Documenting postural changes and repetition among violin players and their influence in the development of musculoskeletal disorders

The objective of this study was to document the changes in posture and the number of wrist and forearm repetitions among violin/viola players during an experiment session to attempt to understand the development of musculoskeletal disorders. Also, the perception of discomfort and pain felt by the violin/viola players in the past and the number that had been diagnosed with a disorder was documented. Finally, possible correlations were calculated between pain/discomfort with variables like the number of years playing the violin, hours of practice/day, frequency of pain, gender, and dominant hand and among different pain/discomfort variables (pain/discomfort before the experiment, after the experiment and the change in pain/discomfort throughout the experiment) and ultimately possible relationships were determined between posture and repetition with pain/discomfort. Playing a musical instrument places the highest of demands on the musculoskeletal system of musicians and is considered one of the most complex tasks the human body can perform (Steinmetz, Seidel, & Muche, 2010). This places musicians at a high risk for the development of musculoskeletal disorders. Studies have shown how musicians are at high risk for developing PRMDs ranging in prevalence from approximately 30% to almost 90% (Zaza, 1998). These high statistics was the rationale for using musicians as the focus group. This study’s population was violin/viola players (students and professionals) above the age of 18. Electrogoniometers were used to measure the postural changes and the software used with the equipment provided a count of the repetitions. The independent variables accounted for pain and discomfort while the dependent variables accounted for the demographics as well as posture and repetition. Descriptive statistics were computed for the postural changes and averages for the number of repetitions. Left Radial, Left Flexion and Left Supination displayed the most extreme postural changes, while the right hand repetitions in the radial/ulnar plane had the highest number of repetitions. Ratings for the level of pain/discomfort were averaged and a paired t-test showed that there was a significant difference between the level of pain before and after the experiment session. Correlation analyses confirmed that extreme postures of the left hand and high number of repetitions on the right hand are associated with a higher change in discomfort. Finally, predictors in the regression models for the number of pain days in a year, the level of discomfort after the experiment and the change in discomfort included repetitions of the right hand in radial/ulnar plane and gender indicating that repetitive motions and being a female could lead to increased discomfort. Future research should focus on other physical risk factors (i.e. force) as well as psychosocial factors. Future studies could also look at the differences in postural changes and repetition between genders as well as differences in how forces are applied. Other studies could focus on the difference in how both genders report pain/discomfort and which are the most affected body parts. Studies can also attempt to document postural changes in different instrument cohorts to determine which instrument could lead to higher displacements, or which postures cause more strain. In summary, this study helped conclude that more extreme postural deviations, higher number of repetitions, more hours of practice per day are and even shorter periods of practice can lead to an increase in discomfort or pain

Cyberbullying - when does a school authority\u27s liability in tort end?

Cyberbullying in schools is increasing on an alarming rate. The development of the Internet and smartphone technology have increased the potential scope of a school authority’s duty of care for its students. A question frequently asked by educators is “Where does a school authority’s duty of care end in the interconnected, 24/7 world of the Internet?” This paper argues that a duty of care will be owed where the school is in a school/student relationship with its students. That relationship can exist outside the school gates and outside of school hours. There are no decisions of senior appellate courts that deal with a school authority’s liability for cyberbullying. The authors, therefore, analyse the nature of the relationship to identify the key features that must be present to establish the existence of a duty of care. Three features are identified as critical to the existence of the duty of care outside of the normal school hours. They are the extent to which the school authority controls or ought to control a given situation, the extent to which it has encouraged students to participate in a particular activity and the extent to which a school authority is aware or ought to be aware of risks associated with the relevant activity of its students

Education about, for or through gender equality? A case study of gender equality education in a Norwegian upper secondary school

