Increasingly, highway transportation projects are tending to involve maintenance and rehabilitation work. The age and the condition of the transportation asset, in addition to funding constraints have been the key drivers of this trend. This implies that construction operations take place in the presence of traffic flows, leading to the creation of construction work zones. This has safety implications for the commuters and construction workers alike. In addition, construction operations also hamper mobility through the work zone. Effective management of the work zone is thus very important from the perspective of construction and mobility. The preferred and mandated method to manage the impacts of the work zone is the Transportation Management Plan, which prescribes a set of coordinated strategies for the same. The strategies used in a TMP range from enforcing lane closures to modifying the construction sequencing. As the choice of particular strategies or a combination of those affects the work zone, assessing TMP strategies is important to inform future decisions. This thesis proposes a framework for the qualitative assessment of TMP strategies and TMP processes using cognitive task analysis methods. The application of the proposed method is demonstrated through two case studies of large highway reconstruction projects, involving significant bridge reconstruction. The knowledge elicitation techniques are discussed and the obtained knowledge is represented using different knowledge representation structures. The benefits and the applicability of CTA methods are explored through the case studies of projects using different contracting strategies. Finally, recommendations are made for the design of decision support tools, based on the insights obtained through the analysis. / text

Increasingly, highway transportation projects are tending to involve maintenance and rehabilitation work. The age and the condition of the transportation asset, in addition to funding constraints have been the key drivers of this trend. This implies that construction operations take place in the presence of traffic flows, leading to the creation of construction work zones. This has safety implications for the commuters and construction workers alike. In addition, construction operations also hamper mobility through the work zone. Effective management of the work zone is thus very important from the perspective of construction and mobility. The preferred and mandated method to manage the impacts of the work zone is the Transportation Management Plan, which prescribes a set of coordinated strategies for the same. The strategies used in a TMP range from enforcing lane closures to modifying the construction sequencing. As the choice of particular strategies or a combination of those affects the work zone, assessing TMP strategies is important to inform future decisions. This thesis proposes a framework for the qualitative assessment of TMP strategies and TMP processes using cognitive task analysis methods. The application of the proposed method is demonstrated through two case studies of large highway reconstruction projects, involving significant bridge reconstruction. The knowledge elicitation techniques are discussed and the obtained knowledge is represented using different knowledge representation structures. The benefits and the applicability of CTA methods are explored through the case studies of projects using different contracting strategies. Finally, recommendations are made for the design of decision support tools, based on the insights obtained through the analysis. / text

Younger adults who are walking and doing additional tasks at the same time may not realize if their performance suffers, putting some at greater risk for injury and impairment during certain tasks. This thesis has addressed this confound by developing a divided attention paradigm focusing on discrete and continuous demand manipulations. The work assessed in motorcognitive processing changes with cerebral and behavioral monitoring of over-ground walking with or without cognitive tasks. Participants (n = 19, 18-35 years, 13 females) were asked to walk at their usual pace [usual walking condition (SM)], walk at their usual pace while performing a cognitive task [dual-task condition (DT)] as well as conduct a cognitive task while standing [single cognitive condition (SC)]. All participants conducted two discrete [simple response time (SRT) & go-no-go (GNG)] and two continuous cognitive tasks [N-back (NBK) & double number sequence (DNS)] of increasing demand. The study revealed significant brain and behavior interactions during the most demanding continuous cognitive task, the DNS. The findings demonstrated lower accuracy rates, slower walk speeds as well as greater cerebral oxygenation in DNS DT in comparison to single task conditions. With increasing cognitive demands and tasks, there were longer response times, as well as lower accuracy rates. The behavioral findings were qualified by marginally significant interactions in a 2 x 4 RM ANOVA between SC-DT task and demand for accuracy rate [F (3, 54) = 2.66, p = 0.06, η2 =.13], significant interactions in response time [F (2, 36) = 4.1, p = 0.026, η2 =.18] as well as significant SM-DT task and demand findings for walk speed [F (3, 54) =5.3, p = 0.003, η2 =.23]. The 2 x 2 x 4 RM ANOVA revealed significant HbO2 interactions between walking tasks (single and dual), hemisphere and demand [F (3, 54) = 5.730, p = 0.002, η2 =.24] in the DNS only. The data suggests that greater demand manipulations with continuous cognitive tasks may be sensitive to both prefrontal cortex (PFC) and behavioral assessments in younger adults (YA). Further validation of the discrete-continuous demand paradigm in motor studies may provide a basis for cognitive assessment with applications in motor learning, cognitive training, aging and more.

The purpose of the present thesis was two-fold. First, to evaluate the impact of cognitive demand on postural control in young adults and second, to examine the responsiveness of postural control to cognitive tasks presented in varying modalities. Seventeen young adults stood on a force platform while simultaneously performing cognitive tasks of varying difficulty (easy, moderate and difficult), each presented auditorily and visually. Performing the moderate and difficult tasks precipitated a greater reduction in area of 95% confidence ellipse and medio-lateral (ML) sway variability compared to the easy tasks. Presenting the tasks visually produced lower ML sway variability than presenting the tasks auditorily. Of secondary interest of this thesis was to determine if the duration of inter-stimulus intervals could modify the effectiveness of a cognitive task on postural control. Participants stood on a force platform while simultaneously performing cognitive tasks with five-second inter-stimulus intervals (i.e. discrete) and two-second inter-stimulus intervals (i.e. continuous), each presented auditorily and visually. Results revealed higher anterior-posterior (AP) mean power frequency (MPF) when performing the continuous tasks. In addition, presented the tasks visually resulted in a greater reduction in area of 95% confidence ellipse, AP and ML sway variability.

