Is SA shared or distributed in team work? An exploratory study in an intelligence analysis task

This study compared two theoretical approaches to Situation Awareness (SA): the psychological school of thought and the systems ergonomics school of thought, by assessing measurement of team SA within these frameworks. Two teams were assigned and organised into either a traditional Hierarchy or a Peer-to-Peer organisational structure in a single case study design. Measures derived from the psychological and systems ergonomics perspectives were applied to assess their sensitivity for assessing team SA. No statistically significant differences were found between the two teams when measures originating in the psychological tradition were considered: differences were found, however, for measures originating in the systems ergonomics tradition. Literature concerned with team SA reveals a lack of consensus with regards to explaining the nature of the phenomenon as well as its measurement. This paper argues for a debate in the field to clarify what constitutes appropriate measurement techniques for team SA and suggests that these are taken from the systems ergonomics tradition, as suggested by the present studies findings.

Relevance to industry

Teams are a major feature of most industrial applications of work, and maintaining good situation awareness is important to successful performance. A method for examining the situation awareness of teams is proposed and compared with the individual models. Analysing the team as a functional unit of situation awareness is presented for future work.     

Mutual awareness: Enhanced by interface design and improving team performance in incident diagnosis under computerized working environment

Mutual Awareness, which measures understanding of the behaviors and status of other members in a team is supposed to influence team decision-making process in safety-critical tasks/systems. This study aims to explore enhancement of mutual awareness by adding a Mutual Awareness Tool (MAT) on a user interface and examining its effects on team diagnosis performance in emergency situations of a simulated nuclear power plant system. According to the experimental results, the embedded MAT on the operation interface enhanced team mutual awareness significantly, and improved incident diagnosis performance. The results also showed that the increase in mutual awareness led to a reduction of individual situation awareness, possibly due to the limited mental resources.     

Improving situation awareness in crisis response teams: An experimental analysis of enriched information and centralized coordination

In responding to an emergency, the actions of emergency response teams critically depend upon the situation awareness the team members have acquired. Situation awareness, and the design of systems to support it, has been a focus in recent emergency management research. In this paper, we introduce two interventions to the core processes of information processing and information sharing in emergency response teams to analyze their effect on the teams’ situation awareness: (1) we enrich raw incoming information by adding a summary of the information received, and (2) we channel all incoming information to a central coordinator who then decides upon further distribution within the team. The effect of both interventions is investigated through a controlled experiment with experienced professional responders. Our results show distinctly different effects for information enrichment and centralization, both for the teams and for the coordinators within the team. While the interaction effects of both conditions cannot be discerned, it is apparent that processing non-enriched information and non-centralized information sharing leads to a worse overall team situation awareness. Our work suggests several implications for the design of emergency response management information systems.     

Quantitative Analysis of Situation Awareness (QASA): modelling and measuring situation awareness using signal detection theory

This paper presents a model of situation awareness (SA) that emphasises that SA is necessarily built using a subset of available information. A technique (Quantitative Analysis of Situation Awareness – QASA), based around signal detection theory, has been developed from this model that provides separate measures of actual SA (ASA) and perceived SA (PSA), together with a feature unique to QASA, a measure of bias (information acceptance). These measures allow the exploration of the relationship between actual SA, perceived SA and information acceptance. QASA can also be used for the measurement of dynamic ASA, PSA and bias. Example studies are presented and full details of the implementation of the QASA technique are provided.

Practitioner Summary: This paper presents a new model of situation awareness (SA) together with an associated tool (Quantitative Analysis of Situation Awareness – QASA) that employs signal detection theory to measure several aspects of SA, including actual and perceived SA and information acceptance. Full details are given of the implementation of the tool.     

