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Objective Work-related musculoskeletal disorders are one of dentists’ most common occupational health problems. Human error is considered one of the critical factors of medical error. Musculoskeletal abnormality due to inappropriate work postures and mental workload are two important causes of human error in dental operations. Hence, this study investigates dentists’ mental workload and the incidence of skeletal-muscular disorders. Materials & Methods A cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted in Shahid Shukri Dental Hospital in 2021. The sampling was done via the targeted sampling method and 42 individuals were included in the study. The NASA task load index and the Nordic questionnaire were used to collect the data. Data analysis was done using the SPSS software, version 26, at the significance level of 0.05. Results The average percentage of disorders were as follows: Neck area=30.1%, left shoulder=11.76%, right shoulder=13.74%, right elbow=9.23%, left elbow=6.56%, right wrist=28%, left-hand wrist=25.06%, upper back area=20.1%, waist=13.8%, hip and thigh=17.1%, knee=26% and ankle=23.46%. Age and work experience had a significant relationship with the prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders (P

Objective Work-related musculoskeletal disorders are one of dentists’ most common occupational health problems. Human error is considered one of the critical factors of medical error. Musculoskeletal abnormality due to inappropriate work postures and mental workload are two important causes of human error in dental operations. Hence, this study investigates dentists’ mental workload and the incidence of skeletal-muscular disorders. Materials & Methods A cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted in Shahid Shukri Dental Hospital in 2021. The sampling was done via the targeted sampling method and 42 individuals were included in the study. The NASA task load index and the Nordic questionnaire were used to collect the data. Data analysis was done using the SPSS software, version 26, at the significance level of 0.05. Results The average percentage of disorders were as follows: Neck area=30.1%, left shoulder=11.76%, right shoulder=13.74%, right elbow=9.23%, left elbow=6.56%, right wrist=28%, left-hand wrist=25.06%, upper back area=20.1%, waist=13.8%, hip and thigh=17.1%, knee=26% and ankle=23.46%. Age and work experience had a significant relationship with the prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders (P<0.05). The effort component with a Mean±SD of 74.95±22.16 received the highest score and discouragement with a Mean±SD of 49.92±26 got the lowest score compared to other components. The central sterilization department, with a mean of 67.41±24.86, exhibited a higher mental workload than other departments. In contrast, the admission department, with a mean of 50.72±26.59, reported a lower mental workload than other cases. Conclusion Musculoskeletal disorders are related to workload and work capacity. Creating suitable working conditions, providing more training programs to employees, and strengthening their mental workload capacity can help prevent occupational injuries in the workplace. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Patients face a challenging workload in their course of care. In this study, we investigate the impact of using mobile health technologies in supporting this workload and identify the system challenges of its application through a systematic review of the literature published in the last two decades following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis Reviews and Meta-Analysis guidelines PRISMA guidelines. Twenty-two studies that satisfied the inclusion criteria were included. The review revealed various mobile health and wearable devices used to support mental demand, physical demand, frustration, and performance. Better outcomes were related to mobile health use in healthcare for patients in different settings. There were no applications of health that supported the temporal demand of patients. Some populations, such as cancer patients, need more than only physical demand. Mhealth devices are important in supporting the patients' workload in their daily activities and clinical settings. Practitioner summary: This review study shows the importance of mHealth and wearables in supporting patients' workload (physical, mental, emotional) but not the temporal load. