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Lower-limb extensor power and lifting characteristics in disabled elders.

Few reports address lifting in disabled elders. Resistance training may facilitate function by improving coordination and muscular recruitment in common lifting tasks. Subjects were considered "functionally limited" if they reported a limitation in at least 1 of 9 possible functional areas listed on the Short-Form Health Survey physical function scale (SF-36), excluding the vigorous activity item. Eighty-nine functionally limited elders (60.3 to 89.8 years old) consented to participate in an intervention trial consisting of a 6-month in-home video-facilitated resistance exercise program using elastic bands. Biomechanical variables (leg extensor power, work, squared jerk), temporal outcomes (lift time and time to peak leg powers), and leg extensor strength were analyzed with the use of analysis of variance (ANOVA) between the (1) experimental group versus control group and the (2) subgroup of the weakest third of subjects (pretest leg extensor strength as percent of body weight [BW]). The experimental group had significant improvements in strength in knee extension (16.7%) and hip extension (20.5%). Resistance-trained weak subjects significantly increased hip extension strength compared to controls. A trend toward improved performance in lifting--decreased total lift time--was noted in the resistance-trained subjects. Significant correlations were found between total leg extension power, total leg extension strength, total work, and lift time. Resistance-trained disabled elders demonstrated strength benefits and several trends consistent with improved coordination and more efficient lifting. Leg-muscle power was related to better functional performance in lifting.

Aged↗
PubMed2003

Monitoring meaningful rugby ratings.

The performance of individual rugby players can be quantified using multivariate analysis and modified control chart methodology. Using factor analysis, multivariate data are reduced to five orthogonal factors (key performance indicators). These factors are reduced to a single measure of performance by modifying control chart ideology. By comparing the observed peformances with 'unattainable perfection' rather than the average, a statistic that is suitable for monitoring the performance of individual rugby players with control charts is obtained for use by coaches and selectors.

Data Collection↗
PubMed2004

Objective evaluation of the effect of noise on the performance of a complex laparoscopic task.

BACKGROUND: Noise in operating rooms has been found to be much higher than the recommended level of 45 dB. The aim of this study was to objectively evaluate the effect of noise and music on the performance of a complex surgical task. METHODS: Twelve surgeons with varying experience in laparoscopic suturing undertook 3 sutures in a laparoscopic trainer under 3 conditions: quiet, noise at 80 to 85 dB, and music. Other than the test conditions, all other conditions were standardized. A validated motion analysis system was used to assess performance. The tasks were recorded by video and played back to 2 blinded observers who rated the surgeons' performance on a global rating scale by observing the tasks for accuracy, knot quality, and number of nonpurposeful movements. RESULTS: Time taken for the tasks (P=.78), total number of movements (P=.78), total path length (P=.47), global score (P=.54), accuracy, and knot quality remained unchanged across the 3 conditions. The main study measures had a high test-retest reliability and internal consistency. No learning effect was seen across the 3 conditions. CONCLUSIONS: Surgeons can effectively "block out" noise and music. This is probably due to the high levels of concentration required for the performance of a complex surgical task. Future research should focus on the effect of these conditions on communication in the operating room.

Adult↗
PubMed1991

Effects of a three-year exercise program on motor function and cognitive processing speed in older women.

This study evaluated the effects of a three-year exercise program on motor performance and cognitive processing speed of previously sedentary older women, ages 57-85. Variables tested were simple and choice reaction time (CRT), balance, sit and reach flexibility, shoulder flexibility, and grip strength. Subjects participated three times a week in exercise performance classes designed to meet American College of Sports Medicine guidelines. Results indicate that performance was significantly improved on all measures during the course of the study (p less than .01) except for the sit and reach test (SRT), where significance was approached (p less than .027), but not reached. A comparison of the exercise subjects with a comparable group of nonexercising control subjects revealed significant interactions between treatment and time on all variables except CRT and grip strength. Pretest to posttest scores of the exercise subjects tended to improve over the three-year period, whereas the scores of the control subjects declined. Improved reaction time indicated exercise is effective in reversing or at least slowing ceratin age-related declines in motor performance and in speed of cognitive processing.

Aged↗
PubMed1995

Task analysis of Air Force pharmacy practice.

