Papers by James Staszewski
Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society ... Annual Meeting, Sep 1, 2010
The objective of this study was to uncover the cognitive underpinnings of Improvised Explosive De... more The objective of this study was to uncover the cognitive underpinnings of Improvised Explosive Device (IED) emplacement detection expertise possessed by United States Army Unmanned Aerial System (UAS) Mission Payload Operators (MPOs) who have a proven history of success at this task. Specific issues of interest include identifying strategies used to detect IED emplacement threats, as well as identifying indicators and cues associated with IED emplacement to provide the basis for future training. We reviewed existing training programs and interviewed MPOs with varying levels of in-theater experience. Initial data gathered was verified by presenting video recordings from UAS sensors depicting possible IED emplacement activity to an additional group of experienced MPOs. These videos were used to elicit cues and strategies used to identify potential threats. Results of this study highlight tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTPs) employed by experienced MPOs. The results also emphasize the need for training on IED emplacement detection and support the presentation of feedback from tactical ground units to reinforce effective search strategies. Finally, there is support for the development of realistic IED emplacement indicators in the visual models, supporting simulation for use as an unclassified training tool for initial and reinforcement training.
business administration, economics, and sociology lost an intellectual giant recognized and honor... more business administration, economics, and sociology lost an intellectual giant recognized and honored as a leader, champion, scientific revolutionary, and builder. Beyond producing a prodigious body of seminal work in each of these areas, Simon was a founding father of cognitive psychology and artificial intelligence and the architect of multiple outstanding departments and programs at Carnegie Mellon University (CMU), his home base from 1947 to his death. Over a career that spanned more than six decades, Simon steadily raised the scientific rigor applied to explaining the behavior of economic, cognitive, administrative, political, computer, and social systems. At a memorial service held at CMU, participants offered moving tributes to Simon’s
This paper describes an advanced multi-vehicle simulator (AMVS) designed to simulate a variety of... more This paper describes an advanced multi-vehicle simulator (AMVS) designed to simulate a variety of commercial vehicles and passenger vehicles using interchangeable, reconfigurable cabs or bodies that are mounted to a common motion platform. The modular configuration of the AMVS will allow for rapid and cost-effective design of experiments and training scenarios. The paper discusses the simulator design concepts and research capabilities.
Applied Spatial Cognition: From Research to Cognitive Technology, 2007
This chapter describes the successful linkage of basic research on visual imagery and spatial thi... more This chapter describes the successful linkage of basic research on visual imagery and spatial thinking to the activities of soldiers tasked to neutralize highly feared (Hackworth & England, 2002) and common weapons of both war and terrorism. More specifically, the chapter’s purpose is to describe contributions of fundamental science on visuo-spatial cognition to two applied projects whose impact illustrates the practical value of cognitive science. Both projects employed cognitive engineering to create training programs for operators of equipment that the U.S. military uses to detect landmines. The projects shared a common approach to training development: Equipment-specific models of expert operators ’ skills provided content for designing the training programs. The analyses supporting model construction suggested that significant components of the experts ’ skills involved spatial information processing. Visual information-processing studies, particularly research on visual imager...
Introduction. Chi, M.T.H., Learning From Observing An Expert's Demonstration, Explanation... more Introduction. Chi, M.T.H., Learning From Observing An Expert's Demonstration, Explanations, and Dialogues. Staszewski, J.J., Cognitive Engineering Based on Expert Skill. Chase, C.C., Motivating Persistence in the Face of Failure: Equipping Novice Learners with the Motivational Tools of Experts. Charness, N., Approaches to the Study of Life-Span Chess Expertise. Siegler, R.S., How Do People Become Experts? Gobet, F., Chunks and Templates in Semantic Long-term Memory: The Importance of Specialization. Schvaneveldt, R.W., Cohen, T.A., Whitfield, G.K., Paths to Discovery. Rosenbaum, D.A., Development of Expertise and the Control of Physical Action. Ericsson, K.A., Exceptional Memory and Expert Performance: From Simon and Chase's Theory of Expertise to Skilled Memory and Beyond. Kotovsky, K., Expertises. Posner, M.I., The Expert Brain. Righi, G., Category-Selective Recruitment of the Fusiform Gyrus with Chess Expertise. Tarr, M.J., Kingon, A., Beilock, S.L., Expert Performance: From Action to Perception to Understanding. Anderson, J.R., Betts, S., Ferris, J.L., Fincham, J.M., Neural Imaging be Used to Investigate Learning in an Educational Task? Ansari, D., The Emergence of a Multi-level Approach to the Study of Skill Acquisition and Expertise.
