Father's Incarceration and Youth Delinquency and Depression: Examining Differences by Race and Ethnicity

This article examines associations between biological father's incarceration and internalizing and externalizing outcomes of depression and serious delinquency, across White, Black, and Hispanic subsamples of youth in the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health. Among respondents whose father was first incarcerated during childhood or adolescence, father's incarceration is found to be associated with increased depression and delinquency. On the whole, results indicate that associations between father's incarceration and depression and delinquency do not vary by race and ethnicity or gender. One exception is among Hispanic respondents, for whom having a biological father incarcerated is associated with an even higher propensity of delinquency than among White and Black respondents with incarcerated fathers.     

Are cutout handles used when available in real occupational settings? Description of grips and upper extremities movements during industrial box handling

In order to achieve better postures and decrease musculoskeletal risks adequate design of hand/box couplings for manual materials handling (MMH) are still needed. No studies evaluating upper limb movement thorough direct measurements during box handling in workplace were identified in the literature. In this study we describe the types of grip and movements adopted by ten workers when handling redesigned boxes with cutout handles between different heights on industrial pallets. The new handles were used by 90% of the workers through different types of grip. Electrogoniometric measurements showed relatively safe forearm and wrist movements, although elbow inadequate range of movement was recorded. Despite the good acceptance of the cutout by workers, the new design requires extra internal space in the boxes reducing applications for this alternative of box.     

Accessibility and ergonomic analysis for banking cash

Ergonomics and accessibility in banking has been the subject of numerous discussions, and in this work proposed by the partnership of companies and NR TN Mobile Work Safety and Occupational Medicine, aimed to analyze the service box and propose the development of a project to the teller accessible account of both the legal aspects regarding the factors inherent in banking, focusing primarily on the interface of the worker and the client user.     

A comprehensive literature review of the pelvis and the lower extremity FE human models under quasi-static conditions

Finite Element Modeling (FEM) has become a vital tool in the automotive design and development processes. FEM of the human body is a technique capable of estimating parameters that are difficult to measure in experimental studies with the human body segments being modeled as complex and dynamic entities. Several studies have been dedicated to attain close-to-real FEMs of the human body (Pankoke and Siefert 2007; Amann, Huschenbeth et al. 2009; ESI 2010). The aim of this paper is to identify and appraise the state-of-the art models of the human body which incorporate detailed pelvis and/or lower extremity models. Six databases and search engines were used to obtain literature, and the search was limited to studies published in English since 2000. The initial search results identified 636 pelvis-related papers, 834 buttocks-related papers, 505 thigh-related papers, 927 femur-related papers, 2039 knee-related papers, 655 shank-related papers, 292 tibia-related papers, 110 fibula-related papers, 644 ankle-related papers, and 5660 foot-related papers. A refined search returned 100 pelvis-related papers, 45 buttocks-related papers, 65 thigh-related papers, 162 femur-related papers, 195 knee-related papers, 37 shank-related papers, 80 tibia-related papers, 30 fibula-related papers and 102 ankle-related papers and 246 foot-related papers. The refined literature list was further restricted by appraisal against a modified LOW appraisal criteria. Studies with unclear methodologies, with a focus on populations with pathology or with sport related dynamic motion modeling were excluded. The final literature list included fifteen models and each was assessed against the percentile the model represents, the gender the model was based on, the human body segment/segments included in the model, the sample size used to develop the model, the source of geometric/anthropometric values used to develop the model, the posture the model represents and the finite element solver used for the model. The results of this literature review provide indication of bias in the available models towards 50th percentile male modeling with a notable concentration on the pelvis, femur and buttocks segments.     

Specialisation and training for fire-fighters driving heavy rescue vehicles: consequences for the development of operators?

