The research of glider pilot’s flying quality influencing personal stressors Aim of the study:To estimate the personal stressors influence to the flying quality of glider pilot’s. Methods:The instantaneous analytic research using questionnaires was made during the European gliding championship. Two types of questionnaires were created in English and given for the participants (n = 90) to fill every day, 90 before the flight and 90 after. All together 1.260 questionnaires were given and 742 were returned (58.9%). Statistical analysis was made with „Statistica for Windows“ and Microsoft Excel programs. Results:Subjective pilots fatigue average increased 18.57% during the flight (stdev. 25.02%). At first fatigue increased, later decreased and at the end of the championship increased. Fatigue were increased by personal stressors, like the rest (r = 0.19, p<0.05), sleep duration (r = 0.15, p<0.05), coffee usage (r = 0.17, p<0.05). Fatigue decreased with tea usage (r = -0.19, p<0.05), short time of awake (r = -0.18, p<0.05). Most glider pilot’s noted that various health changes didn’t influence flying, but sweating importuned little. That was approved by objective measurements. Final results were determined by every day points (r = 0.57, p<0.05), pilot’s experience (r = 0.29, p<0.05), total flight time (r = 0.25, p<0.05), flight’s distance (r = 0.25, p<0.05), tea usage (r = 0.16, p<0.05), rest (r = 0.14, p<0.05). Negative influence to the results were made by sweating (r = -0.21... [to full text]

Syftet med denna uppsats var att undersöka om RTK – tekniken (Real Time Kinematik) i framtiden kan komma att användas vid lotsning i Sverige, ombord på fartyg med begränsat vattendjup under kölen.  Squateffekten påverkar fartyg vid passage över grunda partier i farleder och i kanaler. För att minska ner på squateffekten så kan man minska ned på farten eller ändra fartygets trim. Studien har utformats utefter en kvalitativ metod, som handlar om att man väljer att bearbeta och analysera sin information genom att verbala analysmetoder används. Detta har genomförts genom att intervjua ett antal utvalda lotsar som både är insatta samt mindre insatta i tekniken. På så sätt belystes olika aspekter på tekniken och ifall det finns andra områden som lotsarna kan ha nytta utav denna utrustning i sitt dagliga arbete. Vid genomförandet av uppsatsen valdes en systematisk litteraturstudie. Sökningar genomfördes globalt för att få fram information om var det skett olyckor pga. squateffektens inverkan samt vilka länder som genomfört tester ombord med RTK-tekniken. Resultatet av ett användande av RTK-tekniken är att lotsar och sjöbefäl har möjlighet att få reda på hur fartyget rör sig och när det då utsätts för squateffekten. Detta för RTK-tekniken har möjlighet att ge information om hur fartyget rör sig med en noggrannhet på 3-4 centimeter i alla led samt få en exaktare hastighet även i sidled. Det finns även möjlighet att få fram en tredimensionell bild över fartyget. Resultat visar också att det finns ett behov och intresse för fler tester med RTK-tekniken. Med stöd av RTK-tekniken finns det möjlighet att få fram en bättre positionering och att ha en bättre översikt på hur fartyget rör sig samt i vilken hastighet. Resultatet visade också att tekniken är användbar för lotsarna och på vilket sätt den kan underlätta i deras dagliga arbete. / The purpose of this study was to investigate whether RTK - technology (Real Time Kinematic) in the future may be used for piloting in Sweden, on board vessels with limited depth of water under the keel. The squat effect cured vessels when they passing over an area of shallow waters in a fairway or a channel. To reduce the squat effect it can be done to increase the speed or change the trim of the vessel. The study has been designed along a qualitative method, which is about one chooses to process and analyze their information by verbal analysis methods. This has been carried out by interviewing a number of selected pilots that are both familiar and less familiar with the technology. In this way, highlighted various aspects of the technology and whether there are other areas that pilots can use this equipment in their daily work. In the implementation of the essay was elected a systematic literature. It was conducted a global search to obtain information about where the accident occurred of the squat effect and which countries that have been tested this technology onboard. The result of the RTK-technology is that pilots and ship's officers have the opportunity to find out how the vessel is moving and when it is exposed of the squat effect. The RTK-technology are able to provide information how the vessel move with an accuracy of 3-4 centimeters at every stage and get a more exact speed even in sideways. It is also possible to obtain a three-dimensional image of the vessel. The results confirm that there is a need and an interest for further testing with the RTK-technology. The results also showed that the technology is useful for the pilots and how it can useful for them in their daily work.

