Skill learning and performance. Task analysis: a consideration for teachers of skills.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
Environment↗
SEARCH · Search PubMed
Results for “Task Performance and Analysis”
Search indexed PubMed citations on genomics, clinical trials, systematic reviews and public health. Explore titles, authors and supplied subject terms, then open the PubMed record.
Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.
Task analysis for industrial work process from aspects of human reliability and system safety.
In the design, development, and manufacturing stage of industrial products, engineers usually focus on the problems caused by hardware or software, but pay less attention to problems caused by "human error," which may significantly affect system reliability and safety. Although operating procedures are strictly followed, human error still may occur occasionally. Among the influencing factors, the inappropriate design of standard operation procedure (SOP) or standard assembly procedure (SAP) is an important and latent reason for unexpected results found during human operation. To reduce the error probability and error effects of these unexpected behaviors in the industrial work process, overall evaluation of SOP or SAP quality has become an essential task. The human error criticality analysis (HECA) method was developed to identify the potentially critical problems caused by human error in the human operation system. This method performs task analysis on the basis of operation procedure. For example, SOP, analyzes the human error probability (HEP) for each human operation step, and assesses its error effects to the whole system. The results of the analysis will show the interrelationship that exists between critical human tasks, critical human error modes, and human reliability information of the human operation system. To identify the robustness of the model, a case study of initiator assembly tasks was conducted. Results show that the HECA method is practicable in evaluating the operation procedure, and the information is valuable in identifying the means to upgrade human reliability and system safety for human tasks.
Computer Systems↗
Assessment of the intrarater and interrater reliability of an established clinical task analysis methodology.
BACKGROUND: Task analysis may be useful for assessing how anesthesiologists alter their behavior in response to different clinical situations. In this study, the authors examined the intraobserver and interobserver reliability of an established task analysis methodology. METHODS: During 20 routine anesthetic procedures, a trained observer sat in the operating room and categorized in real-time the anesthetist's activities into 38 task categories. Two weeks later, the same observer performed task analysis from videotapes obtained intraoperatively. A different observer performed task analysis from the videotapes on two separate occasions. Data were analyzed for percent of time spent on each task category, average task duration, and number of task occurrences. Rater reliability and agreement were assessed using intraclass correlation coefficients. RESULTS: Intrarater reliability was generally good for categorization of percent time on task and task occurrence (mean intraclass correlation coefficients of 0.84-0.97). There was a comparably high concordance between real-time and video analyses. Interrater reliability was generally good for percent time and task occurrence measurements. However, the interrater reliability of the task duration metric was unsatisfactory, primarily because of the technique used to capture multitasking. CONCLUSIONS: A task analysis technique used in anesthesia research for several decades showed good intrarater reliability. Off-line analysis of videotapes is a viable alternative to real-time data collection. Acceptable interrater reliability requires the use of strict task definitions, sophisticated software, and rigorous observer training. New techniques must be developed to more accurately capture multitasking. Substantial effort is required to conduct task analyses that will have sufficient reliability for purposes of research or clinical evaluation.
Adult↗
Analysis of tasks performed by certified ophthalmic medical personnel.
BACKGROUND: Proper delegation of routine tasks to trained personnel might increase cost efficiency by freeing the physician to concentrate on the medical and judgmental aspects of patient care. In ophthalmology, certified ophthalmic medical personnel (OMP) assist the physician by performing many tasks. The Joint Commission on Allied Health Personnel in Ophthalmology (JCAHPO) selected 77 specific tasks performed by OMP and conducted a task analysis survey to determine the importance of these tasks to ophthalmic practice. Individual and practice demographics were surveyed simultaneously to compare the effect of individual and practice differences on task importance. METHODS: Certified OMP and their sponsoring ophthalmologists were surveyed independently. Each group was asked to rate the importance of the 77 selected tasks using a five-point scale of importance. Importance ratings from each survey group were used independently to generate a rank order listing of tasks. RESULTS: Only 3 of the 77 tasks differed significantly in importance between ophthalmologists and OMP. The same five tasks were rated as most important by both groups, whereas the second group of the five most important tasks varied only by +/-4. CONCLUSIONS: The similarity in task importance rankings indicates a common perception between ophthalmologists and OMP concerning the role played by OMP in ophthalmic eye care.
Allied Health Personnel↗
Mastoidectomy simulation with combined visual and haptic feedback.
