Task Definitions Research Articles

Income and time pressure: a person-situation grocery retail typology

A person-situation segmentation framework is proposed. The demographic variable 'income' and the situational variable 'time pressure' were integrated and applied to grocery retail shopping. Using a combination of individual scanning data and a mail survey, we divided a sample of moderate to frequent grocery shoppers in a large Belgian retail organization into four grocery-shopping segments - 'money-poor, time-rich', 'money-poor, time-poor', 'money-rich, time-rich' and 'money-rich, time-poor'. Significant differences existed between these segments in several demographic, behavioural and attitudinal characteristics, including: demographic - age, composition and size of household, number of children at home, marital status, location, education and occupation; behavioural - amount spent in the store, buying pattern for different product categories and different task definitions; attitudinal - overall attitude towards grocery shopping and different grocery-shopping attribute saliences.

The student's experience of reading

Many studies have focused on student learning through text and have investigated relationships between approach, conception, outcomes, task definitions and context. However, little research has been undertaken on trying to understand the meaning that reading in the academic context has for the individual student. The aim of the study reported here was to reveal this meaning and to show how the way a student approaches reading is bound up with this. Extracts from four case studies of student readers are presented, describing how each student approaches the reading of the same text, and how this approach seems to be related to the student's general approach to academic reading, what reading in general means to them, and the significance that being a student has for each of them. It is argued that the normally neutral or pleasurable private activity of reading is disturbed in the academic context by the potential for this activity to be made public through the various assessment activities which bound the student's daily reading life. When engaging in reading for academic purposes, students are no longer engaging in a private activity undertaken for its own sake, but in an activity whose evaluated outcomes will - crucially - tell them something about their worth in the eyes of others. Reading in the academic context cannot thus be viewed as a purely neutral cognitive process undertaken in a social vacuum, but has to be understood within both the personal and biographical context of the individual reader, and within the socio-cultural and political context of the particular reading activity. In this paper I present four case studies of first year undergraduate students' experiences of reading in an academic context. Each case study describes how each student approaches the reading of the same text, and seeks to understand the different approaches taken in terms of how the students normally go about their academic reading, what reading means to them in general, and what it means for each of them to be a student. The case studies thus seek to illuminate the approaches taken by the students in terms of the particular "webs of significance" (Geertz 1975) brought by each to the activity of read- ing. The focus here is not on the relationship between their approach and the learning outcomes derived from their reading. Rather the focus is on the interrelationships between the student's approach to reading and the different assumptions, expectations and purposes that they bring to this activity. The aim, by maintaining the integrity of the individual case, is to show what it means to be a student engaged in reading, to reveal the existential dimension of reading in an academic context.

The impact of task definition on store-attribute saliences and store choice

This study investigates the impact of task definition, a situational measure, on storeattribute saliences and store choice for do-it-yourself (DIY) products. Five types of task definitions experienced by shoppers of do-it-yourself products were identified and linked to store attributes. A survey of DIY shoppers revealed that task definitions were related to both store choice and store-attribute saliences. The study has important implications for retailer format strategies as well as for the interpretation of store evaluation processes, satisfaction, and loyalty.

