Modeling Human?System Interaction: Philosophical and Methodological Consideratio [Hardcover]

This book presents theories and models to examine how humans interact with complex automated systems, including both empirical and theoretical methods.

• Provides examples of models appropriate to the four stages of human-system interaction
• Examines in detail the philosophical underpinnings and assumptions of modeling
• Discusses how a model fits into doing science and the considerations in garnering evidence and arriving at beliefs for the modeled phenomena

Modeling Human-System Interaction is a reference for professionals in industry, academia and government who are researching, designing and implementing human-technology systems in transportation, communication, manufacturing, energy, and health care sectors.

Preface xi

Introduction 1

1 Knowledge 5

Gaining New Knowledge 5

Scientific Method: What Is It? 7

Further Observations on the Scientific Method 8

Reasoning Logically 10

Public (Objective) and Private (Subjective) Knowledge 11

The Role of Doubt in Doing Science 11

Evidence: Its use and Avoidance 12

Metaphysics and its Relation to Science 12

Objectivity, Advocacy, and Bias 13

Analogy and Metaphor 14

2 What is a Model? 17

Defining Model 17

Model Attributes: A New Taxonomy 20

Examples of Models in Terms of the Attributes 25

Why Make the Effort to Model? 27

Attribute Considerations in Making Models Useful 27

Social Choice 30

What Models are Not 31

3 Important Distinctions in Modlƒ"