An anthropometric survey using digital photogrammetry: a case study in Recife, Pernambuco, Brazil

This study was carried out in a partnership with the Federal University of Pernambuco and the Faculty of Human Motricity of the Technical University in Lisbon (Portugal). The aim of the study was the measurement of human body segments throughout the digital photogramety, comparing and analysing data into Recife sample and to validate the Digital System as anthropometric survey tool. The result of the analysis has introduced: Data from the sample; Data by age; Data by Sex; Data by ethnicity; Data by region of birth; Difference of data from population individually. Besides to prove the true efficiency of the software.     

Satisfaction with home-based employment

Using data from nine state regional research project on at-home income generation, the relationships of three satisfaction variables to demographic and work situation variables of 899 household managers in households with home-based employment are investigated. The satisfaction variables include quality of life, family income, and control over everyday life. The majority of households are satisfied with their quality of life and control over life although only moderately satisfied with income. One variable is related to the three satisfaction variables, the wage earner's control over the amount of work done in a day.This paper reports results from the Cooperative Regional Research Project, NE-167, entitled, At-Home Income Generation: Impact on Management, Productivity and Stability in Rural and Urban Families, partially supported by Cooperative States Research Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, and the Experiment Stations at the University of Hawaii, Iowa State University, Lincoln University (Missouri), Michigan State University, Cornell University (New York), The Ohio State University, The Pennsylvania State University, Utah State University, and the University of Vermont. This article was accepted in 1992 under the editorship of Charles B. Hennon.Her research interests include evaluation of teaching/learning, program evaluation, and entrepreneurship. She received her Ph.D. from Cornell University.     

Sizing up Australia: toward a national sizing survey

This paper reports on the outcomes of research on the use of anthropometric data by designers of Australian workplaces and products used in Australian workplaces. Australian designers were asked how they used anthropometric data, and about the adequacy of data that were available to them for their needs as designers. In addition to a review of published and grey literature, designers were surveyed and asked for detailed information about their use of anthropometric data and about their needs. Thirty-two completed questionnaires were received. Two focus groups of designers were conducted; 13 people attended in Adelaide and 16 in Melbourne. The data indicated that designers either did not use anthropometric data at all or had difficulty finding data that were reliable and relevant to their specific needs. In response to the findings the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society of Australia developed a Special Interest Group for anthropometry that currently has over 150 members. The Group is actively lobbying government for an Australian Sizing Survey, so this research is an important stimulus to a major policy investment for Australia.     

Anthropometric aspects of body seated in school

This study aimed to assess the student-furniture interface from anthropometric parameters of the sitting posture. The sample was composed of 887 students from two public schools in the State of Parana-Brazil, which attended children from 7 to 17 years of age. The data collection used anthropometric measures of the sitting position, a questionnaire containing a human body diagram for indication of discomfort areas and photographic records to verify postural and ergonomic inadequacies in classroom. The following anthropometric variables were measured: popliteal height, sacro-popliteal length, hip width, lumbar support height, and elbow and thigh height. Percentiles 5 and 95 of anthropometric variables showed differences statistically significant, with variation coefficient greater than 30%. In relation to body discomfort, the highest occurrences were recorded for ankle, knees and shoulder joints as well as for spine and buttocks. It was concluded that children use school furniture that does not meet their anthropometric standards, which favored the adoption of incorrect postures and contributed to the emergence of musculoskeletal problems that can interfere with their educational process.     

Relative involvement,inadequacy, and jealousy

Romantic jealousy is defined as a reaction to a perceived threat to self and/or relationship. Based on the concepts of comparison level and comparison level for alternatives, and guided by the concepts of primary and secondary appraisal processes in coping with stress, a causal model of jealously is presented. This model was tested based on responses of 150 romantically involved couples to a survey. A slightly revised model was found to predict the observed correlations among model variables fairly well for both males and females. In the revised model greater relative involvement in the relationship and perceived inadequacy as a partner independently and directly cause jealousy. These two primary appraisal variables indirectly affect jealousy through the operation of two global secondary appraisal variables: noticing and worrying. A distinction is drawn between threat based on comparison and threat based on partner's evaluation of oneself. Both types of threat may be either acute or chronic. Author's Note: The author is grateful for research support made available by Harold H. Kelley, National Science Foundation grant BNS76-20490, and for computer time granted by the Computer Science Center, University of Maryland. Thanks are also due to Barry Collins and Harold Gerard for their helpful suggestions in the conduct of this research. Ms. Sara Sutton aided greatly in data collection. Jeffrey Schwartz developed a computer program to aid in model testing. The data reported here were collected as part of the author's doctoral dissertation research at the Department of Psychology, University of California at Los Angeles. Gregory Elliott, George Levinger, and Harold Sigall made useful comments on earlier versions of this report. Requests for reprints should be sent to Dr. Gregory L. White, Department of Psychology, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742.     