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Currently, there is limited evidence regarding various neurophysiological responses to strength exercise and the influence of the adopted practice schedule. This study aimed to assess the acute systemic effects of snatch training bouts, employing different motor learning models, on skill efficiency, electric brain activity (EEG), heart rate variability (HRV), and perceived exertion as well as mental demand in novices. In a within-subject design, sixteen highly active males (mean age: 23.13 ± 2.09 years) randomly performed snatch learning bouts consisting of 36 trials using repetitive learning (RL), contextual interference (blocked, CIb; and serial, CIs), and differential learning (DL) models. Spontaneous resting EEG and HRV activities were recorded at PRE and POST training bouts while measuring heart rate. Perceived exertion and mental demand were assessed immediately after, and barbell kinematics were recorded during three power snatch trials performed following the POST measurement. The results showed increases in alpha, beta, and gamma frequencies from pre- to post-training bouts in the majority of the tested brain regions (p values ranging from < 0.0001 to 0.02). The CIb model exhibited increased frequencies in more regions. Resting time domain HRV parameters were altered following the snatch bouts, with increased HR (p < 0.001) and decreased RR interval (p < 0.001), SDNN, and RMSSD (p values ranging from < 0.0001 to 0.02). DL showed more pronounced pulse-related changes (p = 0.01). Significant changes in HRV frequency domain parameters were observed, with a significant increase in LFn (p = 0.03) and a decrease in HFn (p = 0.001) registered only in the DL model. Elevated HR zones (> HR zone 3) were more dominant in the DL model during the snatch bouts (effect size = 0.5). Similarly, the DL model tended to exhibit higher perceived physical (effect size = 0.5) and mental exertions (effect size = 0.6). Despite the highest psycho-physiological response, the DL group showed one of the fewest significant EEG changes. There was no significant advantage of one learning model over the other in terms of technical efficiency. These findings offer preliminary support for the acute neurophysiological benefits of coordination-strength-based exercise in novices, particularly when employing a DL model. The advantages of combining EEG and HRV measurements for comprehensive monitoring and understanding of potential adaptations are also highlighted. However, further studies encompassing a broader range of coordination-strength-based exercises are warranted to corroborate these observations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Currently, there is limited evidence regarding various neurophysiological responses to strength exercise and the influence of the adopted practice schedule. This study aimed to assess the acute systemic effects of snatch training bouts, employing different motor learning models, on skill efficiency, electric brain activity (EEG), heart rate variability (HRV), and perceived exertion as well as mental demand in novices. In a within-subject design, sixteen highly active males (mean age: 23.13±2.09 years) randomly performed snatch learning bouts consisting of 36 trials using repetitive learning (RL), contextual interference (blocked, CIb; and serial, CIs), and differential learning (DL) models. Spontaneous resting EEG and HRV activities were recorded at PRE and POST training bouts while measuring heart rate. Perceived exertion and mental demand were assessed immediately after, and barbell kinematics were recorded during three power snatch trials performed following the POST measurement. The results showed increases in alpha, beta, and gamma frequencies from pre- to post-training bouts in the majority of the tested brain regions (p values ranging from < 0.0001 to 0.02). The CIb model exhibited increased frequencies in more regions. Resting time domain HRV parameters were altered following the snatch bouts, with increased HR (p < 0.001) and decreased RR interval (p < 0.001), SDNN, and RMSSD (p values ranging from HR zone 3) were more dominant in the DL model during the snatch bouts (effect size = 0.5). Similarly, the DL model tended to exhibit higher perceived physical (effect size = 0.5) and mental exertions (effect size = 0.6). Despite the highest psycho-physiological response, the DL group showed one of the fewest significant EEG changes. There was no significant advantage of one learning model over the other in terms of technical efficiency. These findings offer preliminary support for the acute neurophysiological benefits of coordination strength-based exercise in novices, particularly when employing a DL model. The advantages of combining EEG and HRV measurements for comprehensive monitoring and understanding of potential adaptations are also highlighted. However, further studies encompassing a broader range of coordination-strength-based exercises are warranted to corroborate these observations.