Complex Information Processing: The Impact of Herbert A. Simon, 1989
Copyright © 2013 Christian Lebiere et al. This is an open access article distributed under the Cr... more Copyright © 2013 Christian Lebiere et al. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Sensemaking is the active process of constructing a meaningful representation (i.e., making sense) of some complex aspect of the world. In relation to intelligence analysis, sensemaking is the act of finding and interpreting relevant facts amongst the sea of incoming reports, images, and intelligence. We present a cognitive model of core information-foraging and hypothesis-updating sensemaking processes applied to complex spatial probability estimation and decision-making tasks. While the model was developed in a hybrid symbolic-statistical cognitive architecture, its correspondence to neural frameworks in terms of both structure and mechanisms provided a direct bridge between rational and neural levels of description. Compared ag...
SAE Technical Paper Series, 1998
Carnegie Mellon Driving Research Center, together with ISIM, is presently involved in the design ... more Carnegie Mellon Driving Research Center, together with ISIM, is presently involved in the design and development of an Advanced Human Factors Research and Driving Training Research Facility. The facility has been designed to address human factors issues and driver ...
17th DASC. AIAA/IEEE/SAE. Digital Avionics Systems Conference. Proceedings (Cat. No.98CH36267)
Page 1. THE CARNEGIE MELLON TRUCKSIM: A TOOL TO IMPROVE DRIVING SAFETY Richard Grace, Carnegie Me... more Page 1. THE CARNEGIE MELLON TRUCKSIM: A TOOL TO IMPROVE DRIVING SAFETY Richard Grace, Carnegie Mellon Research Institute, Pittsburgh, PA Albert0Guzman, Carnegie Mellon Research Institute, Pittsburgh, PA ...
Computational Intelligence and Neuroscience, 2013
Sensemaking is the active process of constructing a meaningful representation (i.e., making sense... more Sensemaking is the active process of constructing a meaningful representation (i.e., making sense) of some complex aspect of the world. In relation to intelligence analysis, sensemaking is the act of finding and interpreting relevant facts amongst the sea of incoming reports, images, and intelligence. We present a cognitive model of core information-foraging and hypothesis-updating sensemaking processes applied to complex spatial probability estimation and decision-making tasks. While the model was developed in a hybrid symbolic-statistical cognitive architecture, its correspondence to neural frameworks in terms of both structure and mechanisms provided a direct bridge between rational and neural levels of description. Compared against data from two participant groups, the model correctly predicted both the presence and degree of four biases: confirmation, anchoring and adjustment, representativeness, and probability matching. It also favorably predicted human performance in generat...
Smith and Minda (2000) showed that mathematical approximations of several popular categorization ... more Smith and Minda (2000) showed that mathematical approximations of several popular categorization theories could be fit equally well to the average "percentage of 'A' responses" in their meta-analysis of studies that used the 5-4 category structure. They conclude that the 5-4 category structure is not a useful paradigm for explaining categorization in terms of cognitive processes. We disagree with their conclusion, and contend instead that the problem lies with the data collection and analysis methods typically used to study categorization (in this and other category structures). To support this claim, we describe a recently completed study in which we collected and used a variety of converging data to reveal the details of participants' cognitive processes in a 5-4 category structure task.
This paper outlines similarities between sensemaking theory and the ACT-R cognitive architecture.... more This paper outlines similarities between sensemaking theory and the ACT-R cognitive architecture. We analyze a functional model that interprets geospatial imagery data implemented in the ACT-R cognitive architecture. We also discuss how the various cognitive mechanisms of the functional model fit within sensemaking theory, and finally how an analysis of these mechanisms may give rise to cognitive biases.
