[vslist] TSA grants
josh.rubinstein@faa.gov
josh.rubinstein@faa.gov
Mon Dec 16 11:27:22 2002
This announcement is being resent because many subscribers could not
receive it in a previous form. My apologies for the redundancy.
Announcement of Funding for Research in Human Attention, Objec=
t
Recognition, Motivation, and Related Transportation Security Topics=
December 2002
Joshua Rubinstein, Ph.D. (TSA/AAR-510), TSA Principle Investigator
The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) Aviation Security Rese=
arch
and Development Division (AAR-500) at the William J. Hughes Technical
Center, Atlantic City International Airport will be awarding research
grants in areas of experimental psychology that have potential relevanc=
e to
transportation security issues. This announcement is primarily aimed
toward academic/theoretical researchers. Though much of the current
research is related to aviation security, other transportation modes ha=
ve
important security needs and research related to them would be consider=
ed.
Grant proposals should be related to one of these five general research=
areas:
1. Attention / Object Recognition / Visual Search
2. Decision Making Under Uncertainty
3. Vigilance / Fatigue
4. Selection tests / Training
5. Motivation / Worker Performance
The TSA has recognized how important long-term theoretical research is =
to
understanding the processes, constraints, and possibilities of human
performance involved in transportation security. The purpose of this
effort is to support long-term research in the academic community that
could aid our understanding of the psychological human-factors processe=
s
relevant to the tasks conducted at airport (and other transportation mo=
des)
security checkpoints. The need for a long-term research program is
underscored by the understanding that important scientific breakthrough=
s
often come about as a result of unconstrained exploration of a general
theoretical issue or problem. With this in mind, the TSA is committed =
to
the support of long-term research relevant to the task of maintaining
airport (and other transportation) security.
There are many different activities at an airport security checkpoint t=
hat
require the execution of complex procedures. For example, the X-ray
operator must perform a complex detection task while viewing
two-dimensional or three-dimensional X-ray images of passenger bags to
search for guns, knives, and explosives. There are several complex
cognitive operations involved in this search process. In addition,
employee selection and training, and on-the-job motivation, vigilance, =
and
fatigue all affect security screener performance, and may be relevant f=
or
funding.
This effort will develop a long-term collaboration with academic scient=
ists
whose research efforts relate to the theoretical issues outlined below.=
These collaborative efforts will take the form of TSA research grants:
funding investigators who have the theoretical background, proven resea=
rch
experience, and relevant research interests to explore theoretical issu=
es
that are important to aviation and transportation security.
Issues: Aviation Security Research Interests
The security X-ray operator must perform a complex visual search task o=
n as
many as 200 - 300 (maximum) passenger bags per 20-minute shift. This
search task includes several target categories whose full member set is=
not
known (e.g., guns, knives, and explosives). Threats that have never be=
en
seen before can serve as potential targets. The task can become tediou=
s at
times, straining the X-ray operator's vigilance. Furthermore, bags con=
tain
various amounts of distracters. A highly cluttered bag can contain eno=
ugh
distracting material such as to make the search task nearly impossible.=
The result is a visual search task requiring many attentional resources=
and
relying on many object-recognition processes. For these reasons, this
grants program has traditionally focused on investigational efforts rel=
ated
to human attention and object-recognition processes. However, other
security related research initiatives will be given full consideration.=
In
particular, research proposals related to decision making, factors that=
affect screener vigilance and fatigue, the development of new selection=
tests and new training techniques, and issues related to worker motivat=
ion
and general performance are all welcome. Researchers conducting
theoretical research in the areas described in this announcement are
encouraged to apply for this grant. However, other relevant areas not
mentioned will also be considered.
Some examples of relevant research topic areas include (but are not lim=
ited
to): Vigilance, fatigue, visual selective attention, sustained and focu=
sed
attention, visual search, pre-attention and pop-out effects, pattern
recognition, distractibility, item familiarity, item similarity and
distinctiveness, figure-ground distinctions, the effects of clutter, th=
e
effects of degraded stimuli (i.e., identification of partially visible
objects), 3D vs. 2D processing, motion parallax, boundary recognition,
expert performance in X-ray interpretation, expert/novice differences,
motivation, individual differences and prediction, selection, training,=
and
decision making under uncertainty.