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No description available.

Thesis (M.P.H.)--University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, School of Public Health, 2008. / Source: Masters Abstracts International, Volume: 46-06, page: 3262. Adviser: John R. Herbold. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--West Virginia University, 2009. / Title from document title page. Document formatted into pages; contains x, 431 p. : ill. (some col.). Includes abstract. Includes bibliographical references (p. 416-431).

Zugl.: Neubiberg, Univ. der Bundeswehr München, Diss., 2006

Thesis (M.A.)--Missouri State University, 2009. / "May 2009." Includes bibliographical references (leaves 70-76). Also available online.

Les exigences opérationnelles du métier de pilote sont susceptibles d'engendrer de la somnolence et des niveaux de charge mentale inadéquats (i.e., trop faible ou trop élevé) au cours des vols. Les dettes de sommeil et les perturbations circadiennes liées à divers facteurs (e.g., longues périodes de services, horaires de travail irrégulier, etc.) demandent aux pilotes de repousser sans cesse leurs limites biologiques. Par ailleurs, la charge de travail mental des pilotes présente de fortes variations au cours d'un vol : élevée au cours des phases critiques (i.e., décollage et atterrissage), elle devient très réduite pendant les phases de croisière. Lorsque la charge mentale devient trop élevée ou, à l'inverse, trop faible, les performances se dégradent et des erreurs de pilotage peuvent apparaître. La mise en oeuvre de méthodes de détection de l'état de somnolence et du niveau de charge mentale en temps quasi réel est un défi majeur pour le suivi et le contrôle de l'activité de pilotage. L'objectif de la thèse est de déterminer si la voix humaine peut permettre de détecter d'une part, l'état de somnolence et d'autre part, le niveau de charge mentale d'un individu. Dans une première étude, la voix de participants a été enregistrée lors d'une tâche de lecture avant et après une nuit de privation totale de sommeil (PTS). Les variations de l'état de somnolence consécutives à la PTS ont été évaluées au moyen de mesures auto-évaluatives et électrophysiologiques (ÉlectroEncéphaloGraphie [EEG] et Potentiels Évoqués [PEs]). Les résultats ont montré une variation significative après la PTS de plusieurs paramètres acoustiques liés : (a) à l'amplitude des impulsions glottiques (fréquence de modulation d'amplitude), (b) à la forme du signal acoustique (longueur euclidienne du signal et ses caractéristiques associées) et (c) au spectre du signal des voyelles (rapport harmonique sur bruit, fréquence du second formant, coefficient d'asymétrie, centre de gravité spectral, différences d'énergie, pente spectrale et coefficients cepstraux à échelle Mel). La plupart des caractéristiques spectrales ont montré une sensibilité différente à la privation de sommeil en fonction du type de voyelles. Des corrélations significatives ont été mises en évidence entre plusieurs paramètres acoustiques et plusieurs indicateurs objectifs (EEG et PEs) de l'état de somnolence. Dans une seconde étude, le signal vocal a été enregistré durant une tâche de rappel de listes de mots. La difficulté de la tâche était manipulée en faisant varier le nombre de mots dans chaque liste (i.e., entre un et sept, correspondant à sept conditions de charge mentale). Le diamètre pupillaire - qui est un indicateur objectif pertinent du niveau de charge mentale - a été mesuré simultanément avec l'enregistrement de la voix afin d'attester de la variation du niveau de charge mentale durant la tâche expérimentale. Les résultats ont montré que des paramètres acoustiques classiques (fréquence fondamentale et son écart type, shimmer, nombre de périodes et rapport harmonique sur bruit) et originaux (fréquence de modulation d'amplitude et variations à court-terme de la longueur euclidienne du signal) ont été particulièrement sensibles aux variations de la charge mentale. Les variations de ces paramètres acoustiques étaient corrélées à celles du diamètre pupillaire. L'ensemble des résultats suggère que les paramètres acoustiques de la voix humaine identifiés lors des expérimentations pourraient représenter des indicateurs pertinents pour la détection de l'état de somnolence et du niveau de charge mentale d'un individu. Les résultats ouvrent