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This booklet briefly and succinctly treats 23 topics of particular interest to the NASA Space Human Factors Program. Most articles are by different authors who are mainly NASA Johnson or NASA Ames personnel. Representative topics covered include mental workload and performance in space, light effects on Circadian rhythms, human sleep, human reasoning, microgravity effects and automation and crew performance.
Formal cockpit resource management training in crew coordination concepts increases the percentage of crews rated as above average in performance and decreases the percentage of crews rated as below average.
The author reviews and comments on the book Equivalence relations and behavior: a research story by Murray Sidman. Sidman's book reports his research about equivalence relations and competencies in children with mental retardation and how it relates to behavior. Sidman used the idea of stimulus-stimulus relations among features of the environment to develop his theories about equivalence relations. Experimental work with children and animals demonstrated their ability to use equivalence relations to learn new tasks. The subject received feedback and reinforcement for specific choices made during training, then was presented with new choices during testing. Results of the tests indicate that subjects were able to establish relations and retrieve them in different situations.
OBJECTIVE: To develop techniques for conducting a physical examination in microgravity and to describe and document the physiologic changes noted with use of a modified basic physical examination. DESIGN: On the basis of data gathered from physical examinations on KC-135 flights, three physical variables were assessed serially in astronauts during two shuttle missions (of 8- and 10-day duration, respectively). Preflight, in-flight, and postflight examinations were conducted by trained physician-astronauts or flight surgeons, who used this modified examination. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Five male and two female crewmembers participated in the "hands-on" physical examination of all physiologic systems except the genitourinary system. Level of edema, intensity of bowel sounds, and peripheral reflexes were assessed and graded. RESULTS: This investigation identified unique elements of a physical examination performed during space flight that will assist in the development of standard methods for conducting examinations of astronauts in weightlessness. In addition, demonstrable changes induced by microgravity were noted in most physiologic systems examined. CONCLUSION: The data support the hypothesis that the microgravity examination differs from that conducted on earth or in a 1g environment. In addition, alterations in the physiologic response can be detected with use of hands-on technique. These data are invaluable in the development of optimal medical care for humans in space.
Despite impressive advances in aircraft technology over the past several decades and an overall decline in the airline accident rate since the introduction of turbine-powered aircraft, flight crew performance problems continue to dominate air transport accident statistics. Researchers have offered many hypotheses to explain this finding, and interest in pilot fatigue has stimulated a large volume of laboratory research. Much of this work, however, is difficult to generalize and to apply to the real world of flight operations, and researchers disagree about the extent and operational significance of fatigue-related reductions in pilot performance. As a result, in 1980 Congress asked the National Aeronautics and Space Administration to undertake a comprehensive research program to assess whether fatigue-related problems are prevalent in long- and short-haul flying. The two major goals of this project are: (1) to assess the psychophysiological effects on pilot performance of flying various types of flight and duty cycles, and (2) to determine the operational significance to flight safety and efficiency of flying these flight and duty cycles.
A programme of research into the determinants of flight crew performance in commercial and military aviation is described, along with limitations and advantages associated with the conduct of research in such settings. Preliminary results indicate significant relationships among personality factors, attitudes regarding flight operations, and crew performance. The potential theoretical and applied utility of the research and directions for further research are discussed.
A revised version of the Cockpit Management Attitudes Questionnaire (CMAQ) is introduced. Factor analyses of responses from 3 different samples reveal comparable factor structure (previous attempts to factor analyze this measure had produced equivocal results). Implications for the measurement of attitudes and the assessment of attitude change are discussed. It is argued that the CMAQ will benefit both special training programs and efforts to explore attitude-performance linkages in air-transport operations.
A 10 year cummulative bibliography of publications resulting from research supported by the NASA Space Human Factors Program of the Life Science Division is provided. The goal of this program is to understand the basic mechanisms underlying behavioral adaptation to space and to develop and validate system design requirements, protocols, and countermeasures to ensure the psychological well-being, safety, and productivity of crewmembers. Subjects encompassed by this bibliography include selection and training, group dynamics, psychophysiological interactions, habitability issues, human-machine interactions, psychological support measures, and anthropometric data. Principal Investigators whose research tasks resulted in publication are identified by asterisk.
The goals of the NASA Space Human Factors program and the research carried out concerning human factors are discussed with emphasis given to the development of human performance models, data, and tools. The major products from this program are described, which include the Laser Anthropometric Mapping System; a model of the human body for evaluating the kinematics and dynamics of human motion and strength in microgravity environment; an operational experience data base for verifying and validating the data repository of manned space flights; the Operational Experience Database Taxonomy; and a human-computer interaction laboratory whose products are the display softaware and requirements and the guideline documents and standards for applications on human-computer interaction. Special attention is given to the 'Convoltron', a prototype version of a signal processor for synthesizing the head-related transfer functions.
