Broad Range Of Tasks Research Articles

Iron treatment normalizes cognitive functioning in young women

Background:Evidence suggests that brain iron deficiency at any time in life may disrupt metabolic processes and subsequently change cognitive and behavioral functioning. Women of reproductive age are among those most vulnerable to iron deficiency and may be at high risk for cognitive alterations due to iron deficiency.Objective:We aimed to examine the relation between iron status and cognitive abilities in young women.Design:A blinded, placebo-controlled, stratified intervention study was conducted in women aged 18–35 y of varied iron status who were randomly assigned to receive iron supplements or a placebo. Cognition was assessed by using 8 cognitive performance tasks (from Detterman's Cognitive Abilities Test) at baseline (n= 149) and after 16 wk of treatment (n= 113).Results:At baseline, the iron-sufficient women (n= 42) performed better on cognitive tasks (P= 0.011) and completed them faster (P= 0.038) than did the women with iron deficiency anemia (n= 34). Factors representing performance accuracy and the time needed to complete the tasks by the iron-deficient but nonanemic women (n= 73) were intermediate between the 2 extremes of iron status. After treatment, a significant improvement in serum ferritin was associated with a 5–7-fold improvement in cognitive performance, whereas a significant improvement in hemoglobin was related to improved speed in completing the cognitive tasks.Conclusions:Iron status is a significant factor in cognitive performance in women of reproductive age. Severity of anemia primarily affects processing speed, and severity of iron deficiency affects accuracy of cognitive function over a broad range of tasks. Thus, the effects of iron deficiency on cognition are not limited to the developing brain.

Work Design and the Labouring Body: Examining the Impacts of Work Organization on Danish Cleaners’ Health

Globalization and neoliberalism are having significant impacts upon the cleaning industry, as in the drive for greater work “efficiency”. One way in which cleaning companies have sought to increase efficiency is through the introduction of new equipment and forms of work organization. However, such moves appear to be having negative impacts upon cleaners’ bodies, and many report significant work‐related health problems. In light of this, here we explore the bodily consequences of two possible strategies for giving cleaners a healthier workday—increasing variation within cleaners’ current work tasks or allowing them to engage in a broader range of tasks through job enlargement. Drawing upon a literature review performed as part of a recent European Union project concerning the degree of physical strain to which cleaners are exposed during cleaning, a Danish laboratory study focusing on the loads to which cleaners’ shoulder muscles, backs, and hearts were exposed by different cleaning tasks, and a field study investigating the effects of job enlargement in Danish hospitals, we show that cleaning work is characterized by repetitive work for the muscles of the body's upper extremities and by high levels of dynamic and static force upon these muscles, regardless of which modes of cleaning (old or new style of cleaning tools) are used. Equally, monitoring of heart rates and assessment of the psychosocial environment suggest that simply interchanging current cleaning tasks does not provide sufficient variation in cleaners’ work to prevent work‐related musculoskeletal or cardiovascular damage, nor to create a less mentally stressful work environment. Although introducing greater work variation through job enlargement (such as combining cleaning with kitchen and portering tasks) is often presented as an effective way to minimize musculoskeletal and cardiovascular damage, our field study shows that even this does not provide sufficient variation in physical work conditions, although improvement in some cleaners’ mental health was noted. Therefore, we conclude, prevention of musculoskeletal and cardiovascular disorders demands a much more comprehensive strategy of work redesign than that proposed by some employers and government agencies. Whether this is likely, given competitive pressures towards increased outsourcing and privatization, is, of course, the question.

A learning process in email use - a longitudinal case study of the interaction between organization and technology

This paper explores the process of adoption, use and effects of an ICT application (electronic mail) in an organization. This process is considered to be a learning process, in which users, over time, learn to use email to a greater extent, for a broader range of tasks, and more effectively. The results of a longitudinal case study are described. In four time periods (1993, 1995, 1997 and 2000), random samples of users were surveyed with regard to their use of email and its effects. This produced a unique dataset. The longitudinal character of this case study provided an excellent opportunity to follow the learning process through time, and analyse the influence of different variables on the course of this process. MANOVAs show empirical support for the 'learning process', manifested in changes in extent, ways and effectiveness of email use. The analysis indicates that technological innnovation could be an important influence on the course of this learning process.

Designing for task oriented grasps in robotic assembly

The objective is to develop a flexible robot assembly system capable of economically switching between a wide range of product assemblies. Towards this goal, this paper introduces grasping as a principle issue in designing for flexibility in a robot system. The task, sensing, and certainty about actions are the primary factors in grasp decisions and not where to grasp the part. Identifying finger features, which satisfy a broad range of tasks reduces the likelihood of re‐tooling, and improves certainty about part location and relative orientation. Aided by the ability to address a broad range of tasks, design rules are established which assimilate grasps to part design.

Model for Communication in Automated Interactive Engineering Design

The last few years have witnessed rapid development of knowledge-based systems to address a broad range of tasks in the engineering design domain. Recent attention has turned to the integration of modular systems to provide a unified approach to complex engineering problems, characterized by the need for interactive contributions by multiple design specialists. Issues in developing truly integrated systems center upon the establishment of effective communication among design participants. This paper presents a conceptual model for automated interactive engineering design, considering both the process architecture and semantic modeling aspects of the problem. A prototype system based on the conceptual model is also presented, operating in the domain of floor and equipment layout and design for industrial facilities.

Teaching Age and Gender Discrimination by the Enhancement of Criterion-related Cues

Teaching procedures encouraging the “errorless” acquisition of discriminations through the enhancement of criterion-related cues have proved popular and effective in work with individuals with severe learning difficulties. To date, however, their application has primarily been restricted to the learning of relatively simple discriminations, such as size and colour. The present study describes the successful implementation using two adults with severe learning difficulties of a teaching programme adopting this approach with respect to the skills of age and gender discrimination. Along with encouraging generalization and maintenance data, this success suggests that procedures involving the enhancement of criterion-related cues may have utility with a far broader range of tasks than previously considered.

Neuropsychological deficit in schizophrenic subtypes: Paranoid, nonparanoid, and schizoaffective subgroups

Schizophrenic patients were carefully diagnosed and screened for a history of neurological disorders. Diagnosis and subtyping was based on DSM-III-R criteria, using the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-III-R, which was administered by trained interviewers and confirmed by a research psychiatrist. The schizophrenic patients were compared with an age-matched control group on an extensive battery of neuropsychological measures. The undifferentiated/ disorganized schizophrenic patients were consistently the most impaired on a broad range of tasks. When the effects of symptom severity and drug level were statistically controlled (analysis of covariance), however, the magnitude and number of differences were substantially reduced. The perseverative error score from the Wisconsin Card Sort Test showed the greatest difference between the groups. However, the strongest and most consistent effects were observed in relation to symptom ratings. These data indicate the importance of controlling for medication and symptom severity, and suggest that current diagnostic classifications may not be the most useful factors for studies of the cognitive correlates of schizophrenia.

Financial and Credit Levers and the Intensification of Production

The Twenty-sixth Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union posed a broad range of tasks in all areas of economic work, including finance as a specific aggregate of economic relationships in the reproduction process: raising the role of financial and credit levers in the intensification of production, strengthening cost accounting, and bolstering the economy program.