DMAICR in an ergonomic risks analysis

The DMAICR problem-solving methodology is used throughout this paper to show you how to implement ergonomics recommendations. The DMAICR method consists of the following five six steps by which you can solve ergonomic design problems: The steps of the proposed method, adapting DMAICR, are the following: In the steep D, there is the definition of the project or the situation to be assessed and its guiding objectives, known as demand. In the step M, it relates to the work, tasks and organizational protocols and also includes the need of measuring. In the step A, all concepts are about the analysis itself. The step I is the moment of improving or incrementing. In the step C, control, prevention from prospective troublesome situation and implementation of management are the activities controlling the situation. R is Report. Some relevant technical and conceptual aspects for the comparison of these methodologies are illustrated in this paper. The steps of DMAICR were taken by a multifunctional team (multi-professional and multi-disciplinary) termed as focus group, composed by selected members of the company and supported by experts in ergonomics.     

Activity analysis: contributions to the innovation of projects for aircrafts cabins

This article presents results obtained from some ergonomics intervention in the project for the conception of aircraft's cabins. The study's aim is to analyze the contribution of the method adopted in the passengers' activities analysis in reference situations, real-use situations in aircraft's cabins, applied to analyze typical activities performed by people in their own environment. Within this perspective, the study shows two analyses which highlight the use of electronic device. The first analysis has been registered through a shooting filming in a real commercial flight. In the second one, the use is developed within the domestic environment. The same method has been applied in both contexts and it is based on activity analysis. Starting with the filming activity, postures and actions analysis, self-confrontation interviews, action course reconstruction and elaboration of postures envelopes. The results point out that the developed method might be applied to different contexts, evincing different ways of space occupation to meet human personal needs while performing an activity, which can help us with the anticipation of the users' needs, as well as indicate some innovation possibilities.     

Heavy physical work under time pressure: the garbage collection service--a case study

The increased generation of garbage has become a problem in large cities, with greater demand for collection services. The collector is subjected to high workload. This study describes the work in garbage collection service, highlighting the requirements of time, resulting in physical and psychosocial demands to collectors. Ergonomic Work Analysis (EWA) - a method focused on the study of work in real situations was used. Initially, technical visits, global observations and unstructured interviews with different subjects of a garbage collection company were conducted. The following step of the systematic observations was accompanied by interviews conducted during the execution of tasks, inquiring about the actions taken, and also interviews about the actions, but conducted after the development of the tasks, photographic records and audiovisual recordings, of workers from two garbage collection teams. Contradictions between the prescribed work and activities (actual work) were identified, as well as the variability present in this process, and strategies adopted by these workers to regulate the workload. It was concluded that the insufficiency of means and the organizational structure of management ensue a situation where the collection process is maintained at the expense of hyper-requesting these workers, both physically and psychosocially.     

Mands for Information Using “How” Under EO-Absent and EO-Present Conditions

The present study replicates and extends previous research on teaching “How?” mands for information to children with autism. The experimental preparation involved mand training in the context of completing preferred activities and included training and testing under conditions when the establishing operation (EO) was present and absent. Results show that two children with autism acquired mands for information using How? only in situations where information was valuable (i.e., the EO was present); they then consistently made use of the information provided in activity completion. Generalization to novel, untaught situations was assessed.     

Evaluating complex interventions in real context: Logic analysis of a case management program for frequent users of healthcare services

Case management programs for frequent users of healthcare services are complex interventions which implementation and application are challenging to evaluate. The aim of this article was to conduct a logic analysis to evaluate a case management program for frequent users of healthcare services. The study proceeded in three phases: 1) establishing causal links between the program’s components by the construction of a logic model, 2) developing an integrated framework from a realistic synthesis, and 3) making a new reading of the case management program in regard of the integrated framework. The study demonstrated, on one hand, strengths and weaknesses of the actual case management program, and, on the other hand, how logic analysis can create a constructive dialogue between theory and practice. The evaluative process with decision-makers, clinicians and patients has helped to make connexions between theory, practice, experience and services organization.     

The impacts of painful noise in the apprehension of sound references on context of a big band

This study aims to describe the painfulness applied to situations of teaching-learning of a Big Band in a School of Music of a Brazilian Federal University. Moreover, the concept of what painful noise is will be developed, applied to this context. After Ergonomic Work Analysis [2], the following variables were selected to characterize the painful noise: volume, height, frequency, sound confluence and reverberation. To relate the influence of painful noise on modes operatives, were explained the operative strategies used by teacher and students during the performance in group of this Big Band.     