The paper challenges the notion that any Fitts' Law model can be applied generally to human-computer interaction, and proposes instead that applying Fitts' Law requires knowledge of the users' sequence of movements, direction of movement, and typical movement amplitudes as well as target sizes. Two experiments examined a text selection task with sequences of controlled movements (point-click and point-drag). For the point-click sequence, a Fitts' Law model that used the diagonal across the text object in the direction of pointing (rather than the horizontal extent of the text object) as the target size provided the best fit for the pointing time data, whereas for the point-drag sequence, a Fitts' Law model that used the vertical size of the text object as the target size gave the best fit. Dragging times were fitted well by Fitts' Law models that used either the vertical or horizontal size of the terminal character in the text object. Additional results of note were that pointing in the point-click sequence was consistently faster than in the point-drag sequence, and that pointing in either sequence was consistently faster than dragging. The discussion centres around the need to define task characteristics before applying Fitts' Law to an interface design or analysis, analyses of pointing and of dragging, and implications for interface design.
NASA is initiating a space human factors research and technology development program in October 1982. The impetus for this program stems from: the frequent and economical access to space provided by the Shuttle, the advances in control and display hardware/software made possible through the recent explosion in microelectronics technology, heightened interest in a space station, heightened interest by the military in space operations, and the fact that the technology for long duration stay times for man in space has received relatively little attention since the Apollo and Skylab missions. The rationale for and issues in the five thrusts of the new program are described. The main thrusts are: basic methodology, crew station design, ground control/operations, teleoperations and extra vehicular activity.
A spatial auditory display for multiple speech communications was developed at NASA/Ames Research Center. Input is spatialized by the use of simplified head-related transfer functions, adapted for FIR filtering on Motorola 56001 digital signal processors. Hardware and firmware design implementations are overviewed for the initial prototype developed for NASA-Kennedy Space Center. An adaptive staircase method was used to determine intelligibility levels of four-letter call signs used by launch personnel at NASA against diotic speech babble. Spatial positions at 30 degrees azimuth increments were evaluated. The results from eight subjects showed a maximum intelligibility improvement of about 6-7 dB when the signal was spatialized to 60 or 90 degrees azimuth positions.
Groups, like individuals, often develop habitual routines for dealing with frequently encountered stimuli. Although such routines are consequential for group life and work, little is known about them. This paper reconnoiters the territory of habitual behavior in groups that perform work within organizations. We offer a definition of group habits, identify their functions and dysfunctions, suggest how they develop and are maintained, and identify the circumstances when they are likely to be altered or abandoned. Throughout, we give special attention to the social nature of habitual routines in groups, to the interaction between habitual behavior and group life cycle phenomena, and to the role of the organizational context in prompting, shaping, and terminating habitual routines.
No abstract available
Accurate heart rate measurement during work is required for many industrial hygiene and ergonomics situations. The purpose of this investigation was to determine the validity of heart rate measurements obtained by a simple, lightweight, commercially available wrist-worn heart rate monitor (HRM) during work (cycle exercise) sessions conducted in the laboratory and also during the particularly challenging work environment of space flight. Three different comparisons were made. The first compared HRM data to simultaneous electrocardiogram (ECG) recordings of varying heart rates that were generated by an ECG simulator. The second compared HRM data to ECG recordings collected during work sessions of 14 subjects in the laboratory. Finally, ECG downlink and HRM data were compared in four astronauts who performed cycle exercise during space flight. The data were analyzed using regression techniques. The results were that the HRM recorded virtually identical heart rates compared with ECG recordings for the data set generated by an ECG simulator. The regression equation for the relationship between ECG versus HRM heart rate data during work in the laboratory was: ECG HR = 0.99 x (HRM) + 0.82 (r2 = 0.99). Finally, the agreement between ECG downlink data and HRM data during space flight was also very high, with the regression equation being: Downlink ECG HR = 1.05 x (HRM) -5.71 (r2 = 0.99). The results of this study indicate that the HRM provides accurate data and may be used to reliably obtain valid data regarding heart rate responses during work.
The purpose of this project was to use NASA technology to assist the US Army in the assessment of motion sickness incidences and effects on soldier performance and mood states within the Command and Control Vehicle (C2V). Specific objectives were (1) to determine if there was a significant difference between three internal configurations of the C2V and/or between seats within these vehicles; (2) to determine if there was a significant difference between the park, move, or short-halt field conditions; and (3) to validate a method of converging indicators developed by NASA to assess environmental impact of long duration spaceflight on crewmembers, using a large sample of subjects under ground-based operational conditions.
The applied human factors research program performed at the NASA Johnson Space Center's Human-Computer Interaction Laboratory is discussed. Research is conducted to advance knowledge in human interaction with computer systems during space crew tasks. In addition, the Laboratory is directly involved in the specification of the human-computer interface (HCI) for space systems in development (e.g., Space Station Freedom) and is providing guidelines and support for HCI design to current and future space missions.