Advancing the study of language, cognition and human performance

Goals of the Centre:

  • Facilitates interactions between researchers at Carleton and those in the high-tech,government, and educational communities in Ottawa
  • Supports research presentations in the form of colloquia
  • Provides students with excellent training in research on applied cognition
  • Provides funding for research projects
  • Provides sabbatical visitors with a stimulating research environment

Projects

Researchers at the Centre for Applied Cognitive Research are involved in a wide range of applied and basic research projects. The Centre hosts visitors for the short- or long-term and has various national and international collaborators.

Areas of Focus

Aviation Psychology

  • Night-vision-goggle symbology
  • Situational awareness
  • Helmet mounted display symbologies
  • Object-based attentional layers in helmet mounted displays
  • Cognitive factors in aging and flight

Modelling Complex Tasks

  • SGOMS models for sociotechnical systems
  • ACT-R models of human cognition
  • Holographic models of memory
  • Problem solving using visual models

Education

  • Acquisition of numeracy
  • Children’s representational development
  • Early educational experiences
  • Early French Immersion
  • Role of cognitive development in learning

Speech and Language

  • Electrophysical correlates of affect perception based on prosodic cues
  • Hearing aid applications in preschoolers
  • Brain-based modelling of language processes

Facilities

Facilities include micro-computer testing laboratories, speech synthesis equipment, equipment for measuring brain activation (i.e., event-related potentials), eye-movement monitoring systems, and low fidelity simulators for driving, fixed wing and rotary wing aircraft.

Funding Sources

  • NSERC
  • SSHRC
  • DRDC Canada
  • Ontario Centres for Excellence
  • Canadian Foundation for Innovation
  • Canadian Language and Literacy
  • Research Network
  • Canadian Council on Learning