Macrocognition Metrics and Scenarios: Design and Evaluation for Real-World Teams

In many types of workplace and in many activities, including war, humans make decisions in response to complex situations, and they do so in conjunction with others, either close at hand or at a distance. It's called teamwork, and it's also called macrocognition. The challenge is to understand just what's going on when such efforts succeed or function optimally, and when they fail. Editors Emily S. Patterson (health information management, Ohio State U.) and Janet E. Miller (nursing, Air Force Research Laboratories) have brought together a diverse set of contributors including physicians, psychologists, and engineers involved with integrated systems, human factors, and cognitive systems. Seventeen articles discuss theoretical foundations, macrocognition measures for real-world teams, and scenario-based evaluation approaches. Annotation c2011 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Dr. Emily S. Patterson conducts research to improve the performance of real-world teams in complex, socio-technical settings, including healthcare, military, intelligence analysis, space shuttle mission control, emergency response, and emergency call centers. She is an assistant professor in the Health Information Management and Systems Division at The Ohio State University Medical Center, School of Allied Medical Professions.. In 2004, Dr. Patterson received the Alexander C. Williams, Jr., Design Award from the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society for identifying nursing "workarounds" that reduced the effectiveness of a barcode point of care system in reducing medication errors in 128 medical centers. Dr. Patterson serves as Associate Editor for IEEE Transactions on Systems, Man, and Cybernetics: Part A, serves on the Editorial Advisory Board for the Joint Commission Journal on Quality and Patient Safety and the Advisory Committee for the Center for Innovation of the National Board of Medical Examiners, and previously served as Centers Communication Advisory Group Member for the Joint Commission International Center for Patient Safety. Dr. Janet E. Miller is a Program Manager in the Air Force Research Laboratory's Sensors Directorate at Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio. Dr. Miller received a Ph.D. in Industrial and Systems Engineering from The Ohio State University in 2002. Dr. Miller is advancing the state-of-the-art in macrocognition research and application in military situations.