Purpose: To identify the association between several contextual match factors, technical performance, and external movement demands on the subjective task load of elite rugby league players. Methods: Individual subjective task load, quantified using the National Aeronautics and Space Administration Task Load Index (NASA-TLX), was collected from 29 professional rugby league players from one club competing in the European Super League throughout the 2017 season. The sample consisted of 26 matches (441 individual data points). Linear mixed modeling revealed that various combinations of contextual factors, technical performance, and movement demands were associated with subjective task load. Results: Greater number of tackles (effect size correlation ± 90% confidence intervals; η2 =.18 ±.11), errors (η2 =.15 ±.08), decelerations (η2 =.12 ±.08), increased sprint distance (η2 =.13 ±.08), losing matches (η2 =.36 ±.08), and increased perception of effort (η2 =.27 ±.08) led to most likely–very likely increases in subjective total task load. The independent variables included in the final model for subjective mental demand (match outcome, time played, and number of accelerations) were unclear, excluding a likely small correlation with technical errors (η2 =.10 ±.08). Conclusions: These data provide a greater understanding of the subjective task load and their association with several contextual factors, technical performance, and external movement demands during rugby league competition. Practitioners could use this detailed quantification of internal loads to inform recovery sessions and current training practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In our day to day social interactions, most of us have probably lied to someone at some point in time. We lie for a wide variety of reasons; some being the so-called 'white lies" that may seem trivial, others where the consequences of detection might be grave, as in cases involving the law. While some of us might succeed in deceiving others, some fail since many variables tend to contribute to this success or failure. In this light, the present pilot study investigated the difference in one's confidence in their ability to lie before and after telling a lie. They were also compared on self-reported anxiety, guilt, and mental demand. The sample included participants aged 20-30 years, middle class, from the urban population of Pune, Maharashtra (India). Data was gathered for two tasks namely, emotion and opinion. The participants were presented with the tasks and were given the choice of either lying or telling the truth about their feelings (emotion) and their opinions (opinion) in front of the interviewer which was simultaneously video recorded. t-test analysis indicated a significant difference in confidence levels for the opinion task, along with anxiety, guilt, and mental demand. The results have been discussed in the light of its implication. The limitations of the study and suggestions for further research have also been noted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While the importance of physical abilities is noncontested to perform in elite sport, more focus has recently been turned toward cognitive processes involved in sport performance. Practicing any sport requires a high demand of cognitive functioning including, but not limited to, decision-making, processing speed, working memory, perceptual processing, motor functioning, and attention. Noninvasive transcranial electrical stimulation (tES) has recently attracted considerable scientific interest due to its ability to modulate brain functioning. Neuromodulation apparently improves cognitive functions engaged in sports performance. This opinion manuscript aimed to reveal that tES is likely an adjunct ergogenic resource for improving cognitive processes, counteracting mental fatigue, and managing anxiety in elite athletes. Nevertheless, the first evidence is insufficient to guarantee its real effectiveness and benefits. All tES techniques could be add-ons to make performance-related cognitive functions more efficient and obtain better results. Modulating inhibitory control through tES over the frontal cortex might largely contribute to the improvement of mental performance. Nevertheless, studies in elite athletes are required to assess the long-term effects of tES application as an ergogenic aid in conjunction with other training methods (e.g., neurofeedback, mental imagery) where cognitive abilities are trainable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Eye tracking is a powerful tool for unobtrusive and real time assessment of workload in clinical settings. Before the complex eye tracking derived surrogates can be proactively utilized to improve surgical safety, the indications, validity and reliability requires careful evaluation. Methods We conducted a systematic review of literature from 2010 to 2020 according to PRISMA guidelines. A search on PubMed, Cochrane, Scopus, Web of science, PsycInfo and Google scholar databases was conducted on July 2020. The following search query was used” ("eye tracking" OR "gaze tracking") AND (surgery OR surgical OR operative OR intraoperative) AND (workload OR stress)”. Short papers, no peer reviewed or papers in which eye-tracking methodology was not used to investigate workload or stress factors in surgery, were omitted. Results A total of 17 (N = 17) studies were identified eligible to this review. Most of the studies (n = 15) measured workload in simulated setting. Task difficulty and expertise were the most studied factors. Studies consistently showed surgeon’s eye movements such as pupil responses, gaze patterns, blinks were associated with the level of perceived workload. However, differences between measurements in operational room and simulated environments have been found. Conclusion Pupil responses, blink rate and gaze indices are valid indicators of workload. However, the effect of distractions and non-technical factors on workload is underrepresented aspect in the literature even though recognized as underlying factors in successful surgery.

