Comfort in an important property of hearing protectors, perhaps as important as the sound attenuation. If a protector is deemed to be uncomfortable, it will not be worn or it is modified in some manner by the user, often to the detriment of the attenuation. Although doubtless important, this characteristic is not studied as often as it should. A search conducted on the database Web of Science, shows that between the years 1970 and 2014, 208 papers were published dealing with attenuation in hearing protectors, while there were only 22 papers related to comfort. One reason for the scarcity of research on comfort could be the lack of a consistent definition, due to its inherently subjective nature. Another is the dependency of comfort on factors other than the protector itself, such as temperature and humidity of the workplace and the need for intelligibility. Finally, there are the anatomical differences among wearers that cause differences of comfort. This paper analyzes comfort studies done in the last 25 years, with the intent of developing a procedure to rank hearing protectors on the basis of comfort under specified conditions. An additional aim is to assess the tradeoff between comfort and attenuation across different types of protectors, since some situations may allow for a lower attenuation in favor of a increased comfort. In addition, we intend to develop a mathematical model for predicting comfort for different types of protectors.
The objective of this stuay was to determine the optimal duration of work exposure while sitting in a squatting posture. A simulation study was formulated on work similar to the traditional jewellery manufacturing activity. The task of metal setting was simulated in a controlled environment. Fifteen young adult males participated in this study. The results of 12 participants were included as others discontinued the study for their personal reasons. The study continued for 2 hours. Trunk muscle strength and body part discomfort (BPD) were measured before and after completion of the task. BPD ratings in CR 10 scale were also collected after each 15 minutes of work. The mean age (year), height (cm), weight (kg) and BMI (kg/n2) of the subject were 24.25 ± 2.14, 172.47 ± 3.88, 65.08 ± 4.52 and 21.88 ± 1.33, respectively. Using inferential statistics, a predictive equation was developed to determine the optimal duration of exposure in a squatting position similar to traditional jewellery manufacturing activity. An hour of work with a small break was suggested after considering the study result for the workers who worked in a squatting posture like traditional jewellery manufacturing.
Balinese have built amazing residences and temples by using many tools. The tools are not only effective in a physical sense, also in the value of ethics. One of the tools is gegulak. The nearest same tool in ergonomics is anthropometrics. The gegulak and anthropometrics are used to humans to be humane. Besides gegulak, there is another tool named sikut natar. LontarAsta Kosali is a kind of Balinese traditional book about material measurement to build a house, and Asta Kosala to build a temple. Even if studied further, this book does not merely determine measuring materials of the housing, but inherent in the spiritual aspects of measurement. Balinese understand that the three main standards are: nista, madya, and utama. They contain the physical and spiritual values. Balinese ancestors have been aware if the land they are living in is a small island, and lacks energy sources. As reflected in the ways of their life, these standards have been persevered on lontar, tools, buildings, arts genealogically and performing ceremonials. Since modernization influences to Balinese life, it has been decreasing many aspects of traditional values. Therefore, the kindness and power from ancient values should be integrated through mind over body. Balinese could be working side by side wisely for the sake of the quality of life.
The purpose of this study is to clarify the activities of daily living and behaviour disturbances related to inpatients and outpatients with dementia experiencing falls. Patients diagnosed with dementia belonging to 18 facilities which consented to the study were subjected. The study involved "whether or not the patient has fallen in the past 12 months", "Barthel Index (B.I)", and "Dementia Behaviour Disturbance Scale (DBD)" and other data from 325 people in 18 facilities who had been diagnosed with dementia. The ratio of subjects who had fallen to those who had not was 113:212. The results of multiple logistic regression analysis showed that the study items related to falls including the DBD item of "making unwarranted accusations" had an OR = 1.445, 95% CI (1.133-1.843), the DBD item of "refusing to eat" had an OR = 0.699, 95% CI (0.521- 0.938), the B.I item of "feeding" had OR = 1.115, 95% CI (1.032-1.204) and the B.I item of "bathing" had OR = 0.782, 95% CI (0.671-0.912). Integral characteristics of dementia patients who have fallen are assumed to be making unwarranted accusations, having a low rate of refusing to eat, being able to eat alone and requiring attention when bathing.