网络态势感知系统研究综述

开展网络态势感知系统NSAS（Network Situation Awareness System，也称Cyberspace Situation Awareness System）的研究，对于提高我国网络系统的应急响应能力，缓解网络攻击所造成的危害，发现潜在恶意的入侵行为，提高系统的反击能力等具有十分重要的意义。本文首先给出了态势感知的概念及发展NSAS的必要性；其次介绍了网络态势感知的概念，并对相关概念以及NSAS与IDS（Intrusion Detection System）的区别与联系进行了讨论，详细综述了国内外NSAS的研究现状。以此为基础提出了NSAS的框架．并着重对相关的关键技术与难点问题进行了论述。最后给出了NSAS今后的发展方向。     

User-defined information sharing for team situation awareness and teamwork

Abstract

Team members have different roles in various scenarios to maintain situation awareness. A collaborative system should therefore provide appropriate information to the appropriate person at an appropriate time. Considering the mismatch between the designed and actually used information, this paper proposed that users should define what information to share with their team-mates. Thirty-six participants, who formed eighteen teams, used both the traditional and user-defined shared displays to perform failure diagnosis on the context of nuclear power plants. The user-defined shared display exhibited shorter diagnosis time without significant difference in correctness. Information quality, instead of quantity, was positively correlated with team mutual awareness. This study provides empirical evidence that user-defined information sharing is effective at improving operator’s diagnosis performance, so the users should be able to tailor the information based on requirements.Practitioner Summary: To support team situation awareness and teamwork, the present study proposed that users should define what information to share with their team-mates. The laboratory experiment shows that user-defined information sharing shortens operator diagnosis time without degrading correctness. Information quality appears more important than information quantity in enhancing team mutual awareness.     

基于自律计算的网络安全态势感知模型

针对当前网络安全管理的复杂性和态势感知过程缺乏自适应性等问题,提出一个基于自律计算的网络安全态势感知模型。利用自律反馈机制对态势提取进行实时分析;根据提取的态势信息,从攻击和防御两个角度出发,采用层次分析法建立多层次多角度的网络安全态势评估模型;依据过去和当前网络安全态势,采用改进的遗传神经网络方法建立网络安全态势预测模型。仿真实验结果表明,具有自律反馈机制的态势感知模型可以有效增强系统的自适应能力。     

网络安全态势感知系统结构研究

网络安全态势感知是实现网络安全监测和预警的一种新技术,融合防火墙、防病毒软件、入侵监测系统（IDS）、安全审计系统等安全措施的数据信息,对整个网络的当前状况进行评估,对未来的变化趋势进行预测。深入分析国内外相关研究后,建立了一个网络安全态势感知概念模型和体系结构,分析研究构成网络安全态势感知系统的数据的特征提取、网络安全评估、网络应急响应、网络安全预警等重要组成部分,这将为下一步安全态势感知系统的实现奠定理论的基础。     

An inference method of team situation awareness based on mutual awareness

Team situation awareness (TSA) is a critical contributing factor in establishing collaborative relations among team members involved in cooperative activity. Currently, however, there is still a lack of a clearly understandable and commonly agreeable model of TSA. To resolve misunderstanding or conflict among team members or between a team and machines, our research aim is to find out the underlying mechanism of TSA that reflects team cognitive process in a way consistent with team cooperative activity, and to focus on how to achieve mutual understanding, and how to effectively incorporate human teams into a socio-technological system. In this paper, we argue that earlier models of TSA, where TSA was discussed as the intersection of situation awareness (SA) owned by individual team members, are inadequate for study of a sophisticated team reciprocal process. We suggest that it is necessary for the definition of TSA to integrate the notion of individual SA (ISA) into cooperative team activity. In particular, understanding of mutual awareness is an essential element in cooperative activity. We propose a new notion of TSA, which is reducible to mutual beliefs as well as ISA at three levels. Further, we develop an operational TSA inference method and discuss human competence and system-related factors that are required to build TSA. We then try to demonstrate how TSA is actively constructed via inferencing practices. We also develop criteria to assess appropriateness of TSA from two aspects: soundness and completeness of mutual beliefs. Comparison of evaluation results indicates that the notion of TSA proposed in this work is more suitable to depict team cooperative activity than conventional ones.     

Development of a situation awareness measure to evaluate advanced alarm systems in nuclear power plant control rooms

The process controller is required to remain updated regarding developments in the dynamically changing process state, this being referred to as the maintenance of situation awareness. Alarm systems play an important role within this task, and therefore a measure of how effective the system is for enhancing the operator's situation awareness is desirable. One proposed measure is the Situation Awareness Control Room Inventory (SACRI). The methods and results of four simulator studies undertaken to develop and evaluate SACRI are outlined in this paper. It is concluded that SACRI is of use alongside measures such as detection time and diagnostic accuracy in simulator-based evaluations of alarm system design.     

