagem e dos protótipos de falhas nessa atividade. Os resultados indicam a existência de fragilidades caracterizadas por 12 protótipos de falhas. O terceiro artigo tem por objetivo analisar o cálculo das velocidades de decolagem como um processo de cognição situada e distribuída, a fim de identificar possíveis vulnerabilidades nessa atividade. O estudo constatou quatro vulnerabilidades, vistas aqui muito mais como características nos processos da atividade: as representações ao nível do cockpit são sempre parciais e incompletas; algumas interações requerem, além da corporificação, interpretações; as interações entre os agentes não seguem um processo canônico de coordenação; e o controle da prevenção de falhas é preciso, porém, não é adequado. O quarto artigo descreve como a coordenação pode ser interpretada como um fenômeno cognitivo distribuído e situado em cockpit de aeronaves. Nesse sentido, o estudo parte da integração da perspectiva da teoria dos sistemas cognitivos correlacionados com quatro requisitos de coordenação descritos na literatura: representação compartilhada (common ground), interprevisibilidade, diretividade e sincronia. A automação, além dos pilotos, é concebida como um terceiro agente da cabine. Como resultados dessa integração, são propostos quatro modos de coordenação no cockpit, os quais ocorrem em diferentes etapas de um voo. O quinto artigo apresenta o protocolo para análise dos fenômenos emergentes resultantes de interações em sistemas cognitivos correlacionados A aplicação do protocolo é ilustrada por meio da análise do cálculo das velocidades de decolagem. Os resultados do estudo são usados para a avaliação do protocolo, segundo critérios de validade, confiabilidade, usabilidade e potencial para alavancagem de melhorias. / This thesis seeks to answer the research question “how to analyze activities and events in the perspective of joint cognitive systems as focused on the work and the phenomena emerging from interactions between humans and their technical system?” Hence, the study aims at proposing a protocol to carry out this analysis. The research is conducted by means of an ethnographic research in the context of the activity of takeoff speeds calculation in commercial transport aircraft, and is presented in five articles. The first one describes how the conceptual field of Cognitive Systems Engineering (CSE) has been made up. In addition, a research agenda in complex socio‐technical systems is proposed, emphasizing the need for the analysis of work with focus on phenomena emerging from interactions. The second article aims at identifying and characterizing the activity of take‐off speeds calculation and its prototypes of failure. The results indicate the existence of fragilities, that were organized in 12 prototypes of failure. The third article aims at analyzing take‐off speeds calculation as a situated and distributed process in order to identify possible vulnerabilities in this activity. The study has found four vulnerabilities, which are seen as characteristics of the process: the representations at the cockpit level are always partial and incomplete; some interactions require interpretations instead of corporifications; the interactions between agents do not follow a canonical coordination process; and the failure prevention control is accurate, although, not adequate. The fourth article describes how coordination may be interpreted as a situated and distributed phenomenon in the cockpit of an aircraft. In this respect, the study draws on the integration of the perspectives of joint cognitive systems theory with four coordination requirements described in the literature: shared representation (common ground), interpredictability, directability and synchrony. Automation, rather than only pilots, is conceived of as a third agent in the cabin. As a result of this integration, four modes of coordination in the cockpit are proposed, which occur at different stages of the flight. The fifth article presents a protocol for the analysis of emerging phenomena in joint cognitive systems. The application of the protocol is illustrated by means of the analysis of take‐off speeds calculation. The results of the study are used for the evaluation of the protocol, according to criteria of validity, reliability, usability and potential for the leverage of improvements.

