Human Factors and Long-term Space Missions: A Brief Overview of Some Human Performance Research Issues

1996 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert E. Herron
2020 ◽  
Vol 91 (6) ◽  
pp. 532-534
Author(s):  
Nicola Mammarella

INTRODUCTION: In recent decades, there has been investigation into the effects of microgravity and microgravity-like environments on cognition and emotion separately. Here we highlight the need of focusing on emotion-cognition interactions as a framework for explaining cognitive performance in space. In particular, by referring to the affective cognition hypothesis, the significant interplay between emotional variables and cognitive processing in space is briefly analyzed. Altogether, this approach shows an interesting pattern of data pointing to a dynamic relation that may be sensitive to microgravity. The importance of examining interactions between emotion and cognition for space performance remains fundamental (e.g., stress-related disorders) and deserves further attention. This approach is ultimately interesting considering the potential effects that microgravity may play on human performance during long-term space missions and on return to Earth.Mammarella N. Towards the affective cognition approach to human performance in space. Aerosp Med Hum Perform. 2020; 91(6):532–534.


1987 ◽  
Vol 31 (3) ◽  
pp. 280-280
Author(s):  
Philip J. Smith ◽  
Elliot Soloway ◽  
John Carroll

In recent years, considerable effort has been focused on the development of computational models of expert human performance. One class of expertise that has been studied is that of human tutors. The resultant intelligent tutoring systems are intended to provide the user with the “instructional advantage that a sophisticated human tutor can provide,” (Anderson, Boyle and Reiser, 1985). This line of research is of interest to the human factors community for two reasons: 1. Intelligent tutoring systems offer potential tools for use in training and educational programs, a long-standing area of interest to human factors researchers and practitioners; 2. There are many human factors and human performance issues that should be addressed in the design of such tutoring systems. The speakers in this special session will provide an overview of research issues in the design of intelligent tutoring systems. Relevant conceptual issues and approaches will be highlighted in the context of a variety of application areas. Included will be a discussion of the “use of intelligent system monitors that allow users to integrate the time and effort spent on learning with actual use of a system”, (Carroll and McKendree, 1987).


2018 ◽  
Vol 40 (1) ◽  
pp. 95-99 ◽  
Author(s):  
Morgan Jane Katz ◽  
Ayse P Gurses

AbstractThe emergence and spread of extensively multidrug-resistant organisms is a public health crisis, and long-term care settings have been identified as a reservoir for the cultivation of these organisms. Long-term care settings are now taking on increasingly ill residents with complicated medical problems, indwelling devices, and significant healthcare exposure, all of which are considered risk factors selecting for resistant organisms. Despite this, guidelines addressing infection prevention procedures in long-term care remain vague, and implementation of these guidelines is challenging, largely due to staff turnover, limited resources, knowledge gaps, and lack of organizational support. Human factors engineering approaches have emerged as an important innovation to address patient safety issues and develop interventions in the healthcare work system (ie, tools and technologies, tasks, organization, physical environment) that support human performance, which, in turn, lead to improvements in processes (eg, compliance with infection prevention guidelines) and outcomes (eg, reduced infection rates). We propose the concept of using the methods and approaches from the scientific field of human factors engineering to address the unique challenges of implementing infection prevention in the long-term care setting.


Author(s):  
Logan T. Trujillo

The field of human factors studies the interaction between humans and technological systems in order to optimize human–system performance, research that has traditionally been focused on observation and experiment in laboratory and real-world settings. However, a multidisciplinary subfield of human factors called human performance modeling has recently emerged that involves the development and application of mathematical models, computer simulation techniques, and computational data analysis methods to the study of human performance. This chapter provides an introduction to the use of computational modeling, simulation, and analysis techniques in human factors research, with an eye toward how such methods may be used to optimize human performance in extreme settings.


2020 ◽  
Vol 54 (5) ◽  
pp. 5-14
Author(s):  
L.Kh. Pastushkova ◽  
◽  
K.S. Kireev ◽  
I.M. Larina ◽  
◽  
...  