Wage and nonwage outcomes in collective bargaining: Determinants and tradeoffs

Using unskilled labor wage rates and union contract scores derived from a sample of 500 U.S. manufacturing contracts, this study finds that in 1975 there was considerable variation in unions’ abilities to deliver higher wages and desirable nonwage contractual provisions to their members (though it is clear that the stronger unions have bargained high levels of both wages and nonwage items). There are a variety of union power, employee quality, union preference, and employer cost variables which impact upon the bargaining choices made between wages and nonwage provisions, and it appears that union strength tilts the compensation package toward wages. The authors, associate professors at the University of Illinois, are very grateful to Christopher Pawlowicz, Ronald Seeber, and Roger Wolters for their help in gathering data. They also are grateful to the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Policy, Evaluation and Research of the U.S. Department of Labor and to the Research Board of the University of Illinois for financially supporting this research. Such support in no way implies, however, that the Department or the University endorses the methods or conclusions in this study.     

Anthropometric analysis of wheelchair users: methodological factors which influence interpopulational comparison

This study identified the factors existing in the methods and techniques used in the anthropometric analysis of wheelchair users which may adversely affect inter-population comparisons. Five studies of anthropometric analysis of wheelchair users were examined: Nowak (1996), Jarosz (1996), Das and Kozey (1999), Kozey and Das (2004) and Paquet and Feathers (2004). All the selected studies presented intra- and inter-population data. After having identified the methods and techniques cited, a comparison was made between the procedures used by these authors and those adopted by Barros (2007). The results indicate that inter-population comparison is valid only when there is similarity between the procedures and techniques used to collect data and the functional characteristics of the people evaluated.     

Cost of living and labor force participation: Married women in urban labor markets

I present and test the hypothesis that the cost of living (COL) positively influences the labor force participation (LFP) of married women. Based on housing values and regional variables, I first predict COL for a sample of 150 metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs) using a smaller subsample for which geographically comparable family budget data are available for 1980. Results from estimating a logistic LFP model using census MSA data confirm my hypothesis and suggest that COL embodies locality-specific amenities rather than “pure” prices. Part of the research for this paper was conducted while the author was Visiting Associate Professor at the Department of Economics and the Frederick Douglass Institute, University of Rochester, New York, during 1992–1993. The author thanks Oded Izraeli and Kevin J. Murphy for their helpful comments on earlier drafts and gratefully acknowledges the grant support of the Oakland University Research Committee.     

PREDICTING MARITAL THERAPY DROPOUTS*

The purpose of this study was to predict therapy dropouts using data gathered at marital therpay intake. Intake data included standardized assessments and demographic information. The sample consisted of 474 couples who were seeking marital therapy and who attended at least one therapy session. Seventy-two couples met the dropout criteria, and a random sample of equal size was drawn from the rest of the couples for the analyses. Data from these two groups of couples were analyzed with multiple regression and discriminant analysis formulas. Three variables-having less than two children, having a male intake clinician, and a presenting problem relating only to one spouse-were significant predictors in accounting for couples who would drop out of therapy. In the best model, high phobic anxiety scores for husbands and a presenting problem relating to parenting, along with the other three variables, produced a model that accurately classified 82% of the couples who dropped out of therapy.     

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.     

