Study to define and verify the personal oral hygiene requirements for extended manned space flight Annual report, 1 Jul. 1968 - 30 Jun. 1969

Astronaut oral hygiene requirements for extended manned space fligh

Directive leading questions and preparation technique effects on witness accuracy

The use of leading questions during cross-examination can undermine the accuracy and completeness of evidence presented in court. Further, increasing numbers of general witnesses are arriving in court unprepared for the experience. In this study, 60 mock witnesses from England and Wales were allocated to one of three preparation conditions; a) those who received no familiarisation with the cross-examination process, b) those who received a guidance booklet on cross-examination procedures, and c) those who underwent an alternative rapport-building protocol. The participants observed a hit-and-run scenario video clip before being cross-examined with either a) non-directive leading questions or b) directive leading questions. The results showed that directive leading questioning styles were most detrimental to witness accuracy. Neither familiarisation with the types of questions typically employed during cross-examination nor the rapport-building protocol were found to be effective as a preparation strategy to increase accurate responses compared against a control group. Consideration of the impact of directive leading question styles on all witnesses in court seems necessary

Rethinking leading: the directive, non-directive divide

There is a dearth of legal and psychological consideration of leading questions during the trial process. This article argues the current approach to leading questions does not assist or promote the accuracy of witness evidence. Witness here is taken to mean anyone giving oral testimony, whether for the prosecution, defence or indeed the defendant him or herself. We advance a revised definition of leading, differentiating between directive and non-directive questions. Directive questioning is the primary mischief to eliciting accurate witness testimony; we propose here its reform. Nondirective leading is of less concern and should be the leading form open to use in cross-examination

The Influence of Delay and Item Difficulty in Criminal Justice Systems on Eyewitness Confidence and Accuracy

There is international concern about the negative effects of delays in Criminal Justice Systems. Problems include the deleterious effects that delay can have on witnesses' memory accuracy and witnesses' ability to calibrate their memories accurately. Little empirical work has been conducted on these issues combined with item difficulty and the relationship between accuracy and confidence. This paper investigates these issues. 21 witnesses were interviewed about an observed crime and required to answer lawyerly questions used in cross-examination relating to target items classified as 'easy', 'moderate' and 'difficult', in terms of memorability. Participants were interviewed again, 6 months later. A 6 month delay significantly reduced memory accuracy for all levels of question difficulty. Within-subjects C-A relationships seemed to be relatively unaffected by delay; i.e. they tended to be positive for easy and moderate items, and negative for difficult items. Between-subjects C-A relationships were also positive for both easy and moderate items, but improved after 6 months; whereas C-A relationships for the difficult items remained negative and statistically insignificant following the 6 month delay. Delay can have a profound negative effect on witness accuracy that is not likely to be compensated for by improvements in C-A calibration

The impact of cyberstalking: the lived experience - a thematic analysis.

Cyberstalking (CS) can have major psychosocial impacts on individuals. Victims report a number of serious consequences of victimization such as increased suicidal ideation, fear, anger, depression, and post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptomology. Research is largely limited to quantitative outcome research. This study examines the diversity of experiences reported by people who define themselves as having been cyberstalked. Thematic analysis was used to explore 100 CS victim narratives, gathered by means of an online survey questionnaire designed to capture structured text responses. Five emergent themes were evident in the data: control and intimidation; determined offender; development of harassment; negative consequences; and lack of support. Findings identify similarities and differences to traditional stalking, along with the necessity of support for victims and illustration of the negative impacts this form of harassment produces

Unmanned aerial systems (UAS) operators’ accuracy and confidence of decisions: Professional pilots or video game players?

Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) operations have outpaced current training regimes resulting in a shortage of qualified UAS pilots. Three potential UAS operator groups were explored for suitability (i.e. video game players [VGP]; private pilots; professional pilots) and examined to assess levels of accuracy, confidence and confidence-accuracy judgements (W-S C-A) during a simulated civilian cargo flight. Sixty participants made 21 decision tasks, which varied across three levels of danger/risk. Scales of Tolerance of Ambiguity, Decision Style and NEO-PIR were also completed. Professional pilots and VGPs exhibited the highest level of decision confidence, with VGPs maintaining a constant and positive W-S C-A relationship across decision danger/risk. As decision danger/risk increased, confidence, accuracy and W-S C-A decreased. Decision danger also had a role to play in the confidence expressed when choosing to intervene or rely on automation. Neuroticism was negatively related, and conscientiousness positively related, to confidence. Intolerance of ambiguity was negatively related to W-S C-A. All groups showed higher levels of decision confidence in decisions controlled by the UAS in comparison to decisions where the operator manually intervened. VGPs display less overconfidence in decision judgements. Findings support the idea that VGPs could be considered a resource in UAS operation

