david wastell - Profile on Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Papers by david wastell

Cognitive Demands of Collision Avoidance in Simulated Ship Control

Human Factors, 2003

The study examines the cognitive demands of collision avoidance under a range of maritime scenari... more The study examines the cognitive demands of collision avoidance under a range of maritime scenarios. Operators used a PC-based radar simulator to navigate set courses over 100 6-min trials varying in collision threat and traffic density. Corrective maneuvers were made through the application of standard navigation rules and by using two decision aids (target acquisition and test maneuver). Results showed widespread effects of collision threat in terms of decision aid use, subjective workload, and secondary task performance. Most notably, demand increased markedly over the course of emergency trials, in which collision threat resulted from rule violation by target vessels. The findings are discussed in terms of the comparison between predictable demands (requiring standard course changes) and those involving uncertainty about the others&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;#39; intentions (involving more intensive monitoring and forced delays in corrective action). The study has relevance for the design of collision avoidance systems, specifically for the use of ecological displays.

Although automation is playing an increasing role on the ship's bridge, empirical research on the... more Although automation is playing an increasing role on the ship's bridge, empirical research on the eVectiveness of alternative bridge designs is limited. In this paper, we describe an experimental study of the bene®ts of integrated information display, using a computerized simulation of a highly automated ship's bridge. The study compared three types of interface design, which presented radar and electronic chart information to the operator in diVerent ways: (a) integrated display, (b) functionally-separate display, and (c) spatiallyseparate display. EVects were examined in relation to time on watch and scenario complexity. Following extensive training on the task, 39 participants were tested over a 4-h experimental session, during which they encountered a sequence of collision scenarios of varying complexity. Using a dual-task methodology, a range of measures of primary and secondary task performance were taken, together with assessment of information sampling behaviour and subjective operator state (workload, fatigue, anxiety and situation awareness). The results indicated slight navigational advantages of the integrated display over the two alternative display types, although it also incurred higher levels of operator cost, particularly fatigue. There were no marked eVects of time on watch, but more complex scenarios were associated with impaired performance, increased workload and reduced situation awareness. Overall, the ®ndings have suggested some bene®ts of integrating primary information sources in a ship's bridge environment. The study further con®rms the value of experimental simulations as tools for investigating design issues for ship's bridge automation.

Effects of Sleep Deprivation and User Interface on Complex Performance: A Multilevel Analysis of Compensatory Control

Human Factors, 1998

This study was carried out to test the compensatory control model, which predicts performance mai... more This study was carried out to test the compensatory control model, which predicts performance maintenance under stress at the expense of effort and increased selectivity. It examined the effects of sleep deprivation on performance in an automated process control task based on a simplified life support system with two types of operator control panel interface: machine centered (M-C), in which access to the system was scheduled by the computer, and human-centered (H-C), in which access was ad-lib. The task environment also permitted the analysis of changes in strategy and in subsidiary activities (alarm reaction time, prospective memory). In a 2 x 2 repeated-measures design, 16 participants carried out the task with each interface after both normal sleep and one night of sleep deprivation (SD). No effects of SD were observed on primary task performance. As predicted, SD effects were confined to strategy changes and subsidiary task impairment and occurred only under the (low control) M-C interface. Subjective effort was increased under SD, with greater increases of effort associated with high levels of performance protection. The findings provide strong evidence in favor of the compensatory control model and argue for the use of complex, multilevel tasks in the analysis of performance under stress. Actual or potential applications include the development of more sensitive performance-testing systems based on multilevel analysis of decrement, and the design of interfaces for shift work and other suboptimal work conditions.

