Technical Positions Research Articles

Policy service design of elements and rural distribution mains of 10 Kv on the results of technical position diagnosis

This article considers questions of overhead high-voltage lines working capacity and ways of its improving reliability. Influence of different factors especially climatic on overhead line condition is shown. Zoning plan of the Russian Federation on annual average duration of thunderstorms in hours is presented. Also, it shows data on numbers of thunderstorm activity intensity on the territory of the Republic of Mari El over a period of observation from 2007 to 2016 years. Statistic data on number of overhead line shutdowns in thunderstorm periods from 1985 to 2010 years. For estimation of working capacity of device and elements of distribution mains weather two-factor models are presented. Key reasons of damage of overhead electric lines elements are shown, besides, data on shutdown of overhead lines because of pin-insulators damages and cords on the territory of the Republic of Mari El over a period from 2007 to 2016 years are illustrated. Maintenance work system of overhead lines that accepted in operation are considered. On the results of reasons of overhead lines breakdown analysis it was found that most of overhead lines emergency shutdowns are caused by nature and climate effects that depend on conditions of usage, high quality conduction routine-preventive repairs, consequently on technical staff qualification etc. Service policy considering nature and climate factors influence, material-and-technical support by modern instruments and equipment, rational service and timely preventive measures implementation was designed.

Escalator or Step Stool? Gendered Labor and Token Processes in Tech Work

Gender scholars use the metaphor of the “glass escalator” to describe a tendency for men in women-dominated workplaces to be promoted into supervisory positions. More recently, scholars, including the metaphor’s original author, critique the glass escalator metaphor for not addressing the intersections of gender with other relevant identities or the ways that work has changed in the twenty-first century. I apply an intersectional lens to understand how gender and race shape women’s career paths in tech work, where twenty-first century changes to the organization of workplaces are common. I build on theories of raced and gendered labor and the glass escalator to make sense of women’s careers in a contemporary field dominated by men. I find some evidence that white women, but not women of color, experience something similar to a “glass escalator” where they are promoted into management, but those promotions are a smaller step up—more step stool than escalator. These promotions move women out of technical positions and towards business and management, releasing engineering teams from the pressure to fully incorporate women.

Talent & Technology: Critical Skills for a Successful Career

Talent & Technology The recently published LinkedIn “Roadmap,” which utilized data from more than 500 million members combined with a survey of 2,000 business leaders, identified that soft skills are often more needed than hard skills. SPE recognizes that its members need to possess such skills—and more. Recently, the SPE Soft Skills Committee was renamed Business and Management Leadership (BML) to better represent the needs and missions of such skills in successful careers. The BML committee organized a panel session during the 2018 SPE Annual Technical Conference and Exhibition titled “Critical Skills for Career Success” where industry leaders provided their insights on what skills make a difference in one’s career, and how to develop and master critical skills to attain business and management leadership. The moderator of the panel was Maria Capello, Kuwait Oil Company. Panelists were Kamel Ben Naceur, ADNOC; Behrooz Fattahi, The EnerTrain Institute; Ford Brett, PetroSkills; Thomas Blasingame, Texas A&M University; and Janeen Judah, 2017 SPE President. The key takeaway of the panel was that, no matter your position, entry-level or senior management, you must be able to manage and motivate people. Employers want and need people who can stretch out of their comfort zone and see change as an opportunity for growth and innovation. Having the ability to accept and adapt is important, because adjusting to a new environment is now part of the mod-ern world of working. Ben Naceur, ADNOC’s chief economist, started the discussion. He has worked in 14 countries and experienced four price cycles in the oil industry, during which he envisioned and empowered his career progression into new roles. His vision grew with every new role, allowing him to understand the importance of soft skills. Ben Naceur started his career in a technical position within an R&D organization, shifting into the applications side of the industry, supervising complex hydraulic fracture stimulations, requiring immediate decision-making and the management of people from very diverse cultural settings. Later, he became Minister for Industry, Energy, and Mines in his home country, Tunisia, a huge responsibility he accepted mainly to be able to give back to his nation. During the panel discussion, he asserted that being able to continuously adapt to new jobs, new cultures, and new languages is of critical importance—and although diverse technical skills were essential for his career, Ben Naceur credits soft skills as the “building bridges” that enabled major course changes. “People tend to judge you for what they can see but they don’t know what is inside you, and that is precisely the part you need to pay attention to,” said panelist Fattahi, 2010 SPE President. Further, “in the logical plane of your brain, 1 plus 1 is always 2. That’s logic…but not on the emotional plane. We always tend to train for logic but we do not pay attention to the emotional system.”

