Physiological measures of operators' mental state in supervisory process control tasks: a scoping review.

Physiological measures are often used to assess the mental state of human operators in supervisory process control tasks. However, the diversity of research approaches creates a heterogeneous landscape of empirical evidence. To map existing evidence and provide guidance to researchers and practitioners, this paper systematically reviews 109 empirical studies that report relationships between peripheral nervous system measures and mental state dimensions (e.g. mental workload, mental fatigue, stress, and vigilance) of interest. Ocular and electrocardiac measures were the most prominent measures across application fields. Most studies sought to validate such measures for reliable assessments of cognitive task demands and time on task, with measures of pupil size receiving the most empirical support. In comparison, less research examined the utility of physiological measures in predicting human task performance. This approach is discussed as an opportunity to focus on operators' individual response to cognitive task demands and to advance the state of research.

Physiological measures can provide the basis for dynamic operator assistance in supervisory process control tasks. This review synthesises the existing evidence, highlighting both the aggregated empirical support and the heterogeneity of the results. To advance the status quo, a larger emphasis on physiological measures as predictors of operator performance is needed.Abbreviations: HF/E: Human factors and ergonomics; CNS: Central nervous system; PNS: Peripheral nervous system; HR: Heart rate; HRV: Heart rate variability; IBI: Interbeat interval; AVNN: Average of RR intervals; SDRR: Standard deviation of RR intervals; CVRR: Coefficient of variation in RR intervals; RMSSD: Root mean square of successive; pNNX: Percentage of successive RR intervals; MAD: Median absolute deviation; LF: Power of the low-frequency; MF: Power of the mid-frequency; HF: Power of the high-frequency; TP: Total power.

Mood state and conflict adaptation: an update and a diffusion model analysis.

The present study investigated the affective modulation of conflict adaptation. In a first step, we conducted a direct replication of a previous study (Schuch & Pütz, 2018). Positive vs. negative mood state was induced by a success-failure manipulation (between-groups, N = 40 per group). In a subsequent task-switching experiment, the congruency sequence effect was assessed in task repetitions and task switches, measuring conflict adaptation within tasks and between tasks, respectively. We found conflict adaptation (averaged across task repetitions and task switches) to be enhanced in negative mood. We did not replicate our previous finding of enhanced conflict adaptation in task switches in positive mood. In a second step, we combined the replication data with the original data set, yielding a larger database with N = 80 per mood group. Using diffusion modeling, we explored the affective modulation of conflict adaptation in task repetitions. Conflict adaptation was reflected in drift rate, consistent with the idea that response conflict triggers an increase in processing selectivity, thereby attenuating the influence of the irrelevant stimulus dimension. Conflict adaptation was also reflected in boundary separation, suggesting that response conflict on the previous trial triggered an increase in response caution. The mood manipulation did not seem to affect processing selectivity (as captured by drift rate) but affected the setting of response caution (as captured by the boundary separation parameter), with faster and more error-prone responding in the negative than positive mood group. We discuss theoretical implications of these findings, and also briefly consider the affective modulations of other cognitive control measures.

Using IoT devices for sensor-based monitoring of employees' mental workload: Investigating managers' expectations and concerns.

Although the objective assessment of mental workload has been a focus of human factors research, few studies have investigated stakeholders' attitudes towards its implementation in real workplaces. The present study addresses this research gap by surveying N = 702 managers in three European countries (Germany, United Kingdom, Spain) about their expectations and concerns regarding sensor-based monitoring of employee mental workload. The data confirm the relevance of expectations regarding improvements of workplace design and employee well-being, as well as concerns about restrictions of employees' privacy and sovereignty, for the implementation of workload monitoring. Furthermore, Bayesian regression models show that the examined expectations have a substantial positive association with managers' willingness to support workload monitoring in their company. Privacy concerns are identified as a significant barrier to the acceptance of workload monitoring, both in terms of their prevalence among managers and their strong negative relationship with monitoring support.

