Soldiers receive extensive training at extremes of environments and simulated terrains to improve their battle efficiency. A study was designed to evaluate the actual cost of a military physical efficiency test consisting of several physically engaging activities to quantify physiological, mechanical, and subjective demands. Sixteen Indian soldiers participated in a military training session consisting of events such as a 5-km run, 4-m vertical rope climbing, a 2.75-m jump, a 60-m dash, and a 9-m horizontal rope climbing with 6.5 kg of equipment in a hot dry environment. Their physiological status was monitored continuously. National Aeronautics and Space Administration Task Load Index (NASA-TLX) scores were obtained to assess mental workload. Heart rate reserve (HRR) and heart rate (HR) scores were calculated from the mean HR of each stage of the session. Repeated measure ANOVA was applied to the physiological parameters, and Pearson’s correlation was applied to NASA-TLX and HR scores. The 5-km run was the most physically demanding (HR was maintained at about 84% of maximum HR–HRmax throughout). About 24% of HRR remained after the run. The workload of the other events was within the range of 62–67% of HRmax, and the remaining HRR was 50–57%. The mechanical and physiological intensities derived during the session indicated higher mechanical requirements and associated physiological support. The participants predicted overall moderate task load, which was loosely correlated to HR scores. The physiological and mechanical responses pointed toward soldiers’ ability to withstand the challenges of a combination of activities. The findings also ensured minimal injury risk and battle readiness for probable missions at extremes of environment and terrain.
Teams working in spaceflight missions belong to the group of extreme teams, as ineffective performance can have serious consequences. Thus, research focuses on understanding team (transition, action, and interpersonal) processes of those teams and their influence on performance. This study investigates the development of team processes in tasks incorporating different task characteristics (generate, choose, negotiate, and execute tasks) on two temporal dimensions (short-term and long-term) in two teams—analog astronauts (AAs) = stable throughout mission and the Mission Support Centre (MSC) = fluctuating members throughout mission—during a four-week analog Mars mission. There were six performance episodes, each incorporating one task that represents one task characteristic, which both teams had to work on within their own team. Video recordings of the performance episodes were used to descriptively evaluate the team processes of each team using the Communication Analysis Tool. Results demonstrate that depending on the task characteristic and the timing during a given performance episode, AAs and the MSC display similar but also contrasting short-term patterns in their team processes, providing insights into which processes are crucial for achieving high performance when considering a particular task characteristic. Long-term, AAs used action processes more often, whereas the MSC implemented transition processes more frequently. This indicates that AAs move to operational work quickly, since their team is stable and they know each other, whereas the MSC needs to find common ground first as the team is fluctuating.
Ideas about positive change following a stressful experience have been of interest to researchers for some time (Antonovsky, 1987; Tedeschi & Calhoun, 1996). A few areas of study have been developed, some with a focus on successful coping such as research on resilience, sense of coherence and hardiness, stress inoculation, posttraumatic growth, and toughening (Tedeschi, Park, and Calhoun, 1998). Suedfeld (2001) has encouraged researchers to focus on the positive effects of work in extreme and unusual environments however, only a few have done so with astronauts, cosmonauts (Ihle et al., 2006: Suedfeld et al., 2012), and high-altitude mountaineers (Smith et al., 2017).To understand the full deployment experience and growth possibilities and to identify the situational impact on the personnel in extreme and unusual environments, a study of stress perception and coping strategies is essential. Work in this domain of stress and coping has been plentiful across many extreme and unusual environments (Leon et al., 2011b; Nicolas et al., 2013; Suedfeld et al., 2009; Suedfeld et al., 2012; Suedfeld, 2015).The current study addresses an additional extreme workplace environment with a combination of stress and outcome variables. Crew members working and living at the Eureka Weather Station (Nunavut, Canada), located on Ellesmere Island at a latitude of 80° North, responded to questionnaires about coping (prior to the mission and postmission), personality (prior to mission), and psychological growth (postmission). Members spent two to four months working in the Canadian High Arctic and faced many environmental and social challenges. Data suggest that the extreme workplace is not as stressful as commonly assumed; further, members use a variety of appropriate coping mechanisms, and postexpedition growth is experienced by all.
