Modern decision-support systems for command and control may lead to radical organizational and technological changes. This paper describes a methodology to support designers and developers of such system in order to identify this type of changes in the design process. The methodology is based on a shorter series of low-fidelity simulations. The analyses do not focus on individual actions of the decision-support system operators, but instead on impacts of the systems on situated and joint actions of the command and control teams in terms of communication and coordination. The simulation series presented in the paper shows how the use of a decision-support system combining real-time data from various sensors led to changes in the content and structure of the communication as well as the resource coordination. Findings from the discussed simulations suggest that more attention should be given to possible impacts of decision-support systems on the joint actions of the command and control teams, as well as how these teams- actions are situated within the larger command and control system. 

This report provides both summaries and detailed discussions of the theoretical foundations, methods, and findings of empirical research aimed at identifying barriers to collaborative decision-making in multicultural On-Site Operations Coordination Centers (OSOCC). The research was conducted in 2005 and 2006 at Linköping University and Högskolan i Skövde and was sponsored by the International Department of the Swedish Rescue Services Agency. The experiments were controlled but dynamic laboratory studies of communication, collaboration, and decision making by culturally homogeneous teams of four that were assembled ad-hoc and on-site. The teams- task was to manage and conduct emergency operations within the C3Fire microworld. C3Fire recorded all communication among team members and all the actions they took. Participants individually completed a battery of self-report instruments about their values and beliefs. Results are summarized in a list of 30 dimensions of demographic and cultural diversity that are likely to be found whenever small multinational teams are formed ad-hoc and on-site. The potential impact of these dimensions is explained using the analogy of faultlines. Alignments of dimensions of diversity have the potential to generate friction and split a team into subgroups. Activated faultlines are barriers to communication, collaboration, and decision making. The report concludes with discussions of the implications of group faultlines and dimensions of cultural diversity for the SRSA-s training programs for OSOCC personnel, for the Swedish society, and for the scientific community.

This volume is the fruit of the 5th conference on Naturalistic Decision Making which focused on the importance of studying people who have some degree of expertise in the domain in which they make decisions. The substantive concerns pertain to how individuals and groups make decisions in professional and organizational settings, and to develop suitable methods for studying these questions rigorously. This volume appeals to practitioners in business and government, as well as academics and students who are interested in naturalistic decision making

This text identifies and discusses emerging challenges and opportunities arising from advanced-technology simulation-based microworld analogues of operational environments. These "scaled worlds" have been used and advocated for many years. A major transformation is expected in research and training using new, more advanced versions of these systems. Technology now affords new capabilities using PC-based systems. Complex and distributed expert decision making and team performance can be elicited and rehearsed through affordable and easily distributed systems. These new systems will transform the nature of research and training on two fronts: (1) the content internal (i.e. laboratory control) and external validity, and (2) who can do the research and/or training, as these new systems offer more opportunities/options. Organizations and universities are rapidly building internet-based systems to train, educate and/or utilize individuals who may be distributed across the globe. Researchers across the globe will also use these new capabilities, forging new and multi-discipline research as new alliances and collaborations are enabled. Research previously restricted to highly realistic and restricted high-fidelity systems will be open to more participants and these new processes and systems will create new opportunities. Such systems will offer more realism, control and feedback to researchers and trainers. Distributed systems can link multiple nodes, allowing many participants to perform within a shared scenario. Scenarios are more easily constructed and controlled. Opportunities using these internet-based systems are clear, as evidenced by high funding and investments in advanced internet-based training systems. Universities, corporations and DoD organizations are rapidly escalating their use of such systems for collaborative research, education, distributed training and distance learning. These simulation-based systems will rapidly change the nature of research, education and training for most performance domains. Low to medium fidelity environments capture knowledge and performance requirements while retaining high levels of experimental control and generalizability. This book goes further than others on simulation-based training and research (which focus on highly realistic systems) by addressing the issues of scale, fidelity and purpose in more abstracted scaled world systems. It brings together experts who use these systems, from a variety of perspectives. Their contributions document emerging trends and issues with regard to development, utilization and validation of these emerging "scaled world" systems.

This volume is the fruit of the 5th conference on Naturalistic Decision Making which focused on the importance of studying people who have some degree of expertise in the domain in which they make decisions. The substantive concerns pertain to how individuals and groups make decisions in professional and organizational settings, and to develop suitable methods for studying these questions rigorously. This volume appeals to practitioners in business and government, as well as academics and students who are interested in naturalistic decision making.

New and envisioned technological means and abilities for exerting command and control have increased the interest of man-machine research in a military context. Although there are many current proposals for how new command and control systems should be designed, many of the proposed properties that are considered advantageous have never been tested or could even be impossible to test in real-world situations. In spite of that, proposed design solutions are generally held valid in many Western countries where developments of major command and control system projects are in progress. An important question is how microworlds can be used for research on team decision-making. The use of microworlds gives us the possibility to create controlled settings and the opportunity to use advanced monitoring tools to study the subjects. Our studies indicate that the microworld concept, even though the simulation is fairly simple, reflects some of the crucial aspects of team-work in dynamic settings. The article presents results from a study in command and control using the C3Fire microworld (http://www.c3fire.org). Results and methodological issues are discussed.