Thomas Hoff

Control situations in high-speed craft operation

The control situation framework presented by Petersen (Cogn Technol Work 6(4):266–274, 2004) is elaborated upon in the context of military high-speed craft navigation. An observational study was done on a military navigational exercise in Indre Folda, a stretch of particularly demanding confined waters in Norway. The concept of control strategies is presented as a term related to how navigators choose to take out the control possibilities present in the system. Control actions are viewed as actions that fix the control demands and control possibilities over longer time-scales. Control strategies are different from control actions in that they continuously alter the control demands and control possibilities through its execution.

Assessing knowledge-intensive work environment: General versus situation-specific instruments

The aim of the present study is to examine to what extent general and situation-specific work environment instruments capture the salient work characteristics in a knowledge-intensive context. We conducted qualitative open-ended interviews with 30 employees (24 men and six women) from a Norwegian university department. The information from the interviews was content-analysed and coded on the scales of five work environment instruments; two general instruments (the General Nordic Questionnaire for Psychological and Social Factors at Work [QPSNordic] and the Job Diagnostic Survey [JDS]) and three situation-specific instruments (Assessing the climate for creativity [KEYS], Situational Outlook Questionnaire [SOQ], and the Organizational Climate Measure [OCM]). The results showed that situation-specific work environment instruments covered significantly more statements about the work environment than the general instruments. More statements could be categorized on the organization and individual levels, compared to group and leadership levels. The situation-specific instruments covered more statements than general instruments at the organization level. These statements were mainly related to the organizational context, social and relational characteristics, and encouragement of creativity and organizational impediments to creativity. The findings support the value of situation-specific instruments for assessing the work environment in knowledge-intensive organizations.

Assessing a Norwegian translation of the Organizational Climate Measure.

This study investigated the Norwegian translation of the Organizational Climate Measure developed by Patterson and colleagues. The Organizational Climate Measure is a global measure of organizational climate based on Quinn and Rohrbaughs competing values model. The survey was administered to a Norwegian branch of an international service sector company (N = 555). The results revealed satisfactory internal reliability and interrater agreement for the 17 scales, and confirmatory factor analysis supported the original factor structure. The findings gave preliminary support for the Organizational Climate Measure as a reliable measure with a stable factor structure, and indicated that it is potentially useful in the Norwegian context.

Knobology in use: an experimental evaluation of ergonomics recommendations

The scientific basis for ergonomics recommendations for controls has usually not been related to active goal-directed use. The present experiment tests how different knob sizes and torques affect operator performance. The task employed is to control a pointer by the use of a control knob, and is as such an experimentally defined goal-directed task relevant to machine systems in general. Duration of use, error associated with use (overshooting of the goal area) and movement reproduction were used as performance measures. Significant differences between knob sizes were found for movement reproduction. High torques led to less overshooting as opposed to low torques. The results from duration of use showed a tendency that the differences between knob sizes were reduced from the first iteration to the second iteration. The present results indicate that the ergonomically recommended ranges of knob sizes might differently affect operator performance.

Control strategies used by experienced marine navigators: observation of verbal conversations during navigation training

This article investigates the relationship between the control situation framework, as presented by Bjørkli et al. (Cogn Technol Work 9:67–80, 2007), and observed operator action and communication in high-speed craft operation in the Norwegian Royal Navy. The reported data include two series of events during sailing in the Norwegian archipelago where uncertainty of ship position, challenges of manoeuvring and navigation strategies are addressed. The results indicate that the navigators perform actions and communicate in accordance with the key features of the control situation framework, and thus adapt to the interrelation between control possibilities and control requirements. The navigators were guided by explicit knowledge of the functional characteristics of psychical and temporal dynamics, which were actualized in manoeuvring. It indicates that the control situation framework can be used to describe the models the operators use.

Exploring the embodied-mind approach to user experience

This paper presents context-free and technology-free descriptions of basic elements of user experience from an embodied-mind perspective. The Ecological Interaction Properties suggested refer both to aspects of the user as well as aspects of the interface. Examples of the explanatory power of the approach compared to that of contemporary concepts in the HCI-litterature are provided.

Comments on the ecology of representations in computerised systems

This paper discusses how the difference between the disembodied and the embodied perspective on the human mind gives rise to a disagreement as to the status of representations in computerised systems. A major claim of the disembodied approach of contemporary cognitive science is that mental representations are constructed on the basis of sensory input. Hence, it is the mental mechanisms for the interpretation of these data that matters, not the external system representation per se. The embodied approach on the other hand claims that mental representations emerge as a relation between the perceiver and the perceived. Because the body constrains how we can perceive anything, the system representation per se is important. Following the latter approach, the ecology of common forms of representations were mapped. The mapping of representations, together with the notion of distributed cognitive systems, points in the direction of further augmentation of the ecology of human-machine systems. A case from energy management was presented which gives an example of how such a task might be pursued.This paper discusses how the difference between the disembodied and the embodied perspective on the human mind gives rise to a disagreement as to the status of representations in computerised systems. A major claim of the disembodied approach of contemporary cognitive science is that mental representations are constructed on the basis of sensory input. Hence, it is the mental mechanisms for the interpretation of these data that matters, not the external system representation per se. The embodied approach on the other hand claims that mental representations emerge as a relation between the perceiver and the perceived. Because the body constrains how we can perceive anything, the system representation per se is important. Following the latter approach, the ecology of common forms of representations were mapped. The mapping of representations, together with the notion of distributed cognitive systems, points in the direction of further augmentation of the ecology of human-machine systems. A case from energy ...

Studies on Throttle sticks in high speed crafts - haptics in mechanical, electronic and haptic feedback interfaces

The haptic properties of the throttle sticks in the Hauk-class Fast Patrol Boat of the Norwegian Navy have been changed due to digitalization and automation of the engine control. This is an example of how haptic qualities in general are lost in the transition from mechanical to electronic interface controls. Haptic feedback is a potential way of returning the sense of touch to the interface. In order to design meaningful haptic feedback we need to understand the role haptics take when people interact with technology. This article discusses the possibilities of haptic feedback in applications such as high speed crafts through studying the effect of a change in throttle sticks on the naval ships.

The relationship between the broader environment and the work system in a university setting: a systems approach

Recent work design theories propose that the work design configuration (i.e. ‘work system’) in an organization interacts with its broader social and economic environment. Nevertheless, there are few studies of how the broader environment affects the work system. In the present study, the authors used a qualitative theory-elaboration approach to investigate the interplay between the broader environment and the work system in a university setting. They collected data with semi-structured interviews from a sample of 51 academic and administrative employees from a university department and a university faculty in Norway. The findings indicated that a broader environment characterized by a market-oriented model of governance was perceived to have both negative (stronger management, reduced job security and autonomy, increased demands, and exacerbated intergroup relations) and positive effects (enhanced intra-group interdependence, feedback, and support) on the work system. Taken together, the broader environment was experienced to diminish motivational and high-commitment work systems.