Ergonomics, 2002

Multiple-task performance on a computer-simulated life support system during a space mission simulation

Acta Astronautica, 1999

This paper presents an experiment which examined the effects of isolation and confinement during ... more This paper presents an experiment which examined the effects of isolation and confinement during a simulation of a short-term space mission. During the 7-day spaceflight simulation, four Canadian astronauts were tested daily on a 30-min performance task. The task, CAMS (Cabin Air Management System), represents a computer-based simulation of a generic life support system. As a multiple-task environment, it allows the measurement of a wide range of task management variables such as primary and secondary task performance, and system control activities. Measures of subjective state variables were also taken. The results did not show any evidence of serious performance decrements for any crew member. The analysis revealed different adjustment patterns with which crew members responded as a function of mission duration and variations in workload. Among the secondary tasks employed, prospective memory was found to be more sensitive than reaction time to increases in workload. The paper concludes with a discussion of the utility of spaceflight simulations and computer-based simulations of space work.

Skill maintenance in extended spaceflight: A human factors analysis of space and analogue work environments

Acta Astronautica, 1996

This paper discusses the implications of increasing mission lengths of manned spaceflight for the... more This paper discusses the implications of increasing mission lengths of manned spaceflight for the design of future space systems from a human factors point of view. It is argued that the increase in mission duration has brought about a number of new problems, which have not been sufficiently addressed in space research. Therefore, a review of analogue work environments is carried out to make up for the paucity of space research found in the area of human performance in long-duration spaceflight. This resulted in an evaluation of seven analogue environments concerning their similarity to space with industrial process control and nuclear submarines coming out as the closest match on the technical dimension. Finally, some recommendations are given from the lessons learned in spaceflight, simulation studies and appropriate analogue environments.

Diffusion - or delusion? Challenging an IS research tradition

It & People, 2005

... However, whilst such factor models can highlight important influences, they necessarily fail ... more ... However, whilst such factor models can highlight important influences, they necessarily fail to capture the dynamic, processual character of socio-technical innovation (Newman and Robey, 1992; McMaster et al. 1997a; Robey and Boudreau, 1999). ...

We respond to 'challenge 3' presented in Rose, Jones and Truex's excellent polemic by way of eluc... more We respond to 'challenge 3' presented in Rose, Jones and Truex's excellent polemic by way of elucidating the meanings of hybrids, actants, agency and symmetry in Actor-Network Theory. We provide a (very brief) account of Latour's project to unravel the modernist epistemological settlement that separates humans and non-humans in the world, and that alas so often results in errors and confusions. We contend that the framing of the challenge itself implies the very distinctions that ANT seeks to reject (namely the dichotomization of the world into mutually exclusive 'subject' and 'object' divisions). Following Latour, we argue that such pure forms do not exist-and furthermore that 'agency' is the property of complex hybrids comprised of various strands of human and non-human materials and abstract elements. This is the true meaning of the principle of symmetry! We conclude with some counter-challenges of our own.

Journal of Information Technology, 2007

The imperatives on contemporary organizations to adapt to an uncertain and turbulent environment ... more The imperatives on contemporary organizations to adapt to an uncertain and turbulent environment are intense. Resilience refers to the ability to cope with change through a continuous process of renewal. The pace of change is at least as great in the public as the private sector, with technology being integral to the UK government's modernization agenda. This represents a stiff challenge for the traditional, technically oriented IT department. Here we recount the history of one such department in a local government institution as it sought to reinvent itself to respond to these new demands. The development of an IS methodology, embodying a business and customer-centered approach, was seen as key to generating the required capacity to support strategic change in the wider organization. Although methodological innovation can be problematic, here it was brought off successfully. This was attributed to several factors, including the adoption of a participative action research approach and the commitment of senior IT management. Above all, the sense of crisis prevailing at the outset of the initiative was decisive. Crises present a major challenge to organizational sense-making; here the impending threat was interpreted positively as a proactive opportunity to develop a new strategic identity. A resilient "discourse of renewal" was kindled, with the need to build new technical capabilities through methodological innovation playing a central part.

Organizational Design for Software Development: A Cybernetic Perspective

This paper seeks to address the question “How should software development be optimally organised?... more This paper seeks to address the question “How should software development be optimally organised?” It proposes that the Viable System Model (VSM) provides a rigorous framework for an investigation of organisational aspects of software development. The paper describes the VSM and presents a case study of its application.

