Thesis (B.Sc. (Hons.)) -- from the Department of Psychology, University of Adelaide, 1977.

Thesis (M. Med. Sc.)--University of Hong Kong, 2005.

The aim of the study is to compare the ergonomic characteristics of swiveling forwarder cab with standard fixed cab. There are compared data measured during the operator's workshift inside both types of cabs. Part of the operator's shift proceeded after dark, while the effect of different workload and two different types of reflectors was evaluated. Additional reference measurements were carried out during the work with the simulator of harvester technology. The measured data representing the progress of physiological functions of the operator, responsive to the degree of the workload. A prerequisite is a system and an integrative approach and orientation about how interdisciplinary processing, in particular with regard to link topics, such as health and safety at work, stress and strain. The contents of the theoretical part of the work gives an overview of the background and the most important knowledge on the basis of study and analysis of available relevant literature of our and foreign provenance, formulates hypotheses basic research assumptions and the method of authentication. Data obtained using the measuring apparatus Biofeedback 2000 x-pert are evaluated in the practical part. The intention of the discussion is to compare the results with data in the literature, indicate the open questions and options of the application. The conclusions are incorporated into a broader context and compared with available literature.

The present study directly contrasted the efficacy of biofeedback-assisted cue-controlled relaxation, biofeedback-assisted metronome -conditioned relaxation, and both procedures combined via one physiological and one subjective measure of relaxation under no-stress and stress conditions.

This is a master thesis project written at the School of Technology and Health within KTH, Flemingsberg. It consisted of making improvements in an existing application for tablets used for training HRV biofeedback that was developed as part of an earlier master thesis within the same school. The software involves the user in paced breathing according to an established method. The method with HRV biofeedback visualises and trains HRV while the user performs paced breathing. This means that the user maximises the variations of time between heart beats which may have potential to reduce stress and sustain health. To improve the software developed earlier at KTH a new graphical user interface was implemented in form of a simple game. In addition further aspects of the program were improved. Furthermore, this thesis tried to find evidence for the optimal frequency and duration of HRV biofeedback training for healthy individuals. For this purpose a literature review was performed, showing a lack of evidence for the effectiveness of HRV biofeedback training in healthy individuals. Therefore a study protocol was developed that can be used in future studies aimed at finding the optimal dosage of HRV biofeedback. / Det här är en rapport från ett examensarbete på masternivå utfört på KTH, Skolan för teknik och hälsa i Flemingsberg. Arbetet handlar om att vidareutveckla en mobil applikation för surfplattor som utvecklats i ett tidigare masterprojekt. Programmet engagerar användaren i andning efter en specifik metod. Metoden med HRV biofeedback bygger på att visualisera och träna upp HRV medan man andas. Detta innebär att maximera de varierande tidsintervallen mellan hjärtats slag vilket har potential att fungera som en behandlingsmetod för att reducera stress och bibehålla god hälsa. Genom att programmera i Java och implementera en ny spelvy i det existerande programmet har applikationen förbättrats. Även andra aspekter av programmet har förbättrats. Arbetet har också inneburit att hitta svar på frågor om optimal dosering och frekvens för träning med HRV biofeedback för att detta ska kunna ge långsiktiga effekter på HRV. En litteraturstudie utfördes för att finna svar på dessa frågor. Det saknas dock studier som påvisar positiva långvariga effekter på hjärtats variabilitet hos friska personer. Därför har ett testprotokoll föreslagits vilket kan vara en grund för att i framtiden göra en studie för att vidare utforska dessa frågor.

