Mothers, daughters and midlife (self)-discoveries: Gender and aging in the Amanda Cross' Kate Fansler series

In the same way that many aspects of gender cannot be understood aside from their relationship to race, class, culture, nationality and/or sexuality, the interactions between gender and aging constitute an interesting field for academic research, without which we cannot gain full insight into the complex and multi-faceted nature of gender studies. Although the American writer and Columbia professor Carolyn Gold Heilbrun (1926-2003) is more widely known for her best-selling mystery novels, published under the pseudonym of Amanda Cross, she also authored remarkable pieces of non-fiction in which she asserted her long-standing commitment to feminism, while she also challenged established notions on women and aging and advocated for a reassessment of those negative views. To my mind, the Kate Fansler novels became an instrument to reach a massive audience of female readers who might not have read her non-fiction, but who were perhaps finding it difficult to reach fulfillment as women under patriarchy, especially upon reaching middle age. Taking her essays in feminism and literary criticism as a basis and her later fiction as substantiation to my argument, this paper will try to reveal the ways in which Heilbrun's seemingly more superficial and much more commercial mystery novels as Amanda Cross were used a catalyst that informed her feminist principles while vindicating the need to rethink about issues concerning literary representations of mature women and cultural stereotypes about motherhood.     

Study of activities of postmen motorcyclists: a look at motorcycle accidents

This article presents the steps of transforming the material and organizational aspects in the work environment, beyond the social order for the proper development of activities in the Household Distribution Center, the Postmen Motorcyclists. The demand was made by managers from the accident records, establishing the need to identify the working conditions of postmen motorcyclists, regarding motorcycle accidents occurring on public roads. Method: Based on the characteristics of the steps required by the methodology, was necessary to realize internal and external observations, with the aim of identifying the dynamics of the accident and the collective dimensions of activity which requires a strategy for monitoring the work on the street.     

Administrative rationality and coping strategies in shift work

Shift work (SW) can affect worker health and productivity. Working at night, workers often accumulate fatigue and are less productive. In Brazil, laws have been drafted aiming to reduce night work and rotating shift hours. In order to slash costs, companies have been looking for new arrangements to improve productivity under these conditions. The purpose of this study was to examine management changes and their outcomes in a large glass factory located in an industrial region of Brazil. The results show that the management, seeking equal productivity among shifts, focused its efforts mainly on distributing employee expertise. The arrangement resulted in 12 different groups that combine to serve three fixed shifts. A same shift can be served by more than one group, and the members of a same group share days off on different days. There was no statistically significant productivity difference among the three shifts. The on-site examination showed that part of the production was held by the workers and transferred to the next shift in order for them to be able to meet the management's performance rate requirements. The finding shows how a Brazilian cultural trait (resistance without conflict) is used to drive coping in SW.     

Ergonomic factors and production target evaluation in eucalyptus timber harvesting operations in mountainous terrains

There are several forest operations involved in Eucalyptus timber harvesting. This study was carried out during brush-cutting; tree felling, bucking, delimbing, piling and manual extraction operations, with the following objectives: a) analyzing, ergonomically, two systems of brush-cutting: one manual and the other semi-mechanized, using two different machines; b) ergonomically evaluating three different brands of pruner machines used in delimbing felled trees. c) determining the feasible target of productivity as a function of ergonomic factors relevant to establish the time of resting pauses for workers in manual and semi-mechanized timber harvesting systems in mountainous terrain. Brush-cutting, either manual or semimechanized, is an activity carried out prior to timber harvesting. It is usually a hard work, with low productivity when compared with mechanized systems. Pruner machines have been used by forest companies, due to the great possibilities to improve productivity, quality and the health of workers. Ergonomics is a discipline that promotes the adequacy of work to the physical and mental characteristics of human beings, seeking to design production systems and products considering relevant aspects, including social, organizational and environmental factors. Companies should consider the ergonomic factor in the determination of daily worker production targets.     