To learn how humans can safely and effectively live on the surface of the moon or Mars, missions are conducted on Earth that simulate operations on the surface of other planetary bodies. These missions, called space analog missions, require substantial mission planning and organizational management to ensure safe and effective research and operations. The American Public University System's Analog Research Group developed and tested management structures and philosophies that enable scalable, replicable, and safe analog missions. This fully online research endeavor's management and internal organization offers a model that academic institutions and private industry can implement to contribute to space exploration research and education by developing their own space analog research programs.
Various risks exist during mountaineering. Appropriate representation of characteristics of risks is the basis of survival in such extreme environments. The aim of the present study is to clarify cognitive representation of risks of mountaineering and individual difference according to the experience by psychometric approach. Ninety-seven mountaineers, consisting of top-class leaders and prospective leaders who participated in the training courses of the National Mountaineering Training Center in Japan, were asked to evaluate nine target mountaineering risks repeatedly with nine judgment scales, and the responses were analyzed using three-mode principal component analysis (3MPCA). As a result, two types of risks, sudden hazardous risks (SHRs) and ubiquitous potential risks (UPRs), in target mode were identified, as were dread and controllability in the scale mode. Both dread and controllability for SHRs and UPRs were independent to some extent. The analysis revealed that the influence of leader experience on the cognitive dimensions differed between the risk types: controllability and dread for SHRs did not differ, and only dread for UPRs decreased with experience. The results would lead to deeper understanding of cognitive representation of personal risks that individuals are responsible for handling, and therefore would contribute to safety education and risk communication in mountaineering.
With a renewed impetus and appetite for human space exploration, both government-funded agencies and private companies are focusing on longer and farther crewed missions into the solar system. Such space missions rely on highly interdependent teams living and working together in isolated, confined, and extreme (ICE) environments. Understanding the behavioral patterns of teams in ICE environments is, thus, paramount for the future success of such missions. Due to the complexity of studying ICE teams, several researchers have called for methodological innovations to advance knowledge in this area. In the current research, a proof-of-concept methodological approach is introduced that provides a potential solution for several shortcomings of traditional approaches. A behavior sequence analysis (BSA) approach was used to analyze two historical polar expedition journals, resulting in data depicting transitions from antecedent behaviors or emotions into sequitur behaviors/emotions amongst the expeditions’ teams. The data are described, illustrated by corresponding state transition diagrams, and possible ways of interpreting the data are introduced. Applications and limitations of the used approach as well as possible future developmental steps for the method are discussed. In general, BSA was demonstrated as a potentially useful methodology for extracting meaningful data from long texts, showing detailed connections between a myriad of events, behaviors, and emotional responses of individuals and wider teams.
Success in extreme environments comes with a cost of subtle performance decrements that if not mitigated properly can lead to lifethreatening consequences. Identification and prediction of performance decline could alleviate deleterious consequences and enhance success in challenging and high-risk operations. The Rim-to-Rim Wearables at the Canyon for Health (R2R WATCH) project was designed to examine the cognitive, physiological, and biological markers of performance decline in the extreme environment of the Grand Canyon Rim-to-Rim (R2R) hike. The study utilized commercial off-the-shelf cognitive and physiological monitoring techniques, along with subjective self-assessments and hematologic measurements to determine subject performance and changes across the hike. The multiyear effort collected these multiple data streams in parallel on a large sample of participants hiking the R2R, leading to a rich and complex data set. This article describes the methodology and its evolution as devices and measurements were assessed after each data collection event. It also highlights a subset of the patterns of results found across the data streams. Subsequent work will draw on this data set to focus on building more sophisticated, predictive statistical models and dive deeper into specific analyses (such as the physiological and biological profiles of hikers who were left behind by their hiking partners).