TASK ANALYSIS OF ANESTHETIST PERFORMANCE DURING REAL CASES AND FROM VIDEO RECORDINGS

S172 INTRODUCTION: Scientific study of the role of the clinician in anesthesia patient safety requires the development of objective measures of anesthesiologist performance. Previous studies support the value of real-time task analysis [Anesthesiology 80: 77, 1994 and 87: 144, 1997]. However, these techniques require further validation. The purpose of this study was to examine the intra- and inter-observer reliability of an established task analysis methodology during actual cases and on video recordings of the same cases. METHODS: After IRB approval, routine general endotracheal anesthetics (133 +/- 5 min) performed by experienced certified registered nurse anesthetists were studied. One observer (VW) sat in the OR and used custom software to categorize in real time the activities of each subject into 34 discrete task categories (VW-OR). Concurrently, each case was videotaped using a comparable view. Two weeks later, the same observer performed off-line task analysis from the videotapes (VW-VT). A different observer (MD) also performed task analysis from the videotapes on 2 occasions 2 weeks apart (MD-VT1 & VT2). Case data were segmented into Induction (IND), Maintenance (MNT), and Emergence phases using strict criteria. Data were analyzed for percent and total time on task, task duration, and number of task occurrences per case. Two-way ANOVA followed by Newman-Keuls tests were used to assess significant intra- and inter-observer differences (P<0.01 to account for multiple group comparisons). RESULTS: There were no significant differences in the percent or total time, task durations or occurrences between OR and off-line analyses by the same observer (e.g., P > 0.7-1.0) during any phase of the anesthetics; concordance was greatest during IND. There were no significant differences in percent or total time, or task duration, between observers in the off-line videoanalysis during any phase. For IND and total case, only 2 individual tasks were different (Table 1). However, MD toggled between discrete tasks more rapidly than VT (e.g., occurrences of Observe Monitors during MNT; 140 +/- 28 vs. 84 +/- 14, P<0.01). Additional analyses will be presented.Table 1: Most Common Tasks: Percent of Total CaseDISCUSSION: There was very good intra-observer reproducibility and a concordance between real-time and off-line analyses. As expected, inter-observer variability was greater although the differences generally involved only a few, less common, tasks. The use of strict task definitions and extensive observer training including joint viewing and discussion of videotaped cases appears to contribute to the good inter-rater reliability observed. Differences in style and interpretation between observers must be expected and accounted for in future studies. The ability to scientifically describe clinical performance, especially off-line, will provide a rational basis for the study of training strategies, work schedules, and anesthesia devices, hopefully leading to enhanced safety.

Writing assessment: Raters' elaboration of the rating task

This study examined how highly experienced raters do writing assessment, with a focus on how the raters defined the assessment task. Three raters followed a think-aloud procedure as they evaluated two sets of writing. Analyses of the think-aloud protocols showed that raters defined the task in three very different ways: 1. 1) by searching the rubric to make a match between their response to the text and the language of the scoring rubric (search elaboration), 2. 2) by assigning a score directly based on a quick general impression (simple recognition elaboration), or 3. 3) by analyzing the criteria prior to score assignment without considering alternative scores (complex recognition elaboration). Raters differed in their use of task definitions when they evaluated the same texts. These results are discussed in terms of the effect of different task elaborations on the validity of writing assessment.

Towards agent systems engineering

The term “ agent” has became a buzzword these days, not only in academic circles, but also in some computer magazines and application fields of computer science like manufacturing and logistics. Hence, there is a pressing need for a design methodology for multi-agent systems. Or even stronger, there is a demand for an agent engineering technology, which includes computer assistance during the design phases, for the validation of the designed system, and for the implementation of the multi-agent system as a physically distributed system. This status report will introduce the field of multi-agent systems and its design. Three prominent applications will serve as a first motivation of the theme. Based on the ideas of the agent examples a discussion on the term agent will serve as a first motivation of the theme. Based of the theme. Based on the ideas of the agent architecture of an agent, its communication capabilities, and planning in a multi-agent context. After this broad technical introduction the main topic of this work will be tackled. An introduction to five methodologies for the design of multi-agent systems will be given and a new one, the AWIC method, will be presented. Eventually a brief discussion about the multi-agent design approaches will be given, the missing correlations to the task definitions will be critizised, and further research directions will be proposed.

Analytic and Informational Requirements in Disease Management Proposals: A Managed Care Perspective

Objective: To outline informational and analytic requirements that one healthcare management system has implemented to ensure that disease management submissions meet common standards for evaluation and review. Context: The need for guidelines to support the scope and quality of submissions for disease management negotiation and contracting. Design: A series of task definitions are proposed to support three stages in the submission, negotiation, and implementation process: A preliminary submission, establishment of a disease state management agreement, and implementation of the disease state management agreement. Discussion: These guidelines are designed to assist companies in meeting minimum standards in their disease state management submissions. The minimum standards relate to their appreciation of the analytic complexities involved, the need to access the appropriate data sources, and the need to meet minimum contracting requirements for program delivery. Not only does application of these guidelines place all potential partners on an equal basis and allow a systematic assessment of competing proposals, but also the degree of uncertainty associated with such agreements, notably in the process of negotiation, is reduced substantially. Conclusions: Unless guidelines are implemented by managed care organizations, the prospects for entering into successful disease state management agreements may be uncertain.

