Evaluation of the reliability of an ergonomic decision system.

A novel approach deemed the Ergonomic Decision System (EDS) was designed to address the physical requirements of modern industry. The EDS, as the name implies, is a system that uses a series of questions and resulting choices to determine the path to the most appropriate ergonomic analysis tool for a given occupational task. The face validity of the EDS has been established through an extensive review of literature. Reliability was evaluated both within and between subjects. In two facilities, 6 Jobs were chosen based upon both injury and illness data and the differing physical requirements of each. These Jobs were video recorded and two Jobs were randomly chosen. Novice subjects (N = 6) were asked to apply the EDS to one of these jobs prior to being provided the basic ergonomic training. Subsequently, all trained subjects (N = 12) applied the EDS to the same 6 recorded Jobs. The results from the EDS applications were then compared to a criterion measure resulting in a total EDS score which was used to determine subject accuracy. A high overall mean accuracy value of 88.4%, was found with experts and novices varying only slightly with mean scores of 92.6% and 84.3%, respectively. Further, a consensus count was taken from each user for each condition to determine consistency. A good overall mean consensus, between subjects, of 76.9% was found with experts scoring 85% and novice subjects 72%. Also, the results of the pre-post training study indicated strong within subject consensus with an average of 88.9% across novice subjects. Finally, after a minimum of two weeks had passed, all subjects applied the EDS to the second randomly chosen Job. Results of the test-retest condition showed good consensus within subjects with a mean of 94.4%, where experts scored 88.9%, and novice subjects showed perfect consensus. The results of the study effectively establish that the EDS provided sufficient subject consistency and accuracy in directing subjects to the most applicable ergonomic resource across Jobs tested.Dept. of Industrial and Manufacturing Systems Engineering. Paper copy at Leddy Library: Theses & Major Papers - Basement, West Bldg. / Call Number: Thesis2006 .D39. Source: Masters Abstracts International, Volume: 45-01, page: 0435. Thesis (M.A.Sc.)--University of Windsor (Canada), 2006

COACH AND BIOMECHANIST KNOWLEDGE OF SPRINT RUNNING TECHNIQUE

The purpose of this study was to establish how coaches and biomechanists assess sprint running technique to increase understanding of current coaching and biomechanical practice leading to an identification of ways to improve coach-practitioner relationships. Australian sprint coaches (n=56) and international sport biomechanists (n=12) completed an online survey that asked questions relating to their knowledge of sprint running, current biomechanical-based practices and the coach-biomechanist relationship. A level of congruence was found in the two group’s understanding of sprinting technique with a number of similarities between aspects of the stance and swing phases especially around the instance of contact. There were key differences in the relative importance of the stance phase, arm movement and postural alignment of the body. The potential gaps in knowledge and practice suggested in this initial research create a foundation for further research into the coach-practitioner relationship and its overall effectiveness

Chronostratigraphy of an eroding complex Atlantic Round House, Baile Sear, Scotland

The excavation team would like to thank Historic Scotland (now Historic Environment Scotland) and the University of St Andrews for providing funding.A high-resolution chronostratigraphy has been established for an eroding Atlantic round house at Sloc Sàbhaidh (North Uist, Scotland), combining detailed OSL profiling and dating of sediments encompassing the main bracketing events associated with the monument, radiocarbon AMS dates on bone recovered from excavated features and fills within it, and TL dates on pottery and burnt clay. Concordant OSL and radiocarbon evidence place construction of the wheelhouse in the first to second centuries AD, contemporary with dates from the primary occupation. Beneath the wheelhouse, clay deposits containing burnt material, attest to cultural activity in vicinity to the monument in the preceding second to first centuries BC. At a later date, the southern wall collapsed, was rebuilt, and the interior spaces to the monument re-structured. The chronology for the later horizons identified from the sediment luminescence dates extends to the second half of the first millennium AD, which goes beyond the range of the radiocarbon dates obtained. The data from ceramics encompass both periods. The juxtaposition of the dating evidence is discussed relative to short and longer chronologies for this Iron Age monument. Corollaries of this research are the implications that based on the long chronology, some of the ecofacts (bone) appear to be residual, and that the temporal duration of Hebridean Coarse Ware may extend into the second half of the first millennium AD.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe

Topological Charge Evolution in the Markov-Chain of QCD

The topological charge is studied on lattices of large physical volume and fine lattice spacing. We illustrate how a parity transformation on the SU(3) link-variables of lattice gauge configurations reverses the sign of the topological charge and leaves the action invariant. Random applications of the parity transformation are proposed to traverse from one topological charge sign to the other. The transformation provides an improved unbiased estimator of the ensemble average and is essential in improving the ergodicity of the Markov chain process.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figure

SIR/RSNA/CIRSE Joint Medical Simulation Task Force Strategic Plan: Executive Summary

(First paragraph) The Executive Councils of the Society of Interventional Radiology (SIR), Radiological Society of North America (RSNA), and Cardiovascular and Interventional Radiological Society of Europe (CIRSE) have charged their Medical Simulation Task Forces and Work Groups to cooperate to achieve excellence and safety in interventional radiology patient care by jointly recommending and guiding implementation of a robust infrastructure and process to support Interventional Radiology (IR) simulation development, assessment, validation, application, and dissemination