The method of assessment and formation the availability of the subsystem ensuring fitness for means of transport

In systems of means of transport operation in order to achieve appropriate completion of assigned transportation tasks it is necessary to maintain a required number of means of transport in the state of availability for carrying out of transportation task (roadworthy and stocked). In general, the processes of rendering vehicles roadworthy are connected to supplying them with fuel and operational materials, carrying out services and repairs, condition diagnostics. In the analyzed system of transport means operation, the processes are carried out in serviceability assurance subsystem SAS. In complex operation systems, the processes of rendering technical objects roadworthy are carried out at specifically designed technical infrastructure posts. The possibility of carrying out the assigned service and repair tasks depends on the availability and the number of such posts. The article presents the method of defining the operational availability and the number of technical infrastructure posts required for appropriate functioning of assigned service and repair task. Then typical calculation results are presented in charts prepared on the basis of data obtained from tests at existing transport means operation system.

National Staff in Public Foreign Aid: Aid Localization in Practice

This article spotlights national desk officers working in technical positions in public foreign aid agencies. These locally recruited employees share with their posted colleagues the same qualifications, formal rank, and job descriptions. As such, they actualize the concept of aid localization, which is used in donor discourse and scholarly research to describe practices of employing host country staff in partner countries. However, while donors portray localization as an investment in and empowerment of “local” expertise, scholars have primarily used the concept to describe the diffusion of corporate or “international” expertise through the recruitment of locally based professionals to international jobs. Research of aid workers in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, suggests that national desk officers reflect this second definition of localization. They exemplify an anthropological critique of the parochialism yet universalizing ambitions of international aid, which are tied to processes of technicalization and professionalization of aid work. The article also investigates the link between aid localization and professional authority. Findings indicate that national desk officers enjoy less professional authority than their posted colleagues. An important explanation concerns the formal terms on which donor staff are employed, which distinguish between national and posted employees as mutually exclusive and hierarchically stratified categories.

Estágio Supervisionado em Psicologia Clínica com Orientação Psicanalítica: Uma Revisão de Literatura

RESUMO Este estudo tem como objetivo: analisar o conteúdo da produção de literatura sobre a prática de estágio supervisionado em psicologia clínica, com orientação psicanalítica e refletir acerca de suas dificuldades e desafios. Trata-se de uma revisão de literatura sistemática de artigos publicados sobre o tema, nas bases de dados Scielo, BVS-Psi e Portal de Periódicos CAPES, através dos descritores ‘estágio, psicologia clínica, psicanálise e clínica-escola’. Após aplicação dos critérios de exclusão, foram selecionados 26 artigos, o que possibilitou verificar que essa experiência não é sem consequência para pacientes, estagiários e supervisores. Conclui-se que na formação do psicólogo clínico de orientação psicanalítica, trata-se de suportar e assentir com a posição ética, teórica e técnica da psicanálise na condução do trabalho clínico.