Departmental purpose analysis

Outlines the results of a departmental purpose analysis project undertaken with the administration section of Cumbria Social Service Inspection unit. The project compared the definitions of purpose and tasks perceived by administration staff with those of their main internal customers.

Adaptive control of a robot arm using driver programs

Most successful state-of-the-art robotic manipulators have the characteristic of producing precise, fast, smooth and reproducible movements. Their drawback is that they tend to have a limited repertoire which can only be extended by costly inverse kinematics calculations or direct teach-in sessions. The goal of our project is to develop a flexible open world robot, which adapts to its task and environment progressively and in an iterative manner. It begins carefully and slowly, with small jagged movements, but, after repetition, reaches an acceptable level of smoothness and execution speed. It can be placed in new surroundings with new task definitions, requiring only a further practice time before becoming expert. Similarities from other sub-tasks are recognized and may be transferred to the new domains. The basic constituents of the adaptive robot are simple iterative inverse kinematics and driver programs. In this paper the idea of driver programs for robot arm control is introduced and their properties investigated.

“Projectification” of the firm: The renault case

Many industrial firms are implementing fundamental changes in their organizations to increase the efficiency of their product development processes. Here we focus on the relations between project management models and the permanent organization and processes of the firm. The case of the French firm Renault is studied. The firm effected a transition from the classical functional organization in the 1960s to project coordination in the 1970s, and since 1989 to autonomous and powerful project teams. Such advanced project management has profound and destabilizing effects on the other permanent logics of the firm (task definitions, hierarchic regulations, carrier management, functions and supplier relations). The “projectification” process is still under way, to adapt these permanent processes to the new context.

Using Activity Analysis to Investigate Primary Classroom Environments

AbstractThe purpose of this paper is to propose a methodology for the naturalistic investigation of classroom environments in primary schools. At its centre, this proposal is derived from a critique of the position of the classroom ecologist Walter Doyle. The paper has three distinct phases. The first strand is concerned with analysis of aspects of Doyle's work, especially in connection with his position on classroom ecology. This section will include an overview of his approach to naturalistic research, together with an outline of his view on the definitions of tasks and activities. Reference will also be made to the source of his work, ecological psychology. The second phase of the paper relates to Doyle's methodological position, including the use of classroom narratives as a research method together with an outline and critique of the role of dimensions of task ambiguity within naturalistic research. Finally the concept of dimensions of classroom activity ambiguity is proposed. This is used as a foundation for suggestions for empirical research methods for natural investigation.

Multidisciplinarity and multimedia in quality of care—education

Quality of care and quality of life are patient-centred, whereas medical education tends to be disease-centred. More patient-centred models will be necessary to optimise the quality of care for cancer patients. This demands new priorities in medical education, new concepts for structuring and organising responsibilities in medical care, and new complementary task definitions for the players involved. Goal setting and functional care models are conceptual innovations that can help introduce the patient-centred approach into medical practice. In the care of patients with cancer, the goals of the physician, nurse, patient, and family may change and diverge as the disease progresses, necessitating open discussion and bargaining. Functional care models stress that the quality of care can be defined differently at the four different levels of care--medical, nursing, cleaning/providing, and support from family and friends. Instruments that maintain the focus of care on the patient's quality of life can help formalise the goal-setting process. Quality of life measuring instruments should be adapted to the priorities of the clinical situation and implemented in basic practice routines. There is no single objective quality of life level or score, and measuring instruments must take into account different quality of life options. Multidisciplinarity and multimedia education means the appropriate learning instruments at the appropriate time for all those concerned.