If information systems (IS) are to yield real benefits for organisations, it is critical that the... more If information systems (IS) are to yield real benefits for organisations, it is critical that they support the business goals of the enterprise and that they are successfully assimilated into routine use by organisational members. The conventional solutions to the achievement of strategic alignment and the management of change in IS development are typically top-down, relying in both areas on a rational, planned approach. This paper describes a BPR framework, known as SPRINT, which adopts a different strategy. Following , it is argued that alignment is most effectively achieved when "designed into" the whole IS life-cycle (including evaluation) as an omnipresent issue of ongoing concern to all participants. Regarding change, an incremental approach is advocated, drawing on the improvisational change model of Orlikowski and Hoffman (1997). The paper provides an overview of SPRINT followed by a case study illustrating its use in a local authority on a project to re-engineer IS support for the authority's decision-making process. The methodology has now been deployed on a number of projects, with generally positive results. This is adduced as strong evidence for the methodological validity of the framework, especially in the two key areas of alignment and change. Other aspects of SPRINT are discussed, in particular the use of methodology as a tool for knowledge management.

A Case Study Evaluation of the Use of the Viable System Model in Information Systems Development

Journal of Database Management, 1999

... System 5 Policy Meta-system Algedonic Signal System 4 Intelligence System 3 ... Coordinat... more ... System 5 Policy Meta-system Algedonic Signal System 4 Intelligence System 3 ... Coordination Audit System3* Operational Unit Operational Unit Operational Management Operational Management Local ... the late 1980's HMS were confronted with a major business challenge. ...

Information and Organization, 2004

Partnership working is becoming an increasingly common methodology in the public sector for addre... more Partnership working is becoming an increasingly common methodology in the public sector for addressing complex social issues such as poverty, economic development and crime. Information systems have a vital role to play in enabling such inter-organisational networks and in facilitating the multi-disciplinary collaboration that is essential to joint working. This paper reports a UK-based action research project in the field of community safety. The practical aim was to develop a multi-agency data exchange (MADE) to support 14 crime reduction partnerships in the county of Lancashire in the preparation of their crime reduction strategies, as required by recent government legislation. From a research perspective, the project afforded an opportunity to explore the role of information systems in supporting public sector partnerships, and hence to open up a relatively unresearched element of the broader eGovernment agenda. From a practitioner perspective, MADE has been highly successful; it has provided substantial help to partnerships in the production of their strategies and there is strong demand for the project's continuation. On the research side, the work has provided valuable insights into the design and development of information systems to support multi-agency collaboration and on the barriers to information sharing. The concept of a ''partnership decision support system'' emerges from the work, and a number of profitable directions for future research are adumbrated. Methodologically, it is concluded that action research is a valuable research tool for developing relevant and holistic theory in IS. #

Problematisation and Obfuscation in e-Government

This paper is concerned with e-government implementation at the local level. It proposes that eff... more This paper is concerned with e-government implementation at the local level. It proposes that effective realization of the radical change promised by e-government depends upon a sense of crisis, a problematisation, which motivates the organisation to respond with urgency and vigour. The paper reports a study of one leading local authority based upon interviews of its senior managers. It finds no sense of crisis, and instead obfuscation and psychological distancing, as the potential of e-government is marginalized, and the status quo is reinforced.

The City of Salfard have recent!\. developed ari Inforniatioti Society Strutegy. Iti order to rea... more The City of Salfard have recent!\. developed ari Inforniatioti Society Strutegy. Iti order to realize the ainis and objectives of the strategy, a BPR (Business Process Reengineering) niethodology has been developed, called SPRINT. The niain features of SPRINT are described in this paper. The niethodologq is currently being deployed on several major projects, and the experiences gained in one of these will be described here. The paper concludes with some candid reflections on the use of SPRINT, including the key lessoris learned thus fur. 0-7695-0680-1/00 $10.00 0 2000 IEEE

Information Systems Journal, 1996