Analysis of the Impact of Cellular Microwave Radiation on People

In the media there is a huge amount of material on the impact of cellular communication on people. In many materials, there are partially contradictory, and often mutually exclusive, points of view on this problem. Since this problem can be defined as personal for almost any inhabitant of our planet, there is a quite natural desire to find the ‘most correct’ point of view, with which almost every person (or the overwhelming majority) would agree. In this paper, we analyze the numerous points of view on the effect of microwave radiation from cellular communication on humans, and estimate the intensity of the electromagnetic field of cellular communication for various situations most frequently encountered in everyday life. Based on the analysis and estimates received, an independent technical position on this issue is presented and an attempt is made to forecast the further development of cellular communication. The further existence of cellular communication is seen in the organization of scientific research in the field of security of cellular communication for the population, its environmental friendliness. This, in turn, will lead to special events, as well as the development and improvement of devices that would reduce the impact of EMF means of cellular communication on users. First of all, it is necessary to protect the subscriber’s head from radiation, which is achieved by creating MT antennas with a special (not affecting the subscriber’s head) directional diagram, or by creating and improving special devices that allow to negotiate MT without leaning MT to the head (such gadgets already exist). Ideally, of course, it is necessary to protect the entire body of the subscriber from the impact of EMF of its own MT, if not all the time, then at least during the conversation on MT, but to solve this problem, additional scientific research is needed.

The Change of the Status of Joseon Medical Bureaucrats in the 15th and 16th Centuries.

In the 15th century, Joseon dynasty's goal for the stabilization of the ruling system, the ideological freedom of the era, and the necessity of medicine due to the introduction of Jin and Yuan dynasty's medicine led to the increased interest in medicine by the nobility along with tolerant practice. The practice of reading medical books is a good example of this institutional demonstration. However, by the end of the 15th century, a noticeable change had taken place. Within the nobility, there was an ideological rigidity regarding technology other than those of Confucianism, as the nobility became concentrated on the principles of Neo-Confucianism. In addition, as the publication of large-scale editions such as Ŭibangyuch'wi (the Classified Collection of Medical Prescriptions) came to an end, they have become less inclined to nurture talent at the level of the central government as in the previous period. In addition, as the discrimination against illegitimate children became stronger, technical bureaucrats such as medical officials, which were open to illegitimate children, came to be seen in increasingly disdainful and differentiated manners. From the late Sejong period to the early Seongjong period, the entrance of illegitimate sons into the medical bureaucracy solidified the negligence of medicine by the nobility. After then, the medical bureaucracy came to be monopolized by illegitimate sons. As for illegitimate sons, they were not allowed to enter society through Confucian practices, and as such, the only way for them to enter the government was by continuing to gain experience as technical bureaucrats. Technical posts that became dominated by illegitimate sons became an object of contempt by the nobility, and the cycle reproduced itself with the social perception that legitimate sons of the nobility could not become a medical official. Medical officials from the Yi clan of Yangseong had been legitimate sons and passers of the civil service examination in the 15th century. However, in the 16th century, only illegitimate sons became medical officials. The formation of Jungin (middleclass) in technical posts since the middle of the Joseon period is also related to this phenomenon. The Yi clan of Yangseong that produced medical officials for 130years over four generations since Yi Hyoji, a medical book reading official, is an exemplary case of the change in the social perception in the early Joseon period regarding medical bureaucrats.

Evaluation of the Possibility of Flaw Detection in Turbine Generator Stator According to Spectrum of Vibroacoustic Signal

A method for the evaluation of vibration acceleration spectra of the components of an operating turbine generator stator with loosening defects according to the results of simulation modeling is described. The procedure is developed and the experimental determination of frequency characteristics of the accelerance of a powerful turbine generator stator design from the loosening defect location to stator housing is given. The procedure is intended for the turbine generators of power plants on overhaul and/or testing facilities of manufacturing plants and employs impact excitation using an exciter that is not attached to the structure. The configuration of measuring facilities is given and the measurement error of the frequency characteristics of the calibrating unit is evaluated. The frequency characteristics recorded from four stators of turbine generators of TVV-320-2 type with different technical positions of mounting attachments and service lives are compared. The parameters of the check on measurements are evaluated. The possibility of the evaluation of the frequency characteristics of stator on a turbine generator of each type is shown. The installation diagram of sensors on the stator housing, which provides the defect location with the exactness of up to the sector of circumference of the stator with the central angle of 90°, is rationalized. The estimates of the frequency characteristics of the stator can be used for simulation modeling of vibroacoustic oscillations of the operating turbine generator stator housing with loosening defects. The aim of this work is to evaluate the possibility of the stator defect location and determine spectral diagnostic properties of faults. Drawbacks of the instantaneous impact model are shown and the examples and recommendations are given on the generation of dynamic models of the defects of stator.