Ergonomics principles to design clothing work for electrical workers in Colombia

The recent development of the Colombian legislation, have been identified the need to develop protective clothing to work according to specifications from the work done and in compliance with international standards. These involve the development and design of new strategies and measures for work clothing design. In this study we analyzes the activities of the workers in the electrical sector, the method analyzes the risks activity data in various activities, that activities include power generation plants, local facilities, industrial facilities and maintenance of urban and rural networks. The analyses method is focused on ergonomic approach, risk analysis is done, we evaluate the role of security expert and we use a design algorithm developed for this purpose. The result of this study is the identification of constraints and variables that contribute to the development of a model of analysis that leads to the development the work protective clothes.     

Ergonomic work analysis of airbus pilots job in Brazil

This article is the result of a case study of ergonomic work analysis carried out in a Brazilian airline company, focused on the safety of the activity of Airbus pilots from the company's national lines. The study was divided in three parts, each one with different approach. First step is how critical situations such as accidents and incidents are dealt with during flight. Then it comes to discuss about adversities found in the working place, the airbus cockpit, and the development of risk map. Last but not least, the study focused in how the irregular working journey compromises the biological clock of the pilots end may cause social issues.     

“Sensory Ordering” in Nurses' Clinical Decision‐Making: Making Visible Senses,Sensing, and “Sensory Work” in the Hospital

The objective of this article is to present a study on the constitutive role of senses in clinical decision‐making. The methodology is based on a series of focus groups with nurses in various hospital departments. Based on a narrative approach, our study examines “sensory work” in clinical decision‐making in order to reveal its specificity in the clinical work of nurses. Nurses shared stories—in focus groups—about the influence of senses in clinical decision‐making. The analysis of clinical narratives helped to identify various situations revealing the “sensory work” that underlines clinical decision‐making. We put the emphasis on the spectrum of sensory activities and the interactions occurring during a clinical decision‐making. One specific contribution of our study is to make visible the “sensory ordering” at work as constituted by interactions between nurses during a clinical assessment.     

Contributions from the activity analysis to the products development project: case study based on a project of innovation and comfort in aircraft's cabins

Comfort is an issue that has gained relevance within the aeronautical industry due to the necessity of manufacturers and airline companies of differentiating themselves in a market that has become more and more competitive each day. This study's aim is to analyze the comfort/discomfort of passengers, based on the analysis of the activities performed in the aircrafts' cabin during real flights, in order to create ergonomics requirements and a methodology of comfort analysis. The study has been performed during domestic commercial flights, and the adopted data collection techniques have been: the application of 219 questionnaires to passengers, 44 registrations of postures and actions through filmings and 12 semistructured interviews. The method has made possible the reconstruction of the user's action course in performing activities in real flight situations, and the calculation of the area occupied by the passenger during his or her actions. The integrated analysis of the results corroborates data from previous studies in which both the space made available to each passenger and the activity performed interfere in their perception of comfort. From this study it has been concluded that the method constitutes itself as an innovative tool within the process of aircrafts' cabins project enabling the calculation of the action space based on the reconstructed course.     

Urbanization and economic development in Burma

"Since British colonial rule in Burma [Myanmar], urban centres have emerged and grown. This has continued with independence in 1948. Urbanization has proceeded apace, first primarily because of rural-urban migration and then mainly because of natural growth in cities and towns, leading to a host of urban problems exacerbated by an ailing economy which has not permitted adequate levels of investment in, and development of, urban infrastructure. This article examines these issues in urbanization and economic development and concludes that long-term solutions to these problems can only be arrived at if population growth and urbanization are given sufficient attention in economic policies which must, necessarily, seek to restructure the economy. The urban future of Burma, otherwise, remains bleak."     

Occurrence of breeding bird species in urban parks: Effects of park structure and broad-scale variables

Occurrences of breeding bird species in 54 urban parks were investigated in the city of Oulu in northern Finland. Park area, human activity, habitat, and landscape structure within a 9-ha square surrounding the study park were related to the bird species richness and occurrence of individual bird species. A total of 22 species was observed. The area of the park explained 39% of the variance of species richness. Seven species (wheatear [Oenanthe oenanthe], common rosefinch [Carpodacus erythrinus], garden warbler [Sylvia borin], lesser whitethroat [Sylvia curruca], linnet [Acanthis cannabina], redpoll [Carduelis flammea], and yellowhammer [Emberiza citrinella]) were not detected in parks of >0.75 ha. Species with lower area demands occurred closer to the town center than species with greater area requirements. Ground-nesting species were poor colonizers of urban parks, whereas high numbers of nest boxes in urban parks attracted many cavity-nesting species. The willow warbler (Phylloscopus trochilus) and the magpie (Pica pica) bred more often in unmanaged than in managed parks, probably because of the greater vegetation cover in unmanaged parks. Park structure variables were entered into models for 7 of the 12 most common bird species, whereas broad scale variables were entered into models for 6 of the 12 species. The number of adjacent buildings had a negative affect on three bird species (the willow warbler, hooded crow [Corvus corone cornix], and spotted flycatcher [Muscicapa striata]). The occurrence of breeding species in urban parks depends on the size of the park, park structure, and landscape structure outside the park.     

