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Having a strong professional network is important. It’s “…an investment that pays off in the future” (Wolf & Moser, 2009), predicting positive changes in career attainment. However, networking is often considered more of a soft-skill, where many lack formal training. With that in mind, panelists from a diverse set of fields and career levels will share their personal experiences and lessons learned on networking. Audience members will be given the opportunity to ask panelists follow up questions. The last third of the alternative format panel will be spent engaged in an activity to foster networking and a debrief of the activity. Presentation time: 40 minutes, Q/A time: 20 minutes, Networking Activity: 15 minutes, Activity Debrief: 15 minutes.

Impact mechanics is concerned with the reaction forces that develop during a collision and the dynamic response of structures to these reaction forces. The subject has a wide range of engineering applications, from designing sports equipment to improving the crashworthiness of automobiles. This book develops several different methodologies for analysing collisions between structures. These range from rigid body theory for structures that are stiff and compact, to vibration and wave analyses for flexible structures. The emphasis is on low-speed impact where damage is local to the small region of contact between the colliding bodies. The analytical methods presented give results that are more robust or less sensitive to initial conditions than have been achieved hitherto. As a text, Impact Mechanics builds upon foundation courses in dynamics and strength of materials. It includes numerous industrially relevant examples and end-of-chapter homework problems drawn from industry and sports. Practising engineers will also find the methods presented in this book useful in calculating the response of a mechanical system to impact.

Mountaineers and rock climbers use a belay device to increase tension in the rope that links the belayer to a falling climber—this rope slows and finally stops the fall. With a manual (passive) belay device the belayer can hold a force of several kN although he/she applies a hand force of only 0.2–0.35 kN on the rope; i.e. the device increases the hand force by a factor between 5 and 10. This investigation provides dynamic measurements of force amplification by various manual belay devices when used on a range of both wet and dry climbing ropes and it examines the source of force amplification in these devices. The force amplification is found to be due to a combination of friction and distortion of the rope as it traverses around tight corners within the device. In modern devices, the tension amplification due to distortion exceeds that due to friction.

For planar oblique collision with friction that opposes sliding at the contact point, this comment compares calculations of terminal relative velocity and energy dissipation obtained using the kinematic (Newton), kinetic (Poisson) and energetic (Stronge) definitions for coefficient of restitution. The kinematic and kinetic definitions yield results which are energetically inconsistent for some initial velocities when sliding stops or changes direction before separation. If initial sliding does not come to a stop before separation, the three definitions are equivalent. In general, only the energetic coefficient of restitution e S satisfies e S≤1.

Effective communication influences the overall health of the patient. Older adults may be at a disadvantage during communication exchange due to age-related declines in cognitive abilities, sensati...

Impact damage to composite plates is significantly reduced by replacing some of the high-strength fibres with more ductile glass or synthetic fibres. Hybrid composites reduce impact damage by distributing more widely the deformations and strain in the contact region. This investigation focussed only on hybrid textile composites with individual tows composed of either carbon or glass which are braided together in a twill textile. At a similar level of impact energy, low and high-speed impact tests resulted in different failure mechanisms dominated, respectively, by quasi-static and flexural wave deformations. The damage severity was evaluated in terms of damage area (C-scan) and absorbed energy.

An elasticity solution for in-plane force acting on a central circular inclusion in a circular plate is combined with the solution for the plate loaded by a normal force. The displacement and stress fields as well as the compliance of the annular plate are determined as functions of relative size of the inclusion for both normal and in-plane components of the load.

Effective communication between patients and their healthcare providers is essential to positive health outcomes. Older adults may be at a disadvantage during communication exchanges due to age-related sensory declines and cognitive changes. Understanding the role of these age-related changes may lead to interventions that will ameliorate the disadvantages older adults face in the health communication process. Twenty-four older adults were interviewed to obtain an understanding of the difficulties older adults face during health communication. The findings suggest that older adults do have health communication problems. They are, however, able to generate strategies to solve these problems when problems are presented in hypothetical scenarios. Based on the findings, a brochure was developed to provide strategies and guidelines to help anticipate and resolve health communication problems.