Material and technical base of the Chelyabinsk Region financial bodies during the Great Patriotic War

The paper describes the material and technical position of the financial bodies in the Chelyabinsk Region in 19411945. The author provides a structure of regional financial institutions, which included the financial departments (Financial Department of the region, city and districts), savings-banks and long-term lending banks. The paper also examines dynamics of changes in the material and technical support of the regional financial system during the war. The analysis of archival sources clearly shows that in the first years of the war the material and technical support of the regional system of financial institutions was in critical condition: there was not enough office space, transport, calculating machines and typewriters as well as other necessary equipment for the work. But with the beginning of a radical change in the lines the situation gradually began to improve. Both cash and food were increased, the situation with transport, office and accommodation space was stabilized, new equipment appeared. Despite the difficult situation, the material and technical support did not have a significant impact on the effectiveness of the regional financial bodies. Financial stability was maintained both at the nationwide and regional levels. The government targets of military loans distribution were not only performed but also beaten. In total, 1,6 billion rubles were collected in the Chelyabinsk Region, which is 2% of the nationwide funds received from the distribution of the government loan. The most important indicator of the work efficiency was the qualitative performance of regional budgets.

Comparative tomographic study of the S2-alar-iliac screw versus the iliac screw

AimsIliac screws and S2-alar-iliac screws provide adequate mechanical stability for the fixation of lumbosacral spine pathologies, which has led to a significant increase in the use of these techniques in the routine practice of spine surgeons. However, studies on the ideal technical positioning for both techniques are limited.Study designThis is an observational, retrospective, analytical descriptive study.ObjectiveTo analyze, describe and compare the insertion and positioning parameters of the S2-alar-iliac and iliac screw techniques in adult patients without spinal deformities.MethodsThe present study comprises a retrospective analysis of lumbosacral computed tomography images selected continuously in 2016 from 25 patients at a university hospital. Mann–Whitney–Shapiro–Wilk tests were performed. Data reliability was assessed using intraclass correlation.ResultsThe mean length of the iliac screw was greater than that of the S2-alar-iliac screw, and the S2-alar-iliac screw sat 20.5 mm deeper than the iliac screw. The mean of the greatest bone thickness for the iliac screw was 20.72 mm; that of the S2-alar-iliac screw was 23.24 mm. The mean distance from the iliac screw entry point to the skin was 32.46 mm, and the mean distance from the S2-alar-iliac screw entry point to the skin was 52.87 mm.ConclusionThe trajectory of the S2-alar-iliac screws studied via computed tomography was greater in terms of bone thickness and deeper relative to the skin compared with the iliac screws. The S2-alar-iliac technique may have desirable clinical advantages in terms of the diameter of the screws and reduced protrusion when used in adults.Graphical abstractThese slides can be retrieved from Electronic supplementary material.

Rational civil servant interviewers: evidence from an event-related potential study of beauty premiums in Chinese civil servant interviews.

Physical attractiveness can greatly influence business job applications (the "beauty premium" effect). However, little is known about whether and how physical attractiveness influences interviewers' evaluations of Chinese civil servant applicants, given that many characteristics of civil service appear to be different from those of business jobs. Using event-related potentials (ERPs), the current study investigated how female job candidates' physical attractiveness influenced interviewers' evaluations in Chinese civil servant interviews for both technical and managerial positions. The behavioral results showed that for the managerial positions, attractive female candidates had a much higher acceptance rate than unattractive candidates. However, for the technical positions, no significant difference was found between attractive and unattractive candidates. At the brain level, for the managerial positions, pairs of attractive faces with managerial posts elicited smaller N400 and larger late positive potential (LPP) amplitudes than did pairs of unattractive faces with managerial posts. However, this relationship was not observed for technical posts. The negative correlation between N400 amplitude and acceptance rate as well as the positive correlation between LPP amplitude and acceptance rate further confirmed these results. The present study suggests that beauty could potentially influence if candidates are accepted in real Chinese civil servant interviews, as observed experimentally in this research.

