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1 – 10 of 50Chih-Hao Wen and Yuh-Chuan Shih
Combining the collected human body variables by a 3D body scanner and the research results of medical computed tomography (CT) imaging, this research aims to develop a military…
Abstract
Purpose
Combining the collected human body variables by a 3D body scanner and the research results of medical computed tomography (CT) imaging, this research aims to develop a military bulletproof vest that is both protective and fit. In particular, the protective part must be able to cover the vital human internal organs completely. The results of this research help to make military bulletproof vests of different sizes for Taiwanese male and female soldiers. At the same time, the research results can provide a reference for the industry of making special-purpose clothing.
Design/methodology/approach
17 important human body variables of 988 participants (male: 716, 72.5%; female 272, 27.5%) are used for the analysis. The K-means algorithm firstly builds clusters of different body shapes for both sexes; the silhouette coefficient helps to determine the optimal number of clusters to be six. Thus, the standard size of the bulletproof vest for soldiers is determined. The specifications of the bulletproof vest's inner core and textile vest are calculated for each cluster user. Our research then makes twelve prototypes of the bulletproof vest. After that, 12 subjects are invited to try on the new version (the vest designed in this study) and the old version (the vest currently used) to contrast the differences between the two.
Findings
According to the index of the silhouette coefficient, the optimal number of clusters is determined to be six for both male and female clusters. Therefore, this study has designed six sizes of the bulletproof vest for male and female soldiers in Taiwan. After trying the new and old vests on, the subjects all indicate that the new vest fits better than the old one. In addition, the coverage of the bulletproof vest designed in this study is 94.38% for male users and 92.75% for female users.
Originality/value
The design of bulletproof vests must take note of the fit of the clothing itself and its protective function. Apart from the size design of general clothing only focusing on the human shape exteriorly, the bulletproof vest also needs to pay attention to the relative positions of vital organs inside the human body. Besides, for practical applications, it is quite effective to use the silhouette coefficient to determine the results of cluster analysis. Thus, the value of this research lies in the cross-field combination, enabling the integration of body measurement, data science and clothing design. Generally, bulletproof vests of newly designed sizes can meet the requirements of Taiwan's military. The research results can be used in the development of various military clothing for Taiwanese military personnel. At the same time, the results can be provided to the clothing industry as relevant parameters for designing unique functional clothing.
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Marissa Mandala and Joshua D. Freilich
The purpose of this paper is to use an environmental criminology and situational crime prevention (SCP) framework to study global assassinations carried out by terrorists. The…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to use an environmental criminology and situational crime prevention (SCP) framework to study global assassinations carried out by terrorists. The authors set forth a series of hypotheses to explain successful and unsuccessful assassination incidents.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors use assassination data from the Global Terrorism Database from 1970 to 2014 to estimate a series binary logistic regression models.
Findings
Results indicate that various situational factors contribute to successful assassinations, such as target types, weapon types, total fatalities, and injuries.
Practical implications
These findings suggest that environmental criminology and SCP are valuable in developing prevention measures that thwart and disrupt attempted assassinations by terrorists.
Originality/value
Criminology has yet to apply environmental criminology and SCP to assassinations, a tactic often used by terrorists. This paper thus extends the existing assassination, terrorism, and criminology literature by applying this framework to assassinations performed by terrorists.
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A.I.H. Fayed, Y.A. Abo El Amaim, Ossama Ramy and Doaa H. Elgohary
This paper aims to investigate the performance of four different textile materials used as an outer shell of the bulletproof vest.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to investigate the performance of four different textile materials used as an outer shell of the bulletproof vest.
Design/methodology/approach
In this paper, four different textile materials were used, polyurethane treatment was applied as a surface coating for the woven samples. Mechanical properties were conducted for all samples; scanning electron microscope and X-ray energy disperse spectroscopy were executed to show the surface morphology of samples and the chemical composition of the coating material.
Findings
One-way ANOVA was used to statistically analyse the results, which proved that all variables were highly significantly affected by using different textile materials, despite the stiffness variable being not significantly affected by textile materials. An overall evaluation was done using radar chart, demonstrated that Cordura material accomplished the best functional performance, using two types of calibres 7.62 × 54 mild steel core and 7.62 × 54 armour piercing incendiary; the common mechanism was localized burn because of the incendiary effect of the projectile in addition to tearing mechanism starting from inside because of penetration effect of the steel core.
Originality/value
This work was addressed to analyse the impact of using four different materials on its performance as the outer shell of bulletproof vest to achieve the desired degree of protection.
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Yeong Hoon Kang and Sungmin Kim
The purpose of this paper is to develop a system to design a bulletproof pad for chest protection using three-dimensional body scan data.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to develop a system to design a bulletproof pad for chest protection using three-dimensional body scan data.