Esta tese tem como problema de pesquisa “como analisar atividades e eventos na perspectiva da teoria dos sistemas cognitivos correlacionados com foco no trabalho e nos fenômenos emergentes das interações entre humanos e seus sistemas tecnológicos?” A partir disso, busca como objetivo, propor um protocolo para realização dessa análise. A pesquisa é realizada por meio de um estudo etnográfico no contexto da análise da atividade de cálculo das velocidades de decolagem em aeronaves de transporte comercial, sendo apresentada em cinco artigos. O primeiro descreve de que modos o campo da Engenharia de Sistemas Cognitivos (CSE) vem sendo constituído. Adicionalmente, é proposta uma agenda de pesquisa em sistemas socio‐técnicos complexos enfatizando a necessidade de trabalhos com o foco de análise nos fenômenos emergentes das interações, tomando o sistema cognitivo como unidade de análise. O segundo artigo visa à identificação e caracterização da atividade de cálculo das velocidades de decolagem e dos protótipos de falhas nessa atividade. Os resultados indicam a existência de fragilidades caracterizadas por 12 protótipos de falhas. O terceiro artigo tem por objetivo analisar o cálculo das velocidades de decolagem como um processo de cognição situada e distribuída, a fim de identificar possíveis vulnerabilidades nessa atividade. O estudo constatou quatro vulnerabilidades, vistas aqui muito mais como características nos processos da atividade: as representações ao nível do cockpit são sempre parciais e incompletas; algumas interações requerem, além da corporificação, interpretações; as interações entre os agentes não seguem um processo canônico de coordenação; e o controle da prevenção de falhas é preciso, porém, não é adequado. O quarto artigo descreve como a coordenação pode ser interpretada como um fenômeno cognitivo distribuído e situado em cockpit de aeronaves. Nesse sentido, o estudo parte da integração da perspectiva da teoria dos sistemas cognitivos correlacionados com quatro requisitos de coordenação descritos na literatura: representação compartilhada (common ground), interprevisibilidade, diretividade e sincronia. A automação, além dos pilotos, é concebida como um terceiro agente da cabine. Como resultados dessa integração, são propostos quatro modos de coordenação no cockpit, os quais ocorrem em diferentes etapas de um voo. O quinto artigo apresenta o protocolo para análise dos fenômenos emergentes resultantes de interações em sistemas cognitivos correlacionados A aplicação do protocolo é ilustrada por meio da análise do cálculo das velocidades de decolagem. Os resultados do estudo são usados para a avaliação do protocolo, segundo critérios de validade, confiabilidade, usabilidade e potencial para alavancagem de melhorias. / This thesis seeks to answer the research question “how to analyze activities and events in the perspective of joint cognitive systems as focused on the work and the phenomena emerging from interactions between humans and their technical system?” Hence, the study aims at proposing a protocol to carry out this analysis. The research is conducted by means of an ethnographic research in the context of the activity of takeoff speeds calculation in commercial transport aircraft, and is presented in five articles. The first one describes how the conceptual field of Cognitive Systems Engineering (CSE) has been made up. In addition, a research agenda in complex socio‐technical systems is proposed, emphasizing the need for the analysis of work with focus on phenomena emerging from interactions. The second article aims at identifying and characterizing the activity of take‐off speeds calculation and its prototypes of failure. The results indicate the existence of fragilities, that were organized in 12 prototypes of failure. The third article aims at analyzing take‐off speeds calculation as a situated and distributed process in order to identify possible vulnerabilities in this activity. The study has found four vulnerabilities, which are seen as characteristics of the process: the representations at the cockpit level are always partial and incomplete; some interactions require interpretations instead of corporifications; the interactions between agents do not follow a canonical coordination process; and the failure prevention control is accurate, although, not adequate. The fourth article describes how coordination may be interpreted as a situated and distributed phenomenon in the cockpit of an aircraft. In this respect, the study draws on the integration of the perspectives of joint cognitive systems theory with four coordination requirements described in the literature: shared representation (common ground), interpredictability, directability and synchrony. Automation, rather than only pilots, is conceived of as a third agent in the cabin. As a result of this integration, four modes of coordination in the cockpit are proposed, which occur at different stages of the flight. The fifth article presents a protocol for the analysis of emerging phenomena in joint cognitive systems. The application of the protocol is illustrated by means of the analysis of take‐off speeds calculation. The results of the study are used for the evaluation of the protocol, according to criteria of validity, reliability, usability and potential for the leverage of improvements.