Mastoidectomy is one of the most common surgical procedures relating to the petrous bone. In this paper we describe our preliminary results in the realization of a virtual reality mastoidectomy simulator. Our system is designed to work on patient-specific volumetric object models directly derived from 3D CT and MRI images. The paper summarizes the detailed task analysis performed in order to define the system requirements, introduces the architecture of the prototype simulator, and discusses the initial feedback received from selected end users.
Computer Simulation↗
Acoustic analysis of speech tasks performed by three individuals with spinocerebellar ataxia.
A number of speech tasks produced by three female subjects with different types of genetically diagnosed spinocerebellar ataxia and with mild dysarthria were investigated using acoustic instrumentation. All subjects showed a number of signs of decreased speech rate, increased pause duration, increased and more variable durations of alternating motion rate, sequential motion rate syllables and inter-stress intervals in addition to vocal instability. These signs were consistent with the perceptual judgment of ataxic dysarthria. Furthermore, the severity of impairment found using these speech analysis methods seemed to correspond to the general severity of the disease and the duration of the illness in these few subjects. The tasks studied appeared to be relevant and suitable for acoustic analyses as they did reveal deviations in the speech of the subjects compared with controls.
Adult↗
Cooperative task performance and preferences of people with multiple disabilities.
This study assessed whether four adults with multiple disabilities would successfully acquire cooperative task performance (the ability to work in dyads) and would prefer this over individual task performance. Analysis indicated that the dyads reached levels of correct responding identical to those displayed on individual performance. Moreover, all four participants preferred the cooperative performance. These findings, which match those of a prior pilot work by Lancioni, O'Reilly, and Oliva, were discussed in terms of their practical implications for rehabilitation and occupational contexts.
Adult↗
Differential visuospatial dysfunction following striatal, frontal white matter, or posterior thalamic infarction.
The present study investigated visuospatial functioning in 35 right-hand dominant patients with striatal, frontal white matter, or posterior thalamic infarction, in the right cerebral hemisphere. On tasks of visual detection and discrimination, the groups performed within normal limits and comparable to one another. On tasks of visual synthesis and spatial analysis, each group was significantly impaired, with greatest impairment following infarction of deep grey structures. Correlational analyses indicated that in the striatal and frontal white matter groups, visual synthesis and spatial analysis task performance were strongly correlated with performance on neuropsychological tests of executive control. This relationship was not observed in the posterior thalamic group. The results support the hypothesis of differential patterns of visuospatial performance depending on the anatomical locus of subcortical lesions. The findings are explained in terms of differing subcortical circuitry and suggest that multiple substrates mediate the sequelae of subcortical lesions.
Aged↗
A distributed system for diabetic patient management.
This paper describes a telemedicine system for diabetic patients management, presenting its architecture, the technical solutions adopted and the methodologies on which it is based. The system, designed to provide decision support in a distributed environment, is composed of two modules, a Patient Unit and a Medical Unit, connected by telecommunication services. We outline how the two modules can interact to perform an effective monitoring and a cooperative control of glucose metabolism. In particular, we detail the data analysis tasks performed by the two units and how the results are exploited to assist patients and physicians in revising and adjusting the therapeutic protocol. We will finally describe the current prototypical implementation of the system that uses HTTP as the communication protocol and HTML pages as the graphical user interface.
Diabetes Mellitus, Type 1↗
Effects of tennis practice on the coincidence timing accuracy of adults and children.
This study examines the development of perceptuomotor processes involved in coincidence timing tasks according to age and experience in tennis. Tennis players and novices, 7, 10, 13, and 23 years of age, were tested in a coincidence timing task which consisted of estimating the arrival of a simulated moving object on a target. The effect of three different motions were analyzed: constant velocity, constant acceleration, and constant deceleration. Results showed that (1) timing accuracy improves mainly between the ages of 7 and 10 years; (2) tennis practice accelerates the development of timing accuracy; and (3) acceleration or deceleration of the moving stimulus had no effect on the timing accuracy of any of the tested groups, suggesting a continuous visual control of the trajectory. Theoretical implications for the development of perceptuomotor processes involved in coincidence timing tasks are discussed.
Acceleration↗
A biomechanical analysis of manual lifting tasks performed in restricted workspaces.