The objective of this research initiative is to identify academic
researchers currently engaged in the types of research listed above, an=
d to
support these research programs by awarding funds through research gran=
ts.
Proposals will be considered only if they are both theoretically
interesting to the scientific community and practically relevant to som=
e
security related issue. This means that purely applied research
(especially product development) will not be considered. While being
theoretically important, the proposed research should also be directly
related to an aviation/transportation security task, with the long-term=
prospect of producing an applied impact within 5 ? 10 years post fundin=
g.
Examples of the types of research questions that could be relevant to t=
his
funding effort include (but are not limited to):
=B7 What is the role of vigilance in shape perception and in target=
detection?
=B7 What are the effects of fatigue on object recognition and on ta=
rget
search?
=B7 How does motivation affect search performance? How is it measu=
red
and/or increased?
=B7 What is the role of attention on object recognition?
=B7 What are the effects of knowledge of the targets on object
recognition?
=B7 If the targets are known, is there any kind of inhibition towar=
ds new
examples of the target category? Is there facilitation towards new
examples?
=B7 What are the effects of knowledge of distracters?
=B7 Does detection ability for targets increase with greater famili=
arity
of the distracters?
=B7 What are the differences between target-similar (e.g., a clock)=
,
target-dissimilar (e.g., a shoe), and task-irrelevant (e.g., a talking
passenger) distracters on target detection?
=B7 Does awareness of errors affect future performance?
=B7 Does awareness of past performance affect future performance?
=B7 What are the skills necessary for expert performance? How can =
they
be detected in a selection test? How can they be enhanced during train=
ing?
=B7 How does the workplace culture affect threat detection performa=
nce?
=B7 How does job satisfaction affect target detection performance a=
nd
worker retention?
These are just a few examples of possible research studies that might b=
e of
interest to aviation and transportation security and could be supported=
under this research initiative.
Grant Application Procedure
The mechanism for the application process is the FAA's Grants For Aviat=
ion
Research Program Solicitation 97.2. This grant application can be foun=
d at
the website:
http://www.tc.faa.gov/contracts/grants/solicitation.html
Although Program Solicitation No 97.2 typically serves as an open
solicitation, for the purposes of this research initiative, the grant
application procedure will be additionally constrained in the following=
ways:
=B7 There will be a technical review process.
=B7 Only research that has clear theoretical implications for the t=
asks
performed by aviation and transportation security screeners will be
considered.
The postmark deadline for grant applications is January 31, 2003.
Applications postmarked after that deadline will not be considered.
Grant applicants are expected to demonstrate knowledge and expertise
concerning past research relevant to the proposed experiments. Each gr=
ant
application will be evaluated for intrinsic value, relevance, technical=
soundness, qualifications, and available resources necessary to conduct=
the
study. The goal is to fund 1 to 5 one-year grants that will advance th=
e
objectives of aviation/transportation security research and development=
in
the field of human factors. Following the year of funding, each funded=
grant may be extended without competition or a formal review process, a=
t
the discretion of the TSA. It is anticipated that grant funding decisi=
ons
will be made by March 31, 2003.
Funding amount:
We intend to allocate at least $750,000 to fund 1 to 5 grants. Grant
amounts are expected to range between $80,000 and $160,000 per year.
Funding History:
2001 funding effort: 33% of all grant applications were funded.
2002 funding effort: 28% of all grant applications were funded.
A non-binding, not-required email letter of intent to
josh.rubinstein@faa.gov would be greatly appreciated.
For grant-administration questions, please contact:
Barbara Fuller, Grants Officer
(609) 485-4919
barbara.fuller@faa.gov
For technical questions related to the research plan, please contact:
Dr. Joshua Rubinstein, TSA Principle Investigator
(609) 485-4463
josh.rubinstein@faa.gov
----------------------------------------------------------------
Joshua Rubinstein, Ph.D
Engineering Research Psychologist
Transportation Security Administration
William J. Hughes Technical Center, Bldg 315
Atlantic City, NJ 08405
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