1. The Psychology of NG 9-1-1: Are PSAPs Biting Off More Than Their Employees can Chew?
Jim Kuthy, Ph.D.
CritiCall Pre-Employment Testing Software
Jim Kuthy, Ph.D.
CritiCall Pre-Employment Testing Software
RCMP GRC OCC Conference, September 2014

2. The Current Discussion About NG911 Includes…
Public transmitting information to a PSAP using…
Text
Images
Video
Data
As well as voice

3. This is NOT About Assisting those who have Physical Impairments
Hearing/Speaking Impaired Users
General Public Users
Typically trained on the use of communicating effectively using text
Readily understands the limitations of the medium
TTY transmissions are typically received at PSAP in all UPPER case letters
National Association of the Deaf recommends members not to throw away their TTY
Not trained; often lack ability to communicate effectively in writing
Frequently assumes the medium is more robust than it really is
All UPPER case letters typically means they are SHOUTING! (or they accidently left their CAPSLOCK on)

5. The Promise…

6. However, according to Vermont’s Enhanced 911 Board…
Text messaging is a “best efforts” service, with no guarantee that a message will be sent, delivered, or received in a timely fashion, if at all
Around 1% to 5% of messages are lost entirely, even during normal operation conditions
There generally is no mechanism through which a sender can determine whether an SMS message has been delivered in a timely manner
Even if the message goes through promptly, texting to 911 can take longer than making a voice call because it has to be typed, as do any responses, using up critical time

7. What have Government agencies found when electronic media is added to the mix?

8. TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 15, 2011
“Yet citizen documentarians are in danger of overwhelming government agencies with their digital data. Over the last five years, the safety board has seen a 400 percent increate in material coming into its recorder laboratory. Extracting data from hundreds of different kinds of electronic devices that were never intended to be flight data recorders is time consuming and expensive.”
“What is different now is the sheer number of people who have the ability to record practically anything, anywhere and at any time. At the safety board, the workload has increased four-fold, but the staff has not.”

9. Intelligent Transportation Systems U.S. Department of Transportation
Risk
Increased call processing time because of the volume and complexity of incoming data
Risk Description
Management of data leads to inability of calltakers to indentify the key issue, process the call, and initiate a timely response
The people-related risks associated with NG9-1-1, p. 69

10. Intelligent Transportation Systems U.S. Department of Transportation
Risk
Loss of human capital
Risk Description
The efficiencies brought about by new processes, procedures, training requirements, systems, and configuration (governance, location, etc.) results in voluntary employee attrition, a reduction in force (RIF) of experienced employees (including those at the local, state, and federal levels), and/or complicates organized labor negotiations
The people-related risks associated with NG9-1-1, p. 69

16. Troxell, R. M. (2008) Indirect exposure to trauma of others: The experiences of Telecommunicators. (Doctoral dissertation University of Illinois at Chicago).
Retrieved from ProQuest Dissertations,

17. Is it all too much?
The Human Factor

18. Las Vegas Fire Department2 1 3 4 5 6
Pre NG911 Dispatcher
Las Vegas Fire Department

19. Philipp & Koch, 2011, Advances in Cognitive Psychology
Cognitive Psychology Shows us that there are Costs when Switching Between Modalities and Protocols/Tasks
People generally perform better when they remain in a single modality/protocol than when they switch between modalities/protocols
People typically experience a short delay before effectively switching from one to another and they tend to make more errors
These costs are generally cumulative
Rubinstein eat al 201 in Rennecker & Goodwin
Philipp & Koch, 2011, Advances in Cognitive Psychology

20. Potential Negative Task/Protocol-Switching Outcomes
Time-sensitive need for re-prioritization and/or changes in the approaches used to address job tasks can result in cognitive overload, which can result in:
Increased errors
Reduced productivity and accuracy
Stress
Burnout
Fewer organizational citizenship behaviors
Potentially increased turnover

21. What Does Research Tell Us?
Devoting attention to one activity takes attention from other activities
When drivers talked on a cell phone, their overall P300 brain waves were halved
The P300 brain wave signal indicates how much attention a person is paying
Lapses in attention increased – careless driving takes place
Drivers who used cell phones frequently while driving did not show less impairment in driving ability than those that did not
They did not get better with practice!
Stayer & Watson, 2012, Scientific American Mind

22. Text is not printed voice
Texts are NOT written telephone calls
Different approaches (i.e., protocols) and scripts are required when texting vs. speaking
Switching back and forth between scripts, protocols, and processes can be cognitively challenging (and potentially confusing)
Texts provide virtually no external cues when compared to telephone calls, such as urgency in voice and background noises
Those texting may leave out important information if they think the “attachments speak for them”