网络安全组态势感知及其带粒子群优化的效用分析方法

针对网络安全系统中个体态势感知的局限性,提出网络安全组态势感知的概念,讨论了其发展的必要性,同时对相关概念的区别和联系进行了分析.通过设计基于粒子群优化算法的聚类分析,对网络安全环境中的个体态势感知与组态势惑知的关系进行了定量研究.模拟实验结果表明,网络安全系统中组态势感知能力优于个体态势感知能力,且其感知能力与任务的工作负荷大小有关.     

Simulation-based evaluation of an in-vehicle smart situation awareness enhancement system

Situation awareness (SA) constitutes a critical factor in road safety, strongly related to accidents. This paper describes the evaluation of a proposed SA enhancement system (SAES) that exploits augmented reality through a head-up display (HUD). Two SAES designs were evaluation (information rich vs. minimal information) using a custom-made simulator and the Situation Awareness Global Assessment Technique with performance and EEG measures. The paper describes the process of assessing the SA of drivers using the SAES, through a series of experiments with participants in a Cave Automatic Virtual Environment. The effectiveness of the SAES was tested in a within-group research design. The results showed that the information rich (radar-style display) was superior to the minimal (arrow hazard indicator) design and that both SAES improved drivers’ SA and performance compared to the control (no HUD) design.

Practitioner Summary: Even though driver situation awareness is considered as one of the leading causes of road accidents, little has been done to enhance it. The current study demonstrates the positive effect of a proposed situation awareness enhancement system on driver situation awareness, through an experiment using virtual prototyping in a simulator.     

Observational assessment of situation awareness,team differences and training implications

The two goals were to investigate, first, the practicability and reliability of observational assessment of team situation awareness (SA) and, second, the nature of any team differences, their consistency and training implications. Five shift teams tackled three scenarios, each with three probe events concerning SA, and three observers viewed and rated concurrently each shift. This methodology was found to be practicable and achieved satisfactory rater reliability as indicated by intraclass and inter-rater correlations. Team differences in SA emerged although there was no consistent pattern. A retrospective analysis of individual and team behaviours relating to SA was performed using the Critical Incident Technique. A total of 75 incidents and 20 behavioural dimensions relevant to SA were identified and these were subsumed under planning, problem solving, team coordination, attention, communication and knowledge. These findings are discussed with regard to the nature and measurement of SA, and the content of training to improve SA for control room teams.     

The impact of computer-based procedures on team performance,communication, and situation awareness

In nuclear power plants, operating procedures are adopted to aid the operators in performing their tasks. With the evolution of computer hardware and software, the analog human-machine systems of the main control room in the nuclear power plant have been replaced with digital systems. Moreover, automated operations now outnumber manual operations. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the impact of computer-based procedures on the team performance, communication, and situation awareness of operators in the main control room. To achieve the purpose, a within-subjects experiment was designed and then a survey was conducted. The results showed that the teams had better objective performance and higher situation awareness when using computer-based procedures. In addition, the teams also had lower human error and lower communication rates when using computer-based procedures. This study proposes that computer-based procedures are advantageous to the operation of the systems of the main control rooms in nuclear power plants.Relevance to industryComputerized procedures system is one of the specific features for advanced nuclear power plant. This study explores and analyzes the team performance, communication, and situation awareness difference between paper-based, electronic, and computer-based procedures in detail. It may provide practical information for how to apply computer-based procedures to perform the tasks in the main control room of the advanced nuclear power plant.     

Situation awareness,human error,and organizational learning in sociotechnical systems

In many organizations, the performance of individuals and teams is negatively affected by human error. Studies have shown that these errors can be reduced or even prevented by learning from them and by developing an understanding of error causation and its consequences. The ability to detect, understand, and anticipate errors refers to situation awareness (SA). Although SA is not limited to human error and it is more closely linked with decision making, it is a prerequisite for error reduction in complex sociotechnical work settings. The main objectives of this study were threefold: First, a model that can explain the interrelations between human error, SA, and organizational learning in sociotechnical systems was developed. Secondly, functional and dysfunctional factors that affect human error, SA, and organizational learning were identified. Thirdly, a research methodology was selected and adapted to empirically test the model in a real‐world sociotechnical task environment. To do so, an SA performance test and a human error questionnaire were used to examine SA and respective learning modes of 108 assembly‐line workers in the manufacturing industry. The final test results supported the central assumptions of the applied model. The article concludes by discussing applications in the field of sociotechnical systems analysis, team training, human performance programs, and high‐reliability organizations.     