The present study aimed to expand the current knowledge of psychological skills usage within athletes of action sports by exploring the use of imagery and self-talk within skateboarders and snowboarders. Skateboarders and snowboarders (N 5 74) completed the Athletic Coping Skills Inventory (ACSI-28; Smith et al., 1995), the Self-Talk Questionnaire (S-TQ) for sports (Zervas et al., 2007), and the Sport Imagery Questionnaire (SIQ; Hall et al., 1998). Results indicated that participants scored significantly higher than reported norms of traditional athletes (Smith et al., 1995) on the coping with adversity and goal-setting/mental preparation subscales of the ACSI-28, and to a similar degree to traditional athletes on the remaining subscales. However, participants scored significantly lower on the total score of the ACSI-28 than previously reported action sports athletes (Young & Knight, 2014). Participants scored significantly higher than reported norms of traditional athletes on the cognitive functional and motivational functional subscales of the S-TQ. On the SIQ, participants scored significantly lower than reported norms for traditional athletes (Hall et al., 2005) on the MG-M subscale, while scoring similarly to reported norms on the CG, CS, MS, and MG-A subscales. Results of the present study confirm that action sports athletes utilize psychological skills to a degree similar to that of traditional athletes, and that skateboarders and snowboarders specifically include the use of imagery and self-talk within their psychological skills arsenal.
The performance of intense exercise in a tropical climate is associated with limited exercise capacity due to thermal strain. This limitation is exacerbated in sports requiring full protective equipment. Research evidence suggests disturbances in cognitive function due to thermal discomfort and/or protective equipment (e.g., helmets), and thus sports that require skills in decision-making, fast reaction times, precision, and/or inhibition can be greatly affected. The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of countermeasures on the psychological and physiological responses in young international fencers wearing full protective equipment during an ecological fencing task. Nine young international fencers performed an aiming task in tropical conditions (1) without cooling interventions and (2) with cumulative cooling interventions (i.e., pre+percooling and head+torso). Participants completed a battery of cognitive (i.e., simple and choice reaction times, Stroop test), affective (i.e., PANAS), and perception (i.e., thermal environment, Feeling Scale, rating of perceived exertion) tests in each session, and their heart rate, skin temperature, and fencing performances (i.e., execution time and total score) were checked at several time points. Although the results revealed no differences in the perception of the thermal environment or the cognitive and affective scores, the cooling interventions seemed to improve movement precision during the fencing task and limit the decrease in pleasurable feelings related to the physical task. This study suggests that attentional resources are more available with cumulative cooling interventions, which leads to better performance during an ecological fencing task in tropical conditions.
Radio-based communication between crew members in space and mission control centers on the ground has the operational purpose of supporting the safe and effective execution of missions in space. Space-to-ground communication also, however, constitutes one of the relatively few interpersonal relationships astronauts have during missions and in addition to its operational purpose, this communication can support astronauts' wellbeing. The purpose of this paper is to identify psychosocially supportive aspects of operational space-to-ground communication between astronauts in space and spacecraft communicators on the ground. Through qualitative analysis of authentic mission communication, this paper identifies two supportive aspects and develops a terminology for describing these. Operational kindness describes operational messages that are considerate, show understanding of others, and include implicitly expressed enjoyment of associating with others. Operational wit describes operational messages in which not only content and clarity, but also the style with which a message is conveyed is given attention, by including a subtle wit or charm. Both are illustrated with excerpts from data and are discussed in relation to existing research.
