Drudgery Reduction Research Articles

Metabolic cost and subjective assessment during operation of a rotary tiller with and without an operator's seat

The acceptance of the power tiller among the Indian farmers has not reached the level expected at the time of its introduction. This is primarily because of the drudgery involved in its operation. An operator has to walk behind the machine for a distance of 15–20 km to rotatill a hectare of land once. To overcome the problem, an operator's seat was developed as an attachment to popular Indian brands of power tiller. This study was conducted to quantify the reduction in drudgery due to provision of an operator's seat on a rotary power tiller by measuring metabolic cost and psychophysical assessment. Heart rate and oxygen consumption rate of the subjects were measured at three levels of forward speed under actual field conditions using an ambulatory metabolic measurement system. Overall discomfort rating was assessed subjectively on a 10-point visual analogue discomfort scale. Mean heart rate and oxygen consumption rate varied from 81.7 to 87.6 beats/min and 0.45 to 0.50 l/min, respectively, with increase in forward speed from 0.28 to 0.62 m/s with the operator's seat. Without the operator's seat, the heart rate and oxygen consumption rate varied from 94.9 to 108.0 beats/min and 0.54 to 0.70 l/min, respectively, with increase in forward speed from 0.29 to 0.63 m/s. Mean overall discomfort rating varied from 0.5 to 1.5 with the operator's seat and from 1.5 to 3.0 without the operator's seat. Thus, human energy expenditure during operation of the power tiller varied from 9.40 to 10.44 kJ/min with the operator's seat and from 11.28 to 14.62 kJ/min without the operator's seat. It was observed that the attachment of an operator's seat to power tiller reduced human energy expenditure by 16.7–28.6%. On the basis of physiological responses, the rotatilling operation by power tiller with and without operator's seat was classified as light and moderate work, respectively. It was concluded that the provision of an operator's seat on the power tiller reduces the drudgery of operator. Relevance to industry This study emphasizes the need to attach an operator's seat to power tillers to reduce drudgery of operators during the rotatilling operation. This may increase work output on a per day basis, which may ultimately increase the adoption of power tillers by more farmers.

Livestock buildings and equipment: A review

It is widely acknowledged that animal production is affected by “stress” imposed on the animal by environmental, nutritional, pathological and other factors. Morrison states that the environment in which the animal is maintained is the single most important factor affecting productivity. He defines environment to mean the air the animal breathes, the floor on which it stands, the number of its companions in a given area and the means by which it is confined. Livestock structures are widely utilized, especially in northern climates although, except for the young (new-born) animal, the primary reason is often not for environmental control. Rather, the structure is designed and built to permit efficient livestock handling, feeding and disease control, and to provide for security of animals. Not to be ignored are aspects of human comfort and reduction of drudgery in animal production systems. This paper attempts to provide a succinct review of livestock buildings and equipment, but it is impossible to provide an exhaustive analysis of developments in this area. The importance of the subject is reflected in the number of national and international symposiums or conferences which have been held in the last four years and the reader should refer to these for a more exhaustive review of specific developments.

Computer Analysis of Skewed Kin Terminology

The computer may make its greatest contribution to anthropology in the analysis of formal data. The rich substructure of kinship data, for example, has led in the past to the use of complexity-reducing techniques for the convenience of the analyst at the expense of reducing the accuracy and utility of the analyses. We abide by the principle that drudgery reduction will yield increased insight and productivity. David Kronenfeld describes his experience with the automation of Romney's procedures and illustrates another important principle: The proof of an explanation is a computer program that implements it. Kronenfeld discovered flaws in Romney's method when he found that the computer required that what Romney had left out be made explicit.