Yan Xiao - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Papers by Yan Xiao

Research paper thumbnail of Decision Making in Dynamic Environments: Fixation Errors and Their Causes

Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society Annual Meeting, 1995

One of the goals of naturalistic studies of human decision making is to reveal the cognitive load... more One of the goals of naturalistic studies of human decision making is to reveal the cognitive loads or task difficulties imposed on the decision maker in real work environments. Fixation errors or cognitive lockups have been reported as a unique type of performance failure in dynamic work environments, and are thus particularly valuable to the understanding of the challenges and difficulties confronting practitioners in dynamic environments. In this paper, we present the analysis of fixation errors during real-life trauma patient resuscitation. The analysis elicits two factors, both rooted in the inherent complexity of the domain, that contributed to the occurrence of fixation errors: unreliable monitoring devices and delayed feedback. The former induces the behavior of preferring confirmatory information, partly for redundancy checks. The latter may create a false sense of system stability and divert attention away from the correct diagnosis.

Research paper thumbnail of Practices of High Reliability Teams: Observations in Trauma Resuscitation

Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society Annual Meeting, 2001

Research paper thumbnail of Distributed monitoring and a video-based toolset

SMC'03 Conference Proceedings. 2003 IEEE International Conference on Systems, Man and Cybernetics. Conference Theme - System Security and Assurance (Cat. No.03CH37483)

Research paper thumbnail of Cognitive Properties of a Whiteboard: A Case Study in a Trauma Centre

Research paper thumbnail of Team Coordination and Breakdowns in a Real-Life Stressful Environment

Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society Annual Meeting, 1998

This paper describes a study of team coordination and its breakdowns in a complex and dynamic wor... more This paper describes a study of team coordination and its breakdowns in a complex and dynamic work environment. Sixteen videotaped cases of real-life trauma patient resuscitation in a trauma center's patient admitting areas were analyzed. The findings from the study suggest that highly skilled work teams used a variety of ways to coordinate, many of which were non-verbal and implicit. Breakdowns in coordination occurred in several stressful situations, and the lack of explicit, verbal communications could be a major contributing factor. The paper characterizes the situations where coordination breakdowns were observed, and recommends that the team training be targeted at those situations where verbal communications are essential yet team coordination is prone to breakdowns.

Research paper thumbnail of Front-stage" and "back-stage" information

Proceeding of the twenty-sixth annual CHI conference extended abstracts on Human factors in computing systems - CHI '08, 2008

Research paper thumbnail of Communication and sense-making in intensive care: an observation study of multi-disciplinary rounds to design computerized supporting tools

AMIA ... Annual Symposium proceedings / AMIA Symposium. AMIA Symposium, Jan 11, 2007

Multi-disciplinary rounds are a forum for communication and sense-making, and they play a critica... more Multi-disciplinary rounds are a forum for communication and sense-making, and they play a critical role in intensive care to ensure care coordination across specialties and providers. Increased availability of clinical information through computers has made it possible to provide support during rounds. We conducted an observation study to determine ways in which computers may be used during rounds, when users are under time pressure in accessing and manipulating clinical data. A total of fifteen hours of rounds in a pediatric intensive care unit for 47 patients were observed. Factors influencing information transfer during rounds were characterized in three areas: physical, social and cognitive, and supporting artifacts. Based on these factors we developed a set of design guidelines for computerized supporting tools. An example guideline suggests digital capture of handwritten notes. These guidelines developed may help guide future systems development, thus leveraging the power of c...

Research paper thumbnail of Systems ambiguity and guideline compliance: a qualitative study of how intensive care units follow evidence-based guidelines to reduce healthcare-associated infections

Quality and Safety in Health Care, 2008

Research paper thumbnail of The Operating Room Charge Nurse: Coordinator and Communicator

Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association, 2002

Research paper thumbnail of TeleBAT: Mobile telemedicine for the brain attack team

Journal of Stroke and Cerebrovascular Diseases, 2000

Research paper thumbnail of A Framework for Epistemological Analysis in Empirical (Laboratory and Field) Studies

Human Factors: The Journal of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society, 2000

In their search for generalizable behavioral patterns and design principles, cognitive field rese... more In their search for generalizable behavioral patterns and design principles, cognitive field researchers should reflect on the epistemological limitations of empirical studies. In this paper we describe a framework for epistemological analysis that can help serve this purpose and discuss its application to two prototypical cases of cognitive engineering research: laboratory experiments and field studies. The framework examines two, often implicit, processes in empirical research: the abstraction from empirical data and the substantiation of theoretical constructs and principles. By explicitly considering these two processes in several systematic steps, we can gain appreciation for the epistemological contribution of empirical studies to cognitive engineering research. The framework and its application also provide guidance to such important issues as generalizability of results and external validity. Possible applications of this research include providing guidance to researchers an...

