Evaluation of Static Work Capabilities in a Hot Environment

The effects of heat stress on an individual's static work capabilities were investigated. Various indicators of strength and endurance were measured under differing heat stress levels. One measure which exhibited a significant change at higher heat stress levels was a combined strength-endurance measurement involving a series of maximal voluntary contractions throughout a one hour exposure. At 35° C WBGT the decrease in MVC from the beginning of the exposure to the end was 43% compared to only 6% at 18° C WBGT. Core temperature was also monitored throughout each exposure.Yeshttps://us.sagepub.com/en-us/nam/manuscript-submission-guideline

A Human Factors Perspective on Helicopter Human External Loads

Human external loads (HEL) refer to operations where humans are transported while suspended below a helicopter. HEL operations are often required to access remote work sites, to access power lines in need of maintenance and repair, for transport of offshore ship captains, and for rescue operations. This paper reports a human factors investigation of HEL operations and the devices used to secure HELs involved in work (non-rescue) activities. The goal of this investigation was to determine if HEL operations pose a significant safety hazard. Specifically, the paper describes the various devices used to secure HELs, the accident history associated with HELs, and human factors recommendations for the regulation of HEL devices and operations. Review of 616 helicopter accident reports revealed that only 1.5% of the accidents occurred during HEL operations and only 0.5% were directly attributable to the presence of an HEL.Yeshttps://us.sagepub.com/en-us/nam/manuscript-submission-guideline

Training Characteristics of the Criterion Task Set Workload Assessment Battery

An evaluation of the Criterion Task Set was performed to determine the training requirements for the various tasks. Twenty subjects were divided into four groups. One group trained on all nine tasks in the battery. The other three groups trained on different three-task subsets. All subjects trained for two hours per day on five consecutive days. Response time, accuracy and subjective workload measures were obtained for each trial.Yeshttps://us.sagepub.com/en-us/nam/manuscript-submission-guideline

Clinical Validation of the Ansi C63.19 Draft Standard for Measuring Compatibility between Digital Wireless Phones and Hearing Aids

Acoustic interference can be generated in hearing aids by the pulsed transmission signal of a digital wireless phone. This interference, resembling a buzzing, clicking, or static sound, is annoying and can seriously degrade the intelligibility of the speech. The objective of the ANSI C63.19 Draft Standard is to provide a simple, reliable test procedure for measuring the immunity of hearing aids to this interference. To clinically validate the standard, hearing aids were custom manufactured for eighteen hearing-impaired participants. The participants rated the effects of the interference experienced when using five digital wireless phone technologies (CDMA at 800 and 1900 MHz, TDMA-50 Hz at 800 and 1900 MHz, and TDMA-217 Hz at 1900 MHz) at five transmission power levels (0, 6, 12, 18, and 24 dBm). More than two-thirds of the subjects responded as predicted by acoustic measurements of the interference. The remaining subjects experienced difficulties unrelated to wireless phone interference due to severe hearing loss or excessive feedback. These results support the use of acoustic measurements of immunity as the basis for the ANSI C63.19 standard.Yeshttps://us.sagepub.com/en-us/nam/manuscript-submission-guideline

Power Window Control Location Stereotypes

A paper-and-pencil survey instrument and an operational test were used to assess stereotype strength for automobile power window controls. Control panel layout (square vs. linear) and mounting plane were examined along with stereotype differences between subjects with technical backgrounds and those with non-technical backgrounds.Yeshttps://us.sagepub.com/en-us/nam/manuscript-submission-guideline

Development of the Criterion Task Set Performance Data Base

The initial phase of a large-scale experimental study was conducted involving the training and testing of fifty human subjects on the Criterion Task Set (Version 1.0). Testing was performed under baseline conditions and the stressors of noise and sleep loss. The resulting data base includes CTS performance data and subjective ratings obtained using the Subjective Workload Assessment Technique (SWAT) for each task, along with information on subject individual differences. This paper presents the methodology used for the data collection and analysis efforts and provides a summary of the performance and subjective assessment information. In general, no performance differences were found under the noise stress condition. Following sleep loss, response times for the central processing tasks deteriorated as did performance on the Unstable Tracking and Interval Production tasks.Yeshttps://us.sagepub.com/en-us/nam/manuscript-submission-guideline

Factor Structure of the Criterion Task Set

A large-scale experimental study was conducted involving the training and testing of 123 human subjects on the Criterion Task Set (Version 1.0). Testing was performed under baseline and stressor conditions. The performance data and Subjective Workload Assessment Technique ratings for the first baseline trial (Trial 6) were analyzed using the SAS VARCLUS procedure to evaluate the structure of the CTS. Seven clusters of response time variables were identified for the nine tasks. In general, the Memory Search, Linguistic Processing and Mathematical Processing tasks were grouped in one cluster with each of the other clusters representing a single task. Five clusters were identified for the SWAT ratings with clusters differentiated along the dimensions of task difficulty and processing stage.Yeshttps://us.sagepub.com/en-us/nam/manuscript-submission-guideline

The Life Cycle and Quality Assurance of Performance Assessment Batteries

As software products, computer-based performance assessment tasks and batteries cannot escape one of the cornerstones of software engineering – the software life cycle. This paper presents a discussion of the elements of the software life cycle that are unique to performance assessment batteries and focuses on a specific element of product development, quality assurance assessment. A discussion of the key ingredients for converting a computer-based assessment task into a commercially viable product is also included.Yeshttps://us.sagepub.com/en-us/nam/manuscript-submission-guideline

Oral S-ketamine effective after deep brain stimulation in severe treatment-resistant depression and extensive comorbidities

This case report describes successful maintenance treatment with oral S-ketamine in a patient with severe depression, who previously was resistant to electroconvulsive therapy and deep brain stimulation, and who also had comorbid psychotic and obsessive compulsive symptoms

Effectiveness of 2-D Views for 6-D Robotics Simulation Maneuvers

This study examined operator performance on 6-D robotics simulation maneuvers using a single 2-D view of the robot arm. The BORIS simulator, developed by NASA to support Generic Robotics Training, was used to present four “fly-to” tasks with views representing combinations of good and poor control-display movement compatibility and perceptual quality. Translational (x, y, z) and rotational (pitch, yaw, roll) accuracies were used to assess performance. A significant interaction between movement compatibility and perceptual quality was found for both the overall translational and y accuracy measures (p = 0.0289 and p = 0.0155, respectively). This interaction appeared to indicate that performance was hindered only if both factors were poor. Perceptual quality significantly affected the z accuracy and pitch accuracy measures (p = 0.0461 and p = 0.0429, respectively) with the views identified as poor perceptual quality actually yielding better performance. These results suggest that performance on a 6-D robotics maneuver is not necessarily hindered by using only a 2-D view. If a single view cannot simultaneously provide both good movement compatibility and good perceptual quality, the results suggest that either one is sufficient with respect to overall translational accuracy.Yeshttps://us.sagepub.com/en-us/nam/manuscript-submission-guideline