23. Private Industry
Private contact centers typically assign employees to work either with text-based messaging (e.g., “chats”) or with voice-based responses (not both at the same time)
Private contact centers frequently allow their operators to choose from a variety of pre-written responses when responding to text-based messages
The use of “free responses” is sometimes discouraged
Much slower response speed is required for private contact centers than for PSAPs

24. Message should have read “gunna,” but was automatically autocorrected to “gunman”

26. Acronyms and Shorthand
Many people who text use acronyms and shorthand
A search of the web revealed hundreds of these
Some have more than one meaning
LOL: “Laugh out Loud” or “Lots of Love?”
Some are generational or regional
Advising those who might be contacting during an emergency NOT to use these is essentially a useless exercise

27. Subtler Issues PSAPs generally enter information in ALL CAPs
Using ALL CAPs is considered rude when texting (i.e., SHOUTING) and is also difficult to understand on some cell phones
How would those in need respond to what they perceive as rude behavior?
Has anyone done basic research concerning how switching back and forth between UPPER/lower case letters could affect performance?

28. Do calltakers have time to open and watch all of the unsolicited videos in real time during a crisis?

29. Is the sky falling? Not yet…
However, pursuing advances in technology without adequate consideration of the human elements can lead to potentially fatal reduced levels of service

30. So… How should we move forward?

31. Studies should be performed to determine…
Do agencies have sufficient staffing to perform the additional work related to NG911?
If not, where will additional staff come from?
How will they be funded?
It is too much to have calltakers respond to emergency text messages in addition to their other tasks?
How much time and money will it take to train your staff about these tools?
How long does this training take before calltakers become fully proficient?

32. Studies should be performed to ask…
Should we be implementing technology before we understand the most appropriate methods to implement that technology?

33. Some Questions Research Might Answer
Is all UPPER CASE a good idea for texting?
How difficult is it for calltakers to switch from ALL UPPER CASE to UPPER and lower case?
How is performance affected when shifting from vocal responses to text responses?
What percentage of current experienced calltakers will also succeed with “text-to-911?”
Will agencies need more or fewer calltakers?
Is there reduced performance at the end of 12-hour shifts than for 8- or 10-hour shifts?

34. R E S A C H

35. Solid Research is Vital
PSAPs should encourage scientifically-based empirical research
And, participate in research, if requested
Research findings should be peer reviewed and then widely distributed
Research reports should contain all relevant factors (i.e., press releases and summaries are generally not sufficient)
Peer reviewers should include trained research-methodology experts
“Best practices” are not enough

36. Take the Time to Review Published Research before Considering Action
Consider the authors
Do they benefit from the research being accepted by others or were they neutral?
Consider any sponsors
Studies suggest that sponsored research can sometimes result in biased effects in favor of the sponsor
Provide feedback about the research, as appropriate

38. And….
Keep in mind that new hires will need to be trained on everything they are currently trained on… plus all of the new technology (and associated practices)
How much longer will that take?
Can they do it all? Is that appropriate?
Base your decisions on facts, not opinions
Do not be driven only by the cool, new technology… Consider the “human factor”

39. Caution Untested theories are essentially worthless
Test, then confirm the test on a different sample
Pilot studies are often not truly indicative of how the process will work in real life
Use these only as guides, not as certainty
Pilot testing on actual victims is likely irresponsible
Testing for limited responses and situations can lead to faulty conclusions
Research should examine texting in a wide variety of settings and situations

40. Rule Making is Not Research
There have been rule-making efforts that appear to be based on incomplete data and best guesses, rather than on scientifically-validated research
Governing bodies are not the best resource for determining best practices
Voting on issues does not make it scientific

41. Once a feature is introduced, it will be virtually impossible to go back to a time without it, even if it does not work as planned

42. One final thought about humans and multi-tasking…

43. Humans & Multitasking (Based on Research & Experience)
Only about 3% of humans are “supertaskers”*
People who show no decrement when performing more than one task at a time
Three frontal-brain areas of supertaskers are different than others
Many PSAPs may be overloading even the most qualified calltakers with two or more cognitively loaded tasks at a time
Additional employees will likely need to be hired as this newer technology is widely adopted since workload will very likely increase
It will be difficult to find, select, train, and retain qualified people who are capable to doing the additional tasks related to NG911 without a decrement in performance
*Watson & Strayer, 2010, Psycohonomic Bulletin & Review

44. Thank You Very Much Jim Kuthy, Ph.D.
CritiCall Pre-Employment Testing Software