Workshop on Human Performance Modeling and Measurement
July 21, 2000 (Friday)
Chicago
Just Preceding "World Congress 2000"
World Congress on Medical Physics and Biomedical Engineering
(WC2000 Info - click here)
Part I: Strategies and Instruments for Human Performance Measurement
Time:
8:00 a.m. - 12 noon
Presenter: George V. Kondraske, Ph.D.
Measurement of human performance capacities is important in rehabilitation, occupational medicine, human factors and safety engineering, ergonomics, sport science, and many other fields. In this workshop, generic strategies for measurement and assessment of human performance capacities will be presented. The use of these generic strategies as a basis for a series of specific performance capacity measurements will also be covered, with examples pertaining to measurement of performance capacities associated with information processing, sensory, and neuromuscular subsystems. The issue of forming composite performance scores will be covered both conceptually and with practical examples. The workshop will include hands-on demonstrations using instruments that incorporate these strategies. Special attention will be given to definition of metrics, instrumentation, and test protocol design.
Part II: Task Analysis, Prediction of High Level Task Performance, and Identification of Limiting Performance Resources
Time: 1:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.
Presenter: George V. Kondraske, Ph.D.
New cause-and-effect (vs. statistical) methods have been developed and employed for analyzing tasks in terms of the demands imposed on performance capacities of various human subsystems involved in their execution. The results of such task analyses provide a basis for predicting performance in "higher level tasks" (e.g., gait, driving, etc.) from laboratory-based measures of performance capacities. Perhaps more importantly (e.g., from a therapeutic perspective), they also provide a means to identify those performance resources that prevent a higher level of performance from being achieved in the higher level task. These methods are collectively referred to as Nonlinear Causal Resource Analysis (NCRA). Attendees will learn the theoretical basis of NCRA, how it works, how to design experiments that will produce task models, and how to use NCRA task models to predict performance and identify limiting factors. The use of standard tools (e.g., spreadsheet software) to implement NCRA analyses will be covered. In addition, software specifically designed for executing NCRA capabilities will be demonstrated. Application examples from rehabilitation (including mobility related tasks such as gait and stair climbing and driving) as well as sports will be presented.
Registration Information
Details of the registration process are being finalized and will be posted here when available. Fees will be as follows:
Part I or Part II - $125
Part I and Part II - $200
Students - $50 (tentative) for either or both parts
Interested attendees are encouraged to contact Dr. Kondraske prior to the workshop (gvk@hpi.uta.edu). Certain examples and materials will be selected based on audience interests.
Registration includes one copy of extensive texts covering the topics of the respective sessions.
About Dr. Kondraske..
Dr. George V. Kondraske is Professor of Electrical and Biomedical Engineering at the University of Texas at Arlington and founding director of the Human Performance Institute. He received a B.S. in electrical engineering from the University of Rochester in 1978 and M.S. and Ph.D. in biomedical engineering the University of Texas at Arlington and University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas (joint program) in 1980 and 1982, respectively. Since then, he has conducted human and systems performance research sponsored by NIDRR, NSF, NASA, DOE, USAF, NIH, the Veterans Administration, the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, as well as a number of industrial firms. He is widely recognized for his work in human performance modeling and measurement. Key contributions include the development of a Human Performance Capacity Measurement System (now commercially available and in use in nine countries), General Systems Performance Theory, and the Elemental Resource Model for human performance. He has applied these tools to problems in medical rehabilitation, ergonomics, sports, music, and other areas. He has authored over 200 publications on these topics. In 1986, he was awarded the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society Early Career Award and received the Association for the Advancement of Medical Instrumentation Career Achievement Award in 1989.