Problems and ergonomic approaches in taxi driver position Essay

Problems and ergonomic approaches in taxi driver position - Essay Example All this is possible with ergonomics. The science of ergonomics relates to the provision of health and safety conditions within a workplace. According to the International Ergonomics Association: â€Å"Ergonomics is the scientific discipline concerned with the understanding of interactions among humans and other elements of a system, and the profession that applies theory, principles, data and methods to design in order to optimize human well-being and overall system performance† (IEA, 2000). The ergonomic rearrangement of appropriate aspects within a workplace can provide comfort to operators and can have a significant impact on executing several daily tasks in a more accurate and convenient way (Donald, 2007). The purpose of this assignment is to redesign the work environment, meaning the seating arrangement for a professional taxi driver based on the principles of ergonomics. If it is found that the shape of the taxi is such that the taxi driver’s seating is cramped and uncomfortable, a shift to a vehicle with a more spacious interior may also be recommended. As can be seen from Picture 1 taken of the taxi driver at work, he feels cramped and uncomfortable and this position moreover is not congenial to long hours of work with minimal movement. In fact this is the problem with most sedentary occupations. This study will explore the faults that exist within the work environment in relation to comfort or discomfort and will develop a plan of suggested interventions. Its primary aims are for the driver to minimize the symptoms of pain in the lower back that he has been experiencing, as well as to enhance comfort at work. The foundation of such a plan begins with understanding both somatic and cognitive limitations of human behaviour, in relation to their interaction with products available (Jacobs, 2008). The application of ergonomic principles supports this relationship by diminishing the present symptoms and by preventing injuries caused by repet itive movements, faulty posture and over use of body muscles. However, before attempting to apply ergonomic actions it is necessary to carefully examine the driver’s complaints and ergonomically assess the workplace in order to identify existing errors (Jacobs, 2008). Description of the Case & Associated Problems The subject is a professional taxi driver. He has been driving a taxi for five years now and works for approximately six hours per day. This profession is considered to be difficult as per occupational standards but is necessary for him, as he is studying and working at the same time. He has been complaining of low back pain since the last six months, which he suspects has originated from the uncomfortable driving posture coupled with the long hours of minimal movement on the job. The car is fitted with a manual rather than an automatic gearbox. The driver’s symptoms are reported to be a moderate pain in his lower back. However he has failed to seek treatment so far due to lack of time and his erroneous perspective that the symptoms will eventually ease with time. (Picture 1) I observed these problems when I asked the subject to sit down as he normally would in his vehicle. As can be seen from the picture, he is sitting at the wrong angle and moreover there is no lumbar support. Both of these issues are contributing to the back pain