Esta tese tem como problema de pesquisa “como analisar atividades e eventos na perspectiva da teoria dos sistemas cognitivos correlacionados com foco no trabalho e nos fenômenos emergentes das interações entre humanos e seus sistemas tecnológicos?” A partir disso, busca como objetivo, propor um protocolo para realização dessa análise. A pesquisa é realizada por meio de um estudo etnográfico no contexto da análise da atividade de cálculo das velocidades de decolagem em aeronaves de transporte comercial, sendo apresentada em cinco artigos. O primeiro descreve de que modos o campo da Engenharia de Sistemas Cognitivos (CSE) vem sendo constituído. Adicionalmente, é proposta uma agenda de pesquisa em sistemas socio‐técnicos complexos enfatizando a necessidade de trabalhos com o foco de análise nos fenômenos emergentes das interações, tomando o sistema cognitivo como unidade de análise. O segundo artigo visa à identificação e caracterização da atividade de cálculo das velocidades de decolagem e dos protótipos de falhas nessa atividade. Os resultados indicam a existência de fragilidades caracterizadas por 12 protótipos de falhas. O terceiro artigo tem por objetivo analisar o cálculo das velocidades de decolagem como um processo de cognição situada e distribuída, a fim de identificar possíveis vulnerabilidades nessa atividade. O estudo constatou quatro vulnerabilidades, vistas aqui muito mais como características nos processos da atividade: as representações ao nível do cockpit são sempre parciais e incompletas; algumas interações requerem, além da corporificação, interpretações; as interações entre os agentes não seguem um processo canônico de coordenação; e o controle da prevenção de falhas é preciso, porém, não é adequado. O quarto artigo descreve como a coordenação pode ser interpretada como um fenômeno cognitivo distribuído e situado em cockpit de aeronaves. Nesse sentido, o estudo parte da integração da perspectiva da teoria dos sistemas cognitivos correlacionados com quatro requisitos de coordenação descritos na literatura: representação compartilhada (common ground), interprevisibilidade, diretividade e sincronia. A automação, além dos pilotos, é concebida como um terceiro agente da cabine. Como resultados dessa integração, são propostos quatro modos de coordenação no cockpit, os quais ocorrem em diferentes etapas de um voo. O quinto artigo apresenta o protocolo para análise dos fenômenos emergentes resultantes de interações em sistemas cognitivos correlacionados A aplicação do protocolo é ilustrada por meio da análise do cálculo das velocidades de decolagem. Os resultados do estudo são usados para a avaliação do protocolo, segundo critérios de validade, confiabilidade, usabilidade e potencial para alavancagem de melhorias. / This thesis seeks to answer the research question “how to analyze activities and events in the perspective of joint cognitive systems as focused on the work and the phenomena emerging from interactions between humans and their technical system?” Hence, the study aims at proposing a protocol to carry out this analysis. The research is conducted by means of an ethnographic research in the context of the activity of takeoff speeds calculation in commercial transport aircraft, and is presented in five articles. The first one describes how the conceptual field of Cognitive Systems Engineering (CSE) has been made up. In addition, a research agenda in complex socio‐technical systems is proposed, emphasizing the need for the analysis of work with focus on phenomena emerging from interactions. The second article aims at identifying and characterizing the activity of take‐off speeds calculation and its prototypes of failure. The results indicate the existence of fragilities, that were organized in 12 prototypes of failure. The third article aims at analyzing take‐off speeds calculation as a situated and distributed process in order to identify possible vulnerabilities in this activity. The study has found four vulnerabilities, which are seen as characteristics of the process: the representations at the cockpit level are always partial and incomplete; some interactions require interpretations instead of corporifications; the interactions between agents do not follow a canonical coordination process; and the failure prevention control is accurate, although, not adequate. The fourth article describes how coordination may be interpreted as a situated and distributed phenomenon in the cockpit of an aircraft. In this respect, the study draws on the integration of the perspectives of joint cognitive systems theory with four coordination requirements described in the literature: shared representation (common ground), interpredictability, directability and synchrony. Automation, rather than only pilots, is conceived of as a third agent in the cabin. As a result of this integration, four modes of coordination in the cockpit are proposed, which occur at different stages of the flight. The fifth article presents a protocol for the analysis of emerging phenomena in joint cognitive systems. The application of the protocol is illustrated by means of the analysis of take‐off speeds calculation. The results of the study are used for the evaluation of the protocol, according to criteria of validity, reliability, usability and potential for the leverage of improvements.

ITC/USA 2007 Conference Proceedings / The Forty-Third Annual International Telemetering Conference and Technical Exhibition / October 22-25, 2007 / Riviera Hotel & Convention Center, Las Vegas, Nevada / This paper investigates the sum-rate capacity of a cognitive multiple access (MAC) sensor network. The multiple access network consists of K sensors communicating to a common base station. Outside of the network exists another user of the radio spectrum. Each sensor of the MAC network is aware (i.e. cognitive) of this user, denoted the primary user, and transmits in a manner to avoid any interference to this user. No interference transmission is achieved using the dirty-paper coding technique. The sum-rate capacity is the theoretical maximum of the sum of the simultaneously achievable rates of each sensor within the network. Using a recently derived iterative algorithm, we quantify the sum-rate capacity of this network and investigate its behavior as a function of the number of sensors, cognitive signal-to-noise ratio (CSNR) and primary SNR (PSNR) in a Rayleigh fading environment. We also derive bounds and scaling results for the ergodic sum-rate capacity.