Continuous awareness: A visual mobile approach

Facing the challenges of global distribution in software development, Continuous Coordination constitutes a new coordination paradigm that helps break the communication barriers in distributed teams by providing awareness information and integrating heterogeneous tools. Continuous Awareness is an extension of Continuous Coordination emphasizing continuous awareness support across space and time. Traditional desktop-based approaches are insufficient for the requirements of continuous awareness. Team Radar Mobile takes a visual mobile approach to awareness by extending the visualization of awareness information on desktop platforms to mobile platforms. The concept of continuous awareness and its implementation on multiple platforms are discussed. An experiment has evaluated the visual mobile approach to continuous awareness, and found visualization express awareness information more efficiently than the non-visual approach. Our work also provides experience on mobile visualization.     

Team situation assessment and information distribution

Described is the cooperative work of constructing team situation awareness within two teams of a military command and control unit. Specifically discussed is how the distributed cognitive and cooperative work of decision-making of the two teams is structured. The situation enabled two different ways of distributing information within the team: one serial and one parallel. One team chose the parallel information transfer, the other the serial one. Discussed is the interaction patterns that emerge in the respective teams and their consequences for situation assessment and situation awareness. The differences are then discussed in terms of means of sharing information. Some hypotheses for future research are also offered.     

Network-aware support for mobile distributed teams

An experiment evaluated network-aware support to increase understanding of the factors that are important for successful teamwork in mobile geographically dispersed teams of first responders. Participants performed a simulated search and rescue team task and were equipped with a digitized map and real-time situation updates on the location of other participants in a simulated disaster area. The connection to a server, however, was made deliberately error-prone, leading to occasional losses of network connections. Consequently, participants were not provided with real-time situation updates. To deal with this problem we equipped team members with a network-aware application that signaled network loss to them and adapted the graphical representation of the location of fellow team members accordingly to the quality of location information present. The experiment revealed that presenting complete and reliable geospatial information improves teamwork. Teams connected to a server over a fast and reliable link showed superior performance over teams with no network connection whatsoever to a server. The present study failed, however, to demonstrate the added value of network-aware support when teams had to collaborate in the presence of an unreliable communications infrastructure. Although participants indicated a slight preference for the network-aware application over a condition without support signaling network loss, no differences were observed in team process and outcome measures.     

Team situation assessment and information distribution

Described is the cooperative work of constructing team situation awareness within two teams of a military command and control unit. Specifically discussed is how the distributed cognitive and cooperative work of decision-making of the two teams is structured. The situation enabled two different ways of distributing information within the team: one serial and one parallel. One team chose the parallel information transfer, the other the serial one. Discussed is the interaction patterns that emerge in the respective teams and their consequences for situation assessment and situation awareness. The differences are then discussed in terms of means of sharing information. Some hypotheses for future research are also offered.     

Design and Evaluation of a Team Mutual Awareness Toolkit for Digital Interfaces of Nuclear Power Plant Context

In the teamwork of nuclear power plants (NPPs), the maintenance of mutual awareness enables the operators to have an up-to-the-moment understanding of each other’s work and makes the collaboration more efficient. Providing interface support for mutual awareness is proven to be an effective way to enhance the operators’ mutual awareness in digital systems. What mutual awareness-relevant information to provide and how to present the information on the display are two questions worth studying. This research focused on the above two questions and provided a newly designed mutual awareness toolkit on the context of digital interfaces in NPPs. The usability of the designed toolkit was evaluated through a laboratory experiment. The influence of the mutual awareness toolkit on team performance and its interaction effect with task complexity was further examined under incident scenarios. The results showed that the designed mutual awareness toolkit improved the operators’ mutual awareness, while it did not decrease their individual situation awareness (SA) or impose extra mental workloads. In team diagnosis tasks, the teams using the mutual awareness toolkit more thoroughly discussed the incident scenarios and identified more key points of the incidents. The diagnosis correctness, perhaps moderated by other factors besides mutual awareness, was not significantly improved.