Perceptual aspects of the use of faucets (taps)

This paper presents an assessment with simulated activities with the aim of analyzing the perception of ease / difficulty of the use of faucets (taps) handles by 180 Brazilian adults. Five different handles faucets were activated for subsequent collection of perceptual data. The procedures were based on main recommendations for biomedical ethics and human research. The results indicate that handles with levers are significantly (p ≤ 0.05) easier to use. The most difficult are characterized by not having support points for the rotation (levers) or more points of pressure concentration in the hand.     

Seniors and technology, ergonomic needs and design considerations

This work is based on the ergonomic approach and the principles of universal design, with the aim of establishing the cognitive design features that interfaces must comply, for older adults achieve a good performance during their interaction with technological aids. Describes the analysis of exploratory experiences with a group of 17 older adults was aimed first to establish the main barriers to implementation that arise during these activities, and secondly to set the variables to be addressed and the procedure required to develop depth study, where the relationship establish between the quality of the stimuli and the level of performance achieved in the implementation of older adults with interfaces, observing each of the cognitive functions that promote independence, attention, motivation, memory these processes. The study in depth, looking for describe gaps and mismatches encountered during execution, which hamper the harmonious interaction processes through participatory methodological approach that allows to specify requirements for the creation of stimulating interfaces for cognitive skills and committed with the levels of autonomy of the elderly.     

Participatory ergonomics among female cashiers from a department store

The objective of this paper was to control ergonomic risks among female cashiers working in a department store belonging to the retail market. This study was conducted between May and November 2010. Participatory ergonomics was applied through knowing and understanding how the company works, establishing the work team (Ergo group), training the team in ergonomics-related topics, and making decisions and interventions. The sample was composed of 71 participants--mostly female cashiers--, and all of them have a musculoskeletal compromise, declaring pain or discomfort mainly in the neck, lower back, right wrist and shoulders. Among others, following problems were found: postural overload, repetitive work, manual load handling, mental fatigue, environmental discomfort, variable work schedules, extended working days, and absence of breaks. In the intervention, the main implemented changes were the redesign of workstation, complete change of chairs and keyboards, and the implementation of a rotation system, as well breaks for compensatory exercises. After that, an evident improvement of found problems was observed, therefore it can be concluded that participatory ergonomics is an attractive methodology, appropriate and efficient for solving and controlling ergonomic risks and problems.     

Ergonomics and design: traffic sign and street name sign

This work proposes a design methodology using ergonomics and anthropometry concepts applied to traffic sign and street name sign projects. Initially, a literature revision on cognitive ergonomics and anthropometry is performed. Several authors and their design methodologies are analyzed and the aspects to be considered in projects of traffic and street name signs are selected and other specific aspects are proposed for the design methodology. A case study of the signs of "Street of Antiques" in Porto Alegre city is presented. To do that, interviews with the population are made to evaluate the current situation of signs. After that, a new sign proposal with virtual prototyping is done using the developed methodology. The results obtained with new interviews about the proposal show the user satisfaction and the importance of cognitive ergonomics to development of this type of urban furniture.     

Comparing two types of navigational interfaces for Virtual Reality

Previous studies suggest significant differences between navigating virtual environments in a life-like walking manner (i.e., using treadmills or walk-in-place techniques) and virtual navigation (i.e., flying while really standing). The latter option, which usually involves hand-centric devices (e.g., joysticks), is the most common in Virtual Reality-based studies, mostly due to low costs, less space and technology demands. However, recently, new interaction devices, originally conceived for videogames have become available offering interesting potentialities for research. This study aimed to explore the potentialities of the Nintendo Wii Balance Board as a navigation interface in a Virtual Environment presented in an immersive Virtual Reality system. Comparing participants' performance while engaged in a simulated emergency egress allows determining the adequacy of such alternative navigation interface on the basis of empirical results. Forty university students participated in this study. Results show that participants were more efficient when performing navigation tasks using the Joystick than with the Balance Board. However there were no significantly differences in the behavioral compliance with exit signs. Therefore, this study suggests that, at least for tasks similar to the studied, the Balance Board have good potentiality to be used as a navigation interface for Virtual Reality systems.