I artikkelen undersøkes og diskuteres likestillingsopplæring i samfunnskunnskap i videregående skole. Forskning på likestillingsopplæring er begrenset i norsk sammen-heng, og derfor har forskning på annen verdiopplæring, som demokratiopplæring, vært førende for undersøkelsen. Dimensjonene om, for og gjennom likestilling dannet utgangspunkt for en empirisk kasusstudie av likestillingsopplæring i en samfunnskunn-skapsklasse i videregående opplæring. Studien viser at hovedvekten av likestillings-opplæringen besto av opplæring om og for likestilling. Opplæring gjennom likestilling var fraværende i analysen. Fraværet av opplæring gjennom likestilling drøftes, og de tre dimensjonene framheves som nyttige verktøy både i undersøkelse av praksis og som opplæringsstrategi i verdiopplæringen.This article investigates and discusses gender equality education in social studies, in a Norwegian upper secondary school context. Research into this type of education is limited in the Norwegian context, and therefore, studies on democracy education guided the investigation. The dimensions about, for and throughgender equality are used as a starting point for an empirical case study of gender equality education in a social study classroom in upper secondary education. Findings show a predominance of education about and for gender equality, while education throughgender equality was absent in the analysis. This absence is addressed, and the use of the three dimensions is suggested both as tool for studying praxis and as a pedagogical tool for teaching strategy in value education.publishedVersio

HREC members\u27 personal values influence decision making in contentious cases

This article identifies 14 contentious issues faced by Human Research Ethics Committees (HRECs). The authors argue that HREC members will respond variably to these issues based on their own fundamental values and worldview. In particular, we propose that personal interpretations of current ethics regulations and HREC members’ attitudes to consequentialism, Kantianism, and utilitarianism in some cases affect their responses to contentious research issues. We seek to promote understanding of how personal and professional back­grounds of HREC reviewers influence their approaches to value-laden issues embedded in ethics applications. Taking the form of a literature review, our con­tribution highlights the need for further exploration of how HREC members make decisions, and what factors influence the outcomes of ethics applications

Sharia Banking Dispute Settlement through the Litigation Process

This research aims to find out the way to resolve disputes in Islamic Banking through a litigation process. Normative legal research is the method used in this research. This method is to collect the secondary data through literature study by reading the Act, literature book, and the documents that are relative to the topic of this study discussed. The data obtained from the processing of library data was analyzed qualitatively. The treatment of Islamic economic cases, in a simple way, is based on the Regulation of the Supreme Court Number 2 of 2015 concerning the Procedure for a Simple Claims Court. Meanwhile, the handling of Islamic economic cases, in a common way, is based on the applicable Act. In an Islamic economic case by the Party that has made a lawsuit then it can file its lawsuit through the Registrar of the Religious Court of the area where the Plaintiff located or the area where the Defendant is or according to the agreement in the contents of the contract. The trial for examining Islamic economic cases at the Court is open to the public unless otherwise stipulated by law. This is based on the provisions of Article 19 paragraph (1) of Law Number 4 of 2004 that has been changed in Article 13 of Law Number 48 of 2009 concerning Judicial Power. This provision applies to the hearing of the Islamic banking dispute examination, also. In the common trial examination, this Islamic economic dispute occurs when both parties to the dispute or through their proxies are present at the first trial and/or subsequent trial. Before holding the trial, mediation is firstly conducted to find a solution, then the next stage was the examination of the subject matter and the opportunity to answer between the Applicant and Respondent. Based on the provisions of Article 178 HIR / Article 189 RBg, when the case examination is completed, the Panel of Judges, based on their position, conducts deliberation to make a decision to be applied. For the decision of Islamic Banking stating that the Applicant’s claim is accepted, the Respondent can apply to the Appeal before Cassation or Judicial Review

Additive Manufacturing as a Manufacturing Method: an Implementation Framework for Additive Manufacturing in Supply Chains