The frequency with which United States Air Force pharmacists perform specific professional tasks and the pharmacists' views as to the importance of those tasks were studied. A questionnaire was prepared that asked recipients to rate each of 36 tasks selected as representing the spectrum of practice activities. There were four categories of tasks: managerial tasks, dispensing tasks, drug information tasks, and patient care tasks. Recipients rated the tasks with respect to frequency of performance and importance on separate 6-point scales. The questionnaire was mailed in May 1991 to the 225 pharmacists then serving in the Air Force worldwide. Of the 225 questionnaires, 150 usable questionnaires were returned (response rate, 67%). All the tasks in the survey were performed by at least one Air Force pharmacy officer, although the frequency of task performance varied. In particular, the frequency of many patient care tasks was low. All the tasks were perceived to have some importance, but drug information tasks were rated as being significantly more important than tasks in the other categories; patient care tasks were rated lowest in importance. The results varied with the respondents' demographic characteristics. Pharmacy officers with more years of service, more senior positions, higher rank, or an advanced degree in a field other than pharmacy tended to give responses that diverged from those of the population. A 1991 survey showed an awareness among Air Force pharmacists of the need to orient practice around patient care; however, they were not spending substantial time on patient care and tended to view it as less important than more traditional pharmacy tasks.

Female↗
PubMed2003

Assessing the driving performance of older adult drivers: on-road versus simulated driving.

To validate a laboratory-based driving simulator in measuring on-road driving performance, 129 older adult drivers were assessed with both the simulator and an on-road test. The driving performance of the participants was gauged by appropriate and reliable age-specific assessment criteria, which were found to be negatively correlated with age. Using principal component analysis, two performance indices were developed from the criteria to represent the overall performance in simulated driving and the on-road assessment. There was significant positive association between the two indices, with the simulated driving performance index explaining over two-thirds of the variability of the on-road driving performance index, after adjustment for age and gender of the drivers. The results supported the validity of the driving simulator and it is a safer and more economical method than the on-road testing to assess the driving performance of older adult drivers.

Accidents, Traffic↗
PubMed1997

Possible overlapping potentials of the auditory P50 in humans: factor analysis of middle latency auditory evoked potentials.

The auditory P50 in humans may consist of overlapping potentials. To test this hypothesis, we manipulated the conditions of stimulus discrimination and motor response difficulty and evaluated the data by factor analysis. Twenty right-handed males (mean age 27 years) performed the following 4 tasks: (1) a counting task, (2) an easy Go, No-Go task, (3) a difficult Go, No-Go task, and (4) a choice reaction task. Middle latency auditory evoked potentials were obtained with 100 times summation triggered by the onset of the auditory stimulus. Four factors were extracted by factor analysis for a 0-100 ms time period. Factor 1, the maximum factor loading at 91 ms, corresponded to N1, and factor 4, the maximum factor loading at 23 ms, appeared to correspond to P30. The latency of the maximum factor loading in factor 2 was adjacent to that in factor 3, the latency of factor 2 being 12 ms earlier than that of factor 3. Factor 2 and factor 3 latencies were approximately 55 ms which corresponded to the P50. Factor 3 started rising at the point that factor 2 reached the maximum factor loading, and the factor score demonstrated a significant group difference only when analyzed by motor response criteria. These results suggest that the P50 in humans consists of overlapping potentials and that a part of the potential might relate to a motor response process.

Adult↗
PubMed1994

An objective methodology for task analysis and workload assessment in anesthesia providers.