Research paper thumbnail of Negotiation and conflict in large scale collaboration: a preliminary field study

Cognition, Technology & Work, 2007

Research paper thumbnail of Opportunities and challenges in improving surgical work flow

Cognition, Technology & Work, 2007

Research paper thumbnail of Challenges to Real-Time Decision Support in Health Care

Research paper thumbnail of Improving Operating Room Coordination

JONA: The Journal of Nursing Administration, 2004

Research paper thumbnail of Remote Diagnosis in Dynamic Task Environments

Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society Annual Meeting, 1996

Increasingly telecommunication systems have become an integral part of many professions. However,... more Increasingly telecommunication systems have become an integral part of many professions. However, little empirical data and guidelines exist for designing telecommunication systems to facilitate decision makers in cooperative efforts in dynamic task environments. A preliminary experiment was conducted in which the subjects (all experienced in the domain concerned) were presented with video-tapes of previously recorded real-life trauma patient resuscitation. The experiment examined the subjects' ability to understand the status of the patient and resuscitation efforts shown in the video. The experiment was to simulate remote diagnosis tasks in which experts provide consultation through video linkage. The subjects were found to have a number of difficulties in achieving a full understanding. Hypotheses about the reasons that could explain these difficulties are proposed and they include (1) background noise, viewing range restriction, and insecure viewing access to remote sites (2...

Research paper thumbnail of Simulator Limitations and Their Effects on Decision-Making

Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society Annual Meeting, 1996

The use of simulators for skill evaluation is common in a number of fields, but the effect that v... more The use of simulators for skill evaluation is common in a number of fields, but the effect that various characteristics of simulators have on subject performance is not fully understood. Ten experienced trauma anesthesiologist participated in a full mission simulation of a real video taped trauma case management. This case contained critical events that require the participants to use clinical examinations and familiar and unfamiliar equipment contained in the simulator. Participants' performance differed from both the performance in the real case and ideal performance. The unfamiliarity with one complex piece of the equipment (ventilator function and controls) caused 4 out of 10 participants to be unable to finish the simulation. Surprisingly, unfamiliarity with another piece of equipment (new to all participants) did not have any dramatic impact. Anesthesia simulators have been successfully used in training anesthesiologists, but the demands of evaluation of clinical skills di...

Research paper thumbnail of Medical Case Rounds: A Medium for Training and Studying Real-Life Decision Making

Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society Annual Meeting, 1995

Case rounds are a prominent and important means of training in medical domains. As part of a fiel... more Case rounds are a prominent and important means of training in medical domains. As part of a field study of anesthesiologists’ problem solving activities, we audiotaped the discussion of 10 cases spreading over 4 case rounds. This paper describes the method used in data collection and analysis, followed by the major findings of the study. The study identified three types of skills transferred in case rounds: procedural knowledge, sensitivity to precursors of potential problems, and the ability to prepare for contingencies. The study also showed the potential of case rounds in studying cognitive activities in naturalistic settings.

Research paper thumbnail of Dynamic Delegation: Shared, Hierarchical, and Deindividualized Leadership in Extreme Action Teams

Administrative Science Quarterly, 2006

This paper examines the leadership of extreme action teams—teams whose highly skilled members coo... more This paper examines the leadership of extreme action teams—teams whose highly skilled members cooperate to perform urgent, unpredictable, interdependent, and highly consequential tasks while simultaneously coping with frequent changes in team composition and training their teams' novice members. Our qualitative investigation of the leadership of extreme action medical teams in an emergency trauma center revealed a hierarchical, deindividualized system of shared leadership. At the heart of this system is dynamic delegation: senior leaders' rapid and repeated delegation of the active leadership role to and withdrawal of the active leadership role from more junior leaders of the team. Our findings suggest that dynamic delegation enhances extreme action teams' ability to perform reliably while also building their novice team members' skills. We highlight the contingencies that guide senior leaders' delegation and withdrawal of the active leadership role, as well as t...

