The influence of whole-body vibration and postural support on activity interference in standing rail passengers

Travel time has generally been regarded as an unproductive period, representing a means-to-an-end in order to engage in activities at specific destinations. Rapid developments in mobile technology have provided people with innovative ways to multi-task and engage in meaningful activities while travelling. Rail transportation specifically, offers passengers advantages over other means of transportation as there is no need to focus on driving tasks. Due to the increase in passenger numbers and limited seating availability in train carriages, over one third of rail passengers are required to stand while travelling (DfT, 2013). The vibration to which rail passengers are exposed has been shown to interfere with the performance of activities and for standing passengers, it is often necessary to use postural supports such as holding on to grab rails or leaning on walls in order to maintain stability. The overall aim of the research is to evaluate the influence of whole-body vibration (WBV) exposure and standing posture on the performance of manual control tasks and the associated subjective workloads experienced by rail passengers. The use of supports, such as a backrest in seated postures, has been found to influence the response of the human body to WBV exposure, yet no reported studies have investigated the effects of postural supports on the response of the body in standing postures. Understanding how the body is affected in these conditions would increase the current state of knowledge on the biomechanical responses of the human body to vibration exposure and provide improved representation of standing postures within vibration standards (for example, ISO2631-4 (2001)) and guidelines for device interface design. A field study, using direct observation, was conducted to assess the behaviour of standing rail passengers and determine the characteristics of typical vibration exposures. This information provided the basis for the design of four subsequent laboratory studies. The main investigations of the laboratory studies were the influence of WBV exposure on objective performance measures, such as task completion time and error rate, and subjective workloads (for example, NASA TLX) for a range of manual control tasks. One of these laboratory studies evaluated the influence of various postural supports (for example, backrests) on the biomechanical responses of standing individuals. Measurements obtained during the field investigation indicated that the vibration exposures did not exceed the EU Physical Agents Exposure Action Value (EAV) and therefore posed little risk of injury. Vibration magnitudes in the horizontal directions (x- and y-axes) were higher than in the vertical direction (z-axis) and it was necessary for standing passengers to alter behaviours and use supports in order to maintain stability while travelling. The results of the laboratory studies indicated that in conditions where decrements in task performance occurred, the extent to which performance was degraded increased progressively with increases in vibration magnitude. There were conditions (for example, in the continuous control task and the Overhead Handle supported posture in the serial control task) where vibration exposure showed no significant influence on performance measures. This suggested that individuals were able to adapt and compensate for the added stress of vibration exposure in order to maintain performance levels however, this occurred at the expense of mental workload. The workload experienced by the participants increased with corresponding increases in magnitude. Vibration frequency-dependent effects in performance and workload were found to match the biomechanical responses (apparent mass and transmissibility) of the human body and resemble the frequency weightings described in the standards (ISO2631-1 (1997)). During the serial control task, the postures which demonstrated the greatest decrements to performance (for example, Lean Shoulder and Lean Back ) corresponded to the same postures that showed the greatest influence on the biomechanical responses of the body. It was concluded therefore, that measurements of the biomechanical responses to WBV could be used to offer predictions for the likelihood of activity interference. Consideration should however, be given to the applicability of this research before these results can be generalised to wider contexts. Further validation is recommended for future work to include different conditions in order to substantiate the findings of this research

Effects of horizontal whole-body vibration and standing posture on activity interference

Standing people are exposed to whole-body vibration in many environments. This paper investigates the effects of horizontal whole-body vibration and standing posture on task performance. Sixteen participants were exposed to random vibration (up to 4Hz), whilst performing a timed pegboard task in two standing postures. Objective and subjective indicators of performance were used. Time taken to complete the task increased progressively with increases in vibration magnitude; the fore-and-aft posture generally showed greater performance decrements and postural interruptions (>1.0ms-2 r.m.s.) than the lateral. For both postures, performance was better during y-axis vibration than during x-axis vibration. Subjective ratings showed similar trends to time data. Impairments due to dual axis exposure were well predicted using r.s.s. summation calculations based on single axis components. These results indicate that best performance for those standing in moving environments will be achieved if individuals adopt a lateral posture with the most severe vibration in the y-axis

A multi-factorial model for performance under vibration

Whole-body vibration affects drivers and passengers in vehicles. These people could be performing a variety of tasks that could be directly related to the control of the vehicle, or could be something unrelated to the vehicle. There is potential for the exposure to WBV whilst performing a task to adversely affect task performance. This paper uses two case studies to illustrate a model of performance and workload whilst exposed to vibration. It is shown that performance whilst completing a discrete task (Purdue pegboard) is easily affected by vibration, but a continuous task (steering wheel) is unaffected. However, in both cases, the self-reported workload increases with vibration. A model is presented that shows that where there is adaptive capacity of the operator, they are able to compensate for the vibration with greater control but at the cost of workload. However, beyond a coping threshold the performance will degrade