This work was undertaken in France at the request of a local fire and rescue school in order to conduct an analysis of driving two types of heavy rescue vehicle with a view to improving training. This study took place in a context of specialisation: the drivers of these vehicles will henceforth only perform this type of task. Consequently, specific training has been designed in advance. Our study concerns the improvement of this training, taking account of the particularities of driving these vehicles in emergency situations typical to the profession of fire-fighters. The results stress first that driving of rescue vehicles in emergency situations is a multidimensional collective activity. Driving strategies identified share certain common objectives: "optimising trajectories", warn other road users, anticipate their behaviour and leave room for manoeuvre to counter and react to any unexpected behaviour. They include risks management for the potential victims of the incident and the risk of accidents during the journey. These initial results help identify certain recommendations for the training courses dealing with driving vehicles in emergency situations. They also provide a warning concerning the possible consequences of driver specialisation.     

Designing for multiple global user populations: increasing resource allocation efficiency for greater sustainability

This paper proposes a method to identify opportunities for increasing the efficiency of raw material allocation decisions for products that are simultaneously targeted at multiple user populations around the world. The values of 24 body measures at certain key percentiles were used to estimate the best-fitting anthropometric distributions for female and male adults in nine national populations, which were selected to represent the diverse target markets multinational companies must design for. These distributions were then used to synthesize body measure data for combined populations with a 1:1 female:male ratio. An anthropometric range metric (ARM) was proposed for assessing the variation of these body measures across the populations. At any percentile, ARM values were calculated as the percentage difference between the highest and lowest anthropometric values across the considered user populations. Based on their magnitudes, plots of ARM values computed between the 1st and 99 th percentiles for each body measure were grouped into low, medium, and high categories. This classification of body measures was proposed as a means of selecting the most suitable strategies for designing raw material-efficient products. The findings in this study and the contributions of subsequent work along these lines are expected to help achieve greater efficiencies in resource allocation in global product development.     

The reality of the women who make our lives easier: experience in a company that assemblies electric motors in Venezuela

Objective: intervene a workline throughout ergonomic approach to diminish incidence of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome (CTS). Methods and Materials: an ergonomic intervention study was developed in workstations with highest index of musculoskeletal disorder (MED) associated to cumulative trauma. The Deparis method, Reba and Ocra check list methods were used, also morbility reviewes. National and international ethics criteria were carried out. Results: workers identified 3 fundamental issues using the Deparis method: repetitive activities, postures adopted and uncomfortable furniture. The analysis of the workstation with Reba and Ocra methods before the changes, evidenciated that 56% of postures adopted were high risk postures, the 44% remaining were medium and low-risk. Following the active pause program (APP), furniture changes and work rhythm decrease, was noted that the risk of suffering MED decreased. The morbility review, drop in consults of musculoskeletal system (MES) related to CTS observed. The APP was well accepted by women, but not initially men. Discussion: the research show that when the work rhythm decreases, the symptom of MES related to CTS have a remarkable decrease, also that changes in the furniture, generate great ergonomic differences and changes in the work environment are not possible if workers don't empower the tools to make-it.     

Burnout syndrome, working conditions, and health: a reality among public high school teachers in Brazil

The objective of the study was to evaluate the occurrence of Burnout Syndrome in 100 teachers of six public high schools and its correlation with working conditions in a southeast city of Brazil. Characterization of the sample occurred after application of a socio-demographic questionnaire. Evaluation of the working conditions was done by means of an Ergonomic Working Analysis. The presence of Burnout Syndrome was evaluated by means of the Maslach Burnout Inventory. The sample presented the predominance of women, with an average age of 40.4 and the majority married with children. Roughly 50% had less than 10 years of service, and more than half of the teachers taught more than 18 classes per week. Hoarseness after work was principally reported among women, which required many days off for health treatment. Environmental conditions reflect inadequacy in relation to noise, light, humidity and temperature. Presence of pain in the upper limbs was especially high among women. Risk of musculoskeletal disorders in the upper limbs predominated as moderately important to significant. We also identified an average distance walked by teachers of 1.5 Km and an average of 4.2 Kg of school supplies carried between classes. The Burnout Syndrome presented a high score for depersonalization principally among men, but it has association with both sexes. Emotional exhaustion correlates with noise, depersonalization, and personal fulfillment, in addition to the high number of weekly lessons. It can be concluded that Burnout syndrome is present among teachers, principally in terms of depersonalization, deserving the attention of government officials and the schools, as well as the teachers themselves.