Situated Learning and Expatriate Adjustment: The Case of a Technical Community

Adjustment to the new context has been the most central concept examined in expatriate research. Recently, however, the theoretical foundation guiding expatriate adjustment studies has received much critique. In this article we propose that rather than grounding new theoretical thrust on the same underlying theory as used previously, theoretical renewal may be found in applying a new perspective. More specifically, we explore if situated learning theory could provide useful novel insight that have not materialized when basing theoretical notions on social learning theory. We use an ethnographic study of how a group of expatriates in technical positions interact and collaborate with local workers. Our findings indicate that this theoretical lens can reveal the influence of group dynamics in expatriate adjustment and work place learning that would have been ignored using the original perspective.

EXPERIENCE IN TARGETED TRAINING OF ENGINEERS

Currently, a significant part of engineers at the industrial enterprises are persons of preretirement or retirement age. There is a critical need for a young generation of engineers in order to replenish natural loss and ensure new demands for personnel when expending production. A conventional approach to solving this problem is replenishment of engineers by involving university graduates. However, in most cases this approach turns to be inefficient due to several reasons. The first reason is the quality of graduates training. The second reason is lack of practical skills among the university graduates in order to directly involve them in work given the specificity of the enterprise. In particular, it becomes obvious when involving the university graduates in R&D activities. In the Soviet period, there was interesting experience of combining study at a university and involvement in performance of real production tasks by means of organization of «plants-vocational technical institutes» [1, 2]. This article considers the results of an experiment on combining study at universities (according to a flexible schedule) and direct involvement in current R&D activities performed at JSC Principle Production and Technical Company Granit. Besides, the university graduates having major specialisation were involved in a real work from the first course and received fair wage. During three years, the enterprise replenished vacant technical positions by involving students, and when they graduates from the university it receives qualified engineers who have a required set of knowledge and skills in the area of R&D of the enterprise.

Southern Europe skilled migration into Mexico: the impact of the economic crisis

ABSTRACTThe paper analyses the reasons why highly skilled immigrants from Italy and Spain migrate to Mexico and their patterns of incorporation into the country's workforce. Specifically, it explores the dynamics of local labour markets, possible niches for qualified workers, and the mechanisms granting immigrants access to technical and managerial posts in Mexico. Based on a comparative approach, it analyzes the similarities and differences between Italians and Spaniards in Mexico and compares flows before and during/after the 2008 economic crisis to see how relevant the crisis is to an understanding of current migration flows.

Limitations to the use of research results: a Benin researcher’s point of view.

Research results are essential for the real success of interventions. However, in Benin, where the level of this research is already very low, the results produced are rarely or not at all used, even in fields such as public health and social anthropology of health. What are the reasons for this gap between researchers and field actors? Based on our experiences and our discussions, researchers and even research institutions (universities, laboratories, etc.) do not have the political, technical and institutional resources to ensure adoption of research results in the field of interventions. Their specific weaknesses are added to the reticence of politicians and developers to consider their results in interventions. The major challenge to the use of research, particularly in the field of public health, is reinforce the political and technical position of researchers in programmes and universities. They must also be given the logistic means, including English as universal language of communication, to allow greater access to scientific production.

Framework of Education for Student Aiming at Obtaining a Job in a Technical Position

In this paper, we describe the approach to, and framework of, education for students aiming at obtaining a job in a technical position. In addition to “Idea contest” in “Study Build-up 1” and “useless engineering contest” in “Study Build-up 2,” which are depicted in our previous paper, “Bibliobattle” in “Study Build-up 3” is conducted bearing in mind the interviews involved in job hunting. From the perspective of the employment rate of a good company, the framework of student education shown in this paper is suggested as being effective in aiding students to land a job in a technical position.