BACKGROUND: Administering anesthesia is a complex task in which either human or equipment failure can have disastrous consequences. An improved understanding of the nature of the anesthesiologist's job could provide a more rational basis for improvements in provider training as well as the design of anesthesia equipment. The objective of this study was to develop a set of techniques to evaluate anesthesiologist performance and to determine what information could be obtained from performing real-time task assessment and workload analysis tests in the operating room. METHODS: The methodology used included time-motion analysis, secondary task probing, and subjective workload assessment. The time-motion data was subjected to subsequent analysis to generate quantitative measures such as task duration (time spent focused on an individual task) and task density (the number of tasks initiated per minute). The latency of response to a "vigilance light" was used as a secondary task probe. Finally, both the observer and the subjects themselves scored workload at 10-15-min intervals throughout the case. Two groups of anesthesia providers performing general endotracheal anesthesia for simple ambulatory surgical cases (1-4 h duration) were examined using this methodology. In the first group, 3rd-yr anesthesia residents and experienced certified registered nurse anesthetists (n = 11) performed cases under limited supervision by an attending anesthesiologist. In the second group, novice residents in their first 8 weeks of training (n = 11) performed similar cases under nearly constant attending supervision. RESULTS: The two groups seemed to manifest different patterns of task behavior, task density, subjective workload, and latency of response to the vigilance task. Response latency to the vigilance task increased at times of increased workload (e.g., during induction of anesthesia). The experienced (less supervised) providers spent significant amounts of time observing the monitors and the surgical field, whereas the novice subjects spent more time conversing with the supervising attending. Despite performing fewer tasks per minute (lower task densities), the novice subjects exhibited longer latencies of response to the vigilance light and increased subjective workload. Novice subjects also had longer task duration values. For example, postintubation, novices focused on their monitors for an average of twice as long as did experienced subjects (13 +/- 2 vs. 7 +/- 1 s) before moving on to another task. CONCLUSIONS: These techniques permitted an objective description of task characteristics, workload, and vigilance in anesthesia personnel under actual work conditions. This methodology could aid in understanding the factors that affect anesthesiologists' performance and may prove useful in assessing the progress of training.

Anesthesiology↗
PubMed2004

Identifying the task variables that influence perceived object assembly complexity.

There is a general lack of understanding as to what issues affect assembly task performance when using diagrammatic instructions because few of the task variables contributing to assembly complexity have been identified. Using a task analysis of a range of self-assembly products, seven task variables hypothesized to predict assembly complexity were identified and studied in the instruction comprehension phase of assembly. Experiment 1 took nine real world assembly instructions and described each in terms of the seven task variables. Seventy-two participants gave a subjective rating of assembly difficulty for each assembly, showing a clear relationship between the task variables and perceived assembly difficulty. As real world assemblies provide little control a second experiment used an orthogonal design to systematically vary the values of each of the assembly task variables in 16 abstract assemblies. Forty-two participants compared the 16 assembly instructions to a final assembly. There was a clear relationship between the task variables and the time taken to view the instructions. Further, it was found that it is possible to predict the complexity of assembly tasks based upon the levels of the task variables identified. The task variables identified are a significant step towards identifying the factors that influence assembly complexity, together with providing progress towards a tool for predicting assembly complexity.

Audiovisual Aids↗
PubMed1989

Measuring effectiveness in health visiting.

While resources for health remain limited, all managers must be able to demonstrate the cost-effectiveness of the services provided. Computer technology now provides the data with which to measure efficiency. Health visitors (together with other community-based professions) need to recognise the opportunities that information technology (IT) offers to help improve the planning and management of services. This article outlines the use of information to understand better the present delivery of health visitor services, to set objectives for the future and to measure actual performance against intended; in the near future to match better the supply of services to demand by developing neighbourhood or GP-practice profiles using mapping and graphics techniques; and in the longer term to refine measures of need or 'dependency' and 'outcome' to target resources and improve effectiveness.

Community Health Nursing↗
PubMed2003

Bilateral leg extension power and fat-free mass in young oarsmen.

We evaluated the impact of bilateral leg extension power and fat-free mass on 2000 m rowing ergometer performance in 332 young oarsmen (age 21+/-2 years, height 1.76+/-0.05 m, body mass 62+/-6 kg; mean+/-s). The 2000 m rowing performance time was correlated with height (1.62-1.93 m; R2=0.23, P<0.001), body mass (53-95 kg; R2=0.53, P<0.001), fat-free mass (47-82 kg; R2=0.58, P<0.001) and bilateral leg extension power (1202-3302 W; R2=0.38, P<0.001). Multiple regression analysis selected fat-free mass and bilateral leg extension power as regressor variables. Fat-free mass explained 58% of the variability in rowing performance and the inclusion of bilateral leg extension power improved the power of prediction by 5%. The results suggest that rowing involves almost every muscle in the body and that bilateral leg extension power is very important during this activity.

Adult↗
PubMed2002

Motivational orientations and imagery use: a goal profiling analysis.