Increased cognitive workload (CWL) is a well-established entity that can impair surgical performance and increase the likelihood of surgical error. The use of pupil and gaze tracking data is increasingly being used to measure CWL objectively in surgery. The aim of this review is to summarize and synthesize the existing evidence that surrounds this. A systematic review was undertaken in accordance with Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines. A search of OVID MEDLINE, IEEE Xplore, Web of Science, Google Scholar, APA PsychINFO, and EMBASE was conducted for articles published in English between 1990 and January 2021. In total, 6791 articles were screened and 32 full-text articles were selected based on the inclusion criteria. A narrative analysis was undertaken in view of the heterogeneity of studies. Seventy-eight percent of selected studies were deemed high quality. The most frequent surgical environment and task studied was surgical simulation (75%) and performance of laparoscopic skills (56%) respectively. The results demonstrated that the current literature can be broadly categorized into pupil, blink, and gaze metrics used in the assessment of CWL. These can be further categorized according to their use in the context of CWL: (1) direct measurement of CWL (n = 16), (2) determination of expertise level (n = 14), and (3) predictors of performance (n = 2). Eye-tracking data provide a wealth of information; however, there is marked study heterogeneity. Pupil diameter and gaze entropy demonstrate promise in CWL assessment. Future work will entail the use of artificial intelligence in the form of deep learning and the use of a multisensor platform to accurately measure CWL. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Eye tracking is a powerful tool for unobtrusive and real time assessment of workload in clinical settings. Before the complex eye tracking derived surrogates can be proactively utilized to improve surgical safety, the indications, validity and reliability requires careful evaluation. Methods We conducted a systematic review of literature from 2010 to 2020 according to PRISMA guidelines. A search on PubMed, Cochrane, Scopus, Web of science, PsycInfo and Google scholar databases was conducted on July 2020. The following search query was used" ("eye tracking" OR "gaze tracking") AND (surgery OR surgical OR operative OR intraoperative) AND (workload OR stress)". Short papers, no peer reviewed or papers in which eye-tracking methodology was not used to investigate workload or stress factors in surgery, were omitted. Results A total of 17 (N = 17) studies were identified eligible to this review. Most of the studies (n = 15) measured workload in simulated setting. Task difficulty and expertise were the most studied factors. Studies consistently showed surgeon's eye movements such as pupil responses, gaze patterns, blinks were associated with the level of perceived workload. However, differences between measurements in operational room and simulated environments have been found. Conclusion Pupil responses, blink rate and gaze indices are valid indicators of workload. However, the effect of distractions and non-technical factors on workload is underrepresented aspect in the literature even though recognized as underlying factors in successful surgery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND: Call center workers are highly susceptible to work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WRMSDs) as well as mental stress. Nonetheless, there has been a surprising paucity in the body of the research regarding interventions among call center workers. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effectiveness of a multicomponent ergonomic intervention program on mental workload, mental fatigue and WRMSDs of call center employees. METHOD: A non-randomized interventional study with a single group pretest-posttest design was conducted among 84 call center workers of a private telecommunication company in the city of Tehran, Iran. At the baseline, data regarding WRMSDs prevalence, mental workload and mental fatigue were collected by means of standard Nordic, NASA-TLX and SOFI questionnaires, respectively. Then, subjects participated in a multifaceted intervention program including comprehensive office ergonomic training, work layout improvement, supervised on-site face to face visits, and provision of quality break time encompassing regular exercise program. Follow-up assessment was carried out after 6 months. RESULTS: After the intervention, prevalence of WMSDs in the neck (10%, P = 0.022), lower back (8.4%, P = 0.04), and knees (9.5%, P = 0.02) decreased significantly, while improvements in other body areas remained insignificant. Results also showed a significant decrease in overall score of mental demand (P = 0.000) as well as three of its subscales including performance (P = 0.02), effort (P = 0.001), and frustration (P = 0.025). Additionally, positive effect of the intervention was also observable on overall mental fatigue of call center workers (P = 0.016). As for its subscales, Lack of energy was reported to decrease meaningfully (P = 0.007) while lack of motivation did not change significantly (P = 0.240). CONCLUSION: Although the primary focus of many ergonomic interventions has remained to measure physical outcomes of the work place, our findings show that multicomponent interventions are indeed capable of boosting cognitive aspects of the work as well. The future studies should consider investigating such outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Appropriate training burden monitoring is still a challenge for the support staff, athletes, and coaches. Extensive research has been done in recent years that proposes several external and internal indicators. Among all measurements, the importance of cognitive factors has been indicated but has never been really considered in the training monitoring process. While there is strong evidence supporting the use of cognitive demand indicators in cognitive neuroscience, their importance in training monitoring for multiple sports settings must be better emphasized. The aims of this scoping review are to (1) provide an overview of the cognitive demand concept beside the physical demand in training; (2) highlight the current methods for assessing cognitive demand in an applied setting to sports in part through a neuroergonomics approach; (3) show how cognitive demand metrics can be exploited and applied to our better understanding of fatigue, sport injury, overtraining and individual performance capabilities. This review highlights also the potential new ways of brain imaging approaches for monitoring in situ. While assessment of cognitive demand is still in its infancy in sport, it may represent a very fruitful approach if applied with rigorous protocols and deep knowledge of both the neurobehavioral and cognitive aspects. It is time now to consider the cognitive demand to avoid underestimating the total training burden and its management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Covid-19 has forced most educational institutions around the world to migrate to online learning in an emergency mode to protect students from the pandemic. This sudden migration to online learning has created multi-dimensional demands on students. Therefore, student workload needs to be measured during online learning. The purpose of this study is to measure the student workload from student perception by evaluating online learning in terms of Mental demand (MD), Physical demand (PD), Temporal demand (TD), Effort (EF), Performance (PE) and Frustration (FR). This study through a cross-sectional survey analysed 223 student’s workloads on six dimensions using a NASA -TLX scale. The study finds all six components of workload significant for student assessment during online learning. Besides, the NASA-TLX scale was tested using confirmatory factor analysis for its ability to assess student workload for online learning. This is the first study to assess the student workload for online learning and hence contributes to the theory of measurement of workload assessment for online learning. The educational institutions can use this study to measure the student workload assessment for various courses offered by them using this simple tool. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Covid-19 has forced most educational institutions around the world to migrate to online learning in an emergency mode to protect students from the pandemic. This sudden migration to online learning has created multi-dimensional demands on students. Therefore, student workload needs to be measured during online learning. The purpose of this study is to measure the student workload from student perception by evaluating online learning in terms of Mental demand (MD), Physical demand (PD), Temporal demand (TD), Effort (EF), Performance (PE) and Frustration (FR). This study through a cross-sectional survey analysed 223 student’s workloads on six dimensions using a NASA -TLX scale. The study finds all six components of workload significant for student assessment during online learning. Besides, the NASA-TLX scale was tested using confirmatory factor analysis for its ability to assess student workload for online learning. This is the first study to assess the student workload for online learning and hence contributes to the theory of measurement of workload assessment for online learning. The educational institutions can use this study to measure the student workload assessment for various courses offered by them using this simple tool.

While the importance of physical abilities is noncontested to perform in elite sport, more focus has recently been turned toward cognitive processes involved in sport performance. Practicing any sport requires a high demand of cognitive functioning including, but not limited to, decision-making, processing speed, working memory, perceptual processing, motor functioning, and attention. Noninvasive transcranial electrical stimulation (tES) has recently attracted considerable scientific interest due to its ability to modulate brain functioning. Neuromodulation apparently improves cognitive functions engaged in sports performance. This opinion manuscript aimed to reveal that tES is likely an adjunct ergogenic resource for improving cognitive processes, counteracting mental fatigue, and managing anxiety in elite athletes. Nevertheless, the first evidence is insufficient to guarantee its real effectiveness and benefits. All tES techniques could be add-ons to make performance-related cognitive functions more efficient and obtain better results. Modulating inhibitory control through tES over the frontal cortex might largely contribute to the improvement of mental performance. Nevertheless, studies in elite athletes are required to assess the long-term effects of tES application as an ergogenic aid in conjunction with other training methods (e.g., neurofeedback, mental imagery) where cognitive abilities are trainable.

