Thematic Analysis:
Thematic Analysis:
Group Interaction
Group Interaction
Thematic Analysis:
Outside Communications
?
Receive Replacement Personnel or Visitors
?
Receive Information F
r
om Outside
?
Receive Ma
il or Fax From Friends or Family
?
I Write, Fax, or Telephone t
o
Friends or Fa
mily
?
Angry
or C
o
nfused by
Message From
Headquarters
?
Good News or Pleasant Message From Home
?
Bad News or U
n
pleasant Message From
Ho
me
?
I call of Fa
x Headquar
ters
?
Headquarters Does Not Respond in a Timely Fashion
?
No Mail or New
s
From Home
Thematic Analysis:
Outside Communications
?
Receive Replacement Personnel or Visitors
?
Receive Information F
r
om Outside
?
Receive Ma
il or Fax From Friends or Family
?
I Write, Fax, or Telephone t
o
Friends or Fa
mily
?
Angry
or C
o
nfused by
Message From
Headquarters
?
Good News or Pleasant Message From Home
?
Bad News or U
n
pleasant Message From
Ho
me
?
I call of Fa
x Headquar
ters
?
Headquarters Does Not Respond in a Timely Fashion
?
No Mail or New
s
From Home
Thematic Analysis:
Outside Communications
Thematic Analysis:
Outside Communications
Prop
orti
on of Diary Entries
Typ
e
of Outsi
d
e Communicati
on
Per
s
o
n
al
Headqua
r
ters
Ge
n
e
ral Admin.
Positive
0.462
0.212
0.214
Negative
0.437
0.647
0.554
Neutral
0
.101
0.141
0.232
Net Pos/Neg*
0.025
-0.435
-0.340
*Net
positiv
i
ty/negativity = Positive -
N
egat
iv
e proportions
Summary of Results
Summary of Results
?
Group Inte
raction is t
h
e m
o
st salient (i.e., important)
category of
behavi
oral
issues, by far.
?
Other important issues
are, in order of their salience:
–
Outside
C
o
mmunications
–
Workload (i.e., work performe
d)
–
Recreation and Leisure
–
Medical Support
–
Adjustment
–
Leadership
–
Food
Summary of Results
Summary of Results
?
All expeditions, sho
r
t and long, Antarctic and
insular, d
e
cline in over
all ne
t
p
ositiv
it
y/ne
gativity
(NPN
) during the third quarter (i.e., regardless of
duration and loc
a
tion).
?
Physicians experie
n
ce the third quarter
phenomenon, but leaders experience their greatest decline in NPN during the second quarters of their missions.
Summary of Results
Summary of Results
?
Relatively frequent visits by outsiders are disruptive
and contribute to the gre
a
ter negativity
experienc
e
d at the insular stations, compared to
the more isolated Antarctic base.
?
The greatest overall difference in NPN was found between short and long duration missions, with the shorter missio
n
s characterized b
y
substantially
greater negativity.
Summary of Results
Summary of Results
?
Meals, sp
ecial meals, and celebrations
are
extremely important to the members of the expeditio
n
s and contribute to group solidarity and
individual adjustment.
?
The celebrat
ion of t
r
ad
ition
a
l holid
ays is not ver
y
enjoyable
to remote duty pe
rsonnel. It is the
celebration of expedition-unique events, such as Midwinter and spec
ial theme
dinners, that is
enjoyed, talked about, and remembered.
Summary of Results
Summary of Results
?
Trivial issues are exaggerated.
?
Subgrou
p
s
will for
m
and can negat
i
v
e
ly affect
group harmony, if permitted to develo
p to an
extreme.
?
Communications between headquarters and remote duty perso
nnel frequently are sources of
frustratio
n for rem
o
te duty personnel.
Summary of Results
Summary of Results
?
Communications with loved ones also
can be
problem
a
tic for remote duty personnel (e.g.,
misunderstandings, negative
news, stimulating
longings for home).
?
Outside Communications increase substantially in NPN during the third quarte
rs of expeditions, at
the same time the values of other behavioral categories decline.
Summary of Results
Summary of Results
?
Work is a primary source of satisfaction. Too much or too little work results in negativity and can thre
a
ten individual adjustment.
?
Helping o
thers with novel tasks pro
v
ides welcome
variety in a monotonously routine schedule.
?
Recreation and Leisure provide variety of experienc
e
and contribute to
group so
lidarity and
individual adjustment.
Summary of Results
Summary of Results
?
A broad range of medical problems occurs at remote duty statio
ns.
?
Physicians experience consi
derable anxiety about
their abilities to handle medical proble
ms that are
outside t
h
eir specialties, an
d with limited
diag
nostic resources.
?
Physicians and le
aders bene
fit from opportunities
to communicate with the physicians and leade
r
s
of other remote duty stations.
Summary of Results
Summary of Results
?
Time seems to slow down in isolatio
n and
confinement.
?
Milestone
s
, celebrations, and other events help
mark the passage of time.
?
Food assumes added importance when customary sources of grat
ification are d
e
nied.
?
Some individu
als adjust quickly t
o
isolation an
d
confinement; othe
rs adjust slowly; a few fail to
adjust an
d remain miserab
l
e
.
Recommendation
Recommendation
Conduct High-Fidelity Sim
u
lations
of Space Expediti
ons
in
Antarctica
Thank You!
Thank You!