The supply chain is changing speedily and on a continuous basis to keep up with the rapid changes in the market, which are summarized as increased competition, changes in traditional customer bases, and changes in customers’ expectations. Thus, companies have to change their way of manufacturing final products in order to customize and expedite the delivery of products to customers. Additive manufacturing, the new production system, effectively and efficiently increases the capability of personalization during the manufacturing process. This consequently increases customer’s satisfaction and company’s profitability. In other words, additive manufacturing has become one of the most important technologies in the manufacturing field. Full implementation of additive manufacturing will change many well-known management practices in the production sector. Theoretical development in the field of additive manufacturing in regards to its impact on supply chain management is rare. There is no fully applied approach in the literature that is focused on managing the supply chain when additive manufacturing is applied. While additive manufacturing is believed to revolutionize and enhance traditional manufacturing, there is no comprehensive toolset developed in the manufacturing field that evaluates the impact of additive manufacturing and determines the best production method that suits the applied supply chain strategy. A significant portion of the existing supply chain methods and frameworks were adopted in this study to examine the implementation of additive manufacturing in supply chain management. The aim of this study is to develop a framework to explain when additive manufacturing “3D printing” impacts supply chain management efficiently. To build the framework, interviews with some companies that already use additive manufacturing in their production system have been carried out. Next, an online survey and two case studies evaluated the framework and validated the results of the final version of the framework. The conceptual framework shows the relationship among supply chain strategies, manufacturing strategy and manufacturing systems. The developed framework shows not only the ability of additive manufacturing to change and re-shape supply chains, but its impact as an alternative manufacturing technique on supply chain strategies. This framework helps managers select more effective production methods based on certain production variables, including product’s type, components’ value, and customization level.The supply chain is changing speedily and on a continuous basis to keep up with the rapid changes in the market, which are summarized as increased competition, changes in traditional customer bases, and changes in customers’ expectations. Thus, companies have to change their way of manufacturing final products in order to customize and expedite the delivery of products to customers. Additive manufacturing, the new production system, effectively and efficiently increases the capability of personalization during the manufacturing process. This consequently increases customer’s satisfaction and company’s profitability. In other words, additive manufacturing has become one of the most important technologies in the manufacturing field. Full implementation of additive manufacturing will change many well-known management practices in the production sector. Theoretical development in the field of additive manufacturing in regards to its impact on supply chain management is rare. There is no fully applied approach in the literature that is focused on managing the supply chain when additive manufacturing is applied. While additive manufacturing is believed to revolutionize and enhance traditional manufacturing, there is no comprehensive toolset developed in the manufacturing field that evaluates the impact of additive manufacturing and determines the best production method that suits the applied supply chain strategy. A significant portion of the existing supply chain methods and frameworks were adopted in this study to examine the implementation of additive manufacturing in supply chain management. The aim of this study is to develop a framework to explain when additive manufacturing “3D printing” impacts supply chain management efficiently. To build the framework, interviews with some companies that already use additive manufacturing in their production system have been carried out. Next, an online survey and two case studies evaluated the framework and validated the results of the final version of the framework. The conceptual framework shows the relationship among supply chain strategies, manufacturing strategy and manufacturing systems. The developed framework shows not only the ability of additive manufacturing to change and re-shape supply chains, but its impact as an alternative manufacturing technique on supply chain strategies. This framework helps managers select more effective production methods based on certain production variables, including product’s type, components’ value, and customization level

First record of Deroplax silphoides from the West Bank – Palestine

Το Deroplax silphoides (Thunberg, 1783) (Heteroptera: Scutelleridae) καταγράφηκε για πρώτη φορά στα Παλαιστινιακά εδάφη κατά την διάρκεια δειγματοληψιών που διεξήχθησαν από το Μουσείο Φυσικής Ιστορίας της Παλαιστίνης. Το έντομο αυτό θεωρείται εχθρός των καλλωπιστικών φυτών. Περαιτέρω προσπάθειες θα πρέπει να λάβουν χώρα για την καταγραφή της εξάπλωσής του, των φυτών-ξενιστών του και της ζημιάς που πιθανώς να προκαλεί.This is the first report of Deroplax silphoides (Thunberg, 1783) (Heteroptera: Scutelleridae) in the Palestinian Territories. This species was recorded by a survey conducted by the Palestine Museum of Natural History. D. silphoides is known as a pest of ornamental plants. It is considered as an invasive species and its distribution and damage potential should be further studied

Graphical Pilot Interface Simulator (GPIS)

The thesis develops a graphic interface for a dynamic system simulation implemented in the SIMULINK environment. The dynamic system is a B747-200 modeled as a rigid body with six degrees of freedom. The equations and database of aerodynamic coefficients over the complete flight envelope were provided by NASA’s Langley Research Center for the research project “Aircraft Safety: Managing Control Upsets.” The purpose of the interface is to allow the user to “fly the plane from the keyboard;” i.e., interact with the simulation by manipulating, from the keyboard, the main control surfaces and engine thrust and observing the performance of the plane in a manner similar to the way a pilot sees it from the cockpit. The Graphical Pilot Interface Simulator (GPIS) interface extends the capability of the current simulator [2] and allows the collection of data under conditions that were not readily available before. Moreover, it permits the derivation of linear models around trajectories that are not necessarily steady state conditions, or trimming points. Even though the work is focused to a particular model, the interface techniques developed here are flexible and can be applied to other dynamic simulations. The value of visualization to help communicate results and get better understanding of a model’s behavior is greatly stressed