This paper describes the results of an experimental study aimed at evaluating the biomechanical effects of working in a spatially restricted environment on manual lifting tasks. The main objective of the study is to estimate the biomechanical loading (in terms of peak compression and shear forces) on the lumbar spine for the selected combinations of limited headroom heights and twisting angles. A three-dimensional dynamic biomechanical model was utilized to assess peak compression and shear forces at the L5/S1 lumbosacral joint. The results indicated that by reducing the headroom height, the participants were forced to stand with their trunks fully flexed forward which, by increasing the mechanical disadvantage at the lumbosacral disc, increased the compression forces. Both compression and shear forces were affected by the increase in twisting angle. The greater the twisting angle, the higher the compression and shear forces. Regression models were developed and validated, which demonstrated high accuracy of predicting the psychophysical and biomechanical lifting capacities.
Adult↗
Relationship between coping, cognitive dysfunction and depression in multiple sclerosis.
Given its relatively high prevalence, one possible source of stress for patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) is cognitive dysfunction. The authors' study was guided by a new theoretical model suggesting that cognitive dysfunction in MS may be most likely to lead to depression when patients use high levels of avoidance coping and/or low levels of active coping. To test this model, 55 patients with definite MS were administered a neuropsychological battery and measures of depression and coping. Consistent with predictions, regression analyses showed that coping significantly moderated the relationship between cognitive dysfunction and depression. Specifically, cognitive dysfunction was most likely to be associated with depression when patients used either high levels of avoidance or low levels of active coping. Implications of these data for clinical applications and for our theoretical conceptualization are discussed and limitations of the model explored.
Adaptation, Psychological↗
Development and validation of a patient-centred Measure of Activity Limitation (MAL) in rheumatoid arthritis.
OBJECTIVE: This study sought to understand patients' experiences of activity limitation in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) to inform the development and preliminary validation of a new patient-centred assessment tool. METHODS: Interviews, focus groups and diaries provided insight into patients' experiences of change in activity limitation. These data informed item generation for the Measure of Activity Limitation (MAL) questionnaire. Postal surveys, comprising the MAL, Short Form 36 (SF36) and Health Assessment Questionnaire (HAQ), were used to inform item reduction and assess the MAL's validity, reliability and sensitivity. RESULTS: Qualitative exploration of activity limitation with 30 patients led to the development of a 36-item questionnaire addressing the impact of symptoms on activity, difficulty in global function and difficulty in task performance. Analysis of data from a postal survey of 168 patients led to the development of a 19-item questionnaire which demonstrated moderate correlations with the HAQ and relevant scales of the SF36. A second postal questionnaire, completed on two occasions by 308 patients, assessed test-retest reliability. One hundred and ninety-three people reporting no change in disease showed mean change in MAL score between the two completions of 0.41 [95% confidence interval (CI) -0.38 -1.22)], demonstrating test-retest reliability. Thirty-two patients reporting improvement showed a mean change of -7.84 (95% CI -11.15 to -4.54) and 83 reporting deterioration showed mean change of 4.63 (95% CI 3.09-6.16), suggesting that the MAL is sensitive to self-reported clinical change. CONCLUSION: Our results suggest that the MAL is valid, reliable and sensitive to self-reported change. The MAL may provide a useful patient-centred adjunct to existing measures of activity limitation.
Adult↗
Utilization of psychomotor screening for USAF pilot candidates: enhancing predictive validity.
Subjects for this research were 320 prospective pilots who were tested on computerized versions of the Two Hand Coordination (2HC) and Complex Coordination (CC) psychomotor tests. Independent variables included five basic error measures associated with the two tests, as well as seven new variables that had not previously been utilized. Results of MANOVA and multiple regression analyses revealed that performance on the two psychomotor tests were significantly related to Undergraduate Pilot Training (UPT) outcome. A trend was observed for a prediction model based on early and total trial data to yield higher simple and multiple correlations than a model based on late trials. Regressing the basic five independent variables on UPT outcome yielded R values of 0.334, 0.271, and 0.310 for early, late, and total trial data, respectively. The predictive validity of the basic five error scores was not incrementally increased by stepping in independent variables associated with the hypotenuse of horizontal and vertical error or stick movement. A stepwise multiple regression analysis revealed that the best two-variable prediction equation included the hypotenuse of horizontal and vertical error for both psychomotor tests (R = 0.329).
Aerospace Medicine↗
Textual prompts as an antecedent cue self-management strategy for persons with mild disabilities.