Membership categorization, culture and norms in action

In this article, we examine the extent to which membership categorization analysis (MCA) can inform an understanding of reasoning within the public domain where morality, policy and cultural politics are visible (Smith and Tatalovich, 2003). Through the examination of three examples, we demonstrate how specific types of category device(s) are a ubiquitous feature of accountable practice in the public domain where morality matters and public policy intersect. Furthermore, we argue that MCA provides a method for analysing the mundane mechanics associated with everyday cultural politics and democratic accountability assembled and presented within news media and broadcast settings

Classtalk: A Classroom Communication System for Active Learning

This pdf file is an article describing the advantages of using Classtalk technology in the classroom to enhance classroom communication. Classtalk technology cab facilitate the presentation of questions for small group work, collec the student answers and then display histograms showing how the class answered. This new communication technology can help instructors create a more interactive, student centered classroom, especially when teaching large courses. The article describes Classtalk as a very useful tool not only for engaging students in active learning, but also for enhancing the overall communication within the classroom. This article is a selection from the electronic Journal for Computing in Higher Education. Educational levels: Graduate or professional

Egg quality determinants in cod (Gadus morhua L.): egg performance and lipids in eggs from farmed and wild broodstock

Lipids and essential fatty acids, particularly the highly unsaturated fatty acids, 20:5n-3 (eicosapentaenoic acid; EPA), 22:6n-3 (docosahexaenoic acid; DHA) and 20:4n-6 (arachidonic acid, AA) have been shown to be crucial determinants of marine fish reproduction directly affecting fecundity, egg quality, hatching success, larval malformation and pigmentation. In Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua L.) culture, eggs from farmed broodstock can have much lower fertilisation and hatching rates than eggs from wild broodstock. The present study aimed to test the hypothesis that potential quality and performance differences between eggs from different cod broodstock would be reflected in differences in lipid and fatty acid composition. Thus eggs were obtained from three broodstock, farmed, wild/fed and wild/unfed, and lipid content, lipid class composition, fatty acid composition and pigment content were determined and related to performance parameters including fertilisation rate, symmetry of cell division and survival to hatching. Eggs from farmed broodstock showed significantly lower fertilisation rates, cell symmetry and survival to hatching rates than eggs from wild broodstock. There were no differences in total lipid content or the proportions of the major lipid classes between eggs from the different broodstock. However, eggs from farmed broodstock were characterised by having significantly lower levels of some quantitatively minor phospholipid classes, particularly phosphatidylinositol. There were no differences between eggs from farmed and wild broodstock in the proportions of saturated, monounsaturated and total polyunsaturated fatty acids. The DHA content was also similar. However, eggs from farmed broodstock had significantly lower levels of AA, and consequently significantly higher EPA/AA ratios than eggs from wild broodstock. Total pigment and astaxanthin levels were significantly higher in eggs from wild broodstock. Therefore, the levels of AA and phosphatidylinositol, the predominant AA-containing lipid class, and egg pigment content were positively related to egg quality or performance parameters such as fertilisation and hatching success rates, and cell symmetry

Notes on a paper of Mess

These notes are a companion to the article "Lorentz spacetimes of constant curvature" by Geoffrey Mess, which was first written in 1990 but never published. Mess' paper will appear together with these notes in a forthcoming issue of Geometriae Dedicata.Comment: 26 page

LIMITS ON ANISOTROPY AND INHOMOGENEITY FROM THE COSMIC BACKGROUND RADIATION,

We consider directly the equations by which matter imposes anisotropies on freely propagating background radiation, leading to a new way of using anisotropy measurements to limit the deviations of the Universe from a Friedmann-Robertson-Walker (FRW) geometry. This approach is complementary to the usual Sachs-Wolfe approach: the limits obtained are not as detailed, but they are more model-independent. We also give new results about combined matter-radiation perturbations in an almost-FRW universe, and a new exact solution of the linearised equations.Comment: 18 pages Latex

Preschool Children and Behaviour Problems: A Prospective Study

Toddler/child behaviour problems have received relatively little previous attention. Prior studies have implicated a wide variety of factors in the aetiology of child behaviour problems but many of these factors are correlated and little is known about their independent contributions. Four broad categories of factors have been associated with child behaviour problems: (1) maternal social and economic characteristics; (2) maternal lifestyle; (3) maternal mental state/child-rearing practices; and (4) maternal and child physical health. The study took a sample of 5296 families from the Mater-University of Queensland Study of Pregnancy (MUSP) for whom 5-year prospective data are available. The major predictors of toddler behaviour problems were the mother's and child's health, and the mother's mental state. The mother's sociostructural characteristics and lifestyle made little or no additional contribution to the prediction models. It is, however, salutary to note that the majority of children who are classified as having high levels of troublesome behaviour do not fall into any of the risk categories. A variety of explanations and interpretations of the data is considered