The Airbus Way Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

The Airbus Way - Essay Example Moreover, this paper also comprehends regarding the unfairness of employees’ behaviour with the other members which have been mostly due to the improper distribution of authorization power. Table of Contents Executive Summary 2 Introduction 4 Main Findings 5 Lewis’ Cross Cultural Model 5 Hofstede's Cultural Model 7 Problems Related With Airbus Cultural Diversity 9 Failure Merger Planned Between Airbus’ Parent Company EADS and BAE System 11 Conclusion 12 Recommendations 13 References 14 Bibliography 17 Introduction Airbus SAS is a subsidiary company owned by European Aeronautic Defence and Space (EADS) which is considered as one of the leading European aerospace and defence service providing company one of the world’s largest aircraft manufacturers. It operates by focusing upon the customers’ needs and preferences relying upon the expertise of employees and technological leadership. Company offers several kinds of jet-liner products, including milita ry communication aircrafts, commercial airline aircrafts and transport aircrafts. Apart from these, the company also provides multi-role military air-lifters for various observation purposes, medical evacuations, marine patrols, carrying paratroopers and cargo transports. Moreover, company manufactures, develops and supports commercial aircrafts for over 100 seats (Airbus S.A.S., 2013). At present, Airbus also offers comprehensive as well as modern product lines which include superior facilities for passenger aircrafts comprising from 107 to 525 seating capacity. Several kinds of amenities are also offered through commercial aircrafts such as A320 single-aisle aircrafts, A330 or A340 long range aircrafts, A350 XWB next-generation family aircrafts and A380 double-decker family aircrafts. Additionally, it can be observed that in its operations, Airbus tends to expand its opportunities in present competitive commercial market and broaden its product ranges by implementing expert, high skilled employees within the military markets. Moreover, company also aims at expanding its business portfolio comprising freighter aircraft products with the expectation to set new standards of operations within the general aircraft manufacturing industry sectors (Airbus S.A.S., 2013). Main Findings Lewis’ Cross Cultural Model During 1990s, British multilingual person and cross-cultural communication expert, Mr. Richard Lewis created a cultural model which till date is used to help the evaluation of the differences among divergent cultures. This model has been widely used to deliver generalized evaluation upon cultural diversity that can assist leaders to regulate their leadership styles by fulfilling different cultural needs of their employees and the stakeholders at large. This model classifies cultural differences into three main categories, such as ‘Linear-active’, ‘Multi-active’ and ‘Reactive’ (Richard Lewis Communications, 2013). Figure: The Lewis Model (Richard Lewis Communications, 2013) According to the Lewis Model it has been observed that organisations which operate under the category of a linear active culture, are basically task oriented owing to which greater focus is rendered towards technical competencies and demonstration of facts before sentimental

Fuell cell technology Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 5000 words

Fuell cell technology - Essay Example It does not take a great deal of environmental knowledge to realize that the effect that humans are having upon the environment has produced noticeable side effects. Although technology has aided in making life easier, the fact of the matter is that many of the negative impacts that humans are currently displaying upon the environment are the direct result of the technological advancement that has been realized within the past few hundred years. Almost invariably, the negative impact that humans have upon the environment is both the result of the production process of passenger cars as well as the pollutant nature in which they oftentimes operate. Once again, technology, within the past few decades, has aided automobile manufacturers in greatly reducing emissions; however, the fact of the matter is that within the current technology of engine designed and means of transportation that is practiced, there is only a certain amount that can be improved without moving on to a new more sus tainable and efficient process. As a function of this unique juncture that exists, this analysis will pay a particular level of interest with regards to fuel-cell technology, the use of CNG, and LPG fuels as well as seeking to measure their overall efficiency, abundance, and cleanliness with respect to the environment. Fuel cell technology Though it may seem as something that is only been around for a relatively short period of time, the fuel-cell can trace its basic principle back as far as 1893; discovered by Sir William Grove. More recently NASA utilized the same principles of the fuel-cell in seeking to power space exploration vehicles; such as the moon car that was used on the Apollo mission. As technology has increased, fuel cells and become much more popular within the consumer market; even powering homes around the world. At its most basic level, the fuel cell is nothing more than a battery which is powered by hydrogen. In comparison to the fuel efficiency of such a mechanis m, one should consider the fact that the energy content in a single kilogram of hydrogen is greater than three times the same amount of gasoline. Moreover, as any introductory chemistry lesson will make plainly evident, hydrogen is the most common element within the entire universe; making this an ideal fuel to exploit without the necessary drawbacks that fossil fuels bear. However, environmentally speaking, the greatest advantage of hydrogen is the fact that the process of burning hydrogen as fuel creates no exhaust rather than mere water and oxygen. With regards to the overall drawback, the greatest of these is the fact that storing and readily retrieving the hydrogen any useful state has provided researchers with many difficulties. The fuel-cell benefits on the mechanical level of fuel cell can be used to provide motion to a vehicle by producing electricity which then drives an electric motor providing power to the wheels. Due to fact that fuel cells do not have any specific omis sions, such as carbon, the net exhaust of this process is environmentally neutral. Moreover, and perhaps more importantly from the engineering standpoint, the fuel-cell represents a more efficient transfer of energy as compared to internal combustion engines (upwards of 40%