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Many modern-day industries share features of tight coupling and high complexity, making it difficult to describe incidents in terms of direct attribution. This situation has been answered by novel theories on the bonds between people and their environment. Cognitive Systems Engineering (CSE) offers a new way of analysing human activities, acknowledging the impact of complex interaction and unpredictability. Doing so allows for innovative ways of pursuing work safety. In this study, the concept of safety culture has been interpreted from a CSE perspective and applied in a qualitative assessment of current safety work of at SSAB EMEA. A total number of 26 SSAB employees were interviewed, probing attitudes, perceptions and safety system structures at the Oxelösund steel mill, rolling mill and upper organizational layers. Additional data was collected using informers, SSAB documentation and participatory observation. Data was processed using a combination of top-down and bottom-up analytical approaches, creating a qualitative assessment of safety culture from salient themes. Results reveal an advanced state of safety management. However, management’s intentions are inhibited by issues in management presence and communication, management training, worker influence, forms and content of operator training, reporting, feedback, flow of communication and safety-related core assumptions. Revisiting lessons learned within the field of CSE, suggestions are made to possible areas of improvement and future research. These suggestions concern employee involvement in safety work, work identities, forms of training, manager roles and communication.

Neuro-computational models allow to study the brain mechanisms involved in intelligent behavior and extract essential computational principles which can be implemented in cognitive systems. They are a promising solution to achieve a brain-like artificial intelligence that can compete with natural intelligence on realistic behaviors. A crucial property of intelligent behavior is motivation, defined as the incentive to interact with the world in order to achieve specific goals, either extrinsic (obtaining rewards such as food or money, or avoiding pain) or intrinsic (satisfying one’s curiosity, fun). In the human brain, motivated or goal-directed behavior depends on a network of different structures, including the prefrontal cortex, the basal ganglia and the limbic system. Dopamine, a neurotransmitter associated with reward processing, plays a central role in coordinating the activity of this network. It structures processing in high-level cognitive areas along a limbic-associative-motor gradient and impacts the learning capabilities of the whole system. In this habilitation thesis, I present biologically-constrained neuro-computational models which investigate the role of dopamine in visual object categorization and memory retrieval (Vitay and Hamker, 2008), reinforcement learning and action selection (Vitay and Hamker, 2010), the updating, learning and maintenance of working memory (Schroll et al., 2012) and timing processes (Vitay and Hamker, 2014). These models outline the many mechanisms by which the dopaminergic system regulates cognitive and emotional behavior: bistable processing modes in the cerebral cortex, modulation of synaptic transmission and plasticity, allocation of cognitive resources and signaling of relevant events. Finally, I present a neural simulator able to simulate a variety of neuro-computational models efficiently on parallel architectures (Vitay et al., 2015). / Neuronale Modelle nach dem Vorbild des Gehirns bieten die Möglichkeit intelligente, kognitive Prozesse nicht nur besser zu verstehen, sondern sie stellen auch eine vielversprechende Lösung dar, um eine Gehirn-ähnliche künstliche Intelligenz für Wahrnehmung und Verhaltensweisen zu erreichen, die mit natürlicher Intelligenz konkurrieren kann. Eine entscheidende Eigenschaft von intelligentem Verhalten ist Motivation, definiert als der Anreiz mit der Welt zu interagieren, um bestimmte Ziele zu erreichen, sei es extrinsisch (Belohnungen wie Nahrung oder Geld zu erhalten oder die Vermeidung von Schmerzen) oder intrinsisch (die Neugier zu befriedigen, Spaß zu haben). Im menschlichen Gehirn basiert motiviertes oder zielgerichtetes Verhalten auf einem Netzwerk von verschiedenen Strukturen, einschließlich des präfrontalen Cortex, der Basalganglien und des limbischen Systems. Dopamin, ein Neurotransmitter, welcher der Belohnungsverarbeitung zugeordnet wird, spielt eine zentrale Rolle bei der Koordination der Aktivität in diesem Netzwerk. Es strukturiert die Verarbeitung in High-Level-kognitiven Bereichen entlang eines limbischen-assoziativ-motor Gradienten und beinflusst die Lernfähigkeit des gesamten Systems. In dieser Habilitation, präsentiere ich biologisch motivierte neuronale Modelle, die die Rolle von Dopamin in der visuellen Objektkategorisierung und Gedächtnisabruf (Vitay and Hamker, 2008), Reinforcement Lernen und Aktionsauswahl (Vitay and Hamker, 2010), Aktualisierung, Lernen und Aufrechterhaltung von Arbeitsgedächtnis (Schroll et al., 2012) und Timing Prozessen (Vitay and Hamker, 2014) untersuchen. Diese Modelle beschreiben Mechanismen, durch die das dopaminerge System kognitives und emotionales Verhalten reguliert: bistabile Verarbeitungsmodi in der Hirnrinde, Plastizität und Modulation der synaptischen Übertragung, Zuweisung von kognitiven Ressourcen und Signalisierung von relevanten Ereignissen. Schließlich beschreibe ich einen neuronalen Simulator, der in in der Lage ist, eine Vielzahl von neuronalen Modellen effizient auf parallelen Architekturen zu simulieren (Vitay et al., 2015).