Social Work Services in Schools: A National Study of Entry-Level Tasks

Across the United States the quality of education and the need to reform schooling continue to be debated (National Commission on Excellence in Education, 1983). Many states have approached this challenge by upgrading standards for both education personnel and pupils. This upgrading has included using competency examinations and setting specific standards for employment, promotion, and graduation (Allen-Meares, 1987). Society now knows that large numbers of children are not achieving, dropout rates for some inner-city communities have reached alarming numbers, and children from low-income families are less likely to come to school ready to learn. In the midst of these developments, both social problems and problems in family-child functioning continue to escalate. Large-scale changes in the demographics of the country (for example, growing racial and ethnic diversity) and new social problems (cocaine-addicted babies, acquired immune deficiency syndrome, increased rates of youth suicide, and the juvenilization of poverty) and their consequences present new challenges for schools and school social workers (Danziger & Stern, 1990-91; Ford Foundation, 1989). Social workers have known for some time that educational outcome is determined by the interactions between societal and home conditions and school variables. Germain (1991) reaffirmed this point in her discussion of educational reform and school social work practice in the 1990s, acknowledging that the school alone cannot create equality in opportunity. There is a growing awareness that to achieve certain educational outcomes, social problems must be addressed first and that social work has a place in U.S. schools (Chira, 1991). The study reported in this article has four purposes: (1) to collect information about the demographic and organizational contexts in which school social workers work, the populations served, and other working conditions that influence practice; (2) to identify the most important job dimensions that school social workers must be able to perform as they begin to practice; (3) to determine whether these dimensions are correlated positively or negatively in frequency with which they are performed; and (4) to identify the tasks school social workers prefer to perform and those that are mandated by the school. This study is part of a collaborative effort involving the Educational Testing Service, Princeton, New Jersey; the National Association of Social Workers' (NASW) Commission on Education; and the author. This collaboration has resulted in specialist credentials for school social workers, some of whom have been required by their respective states to receive certification by completion of the National Teachers' Examination, which did not include an appropriate battery of questions for school social workers. Literature Review Analyses of school social work tasks have dominated the literature since the conception of this field of practice. Major studies were conducted by Costin (1969) and Meares (1977), and since then, others have examined the status and current definitions of school social work tasks and functions (Alderson & Krishef, 1973; Chavkin, 1985). For example, Chavkin examined the status of school social work activities and the pattern of delivery in three states and 200 school districts. She found that traditional activities (for example, direct services to individual students, work with families, liaison work, and interpretation) were performed most frequently. However, nontraditional tasks were also provided (for example, groupwork, consultation, and administrative consultation). Link's (1991) qualitative cross-national comparison study of school social workers in London and the midwestern United States found that the U.S. school social workers worked primarily to maintain the status quo, made referrals to agencies, and helped children adapt. Link blamed this state of affairs on the fact that these workers are bound by the school and its authority over them. …

A task-based cognitive model for user-network interaction: defining a task taxonomy to guide the interface designer

Consistency has generally been viewed as a desirable characteristic of human-computer interfaces. Its significance is increased in the design of interfaces to open network environments, involving heterogeneous assortments of hardware and software, lack of central authority, and a constantly changing (and growing) user community. This paper addresses consistency with respect to the tasks that an interface should support in the virtual communication link between a user and any network-based application. A cognitive model was constructed to provide a meaningful framework for the development of a hierarchically structured set of tasks. An initial set of 143 tasks was composed and defined. Then, using an extensive questionnaire, a group of expert users of computer networks was asked to evaluate the hypothesized tasks. This process resulted in a task hierarchy with 89 leaf nodes representing basic tasks. The task definitions are outlined in an appendix. The cognitive model, task sets and task evaluation technique are intended to have practical utility for engineers, system designers, and software developers of user interfaces to complex systems. To illustrate their use, a prototype system was implemented and is briefly described.

