Virtual acoustics displays

The real time acoustic display capabilities are described which were developed for the Virtual Environment Workstation (VIEW) Project at NASA-Ames. The acoustic display is capable of generating localized acoustic cues in real time over headphones. An auditory symbology, a related collection of representational auditory 'objects' or 'icons', can be designed using ACE (Auditory Cue Editor), which links both discrete and continuously varying acoustic parameters with information or events in the display. During a given display scenario, the symbology can be dynamically coordinated in real time with 3-D visual objects, speech, and gestural displays. The types of displays feasible with the system range from simple warnings and alarms to the acoustic representation of multidimensional data or events

A saúde do trabalhador na sociedade 24 horas

This article first addresses the underlying factors determining the varying tolerance of individuals to swing and night shifts. Also discussed are features of specific jobs that may or may not favor the tolerance to variable and evening shifts. The second part of this article proposed measures to improve workers' health and physical and social well-being.Este artigo trata, em um primeiro momento, de fatores subjacentes às diferenças individuais quanto à tolerância ao trabalho em turnos e noturno. Associadas a esses fatores, também são apresentadas características do trabalho que podem ou não favorecer a tolerância ao trabalho em turnos. Em um segundo momento, apresenta-se medidas de intervenção que visam minimizar as dificuldades enfrentadas pelos trabalhadores quanto à saúde e ao bem-estar orgânico e social.Universidade Federal de São Paulo (UNIFESP) Escola Paulista de Medicina Departamento de PsicobiologiaUniversidade de São Paulo Faculdade de Saúde Pública Departamento de Saúde AmbientalFundação Oswaldo Cruz Instituto Oswaldo Cruz Departamento de BiologiaUNIFESP, EPM, Depto. de PsicobiologiaSciEL

An Investigation of the Influence of Chronotype and Time-of-Day on Travellers’ Behavioural Intentions and Overall Satisfaction With a Tourist Destination

This two-study research investigates the influence of chronotype (i.e., sleep rhythms) and time-of-day on tourist behavioural intentions and overall satisfaction with a tourist destination. It demonstrates that morningness is positively related to the length of trip planning, the likelihood of visiting, the likelihood of recommending as well as the monetary value of spendings during the visit, and is negatively related to the frequency of visits to a tourist destination. Moreover, time-of-day moderates the influence of chronotype on the likelihood of visiting a tourist destination. These findings have implications for tourists who may wish to synchronize the timing of their decisions and behaviours to their chronobiological nature. They also suggest using chronotype as a basis for segmentation. Adopting a different approach with morning and evening tourists could contribute to increase the “contextual perceived value” offered by tourist destinations to their travellers to create a sustainable non-price competitive advantage

Sensor fusion display evaluation using information integration models in enhanced/synthetic vision applications

Based on existing integration models in the psychological literature, an evaluation framework is developed to assess sensor fusion displays as might be implemented in an enhanced/synthetic vision system. The proposed evaluation framework for evaluating the operator's ability to use such systems is a normative approach: The pilot's performance with the sensor fusion image is compared to models' predictions based on the pilot's performance when viewing the original component sensor images prior to fusion. This allows for the determination as to when a sensor fusion system leads to: poorer performance than one of the original sensor displays, clearly an undesirable system in which the fused sensor system causes some distortion or interference; better performance than with either single sensor system alone, but at a sub-optimal level compared to model predictions; optimal performance compared to model predictions; or, super-optimal performance, which may occur if the operator were able to use some highly diagnostic 'emergent features' in the sensor fusion display, which were unavailable in the original sensor displays

Different Effects of Social Jetlag and Weekend Catch-Up Sleep on Well-Being of Adolescents According to the Actual Sleep Duration

: The aim of this study was to explore the potentially different associations between two common aspects of adolescents' life, namely social jetlag and weekend catch-up sleep, with well-being and physical health, according to the actual sleep duration, i.e., <7 h and ≥7 h. To this end, 504 participants (42.1% males), with a mean age of 16.17 (standard deviation = 1.39), were examined in the this cross-sectional study. Participants were asked to wear the Micro Motionlogger Watch actigraph (Ambulatory Monitoring, Inc., Ardlsey, NY, USA) around their non-dominant wrist for seven consecutive days in order to objectively assess social jetlag and weekend catch-up sleep. Participants were also asked to fill in the Mental Health Continuum-Short Form for the assessment of subjective, social, and psychological well-being, as well as the SF-36 Health Survey for the perception of physical health. In adolescents sleeping less than 7 h, those experiencing weekend catch-up sleep longer than 120 min reported significantly lower subjective well-being compared to those with a weekend catch-up sleep duration between 0 and 59 min. These data pointed out the detrimental effect of long weekend catch-up sleep on self-reported well-being only in adolescents getting less than the recommended amount of sleep

Fatigue in ferry crews: a pilot study

Since the 1950s, the shipping industry has undergone profound changes, comparable in scale to those resulting from the advent of steam in the last century. This transformation has been shaped by many historical events and facilitated by the introduction of new technology and new commercial, operational and managerial practices, and it has clear implications for current research into the causality of marine accidents; technological developments, for example, have led to the so-called ‘radar-assisted collisions’. It is often said in the industry that 70-80% of maritime accidents are attributable to human error. What is less well known, however, is that in the majority of these cases, the factor which has consistently been identified as a major contributory link in the chain of events leading to an accident, is fatigue. Because of this, it is important to continue research into the causes and incidence of fatigue in seafarers. The objectives of this pilot study were: to investigate the quality and quantity of sleep among crew employed on the short-sea ferry sector; to evaluate the extent to which poor quality sleep occurs; and to identify the factors contributing to poor sleep quality. The subjects of the study were 12 crew members of different rank and with different work patterns from two UK-flagged short-sea pax/ro ferries. Background information on the participants was collected via questionnaires. Data on the duration and quality of sleep were collected by the use of wrist-worn actimeters and by self-report sleep logs, while self reports of alertness were collected at two-hourly intervals during each wakeful period. All the above data were collected during a complete tour of duty comprising one week at sea followed by one week of leave. The week-on / week-off work schedule allowed comparisons to be made between the sleep patterns of a working week at sea and those of a rest week at home. The findings indicate that differences in both sleep quality and duration of sleep between the work and non-work weeks were greater for those crew members required to work split shifts. Furthermore, they experienced greater sleep disturbance and generally shorter sleep periods than crew members who worked a single shift every 24 hours. The statistical analyses presented in the current study show a significant difference in the total number of hours sleep between the home and work schedules, and reveal a similar difference in the incidence of sleep disturbance. While further and more substantial examination into different shift patterns is required, there are already clear indications of a need to reappraise traditional watch regimes on board. This pilot study is the first phase of an extensive investigation into sleep and fatigue in seafarers’ work patterns, which is being carried out under the name of SEAFATIGUE. It is to include personal and environmental factors and is to be conducted within different shipping sectors of deep-sea and coastal trade. The final objective of the SEAFATIGUE project is to provide the maritime industry with a resource of detailed technical data on fatigue among seafarers, in order to facilitate the formulation and implementation of sound, proactive policies in areas of employment practices, manning levels, shipboard ergonomics, shiftwork patterns and the training of seafarers in fatigue management. This pilot study is the result of a joint collaborative project between the Sleep Research Laboratory at Loughborough University and the Seafarers International Research Centre at the University of Wales, Cardiff