Nuclear weapon effect research at PSR (Pacific-Sierra Research Corporation) - 1983. Estimated effects of intermediate levels of nuclear radiation upon the performance of military tasks. A questionnaire assessment. Technical report, 26 May-30 November 1983

Technical Report · Fri Sep 28 04:00:00 EDT 1984

OSTI ID:5256747

Glickman, A S; Winne, P S; Morgan, B B; Moe, R B

Predicted military-performance data were collected from questionnaires administered to 161 noncommissioned officers (NCOs) representing four different combat crews, including artillery (both gun and fire direction center (FDC)), armor, and antiarmor personnel. The study focuses on respondents from small crews of three or four members. These crew members were asked to provide information that could readily be modeled--crew missions, operational scenarios, and task performance, where combat encounters are decisive and usually brief, typically lasting between 30 and 90 sec. Questionnaires contained detailed descriptions of the signs and symptoms of acute radiation sickness for exposure from 75 to 4500 rads (cGy) free-in-air, together with lists of familiar tasks performed by crew members for the selected combat encounter scenarios. The respondents supplied judgmental data for task-performance capability of a typical crew member for each of 30 or 40 illness conditions portrayed by the individual set of sign and symptom descriptions. The effect of each symptom set was assessed in terms of (1) the percent of respondents who judged that task performance would be unaffected by the illness, (2) the percent of respondents who judged that tasks could not be preformed at all, and (3) the extent of performance degradation based on an increase in time required for task completion compared with the normal time expected. In addition to military tasks, all respondents judged how the performance of six ordinary tasks, such as climbing and lifting, would be affected by the sympton sets.

• Research Organization: Pacific-Sierra Research Corp., Los Angeles, CA (USA)
• OSTI ID: 5256747
• Report Number(s): AD-A-168043/8/XAB; PSR-1422
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

45 MILITARY TECHNOLOGY, WEAPONRY, AND NATIONAL DEFENSE
450202* -- Explosions & Explosives-- Nuclear-- Weaponry-- (-1989)
ARMOR
BIOLOGICAL EFFECTS
BIOLOGICAL RADIATION EFFECTS
ENGINEERING
FORECASTING
HUMAN FACTORS ENGINEERING
MILITARY PERSONNEL
NUCLEAR WEAPONS
PERSONNEL
RADIATION EFFECTS
WARFARE
WEAPONS