Measuring the meta and cognitive abilities of air defence operators

Introduction: This study aimed to understand more fully some factors that influence decision confidence and accuracy related to air defence. To investigate the metacognitive abilities of air defence operators a Within-Subjects Confidence-Accuracy (W-S C-A) measure was used. Specifically, therefore, this study investigated the impact of Decision Criticality (DC) and Task Stress (TS) on decision making, measures of confidence, accuracy, and the W-S C-A relation. Personality constructs, workload and situation awareness were also included. Method: Participants were allocated to either a high, moderate or low task stress condition. Each participant then took part in a computer generated air defence scenario where they were required to make various decisions and provide a confidence rating for each of those decisions. Confidence, accuracy and W-S C-A were calculated. Results & Discussion: DC impacted both on decision confidence and accuracy, with low DC increasing confidence in decisions and high DC increasing accuracy in decisions

Unmanned aerial systems (UAS) operators’ accuracy and confidence of decisions:Professional pilots or video game players?

Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) operations have outpaced current training regimes resulting in a shortage of qualified UAS pilots. Three potential UAS operator groups were explored for suitability (i.e. video game players [VGP]; private pilots; professional pilots) and examined to assess levels of accuracy, confidence and confidence-accuracy judgements (W-S C-A) during a simulated civilian cargo flight. Sixty participants made 21 decision tasks, which varied across three levels of danger/risk. Scales of Tolerance of Ambiguity, Decision Style and NEO-PIR were also completed. Professional pilots and VGPs exhibited the highest level of decision confidence, with VGPs maintaining a constant and positive W-S C-A relationship across decision danger/risk. As decision danger/risk increased, confidence, accuracy and W-S C-A decreased. Decision danger also had a role to play in the confidence expressed when choosing to intervene or rely on automation. Neuroticism was negatively related, and conscientiousness positively related, to confidence. Intolerance of ambiguity was negatively related to W-S C-A. All groups showed higher levels of decision confidence in decisions controlled by the UAS in comparison to decisions where the operator manually intervened. VGPs display less overconfidence in decision judgements. Findings support the idea that VGPs could be considered a resource in UAS operation

Human exercise-induced circulating progenitor cell mobilization is nitric oxide-dependent and is blunted in South Asian men

This article is available open access through the publisher’s website. Copyright @ 2010 American Heart Foundation.Objective— Circulating progenitor cells (CPC) have emerged as potential mediators of vascular repair. In experimental models, CPC mobilization is critically dependent on nitric oxide (NO). South Asian ethnicity is associated with reduced CPC. We assessed CPC mobilization in response to exercise in Asian men and examined the role of NO in CPC mobilization per se. Methods and Results— In 15 healthy, white European men and 15 matched South Asian men, CPC mobilization was assessed during moderate-intensity exercise. Brachial artery flow-mediated vasodilatation was used to assess NO bioavailability. To determine the role of NO in CPC mobilization, identical exercise studies were performed during intravenous separate infusions of saline, the NO synthase inhibitor l-NMMA, and norepinephrine.  Flow-mediated vasodilatation (5.8%±0.4% vs 7.9%±0.5%; P=0.002) and CPC mobilization (CD34+/KDR+ 53.2% vs 85.4%; P=0.001; CD133+/CD34+/KDR+ 48.4% vs 73.9%; P=0.05; and CD34+/CD45− 49.3% vs 78.4; P=0.006) was blunted in the South Asian group. CPC mobilization correlated with flow-mediated vasodilatation and l-NMMA significantly reduced exercise-induced CPC mobilization (CD34+/KDR+ −3.3% vs 68.4%; CD133+/CD34+/KDR+ 0.7% vs 71.4%; and CD34+/CD45− −30.5% vs 77.8%; all P<0.001). Conclusion— In humans, NO is critical for CPC mobilization in response to exercise. Reduced NO bioavailability may contribute to imbalance between vascular damage and repair mechanisms in South Asian men.British Heart Foundatio