Operational Tasks Research Articles

Professiograph of activity of cynological specialists of the MIA of Russia as a critical element of quality training of a specialist

Introduction. The article reveals the importance of the canine units of the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs in ensuring the country's security. The purpose of the scientific research is a detailed study of the content and features of the professional activities of dog handlers with the subsequent construction of a professionogram as the most important element of high-quality training of specialists.Materials and Methods. The research materials were literary sources and the current practice of training dog handlers. During the study, general scientific methods were used: analysis and synthesis; generalization and specification; systematization and structuring of information. The authors analyze empirical studies, which reveal that a service dog has no analogues in terms of psychophysiological capabilities in solving operational and service tasks facing the department. As a result of studying the specialized literature, it was revealed that the leading activity of the canine service is the implementation of operational search and investigative actions. The second direction includes solving problems related to maintaining and saving a service dog. An equally important area of professional activity for dog handlers is leadership and mentoring.Results. Based on the results of the work carried out, a professiogram of a dog handler specialist of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation was built, which is based on the concept of professional development of E.F. Zeer and his model of a prospective professionogram. The novelty of the study lies in the description of all structural elements: passport, specifics of personnel training, characteristics of leading activities, psychogram. The authors substantiate the importance of identifying the main substructures of a specialist’s personality (professional orientation, professionally significant qualities, professionally important qualities and psychophysiological properties), which acted as its main elements.Discussion and Conclusions. The professiogram proposed by the authors reflects the dynamics of changes in the leading activity of an individual at different stages of professional development, which allows for psychological support of the process of professional training of a dog handler of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation.

A Novel Communication Framework for Reduction of Staffs in Advanced MCRs of SMRs: A Prototype Development of a NLP-Based System

As small modular reactors are gaining attention as the future of nuclear energy, it has become increasingly imperative to minimize the number of required operators in order to improve economic competitiveness. Although the tasks of operators have changed and their workloads have been relatively reduced as digital technologies have been applied to advanced main control rooms (MCRs), no change in the number of operators has been made when compared to conventional MCRs in the Republic of Korea. As a solution, the introduction of natural language processing (NLP) technology to replace certain operator tasks in advanced MCRs can be a valuable means of reducing MCR staff. In this paper, we suggest a novel communication framework utilizing NLP technology to minimize the number of operators in advanced MCRs. To do this, we analyze operator tasks in advanced MCRs and select those that can be replaced by NLP technology. We then develop a prototype NLP-based system and analyze the process and characteristics of the suggested communication framework.

An efficient constraint method for solving planning problems under end-effector constraints

Purpose In response to the challenge of reduced efficiency or failure of robot motion planning algorithms when faced with end-effector constraints, this study aims to propose a new constraint method to improve the performance of the sampling-based planner. Design/methodology/approach In this work, a constraint method (TC method) based on the idea of cross-sampling is proposed. This method uses the tangent space in the workspace to approximate the constrained manifold pattern and projects the entire sampling process into the workspace for constraint correction. This method avoids the need for extensive computational work involving multiple iterations of the Jacobi inverse matrix in the configuration space and retains the sampling properties of the sampling-based algorithm. Findings Simulation results demonstrate that the performance of the planner when using the TC method under the end-effector constraint surpasses that of other methods. Physical experiments further confirm that the TC-Planner does not cause excessive constraint errors that might lead to task failure. Moreover, field tests conducted on robots underscore the effectiveness of the TC-Planner, and its excellent performance, thereby advancing the autonomy of robots in power-line connection tasks. Originality/value This paper proposes a new constraint method combined with the rapid-exploring random trees algorithm to generate collision-free trajectories that satisfy the constraints for a high-dimensional robotic system under end-effector constraints. In a series of simulation and experimental tests, the planner using the TC method under end-effector constraints efficiently performs. Tests on a power distribution live-line operation robot also show that the TC method can greatly aid the robot in completing operation tasks with end-effector constraints. This helps robots to perform tasks with complex end-effector constraints such as grinding and welding more efficiently and autonomously.