Fertility expectation and employment across three female cohorts

The purpose of the study reported here is to assess the relationship between fertility expectation (total number of children expected to have or have had), childrearing career (ratio of actual or intended total time per child taken out of the labour force to rear children), and the following variables across female age cohorts: (a) age, (b) education, (c) personal income, (d) religious strength, (e) marital status, and (f) employment status. The random sample consists of 323 women. Results of simultaneous equation modelling indicates that fertility expectation and childrearing career are influenced by different factors in the age cohorts. Results are discussed in terms of role compatibility and new home economics theories.Data were part of the Winnipeg Area Study, managed by Raymond Curry in the Department of Sociology, University of Manitoba.Dr. Kingsbury received her Ph.D. from the University of North Carolina-Greensboro. Her research interests are fertility decision-making and women's employment.     

Photogrammetry procedures applied to anthropometry

This study aims to evaluate the reliability and establish procedures for the use of digital photogrammetry in anthropometric measurements of the human hand. The methodology included the construction of a platform to allow the placement of the hand always equivalent to a distance of the camera lens and to annul the effects of parallax. We developed a software to perform the measurements from the images and built up a subject of proof in a cast from a negative mold, this object was subjected to measurements with digital photogrammetry using the data collection platform in caliper and the Coordinate Measuring Machine (MMC). The results of the application of photogrammetry in the data collection segment hand, allow us to conclude that photogrammetry is an effective presenting precision coefficient below 0.940. Within normal and acceptable values, given the magnitude of the data used in anthropometry. It was concluded photogrammetry then be reliable, accurate and efficient for carrying out anthropometric surveys of population, and presents less difficulty to collect in-place.     

Child day care and the employment of AFDC recipients with preschool children

In the context of recent federal initiatives to increase the affordability, accessibility, and quality of child care for the working poor, this article examines the degree to which expanding the supply of publicly subsidized child care in local communities may promote, through employment, the independence from welfare and economic self-sufficiency of Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) recipients with preschool-aged children. In a telephone survey of a random sample of 232 AFDC recipients who participated in a larger federally sponsored demonstration project in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, many respondents reported the lack of available child care as a barrier either to employment or to the attainment of a preferred job. Although it is concluded that increases in the availability of subsidized child care should be a component of any strategy to increase the level of employment participation, continuity, and success for this population, the results underscore the need for a multi-faceted intervention strategy to reduce the welfare dependency and to increase the economic self-sufficiency of these parents. Implications for further research are suggested.The data for this investigation were collected under Authorization No. 89-3-WR-NC-008 to the North Carolina Department of Human Resources from the Division of Program Evaluation, Office of Family Assistance, Family Support Administration, Department of Health and Human Services. Additional support was provided under Grant No. 5-44232 from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, University Research Council, Office of Research Services. The views and conclusions expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the views or the official position of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services or the North Carolina Department of Human Resources.He received his Ph.D. in Family Science from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro in 1981. He is a specialist in work and family linkages, policy analysis and evaluation, and survey research methodology. He served as principal investigator on the child care evaluation study that is the basis for this article.He received his Ph.D. in Library Science from the University of Wisconsin in 1982. He is a specialist in evaluation and research methodology, information dissemination and use patterns in public sector agencies, and welfare policy and initiatives. He served as project director for the study described in this article.     

Tree health mapping with multispectral remote sensing data at UC Davis, California

Tree health is a critical parameter for evaluating urban ecosystem health and sustainability. Traditionally, this parameter has been derived from field surveys. We used multispectral remote sensing data and GIS techniques to determine tree health at the University of California, Davis. The study area (363 ha) contained 8,962 trees of 215 species. Tree health conditions were mapped for each physiognomic type at two scales: pixel and whole tree. At the pixel scale, each tree pixel within the tree crown was classified as either healthy or unhealthy based on vegetation index values. At the whole tree scale, raster based statistical analysis was used to calculate tree health index which is the ratio of healthy pixels to entire tree pixels within the tree crown. The tree was classified as healthy if the index was greater than 70%. Accuracy was checked against a random sample of 1,186 trees. At the whole tree level, 86% of campus trees were classified as healthy with 88% mapping accuracy. At the pixel level, 86% of the campus tree cover was classified as healthy. This tree health evaluation approach allows managers to identify the location of unhealthy trees for further diagnosis and treatment. It can be used to track the spread of disease and monitor seasonal or annual changes in tree health. Also, it provides tree health information that is fundamental to modeling and analysis of the environmental, social, and economic services produced by urban forests.     