Providing learners written task analyses to be used as textual prompts was examined as a self-management strategy for persons with mild disabilities. Initially, modeling, corrective verbal feedback, and contingent descriptive praise were employed to train participants to use the written task analysis to perform one home maintenance task. Subsequently, participants were tested on their use of different task analyses combined with general feedback to perform two novel home maintenance tasks. No training was provided on how to use these new task analyses. Either a multiple baseline or a multiple probe across settings experimental design was used to control extraneous variables. Results indicated that the written task analyses served as self-administered textual prompts and, along with general feedback, provided stimulus control for the second and third tasks. When the self-management task analyses and general feedback were withdrawn, transfer of stimulus control occurred to the natural discriminative stimuli for the majority of tasks. The research suggests that written task analyses, as presented in the present study, may have utility for the self-management of instruction by persons with mild disabilities.
Adult↗
Video analysis of endoscopic cutting task performed by one versus two operators.
BACKGROUND: In the performance of complex laparoscopic tasks, one question is whether the task should be distributed between two operators or accomplished bimanually by one operator. The authors hypothesized that superior task performance results when two operators work collaboratively in a dyad team as opposed to one operator performing the task bimanually. Furthermore, in a visually misaligned condition, the performance of a team will be more robust than that of a single operator working alone. METHODS: The suture-cutting task was performed by 24 right-handed subjects in a mock surgical setup using a laparoscopic grasper and a pair of laparoscopic scissors. The cutting task was performed by 8 subjects bimanually (using both limbs) and 16 paired subjects unimanually (using their preferred limbs). The image of the work plane was displayed either vertically or superimposed over the work plane. In half of the conditions, the camera was rotated 45 degrees, causing misalignment between the actual and displayed work planes. Movements were videotaped. Important movement events were identified and used to subdivide the task into subtasks. Durations of the subtasks and attempts for grasping and cutting were analyzed using a mixed-design multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA). RESULTS: For a number of subtasks, the dyad group showed shorter durations than the bimanual group. The 45 degrees rotation of the camera degraded both bimanual and dyad performance, resulting in prolonged movement times for all subtasks. The learning process was facilitated by the superimposed display in that grasper and scissor reaching times improved over trials, as compared with the vertical display. CONCLUSION: The results indicate the superior role of team collaboration, as compared with the single operator, in a complex remote manipulation such as a laparoscopic cutting task. This enhanced task performance is achieved because of the larger capacity for information processing. These results may have some relevance for optimizing performance of endoscopic surgery.
Adult↗
Self-appraisal hierarchical task analysis of laparoscopic surgery performed by expert surgeons.
BACKGROUND: Evaluation of technical skill is notoriously difficult because of the subjectivity and time-consuming expert analysis. No ongoing evaluation scheme exists to assess the continuing competency of surgeons. This study examined whether surgeons' self-assessment accurately reflects their actual surgical technique. METHODS: Hierarchical task analysis (HTA) of laparoscopic cholecystectomy was constructed. Ten expert surgeons were asked to modify the HTA for their own technique. The HTAs of these surgeons then were compared with their actual operations, which had been recorded and assessed by two observers. RESULTS: A total of 40 operations were assessed. All the gallbladders subjected to surgery were classified as grades 1 to 3. The mean interrater reliability for the two observers had a k value of 0.84 (p < 0.05), and the mean intrarater reliability between surgeons and observers had a k value of 0.79 (p < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Surgeons' self-evaluation is accurate for technical skills aspects of their operations. This study demonstrates that self-appraisal using HTA is feasible, accurate, and practical. The authors aim to increase the numbers in their study and also to recruit residents.
Adult↗
Challenges for user-interface designers of telemedicine systems.
Problems associated with telemedicine systems include high telecommunications costs, lack of physician interest, and failure to build evaluation into the design process from the onset of the telemedicine project. An overview of the human-factors engineering approach to systems design and how it can be applied to the development of telemedicine systems is described. Design of an interface is based on an analysis of user capabilities, tasks, and work environment. Task analyses are performed to understand and document the interaction between a user's work activities and a system. Two characteristics of a human factors approach that are important for telemedicine are: (1) defining and measuring user performance, and (2) involving users in the design and testing of a system. Usability goals are operationally defined and tracked to quantify performance. Having users participate in the design, testing, and critique of a system also increases the likelihood that the system will be accepted and used after it is released.
Humans↗