Humans tend to avoid cognitive effort. Whereas evidence of this abounds in adults, little is known about its emergence and development in childhood. The few existing studies in children use different experimental paradigms and report contradictory developmental patterns. We examined effort-related decision-making in a sample of 79 five- to 11-year-olds using a parametric induction of cognitive effort and three paradigms that each involved decision-making between low- and high-effort options but varied in how explicit effort was made. This included a demand avoidance and an effort discounting paradigm. We also probed cognitive processes linked to effort-related decisions, including task performance, metacognitive accuracy, effort perception, and mental demand. We found that children of all ages were sensitive to parametric modulations of cognitive effort as indicated by self-report. In terms of effort-related decision-making we found that overall children demonstrated no implicit behavioral preference for low effort tasks, that older children stated a preference for low effort tasks, and that all children discounted effort. Further, implicit preference in the demand avoidance paradigm was linked to children's metacognitive insight into how well they could perform effortful tasks. These findings strongly suggest that although children are clearly sensitive to manipulations of cognitive effort, whether and when they use this information to guide their decisions to engage in effortful tasks depends strongly on the extent to which effortful features are made salient to them. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Appropriate training burden monitoring is still a challenge for the support staff, athletes, and coaches. Extensive research has been done in recent years that proposes several external and internal indicators. Among all measurements, the importance of cognitive factors has been indicated but has never been really considered in the training monitoring process. While there is strong evidence supporting the use of cognitive demand indicators in cognitive neuroscience, their importance in training monitoring for multiple sports settings must be better emphasized. The aims of this scoping review are to (1) provide an overview of the cognitive demand concept beside the physical demand in training; (2) highlight the current methods for assessing cognitive demand in an applied setting to sports in part through a neuroergonomics approach; (3) show how cognitive demand metrics can be exploited and applied to our better understanding of fatigue, sport injury, overtraining and individual performance capabilities. This review highlights also the potential new ways of brain imaging approaches for monitoring in situ. While assessment of cognitive demand is still in its infancy in sport, it may represent a very fruitful approach if applied with rigorous protocols and deep knowledge of both the neurobehavioral and cognitive aspects. It is time now to consider the cognitive demand to avoid underestimating the total training burden and its management.

Objective: With advancements in surgical equipment and procedures, human--system interactions in operating rooms affect surgeon workload and performance. Workload was measured across surgical specialties using surveys to identify potential predictors of high workload for future performance improvement. Summary Background Data: Surgical instrumentation and technique advancements have implications for surgeon workload and human--systems interactions. To understand and improve the interaction of components in the work system, NASA-Task Load Index can measure workload across various fields. Baseline workload measurements provide a broad overview of the field and identify areas most in need of improvement. Methods: Surgeons were administered a modified NASA-Task Load Index survey (0¼low, 20¼high) following each procedure. Patient and procedural factors were retrieved retrospectively. Results: Thirty-four surgeons (41% female) completed 662 surgery surveys (M ¼ 14.85, SD ¼ 7.94), of which 506 (76%) have associated patient and procedural data. Mental demand (M ¼ 7.7, SD ¼ 5.56), physical demand (M ¼ 7.0, SD ¼ 5.66), and effort (M ¼ 7.8, SD ¼ 5.77) were the highest rated workload subscales. Surgeons reported difficulty levels higher than expected for 22% of procedures, during which workload was significantly higher (P < 0.05) and procedural durations were significantly longer (P > 0.001). Surgeons reported poorer perceived performance during cases with unexpectedly high difficulty (P < 0.001). Conclusions: When procedural difficulty is greater than expected, there are negative implications for mental and physical demand that result in poorer perceived performance. Investigations are underway to identify patient and surgical variables associated with unexpected difficulty and high workload. Future efforts will focus on re-engineering the surgical planning process and procedural environment to optimize workload and performance for improved surgical care. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Automated Vehicle (AV) systems are expected to reduce the frequency and severity of on-road collisions. Unless drivers have an appropriate mental model for the capabilities and limitations of the automation, they may not activate the automation safely or appropriately on the road, potentially leading to a collision. As such, a training package (L4DTP) was developed to improve drivers' decisions and behaviour when activating an AV system and this was evaluated in a between-subjects simulator experiment. Drivers received no training (NT, control group), read an owner's manual (OM, experimental group 1: current training provision) or underwent the L4DTP (experimental group 2: new training programme). All drivers then experienced five scenarios in a driving simulator where they encountered road conditions which were safe and unsafe for activation. Their activation decisions, behaviour, trust in automation, workload and mental models were measured. This experiment found that drivers who read the OM or underwent the L4DTP made better activation decisions and showed better activation behaviour compared to drivers who received NT. Additionally, drivers who underwent the L4DTP found it easier, less demanding and felt under less time pressure when making their decisions, had to expend less effort to reach the same activation performance and had more appropriate and comprehensive mental models for when the automation can be activated compared to drivers who read the OM. This L4DTP can make roads safer by reducing collisions linked to poor activation decisions and behaviour. Therefore, there is the potential for a real benefit for society if this training programme is adopted into mandatory AV driver training. • A training package was developed for the safe activation of an AV system (L4DTP). • The L4DTP was compared to no training and an owner's manual in a driving simulator. • Owner's manual and L4DTP drivers showed better activation decisions and behaviour. • The L4DTP drivers experienced a lower mental demand when making their decisions. • The L4DTP drivers had more appropriate and comprehensive activation mental models. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examined the influence of automation reliability on task-unrelated mind wandering (MW) frequency and the impact of MW on task engagement. Automated environment features make it particularly prone to increase MW frequency. Through mechanisms like complacency or agency, automating a task could increase MW frequency for the operator. For safety-critical industries, the lower perception and degraded stimuli processing associated with MW, summarized by the term "decoupling hypothesis," are particularly concerning. Sixteen participants supervised an autopilot avoiding obstacles with two levels of reliability. Each condition lasted 45 min. We recorded thoughts as either pertaining to being focused, task-related MW or task-unrelated MW. We also recorded perceived mental demand, trust regarding the autopilot and oculometric measures. Based on questionnaire results, our protocol succeeded in inducing more mental demand and lower trust when the automation was unreliable. Attentional states were not correlated, nor did it influence trust in the system reliability. On the contrary, mental demand ratings and pupil diameter were lower during both task-related and task-unrelated MW, compared to those during the focus attentional state. This shows that perceptual decoupling also affects the engagement of operators in automated environments, which may dramatically lower their ability to supervise automation efficiently. This research informs human-automation designers to consider operator engagement when creating automated systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Neonatal nurse practitioner (NNP) workload is not well studied, and metrics specific to NNP practice are lacking. Factors such as changes in resident duty hours, increasing neonatal intensive care unit admissions, and a shortage of NNPs contribute to NNP workload. Increased workload has been shown to be detrimental to providers and can affect quality of care.Purpose: This study quantified NNP workload using a subjective workload metric, the NASA Task Load Index, and a newly developed objective workload metric specific to NNP practice.Methods: The NNP group at a level IV academic medical center was studied. The sample included 22 NNPs and 47 workload experiences.Results: A comparison of scores from the NASA Task Load Index and objective workload metric showed a moderate correlation (r = 0.503). Mental demand workload scores had the highest contribution to workload. Feelings of frustration also contributed to workload.Implications For Practice: The NASA Task Load Index can be utilized to measure the workload of NNPs. The objective workload metric has potential to quantify NNP workload pending further validation studies and is a simple, straightforward tool.Implications For Research: Additional research is needed regarding NNP workload and methods to quantify workload. Larger studies are needed to validate the objective workload metric. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]