Mental Load Research Articles

Caregiver experiences of oral feeding in infants on long-term high flow nasal cannula support

Purpose Navigating the feeding journey of medically complex infants on long-term high flow nasal cannula support can be challenging for caregivers, especially given inconsistencies in clinical practice for oral feeding on high flow nasal cannula support. The aim of this study was to explore the perspectives of caregivers who have experienced this journey, to inform best practice care. Method This study used a generic qualitative inquiry approach. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with seven caregivers of children who had been on long-term high flow nasal cannula support as infants during 2021. Reflexive thematic analysis was used to generate meaning-united stories. Result All caregivers reported oral feeding difficulties that persisted beyond hospitalisation, resulting in demanding mental loads and care arrangements. Caregivers described how these difficulties were often exacerbated by complex medical needs and the strategies they experimented with to support oral feeding. Caregiver’s experiences in the healthcare system were characterised by inconsistencies in care pathways and variable access to specialist feeding services. The importance of a collaborative relationship with healthcare professionals and a conducive hospital environment were also highlighted. Conclusion The oral feeding journey for families with infants on long-term high flow nasal cannula support was characterised by multifaceted challenges and implications. Further research is required to establish and provide consistent, family-centred, and evidence-based care for this population.

Interpersonal neural synchronization in frontal-temporal regions as new neurophysiological index of interpretation quality: an fNIRS hyperscanning study

ABSTRACT The evaluation of interpretation quality is fundamental to interpreting development. Previous interpretation evaluation studies focused solely on the interpretation itself, overlooking the interlocutors as recipients of the interpretation. We propose a novel approach by evaluating interpretation through mutual understanding between interlocutors. Using fNIRS hyperscanning, we examined neural activities of 20 interlocutor dyads communicating in Chinese-English context with interpreters. Results showed greater interpersonal neural synchronization (INS) in frontal-temporal regions during communication. Notably, INS in the left middle temporal gyrus (MTG) positively related to communication quality. Interpretation scores positively predicted INS in the left MTG, while mental load negatively predicted INS in the left inferior frontal gyrus, suggesting that INS in speech comprehension areas signifies interpretation quality at a semantic level. Moreover, the positive correlation between interpretation training time and INS in the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex indicates that INS in mentalizing area reflects interpretation quality at a more advanced level.

Impact of Psychosocial Resources on Mental Health During the Transition From the Initial Rehabilitation to Community: The Case of Spinal Cord Injury.

This study aims to examine the change in mental health from the clinical to community setting in persons with spinal cord injury and to identify the role of psychosocial resources for this transition. Longitudinal survey self-report data from N = 240 persons with spinal cord injury from the Swiss Spinal Cord Injury Cohort study. Latent profile analysis identified three profiles for each the clinical and the community setting: low, medium, and high mental health load. Latent transition analysis revealed that persons with spinal cord injury were most likely to stay in the same profile from discharge of initial rehabilitation to community, followed by a decrease from a high mental health load to a medium mental health load and an increase from a low mental health load to a medium mental health load. Individuals staying in the low mental health load profile showed significantly higher levels of psychosocial resources compared to individuals increasing to the medium mental health load profile, whereas individuals who stayed in the high mental health load profile showed lower levels of psychosocial resources compared to individuals decreasing to the medium mental health load profile. This study highlights a positive role of psychosocial resources on mental health transitions, underlining the need for strengthening psychosocial resources beyond initial rehabilitation.