Introduction: This study investigated the impact of the multistage ultra-marathon event ‘‘Marathon des Sables’’ (MdS) performed in the Sahara Desert on the psychophysical capacity of an athlete. Methods: We collected and analyzed environmental, physiological, and behavioral data from a 39-year-old athlete who participated in the MdS. Specifically, we collected environmental temperature (Tenv), upper inguinal skin temperature (Tsk), heart rate, and running speed data. Also, we recorded blood glucose and lactate, thermal comfort, total body water, perceived exertion, and cognitive function at the start, middle, and the end of each race stage. Results: We found significant detrimental impacts on the health and wellbeing of the monitored athlete. The monitored athlete suffered a multi-toe injury during the 3rd stage of MdS. Furthermore, the Tsk (32.6 ¡ 2.6°C) fluctuated considerably between day and night, as the lowest value presented was 29.8°C while the highest was 40.4°C. The Tsk tended to be higher both when the Tenv was higher and when daily running distance was longer. Finally, the athlete’s cognitive and athletic performances tended to be higher when his blood glucose (118.33 ± 19.20mg/dl) levels were higher. Conclusion: The health and wellbeing parameters of the monitored athlete were significantly impacted during the MdS.
It is proposed that performance degradation from exposure to non-lethal technology is mediated by impulsive and reflective approachavoidance motivation. An approach-avoidance motivational framework was used to specify a four-stage information processing model that predicts performance degradation. The first stage is Evaluation: it processes physiological, sensory, perceptual, and cognitive information. The second stage is Comparison: it processes the content of the Evaluation into avoidance and approach motivational indices. The third stage is Probability: it processes information from previous stages into a probability of choosing to continue or abandon goal-directed behavior. Finally, the fourth stage is Performance: it processes performance accuracy on a given task and occurs only when people continue their goal after dissuasive technology exposure. Depending on previous stages, performance can be degraded on tasks relevant to goal completion. An experiment was used to validate the model. Results supported the hypothesis that information is processed using the approach-avoidance motivational framework.
Objective: Endothelial function, the ability of cells of the vascular endothelial wall to secrete compounds, is linked with metabolic and cardiovascular disease risks. One of the most well-known noninvasive tests used to assess skin vascular reactivity as a measure of endothelial function is the reactive hyperemic response test (RHRT). However, there is lack of consensus regarding the impact of thermoregulation on endothelial (dys)function and the results from the RHRT. Thus, the aim of the present study was to investigate the impact of core temperature on cutaneous vascular reactivity, as assessed via the finger RHRT. Approach: Following a 15-minute baseline period, seven adults entered a water tank maintained at 42°C and passively rested in a semi-supine position. Thereafter, they entered a water tank maintained at 12°C. They were immersed until their rectal temperature (Tre) increased or decreased about 0.5°C above and below the baseline Tre respectively. This procedure was repeated twice and an occlusion was conducted during the baseline period and at the second repetition of water immersions. Main results: During the post-occlusion phase, skin blood flow (SkBF) was greater, comparing to pre- and occlusion phases, across all Tre levels (five levels: baseline, mild hyperthermia 1, mild hypothermia 1, mild hyperthermia 2, mild hypothermia 2). Also, SkBF throughout pre-occlusion, occlusion, and post-occlusion was greater during mild hyperthermia 2. Significance: We found a significant impact of core temperature on SkBF and cutaneous vascular reactivity which affects the diagnostic indicators obtained from the RHRT and can impact the final outcome.
PURPOSE: This study investigated changes in salivary α-amylase (sAA), cortisol, and interleukin-1β (IL-1β) concentrations following completion of an ultra-marathon trail run (UMT) to better understand the physiological stressors imposed by this extreme type of race. METHODS: Eight subjects participated in this study. Each subject completed a 50 km UMT. Two-minute oral salivary swabs were taken 10 minutes prior to race start and again within 1 minute of race finish. Samples were analyzed for sAA, cortisol and IL-1β using ELISA kits. RESULTS: Our results demonstrated a significant increase in both sAA (p = 0.002) and cortisol (p < 0.001) from baseline. No significant differences were observed for IL-1β. There was no significant relationship between the observed sAA increase and race speed. The observed increase in cortisol was significantly correlated with race speed (R2 = 0.582, p = 0.028). CONCLUSION: Participation in UMT is associated with activation of the sympathoadrenal and hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal axes, but not an increase in IL-1β. Better understanding of physiological stress associated with ultra-distance events could lead to improvements in training and performance for individuals engaging in long-distance aerobic events.