Research paper thumbnail of Handbooks or mentors? The role of a resident physician manual in resident education

Research paper thumbnail of Decision Making in Dynamic Environments: Fixation Errors and Their Causes

Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society Annual Meeting, 1995

One of the goals of naturalistic studies of human decision making is to reveal the cognitive load... more One of the goals of naturalistic studies of human decision making is to reveal the cognitive loads or task difficulties imposed on the decision maker in real work environments. Fixation errors or cognitive lockups have been reported as a unique type of performance failure in dynamic work environments, and are thus particularly valuable to the understanding of the challenges and difficulties confronting practitioners in dynamic environments. In this paper, we present the analysis of fixation errors during real-life trauma patient resuscitation. The analysis elicits two factors, both rooted in the inherent complexity of the domain, that contributed to the occurrence of fixation errors: unreliable monitoring devices and delayed feedback. The former induces the behavior of preferring confirmatory information, partly for redundancy checks. The latter may create a false sense of system stability and divert attention away from the correct diagnosis.

Research paper thumbnail of Practices of High Reliability Teams: Observations in Trauma Resuscitation

Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society Annual Meeting, 2001

Research paper thumbnail of Distributed monitoring and a video-based toolset

SMC'03 Conference Proceedings. 2003 IEEE International Conference on Systems, Man and Cybernetics. Conference Theme - System Security and Assurance (Cat. No.03CH37483)

Research paper thumbnail of Cognitive Properties of a Whiteboard: A Case Study in a Trauma Centre

Research paper thumbnail of Team Coordination and Breakdowns in a Real-Life Stressful Environment

Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society Annual Meeting, 1998

This paper describes a study of team coordination and its breakdowns in a complex and dynamic wor... more This paper describes a study of team coordination and its breakdowns in a complex and dynamic work environment. Sixteen videotaped cases of real-life trauma patient resuscitation in a trauma center's patient admitting areas were analyzed. The findings from the study suggest that highly skilled work teams used a variety of ways to coordinate, many of which were non-verbal and implicit. Breakdowns in coordination occurred in several stressful situations, and the lack of explicit, verbal communications could be a major contributing factor. The paper characterizes the situations where coordination breakdowns were observed, and recommends that the team training be targeted at those situations where verbal communications are essential yet team coordination is prone to breakdowns.

Research paper thumbnail of Front-stage" and "back-stage" information

Proceeding of the twenty-sixth annual CHI conference extended abstracts on Human factors in computing systems - CHI '08, 2008

Research paper thumbnail of Communication and sense-making in intensive care: an observation study of multi-disciplinary rounds to design computerized supporting tools

AMIA ... Annual Symposium proceedings / AMIA Symposium. AMIA Symposium, Jan 11, 2007

Multi-disciplinary rounds are a forum for communication and sense-making, and they play a critica... more Multi-disciplinary rounds are a forum for communication and sense-making, and they play a critical role in intensive care to ensure care coordination across specialties and providers. Increased availability of clinical information through computers has made it possible to provide support during rounds. We conducted an observation study to determine ways in which computers may be used during rounds, when users are under time pressure in accessing and manipulating clinical data. A total of fifteen hours of rounds in a pediatric intensive care unit for 47 patients were observed. Factors influencing information transfer during rounds were characterized in three areas: physical, social and cognitive, and supporting artifacts. Based on these factors we developed a set of design guidelines for computerized supporting tools. An example guideline suggests digital capture of handwritten notes. These guidelines developed may help guide future systems development, thus leveraging the power of c...

Research paper thumbnail of Systems ambiguity and guideline compliance: a qualitative study of how intensive care units follow evidence-based guidelines to reduce healthcare-associated infections

Quality and Safety in Health Care, 2008

Research paper thumbnail of The Operating Room Charge Nurse: Coordinator and Communicator

Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association, 2002

Research paper thumbnail of TeleBAT: Mobile telemedicine for the brain attack team

Journal of Stroke and Cerebrovascular Diseases, 2000

Research paper thumbnail of A Framework for Epistemological Analysis in Empirical (Laboratory and Field) Studies

Human Factors: The Journal of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society, 2000

In their search for generalizable behavioral patterns and design principles, cognitive field rese... more In their search for generalizable behavioral patterns and design principles, cognitive field researchers should reflect on the epistemological limitations of empirical studies. In this paper we describe a framework for epistemological analysis that can help serve this purpose and discuss its application to two prototypical cases of cognitive engineering research: laboratory experiments and field studies. The framework examines two, often implicit, processes in empirical research: the abstraction from empirical data and the substantiation of theoretical constructs and principles. By explicitly considering these two processes in several systematic steps, we can gain appreciation for the epistemological contribution of empirical studies to cognitive engineering research. The framework and its application also provide guidance to such important issues as generalizability of results and external validity. Possible applications of this research include providing guidance to researchers an...