Quantifying exposure in occupational manual tasks with cumulative trauma disorder potential

A method of describing the musculoskeletal loads in the hand and wrist during manual tasks is presented. A profile of twelve factors is used to quantify the exposure of applicable soft tissues to modes of loading suggested as being related to a number of chronic, work-related musculoskeletal disorders such as chronic muscle strain, tenosynovitis, and carpal tunnel syndrome. These factors include estimates of tendon loads and movement, frictional work done on the tendon sheaths, and muscle activation determined using electromyography. The response of these measures to changes of force, repetition, and posture was studied using eight conditions of a simulated task utilizing a pistol grip tool. Measures of tendon frictional work and dynamic electromyographic activity best paralleled the injury outcomes of an epidemiological study using similar task definitions (Silverstein et al. 1986). This field-usable system is being used currently to investigate the relationship between occupational exposure and musculoskeletal disorders.

A design concept for verified concurrent controllers

The main problems in developing complex digital systems lie in designing the architectures of the associated controllers. There is a lack of systematic design concepts, particularly for such a type of task definitions which must be distributed among several co-operating processes. In this paper, we have concentrated on the issues of specifying, verifying, and implementing these types of controller architectures. We present an integrated design concept which focuses on the correctness of concurrent systems. Our approach is based on describing a control task with the aid of structured flowcharts. This type of description is suitable for computer-assisted architecture design and formal analysis of correctness. The design method is described on the basis of a practical example.

Fuel cycle R&D for ITER — a summary of objectives and current status

Joint work on the design of the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) has provided an opportunity for engineers and physicists from Japan, the EC, USA and Soviet Union to compare concepts and identify critical data needs which must be evolved over the next few years to support the design of the next-step machine for magnetic-confinement fusion. In the fuel cycle area, well-developed national programs exist, and the challenging task of the Fuel Cycle Design Unit in ITER is to promote a harmonisation of these tasks to minimise duplication and ensure gaps which would affect the development of satisfactory design concepts do not occur. The principle mechanisms for this involves: • - identification of a subset of R&D task where results are especially needed for design, • - establishment of task and subtask definitions and program milestones to facilitate task monitoring, • - reporting and information exchange as results become available. Results of this exercise to-date are described in this note.

Task representation in writing about literature

When asked to write, novices and experts alike define their tasks differently. This paper presents an extensive menu of strategies and goals for reading and writing about literature, and analyzes their various costs and benefits. It contrasts three kinds of non-interactive task definitions, either text- or reader-based, with three types of interactive task definitions that show how students may come to take account of the complex cognitive and cultural influences on reading and writing.

Noise and vigilance: an evaluative review.

The literature on the effects of noise on monitoring performance shows a disappointing lack of consistency in results. The hypothesis of the present study was that task classification in terms of demands made on the observer should reconcile conflicting findings so that generalizations could be made. Therefore, a study was made of the effects of intermittent or variable noise on vigilance experiments with similar task demands. Twenty-one sensory vigilance studies, selected from 98 visual performance experiments, were analyzed in detail. It appeared that, even when studies possess similar task characteristics, they are hard to compare due to the many types and varieties of the noise variables involved and the measures of performance used. Contradictory results remain. It was concluded that we know nothing about the effects of variable noise on sustained attention, despite the importance of this kind of noise for everyday life. Using this detailed analysis as an illustration, it was suggested that disparate task definitions contribute to variable or inconsistent results in vigilance, and that it does not make sense to search for the effect of independent variables on “vigilance.” The usefulness of future reviews of “noise and vigilance,” as well as of “the effects of noise,” and the results of “vigilance tasks” were questioned.

Improving Staff Performance through the Use of Task Checklists

Analysis of a checklist system suggested that it may be a useful method of improving staff performance. Three features were considered important components of a checklist system: task definitions, recording responses on checklists, and periodic supervisor review. A checklist system incorporating these features was developed for an administrative staff in a large instructional system. A multiple-baseline across-subjects design and one reversal were used with three small groups of front-line staff, whose task completion was determined by permanent products left by the tasks. The percent of tasks completed improved by 28.8% when the checklist system was in effect. This study indicated that checklists may be a worthwhile method of managing worker performance.