An Evidence-Based Adoption of Technology Model for Remote Monitoring of Elders’ Daily Activities

"Currently, the rail industry lacks a standardized approach to the human factors evaluation of new technologies in operational settings. While a number of human factors evaluation methods exist (such as task analysis, situation awareness measures, quasi-experiments), these are rarely tailored to the industry's needs. This book fills that gap by developing a toolkit of methods that can be used by people in the rail industry to evaluate the human factors implications of new technologies"--Provided by publisher. Read more... Abstract: Currently, the rail industry lacks a standardized approach to the human factors evaluation of new technologies in operational settings. While a number of human factors evaluation methods exist (such as task analysis, situation awareness measures, quasi-experiments), these are rarely tailored to the industry's needs. Read more... Rapid advancements in train control and in-cab technologies provide significant opportunities for rail operators to improve efficiency and enhance their operations. New technologies often provide elegant solutions to existing problems or new capabilities for the operator. However, new technologies may also represent a significant form of risk. Thus, it is important to balance the potential for significant improvement with justifiable concern about how the technology may unpredictably change the nature of the work. If a technology is designed and implemented without considering the substantive human factors concerns, that technology may lead to unintended consequences that can introduce safety issues and disrupt network performance. It is important to note that even a well-designed and beneficial technology may be rejected by the users who see it as a threat to their jobs, status or working conditions. This book discusses the issues surrounding rail technology and introduces a'toolkit'of human factors evaluation methods. The toolkit provides a practical and operationally focused set of methods that can be used by managers considering investing in technology, staff charged with implementing a technology, and consultants engaged to assist with the design and evaluation process. This toolkit can help to ensure that new rail technologies are thoughtfully designed, effectively implemented, and well received by users so that the significant investment associated with developing rail technologies is not wasted. Content: The Promise and Perils of New Technology / Drew Dawson, Chris Bearman, Anjum Naweed and Gareth Hughes -- Key Technology-Related Human Factors Issues / Chris Bearman -- Resistence to Technology / Janette Rose and Chris Bearman -- Effective User Feedback : the Practical Value of Mock-Ups / Gareth Hughes, Airdrie Long, Anne Maddock and Chris Bearman -- Qualitative Research Rules, Using Qualitative and Ethnographic Methods to Acknowledge the Human Dimensions of Technology / Kirrilly Thompson -- Future Inquiry: a Participatory Ergonomics Approach to Evaluating New Technology / Verna Blewitt and Andrea Shaw -- Using Task Analysis to Inform the Development and Evaluation of New Technologies / Janette Rose, Chris Bearman and Anjum Naweed -- Evaluating Your Train Simulator Part I: The Physical Environment / Anjum Naweed, Ganesh Balakrishnan and Jillian Dorrian -- Evaluating Your Train Simulator Part II: the Task Environment / Jillian Dorrian and Anjum Naweed -- Applying the Theories and Measures of Situation Awareness to the Rail Industry / Janette Rose, Chris Bearman and Anne Maddock.

Rapid advancements in train control and in-cab technologies provide significant opportunities for rail operators to improve efficiency and enhance their operations. New technologies often provide elegant solutions to existing problems or new capabilities for the operator. However, new technologies may also represent a significant form of risk. Thus, it is important to balance the potential for significant improvement with justifiable concern about how the technology may unpredictably change the nature of the work. If a technology is designed and implemented without considering the substantive human factors concerns, that technology may lead to unintended consequences that can introduce safety issues and disrupt network performance. It is important to note that even a well-designed and beneficial technology may be rejected by the users who see it as a threat to their jobs, status or working conditions.

This book discusses the issues surrounding rail technology and introduces a