Epidemiological profile of sickness absenteeism at Oswaldo Cruz Foundation from 2012 through 2016.

Accurate knowledge of the prevalence and profile of sickness absenteeism enables direct analysis of work environments and the health-disease process. To establish the prevalence and profile of sick leaves granted to Oswaldo Cruz Foundation (FIOCRUZ) employees from 2012 through 2016. Cross-sectional study with analysis of variables sex, age range, age at onset of sick leave, job position, FIOCRUZ unit, leave type, ICD code, leave duration, number of leave extensions, and outcomes; p=0.05 and 95% confidence interval were considered in all the analyses. Work accidents accounted for 2.30% of sick leaves; the absenteeism rate was 2.89%. Musculoskeletal diseases (21.2%), mental and behavioral disorders (13.1%) and consequences of external causes (11.3%) were the main reasons for sick leave. Mental and behavioral disorders exhibited the longest median leave duration (30 days). The odds of requiring a sick leave were highest among women (OR=4.08), employees with technical positions (OR=2.86), aged 25 to 34 years old (OR=2.68) or allocated to production units (OR=176.30) and hospitals (OR=34.05). We corroborate the relevance of accurate knowledge of aspects related to absenteeism for the planning of strategies to promote the functional capacity of workers, and reduce its consequences on the health-work-disease relationship.

Patterns of Filipino Migration to Guam: United States Military Colonialism and its Aftermath

In the context of US military colonialism, this research note examines patterns of migrant Filipino employment in Guam using US census data. While Chamorros were in the majority in various occupational categories in 1920, by 1950 Filipinos dominated many categories, except in professional, technical, and managerial positions in which whites had preponderance. The surge of Filipino male migration to Guam owed to the need for skilled labor in postwar reconstruction. From 1970 onwards, Filipino migration to Guam increased, but so did other Asians, resulting in a labor situation in which no ethnic group was dominant in any one occupational category. Keywords: Guam • Filipinos • overseas migration • skilled migrants • US military

The relationship between type of secondary education and subject choice with technically oriented aptitudes for automotive operators

Orientation: The central theme of this study attends to the role of secondary education in relation to two broad categories of specific aptitudes (psychomotor and spatial abilities). Utilising type of secondary education (incorporating subject choice) could be a crucial selection mechanism for high-volume, entry-level technical positions. Research purpose: The objective of this research was to investigate whether the type of secondary education (incorporating subject choice) could be used as a proxy for psychomotor (dexterity and coordination) and/or spatial (ability to mentally assemble representations and spatial perception 2-D and 3-D) aptitudes in the selection of operators for an automotive plant in South Africa. Motivation for the study: The motivation for this study arose from the evident gap in academic literature as well as the selection needs of the automotive industry. Research design, approach and method: A quantitative approach with a cross-sectional research design was used with a convenience sample ( n = 1566) of work-seeking applicants for automotive operator positions in South Africa. These applicants completed a biographical questionnaire and five sub-tests from the Trade Aptitude Test Battery. The Chi-square test was used to determine the association between form of Grade 12 qualification and selected technical aptitudes. Main findings: Statistically and practically significant relationships were found between type of secondary education (incorporating subject choice), eye–hand coordination and spatial visualisation. Broad performance levels in the five aptitude instruments employed in this study were significantly associated with the type of matriculation certificate held by applicants. Specifically, types of secondary education that included mathematics and/or science as subjects were associated with higher levels of performance in the five specific aptitudes. Practical/managerial implications: The type of secondary education (incorporating subject choice) held by applicants could be regarded as a key predictor variable in human resource selection. The study makes a case for a multiple-hurdles approach to selection and proposes a cost-effective preliminary screening method for low-level technical positions. Contribution/value-add: The study provides information to improve upon selection practices within the South African automotive industry. It could also assist human resource practitioners in designing selection processes for similar entry-level employees in other working contexts. The study makes a case for a multiple-hurdles approach to selection and highlights the reciprocal relationship between education and specific cognitive abilities in the science, technology, engineering and mathematics fields.