The present exploratory study was undertaken with two experienced explorers in order to examine daily events, perceived demands, coping strategies, and mood during a unique 636–675 km ‘‘double solo’’ crossing of Lake Baikal, a frozen lake in Siberia. A 59-year-old female explorer and a 49-year-old male explorer completed a daily survey and written diary during the expedition to collect situational data. Two semi-structured interviews were also completed, one within 24 hours and a second within four months of their return. These interviews sought to identify demands and coping efforts perceived as being most pertinent during their expedition. Guided by the work of Skinner et al. (2003), families of coping were organized around three human concerns (autonomy, relatedness, and competence) and two targets of coping (self or context). Findings illustrate two very different expedition experiences as evidenced by demands faced and coping strategies utilized, which influenced perceptions of workload and emotions experienced. Each explorer brought idiosyncrasies, which, when combined with different expedition experiences, bore influence on coping behaviors (focused on the self or context) and outcomes relative to the concerns of autonomy, relatedness, and competency. In discussing the findings, recommendations are offered for those preparing to undertake expeditions in extreme environments.
Purpose: Cold environments may deteriorate psychomotor performance due to slowing of neuronal signals, distractions caused by pain and discomfort, and a loss of manual dexterity. The extent to which core temperature (Tc) influences psychomotor performance in the cold has not been established. Therefore, psychomotor performance and Tc were assessed during a cold weather military training exercise to evaluate this relationship. Methods: Thirty-six military personnel (age: 26 ± 4 yr, ht: 175 ± 8 cm, wt: 79.1 ± 11.1 kg) participating in cold weather training volunteered for this study. Participants completed a 10-min immersion in cold (1°C) water, followed by 60 min of rewarming. Physiological, perceptual, and psychomotor assessments were made throughout the training. For analysis, participants were divided into groups based on their lowest achieved core temperature (< 35.0°C = HYP; 35.0-36.0°C = CS-M; > 36.0°C = CS-S). Psychomotor performance was then compared among the groups to determine the influence of Tc on performance. Results: Although cold water immersion deteriorated performance, no differences were observed among the three groups at any time point during the training for simple reaction time (HYP: 298 ± 49 ms; CS-M: 313 ± 55 ms; CS-S: 326 ± 53ms; p = 0.677). Conclusion: Findings suggest that cold water immersion deteriorates psychomotor performance which, even in the presence of mild hypothermia, is not directly influenced by Tc. Additional observations reveal large variations in Tc among a homogenous group in response to cold water immersion.
Introduction: It is important to determine the accuracy of measurements relative to potential treatment effects, with time intervals between tests. Purpose: The aim of this study was to assess the error of measurement for blood parameters, physiological, and performance measures after the decay of short-term heat acclimation. Methods: Ten trained males (Mean±SD: age 28±7 y; body mass 74.6±4.4 kg; 4.26±0.37 L.min-1; peak power output (PPO) 329±42 W) completed an exercising heat stress test (HST) at baseline, 2nd day after acclimation and then during decay at 1, 2, 3 and 5-6 wks. CoV (95% CI), SE (95% CI) and Pearsons (r) were used for analysis of blood volume (blood, plasma, red cell volume, mean hemoglogin mass); plasma (aldosterone, arginine vasopressin [AVP], total protein, albumin, sodium); physiological (rectal temperature, cardiac frequency) and performance (exercise performance capacity, PPO). Results: The CoV (95% CI), SE (95% CI) and r with a 1-wk interval for blood volume was 2.3% (1.6 to 4.3; 1.9 [1.3 to 3.4 mL.Kg-1]; r=0.93; n=10). After 2-wk and 5-6 wks this had increased to 4.9% (3.4 to 9.3; 3.8 [2.6 to 7.0 mL.Kg-1]; r=0.76; n=9) and 5.5% (3.6 to 12.8; 4.5 [2.9 to 10.0 mL.Kg-1]; r=0.65; n=7) respectively. Conclusions: Blood volume and physiological measures demonstrated the least error one week apart but increased thereafter. Plasma concentrations and performance markers had the greatest error with repeat measures after one week. Therefore, for greater reliability and low measurement error measures should be taken no more than one week a part in repeated experimentation.
