Cognitive task analysis (CTA) is a set of methods for identifying cognitive skills, or mental demands, needed to perform a task pro®ciently. The product of the task analysis can be used to inform the design of interfaces and training systems. However, CTA is resource intensive and has previously been of limited use to design practitioners. A streamlined method of CTA, Applied Cognitive Task Analysis (ACTA), is presented in this paper. ACTA consists of three interview methods that help the practitioner to extract information about the cognitive demands and skills required for a task. ACTA also allows the practitioner to represent this information in a format that will translate more directly into applied products, such as improved training scenarios or interface recommendations. This paper will describe the three methods, an evaluation study conducted to assess the usability and usefulness of the methods, and some directions for future research for making cognitive task analysis accessible to practitioners. ACTA techniques were found to be easy to use,¯exible, and to provide clear output. The information and training materials developed based on ACTA interviews were found to be accurate and important for training purposes.

This critical interpretive research synthesis is on the topic of adaptation and skill. After an initial identification of 1995 abstracts we identified and collated a database of 140 publications that explicitly reference expertise and adaptation. We found that empirical data on adaptive skill are sparse and the literature base is largely conceptual. We differentiate the adaptive nature of expertise from routine or every day skill, and we redress the balance between what constitutes expertise and when expertise matters. We present an overview of current models of expertise including a project that we completed for the UK Ministry of Defence on the nature of adaptive skill. We discuss implications for future training by presenting empirically based training principles designed to develop adaptive skill. We assert that adaptive skill is the conditio sine qua non of expertise and conclude with suggestions for further research.

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The stand-alone CD-ROM instructional package, which was produced by this project, is available from the sponsoring agency for military organizations and from the performing organization for civilian organizations. We appreciate the support and cooperation from the Electronic Warfare (EW) technicians at Fleet Training Center Pacific and Fleet Information Warfare Center in San Diego, CA; the EW "A" school in Pensacola, FL; and the Fireground Commanders from Beavercreek, Centerville-Washington Township, Fairborn, Huber Heights, and Kettering, OH who served as Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) throughout the course of this project, so that the ACTA methods could be tried, tested, and refined. In addition, we would like to thank the graduate students from the

Although comparative psychologists have made considerable strides in the past several decades, expanding the breadth of species and questions examined, the field still suffers from an overemphasis on top-down approaches that begin and end with a focus on humans. This top-down perspective leads to biases and oversights that hamper the further development of the field. A bottom-up approach that considers species-specific abilities and behaviors in the context of theoretically relevant comparisons will be most useful in advancing knowledge of species-specific and shared abilities. This will allow a better determination of the extent to which continuities and discontinuities exist as a function of different ecological forces. In addition, a bottom-up approach will facilitate a shift in focus from using animals to better understand humans, to understanding animals themselves. This new approach will allow for an appreciation of how humans can benefit other species.