Axisymmetric and non-axisymmetric modes of vibration of circular sandwich panels are investigated by applying first-order shear theory (Mindlin-Reissner Plate). Solutions are obtained for boundary conditions with free, simply supported, and clamped edges. Numerical finite element method (FEM) simulation using ABAQUS is applied to validate the analytical modeling. Both analytical and numerical calculations are compared with experimental measurements of the first few modes of vibration; the frequency differences are less than 4%.

Technological advancements have become widespread, and their implementation into products of everyday use is accelerating. Technology has the potential to improve the lives of older adults by increasing their safety, security, and independence in daily life. However, too often older adults' capabilities and limitations are not considered in the design of current and future technologies. In 1990, the National Research Council identified the importance of human factors in the design of technology for an aging population. The goal of this chapter is to review research on aging and technology since that report to determine the contributions of human factors research to issues of aging and technology design. In this chapter we address the extent to which older adults use new technologies, factors to consider in the adoption of technology (e.g., attitudes), the influence of technology design on older adults' performance (e.g., design of input devices), and ways to optimize training for older adults in using new technologies (e.g., age-specific instructional designs). We then review emerging areas of research that may direct the focus of human factors research in the next decade. These areas of research include ubiquitous computing (e.g., home monitoring systems), health care technologies (e.g., telehealth), robotics (e.g., Nursebot), and automated systems (e.g., cruise control). Finally, we consider opportunities and challenges to human factors research as the field continues to address the questions of optimizing technology for older adult users.

Telemedicine systems have been found to increase access to patient care and decrease healthcare costs. However, the widespread adoption and use of telemedicine technologies has been low. The purpose of the present study was to evaluate an existing store-and-forward teledermatology system used by the U.S. military. The human factors issues that emerge in the evaluation of a telemedicine system include user characteristics (e.g., motivation to use the telemedicine system), macro-organizational issues (e.g., workload distribution, communication between team members), and technology issues (e.g., comfort using digital cameras or the World Wide Web). Users of the teledermatology system completed a questionnaire and an interview session. The detailed data from the structured interviews provided insight into the nature of these macro-organizational, user characteristics, and technology issues. The goal of this project was to illustrate how human factors methods can be used to understand the factors that contribute to the success or failure of this system, identify issues/potential problems, and provide recommendations for the current system and guidance for the design of future systems.

The purpose of this study is to understand the communication problems that older adults may encounter when interacting with their health care professionals. In particular, we are interested in the types of communication problems older adults have experienced such as memory, comprehension, and sensory issues. A structured interview consisting of two parts was designed to gather this information. The first part focuses on the specific communication problems participants may have had. The second part of the study involves six scenarios in which a fictitious patient has a communication problem with a health care professional. The goal of the scenarios is to determine the types of strategies, if any, participants recommend using when faced with communication problems with their health care professional. The findings from this study will be used to identify and categorize problems and strategies to inform design solutions to remedy these communication problems.

Adults over the age of 65 are the fastest growing segment of computer users. Due to this increased demand, effective training programs are essential. Although previous research findings illustrate the importance of older adults’ goals, abilities, and experience levels in learning to use computers, these factors are often neglected in the development of computer training courses. We apply a systems approach to help bridge this gap between research and practice to address the disparity between what older adults would like to learn and the content of computer training courses. We review the literature on training older adults to use computers and report data from a set of structured interviews to illustrate the criticality of each step in the systems approach. Lastly, we provide the means to evaluate existing computer training programs and suggest modifications for improvement. Our purpose is not to evaluate specific programs, but to educate developers about an approach that has proven successful. Specifical...