This study compares foot shape and foot dimensions between Taiwanese and Japanese females. One hundred Taiwanese and 100 Japanese female 3D foot scanning data were used for comparison. To avoid the allometry effect, data from 23 Taiwanese and 19 Japanese with foot length between 233 to 237 mm were used for shape comparison. Homologous models created for the right feet of the 42 subjects were analyzed by Multidimensional Scaling. The results showed that there were significant differences in the forefoot shape between the two groups, and Taiwanese females had slightly wider feet with straighter big toe than Japanese females. The results of body and foot dimension comparison indicated that Taiwanese females were taller, heavier and had larger feet than Japanese females, while Japanese females had significantly larger toe 1 angle. Since some Taiwanese shoemakers adopt the Japanese shoe sizing system for making shoes, appropriateness of the shoe sizing system was also discussed. The present results provide very useful information for improving shoe last design and footwear fit for Taiwanese females.
Singing performance is based on the efficiency of the respiratory system. The present study was aimed to evaluate the results of pulmonary function tests (PFTs) in female singers of Kolkata, India and to compare the data with their sedentary counterparts from India and abroad. The study was also aimed to propose prediction norms for PFTs in both the groups. Fifty-six female singers and fifty-two female non-singers (control group) with similar socioeconomic backgrounds were randomly sampled from the Rabindrabharati University, Kolkata. Pulmonary function tests were conducted by an Expirograph and the peak expiratory flow rate (PEFR) was measured by Wright's peak flow meter. PFTs were significantly higher in singers than in their control group. The correlation matrix depicted a significant relationship of physical parameters (age, body height and body weight) with vital capacity (VC), forced vital capacity (FVC), forced expiratoty volume in 1 second (FEV1) and PEFR in both groups. Regression equations were computed to predict PFTs from physical parameters and duration of invovlement in singing training. The results indicated that female singers of Kolkata had higher lung capacity than their non-singer counterparts probably because of their regular practice and training of singing that required imperative effort of the respiratory system.
The present study was aimed to evaluate physiological strain among women cultivators engaged in potato cultivation. The cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted on 150 women participants in different districts of West Bengal State, India. The physiological strain was evaluated by working heart rate, blood lactate and oxygen consumption. The average working heart rate was 109.97 ± 9.94 beats/min when all tasks were considered together. According to the working heart rate, oxygen consumption and energy cost, the potato cultivation job was categorized as a moderate work category. Whereas, according to cardiovascular stress index (CSI), all tasks of potato cultivation were categorized into a stressful category. The more experienced workers were more productive than their less experienced counterparts, and this increased productivity appeared to be a combination of greater efficiency and greater physical exertion. Stepwise multiple linear regression analyses revealed that work pace and work experience had significant association with all the indices of physiological strain. Work pace had strongest significant impact on these indices even after controlling the effect of age, work experience and efficiency. It was concluded that during performing potato cultivation tasks the workers had a great extent of physiological strain.
This paper discusses a computer program, ErgoNBC, which provides suggestions regarding the ergonomic settings of a notebook computer (NBC), workstation components, and selected accessories in order to help computer users to assume an appropriate work posture during the NBC work. From the users' body height, NBC and workstation component data, ErgoNBC computes the recommended tilt angle of NBC base unit, NBC screen angle, distance between the user and NBC, seat height and work surface height. If necessary, the NBC base support, seat cushion and footrest, including their settings, are recommended. An experiment involving twenty-four university students was conducted to evaluate the recommendations provided by ErgoNBC. The Rapid Upper Limb Assessment (RULA) technique was used to analyze their work postures both before and after implementing the Ergo NBC's recommendations. The results clearly showed that ErgoNBC could significantly help to improve the subjects' work postures.
