Thesis (M.S.)--University of Wisconsin--Madison, 1970. / eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references.

ABTRACT Title: Influence of personality to cope with new motoric skills among beginning indoor skydivers. Objectives: The main objective of this work is to determine whether there is a link between the performance of the indoor skydiving for beginners and their personalities, eventually their level of anxiety before this sport. Methods: Literature search, the implementation of a questionnaire survey, observation, analysis and evaluation of data, graphical presentation of results. Results: Extraversion, openness to experience and situational anxiety - only these of observed factors have impact on the performance the indoor skydiving. Extraversion and openness to experience affect performance in direct proportion, to the contrary, situational anxiety affects it inversely proportional. Key words: Motoric learning, indoor skydiving, beginners, personality

We attempted to identify the psychobiological mechanisms that mediate the process by which the sensation seeking trait culminates in behavior. We used the Sensation Seeking Scales to assess the SS trait in individuals who expressed a desire to skydive. We obtained measures of autonomic (heart rate) and endocrine (salivary cortisol) activity before, during and after skydiving. To distinguish the contribution of novelty, we compared novices (N=29) to experienced jumpers (N=15). All jumpers exhibited HPA-axis activation; novices exhibited a prolonged response and more extreme peak in cortisol compared to experienced jumpers, suggesting that novelty contributes to an intense pattern of stress responding. Both groups displayed increases in heart rate; there were no significant differences between the groups, indicating that repeated exposure to the stressor did not habituate this system. We provided evidence that the stress response systems instantiate novelty and risk to motivate and reward behavioral expressions of the SS trait.

The purpose of this study is to examine if testosterone shows reactivity to skydiving and to examine whether the testosterone level and reactivity was associated with sex and sensation seeking trait of the participants. Testosterone is an important steroid hormone which has several biological and socio-behavioral effects on people and is also present in disproportionate amounts in males and females; thus, it is important to explore how this hormone acts in different sex. Furthermore, exploring the relationship between sensation-seeking and testosterone could provide insight into the relation between psychological factor and hormonal response in humans. Forty-four people were recruited to participate in the study. The sample comprised of 73% males (N=32) and 27% females (N=12) with a mean age of 24 years (SD = 4.6) and an age range of 18 to 49. The participants volunteered to jump out of an airplane and give saliva samples at different time points during that day and during another day (basal levels). This study found that testosterone shows reactivity in response to skydiving, where the peak levels in males were higher than in females. It also found that people who scored higher in experience-seeking scores had higher testosterone level at jump than people who scored lower. Furthermore, it also revealed that people who scored higher in intension-seeking scores showed more reactivity in terms of testosterone i.e. the rise was steeper in these people. In summary, we see that psychological factors and sex predicted reactivity and peak level of testosterone after skydiving.

The purpose of this study was to understand the lived experiences of skydiving instructors who have shaped the instructional practices of experienced and active accelerated freefall instructors (AFFIs) in Central and Southern Florida. By contributing to the training curriculum, this research attempted to close the experiential gap between novice and senior instructors in a more efficient manner. Due to the complex nature of teaching skydiving and an absence of an opportunity for a skydiving instructor in training to work in freefall with non-certified skydivers, understanding the lived experiences of active AFFIs is of critical importance. This study aimed to answer the following research questions: (a) How do active accelerated freefall training instructors personalize the lessons learned in the AFFI instructor training course, forming their own best practices and instructional style? and (b) What roles do lived skydiving experiences, both significant and critical, play in the development of an active AFFI’s current instructional style and best practices? Sites selected included five dropzones located in Central and Southern Florida, with three of those sites yielding a total of 10 participants. Data were collected regarding basic demographic information as well as about the lived experiences of the active AFFIs through both structured and semi-structured interviews and document analysis. Interviews were conducted either in-person or over the phone based on the preference of the participants. Data analysis took place in three phases: separation of qualitative and quantitative data, open coding, and axial coding following Merriam’s (2009) process of coding. Findings revealed an understanding that accelerated freefall (AFF) instruction has become rooted within the culture and experiences of the skydiving community through the stance “license to learn.” This stance has led to the emergence of an educational model outlining the roles culture and experience play not only in the development of the active AFFIs, but also how those lessons are passed on to the next generation of AFFIs. Findings in this research will play a significant role in the development of future curricular adjustments, highlighting the importance of this stance while also providing a solid foundation for future inquiry. / Includes bibliography. / Dissertation (Ph.D.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2019. / FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection

