The Human Factors of Fratricide

Fratricide, also known as friendly fire, is the term used by the British and American military to denote incidents in which an intent to kill the enemy results in accidental harm to members of one's own forces. This study was conducted in part by The Human Factors Integration Defence Technology Centre in the UK (a consortium of several universities and companies), and funded by the UK Ministry of Defence. Coverage encompasses a literature review and attempt to construct a theoretical framework, application of the model to a case study, event analysis, explorations of communications, and conclusions and recommendations. Authors Laura A. Rafferty and Neville A. Stanton are human factors researchers affiliated with the Transportation Research Group, U. of Southampton; Guy H. Walker (Heriot-Watt U.)is a specialist in human factors issues in infrastructure and transport. Annotation c2012 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Dr Laura Rafferty completed her undergraduate studies in 2007 graduating with a BSc in Psychology (Hons) from Brunel University. In the course of this degree Laura completed two industrial placements, the second of which was working as a Research Assistant in the Ergonomics Research Group. During this seven month period Laura helped to design, run and analyse a number of empirical studies being run for the Human Factors Integration Defence Technology Centre (HFI DTC) at Brunel. Within this time Laura also completed her dissertation exploring the qualitative and quantitative differences between novices and experts within military command and control. From April 2009 Laura has been employed in the Transportation Research Group at the University of Southampton as a Project Assistant for the HFI DTC working on projects including Naturalistic Decision Making in Teams, Contemporising the Combat Estimate and compiling a Human Factors Methods Database. In July 2011 Laura was awarded a PhD in Human Factors from the University of Southampton. Professor Stanton holds a Chair in Human Factors in the School of Civil Engineering and the Environment at the University of Southampton. He has published more than 150 peer-reviewed journal papers and 20 books on Human Factors and Ergonomics. In 1998, he was awarded the Institution of Electrical Engineers Divisional Premium Award for a co-authored paper on Engineering Psychology and System Safety. The Ergonomics Society awarded him the Otto Edholm medal in 2001 and The President's Medal in 2008 for his contribution to basic and applied ergonomics research. In 2007, The Royal Aeronautical Society awarded him the Hodgson Medal and Bronze Award with colleagues for their work on flight deck safety. Professor Stanton is an editor of the journal Ergonomics and on the editorial boards of Theoretical Issues in Ergonomics Science. Professor Stanton is a Fellow and Chartered Occupational Psychologist registered with The British Psychological Society, and a Fellow of The Ergonomics Society. He has a BSc (Hons) in Occupational Psychology from the University of Hull, an MPhil in Applied Psychology and a PhD in Human Factors from Aston University in Birmingham. Dr Guy Walker is a lecturer in the School of the Built Environment at Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh, and his research focuses on human factors issues in infrastructure and transport. He is a recipient, with his colleagues, of the Ergonomics Society's President's Medal for original research. He is also author/co-author of nine books on diverse topics in human factors, including a major text on human factors methods, and is author/co-author of over fifty international peer-reviewed journals.