Проблема футбольного інтелекту у сучасних дослідженнях

Speed, dynamism, high physical and mental loads characterize modern soccer. In this regard, the player's intelligence plays an important role during the game, because it: affects the form of tactical behavior; allows to make effective decisions in stressful situations; increases the player's ability to understand and establish links between game episodes and solve problematic game episodes using available tactical information. Therefore, the study of theoretical, tactical and psychological aspects of the development of intellectual abilities of a player is important for obtaining high results in this sport. The aim of the study is to analyze theoretical research on the peculiarities and development of intellectual abilities of soccer players. Research methods: theoretical analysis and generalization of scientific and methodological literature. Research results. As a result of the conducted analysis of literary sources it was determined that soccer intelligence is a way of thinking that allows a player to solve problem situations using knowledge, experience, skills and natural data, which are best suited for a particular game situation. Player's intelligence is a complex multilevel structure that is the result of player's adaptation to the conditions of the game space, constitutes a special form of tactical behavior of the player, is the result of purposeful tactical training of the player as a set of elementary processes of information processing and a system of cognitive processes. Conclusions. In soccer, the intellectual component is an integral part of both the game itself and the training process. Coaches are interested in its improvement and effective use because soccer intelligence is a way of thinking that allows a player to successfully solve problem situations using knowledge, experience, skills, and natural data that are best suited for a particular game situation.

Dynamics of Respiratory Rate and Heart Rate Variability when Performing a Cognitive Task of Two Levels of Complexity

The study examined heart rate variability (HRV) and respiratory rate during a cognitive task (reading) at two difficulty levels. Time, frequency and nonlinear analysis of HRV was used. It has been shown that both some indicators of HRV (HR, SDNN, RMSSD, SD2, SD2/SD1) and respiratory rate change with increasing mental load, however, they do not separately demonstrate significant differences at all three stages of the study. Therefore, for the first time for cognitive studies, an integral indicator was used that links the parameters of the heart with respiration – the physiological cost of activity (PhysCost), which was previously used in work with athletes when they performed physical exercises to failure. Changes in the PhysCost showed that differences between a simple and a complex task are observed at all stages of the study. Thus, it has been established that the difference in the functional state of a person in the process of performing a continuous task of two levels of complexity is most reliably revealed when using an integrative indicator connecting the activity of the respiratory system and the circulatory system.

Optimising acceptability using a user-centred design approach of a robotic software in Industry 4.0: A case study

While robotics and collaborative robotics are becoming increasingly commonplace in industry, operators do not always have full control over these tools. The aim of our robotics software is to give operators back the power to act. A user-centered design approach (UCD, ISO 9241-210, 2019), through four steps, has therefore been put in place within Industry 4.0. The first study aims to understand and specify the context of use through three objectives: to understand the organizational context in which the robotic software is to be designed and implemented, to characterize the end users via primary personas, and to take an interest in the operators' work in order to predict likely future situations and guide the development of the new work tool. The second study aims to specify user requirements using a card sort based on different criteria (ergonomic, UX). The third study presents the design solutions for version 2 of the robotics software. The fourth study evaluates and compares the practical acceptability (UX, usefulness, usability, mental load) and social acceptability (intent to use) of the first and second versions of the robotic software. Our results show, among other things, a significant improvement in acceptability for the second version of the software, suggesting greater acceptability of this technology thanks to the UCD approach.

Self-regulatory and metacognitive instruction regarding student conceptions: influence on students' self-efficacy and cognitive load.

Self-regulatory and metacognitive instruction regarding student conceptions can help students become metacognitively (or more specifically, metaconceptually) aware of their conceptions and self-regulate their intuitive conceptions in scientific contexts when they are not appropriate. Two approaches have been found effective in enhancing conceptual knowledge: (a) self-assessing one's conceptions and (b) acquiring conditional metaconceptual knowledge about why and in which contexts specific conceptions are appropriate or not. However, it is unclear how these approaches influence other cognitive and affective variables, such as self-efficacy and cognitive load. Nevertheless, it is essential to investigate whether making students aware of their intuitive conceptions affects their self-efficacy and to what extent reflecting on one's conceptions requires additional (meta-)cognitive resources. Thus, we conducted an experimental intervention study using a 2×2 factorial design with N = 602 upper secondary biology students. Becoming metaconceptually aware of one's (intuitive) conceptions did not lower students' self-efficacy but enabled more accurate beliefs about their abilities. However, the self-assessment increased mental load, which partly suppressed the beneficial effect of the self-assessment on conceptual knowledge. In contrast, the instruction on conditional metaconceptual knowledge did not result in higher mental load and, thus, aligned more with students' cognitive capacities. Furthermore, students with more pronounced general metaconceptual thinking reported lower mental load, implying that regular instruction focusing on metaconceptual thinking may reduce load. Thus, it is suggested to continuously promote students' metaconceptual thinking and to embed metaconceptual activities (e.g., self-assessments) repeatedly across longer instructional units.