Background Sport parachuting is a dangerous recreational activity for which available literature appears unsatisfactory to form a basis for injury prevention.  Aim Overall: Explore some risk factors in sport parachuting. Study I: Identify fatal incident and injury mechanisms for skydiving (sport parachuting from aircraft). Study II: Identify fatal incident and injury mechanisms for BASE jumping (sport parachuting from fixed objects) for each of the four fixed object types B-A-S-E (building, antenna, span, earth). Study III: Identify non-fatal incident and injury mechanisms for skydiving. Study IV: Evaluate the validity of a compulsory reporting system among active skydivers. Study V: Explore some aspects of the Swedish skydiving culture and its relation to injury risks and injury reporting. Study VI: Describe the mechanism of incident and injury for a free fall shoulder dislocation. Methods Descriptive epidemiological studies of (I) fatal injury events in Swedish skydiving, (II) fatal injury events in BASE jumping worldwide, and (III) non-fatal injury events in Swedish skydiving. Self-report survey of (IV) Swedish skydivers to measure: Sensitivity, as the proportion of injury events fulfilling the reporting criterion that were actually reported; Specificity, as the proportion of false positives in relation to the defined gold standard. Content analysis of (V) Swedish skydiving participant narratives. First-person narrative and free fall video recordings (VI) of one case. Results Overall: Risk factors associated with “free fall” flight of the human body and recreational usage of parachutes were described. Study I: Fatal risk factors in skydiving included student instability in free fall, leading to unstable parachute activation with subsequent line entanglement or parachute activation failure. Unintentional water landings also contributed to fatalities. Every fourth skydiving fatality survived impact and died during transports or in hospitals. Study II: Fatal risk factors in BASE jumping included parachutist free fall instability, miscalculation of free fall acrobatics, deployment failure by the parachutist, pilot chute malfunction and parachute malfunction. In cliff jumping (BASE object type E), parachute opening towards the object jumped with subsequent collision was a frequent factor. Poor visibility, strong or turbulent winds, cold and water also contributed to BASE jumping fatalities. Study III: Non-fatal risk factors in skydiving included experience level and type of student-training system. The lower extremities, spine and shoulders were important regions of injury. The most serious injuries were seen in experienced skydivers. Study IV: The overall sensitivity of the skydiving injury reporting system was 0.37 (95% confidence interval (CI) 0.24-0.51). With non-minor injuries as the target for reporting, the sensitivity was 0.67 (95% CI 0.43-0.85). No significant effect on reporting was found for gender, age, license level, years in the sport, total number of jumps or club affiliation. The specificity was 0.91 (95% CI 0.83-0.95). Study V: It is suggested that Swedish skydiving culture is carried by the local club; not the national association. Skydiving culture at the local drop zone and formal and informal hierarchical structures among skydivers may be what really decides how rules are enforced, risk-taking behavior is seen, and if incidents and injuries are reported. Study VI: The free fall airstream forces were in this case strong enough to dislocate a shoulder joint, which has safety implications that should be considered by participants and medical doctors performing precourse examinations. Conclusion A number of risk factors in sport parachuting are described. Some technological, training and regulatory interventions are suggested to increase safety.

Bakgrund: Studier visar att hörselskador kan uppstå till följd av yttre påfrestningar så som exponering av buller och kraftiga tryckförändringar. Fallskärmshoppare exponeras för bägge dessa faktorer, vilket skulle kunna innebära en ökad risk för att utveckla hörselskador. Trots detta är området mycket sparsamt studerat. En ökad kunskap inom området medför att eventuella behov av preventiva åtgärder kan identifieras. Syfte: Syftet med studien var att undersöka förekomsten av upplevda hörselbesvär hos fallskärmshoppare, samt om det finns något samband mellan upplevda hörselbesvär och antal hopp, användning av öronproppar eller akustiska höjdvarnare. Metod: Studien genomfördes i form av en kvantitativ tvärsnittsstudie. En webbenkät skickades ut till samtliga aktiva fallskärmshoppare med registrerad e-postadress i två fallskärmsklubbar i Mellansverige. Totalt 244 fallskärmshoppare deltog i studien (svarsfrekvens 47,6 %). Resultat: Hörselrelaterade besvär i form av hörselnedsättning, tinnitus och smärta/obehag i öronen förekom hos 20-30 % av de studerade fallskärmshopparna. Det fanns däremot inga statistiskt signifikanta samband mellan upplevda hörselbesvär och antal fallskärmshopp, användning av öronproppar eller användning av akustiska höjdvarnare. Andelen som uppgav att de upplevde svårigheter att höra vad som sägs i ett samtal mellan flera personer var högre bland de studerade fallskärmshopparna jämfört med en åldersmatchad population i SCB:s befolkningsundersökning. Slutsats: Inga samband mellan antal fallskärmshopp och hörselrelaterade besvär kan ses, men resultatet tyder på att fallskärmshoppare upplever hörselnedsättning i större utsträckning jämfört med övriga befolkningen. Vidare studier krävs för att med säkerhet kunna avgöra om fallskärmshoppning innebär en risk för att utveckla hörselskador. / Background: Studies have shown that hearing loss can be caused by environmental factors like noise and changes in the pressure. Skydivers are exposed to several risk factors for hearing impairment, but there is a lack of studies investigating hearing loss among skydivers. More knowledge among the phenomena is needed to identify potential need of preventive work.  Aims: The aim of the study was to investigate the prevalence of self-perceived hearing symptoms among skydivers. The study also examined the relationship between self-perceived hearing symptoms and the use of earplugs and audible altimeters. Methods: The study was executed as a quantitative cross-sectional study. Webb-based questionnaires were sent out to all skydivers with registered e-mail in two skydiving clubs in Sweden. A total of 244 skydivers were studied (response rate 47.6 %) Results: Hearing symptoms such as hearing loss, tinnitus and ear pain was found in 20-30 % of the skydivers. The proportion who experienced difficulty in hearing was higher among the skydivers than an age-matched population from a SCB survey. However, no statistically significant correlations between self-perceived hearing symptoms and number of parachute jumps, use of earplugs or use of audible altimeters were found. Conclusion: No relationship between amount of skydiving and hearing symptoms could be found, but the results indicate that hearing loss is more common among skydivers compared to the general population. Further studies are required to investigate if skydivers are in risk of developing hearing loss.

