Awkward Cases Research Articles

Ergonomic Risk Assessment of Aluminum Form Workers’ Musculoskeletal Disorder at Construction Workstations Using Simulation

This study analyzes an existing scenario of musculoskeletal disorder (MSD) associated with the ergonomic hazard of the aluminum formwork workstation and its workers. Aluminum form-workers have increasing evidence of MSDs from repetitive tasks such as the adjustment, alignment of pins, pulling, pushing, and installation of panels, because of the cumulative exposure to ergonomic risks. Existing research indicates that this is due to insufficient expertise, form-worker awareness, and a complex construction plan. Using the Tecnomatix process simulate, this study aims to identify awkward postures during the process of lifting, assembling, and installing formwork to quantify MSDs and assess the ergonomic risk of aluminum form-workers and provide simple solutions. This simulation method makes use of input data from a random sample of 92 participants retrieved from four construction sites. The Rapid Upper Limb Assessment (RULA), Ovako Working Analysis System (OWAS) scores, and Energy Expenditure Rate (EER) for three identified awkward cases were determined to be unsatisfactory, unsafe, and acceptable with suggested alternatives. The ergonomic scores correspond to various bodily stresses, allowing workers to better understand which body parts experience major stress when performing manual jobs. The suggested integrated preventive ergonomics system reduces MSDs and improves how people interact with their surroundings.

Is Perception Stimulus-Dependent?

The most natural way to distinguish perception from cognition is by considering perception as stimulus-dependent. Perception is tethered to the senses in a way that cognition is not. Beck Australasian Journal of Philosophy 96(2): 319-334 (2018) has recently argued in this direction. He develops this idea by accommodating two potential counterexamples to his account: hallucinations and demonstrative thoughts. In this paper, I examine this view. First, I detect two general problems with movement to accommodate these awkward cases. Subsequently, I place two very common mental phenomena under the prism of the stimulus-dependence criterion: amodal completion and visual categorization. The result is that the stimulus-dependent criterion is too restrictive, it leaves the notion of perception extremely cramped. I conclude that even the criterion of stimulus-dependence fails to mark a clearly defined border between perception and cognition.

Approximate variational inference based on a finite sample of Gaussian latent variables

Variational methods are employed in situations where exact Bayesian inference becomes intractable due to the difficulty in performing certain integrals. Typically, variational methods postulate a tractable posterior and formulate a lower bound on the desired integral to be approximated, e.g. marginal likelihood. The lower bound is then optimised with respect to its free parameters, the so called variational parameters. However, this is not always possible as for certain integrals it is very challenging (or tedious) to come up with a suitable lower bound. Here we propose a simple scheme that overcomes some of the awkward cases where the usual variational treatment becomes difficult. The scheme relies on a rewriting of the lower bound on the model log-likelihood. We demonstrate the proposed scheme on a number of synthetic and real examples, as well as on a real geophysical model for which the standard variational approaches are inapplicable.

Rare, obscure and marginal affixes in English

English is full of words with recurrent sequences of segments which may or may not be morphologically interpretable. In this paper I look at some which fall on either side the cut-off point between morphology and non-morphology, considering what it is that makes something an affix and how we might decide in awkward cases.

Alzheimer CSF biomarkers in routine clinical setting

Our work was aimed to evaluate Alzheimer's disease diagnosis improvement using cerebrospinal fluid biomarkers (CSF) in neurological daily practice. For this purpose, 150 patients clinically and neurochemically classified as having AD or cognitive impairment with or without other dementia type were included in the study. The following CSF peptides were studied, blindly to the clinical diagnosis: beta-amyloid(1-42) peptide (Aβ(1-42)), Tau (T-tau), threonine-181 hyperphosphorylated tau protein (P-tau(181)), and beta-amyloid(1-40) peptide (Aβ(1-40)). From these measurements, Innotest® Amyloid Tau Index (IATI) was calculated for each patient. This assessment allowed to separate 83 biochemical profiles of AD and 67 non-Alzheimer's disease (non-AD), both AD and non-AD categories match with clinical data amounting to 73% and 90%, respectively. Among mild cognitive impairment (MCI) patients, CSF biomarkers led to discriminate those who are likely to be AD. We devoted a special section to Aβ(1-40) which is not a routine parameter but can help to confirm a pathological amyloid process as Aβ(1-42)/Aβ(1-40) ratio underlining the real decline of the Aβ(1-42). The interest of biomarkers and their ability to solve awkward cases were carefully noticed all the more when a discrepancy between clinical and CSF biological data was involved. The final proposed algorithm allowed to identify pathogenic forms of AD according to the prevailing role of hyperphosphorylated tau or amyloid beta peptide.

Measuring spoken language: a unit for all reasons

The analysis of spoken language requires a principled way of dividing transcribed data into units in order to assess features such as accuracy and complexity. If such analyses are to be comparable across different studies, there must be agreement on the nature of the unit, and it must be possible to apply this unit reliably to a range of different types of speech data. There are a number of different units in use, the various merits of which have been discussed by Crookes (1990). However, while these have been used to facilitate the analysis of spoken language data, there is presently no comprehensive, accessible definition of any of them, nor are detailed guides available on how to identify such units in data sets. Research reports tend to provide simplistic two-line definitions of units exemplified, if at all, by unproblematic written examples. These are inadequate when applied to transcriptions of complex oral data, which tend not to lend themselves easily to a clear division into units. This paper was motivated by the need each of the three authors felt for a reliable and comprehensively defined unit to assist with the analysis of a variety of recordings of native and non-native speakers of English. We first discuss in very general terms the criteria according to which such a unit might be selected. Next, we examine the main categories of unit which have been adopted previously and provide a justification for the particular type of unit that we have chosen. Focusing on this unit, we identify a number of problems which are associated with the definition and exemplification of units of this type, and give examples of the awkward cases found in actual data. Finally we offer a definition of our unit, the Analysis of Speech Unit (AS-unit), providing adequate detail to address the problematic data analyses we have illustrated.

