Application of digital human modeling and simulation for vision analysis of pilots in a jet aircraft: a case study

Ergonomic evaluation of visual demands becomes crucial for the operators/users when rapid decision making is needed under extreme time constraint like navigation task of jet aircraft. Research reported here comprises ergonomic evaluation of pilot's vision in a jet aircraft in virtual environment to demonstrate how vision analysis tools of digital human modeling software can be used effectively for such study. Three (03) dynamic digital pilot models, representative of smallest, average and largest Indian pilot population were generated from anthropometric database and interfaced with digital prototype of the cockpit in Jack software for analysis of vision within and outside the cockpit. Vision analysis tools like view cones, eye view windows, blind spot area, obscuration zone, reflection zone etc. were employed during evaluation of visual fields. Vision analysis tool was also used for studying kinematic changes of pilot's body joints during simulated gazing activity. From present study, it can be concluded that vision analysis tool of digital human modeling software was found very effective in evaluation of position and alignment of different displays and controls in the workstation based upon their priorities within the visual fields and anthropometry of the targeted users, long before the development of its physical prototype.     

The future of PR is ‘fantastic’, ‘friendly’ and ‘funny’: Occupational stereotypes and symbolic capital in entry-level job advertisements

Over the past decade, there has been a move towards examining public relations as a socio-cultural practice, acknowledging practitioners as influential communicators who produce and symbolise cultural values through public relations messages. Ideally, a diverse group of professionals would aide in representing a diverse society, but to date, the profession remains female dominated. In this article, it is proposed that practitioners’ own discourse do not only establish what is most valued in the occupation and which habitus suits the practice best, but that the discourse also opens and closes occupational entry for new practitioners thereby contributing to a lack of diversity.This article presents the findings of an indicative thematic content analysis of one of the most common, yet under-research sites of discourse, namely entry-level job advertisements in New Zealand and Australia. Using an interdisciplinary approach, the analysis found that the advertisements placed little to no emphasis on the nature of the work, instead focusing on elements of ‘fit’ whereby new entrants were expected to be charismatic, friendly, and willing to work in an environment that is ‘fun’ and ‘flexible’. In doing so, public relations practitioners tacitly created invisible barriers, a self-limiting occupational culture and furthered existing stereotypes of the ‘perfect’ practitioner.     

An Application of Master Schedule Smoothing and Planned Lead Time Control

Make‐to‐order (MTO) manufacturers must ensure concurrent availability of all parts required for production, as any unavailability may cause a delay in completion time. A major challenge for MTO manufacturers operating under high demand variability is to produce customized parts in time to meet internal production schedules. We present a case study of a producer of MTO offshore oil rigs that highlights the key aspects of the problem. The producer was faced with an increase in both demand and demand variability. Consequently, it had to rely heavily on subcontracting to handle production requirements that were in excess of its capacity. We focused on the manufacture of customized steel panels, which represent the main sub‐assemblies for building an oil rig. We considered two key tactical parameters: the planning window of the master production schedule and the planned lead time of each workstation. Under the constraint of a fixed internal delivery lead time, we determined the optimal planning parameters. This improvement effort reduced the subcontracting cost by implementing several actions: the creation of a master schedule for each sub‐assembly family of the steel panels, the smoothing of the master schedule over its planning window, and the controlling of production at each workstation by its planned lead time. We report our experience in applying the analytical model, the managerial insights gained, and how the application benefits the oil‐rig producer.     

On the Diaconis-Gangolli Markov chain for sampling contingency tables with cell-bounded entries

The problems of uniformly sampling and approximately counting contingency tables have been widely studied, but efficient solutions are only known in special cases. One appealing approach is the Diaconis and Gangolli Markov chain which updates the entries of a random 2×2 submatrix. This chain is known to be rapidly mixing for cell-bounded tables only when the cell bounds are all 1 and the row and column sums are regular. We demonstrate that the chain can require exponential time to mix in the cell-bounded case, even if we restrict to instances for which the state space is connected. Moreover, we show the chain can be slowly mixing even if we restrict to natural classes of problem instances, including regular instances with cell bounds of either 0 or 1 everywhere, and dense instances where at least a linear number of cells in each row or column have non-zero cell-bounds.     

Locating social service centres using interactive graphics

The paper explores the feasibility of using interactive graphic based solution procedures in location problems with discrete choices. It compares solutions generated through interactive graphics with those generated through optimization for a problem context where service centres had to be located in rural India. The comparison demonstrates the feasibility of generating near optimal solutions for problems with a certain dimensionality. Broad features of the graphic software are described. The paper also highlights other advantages and limitations of the interactive graphic procedure.     

Understanding workplace deviant behavior in nonprofit organizations

Workplace deviant behavior has traditionally been studied with respect to business or for‐profit organizations. In this article, we argue that nonprofit organizations also experience deviance, and due to their unique characteristics, they deserve special attention for extending the understanding of workplace deviant behavior to other types of organizations. Based on a review of the literature on deviance, we develop a general model of workplace deviance that we apply to nonprofit organizations. Based on the integrative conceptual framework, we advance relevant propositions for understanding and explaining deviance in nonprofit organizations.     

Finite sample properties of beale's ratio estimator

In this paper, the exact blas and mean square error of Beale's ratio estimator are derived under a blvariate normal nlodel in the form of an infinite series. It is found that some conventional large sample approxlmatlons are extremely poor if the relative variance of the auxlllary variable X is large. It is also brought out through this.study that Beale's estimator of the population mean seems to be more efficient than the usual sanple mean under the condition resulting from the large sample comparison of the customary ratio estimator and the usual sample mean.     

Estimation of the inverse of mean

For the inverse of mean, a class of estimators with finite moments is considered and its properties are analyzed in the context of normal and non-normal populations.     

Amplifying youth voices in the developing world

Low-literacy youth in the slums of Brazil have been historically unequipped to share their ideas on how to improve their lives, because outside of the spoken word, it is difficult for them to express their thoughts persuasively. The Amplifying Voices afterschool video program piloted at Projeto Uerê in Rio de Janeiro shows that youth can leverage technological tools to voice their perspectives on social issues relevant to themselves and their communities.     

Showing humanity: violence and visuality in Kashmir

ABSTRACT

This paper examines the burst of visual production that emerged from and around Indian-occupied Kashmir in July 2016, when the Indian paramilitary and police began to implement for the first time a tactic of mass blinding as a way of quelling surging protests against the Indian state. I consider a selection of visual texts that intervene in the optical regime undergirding the Indian occupation, one that has arguably elicited Indian support in part via a systematic erasure of the humanity of Kashmiris who favour self-determination (or ‘azadi’). In the face of this optical regime, I examine the visual and narrative tactics through which pro-azadi Kashmiris stake claims to humanity – by putting wounded Kashmiri bodies on spectacular display, graphically foregrounding Kashmiri bodily vulnerability in acts of public grieving, and seeking to interpellate a global political community through an appeal to a shared humanity. As these urgent claims to a larger human community are voiced, this paper asks what it means for Kashmiris to take on the burden of ‘performing humanity’ in these ways, especially given the explicit cautions in visual studies and human rights scholarship around spectacular exhibitions of vulnerability. Rather than assume that showcasing vulnerability can never incite transformation, I closely examine the possibilities of particular visual forms—photojournalism and digital activism—in relaying vulnerability and attempting to claim and recraft humanity.