Title: History of skydiving - precision landing Objectives of work: The aim of this work is to map complexly and integraly the history of skydiving with a focus on racing discipline of precision landing. Due to insufficient number of relevant compact resources and web sites, so the work becomes the first file that holds the issue in a comprehensive manner and develop a unified overview of the analysis problem. Method: This is a theoretical work, the kernel of the work will be at tracing specialized publications and websites, collecting information, filtering the relevant data in their comprehensive use. Results: Objective of thesis was largely achieved. It turned out that the topic is very broad to draw up a detailed summery of the entire history of the research question. The topic was therefore processed generally and is more like a preview than a perfect description. Intended overview was given. Key words: Skydiving, parachute, competitive discipline, precision landing, history.

Title: Progress of discipline precision landing based on the development of a circular parachute Objectives of work: The aim of this work is to map the history of skydiving with a focus on racing discipline of precision landing and on the development of a circular parachute. Due to insufficient number of compact resources and web sites, so the work becomes the file that holds the issue in a comprehensive manner and develop a unified overview of the analysis problem. Method: This is a theoretical work, the kernel of the work will be at tracing specialized publications, journals and websites, collecting information, filtering the relevant data in their comprehensive use. Results: Objective of thesis was largely achieved. It turned out that the topic is very broad to draw up a detailed summery of the entire history of the research question. The topic was therefore processed generally and is more like a preview than a perfect description. Intended overview was given. Key words: Skydiving, parachute, competitive discipline, precision landing, history.

Den här uppsatsen är en fenomenologisk studie av sexism inom fallskärmshoppning. Från ett genusvetenskapligt perspektiv är det viktigt att belysa genusnormer i olika institutioner i samhället. Tidigare forskning visar att det saknas en mer djupgående analys av kvinnors upplevelser av fenomenet sexism inom sporten fallskärmshoppning. Undersökning ämnar därför att synliggöra hur kvinnliga licensierade fallskärmshoppare upplever kulturen inom sporten samt vilka strategier de använder sig av. Jag har utfört fem semi-strukturerade intervjuer med aktiva kvinnliga fallskärmshoppare för att kartlägga fenomenet. I analyserandet av materialet har två huvudteman identifierats, sexism på hopplatsen samt strategier. De teorier som har använts är hegemonisk maskulinitet och ambivalent sexism teori. Studien visar att fallskärmshoppningskulturen genomsyras av en hegemonisk maskulinitet vilket exemplifierar maktförhållanden mellan män och kvinnor. Fallskärmshoppning är ett litet mansdominerat sammanhang med starka maskulinitetsnormer men kan även spegla andra institutioner. / This thesis is a phenomenological study of sexism in skydiving. From a gender studies perspective it is important to shed light on gender norms in various institutions in society. Previous research shows that there is a lack of a more in-depth analysis of women's experiences of the phenomenon of sexism in the sport of skydiving. The survey therefore aims to emphasize how female licensed skydivers experience the culture in the sport and what strategies they employ. I have conducted five semi-structured interviews with active female skydivers to underline the phenomenon. In the analysis of the material, two main themes have been identified, sexism at the dropzone and strategies. The theories that have been used are hegemonic masculinity and ambivalent sexism theory. The study shows that the skydiving culture is permeated by a hegemonic masculinity, which exemplifies power relations between men and women. Skydiving is a small male-dominated context with strong masculinity norms but can also reflect other institutions. / <p>2022-06-02</p>