TEACHING STRATEGIES TOPIC will focus on A 50 Year Old educated man Term Paper

TEACHING STRATEGIES TOPIC will focus on A 50 Year Old educated man Recently Hospitalized With Stage 2 Infected Diabetic Foo - Term Paper Example Introduction Marzano (2010) stated that during the late 1980s, various educationists across the World had created a strong campaign against the traditional teaching strategy that was seen more of exam-oriented, since it emphasized more on developing cramming skills among the students instead of critical thinking skills. This made majority of the students to lack skills in solving certain problems and even apply logical reasoning in certain instances. It is because of these reasons that various teaching strategies have been developed so far by various education stakeholders with the main aim of helping students to develop their thinking skills at levels that are higher than knowledge and comprehension. Moreover, skills on critical thinking have been greatly emphasized since even the National League for Nursing Accrediting Commission has incorporated critical thinking skills as a one of the learning outcomes in nursing programs. In actual sense, Weston (2009) described critical thinkin g as the ability to think in a rational, objective, and independent manner, in order to come up with credible and worthwhile course of actions or conclusions. Weston (2009) in his writing further added that students should follow at least six steps in order for them to become critical and logical thinkers and these steps include acquiring knowledge and perfect understanding of the topic that requires critical thinking. Secondly, the students will need to learn logic, which is the ability to construct argument and deduce meaningful conclusions. Thirdly, the students will need to learn assertiveness in order to become assertive in the criticisms that they make. The fourth step for students to become critical and logical thinkers is for them to learn comprehension, which is the ability to understand what they see/ watch and read. Fifthly, Weston (2009) stated that a critical thinker has to know about alternatives to ensure the thinking process bear valid conclusions. Lastly, Weston (20 09) stated that for students to become critical and logical thinkers they have to synthesize all separate thoughts to come up with something that is critical and logical. The frameworks of most learning theories have been aligned to ensure that learners are able to go through these steps of becoming critical and logical thinkers. Furthermore, application of the learning theories as well as the level of integration of the steps of becoming a critical and logical thinker, factor in that people have numerous forms of intelligence in different degrees. In the writings by Hunt (2011), he listed the seven forms of intelligence and they comprise of spatial, interpersonal, intrapersonal, linguistic, body-kinesthetic, musical, and logical-mathematical. The learner The casing point for this paper is a 50-year old educated man recently hospitalized with stage 2 infected diabetic foot ulcer secondary to diabetes neuropathy. According to Mathews et al (2008), the man’s condition is attrib uted to the diabetes disease that he is suffering from, which facilitated the development of the diabetic neuropathy that commonly affects the feet of a diabetic patient.

The effect of modern culture on managerial behavior in Egypt Research Proposal

The effect of modern culture on managerial behavior in Egypt - Research Proposal Example Though this is a general definition, we can see some important aspects that translate to organizational behavior (Deal and Kennedy, 1982). Behavior in any culture of an organization, a nation, or a family is educated to its members so that the patterns of behavior, thought, speech, action, etc. are developed and restricted to what the overall society considers as acceptable. In specific, the proposal will discuss some of the aspects related to abovementioned terms in context of modern Egyptian culture (Reidy, 2010) that will be part of the major research. Literature Review The study of Egyptian culture and its impact in terms of knowledge, values, and manners that are shared by the Egyptian society (Bari, 2004) on managerial behavior and functions is very vital to define the positive and negative impact that it has on an organization and how it can contribute to the success or failure of the organization itself. The Egyptian organizations are centralized and hierarchical in structure and culture, also known as a ‘hydraulic’ society.