Physical inactivity, a phenomenon on the rise in numerous countries, has gained global attention because of its negative effects on humans' physical wellness. It represents a stumbling block in the way of living a healthy lifestyle. Recent statistics of World Health Organization (WHO) ranked physical inactivity as the fourth leading risk factors for adults' mortality all over the world [1]. Also, physical inactivity is considered as one of the most prominent contributing factors in several severe diseases such as breast and colon cancer, diabetes and many heart- related diseases [1]. Therefore, improving daily physical activity levels is an urgent societal goal in order to tackle the physical inactivity problem. Achieving such challenging goal requires addressing the factors that affect adults’ physical activity. In fact, there are many factors that lead to physical inactivity such as the busy lifestyle, lack of awareness regarding required physical activity levels and other environmental factors. Physical activity advisory systems can be seen as a promising solution for the inactivity problem. In order to enhance their effectiveness, these systems must take into account most of the factors previously mentioned. In this thesis, we aim to provide a method to promote the increase of daily physical activity levels by leveraging biofeedback and context awareness features. In order to achieve this purpose, we design and develop an algorithm that provides a user with personalized physical activity advice. This advice increases the user's awareness through the use of calories expenditure. To add a context awareness component to our algorithm, we propose an extension of the Ubiquitous Biofeedback (UB) Model [2]. We believe that combining the biofeedback feature with context awareness component would make the system sensitive to the user’s status and thus increase the chances of her or him following it. This advice represents the daily-recommended amount of physical activity for maintaining healthy lifestyle according to [3, 4]and other international organizations' recommendations. In order to prove the concept of the proposed algorithm and extended UB Model, we design and develop a system called "CAB". It is a context aware biofeedback system that tracks user's physical movement and estimates the amount of calories burnt to provide the user with a personalized physical activity advice that considers user's current status, preferences and surrounding environmental context. The system utilizes a biofeedback sensor and a smart phone in order to provide the personalized advice that is delivered to the user in a form of multiple-mode feedback/notification (text, audio and haptic). In this thesis, we provide detailed information about the design requirements, the design model, the proposed system and its related hardware components and software modules. The qualitative and quantitative evaluation of the developed system CAB shows a positive impact on the experiment sample group by motivating the participants to reach or exceed the recommended number of calories to be burned daily for most of the evaluation days.

Decreases in overall well-being and daily functioning result from unpleasant and uncomfortable symptoms associated with physical health and mental health disorders. Neurofeedback training, rooted in the theory of operant conditioning, presents the possibility of increasing brain wave regulation, decreasing symptoms experienced from abnormal brain wave activity, and increasing overall well-being and daily functioning. The efficacy of neurofeedback for physical and mental health outcomes is unclear, contributing to confusion about the treatment and any potential benefits. In order to assess the efficacy of neurofeedback in the alleviation of physical health and mental health symptoms, a systematic review and meta-analysis of neurofeedback using a random effects model to generate the effect sizes was conducted on 21 studies with 22 comparisons that used neurofeedback to treat patients. The results showed that neurofeedback can be effective for physical and mental health outcomes, including for autism with an effect size of 0.29, tinnitus with an effect size of 0.77, schizophrenia with an effect size of 0.76, depression with an effect size of 0.28, insomnia with an effect size of 0.52, obesity with an effect size of 0.40, intellectual disability with an effect size of 0.73, and pain with an effect size of 0.30. Well-being and daily functioning for those with physical and mental health disorders can be improved. These findings have implications for clinical practice to help patients in treatment for physical and mental health problems, and also for social change by providing evidence for alternative health care options.

This study was concerned with determining the effect of two levels of electromyogram (EMG) induced physiological arousal and therapeutic instructions on self-reported test anxiety, test performance, and on-task behavior. The rationale for such a study is the fact that treatments of test anxiety have presented inconsistent results. Little research has been undertaken with regard to the effect of EMG biofeedback as a treatment for test anxiety or non-specific effects associated with such a treatment. Results indicated that self-reported test anxiety was significantly higher (p<.05) under the high physiological arousal condition than under the low physiological arousal condition and that self-reported on-task behavior was significantly greater (p < .05) for the positive therapeutic instruction group. Physiological arousal levels did not have any significant effect upon test performance or self-reported on-task behavior. Also, therapeutic instructions did not have a significant effect on self-reported test anxiety or test performance. The results indicated a cognitive change with regard to test anxiety which was not reflected in test performance. Also, on-task behavior did not enhance test performance

The assumption that EMG biofeedback cultivates an antistress response was tested under stress conditions while investigating the comparative efficacy of low versus high arousal treatment strategies. Biofeedback-assisted, cue-controlled relaxation training was used as the low arousal treatment strategy for half of the 20 normal subjects used in the study. The other half received a high arousal treatment strategy which used the same training in combination with an avoidance conditioning procedure. In this procedure mild electric shock was used as contingent aversive stimulation designed to reinforce relaxation responses. Both groups received four in-lab training sessions with a 4-day interim of home practice of cuecontrolled relaxation prior to the last in-lab training session. Pretraining assessment consisted of four 10-minute periods of alternating no-stress and stress conditions. Mild electric shock and loud tones were used as stressors. Posttraining assessment was identical to pre training except subjects employed self-directed, cue-controlled relaxation rather than self-directed relaxation based on instructions without training. Frontal EMG, subjective mental and muscle tension ratings, and behavioral observations of relaxation behavior served as dependent measures during pre- and posttraining assessment. EMG readings were used during in-lab training and the two subjective rating scales were used during home practice.

This study compares the relative efficacy of systolic and diastolic biofeedback in lowering the systolic and diastolic blood pressures of normotensives. The importance of testing these biofeedback procedures lies in assessment of their potential as blood pressure self-control techniques for the treatment of essential hypertension.