Research paper thumbnail of Negotiation and conflict in large scale collaboration: a preliminary field study

Cognition, Technology & Work, 2007

Research paper thumbnail of Opportunities and challenges in improving surgical work flow

Cognition, Technology & Work, 2007

Research paper thumbnail of Challenges to Real-Time Decision Support in Health Care

Research paper thumbnail of Improving Operating Room Coordination

JONA: The Journal of Nursing Administration, 2004

Research paper thumbnail of Remote Diagnosis in Dynamic Task Environments

Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society Annual Meeting, 1996

Increasingly telecommunication systems have become an integral part of many professions. However,... more Increasingly telecommunication systems have become an integral part of many professions. However, little empirical data and guidelines exist for designing telecommunication systems to facilitate decision makers in cooperative efforts in dynamic task environments. A preliminary experiment was conducted in which the subjects (all experienced in the domain concerned) were presented with video-tapes of previously recorded real-life trauma patient resuscitation. The experiment examined the subjects' ability to understand the status of the patient and resuscitation efforts shown in the video. The experiment was to simulate remote diagnosis tasks in which experts provide consultation through video linkage. The subjects were found to have a number of difficulties in achieving a full understanding. Hypotheses about the reasons that could explain these difficulties are proposed and they include (1) background noise, viewing range restriction, and insecure viewing access to remote sites (2...

Research paper thumbnail of Simulator Limitations and Their Effects on Decision-Making

Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society Annual Meeting, 1996

The use of simulators for skill evaluation is common in a number of fields, but the effect that v... more The use of simulators for skill evaluation is common in a number of fields, but the effect that various characteristics of simulators have on subject performance is not fully understood. Ten experienced trauma anesthesiologist participated in a full mission simulation of a real video taped trauma case management. This case contained critical events that require the participants to use clinical examinations and familiar and unfamiliar equipment contained in the simulator. Participants' performance differed from both the performance in the real case and ideal performance. The unfamiliarity with one complex piece of the equipment (ventilator function and controls) caused 4 out of 10 participants to be unable to finish the simulation. Surprisingly, unfamiliarity with another piece of equipment (new to all participants) did not have any dramatic impact. Anesthesia simulators have been successfully used in training anesthesiologists, but the demands of evaluation of clinical skills di...

Research paper thumbnail of Medical Case Rounds: A Medium for Training and Studying Real-Life Decision Making

Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society Annual Meeting, 1995

Case rounds are a prominent and important means of training in medical domains. As part of a fiel... more Case rounds are a prominent and important means of training in medical domains. As part of a field study of anesthesiologists’ problem solving activities, we audiotaped the discussion of 10 cases spreading over 4 case rounds. This paper describes the method used in data collection and analysis, followed by the major findings of the study. The study identified three types of skills transferred in case rounds: procedural knowledge, sensitivity to precursors of potential problems, and the ability to prepare for contingencies. The study also showed the potential of case rounds in studying cognitive activities in naturalistic settings.

Research paper thumbnail of Dynamic Delegation: Shared, Hierarchical, and Deindividualized Leadership in Extreme Action Teams

Administrative Science Quarterly, 2006

This paper examines the leadership of extreme action teams—teams whose highly skilled members coo... more This paper examines the leadership of extreme action teams—teams whose highly skilled members cooperate to perform urgent, unpredictable, interdependent, and highly consequential tasks while simultaneously coping with frequent changes in team composition and training their teams' novice members. Our qualitative investigation of the leadership of extreme action medical teams in an emergency trauma center revealed a hierarchical, deindividualized system of shared leadership. At the heart of this system is dynamic delegation: senior leaders' rapid and repeated delegation of the active leadership role to and withdrawal of the active leadership role from more junior leaders of the team. Our findings suggest that dynamic delegation enhances extreme action teams' ability to perform reliably while also building their novice team members' skills. We highlight the contingencies that guide senior leaders' delegation and withdrawal of the active leadership role, as well as t...

Research paper thumbnail of Handbooks or mentors? The role of a resident physician manual in resident education