~Received 12 June 2002; accepted 3 July 2003! Improved models for the pitch, batting, and post-impact flight phases of a baseball are used in an optimal control context to find bat swing parameters that produce maximum range. The improved batted flight model incorporates experimental lift and drag profiles ~including the drag crisis! .A n improved model for bat‐ball impact includes the dependence of the coefficient of restitution on the approach relative velocity and the dependence of the incoming pitched ball angle on speed. The undercut distance and bat swing angle are chosen to maximize the range of the batted ball. The sensitivity of the maximum range is calculated for all model parameters including bat and ball speed, bat and ball spin, and wind speed. Post-impact conditions are found to be independent of the ball‐bat coefficient of friction. The lift is enhanced by backspin produced by undercutting the ball during batting. An optimally hit curve ball will travel farther than an optimally hit fastball or knuckleball due to increased lift during flight. © 2003 American Association of Physics Teachers.

The U.S. military has initiated several telemedicine programs ranging from teledermatology to telemental health. Several advantages of telemedicine programs have been documented including increased patient satisfaction and decreased healthcare costs. However, not all telemedicine programs in the military have been successful (i.e., widely used). This analysis used multiple methods to identify the human factors issues involved in using a teledermatology system. The methods included task analyses, decision-action diagrams, and a questionnaire distributed to subject matter experts (SMEs). In a progressive fashion, each method contributed to development of the next method. Task analyses guided the development of decision-action diagrams. Decision-action diagrams identified critical human factors issues within the system and led to the development of questionnaire items specifically targeting those areas (e.g., workload, errors). The results from this assessment demonstrate how multiple methods can be used to analyze a system, identify human factors issues, and suggest interventions.

The present study investigated the Web-based problem solving strategies of 16 younger and 16 older experienced Web users. Participants searched for answers to 8 search tasks varying in complexity. Three questions were addressed in this study: (1) Are there age-related differences in success?, (2) If differences in success emerge, are these age-related differences quantitative (e.g., number of strategies)?, or (3) Are these age-related differences qualitative (e.g., type of strategies)?. Overall, younger adults were more successful finding the correct answer to the search tasks. However, this was not due to the number of strategies used, but instead was related to the type of strategy used. Older adults were more likely to use a top-down strategy (i.e., system tool) to find an answer to the search tasks. In general, unsuccessful searchers used significantly more top-down strategies than successful searchers. The implications for these findings are discussed.

The bounce of a hollow spherical ball from a hard flat surface results in large deformations of the thin-walled shell; these deformations increase the internal stresses in the shell near a knuckle of bending and also increase the internal gas pressure inside the shell. This paper calculates the deformation and consequent contact forces that repel the ball from the surface, and compares the results with both a finite element analysis and experimental data. A table tennis ball is considered as an example of a thin-walled elastic shell. Since for an elastic ball there are no energy losses due to inelastic material behaviour, the analysis assumes that all energy losses are due to either friction in the contact area or impulsive forces arising from the instantaneous rate-of-change of momentum in the knuckle. In practice, the table tennis ball shows energy losses that increase with increasing impact speed; these losses substantially exceed the losses taken into account by the elastic shell analysis.

Summary Aims Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) is associated with adverse maternal and fetal outcome. Screening for GDM is therefore recommended but the best screening method remains controversial. This prospective, randomized study compared a risk factor-based screening programme with a universally based one. Methods Subjects were randomized at booking to one of two groups: the risk factor group had a 3-h 100-g oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) at 32 weeks if any risk factor for GDM was present; the universal group had a 50-g glucose challenge test performed and if their plasma glucose at 1 h was ≥ 7.8 mmol/l, a formal 3-h 100-g OGTT was then performed. Results Universal screening detected a prevalence of GDM of 2.7%, significantly more than the 1.45% detected in the risk factor screened group (P

The number of older adults is increasing, and telemedicine has the potential to improve their access to health care. Telemedicine systems have been shown to benefit older adults by increasing peer support interactions, providing health-care access to older adults in rural communities, reducing the cost of health care, increasing exercise, reducing pain and depression, and, perhaps most important, improving functional independence. However, older adults may have different needs from other users when interacting with telemedicine systems, because of age-related changes in perceptual, motor and cognitive abilities. The design of telemedicine technologies should, therefore, capitalize on older adults' strengths while minimizing their weaknesses. The field of human factors has much to offer in optimizing interactions between older adults and telemedicine technologies. Future research should take advantage of human factors methodologies to best design telemedicine technologies for an older population.