[Work design measures and solutions for dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic: A systematic analysis of work in the primary, secondary, and tertiary sectors in Germany]. / Maßnahmen und Lösungen zur Arbeitsgestaltung für den Umgang mit der COVID-19 Pandemie: Eine systematische Analyse der Arbeit im Primär­, Sekundär- und Tertiärsektor in Deutschland.

The demand to adapt the work processes to hygiene- and contact reduction requirements in order to curtail the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic in Germany has led to short-term and sometimes radical changes in companies and organizations. Based on 52 expert interviews with company and organization representatives, this research project analyzed which pandemic-related changes in the context of work occur on a supraregional and cross-sectoral level, how they are to be evaluated, and which new ways of working might also prove beneficial to companies after the pandemic. In line with existing studies, an increasing flexibilization of work location and working hours, an acceleration of the digitalization of work processes, and effects on leadership culture were identified. Other key experiences relate to the adaptation of internal and external communication processes and the operational handling of crisis-related challenges. Based on the results, good practices were derived in form of normative-narrative use-case based scenarios.Practical Relevance: Dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic has been the central challenge for many companies over the past year and a half. The presented results show measures that have been successfully implemented in practice to overcome the challenges posed by the crisis, as well as approaches for the future development of forms of work. The measures are contextualized by outlining necessary framework conditions and success factors, thus promoting transfer to other companies and sectors of the economy.

Mood state dissociates conflict adaptation within tasks and across tasks.

The present study investigated the influence of mood state (positive vs. negative) on the cognitive control process of conflict adaptation. A task-switching paradigm was applied, allowing to assess conflict adaptation both within tasks and across tasks. A success-failure manipulation was applied for mood induction. Within-task conflict adaptation tended to be larger in negative mood than in positive mood, in line with previous findings in the literature. Across-task conflict adaptation was also observed, but only in the positive mood group: Participants in positive mood showed larger conflict adaptation than participants in negative mood. We suggest that different cognitive mechanisms underlie this double dissociation: Within-task conflict adaptation is enhanced in negative mood because response conflict is aversive in nature, and is therefore congruent to negative mood states. Between-task conflict adaptation is only present in positive mood because of less distinct task representations under positive mood, leading conflict adaptation to transfer to the other task. The data show that influences of mood state on cognitive control are multifaceted, with some control processes being enhanced and others attenuated in negative relative to positive mood. (PsycINFO Database Record

CoCrMo alloy vs. UHMWPE Particulate Implant Debris Induces Sex Dependent Aseptic Osteolysis Responses In Vivo using a Murine Model.

BACKGROUND: The rate of revision for some designs of total hip replacements due to idiopathic aseptic loosening has been reported as higher for women. However, whether this is environmental or inherently sex-related is not clear. OBJECTIVE: Can particle induced osteolysis be sex dependent? And if so, is this dependent on the type of implant debris (e.g. metal vs polymer)? The objective of this study was to test for material dependent inflammatory osteolysis that may be linked to sex using CoCrMo and implant grade conventional polyethylene (UHMWPE), using an in vivo murine calvaria model. METHODS: Healthy 12 week old female and male C57BL/6J mice were treated with UHMWPE (1.0um ECD) or CoCrMo particles (0.9um ECD) or received sham surgery. Bone resorption was assessed by micro-computed tomography, histology and histomorphometry on day 12 post challenge. RESULTS: Female mice that received CoCrMo particles showed significantly more inflammatory osteolysis and bone destruction compared to the females who received UHMWPE implant debris. Moreover, females challenged with CoCrMo particles exhibited 120% more inflammatory bone loss compared to males (p<0.01) challenged with CoCrMo implant debris (but this was not the case for UHMWPE particles). CONCLUSION: We demonstrated sex-specific differences in the amount of osteolysis resulting from CoCrMo particle challenge. This suggests osteo-immune responses to metal debris are preferentially higher in female compared to male mice, and supports the contention that there may be inherent sex related susceptibility to some types of implant debris.