Main scientific approaches to teaching special physical training of future security officers of Ukraine

The article substantiates the system of basic scientific approaches to teaching special physical training to future SSU officers, highlights the theoretical foundations and examines the state and formation of the content of special physical training of future SSU operational officers, and suggests ways to improve this area of work in the agency's higher education institutions.
 The current stage of the SSU reform is aimed at intensifying the process of training of servicemen. One of its priority areas is to strengthen the applied orientation of physical education, which will contribute to the development and improvement of special physical qualities of future officers, the formation of skills for effective actions in combat groups and individually in conditions of increased risk and difficult operational environment. The physical fitness of officers allows them to maintain their performance and skills of effective management of subordinates in stressful situations encountered in the performance of operational and service tasks. Therefore, it is becoming increasingly important to optimize the process of cadets' physical training and to form their readiness to perform complex professional tasks.
 One of the most important areas of the SSU's development is the formation of an operative's personality and physical qualities, which affects the level of professionalism of the entire agency. In the course of combat missions, it is the physical fitness of servicemen that helps to maintain health and increase resistance to dangerous factors. It is no coincidence that in recent years, physical culture has been increasingly referred to not only as an independent social phenomenon, but also as a stable quality of personality. The ways to improve the system of special physical training through standardization of learning outcomes, integration of combat training elements into a single integrated training system are identified.

Effect of 2D/3D Visual and Haptic Cues for Fine Operation Tasks With Varying Difficulties

Fine operations exist in the form of teleoperation, human-machine cooperative work, and fine manual assembly. However, there is a lack of research that explores the characteristics of different assistive guidance methods and their use for fine operation tasks with different levels of difficulty. For this issue, this study first designed a prototype of a magnetic-based kinesthetic interaction device, and then using this device, a user study (n = 27) was designed and conducted. The experiment explored the performance of 2D and 3D visual cues as well as haptic cues when facing operation tasks with different levels of difficulty and analyzed the characteristics of each guidance modality and its reasons. The experimental results suggest that (1) visual cues are better suited than haptic cues to convey directional information in fine operations, (2) haptic cues can introduce an additional physical load, and (3) 2D visual cues’ missing depth information can affect operations in the view direction.

Профилирование потребителей как инструмент совершенствования управления дебиторской задолженностью энергосбытовой организации

The problem facing an energy sales company is the collection of overdue accounts receivable (RA). The valuable achievements that energy sales companies have achieved while working to debtors are constantly being improved. So, specialists in working with remote control of an energy sales company need to make attempts to resolve the situation and search for compromises. It can be concluded to reduce the costs associated with work on managing debt, it is necessary to segment consumers according to the degree of possibility of debt collection and develop tools for interacting with consumers. It is proposed to partially solve the problems of accounts receivable by introducing an energy resource consumer profile. The research base is 703,726 telephone calls from operators with debtors of an energy sales organization. We grouped subscribers into 4 synonymous directions after we studied the subscriber's answers: Forgetful, Aggressive, With a special social status, Not available. We used the sorting method, the comparison method and the logical method. The operator’s work must be unified in order to sort subscribers according to the above principle at minimal cost. A standardized interview was developed for this purpose. The effectiveness of the proposed measures was manifested in the reducing labor costs and the increasing operator productivity. The importance of using a questionnaire survey allows employees to direct free energy and time to other operational tasks.

Risk management in diffused structures: Analysis for Shared Services Centers


 
 
 Research background: Shared Services Centers (SSCs) are often a spin-off of corporate services to separate all operational tasks from the corporate headquarters. The primary focus of the headquarters should be on leadership and corporate governance. However, many SSCs have also been given some corporate functions. Risk management is a significant part of governance and one of its principles. The effectiveness of risk management depends on its integration into the organization’s governance, including decision-making. The question is how a modern SSC manages this part of governance.
 Purpose: This study aims to present the conditions that prove the implementation of risk management in SSCs and to evaluate the most effective risk management model.
 Research methodology: Targeted literature review followed by surveys and a case study.
 Results: The risk management process consists of several stages that are repeated in many models (identification and risk assessment, risk management model selection, and monitoring). Thus, it is possible to use each model in the SSC concerning the migrated processes, considering the limitations of the strategic goals definition. However, not all methods will find a potential application in risk management in the SSC, considering the most effective risk assessment.
 Novelty: While the literature provides models that can be of use, a lack of specific guidelines has been recognized, especially regarding the risk management aspect in SSCs. In the last decade, the focus was on the expected benefits coming from standardization, ignoring the new risks in SSC processes.
 
 

Проблемы нормативно-правового регулирования использования компьютерной разведки в правоохранительной деятельности

The article reviews challenging aspects of the use of computer intelligence methods in practical activities of law enforcement authorities that include the use of software for deanonymization of a criminal, collect information on the technical device used by an offender and its content, which is related to gaps in the statutory regulation of activities of policemen in charge of crime solution and investigation. The legislative regulation of computer intelligence will enable quick and efficient performance of official operational tasks of solution of crimes committed with the use of information and communications technologies, imposed on interrogation authorities.

Characterizing major depressive disorder and substance use disorder using heatmaps and variable interactions: The utility of operant behavior and brain structure relationships.