The aim of this study was to establish whether different motivational profiles that result from performing a cluster analysis reflect the use of different functions and amounts of imagery. One hundred and five competitive swimmers were recruited to participate in the study. They were asked to complete both the Task and Ego Orientation in Sport Questionnaire (TEOSQ) and the Sport Imagery Questionnaire. The results of a K-means cluster analysis on the TEOSQ scores resulted in a three-cluster solution that maximized between-group differences and minimized within-group differences. A multivariate analysis of variance revealed that the three cluster groups could be distinguished by their use of imagery. Specifically, the results indicated that individuals with a 'complementary balance' between task and ego orientations were more motivated to perform the functions of imagery that would help them to maximize their performance.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1996

Use of bioelectrical impedance analysis measurements as predictors of physical performance.

Through its association with fat-free mass (FFM), bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA) offers an alternative to physical performance testing. We examined the relations between stature2/resistance (S2/R), FFM, and muscular strength in data from three studies of young military men and women. Resistance was measured at 50 kHz by using the conventional tetrapolar electrode method. FFM was based on skinfold thicknesses, and estimated with the regression equations of Durnin and Womersley. Strength was measured as a one-repetition maximum on an incremental lift test (IL1RM), which is widely used by the military services to predict overall body strength. Although there was an association between IL1RM and S2/R in each of these studies (correlations ranged from 0.35 to 0.53), correlations were strongest between FFM and S2/R (R = 0.53 to 0.85), indicating that BIA and FFM derived from skinfold thicknesses are better correlated with each other than are the relations of either of these with physical performance. Modest increases in FFM and strength in one 8-wk training study correlated with S2/R; however, large decreases in FFM and strength in another study (with weight losses of 10 kg in 8 wk) were not reflected by changes in S2/R. Thus, BIA is not particularly useful for performance prediction despite its moderate relation to FFM. BIA is especially problematic with large changes in body composition, for which there are apparent deviations in hydration status; expedient methods such as skinfold predictions will be more resistant to such effects.

Adult↗
PubMed1997

The time course of spatial and object learning in Parkinson's disease.

Parkinson's disease (PD) is characterized by spatial memory dysfunction, but the selectivity of the deficit remains unclear. We addressed this issue by comparing performance on spatial and object variants of a conditional associative learning task, and by analysing the data with time series analytical techniques. The 11 PD subjects and 15 normal control subjects learned stimulus-stimulus pairings through trial-and-error learning. PD subjects were selectively impaired on the spatial condition: they required more trials to achieve criterion, learned at a slower rate and displayed a working memory deficit. The groups did not differ in the object condition. These results suggest a distinction between material-specific spatial and object visual memory systems. Further, they indicate that spatial learning and memory are selectively impaired in early PD, suggesting that interactions between the basal ganglia and prefrontal cortex are important for the mediation of high-level cognition.

Aged↗
PubMed1997

A comparison of risk assessment of single and combination manual handling tasks: 2. Discomfort, rating of perceived exertion and heart rate measures.

Although many manual handling activities involve combinations of pull, lift, carry, lower and push, there are few reports of investigation of how to assess the risk in these combination tasks. Two strategies have been suggested in the literature for estimating the risk in a combination task based on the measures of the separate components of that task. The aim of the study was to compare the risks assessed in single manual handling tasks with those in combination tasks. Ratings of discomfort, exertion and heart rate were collected from nine male and nine female students, performing combination and single tasks. Combination tasks consisted of sequences of pull, lift, carry, lower and push tasks. Combination tasks were performed at 1.min-1 and 3.min-1 whilst single tasks (lift, lower, push, pull and carry) were performed at 3.min-1 and 6.min-1. The rating of exertion and heart rate for each combination task was compared to the exertion rating and heart rate of the single tasks which comprised the combination task using repeated measures analysis of variance with specified contrasts. Similar comparisons for the discomfort data were performed using Friedman and Wilcoxon tests. In at least one of the twelve comparisons performed for each dependent variable, the combination task value was significantly different to each single task value. The differences occurred regardless of whether the most critical single task value or an average of all single task values was used. It was concluded that the risk in combination manual tasks can not be accurately assessed by using estimates from discomfort, exertion ratings and heart rate measures of single tasks.

Analysis of Variance↗