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Retrospective questionnaire methodology designed to survey individuals' exposures and experiences to real-world stimuli is susceptible various types of recall biases. EcologicalMomentary Assessment (EMA) investigates individuals´ behaviour and experiences in real time by asking them to document their experience as soon as possible after exposure. This presentation reports some preliminary results from a study where a total of 114 participants in northern Sweden, comprised of 53 sound or smell hypersensitive persons (age: M=56, SD=12.7) and 61 non-hypersensitive individuals (age: M=61.1, SD=10.8), were surveyed through a questionnaire twice with a three-month period in between about exposure and experiences with unpleasant sounds and smells. During the three-month period, participates used a smartphone app to document incidents and experiences of unpleasant sounds between questionnaires. This presentation will discuss the similarities and differences observed between the results of the questionnaires and EMA as well as address methodological advantages and challenges presented by collecting EMA using a smartphone app system.

Agriculture technology is moving toward automation, placing operators in a supervisory role. This change in operator workload may lead to increased stress and higher mental load, resulting in reduced attention and hence greater risk of illness or injury to humans and damage to equipment. This study investigated the use of easily applicable equipment to measure mental load. Three methods were used to measure the mental load on machine operators: heart rate monitoring, two types of electroencephalograph (EEG) evaluation, and an assessment protocol. Three driving exercises (general driving, slalom driving, and loading) and a counting exercise were used in a driving simulator to create different levels of mental load. Due to the number of exercises, a single-scale assessment protocol was used to save time. We found that only the assessment protocol gave clear results and would work well as an evaluation tool. The heart rate and EEG measurements did not provide clear data for mental load assessment.

This study examines the potential vulnerability of short-term memory processes to distraction by spatial changes within to-be-ignored bimodal, vibratory, and auditory stimuli. Participants were asked to recall sequences of serially presented dots or digits while being exposed to to-be-ignored stimuli. On unexpected occasions, the bimodal (Experiment 1), vibratory (Experiment 2), or auditory (Experiment 3) stimuli changed their spatial origin from one side of the body (e.g., ear and arm, arm only, ear only) to the other. It was expected that the bimodal stimuli would make the spatial change more salient compared to that of the uni-modal stimuli and that this, in turn, would yield an increase in distraction of serial short-term memory in both the verbal and spatial domains. Performance across three experiments support this assumption as a disruptive effect of the spatial deviant was only observed when presented within the bimodal to-be-ignored sequence (Experiment 1): Uni-modal to-be-ignored sequences, whether vibratory (Experiment 2) or auditory (Experiment 3), had no impact on either verbal or spatial short-term memory. Implications for models of attention capture, short-term memory, and the potential special role attention capturing role of bimodal stimuli is discussed.

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to focus on the practical knowing that is central in police education. Drawing on perspectives about tacit knowledge and embodied learning (e.g. Merleau-Ponty, 1945/1997; Polanyi, 1966; Argyris and Schön, 1974) as well as empirical examples, this paper discusses the design of and what can be expected from computer simulation training for the development of police students’ professional knowing.

Design/methodology/approach: The discussion is based on lessons learned from working with two different computer simulation training situations designed to prepare the students for an upcoming practical training by facilitating the understanding of complex situations as they should be handled in the physical training situation.

Findings: The experiences from the training sessions showed that the different characteristics of the simulations mediate how the training session was performed, e.g., unplanned trial and error vs focused and attentive, but also group discussions about how to act and appropriate actions in relation to the situation to be solved in the simulation.

Originality/value: Based on the lessons learned from working with the two different computer simulations, it is posited that the use of computer simulations for practical scenario training is a complex endeavor that needs, in various degrees, to be supported by pedagogical steering. The design of computer simulation training (both the simulation and how the training is designed and performed) need to consider the specific aspects that surround tacit knowledge and embodied learning in the “real sense” (anchored to the practical training) to be of relevance for police students development of professional knowing.

STUDY DESIGN: Human volunteers were exposed experimentally to single-sided mechanical shocks (SSMS) and double-sided mechanical shocks (DSMS) while seated.

OBJECTIVE: To describe and contrast seated postural reactions due to SSMS or DSMS in healthy male adults.

SUMMARY OF BACKGROUND DATA: Mechanical shocks to the body, caused when driving on irregular terrain, are suggested to be hazardous to the spine and may be associated with the reported musculoskeletal pain of the back and neck among professional drivers. However, very little is known about the characteristics of seated postural reactions and the biomechanical effects caused by mechanical shocks.

METHODS: Twenty healthy male subjects (18-43 years old) were exposed while seated to 5 SSMS and 15 DSMS in lateral directions. The second acceleration in the DSMS was in the opposite direction to the first acceleration and was either fast, medium or slow depending on the speed of direction change. Surface electromyography (EMG) was recorded in muscles of the upper neck, trapezius, erector spinae and external oblique while kinematics were recorded with inertial sensors placed at the neck, trunk and pelvis. Muscle activity was normalized to maximum voluntary contractions (MVC).

