The need to scan and integrate sources of information in multifunction displays (MFDs) forces consideration of the relationships between the screens in the database. This paper develops a spatial metaphor that can be used to explore these underlying relationships. Three metrics of distance - navigational (the number of choice points lying between screens), organizational (the structure of the hierarchy), and cognitive (the user's mental representation of information relatedness) - were identified and empirically examined by using a simulated, hierarchically arranged, menu-driven MFD in an aviation context.
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