Voicing Experiences of Family Members Providing Care to Loved Ones With a Pituitary Condition

Introduction: This paper draws upon lived experiences of family members caring for a relative with a pituitary condition. The rationale for the study stems from the crucial role provided by informal, unpaid carers. Yet in the specific domain of pituitary care, they remain overlooked within empirical research. Therefore, the current study aimed to understand (a) the experiences of family members whose loved ones have a pituitary condition and (b) the information and support needs of family members. Materials and methods: Adopting a qualitative participatory approach, the study involved six family members, each of whom provided care for a loved one with a diagnosed pituitary condition. Family members volunteered to take part in an online semi-structured interview following advertisement of the study through the Pituitary Foundation UK. Data were analysed using thematic analysis. Results: Four themes illustrated the experience of family members: (a) experts by experience, (b) burden of mental load, (c) misconceptions of care create barriers and (d) battling for support, with an overarching theme of overwhelm in pursuit of understanding. Discussion and implications: Positive experiences were rooted in family members shared pursuit to seek knowledge and expertise. This came about from poor access to support, and advice which was scarcely available from general healthcare professionals. Negative experiences included emotional burden and the impact of this on family relationships. Findings concluded that family members are consistently left unsupported and systematically disempowered by healthcare services which should be helping them.

Metacognitive Involvement and Critical Thinking in Technical Students in Information Environment

Metacognitive involvement in activities and critical thinking are the soft skills students require as a basic adaptation resource in information environment at university, in life, and at work. This research explored the correlation between metacognitive involvement and critical thinking which university students of technical specialties used to navigate information environment. The study involved 58 male and 12 female fourth-year students (21.26 ± 0.47 y.o.) of the Penza State University, Penza, Russia. The list of methods employed included scientific review, survey, testing, and Spearman’s correlation analysis. The survey involved the following questionnaires: Metacognitive Involvement in Activity (G. Schraw, R. Dennison, 1994; eight-factor version by E. I. Perikova, V. M. Byzova, 2022); Critical Thinking Test (J. Kincher, 1990); author’s own questionnaire of Students and Information Environment (N. N. Krylova, 2024). The correlation analysis revealed strong relationships between nine indicators of metacognitive involvement in activities and critical thinking (p ≤ 0.001 and p ≤ 0.01). The Structure of Error Correction factor of metacognitive involvement depended on such a parameter of information environment as the input intensity. The metacognitive involvement in activities correlated with the students’ assessment of mental and information load in the curriculum, e.g., the Metacognitive Knowledge factor correlated with the mental and information load in Physics and Mathematics while the Error Correction Structure factor was associated with the load assessment in technical disciplines. In addition, some individual parameters of information environment correlated with the students’ assessment of mental and information load. In this study, metacognitive involvement in activities correlated with critical thinking in university students as they interacted with information environment because these phenomena are not isolated psychologically from each other.

CosGCTFormer: An end-to-end driver state recognition framework

Driver state is critical for safety in mixed traffic environments with automated and human-driven vehicles. Recognizing and monitoring the driver’s state is essential to provide early warnings of abnormal driving performance. This paper proposes a driver state recognition framework called cosGCTFormer for end-to-end recognition of the driver’s emotional state and mental load. First, we employ an inverted residual convolution module to extract local features from physiological signal data. Second, the cosGCT module is introduced to extract global features. This module uses cos attention to address the high computational complexity of the Transformer in calculating attention weights. Additionally, it employs Gated Channel Transformation (GCT) to establish relationships between different channel dimensions, something the Transformer alone cannot do effectively. Finally, a simulated driving experiment was designed to collect data for training and testing the proposed method. Results demonstrate that our framework achieves higher accuracy and a more lightweight design compared to prevalent Convolution neural network-based (CNN-based) and Transformer-based methods. Additionally, the effectiveness of both modules was verified.