How did nuclear weapons affect the dynamics of the Cold War Essay - 1

How did nuclear weapons affect the dynamics of the Cold War - Essay Example During this period, Cold War revolutionized global approaches to war. Military growth and development became the subject of the day, especially in both Eastern and Western blocs. High tension also became evident as United States and the Soviet Union embarked on a bid to arm themselves with nuclear weapons. A significant rise in the production of nuclear weapons was anticipated following the end of World War II. Both Eastern and Western blocs feared the emergence of yet another world war as time went by. This fear accelerated arming in both United States and the Soviet Union. These two countries had taken their respective positions as global superpowers, an aspect that fuelled the emergence of Cold War. Over the years, the two countries would accumulate weapons of mass destruction without necessarily engaging in physical war-like attacks. Cold War was a significant factor in shaping war trends across the globe. The Soviet Union consolidated the Eastern bloc while the United States of America did the same on the Western bloc. During this time, no fighting of significant scale was reported. In other words, the war was literally cold even though it lasted for decades. Based on these observations, the Cold War exhibited critical dynamics, most of which were subject to the influence of nuclear weapons. Weapons of mass destruction undoubtedly come with consequences that do not only affect the attacked party, but also the attacker. Atomic energy that is out of control carries devastating and catastrophic implications. With two nuclear-armed nations in a standoff, it was evident that the victims would comprise of more than just the warring parties would. In fact, memories of World War II reveal just how destructive atomic bombs and nuclear weapons are. In the context of war, a repeat of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki attack was an experience that warring nations would rather avoid (Miller,

Case study of Tata Cross Culture analysis Essay

Case study of Tata Cross Culture analysis - Essay Example Since being advertised in strongly positive terms as cheapest car of the world, it has been the idle gossip around the world (Stokes, Wilson, & Mador, 2010). Significant people of large organisations have been driving in by numbers only to take a look at the most outstanding work of creative engineering in the shape of â€Å"Tata Nano.† Nano is a new form of cars of this century which represents a philosophy of an investor who deliberately decided to go against the prevailing wisdom of other investors of lighter, smaller, cheaper and signify a new age in cheap private transportation and with a possibility of becoming actual, "worldwide deadlock." The word "Nano" is derived from the Greek word ‘Nanos’ which means "small" in the Indic language spoken by the people of India who live in Gujarat in western India which is also the language of the Tata Group’s founders (Stokes, Wilson, & Mador, 2010). In 2003, under the Chairmanship of Mr. Ratan Tata, the project to manufacture a car while keeping the price to one Lac rupees was started. The main aim of this â€Å"Tata Nano plan† was the demand and requirement of many families of India who could not afford 4 wheel cars instead utilized Motorbikes and bicycles for the purpose, and was grounded on the successful project of low cost four wheeled â€Å"Ace truck† by the company in May 2005 (Boone & Kurtz, 2011). Company’s Profile In 1945, Tata Motors was established. ... Among the 3 best companies in the segment of a vehicle carrying passengers, Tata Motors is also included. Tata Motors has manufactured several outstanding cars in utility, compact and medium-size segment. It furnishes its services and products on a worldwide ground. Within India it offers 5 different categories of services and products namely trucks, commercial passenger carriers, passenger cars, defence vehicles, and utility vehicles. Why Tata Nano Is Important The Chairman of Tata Group perceived the thought behind the Tata Nano, when he saw a four member family was travelling via motor scooter in rain. At that time the idea of Nano came in his mind and he desired to manufacture an automobile that could be safe, affordable and could be used in all weather condition (Byron, 2008). (Byron, 2008) This desire of Mr. Ratan Tata emerged as the most inspirational plan of Tata motors till time when the Chairman of Tata Group Mr Ratan Tata stated his thought of Tata Nano to Mr. Ravi Kant, h is managing director. From his managing experience Mr. Ravi Kant had discovered that citizens desire to shift from 2 wheelers vehicle to 4 wheelers vehicles but they have not got enough money for it. Automobile industry of India has an average growth rate of twelve percent for the past decade. Despite that this industry sold only 1.3 million vehicles for passengers in the financial year ending on March 2006. This shows that a billion of peoples of India purchase approximately the equal quantity of cars in a year as three hundred million peoples of US purchase in a period of month. However, this situation could be changed only when the cost of 4 wheels vehicle could be lowered to the extent that