A rule-based approach to categorization is compared with an exemplar-based approach. Both models ... more A rule-based approach to categorization is compared with an exemplar-based approach. Both models were developed using the ACT-R architecture. Both approaches yield similar accuracy and are relatively impervious to varying model parameters. Implications for the nature of implicit and explicit knowledge and learning are discussed.
SPIE Proceedings, 2007
Can human vision supplement the information that handheld landmine detection equipment provides i... more Can human vision supplement the information that handheld landmine detection equipment provides its operators to increase detection rates and reduce the hazard of the task? Contradictory viewpoints exist regarding the viability of visual detection of landmines. Assuming both positions are credible, this work aims to reconcile them by exploring the visual information produced by landmine burial and how any visible signatures change as a function of time in a natural environment. Its objective is to acquire objective, foundational knowledge on which training could be based and
subsequently evaluated. A representative set of demilitarized landmines were buried at a field site with bare soil and vegetated surfaces using doctrinal procedures. High resolution photographs of the ground surface were taken for approximately one month starting in April 2006. Photos taken immediately after burial show clearly visible surface signatures. Their features change with time and weather exposure, but the patterns they define persist, as photos taken a month later show. An analysis exploiting the perceptual sensitivity of expert observers showed signature photos to
domain experts with instructions to identify the cues and patterns that defined the signatures. Analysis of experts’ verbal descriptions identified a small set of easily communicable cues that characterize signatures and their changes over the
duration of observation. Findings suggest that visual detection training is viable and has potential to enhance detection capabilities. The photos and descriptions generated offer materials for designing such training and testing
Human Factors and …, 2008
Page 1. Using Expert Knowledge to Identify Visual Cues for Landmine Detection James J. Staszewski... more Page 1. Using Expert Knowledge to Identify Visual Cues for Landmine Detection James J. Staszewskia, Alan D. Davisonb, David J. Dippela, and Julia A. Tischuka aCarnegie Mellon University bArmy Research Laboratory Department ...
Human Factors and …, 2008
Page 1. Using Expert Knowledge to Identify Visual Cues for Landmine Detection James J. Staszewski... more Page 1. Using Expert Knowledge to Identify Visual Cues for Landmine Detection James J. Staszewskia, Alan D. Davisonb, David J. Dippela, and Julia A. Tischuka aCarnegie Mellon University bArmy Research Laboratory Department ...
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Papers by James Staszewski
subsequently evaluated. A representative set of demilitarized landmines were buried at a field site with bare soil and vegetated surfaces using doctrinal procedures. High resolution photographs of the ground surface were taken for approximately one month starting in April 2006. Photos taken immediately after burial show clearly visible surface signatures. Their features change with time and weather exposure, but the patterns they define persist, as photos taken a month later show. An analysis exploiting the perceptual sensitivity of expert observers showed signature photos to
domain experts with instructions to identify the cues and patterns that defined the signatures. Analysis of experts’ verbal descriptions identified a small set of easily communicable cues that characterize signatures and their changes over the
duration of observation. Findings suggest that visual detection training is viable and has potential to enhance detection capabilities. The photos and descriptions generated offer materials for designing such training and testing
subsequently evaluated. A representative set of demilitarized landmines were buried at a field site with bare soil and vegetated surfaces using doctrinal procedures. High resolution photographs of the ground surface were taken for approximately one month starting in April 2006. Photos taken immediately after burial show clearly visible surface signatures. Their features change with time and weather exposure, but the patterns they define persist, as photos taken a month later show. An analysis exploiting the perceptual sensitivity of expert observers showed signature photos to
domain experts with instructions to identify the cues and patterns that defined the signatures. Analysis of experts’ verbal descriptions identified a small set of easily communicable cues that characterize signatures and their changes over the
duration of observation. Findings suggest that visual detection training is viable and has potential to enhance detection capabilities. The photos and descriptions generated offer materials for designing such training and testing