Rates of depression and addiction have risen drastically over the past decade, but the lack of integrative techniques remains a barrier to accurate diagnoses of these mental illnesses. Changes in reward/aversion behavior and corresponding brain structures have been identified in those with major depressive disorder (MDD) and cocaine-dependence polysubstance abuse disorder (CD). Assessment of statistical interactions between computational behavior and brain structure may quantitatively segregate MDD and CD. Here, 111 participants [40 controls (CTRL), 25 MDD, 46 CD] underwent structural brain MRI and completed an operant keypress task to produce computational judgment metrics. Three analyses were performed: (1) linear regression to evaluate groupwise (CTRL v. MDD v. CD) differences in structure-behavior associations, (2) qualitative and quantitative heatmap assessment of structure-behavior association patterns, and (3) the k-nearest neighbor machine learning approach using brain structure and keypress variable inputs to discriminate groups. This study yielded three primary findings. First, CTRL, MDD, and CD participants had distinct structure-behavior linear relationships, with only 7.8% of associations overlapping between any two groups. Second, the three groups had statistically distinct slopes and qualitatively distinct association patterns. Third, a machine learning approach could discriminate between CTRL and CD, but not MDD participants. These findings demonstrate that variable interactions between computational behavior and brain structure, and the patterns of these interactions, segregate MDD and CD. This work raises the hypothesis that analysis of interactions between operant tasks and structural neuroimaging might aide in the objective classification of MDD, CD and other mental health conditions.

Cloud computing-based banking and management control

It is well known that firms nowadays operate in a VUCA (volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous) environment urging them to obtain a lasting competitive advantage sourced mainly from a technological innovation in order to ensure their prosperity and sustainability. New technologies play a pivotal role as they offer the potential of increasing efficiency, improving communication, streamlining business processes for more productivity and collaboration, from this perspective, cloud computing is a state-of-the-art technology that can provide valuable insights and support decision-making. It can have a significant impact on how businesses operate and compete in today’s fast paced and ever-changing business environment which makes it a source of competitive advantage, yet it raises concerns over data security and cybersecurity as well as it alters the day-to-day operational tasks arising from management control practices. In this paper we briefly review the literature in order to address and examine the impact of cloud computing technology in the banking sector on management control.

Digital twin method and application practice of spacecraft system driven by mechanism data

Spacecrafts are large-scale systems characterized by various on-orbit configurations, multi-disciplinary coupling, and complex mission modes. Research and exploration on the data-driven spacecraft digital twins development methods must be carried out to satisfy various requirements such as spacecraft on-orbit condition monitoring and risk warning, fast flight conditions predictions, intelligent failure location, and virtual verification of failure. In this paper, significant progress is made in multiple key technologies, such as cyber-physical system modeling and simulation, hybrid modeling and model evolution through mechanism-data fusion, and interactive virtual-reality perception and mapping. The spacecraft digital twins’ model is constructed, and the spacecraft digital twin’s platform is designed and developed. Multiple digital twins’ application scenarios, such as on-orbit mission simulation and emulation, real-time interactive monitoring, and fast operating condition prediction, are supported. The research results are applied to the key on-orbit operation tasks, such as entering orbit, rendezvous and docking, position conversion, and astronaut exiting, enabling system-level digital operation for the sub-systems of spacecraft such as energy, power, control, and communication sub-systems.

Relations of the departments of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia with the mass media and the means of increasing the effectiveness of information and propaganda work

The object of the study is public relations that develop in the process of interaction between the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia and the mass media. The subject of the article is the rights and responsibilities of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia in the media sphere, practical aspects of their implementation in the process of administrative activities of the police. The rights granted by the legislator allow the Ministry for the proactive formation of the information agenda. The novelty of the research is expressed in the results and conclusions obtained. For the first time in domestic jurisprudence, a classification of the rights and duties of the police implemented in the media sphere has been developed, and a criterion has been identified that served as the basis for the classification. The current legal instruments and their importance in media communications have been analyzed. Information and business letters, previously overlooked by researchers, have been considered as an institution for forming partnership relations with the media. Evidence has been presented of the need to follow professional ethical standards and the editorial board's interest in observing them. Practical recommendations aimed at forming truly partnership relations with the media have been proposed. A promising topic for further study has been identified, namely, the development of a methodology for responding to negative, untrue aspects of police activity demonstrated in films. The results obtained are intended for use in practical activities by specialists of media relations departments and heads of territorial internal affairs bodies. The implementation of rights and responsibilities allows the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia to act as a full-fledged subject of the media sphere, manage media processes, and solve a wide range of operational and service tasks.