The integrated response of the human proteome to re-entry g-loads following long-term space missions was studied in 13 male cosmonauts at the age of 44 ± 6 years. Examination at the landing site discovered local petechial hemorrhages into soft tissues of the back and lower legs. The paper presents a new approach to evaluation of petechia and soft tissue hemorrhages in cosmonauts on return to Earth. Proteomic analysis was performed with the use of LC-MS. Bioinformation analysis was made using Perseus, PubMed, Uniprot and ANDSystem software. Nine out of 19 significantly different (p < 0.05) proteins were related to vascular injuries directly. We described proteins with a primarily protecting effect against endothelial cells apoptosis and augmentation of vascular permeability, proteins that are responsible for blood rheology and proteins antagonistic to the main triggers of ischeamia-reperfusion injuries of the lungs, liver and other parenchymal organs.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jochen Hinkelbein ◽  
Anton Ahlbäck ◽  
Christine Antwerber ◽  
Lisa Dauth ◽  
James DuCanto ◽  
...  

AbstractIn the next few years, the number of long-term space missions will significantly increase. Providing safe concepts for emergencies including airway management will be a highly challenging task. The aim of the present trial is to compare different airway management devices in simulated microgravity using a free-floating underwater scenario. Five different devices for airway management [laryngeal mask (LM), laryngeal tube (LT), I-GEL, direct laryngoscopy (DL), and video laryngoscopy (VL)] were compared by n = 20 paramedics holding a diving certificate in a randomized cross-over setting both under free-floating conditions in a submerged setting (pool, microgravity) and on ground (normogravity). The primary endpoint was the successful placement of the airway device. The secondary endpoints were the number of attempts and the time to ventilation. A total of 20 paramedics (3 female, 17 male) participated in this study. Success rate was highest for LM and LT and was 100% both during simulated microgravity and normogravity followed by the I-GEL (90% during microgravity and 95% during normogravity). However, the success rate was less for both DL (60% vs. 95%) and VL (20% vs. 60%). Fastest ventilation was performed with the LT both in normogravity (13.7 ± 5.3 s; n = 20) and microgravity (19.5 ± 6.1 s; n = 20). For the comparison of normogravity and microgravity, time to ventilation was shorter for all devices on the ground (normogravity) as compared underwater (microgravity). In the present study, airway management with supraglottic airways and laryngoscopy was shown to be feasible. Concerning the success rate and time to ventilation, the optimum were supraglottic airways (LT, LM, I-GEL) as their placement was faster and associated with a higher success rate. For future space missions, the use of supraglottic airways for airway management seems to be more promising as compared to tracheal intubation by DL or VL.


Author(s):  
E. Leslie Cameron ◽  
Per Møller ◽  
Keith S. Karn

Objective We review the effects of COVID-19 on the human sense of smell (olfaction) and discuss implications for human-system interactions. We emphasize how critical smell is and how the widespread loss of smell due to COVID-19 will impact human-system interaction. Background COVID-19 reduces the sense of smell in people who contract the disease. Thus far, olfaction has received relatively little attention from human factors/ergonomics professionals. While smell is not a primary means of human-system communication, humans rely on smell in many important ways related to both quality of life and safety. Method We briefly review and synthesize the rapidly expanding literature through September 2020 on the topic of smell loss caused by COVID-19. We interpret findings in terms of their relevance to human factors/ergonomics researchers and practitioners. Results Since March 2020 dozens of articles have been published that report smell loss in COVID-19 patients. The prevalence and duration of COVID-19-related smell loss is still under investigation, but the available data suggest that it may leave many people with long-term deficits and distortions in sense of smell. Conclusion We suggest that the human factors/ergonomics community could become more aware of the importance of the sense of smell and focus on accommodating the increasing number of people with reduced olfactory performance. Application We present examples of how olfaction can augment human-system communication and how human factors/ergonomics professionals might accommodate people with olfactory dysfunction. While seemingly at odds, both of these goals can be achieved.


Author(s):  
Wendy Sullivan-Kwantes ◽  
Francois Haman ◽  
Boris R.M. Kingma ◽  
Svein Martini ◽  
Emilie Gautier-Wong ◽  
...  

Author(s):  
Shane T. Mueller ◽  
Lamia Alam ◽  
Gregory J. Funke ◽  
Anne Linja ◽  
Tauseef Ibne Mamun ◽  
...  

In many human performance tasks, researchers assess performance by measuring both accuracy and response time. A number of theoretical and practical approaches have been proposed to obtain a single performance value that combines these measures, with varying degrees of success. In this report, we examine data from a common paradigm used in applied human factors assessment: a go/no-go vigilance task (Smith et al., 2019). We examined whether 12 different measures of performance were sensitive to the vigilance decrement induced by the design, and also examined how the different measures were correlated. Results suggest that most combined measures were slight improvements over accuracy or response time alone, with the most sensitive and representative result coming from the Linear Ballistic Accumulator model. Practical lessons for applying these measures are discussed.


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