The Multitasking Myth
Handling Complexity in Real-World Operations
R Key Dismukes author Loukia D Loukopoulos author Immanuel Barshi author
Format:Paperback
Publisher:Taylor & Francis Ltd
Published:28th Oct '09
Currently unavailable, and unfortunately no date known when it will be back
This paperback is available in another edition too:
- Hardback£145.00(9780754673828)
This book explores concurrent task demands in aviation, emphasizing their impact on performance and error vulnerability. The Multitasking Myth offers valuable insights for various professional fields.
In The Multitasking Myth, a collection of insightful NASA studies is presented that explores the nature of concurrent task demands faced by airline flight crews during routine operations. Unlike emergency situations, these studies delve into how pilots manage multiple tasks simultaneously, shedding light on the cognitive processes involved, particularly attention and memory. The authors carefully analyze the inadvertent omissions of intended actions by skilled pilots, highlighting the significance of understanding these dynamics in aviation.
The research conducted in The Multitasking Myth employs various complementary methods, including ethnographic observations, incident report analyses, and cognitive task analysis. These studies reveal that concurrent task management encompasses a unique set of challenges distinct from the more commonly studied mental workload. This distinction is crucial for aviation psychologists and those involved in training and operations, as it emphasizes the need for targeted approaches to improve performance and reduce errors in real-world settings.
Moreover, the book extends its relevance beyond aviation, offering valuable insights applicable to other fields that require managing concurrent task demands, such as emergency medical teams. The final chapter introduces countermeasures designed to mitigate the vulnerabilities associated with these demands, providing practical strategies that can be adapted to various professional environments. Overall, The Multitasking Myth serves as an essential resource for understanding and improving task management in high-stakes situations.
'The Multitasking Myth brings the real world of airline flying to aviation psychology, and the insights of aviation psychology to airline flying. The authors show how to design operational procedures that fit both the ways pilots think and the actual demands the system places on them. Anyone who works in, or worries about, high-consequence operations needs these concrete suggestions. If you want to know what airline flying is all about-and how to make it more efficient and safer-read this book!' Benjamin A. Berman, Former Chief, Major Investigations, U.S. National Transportation Safety Board 'A delightful and insightful book! "Multitasking" is a much misunderstood myth, yet it represents a critical underlying topic in human factors: how can people safely pursue multiple concurrent goals in cognitively noisy environments? The distance between the two images of work can be huge. The "ideal" as laid down in written guidance makes generous assumptions about the cohesiveness, linearity and time-reversibility of tasks-which often has little to do with the messiness of "actual" event-paced practice. Loukopoulos, Dismukes and Barshi have put together the research in a way that is not only readable and enjoyable, but practically useful and relevant as well. This is the kind of book where the rubber of research meets the road of practice-in all kinds of safety-critical domains.' Sidney W. A. Dekker, Lund University School of Aviation, Sweden 'This work could serve as a useful source for airline training courses and graduate human factors courses.' Choice, Col 46, No 11, 2009 'It is not often that one comes across a book that is interesting, tractable, expands our understanding about important concepts and issues, and has such obvious and useful application in real life. The Multitasking Myth is just such a book.' International Journal of Applied Aviation Studies Vol 9, No 1, 2009 'If you work in aviation and want to know more about task-switching, this book will be of interest to you.' Aerlines ezine July 2010
ISBN: 9780754679974
Dimensions: unknown
Weight: 404g
202 pages