Prevalence of job strain among Indian foundry shop floor workers

Global competition in manufacturing sector demand higher productivity levels. In this context, workers in this sector are set with high output targets, leading to job strain. In addition to the strain, hazardous conditions also prevail in some of the manufacturing processes like foundry activities. This paper attempts to appraise the prevalence of job strain among foundry shop floor workers in India with the help of Demands-Control model [8]. In this study, data was collected through a survey using 49-item Job Content Questionnaire (JCQ) [9], a widely used and well-validated test for job strain. Then the data was subjected to statistical analysis after ascertaining the reliability. This survey has revealed that 25% of workers in foundry were experiencing high job strain. Hazardous working conditions, limited decision making authority, etc. appear to be the main contributing factors for the higher levels of strain.     

Is Hypersexuality Dimensional or Categorical? Evidence From Male and Female College Samples

The recent attempt to introduce hypersexual disorder into the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM-5), has increased empirical scrutiny of the construct. Consensus on its definition and underlying structure remains elusive. Whereas some conceptualizations favor a categorical latent structure, others speculate that hypersexual behavior is dimensional. Research on the latent structure of hypersexual behavior, however, has been sparse. This is unfortunate, because determination of the latent structure can contribute to more accurate assessment, diagnosis, and understanding of etiological process. To date the only study on hypersexuality's latent structure found consistent evidence of a dimensional structure for males but less clear results for females. In the present study the Multidimensional Inventory of Development, Sex, and Aggression (MIDSA), a self-report, contingency-based inventory, was administered to 1,146 college students. Four indices of hypersexual behavior and six indices of sexual compulsivity were analyzed, using three taxometric methods (mean above minus below a cut [MAMBAC], maximum covariance [MAXCOV], and latent mode factor analysis [L-Mode]). Evidence supported a dimensional latent structure for hypersexuality in male and female samples. Future assessments of hypersexuality must focus on adequate reliability and discriminant validity across the continuum of sexual behavior rather than on attempts to differentiate between arbitrarily developed diagnostic categorizations.     

Using activity theory to evaluate and improve K-12 school and university partnerships

This article reports on an evaluation methodology development study for K-12 school and university partnerships. The method is based on Engeström's (1987). Learning by expanding: An activity-theoretical approach to developmental research. Helsinki: Orienta-Konsultit Oy activity systems analysis that allows researchers to examine qualitative datasets of complex human interactions. This study was designed for participants to evaluate partnership relations and activities. We investigated how the use of activity systems analysis in K-12 school and university partnership evaluation meetings affected participant communication processes. In this study, during a 1-day retreat K-12 school staff and university staff used a modified activity systems model to identify persisting institutional tensions in their program that often trigger miscommunications and strain their relations. During the discussion sessions, study participants collaboratively examined their partnership relations and identified strategies for overcoming difficulties. Additionally, in subsequent monthly partnership meetings during the school year, participants examined findings from the evaluation to design and implement improvement strategies. The results from this methodology development and implementation study provided researchers and partnership participants a new means to (a) evaluate partnership activities, (b) identify institutional barriers, (c) plan future activities, and (d) listen to and incorporate the ideas of less vocal staff members into the planning of future activities.     

Developing a framework for assessing muscle effort and postures during computer work in the field: the effect of computer activities on neck/shoulder muscle effort and postures

The present study, a part of the PROOF (PRedicting Occupational biomechanics in OFfice workers) study, aimed to determine whether trapezius muscle effort was different across computer activities in a field study of computer workers, and also investigated whether head and shoulder postures were different across computer activities. One hundred twenty participants were measured continuously for two hours each while performing their own computer work. Keyboard activities were associated with the highest intensity of left and right trapezius muscle efforts, and mouse activities were associated with the smallest variability in left and right trapezius muscle efforts. Corresponding trends in head and shoulder postures included that the greatest head flexion and left and right shoulder internal rotation was observed during keyboard activities, and that the smallest variability in head flexion, head lateral tilt, and right shoulder internal rotation was observed during mouse activities. Identifying which muscle efforts and postures are different across computer activities is the first essential step for developing prediction rules for muscle efforts and postures, which can be used to link muscle efforts and postures to musculoskeletal symptoms in epidemiological studies.     

