Biomedical subjects

N L Black

Publications and source records attributed to N L Black.

3 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2000

Isometric pull and push strengths of paraplegics in the workspace: 1. Strength measurement profiles.

The isometric strength profiles of male and female paraplegics were determined for pull and push strengths in the normal, maximum, and extreme working reach envelopes. A computerized isometric strength measurement system was designed and constructed for the purpose. The strongest pull location was at extreme reach vertically above the shoulder and the strength values for males and females were 473 and 318 newtons (N), respectively. The strongest push location was at maximum reach, at vertical (phi) angle of 45 degrees and at horizontal (theta) angle of 45 degrees for males and at 0 degrees for women and the strength values were 235 and 172 N, respectively. The nature of the strength profiles was found to be similar for both the sexes. The pull and push strengths of the female were 77 and 68% that of the male, respectively.

Adult↗

PubMed2000

Isometric pull and push strengths of paraplegics in the workspace: 2. Statistical analysis of spatial factors.

The effect of reach levels, horizontal angles, and vertical angles on isometric pull and push strengths of male and female was determined. Highly significant increases in men's push strength were found between extreme to maximum reaches, and from extreme to normal reaches. However, for women's push strength, a significant increase was found only between extreme to maximum reach. Significant or highly significant increases were found in men's and women's pull strength between the horizontal angle (theta) sagittal through the active shoulder (90 degrees ) and other angles (0, 45, and 135 degrees ). However, for men's push strength, highly significant increases were found between the horizontal angle 45 degrees from the frontal plane, and other angles. For women's push strength, significant or highly significant increases were found between the horizontal angles 0 degrees and angles of 90 and 135 degrees. For men's and women's pull strength, significant or highly significant increases were found between the vertical angle (phi), 90 degrees, and other angles (-20, 0, and 45 degrees ). Similar increases were found for women's push strength between the 45 degrees angle and other angles. In the design of a workstation for paraplegics that requires pull and push forces, consideration must be given to the spatial factors.

Adult↗

PubMed1992

Individual differences in bridging inference processes.

The role of individual differences in bridging-inference processing was studied. Students (n = 135) read passages of short to moderate length. After each one, they answered corresponding questions about inferences that bridged causally related ideas that were either near or far apart in the text. The main hypothesis was that local bridging-inference processing is facilitated by the reader's predisposition to access pertinent knowledge during comprehension. Regression analyses provided support for this proposal and indicated that greater working-memory capacity and vocabulary knowledge promote inference processing. The following relationships between the predictors and inference processing were proposed: Knowledge access promotes the co-occurrence in working memory of the text ideas and knowledge needed to compute the bridge. Working-memory capacity enhances the likelihood that needed antecedent ideas will be available to the bridging processes. Vocabulary knowledge may promote inference processing because unfamiliar word meanings place more demands on working-memory resources than do familiar meanings.

Adult↗