RESULTS: The EMG amplitudes were significantly higher (0.6-1%; p < 0.001) for the fast DSMS compared to all other shocks. Range of motion (ROM) of the neck and trunk was greater during the DSMS compared to the SSMS. Evoked muscle activity was less than 2% MVC in the trapezius, less than 10% MVC in the erector spinae and upper neck while the activity exceeded 10% MVC in the external oblique muscles.

CONCLUSION: Fast DSMS in lateral directions appear more demanding compared to SSMS, demonstrating augmented seated postural reactions. However, the present mechanical shocks employed did not seem to induce postural reactions with regard to ROM or muscle activity of a magnitude likely to cause musculoskeletal overload.

LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: 4.

It has been suggested that deviance distraction is caused by unexpected sensory events in the to-be-ignored stimuli violating the cognitive system's predictions of incoming stimuli. The majority of research has used methods where the to-be-ignored expected (standards) and the unexpected (deviants) stimuli are presented within the same modality. Less is known about the behavioral impact of deviance distraction when the to-be-ignored stimuli are presented in different modalities (e.g., standard and deviants presented in different modalities). In three experiments using cross-modal oddball tasks with mixed-modality to-be-ignored stimuli, we examined the distractive role of unexpected auditory deviants presented in a continuous stream of expected standard vibrations. The results showed that deviance distraction seems to be dependent upon the to-be-ignored stimuli being presented within the same modality, and that the simplest omission of something expected; in this case, a standard vibration may be enough to capture attention and distract performance.

Environmental intolerance (EI) is a condition characterized by low tolerance to environmental stimuli at levels that would not affect most people. EI is an ill-defined condition from which sufferers experience highly individual multisystem symptoms following exposure from specific environmental sources. Most research on EI is conducted using cross sectional approaches, however, longitudinal approaches that capture daily exposure are needed to fully understand how EI develops and change over time. This paper describes an app that was developed that can be used with most smartphones and, in conjunction with a website, can be used to collect symptoms and ratings of discomfort in the field as well as qualitative reports of the incident that triggered the discomfort.

This paper focuses on the practical knowing that is central in police education.Drawing on perspectives about tacit knowledge and embodied learning (e.g.,Argyris & Schön, 1974; Merleau-Ponty, 1945/1997; Polanyi, 1966) as well asempirical examples, this paper will discuss the design of and what can beexpected from computer simulation training for the development of policestudents' professional knowing. Based on the the lessons learned fromworking with computer simulations in police education we argue thatcomputer simulations can be a useful aid for practical training, but they cannotreplace exercises in scenario training or drill exercises.

In this study a cross-modal oddball task was employed to study the effect that words spoken either non-urgently or urgently would have on a digit categorization task and if women would exhibit greater behavioral inhibitory control. The words were unrelated to the task itself, but related to the action required to complete the task. Forty participants (21 women) conducted a computerized categorization task while exposed to a sinewave tone as a standard stimulus (75% of the trials) or a to-be ignored word (press, stop) spoken either non-urgently or urgently as unexpected auditory deviant stimulus (6.25% trials for each category). Urgent words had sharp intonation and an average fundamental frequency (F₀) ranging from 191.9 (stop) to 204.6 (press) Hz. Non-urgent words had low intonation with average F₀ ranging from 103.9.9 (stop) to 120.3 (press) Hz. As expected, deviant distraction and longer response times were found by exposure to the word stop, but deviant distraction was not found to be significant with the word press or due to intonation. While the results showed that women had in general longer reaction times, there were no gender differences found related to the deviant distraction caused by word or intonation. The present results do not support the hypothesis that women have greater behavioral inhibitory control, but there was evidence that the meaning of the word could influence response times.

Background: A major problem today is that only about fifty percent of those affected by depression seeks help. One way to reach more sufferers would be by offering easily accessible internet based treatments. The purpose of this study was to compare/evaluate four therapist supported internet administered treatments.

Method/results: Two hundred eighty six participants were included. The treatment period lasted twelve weeks, consisting of the following treatments: 1) physical activity without treatment rational, 2) physical activity with treatment rational, 3) behavioral activation without treatment rational and 4) behavioral activation with treatment rational. All groups (including a control-group) showed a significant decrease in depressive symptoms. When the treatment groups were pooled and compared to the control group, there were significant differences from pretest to posttest (Hedges gav treatment =1.01, control group =0.47). This held true also when each of the four treatment groups was compared to the control group, with one exception: Physical activity without treatment rationale.

Limitations: The differences between how many modules the participants completed could indicate that there are other factors than the treatments that caused the symptom reduction, however, the dose-response analysis did not detect any significant differences on account of modules completed.

Conclusions: The results support the positive effects of internet administered treatments for depression, and highlights the importance of psychoeducation, which tends to affect both the treatment outcome and the probability of remaining in treatment. These aspects need to be considered when developing and conducting new treatments for depression, since they would increase the likelihood of positive treatment outcomes.