Musculoskeletal disorder risk during automotive assembly: current vs. seated

Musculoskeletal disorder risk was assessed during automotive assembly processes. The risk associated with current assembly processes was compared to using a cantilever chair intervention. Spine loads and normalized shoulder muscle activity were evaluated during assembly in eight regions of the vehicle. Eight interior cabin regions of the vehicle were classified by reach distance, height from vehicle floor and front to back. The cantilever chair intervention tool was most effective in the far reach regions regardless of the height. In the front far reach regions both spine loads and normalized shoulder muscle activity levels were reduced. In the middle and close reach regions spine loads were reduced, however, shoulder muscle activity was not, thus an additional intervention would be necessary to reduce shoulder risk. In the back far reach region, spine loads were not significantly different between the current and cantilever chair conditions. Thus, the effectiveness of the cantilever chair was dependent on the region of the vehicle.     

Institutional sources of articles in the Journal of Counseling Psychology, 1962-1973.

Surveys and tabulates institutional affiliations of authors of articles published in Vol 9-20 of the Journal of Counseling Psychology. Trends are reported within this 12-yr period, and comparisons are made with earlier surveys. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The Occurrence of Male-to-Female Intimate Partner Violence on Days of Men's Drinking: The Moderating Effects of Antisocial Personality Disorder.

In this study, the moderating effects of antisocial personality disorder (ASPD) on the day-to-day relationship between male partner alcohol consumption and male-to-female intimate partner violence (IPV) for men entering a domestic violence treatment program (n = 170) or an alcoholism treatment program (n = 169) were examined. For both samples, alcohol consumption was associated with an increased likelihood of nonsevere IPV among men without a diagnosis of ASPD but not among men with ASPD (who tended to engage in nonsevere IPV whether they did or did not drink). Drinking was more strongly associated with a likelihood of severe IPV among men with ASPD compared with those without ASPD who also drank. These results provide partial support for a multiple threshold model of intoxication and aggression. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Evolutionary path planning for robot assisted part handling in sheet metal bending

While the bending sequence planning has been intensively studied, design of the motion path of a sheet metal part in the bending operation tends to be ignored by researchers. Because during the bending operation, the space for maneuvering a sheet metal part is very small, collisions between the part and bending tools are likely to occur. When a robot is used to handle the part, the role of an automatic path-planning tool becomes more significant. In this study, an evolutionary path-planning approach for robot-assisted handling of sheet metal parts in bending is firstly proposed and implemented. The proposed approach globally searches the motion path space to identify feasible paths. Collision detection algorithms based on segment intersection are used to check if the generated paths are feasible or infeasible. This method can automatically design feasible handling operations for a robot. Simulation examples on a simple “V” shaped part and a part with multiple bents demonstrate that the approach is efficient and practical.     

Determinants of the Relative Advantage of a Structured SDM During the Adoption Stage of Implementation

This research investigates a new theoretical model for examining the relationships between user perceptions during innovation adoption. We have taken several innovation-related variables and constructed a framework for assessing the ability of a technology to improve worker performance. Prior research has not addressed the appropriate relationship between innovation adoption-related variables as applied to information systems development methodologies (SDM). This study attempts to use innovation-related variables created by Moore and Benbasat (Information Systems Research 2(3) (1991) 192–222) and Davis (MIS Quarterly 13(3) (1989) 319–340) to propose a framework useful by project managers in designing innovations that will successfully support the efforts of technology users. A framework is proposed, tested, and modified in the context of using an SDM to govern large systems development operation. Forty-seven users within a military software development organization were surveyed about their perceptions of a recently implemented structured SDM. A proposed model of innovation adoption perceptions was tested using correlation and partial least squares regression. Findings suggest a model for predicting the perceived relative advantage of SDMs in the adoption stage of their implementation which is useful in designing techniques in the IS development organizational function.     

Multiple Heuristics and Their Combination for Automatic WordNet Mapping

This paper presents an automatic construction of Korean WordNet from pre-existing lexical resources. We develop a set of automatic word sense disambiguation techniques to link a Korean word sense collected from a bilingual machine-readable dictionary to a single corresponding English WordNet synset. We show how individual links provided by each word sense disambiguation method can be non-linearly combined to produce a Korean WordNet from existing English WordNet for nouns.     