Visceral adiposity index is associated with benign prostatic enlargement in non-diabetic patients: a cross-sectional study

Objective: To evaluate the association between visceral adiposity index (VAI) - a novel indicator for the assessment of visceral adipose tissue and prostate enlargement in non diabetic patients.

Material and methods: Four hundred patients who were admitted to the Urology clinic between January and December 2014 with complaints of BPH(benign prostatic hyperplasia )/LUTS(male lower urinary tract symptoms)were enrolled in this cross-sectional study. Patients were divided into two groups according to their prostate volume and international prostate symptom score (IPSS) value. They were compared in terms of age, body mass index (BMI), VAI, prostate volume, PSA, post micturional residual volume (PMRV), uroflowmetry Q max value, triglyceride (TG), high density lipoprotein-cholesterol (HDL-C) and fasting blood sugar (FBS).

Results: Although univariate analyses reveal that age, BMI, waist circumference (WC), FBS, TG, HDL-C level and TG/HDL ratio were correlated with prostate volume, only age [1.125 OR (1.088–1.164), p?=?.00001], BMI [1.119 OR (1.040–1.204), p?=?.003], TG [1.043 OR (1.016–1.071), p?=?.002], HDL-C [0.923 OR (0.860–0.990), p?=?.025] and VAI [1.194 OR (1.110–1.305), p?=?.011] were statistically significant in multivariate analysis. A positive correlation was found between VAI value and prostate volume in the Spearman correlation test (r?=?0.29, p?=?.00001). The calculated area under the curve (AUC) for prostate volumes of 30, 40 and 50?ml were 0.680 (0.621–0.738), 0.625 (0.570–0.681) and 0.590 (0.528–0.652), respectively.

Conclusion: Our study revealed a positive correlation between VAI and prostate volume. Our results are needed to be tested with well-designed randomized prospective cohort studies.     

A computerized system to monitor resilience indicators in organizations

The concepts developed by resilience engineering allow the understanding and monitoring the functioning of organizations and, particularly, to map the role of human activities, in success or in failure, enabling a better comprehension about how people make decisions in unexpected situations. The capture of information about human activities in the various organization levels gives managers a deeper real-time understanding of what is influencing the people performance, providing awareness of the factors that influence positively or negatively the organizational goals initially projected. The monitoring is important because the correct functioning of complex systems depends on the knowledge that people have to perform their activities and how the system environment provides tools that actually support the human performance. Therefore, organizations should look forward through precursors in operating signals to identify possible problems or solutions in the structure of tasks and activities, safety, quality, schedule, rework, and maintenance. We apply the concepts of resilience engineering to understand the organization by the analysis of cognitive tasks and activities. The aim is the development of a computerized system to monitor human activities to produce indicators to access system resilience. The validation of the approach was made in a real organization and the results show the successful applicability of the system. Based on findings obtained after the experiment of the system in a real organization, and managers and workers opinions, it was possible to show that the use of system provided an anticipated (real-time) perception about how activities are effectively being performed, allowing managers and workers to make decisions more consistent with daily problems, and also to anticipate solutions to cope with unexpected situations.     

Preliminary study of the pilot's workload during emergency procedures in helicopters air operations

Military air operations and law enforcement operations in helicopters are examples of activities that require high performance of the operator. This article aimed at presenting a preliminary analysis of data obtained in the initial study in order to validate the instruments and the research protocol that focuses on the analysis of the workload imposed on helicopter pilots in emergency situations. The research was conducted in an environment of real flight training and used the NASA-TLX Scale to assess the workload and an interview guide to obtain reports on the main tasks performed. Preliminary data obtained is related to the participation of 10 (ten) volunteer pilots with experience in different types of helicopters. Four scenarios involving helicopter emergency procedures of HB-350 "Squirrel" were outlined. For this article, the analysis used only the data regarding the Physical and Mental Demands of the NASA-TLX Scale. Preliminarily, the results indicate that the "time pressure" as a factor contributing to increase mental requirement in emergency situations in flight, and that this increase was reflected in the request of mental processes such as: identification of the breakdown, attention and monitoring parameters. Future steps include extending the sample and adding physiological tools to better understand the effects of these types of emergencies on pilot performance and flight safety.