David Lewis's awkward cases of redundant causation

The main line of Lewis's account of causation is in terms of chains of counterfactual dependence. According to his original account (1973), a causal chain is a sequence of two or more events, with counterfactual dependence at each step; and one event is a cause of another if there is a causal chain from one to the other. But some awkward cases involving redundant causation lead him to introduce the notion of quasi-dependence (1986: 205-7). Laurie Paul (1998) has suggested a way of dealing with one important class of these cases in terms of dependence proper. I shall suggest a different (and, I argue, preferable) way of dealing with this class of cases; I shall also suggest that it is possible to deal with other awkward cases too in terms of dependence proper.

David Lewis's awkward cases of redundant causation

David Lewis's awkward cases of redundant causation

The modelling phase of JSD

The JSD method starts with a modelling phase in which the subject matter of the system being built is described in terms of sequential processes. The basic modelling technique is summarized. The relationship to conventional data modelling techniques is explored. Recent extensions to JSD modelling to handle awkward cases are described. Examples are drawn from a variety of application domains.

X-Ray Problems for Point Sources

Let K be a plane convex set, assumed compact with non-empty interior. Let P{ and P2 be distinct known points in the plane, and let j](9) be the length of the chord of K through P, that makes angle 6 with some fixed axis. We call f, the chord function of K at P,. Under what circumstances is it possible to determine the set K from the functions / , and /2? If the points P, are exterior to K, this is the X-ray problem of Hammer [5] for point sources: how many pictures taken with point sources of X-rays are required to permit the reconstruction of a convex body of uniform density? (The case of Hammer's X-ray problem for parallel beams of X-rays has been considered by Gardner and McMullen [4].) We shall show here that, except in certain awkward cases, if the line / through P{ and P2 is known to intersect the interior of K, then K is uniquely determined by fy(Q) and /2(0). This generalizes a result of Rogers [7] that if f{(0) = /2(0) for all 0 then K must be centrally symmetric about the mid-point of Px P2 (see also Larman and Tamvakis [6] for variations of this). For the 'parallel beam' problem Gardner and McMullen [4] showed that two convex sets could be distinguished by X-ray photographs taken in certain sets of directions, but provided no method of reconstructing a set from its X-ray photographs. Using our method for the 'point source' problem, however, it would be possible, at least theoretically, to reconstruct a set K to any required degree of accuracy from its chord functions at Px and P2; in this sense our method is constructive. Production of a practical reconstruction algorithm and the error analysis, whilst feasible, would be complicated since this would involve the solution of non-linear simultaneous equations and equations defined by the limit of an iterative procedure. It is appropriate to mention the related work that is being done in the field of X-ray tomography, where the problem is to reconstruct an object of varying density as accurately as possible from a large number of X-ray photographs. The paper of Finch, Smith, and Solmon [3] describes some of the most recent theoretical work using point sources of X-rays (the 'divergent beam' problem). However, the problems considered here are of a different nature and are probably of less practical application. The main proofs used here are related to the method of Rogers [7] and also employ a lemma on the behaviour of certain real sequences. We remark at the outset that given a point P, and the chord function / of some convex set K, it is clear from / whether or not P is an interior point of K: the point P is interior to K if and only if/ is continuous and non-vanishing. It is more awkward to distinguish between an exterior point and a boundary point of K. If f(0) vanishes for 0 in some proper interval then either P is exterior to K or P is a boundary point of K at which K has more than one line of support. If P is a boundary point of K then the reconstruction of K from / , modulo reflection in P, is trivial, and the chord function

Persons, Indeterminacy and Responsibility

In certain awkward cases there is an apparent conflict between competing criteria of personal identity. In my view in many such cases there is no answer to questions of personal identity. There is an indeterminacy in our concept of person: the identity conditions which we associate with the concept are sufficient to dictate which person is which in range of familiar cases but not sufficient to determine the answer to the question of identity in the puzzle cases. Derek Parfit suggests at the beginning of his well-known article on personal identity that there need not be correct answer to questions of identity.1 In the light of his observations the content of the last paragraph may seem to lack novelty. But there is at least one respect in which the matter deserves to be taken further than it is by Parfit. Claims such as the statement that questions of personal identity sometimes lack correct answer, or the statement that there is indeterminacy in the concept of person, cry out for semantic elaboration. Indeed they should not be accepted until the necessary detail has been filled in. I shall try to supply some of what is lacking by addressing myself to semantic problem raised by the thesis that the concept of person is indeterminate, namely the problem of what we refer to by a in Is the same person as b? when the question has no correct answer. It will be helpful to pick an example which we can keep in front of us while considering conflicting criteria of identity. It should be emphasized, however, that my semantic observations do not depend for their interest solely on whether or not there are conflicting criteria of identity in the chosen case. If there are any cases in which there are plausible alternative criteria of identity then my proposal can be applied, mutatis mutandis, in defense of the thesis that questions of identity are unanswerable in those cases. The chosen example is based on the tale of Mr. Bultitude and his schoolboy son, described in Anstey's Vice Versa and made philosophically familiar by Anthony Quinton.2 The bodies of Mr. Paul Bultitude,