The Relationship Between Physical And Mental Workload On Job Fatigue In Maxim Car Drivers In Kupang City In 2024

Transportation is a system consisting of certain facilities along with the flow and control system that allows people or goods to move from one place to another efficiently at any time to support human activities. Indonesia as a developing country certainly has a very rapid development of services in the fields of land, sea and air transportation. Transportation owned by the Indonesian Nation certainly has innovations from past to present in order to advance transportation services, one of which is an online provider company. Online transportation companies offer transportation services such as online motorcycle taxis, online taxis, delivery of goods, food delivery and so on, thus making this service in demand by many people. Likewise in Kupang City where there are several online transportation options, one of which is Maxim car transportation which has the advantage of being quite cheap. The high demand for Maxim online transportation in Kupang City has an impact on the fatigue experienced by online transportation drivers. One of them is also felt by Maxim Mobil drivers. Based on the researcher's initial survey of Maxim drivers in Kupang city, fatigue often occurs in Maxim Car drivers due to the increase in Maxim Car users in Kupang City. This type of research is quantitative using analytic survey method and cros sectional research design. The sample in this study amounted to 81 respondents from a total population of 430 drivers selected using accidental sampling method. The results showed that there was no significant relationship between physical load and work fatigue and there was a significant relationship between mental load and fatigue in maxim car drivers in Kupang City.

Mental load in University Teachers: Case study

Mental load among university teachers has gained importance in recent decades due to its impact on workers' health and well-being. This study focuses on the mental load of teachers from the Faculty of Engineering at the National University of Chimborazo, analyzing factors like the cognitive and emotional demands they face in their daily work. The aim is to determine mental load levels and their relationship with sociodemographic variables, identifying the need for preventive interventions. The Subjective Workload Assessment Technique (SWAT) was applied to a sample of 97 teachers who voluntarily completed the survey. Results showed that 80.4% of teachers exhibit medium mental load levels, while 18.6% report high levels. Significant correlations were identified between mental load and variables like age and gender. Stress and mental effort dimensions were particularly high, indicating a potential risk to teachers' health. It is concluded that implementing preventive measures and intervention programs is necessary to improve working conditions and teacher self-efficacy.

Reducing Counterproductive Work Behavior

Abstract: This study explores the effects of mental load and emotional load on counterproductive work behavior (CWB). Building on the conservation of resources theory and the challenge–hindrance stressor framework, we hypothesize that mental load enhances the effort and engagement of employees to accomplish goals and subsequently reduces organizational deviance (e. g., working time fraud), while emotional load, through resource depletion, weakens this relationship. We also suggest that by depleting emotional resources, emotional load could increase interpersonal deviance, with mental load exacerbating this effect due to synergistic effects. The results of a two-wave survey among 303 UK employees show that mental load reduces organizational deviance only when emotional load is low to moderate; when emotional load is high, mental load may even increase organizational deviance. The results also show that emotional load increases interpersonal deviance, irrespective of the level of mental load. The findings underscore the distinct nature of interpersonal and organizational deviance, challenges previous interpretations of the relationship between workplace stressors and CWB, and highlights the importance of considering the complex interplay between different types of stressors in predicting workplace outcomes.

Comparative Analysis of Augmented Reality in Engineering Drawing Course: Assessing Spatial Visualization and Cognitive Load with Marker-Based, Markerless, and Web-Based Approaches

This study investigates the integration of augmented reality (AR) into engineering education, with a specific focus on its impact on spatial visualization abilities and the cognitive load in the context of an engineering drawing course. The research employs a structured approach, involving three experimental groups utilizing marker-based (MBAR), markerless (MLAR), and web-based AR (WBAR) applications, in comparison to a control group receiving traditional instruction. The primary objective is to rigorously assess the comparative effectiveness of these instructional approaches in enhancing spatial visualization skills and reducing the cognitive load of undergraduate engineering students. Spatial visualization, a vital cognitive skill for engineering disciplines, is evaluated using the Purdue Spatial Visualization Test: Rotations (PSVT-R) questionnaire. The cognitive load of students is assessed with the help of a questionnaire comprising items related to mental load and effort. This study not only quantifies the impact of AR applications but also highlights subtle differences among the various AR modalities. The findings suggested that the group that used marker-based AR had better improvement in their spatial ability and felt less cognitive load compared to those who utilized markerless AR and web-based AR.

