Dr. Fowler's research interests focus on circadian rhythms in performance and how desynchronization affects both individual and team performance.  Some possible research scenarios are listed below. In addition, Dr. Fowler is especially interested in physiological variables that can be used to predict performance.  Specifically, can certain physiological predictors be used to assess performance readiness and susceptibility to fatigue?

·        Effect of shift-work and fatigue on performance.  Extensive research has been conducted which demonstrates that shift-work and circadian desynchronization leads to deficits in cognitive and physical performance.  However, most of this research reveals that the fatigue effects that contribute to decrements in performance are at least somewhat task specific.  In addition, many shift-work studies have few participants and are not longitudinal in nature.  REU students could utilize the collaboration between the Air Force, medical personnel, local law enforcement agencies, and Weber State to study shift-work’s effects on cognitive and physical performance, vigilance, mood, and interpersonal communication.  Students would have the opportunity to research individual factors that might affect performance, design a research program specific to certain tasks and task demands, and utilize a variety of metrics to assess performance.  The assessment measures available to the REU students are extensive (see Table 4), so students would be able to personalize their research according to their research focus.  

·         Shift-Work and its effects on Team Performance.  Much research has focused on the effects of shift-work on cognitive and physical performance.  However, team performance may also be affected by shift-work and fatigue, and field studies in this area are rare.  Military and law-enforcement personnel must be able to anticipate and minimize fatigue effects correctly in 24/7 operations.  REU students could evaluate team performance of shift-workers on a variety of measures, including interpersonal communication (face to face, email, etc.), decision making, and social interactions.  Teams of workers could be assessed in numerous conditions and longitudinally.  This would provide the first documented evidence of how teams change under conditions of fatigue and shift-work, and future REU students could establish ways to improve or maintain team performance.

·        Examining the use of video games as effective fatigue countermeasures.  There are a few recent studies, including some from this lab, that show that the use of video games may be an effective fatigue countermeasure.  Students participating in this research will be asked to search current literature for information that may suggest what types of video games would be most effective in fighting fatigue.  REU students would then design a study utilizing different types of video games to assess their effectiveness as fatigue countermeasures, both within a laboratory setting and in a real-world setting.  Previous research with air traffic controllers has shown Halo 3 to be an effective fatigue countermeasure, so expanding this research and applying it has wide-spread implications.