Triggering Cockpit Alerts Using an Eye-Tracking-Based Measure of Monitoring Performance

Abstract: This study explored the potential for enhancing pilot performance via an alerting system that adapts according to an eye-tracking-based measure of monitoring. The novel measure combines gaze analysis with system state assessment to estimate the pilot’s understanding of the current system state. On this basis, an alerting system was developed to direct pilot attention to unnoticed system state changes, thereby improving system state monitoring. In a flight simulator study involving 10 participants in a generic jet cockpit, we compared the adaptive alerting system with a no-assistance condition. Although alerting improved the participants’ performance in two tracking tasks, it adversely impacted performance in a third task. Nonetheless, alerting resulted in a decrease in both variance and mean detection time of critical changes. Participants’ subjective ratings were generally positive, yet they criticized the lack of transparency of the alerting mechanism. Alerts triggered based on eye-tracking and system state show potential for improving operator task performance. Nonetheless, for the system to reach its full performance potential, it is critical that the operator understand the principles underlying the alert triggers. False positives and alert design were identified as key areas for improvement to maintain user trust and task flow.

An empirically validated rational number sense framework

AbstractA theoretical model describing Grade 7 students’ rational number sense was formulated and validated empirically (n = 360), hypothesizing that rational number sense is a general construct consisting of three factors: basic rational number sense, arithmetic sense, and flexibility with rational numbers. Data analysis suggested that rational-number tasks can be categorized based on the validated model. The flexibility component reflects thinking about rational numbers in terms of noticing, using, and expressing relations and properties of numbers in patterns, functions, covariation, and complicated computational tasks. It includes utilizing number structure and relational understanding of operations and numbers. Analysis identified three categories of students that represent different rational-number sense profiles. Category 1 students exhibited a limited basic profile that solved mainly traditional school-based tasks. Category 2 students reflected the basic emergent arithmetic sense profile that responded adequately in operation tasks. Category 3 students represented the flexible emergent profile, as they manipulated underlying structures in a variety of situations, indicating an emergent fundamental shift from an arithmetic to an algebraic focus. A discriminant analysis showed that basic and flexible factors could discriminate students best between the three identified profiles of rational number sense.

Assessment of routine operation and maintenance work of a small community water treatment plant in North Guwahati, Assam, India

A water treatment plant's efficiency is reliant on its regular maintenance and operation. Many water treatment plants across the world are outsourced to private enterprises for day to day operation and maintenance. However, the impact of outsourcing may not always be profitable as design of faulty treatment units or carrying out improper routine operation and maintenance works by the private enterprise may ultimately affect the quality of potable water produced. The current study aims to evaluate the routine operation and maintenance tasks performed by an outsourced private enterprise at a small community water treatment facility in Assam. The performance monitoring of the treatment plant indicates that the plant is unable to produce potable water meeting national water quality standards. The turbidity of treated water is not able to meet the BIS acceptable limit of 1 NTU but it complies with the BIS permissible limit of 5 NTU. In general, the plant operators lack the skills required to operate the treatment plant effectively. Coagulant dosing is completely based on personal experience of plant operators instead of using jar test results. The backwashing of filter beds is carried out arbitrarily without considering the turbidity of filtered water. These factors have resulted in malfunctioning of the treatment units ultimately affecting the quality of potable water produced from the plant. The skill set of plant operators and chemist has been enhanced with bilingual stepwise instruction charts and on-hand training at the site. This aids in raising the standard of produced potable water. The turbidity of treated water is observed to be close to the BIS acceptable limit of 1 NTU.

Impact of a Task-Grabbing System for surgical technicians on operating room efficiency

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of the Task-Grabbing System on operating room efficiency. Based on the competition-driven concept of the ‘Uber’ app, an Task-Grabbing System was designed for task allocation and quality assessment. We implemented the Task-Grabbing System in our hospital operating room and compared the differences in consecutive operation preparation time, turnover time, and task completion time performed by surgical technicians for tasks such as patient pick-up, operating room cleaning, medical equipment recovery, three-piece set delivery, as well as blood gas analysis and intraoperative specimen submission before (October 2019) and after (December 2019) the implementation of the Task-Grabbing System. After the implementation of the Task-Grabbing System, the consecutive operation preparation time was reduced from the average of 43.56–38.55 min (P < 0.05), and the turnover time was decreased from the average of 14.25–12.61 min (P < 0.05). And the respective time consuming of surgical technicians for patients picking up, operating room cleaning, medical facilities recovering, the three-piece set delivering, blood gas analysis sending and intraoperative specimen submitting was significantly shortened (P < 0.05). The Task-Grabbing System could improve the operating room efficiency and effectively mobilize the enthusiasm and initiative of the surgical technicians.