Psychosocial factors related to the increasing automation of work processes: A systematic review

Purpose: To identify which psychosocial factors can be related to the increasing automation of work processes, determining practical implications relevant to the evaluation of psychosocial risk factors at work within organizations before the imminent transition towards industry 4.0 Design/methodology/approach: A systematic review of the literature was carried out. The review structure was based on the PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) approach for the studies selection and the Noblit and Hare's meta-ethnographic approach for data analysis and synthesis. Findings: Thirty-five studies were selected which passed all the selection stages. Six psychosocial risk factors were detected whose behaviors may be influenced by the increasing automation of work. Evidence suggests that the factors of development possibility, change management, mental load, routine content, and job insecurity may increase their exposure due to job modifications owing to new automation technologies. On the other hand, social relationships at work have the ability to positively influence the successful implementation of new automated processes. Originality/value: The results obtained represent excellent indications of an overview of psychosocial risk factors that may increase their danger due to the increasing automation of work processes and Industry 4.0.

Influence of punishments associated with task outcomes in physical and mental efforts performed by semi-elite soccer players during training tasks

ABSTRACT Punishing application associated with the task outcomes is a familiar strategy used by soccer coaches during training, but it has been mainly remained in the research background. To date, no previous studies have addressed the effects of punishments on soccer players’ physical and mental efforts during on-field training sessions. Voluntarily, 40 semi-elite male soccer players from two Spanish teams of the same club participated in the study (M age = 22.90 yrs, SD = 5.60 yrs), performing two training sessions with the same tasks, but different in the use or non-use of punishments associated with the task outcomes. Physical load was registered using Polar Team and Ratio of Perceived Exertion. Mental load was estimated by the NASA-Task Load Index and mental fatigue was collected using a Visual Analogue Scale. A portable eye tracker was used to seek the effects of punishment manipulation on ocular metrics. After training, players achieved higher values of peak and mean heart rate, peak and mean speed, distance/minute, and number of sprints at the session with punishments, compared to the session without them. The punishments also influenced participants’ eye movement metrics because changes were found in pupil diameter, latency and velocity of saccades, and number of saccades and blinks when compared to the two training sessions. However, no differences were found between sessions for subjective mental load and fatigue variables. These findings have practical implications to the design of soccer training tasks because this emotional constraint influenced the physical load and objective mental load of the soccer players, but not their subjective measures of mental load and fatigue.

Evaluating the Effects of Different Cognitive Tasks on Autonomic Nervous System Responses: Implementation of a High-Precision, Low-Cost Complementary Method.

We developed a low-cost, user-friendly complementary research tool to evaluate autonomic nervous system (ANS) activity at varying levels of cognitive workload. This was achieved using visual stimuli as cognitive tasks, administered through a specially designed computer-based test battery. To assess sympathetic stress responses, skin conductance response (SCR) was measured, and electrocardiograms (ECG) were recorded to evaluate heart rate variability (HRV), an indicator of cardiac vagal tone. Twenty-five healthy adults participated in the study. SCR and ECG recordings were made during both tonic and phasic phases using a computer-based system designed for visual stimuli. Participants performed a button-pressing task upon seeing the target stimulus, and the relationship between reaction time (RT) and cognitive load was evaluated. Analysis of the data showed higher skin conductance levels (SCLs) during tasks compared to baseline, indicating successful elicitation of sympathetic responses. RTs differed significantly between simple and cognitive tasks, increasing with mental load. Additionally, significant changes in vagally mediated HRV parameters during tasks compared to baseline highlighted the impact of cognitive load on the parasympathetic branch of the ANS, thereby influencing the brain-heart connection. Our findings indicate that the developed research tool can successfully induce cognitive load, significantly affecting SCL, RTs, and HRV. This validates the tool's effectiveness in evaluating ANS responses to cognitive tasks.