de nombreuses perspectives de recherche et d'applications dans le domaine de la sécurité des transports, notamment dans le secteur aéronautique. / Operational requirements of aircraft pilots may cause drowsiness and inadequate mental load levels (i.e., too low or too high) during flights. Sleep debts and circadian disruptions linked to various factors (e.g., long working periods, irregular work schedules, etc.) require pilots to challenge their biological limits. Moreover, pilots' mental workload exhibits strong fluctuations during flights: higher during critical phases (i.e., takeoff and landing), it becomes very low during cruising phases. When the mental load becomes too high or, conversely, too low, performance decreases and flight errors may manifest. Implementation of detection methods of drowsiness and mental load levels in near real time is a major challenge for monitoring and controlling flight activity. The aim of this thesis is therefore to determine if the human voice can serve to detect on one hand the drowsiness and on the other hand the mental load level of an individual. In a first study, the voice of participants was recorded during a reading task before and after a night of total sleep deprivation (TSD). Drowsiness variations linked to TSD were assessed using self-evaluative and electrophysiological measures (ElectroEncephaloGraphy [EEG] and Evoked Potentials [EPs]). Results showed significant variations after the TSD in many acoustic features related to: (a) the amplitude of the glottal pulses (amplitude modulation frequency), (b) the shape of the acoustic wave (Euclidean length of the signal and its associated features) and (3) the spectrum of the vowel signal (harmonic-to-noise ratio, second formant frequency, skewness, spectral center of gravity, energy differences, spectral tilt and Mel-frequency cepstral coefficients). Most spectral features showed different sensitivity to sleep deprivation depending on the vowel type. Significant correlations were found between several acoustic features and several objective indicators (EEG and PEs) of drowsiness. In a second study, voices were recorded during a task featuring word-list recall. The difficulty of the task was manipulated by varying the number of words in each list (i.e., between one and seven, corresponding to seven mental load conditions). Evoked pupillary response - known to be a useful proxy of mental load - was recorded simultaneously with speech to attest variations in mental load level during the experimental task. Results showed that classical features (fundamental frequency and its standard deviation, shimmer, number of periods and harmonic-to-noise ratio) and original features (amplitude modulation frequency and short-term variation in digital amplitude length) were particularly sensitive to variations in mental load. Variations in these acoustic features were correlated to those of the pupil size. Results suggest that the acoustic features of the human voice identified during these experiments could represent relevant indicators for the detection of drowsiness and mental load levels of an individual. Findings open up many research and applications perspectives in the field of transport safety, particularly in the aeronautical sector.

The reality of modern military training is the rapprochement of nations and the construction of military alliances to enhance nations defense cooperation and expand capabilities. Preparing for this scenario of cultural diversity is the challenge in designing military training programs for different groups. While training has a basic structure, different cultural environments require different approaches. Using a quantitative method, collected through a survey study, this thesis examines Brazilian and Swedish fighter pilots' perceptions of organizational culture and its impact on training. The flight simulator training environment was used for operationalization due to its characteristics of accessibility, fidelity to real operations, and flexibility in the training program.  The results showed that organizational culture was identified with a statistically significant difference in the indexes of individualism, masculinity, uncertainty avoidance, and indulgence between the two populations studied. This has implications for both training planning and capability management in the Air Force.