Urinary tract fistulas are a relatively uncommon but important complication of gynaecological surgery. Between 1980 and 1995 we identified 17 patients who developed a urinary tract fistula after gynaecological surgery. Seven of the patients had surgery performed for neoplastic disease but none of these patients received adjuvant radiotherapy before the formation of the fistula. There were 12 vesicovaginal fistulas and five ureteric fistulas. Four of the vesicovaginal fistulas were repaired by the vaginal approach and five vesicovaginal fistulas were repaired by the abdominal route. Three vesicovaginal fistulas were treated by catheterisation alone. Two of the 17 patients took medicolegal action. Early recognition and repair of urinary tract fistulas is recommended. Repair of vesicovaginal fistulas by the vaginal approach is advised. The litigious nature of this distressing condition is lessened when early primary closure is successful.

A self-equilibrated system of forces acting in a small region of an elastic solid results in a strain energy density that decreases rapidly as the distance from the loaded region increases. If the set of forces is in astatic equilibrium, the strain energy density decreases more rapidly than if the forces are merely self-equilibrated. For an anisotropic solid, there is a small rate-of-decrease of strain energy density in the direction where Young's modulus is the largest. The effect of anisotropy on the distribution of radial displacements is much more exagerated in the direction where the modulus is large than is the case for stress or strain energy density. These results are pertinent to applications of Saint-Venant's principle in the case of anisotropic solids; e.g. structures made from a unidirectional fibrous composite.

The benefits of telemedicine systems within the U.S. military have been widely recognized. However, a number of telemedicine systems have encountered resistance and have failed to be adopted and widely used. The purpose of the present project was to use a human factors analysis to characterize the facilitators and impediments to the use of a teledermatology system. More specifically, the goal was to investigate areas such as training, workload distribution, and communication between team members because these topics can be broadly classified as human factors issues. Across different sites, structured interviews were administered to three user groups within the system (i.e., consult managers, primary care managers who are comparable to civilian primary care physicians, and dermatologists). All three user groups reported that system support, speed, personal benefits, and increased education and experience were facilitators to system use; impediments were usability problems and insufficient training. However, each user group also identified unique facilitators and impediments. For example, users at the referring site (consult managers and primary care managers) focused on workload distribution among team members and the importance of onsite support as facilitators. In contrast, key facilitators for physicians (primary care and dermatologists) were effective communication, professional benefits, and increased quality of patient care. Human factors issues are critical for successful telemedicine systems and user issues may vary across user groups. The method reported herein provides guidance for development of new telemedicine systems and evaluation of existing telemedicine systems to increase adoption and usage.

rupture of the unscarred uterus. The principal difference between the three countries is in the aetiology of the uterine rupture. In Syria 50% of ruptures occurred in a scarred uterus and 50% occurred in an unscarred uterus associated with trauma or spontaneously. In Nigeria 75% occurred in association with a previous section scar and 25% had traumatic factors or were unexplained apart from parity. In Sudan 35% ruptures occurred in a scarred uterus and 65% occurred in an unscarred uterus. These differences may be explained by the availability of medical services or distance from hospital services. In contrast, the results from Ireland, published in the Journal in 1993, one-third of cases occurred in the unscarred uterus and two-thirds occurred in the scarred uterus. There were no maternal deaths but the perinatal mortality rate was 45%. These ® gures would suggest that social and medical improvements in developing countries will signi® cantly improve survival in mothers with ruptured uterus and reduce the perinatal loss by 50%.

This paper obtains smooth (continuous) dynamics for impact between two rough (frictional) mechanisms. The mechanisms are composed of rigid bodies joined together by ideal non-dissipative pinned joints. The system has a configuation described in terms of generalized coordinates q i and time t, and it has kinetic energy T(q i , q i , t). Generalized momentum of the system is defined as a vector, ∂T / ∂q i . During collision the system is subject to a set of constraint and friction forces that give another vector — the differential of generalized impulse dΠ i . If the applied forces act impulsively, then the differentials of generalized momentum and generalized impulse are equal, d(∂T / ∂q i ) = dΠ i .