A prospective longitudinal cohort study of the association between nurses' subjective and objective workload.

Critical care nurses have high workloads due to the severity of the disease and the complexity of the treatment and care. Understanding the factors that influence subjective workload as well as the association between subjective and objective workload could lead to new insights to reduce critical care nurses' workload. (1) To describe critical care nurses' subjective and objective workload per shift in a university-affiliated interdisciplinary adult intensive care unit in Switzerland and (2) to explore the association between objective and subjective workload. The study used a prospective longitudinal cohort design. Critical care nurses completed the adapted Questionnaire on the Experience and Evaluation of Work 2.0 (QEEW2.0) to assess the subjective workload after every shift for four weeks (0 = never loaded, 100 = always loaded). The objective workload was assessed with the Therapeutic Intervention Scoring System-28 (TISS-28), Nine Equivalents of Nursing Manpower Use Score (NEMS), Swiss Society for Intensive Care Medicine (SGI)-patients' categories and Patient-to-Nurse Ratio (PNR). Data was analysed using multilevel mixed models. The workload of 60 critical care nurses with a total of 765 shifts were analysed. The critical care nurses experienced a subjective high mental load (66 ± 26), moderate pace and amount of work (30 ± 25) and physical load (33 ± 25), and low emotional-moral load (26 ± 22). The one-time baseline subjective workload values were higher than the day-to-day values. The mean objective shift load using the TISS-28 was 43 ± 16 points, the NEMS 36 ± 14 points, the SGI-category 1.1 ± 0.5 nurses needed per patient and the PNR 1.2 ± 0.4. We found positive associations between day-to-day objective variables with subjective pace and amount of work, with physical and mental load but not with emotional-moral load and performance. Measured objective workload is associated with only certain subjective workload domains. To promote and retain critical care nurses in the profession, nursing management should give a high priority to understanding subjective workload and strategies for reducing it.

Impact of Job Satisfaction on the Labour Productivity of Healthcare Personnel

Introduction. The healthcare sector, a cornerstone of society and the economy, brings together specialists from various fields and departments. As healthcare organisations grapple with similar human resource management and policy development challenges as other types of organisations, research on increasing job satisfaction, a key indicator of effective management and employee attitudes, becomes increasingly relevant. Aim and tasks. This study aims to determine the level of satisfaction among those employed in the healthcare sector, particularly in Georgia, and to underscore its profound impact on performance. Results. Findings revealed that various factors affect job satisfaction and, consequently, the quality of service provided. Using the F test, it was found that there is a significant statistical relationship between education (0.01 level (p < 0.001, F = 9.992)), work experience (0.01 level (p < 0.001, F = 9.299)), age (0.01 level (P<0.001, F= 9.164)) and job satisfaction and quality of service. Also, the research results showed that 70% of the respondents believe job satisfaction enhances their performance. Specialized expertise, knowledge, and an appropriate strategy are required to manage these professionals. It is highly significant and essential for employees to have constant development opportunities, access to professional training, and work in a high-satisfaction environment. Conclusions. That is critically important for improving performance in healthcare and any organization. However, it is worth mentioning this sector faces stress, high mental load, and burnout. In order to address these issues, organizations should have their own clear policy, properly distribute roles and resources, involve employees in processes from the start, and provide relevant information. Hinged on the previously conducted research, opportunities for personnel development and training are limited in Georgia, which in turn is leading to a shortage of qualified personnel and high staff turnover. The presented recommendations will help managers of organizations analyse the importance of job satisfaction in the growth of productivity and success of the organization and its constituent indicators and develop an appropriate strategy for their improvement in the future.

Cognitive Ergonomics in Intelligent Systems: Screen Analysis and Design Proposal for Reducing Mental Load in the Design of User Interfaces of Autonomous Vehicles

Cognitive Ergonomics in Intelligent Systems: Screen Analysis and Design Proposal for Reducing Mental Load in the Design of User Interfaces of Autonomous Vehicles