Information Exchange in Virtual Communities: A Comparative Study

As more and more consumers spend more money on the Internet, traditional retailers and manufacturers as well as entrepreneurial dot-coms are jousting to explore and shape this new business opportunity. Their long-term survival and profitability may be determined by how well the Web site helps form and sustain positive attitudes toward the site and, eventually, toward the product or the company. The purpose of this study is two-fold: (1) to examine if and how attitude toward the Web site (A_st) affects consumer brand choice; and (2) to examine the association between A_st and consumers' confidence in choice, and the moderating effect of consumer product knowledge in its relationship. The study asked participants to choose a laptop brand after visiting three laptop manufacturer Web sites for a total of 30 minutes. Their product knowledge and attitude toward the three Web sites were also measured. The study found that attitude toward the Web site is a good predictor of consumer brand choice. In addition, confidence in choice seemed to be affected by A_st, depending on product knowledge. For a group with low product knowledge (novices), A_st was likely to influence confidence in choice. For a group with high product knowledge (experts), however, A_st did not seem to affect confidence in choice.     

Fabrication process of open surfaces by robotic fibre placement

Composite materials are being used extensively in many industrial sectors. They offer excellent material properties compared to other structural materials available. However, the traditional fabrication process using manual hand lay-up is time consuming and labour intensive. Therefore, robotic fibre placement has been introduced to overcome these drawbacks. This approach may greatly reduce cycle time and manufacturing costs. This paper describes the overall strategy for the establishment of a flexible robotic fibre placement technique. The fabrication process planning of this new technique is presented. Three different types of fibre placement for open surfaces are discussed. These include simulation-based fibre path generation, fibre steering, and sensory-based contour following methodologies. The system architecture for the process control is also presented.     

Eyewitness Identification Accuracy and Response Latency: The Unruly 10-12-Second Rule.

Data are reported from 3,213 research eyewitnesses confirming that accurate eyewitness identifications from lineups are made faster than are inaccurate identifications. However, consistent with predictions from the recognition and search literatures, the authors did not find support for the "10-12-s rule" in which lineup identifications faster than 10-12 s maximally discriminate between accurate and inaccurate identifications (D. Dunning & S. Perretta, 2002). Instead, the time frame that proved most discriminating was highly variable across experiments, ranging from 5 s to 29 s, and the maximally discriminating time was often unimpressive in its ability to sort accurate from inaccurate identifications. The authors suggest several factors that are likely to moderate the 10-12-s rule. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Application of confocal scanning laser microscopy in experimental pathology

Confocal scanning laser microscopy (CSLM) represents an exciting new tool for scientific disciplines which focus on mechanistic studies such as experimental pathology. Enhanced resolution in the specimen plane and rejection of out-of-focus fluorescence flare allow analysis of specific nucleic acid sequences, enzymes, structural macromolecules, and cellular homeostasis utilizing fluorescent probes. Four different experimental applications are discussed which utilize CSLM to evaluate pathological processes at the subcellular, cellular, and tissue levels. Programmed cell death, or apoptosis, is a natural process of significance both during development and as a response to toxic stimuli. CSLM-imaging of nuclei of human B lymphoblastoid cells following exposure to a monofunctional alkylating agent suggests that the degradation of chromatin characteristic of apoptosis may occur in asymmetric patterns. Surfactant apoprotein-A is the major non-serum protein component of pulmonary surfactant and is essential for the extracellular function of surfactant. CSLM of alveolar type II cells suggests that apoprotein-A is present in both the cytoplasm, predominantly in lamellar bodies, and in the nucleus. The tumor promoter, phorbol myristate acetate, rapidly stimulated the formation of vacuoles in human neutrophils. CSLM using Lucifer Yellow as a probe suggests that cylindrical vacuoles are formed by fluid-phase pinocytosis. The blood-nerve barrier (BNB) in peripheral nerves may be an important target during toxin-induced neuropathies. Ricin-induced permeability of the BNB in the rat was rapidly visualized by CSLM as leakage of fluorescein isothiocynate (FITC)-dextran into the endoneurial compartment.