Background This background discussion outlines the definition, etymology, and chronological development associated with the term information, with attention to certain recurring aspects. Dictionary definitions of information are typically more inclusive than precise. For example, from Merriam-Webster (2010): 1: the communication or reception of knowledge or intelligence 2 a (1): knowledge obtained from investigation, study, or instruction (2): INTELLIGENCE, NEWS (3): FACTS, DATA b: the attribute inherent in and communicated by one of two or more alternative sequences or arrangements of something (as nucleotides in DNA or binary digits in a computer program) that produce specific effects c (1): a signal or character (as in a communication system or computer) representing data (2): something (as a message, experimental data, or a picture) which justifies change in a construct that represents physical or mental experience or another construct The concept of information can be traced to the Greek forma and the Latin informatio and informare, meaning reinforcement or detection; to make or produce both technically and biologically, to describe or define, or to unfold or illuminate, to put into form (Applegate et al. 1999; Haken 1992). Virgil wrote of Vulcan and the Cyclops hammering out (informatum) lightning bolts for Zeus, and Tertullian refers to Moses as the populi informatory, the people's educator or molder (Capurro 2003). Augustine defined information as a molding process like the representation or impression of a ring on wax, and called the process of visual perception informatio sensus. Information-as-form was the representation of the one, true, external reality on the moldable mind. In medieval times information continued to be used in an active, constructive sense as something that gives a certain form or character to matter or to the mind, a contribution to knowledge (Campbell 1982). The idea of information as a meaningful contribution to knowledge continues
In 1989, United Airlines Flight 232 survived a catastrophic in-flight engine explosion because of, in part, the crew’s ability to communicate while under crisis conditions. Drawing on the experience of Flight 232, other flight deck crew research, and the authors’own flying experiences, the authors develop a descriptive, proposition-based model of the communication process dynamics found in such groups, which they call swift starting action teams. They argue that swift starting action teams, composed of highly trained strangers within one organization, must use communication processes that enable them to perform well immediately and manage crises in high risk environments. These processes depend on each team’s use and awareness of communication values and communication interactions. The authors discuss the communication dynamics of swift starting action teams and the implication of considering such teams in future research.
This study examined the impact of deliberate practice on pilot decision making in once-in-a-career crisis decision scenarios. First we explored the impact of deliberate practice on pilot decision-making performance for crisis flying scenarios that had been practiced in their entirety. Then we looked at the impact of deliberate practice in which one aspect of the crisis scenario--the particular malfunction--was unpracticed. We analyzed pilot decision-making performance in response to 160 airborne mechanical malfunctions. We initially found that deliberate practice significantly improves decision-making performance for wholly practiced crises but does not improve decision-making performance when the specific malfunction has not been practiced. We then split decision making for each crisis into two phases: assessment and action selection. For wholly practiced crisis scenarios, additional deliberate practice positively impacts each decision-making phase. However, for part-practiced scenarios, deliberate practice appears to differentially affect phase of error. Specifically, pilots with more deliberate practice erred in action selection, whereas less-practiced pilots erred in assessment. Actual or potential applications of this research include training proscriptions for crisis decision making.
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