Effects of total sleep deprivation on performance in a manual spacecraft docking task

Sleep deprivation and circadian rhythm disruptions are highly prevalent in shift workers, and also among astronauts. Resulting sleepiness can reduce cognitive performance, lead to catastrophic occupational events, and jeopardize space missions. We investigated whether 24 hours of total sleep deprivation would affect performance not only in the Psychomotor Vigilance Task (PVT), but also in a complex operational task, i.e. simulated manual spacecraft docking. Sixty-two healthy participants completed the manual docking simulation 6df and the PVT once after a night of total sleep deprivation and once after eight hours of scheduled sleep in a counterbalanced order. We assessed the impact of sleep deprivation on docking as well as PVT performance and investigated if sustained attention is an essential component of operational performance after sleep loss. The results showed that docking accuracy decreased significantly after sleep deprivation in comparison to the control condition, but only at difficult task levels. PVT performance deteriorated under sleep deprivation. Participants with larger impairments in PVT response speed after sleep deprivation also showed larger impairments in docking accuracy. In conclusion, sleep deprivation led to impaired 6df performance, which was partly explained by impairments in sustained attention. Elevated motivation levels due to the novelty and attractiveness of the task may have helped participants to compensate for the effects of sleepiness at easier task levels. Continued testing of manual docking skills could be a useful tool both to detect sleep loss-related impairments and assess astronauts’ readiness for duty during long-duration missions.

Research on Nuclear Power Plant Operational Task Complexity Assessment Method Based on Group Decision Making and Deep Learning of EEG Signals

This study aims to explore the correlation between the operational task complexity of nuclear power plant (NPP) operators and electroencephalogram (EEG) features. Initially, we segmented EEG signals according to operational steps and extracted a total of 120 time domain, frequency domain, and time-frequency domain features. Subsequently, we applied an adaptive principal component analysis (PCA) dimensionality reduction method to process the features. On the other hand, three experts were invited to evaluate the complexity of the operational tasks, and their evaluation data were synthesized using a group decision-making approach. A correlation analysis was performed between these data and the PCA-reduced feature data, identifying the features with the highest correlation coefficient for each participant. Then we built a long short-term memory model with the data of the first group of participants to predict the task complexity value and tested it with the data of the second group of participants. Testing the model with data from the second group yielded favorable results, with a training set mean squared error (MSE) of 0.025 and a testing set MSE of 0.078. The results of this study indicate a significant correlation between specific EEG features and task complexity in the operational tasks of NPP operators. The model established through a combination of group decision making and machine learning methods effectively predicted the task complexity levels for operators in different operational tasks. This research provides a new perspective on NPP operators’ cognitive load and operational tasks, holding practical significance for operator training and workload management.

Dopamine neuron activity encodes the length of upcoming contralateral movement sequences

Dopaminergic neurons (DANs) in the substantia nigra pars compacta (SNc) have been related to movement speed, and loss of these neurons leads to bradykinesia in Parkinson's disease (PD). However, other aspects of movement vigor are also affected in PD; for example, movement sequences are typically shorter. However, the relationship between the activity of DANs and the length of movement sequences is unknown. We imaged activity of SNc DANs in mice trained in a freely moving operant task, which relies on individual forelimb sequences. We uncovered a similar proportion of SNc DANs increasing their activity before either ipsilateral or contralateral sequences. However, the magnitude of this activity was higher for contralateral actions and was related to contralateral but not ipsilateral sequence length. In contrast, the activity of reward-modulated DANs, largely distinct from those modulated by movement, was not lateralized. Finally, unilateral dopamine depletion impaired contralateral, but not ipsilateral, sequence length. These results indicate that movement-initiation DANs encode more than a general motivation signal and invigorate aspects of contralateral movements.

Military target detection method based on EfficientDet and Generative Adversarial Network

Military target identification is one of the first tasks of modern counter-terrorism operations, and military target detection methods based on unmanned system platforms can effectively reduce personnel casualties and improve combat effectiveness. Due to the complexity and variability of the actual combat environment and the demand for real-time target recognition, this paper proposes an image recognition method based on the combination of EfficientDet and Generative Adversarial Network (GAN), in which the gauged image features extracted from the EfficientDet model are used as the input of the GAN for the game learning of image categories and features. The learning results are also used as the feature reuse input of the EfficientDet for feature learning, so that this recognition model can obtain higher recognition speed and recognition accuracy. Through model testing with embedded experiments on unmanned platforms, the results show that the network has a higher mean-Average-Precision compared to the traditional one-stage approach, while improving the recognition accuracy of targets in different complex environments while maintaining no significant reduction in Frames Per Second.