Family life cycle differences for shopping styles,information use,and decision-making

This article identifies shopping styles, information use, and decision-making differences by family life cycle stage in a purchase of a durable good. Data were collected using mailed questionnaires. The sample consists of 378 cases. Data are analyzed using factor analyses, analysis of variance, and cross tabulations. The shopping style factor indicates younger adults are brand conscious. The consumer factor indicates that people in older life cycle stages read more than people in younger life cycle stages. The inexperience factor indicates single parents, younger families, and younger adults are more inexperienced. The decision-making variable indicates that younger adults and single parents make decisions by themselves and younger families make decisions with their spouses. Reasons for purchases indicate that single parents do not own the product, older families are replacing, and retirees want new product characteristics.Leona K. Hawks is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Home Economics and Consumer Education, Utah State University, Logan, UT 84322-2910. She received her Ed.D. from Brigham Young University. Her current research interests include consumer decision-making and behavior.Norleen M. Ackerman is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Home Economics and Consumer Education, Utah State University, Logan, UT 84322-2910. She received her Ph.D. from Michigan State University. Her current research interests include consumer purchase behavior, family financial security, and life quality of farm families.     

Determining anthropometric variables as a tool in the preparation of furniture and designs of interior spaces: the case of children 6 to 11 years old of Vicosa, State of Minas Gerais, Brazil

The adequacy of facilities and the individual securities in their different age groups is importance to ensure greater functionality to them, allowing full development of daily activities. For this to occur more efficiently it is necessary the use of ergonomics which can ensure more comfort and safety for end users of products and spaces. The present study aimed to measure body dimensions of a representative sample of children aged 6 to 11 years old, children of graduate and pos graduate students, faculty and staff of the Federal University of Vicosa and also residents of the city of Vicosa, State of Minas Gerais, Brazil, coming from different municipalities of State of Minas Gerais, to organize a database that will provide the furniture industry, anthropometric variables more appropriate to design products for both the leisure activities, and for the school sector. To realize this research we used the methodology proposed by the authors Panero and Zelnik, based on samples distributed in six age groups, and providing a measurement of 10 variables. By applying the methodology to the field was possible to compare the observed data, with the tables of the aforementioned authors. The main results revealed a significant variation of the 10 variables analyzed, and it is believed that this variation could lead to possible flaws in the designs of products that use the data from these authors. The completion of the study provided data on Vicosa considered more appropriate for the design of products and environments for the population of the study, considering age and region, of Brazil (State of Minas Gerais) and it is believed that the future may expand to the Brazilian population, with the progress of study of this nature.     

Patterns of correlation between vehicle occupant seat pressure and anthropometry

Seat pressure is known as a major factor of seat comfort in vehicles. In passenger vehicles, there is lacking research into the seat comfort of rear seat occupants. As accurate seat pressure measurement requires significant effort, simulation of seat pressure is evolving as a preferred method. However, analytic methods are based on complex finite element modeling and therefore are time consuming and involve high investment. Based on accurate anthropometric measurements of 64 male subjects and outboard rear seat pressure measurements in three different passenger vehicles, this study investigates if a set of parameters derived from seat pressure mapping are sensitive enough to differentiate between different seats and whether they correlate with anthropometry in linear models. In addition to the pressure map analysis, H-Points were measured with a coordinate measurement system based on palpated body landmarks and the range of H-Point locations in the three seats is provided. It was found that for the cushion, cushion contact area and cushion front area/force could be modeled by subject anthropometry, while only seatback contact area could be modeled based on anthropometry for all three vehicles. Major differences were found between the vehicles for other parameters.     

Union characteristics and organizing success

Using archival data, 12 independent variables pertaining to organizing strategy, organizing resources, and financial resources were used to predict the NLRB certification election success rates of national unions in three different time periods. The more than 50 unions participated in more than 75 percent of such elections. Relative to the hypothesized relationships, a mixed set of results was obtained. Possible explanations for these results, along with suggestions for more refined measurement procedures, are offered in terms of future research needs. Financial support for this project was provided by the Graduate School Research Committee at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and by the Graduate and Research Committee, College of Business at the Ohio State University. Data analysis was provided by Kyu Hwang. We thank Marick Masters, Anne Miner, and Craig Olson and an anonymous reviewer for comments. An earlier version of this paper was presented at the Academy of Management meeting, Chicago, August 1986.