Purpose: Effectiveness of short-term heat acclimation (STHA), over 5-days (permissive dehydration), on intermittent heat stress test (HST) with males. Methods: Ten, moderately-trained, males (mean [SD]; age 25.6 [8.9] y; stature 180.7 [5.6] cm; body mass 83.2 [10.8] kg; and 45.3 [6.5] mL.kg-1.min-1) participated. The HST was 9 x 5min (45-min) of intermittent exercise based on professional soccer players. One week apart, HST1 vs HST (11.0°C; 50%RH), as a reliability trial and HST3 in 31.0°C; 50%RH were completed. Then 90 min dehydration, STHA (no fluid intake), for 5 consecutive days (39.5oC; 60%RH), using controlled-hyperthermia (~rectal temperature [Tre] 38.5oC). The HST4 within one week after STHA. Blood plasma constituents: percent plasma volume (%PV), aldosterone, total protein, albumin, electrolytes, cortisol and HSP70. Data analysis reported as mean differences with 95% confidence intervals (95%CI) and Cohen's d effect size. Results: Post STHA, there was a decrease of -0.20 Tre at 45-min in the HST (95%CI -0.40 to -0.05°C; P=0.03; d =-0.56); mean skin temperature (-0.80; -1.30 to -0.30°C; P=0.007; d =-1.46) and mean body temperature (-0.30; -0.50 to -0.10°C, P=0.01; d =-0.75). Cardiac frequency reduced (-3: -5 to -1 b.min-1; P=0.01; d =-0.20) and %PV increased (7.3: 0.9 to 13.7%; P=0.03; d=0.59). Mean Peak Power (MPO) increased (Pd =0.63). Conclusions: Short-term heat acclimation (5-days) with dehydration, using controlled-hyperthermia technique, is effective for physiological adaptations during intermittent exercise in the heat, with moderately trained males.
Examples from aviation and aerospace illustrate the potential consequences that emerge when organizations replace learning from experience with technology, a process referred to as a cognitive offloading strategy (COS). Examples include the Air France Flight 447 crash involving an Airbus 330-203 and the Lion Air Flight 610 crash involving a Boeing 737 Max. From the perspective of human performance in extreme environments, COS represents an underexplored source of organizational vulnerability which presents a particular challenge for learning in organizations. Decrements in learning result from COS because COS creates gaps in procedural knowledge and deprives operators of opportunities to learn in the face of event-induced stress. Due to the inevitability of COS in extreme environments, recommendations for building resilience include offering training scenarios that support the development of a positive stress response, facilitating the ability to learn in the face of uncertainty, and supporting highly engaged experiential learning to build procedural (and often tacit) knowledge of operations.
Most research on mixed-gender teams in space analog environments focuses on individual-level variation and overlooks structural causes of inequality. Status characteristics theory posits how socially recognized traits, such as gender, contribute to the formation of informal hierarchies by denoting perceived levels of competence to group members. We investigated gender as a status characteristic in groups in space analog environments. We used data from the Mars Desert Research Station (MDRS) and hypothesized that women crew members are less likely than men to be selected to participate in simulated extravehicular activities during a Mars simulation at the MDRS. We used reports and biographies from 30 randomly selected crews (n = 177) posted on the MDRS website to construct our dataset and multilevel generalized regression models to test our hypothesis. Women crew members were 6% less likely to participate in simulated extravehicular activities than men, controlling for crew role, education, and other factors. Our study shows that gender acts as a status characteristic and influences group decisions in crews in space analogs. These results highlight the need for more studies on interactional inequalities in preparation for a long-term human spaceflight.
