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Objective: Assess the effects of long-duration microgravity and gravitational transitions on fine motor skills using a tablet-based test battery of four fine motor tasks: Pointing, Dragging, Shape Tracing, and Pinch-Rotate. Background: While there have been some studies on fine motor skills in microgravity, few have measured the fine motor skills that are core components of interaction with computer-based devices, and none have measured performance systematically, to include preflight, inflight, and postflight space mission time periods. Methods: Seven astronauts completed the Fine Motor Skills test battery 30–40 times before, during, and up to 30 days after standard duration International Space Station missions, while a matching set of seven ground-based control participants also completed the battery over a comparable period of time. Response time and accuracy were the primary outcome measures. Results: Relative to controls, astronauts experienced fine motor skill decrements at gravitational transitions (first week on orbit, and first month post landing). No decrements were found inflight after the first week of adaptation. Conclusion: Gravitational transitions appear to negatively impact fine motor skills needed to operate small controls with accuracy, such as those on touchscreen interfaces. This raises concerns for future long-duration crewmembers who will land on a planetary surface and need to perform critical tasks accurately, such as configuring spacesuits, powering up a habitat, or teleoperating rovers. Application: Results from this study highlight the need for confirmatory research, and the possible need for countermeasure development. The Fine Motor Skills test battery may have application outside of NASA as a fine motor skills diagnostic screening, rehabilitation, or readiness-to-perform tool. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: In future deep space exploration missions, crew will have to work more autonomously from Earth. Greater crew autonomy will increase dependence on automated systems. This study investigates the performance effects of different strategies to automate procedural work for space exploration operations. Background: The following strategies are investigated for performing procedural work: • Manual Work uses no procedure automation and crew performs all actions. • Shared Work uses procedure automation to perform some actions within a procedure while crew performs other actions. • Supervised Work uses procedure automation to perform procedure actions while crew supervises the automation. Method: Twenty-seven participants participated in a planetary habitat scenario-based simulation using electronic procedures with automatable actions to investigate the effect of these strategies on situation awareness (SA) and workload. This study used a modification of the Situation Presence Assessment Method to measure SA and the Bedford Workload Scale to measure subjective workload. Results: Mean response times and accuracy for SA queries show no significant difference among the three strategies. Bedford Workload ratings compared across the three strategies indicate that participants rated their workload as highest in the Manual Work condition, followed by the Shared Work condition, and lowest in the Supervised Work condition. Conclusion: The study hypothesized that increased levels of automation would lead to lower subjective workload and decreased SA. Although no significant difference in SA was observed, subjective workload was lower in automation strategies. Based on subjective ratings, 93% of participants preferred some form of automation, with 56% preferring the Shared Work automation condition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Proper consideration of human needs in the design of space vehicles results in a safe and productive environment for crewmembers. This is particularly important for crew interfaces that are used during ascent and entry due to the demanding environmental conditions. The involvement of Human Factors (HF) engineers in the design and evaluation process ensures that Human-Systems Integration (HSI) begins early, and continues throughout the lifecycle of a vehicle. This paper highlights various aspects of the HSI process: establishment of HSI standards, the use of research to develop and refine challenging requirements and verification methods, partnering with research projects to drive evidence-based designs, and the value of applying HF methods and principles to design. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The article discusses accelerated mental aging in alcoholic patients. Discriminant function and polynomial regression methods were used to define a mental age function from scale score profile patterns found in the (Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale) WAIS manual. Values on the mental age function then were calculated from WAIS scale score profiles for 164 alcoholics in the age range 35 to 74. Validity of the mental age function was evident in clear discrimination between chronological age groups in the alcoholic sample. As compared with WAIS normative values for the mental age function, the mean mental age for patients in the alcoholic sample was advanced approximately 7 years over age-matched normals.