The objective of the present study was to; 1) determine if the use of a continuous cognitive task demonstrates distinct characteristics of a more automatic control of posture, compared to an external focus (EF) and feet together (FT) postural task, and to 2) examine which condition, if any, exhibits the characteristics of increased ankle stiffness proposed by Winter et al. (1998), as well as displaying increased ankle muscular co-contractions, which are a suggested neuromuscular mechanism that stiffens posture. Fifteen young adults stood on a force platform and performed 4 separate conditions: FT, EF, single number sequence (SNS), and double number sequence (DNS). Throughout the session, surface electromyography (EMG) signals were collected from the tibialis anterior (TA) and medial gastrocnemius (MG) of each leg. Each testing session consisted of 24 trials, with 6 per condition. Results displayed decreased sway area for SNS and DNS compared to FT. Sway variability in the anterior/posterior (AP) direction SNS and DNS were smaller compared to EF and FT. As well sway variability in the medial/lateral (ML) direction was smaller for SNS and DNS compared to FT. ML Mean velocity (MV) did not differ across conditions, though in the AP direction it was larger for SNS and DNS compared to EF and FT. AP Mean power frequency (MPF) was larger for SNS compared to FT. In the ML direction MPF was larger for SNS and DNS compared to FT. Co-Contraction indices revealed no differences across conditions. Conversely the left TA for DNS revealed increased EMG activation compared to EF and SNS.

Robotic surgery is at the forefront of surgical innovation and presents novel challenges for both postgraduate learners and seasoned specialists. Robotic teaching is underway, often without formalized robotic curricula. Research into robotic surgical steps and surgical decision-making that should be imparted to learners has been neglected. As such, I aimed to determine the knowledge gap of urology residents for a robotic prostatectomy. Further, I also aimed to determine the patterns and cognitive rules used by experienced surgeons to complete a robotic prostatectomy. This master’s thesis included a knowledge gap survey, completed by urology residents, and compared to urologic oncologists, of a robotic prostatectomy and contained both open-ended and rating scale questions. A cognitive task analysis (CTA) was then performed as a series of semi-structured interviews in which incident-probing questions were used to make urologic oncologists explain visual cues and decision-making processes. 42 surveys were administered to urology residents and urologists at The Ottawa Hospital over 10 weeks. There was disagreement between urology resident and urologist responses from the rating scale responses, from the following procedural steps: vesicourethral anastomosis, apical dissection, and seminal vesicle dissection. The open-ended responses found discrepancies between the residents’ and urologists’; understanding of anatomy and surgical decision-making, and of cause-and-consequence cognitive awareness. Subsequently, 16 CTA interviews of four urologic oncologists were completed. After data coding and thematic analysis was performed, CTA grids for each surgeon described a map of a robotic prostatectomy including the steps and goals of the procedure, procedural landmarks, key visual cues for each step, complications and/or error prevention, and management. Specific content not yet described in the literature also includes how the lack of haptic feedback is compensated by robotic surgeons. Additional findings included a gap in urology resident knowledge and understanding of a robotic prostatectomy. The CTA of a robotic prostatectomy documented the surgical decision-making rules, patterns and visual cues urologic oncologists use to avoid errors, and to manage intraoperative surgical complications. This information is key to expanding the understanding of robotic prostatectomy surgical decision-making and training and can be used to produce robust robotic educational curricula.

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Background: Alarm interpretation and management are fundamental to managing critically ill patients. 1 There is little research as to the decision process nurses use to prioritize alarms or manage specific monitor parameters. Objective: The purpose of this study is to gain insight into the intricacy of the intensive care unit (ICU) nurses'critical decision process, using a human performance framework, when responding to monitor alarms. Method: Design: Descriptive design using semi-structured interview. Open-ended questions were developed based on the critical decision method (CDM) to explore ICU nurses' critical decision making process related to monitor alarms. Sixteen ICU nurses at a community hospital were interviewed to elicit perceptions and thought processes related to monitor alarms. Results: Responses to monitor alarms were affected by nursing experience, tones of the alarm, nurses' knowledge of the patient's condition as well as immediate visualization of patient to judge the urgency of an alarm. Both advanced beginner and expert nurses had similar initial response to monitor alarms; however, expert nurses added depth to their immediate assessment process by using previous experiences, intuition, and clinical expertise. Advanced beginner nurses frequently look to expert nurses for advice, guidance, and examples of clinical expertise. The majority of nurses had little or no formal training on the cardiac monitors used by that facility and all felt it would be beneficial in monitor alarm management. Conclusion: Understanding the decision-making process used by nurses can guide the development of policies and learning experiences that are crucial clinical support for alarm management.

The use of monitoring and intrusion detection tools are common in today's network security architecture. The combination of tools generates an abundance of data which can result in cognitive overload of those analyzing the data. ID analysts initially review alerts generated by intrusion detection systems to determine the validity of the alerts. Since a large number of alerts are false positives, analyzing the data can severely reduce the number of unnecessary and unproductive investigations. The problem remains that this process is resource intensive. To date, very little research has been done to clearly determine and document the process of intrusion detection. In order to rectify this problem, research was conducted which involved several phases. Fifteen individuals were selected to participate in a cognitive task analysis. The results of the cognitive task analysis were used to develop a prototype interface which was tested by the participants. A test of the participants' knowledge after the use of the prototype revealed an increase in both effectiveness and efficiency in analyzing alerts. Specifically, the findings revealed an increase in effectiveness as 72% of the participants made better determinations using the prototype interface. The results also showed an increase in efficiency when 72% of the participants analyzed and validated alerts in less time while using the prototype interface. These findings, based on empirical data, showed that the use of the task diagram and prototype interface helped to reduce the amount of time it previously took to analyze alerts generated by intrusion detection systems.