Design/methodology/approach
Body data were divided into arbitrary number of groups based on the standard normal distribution theory, considering the width and height of the upper body. Several parameters were used to define the cover area of the bulletproof pad, and the shape of this area of each model in a group was averaged to generate the standard bulletproof pad model for that group.
Findings
It is possible to use three-dimensional body scan data in the design process of a mass-customized bulletproof pad for chest protection.
Practical implications
It is expected that it would be possible to design not only bulletproof pad but also many kinds of body-related products that need to reflect the shape of body using the methodology developed in this study.
Social implications
Using this system, the mass customization of special garments and equipment would be possible, which will improve the wearers’ comfort and work efficiency.
Originality/value
Three-dimensional body measurement, parametric definition of cover area and user interface for shape modification developed in this study will facilitate the consumer-oriented product design.
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The purpose of this paper is to investigate the role that agency culture, training, and supervision play in the rates of on-the-job seatbelt use among peace officers, as well as…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the role that agency culture, training, and supervision play in the rates of on-the-job seatbelt use among peace officers, as well as other officer safety-related driving concerns such as cell phone use, Mobile Data Terminal use, and other sources of distraction.
Design/methodology/approach
Based on semi-structured interviews with California peace officers.
Findings
This study found an array of agency culture issues related to on-duty collisions, including distraction, failure to follow policy or procedure, fatigue, self-selection processes among officers and agencies, supervision and field training processes, morale issues, and family/lifestyle issues.
Originality/value
To explain these agency culture findings, this paper introduces the concept of the “banality of risk” to understand why many officers choose not to use risk-attenuating equipment. The findings are suggestive of a set of best practices that agencies could consider regarding in-vehicle officer safety.
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This chapter analyzes the critical move in feminist scholarship to gender the discourse on risk mediation in dangerous ethnographic fieldwork, particularly in social justice…
Abstract
Purpose
This chapter analyzes the critical move in feminist scholarship to gender the discourse on risk mediation in dangerous ethnographic fieldwork, particularly in social justice research. Additionally, I draw on a reflexive analysis of my own fieldwork in Oaxaca, Mexico, to examine the intersectional impact of social location (gender, race, class, etc.) on risk management.
Methodology/approach
I synthesize key literature contributions in social science and feminist scholarship on doing dangerous fieldwork. Ethnographic data includes three months of participant observation and interviews with participants of the 2006 Oaxacan uprising.
Findings
I argue that the following themes represent axes of gendered risk mediation in social justice fieldwork: (1) the intersectional impact of social location on varied risks and the mediation of those risks, (2) impression management as an important tool for risk mediation, and (3) ethical dilemmas within risk mediation. The key dangers and risks in fieldwork include physical danger, emotional/psychological impacts, risk to research participants, ethical dangers, separation from family through international work, risk of imprisonment, and academic/professional risk.
Research limitations/implications
Analysis of personal experience in the field is limited to this one researcher’s experience; however, it mirrors key themes present in the literature. Reflexive analysis of social location on risk mediation is part of a continued call by feminist ethnographers to research practical risk mediation techniques and recognize the intersectional impacts of social location on fieldwork.
Practical implications
This chapter provides insights that instructors of ethnographic methods might use to discuss dangerous fieldsites and how to mediate risk.
Social implications
A failure to recognize risk in ethnographic research may disproportionately impact researchers most susceptible to particular risks.
Originality/value
Although feminist scholarship has long examined social location in fieldwork, analysis of risk management is limited. Additionally, this chapter adds to this scholarship by contributing key themes that unite the available research and a list of most-often discussed risks in fieldwork.
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Yawei Xu, Lihong Dong, Haidou Wang, Jiannong Jing and Yongxiang Lu
Radio frequency identification tags for passive sensing have attracted wide attention in the area of Internet of Things (IoT). Among them, some tags can sense the property change…
Abstract
Purpose
Radio frequency identification tags for passive sensing have attracted wide attention in the area of Internet of Things (IoT). Among them, some tags can sense the property change of objects without an integrated sensor, which is a new trend of passive sensing based on tag. The purpose of this paper is to review recent research on passive self-sensing tags (PSSTs).
Design/methodology/approach
The PSSTs reported in the past decade are classified in terms of sensing mode, composition and the ways of power supply. This paper presents operation principles of PSSTs and analyzes the characteristics of them. Moreover, the paper focuses on summarizing the latest sensing parameters of PSSTs and their matching equipment. Finally, some potential applications and challenges faced by this emerging technique are discussed.
Findings
PSST is suitable for long-term and large-scale monitoring compared to conventional sensors because it gets rid of the limitation of battery and has relatively low cost. Also, the static information of objects stored in different PSSTs can be identified by a single reader without touch.
Originality/value
This paper provides a detailed and timely review of the rapidly growing research in PSST.
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Lotte Holck and Sara Louise Muhr
The purpose of this paper is to investigate how the construction and everyday maintenance of racialized psychological borders in the Greenlandic Police Force reproduce a…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate how the construction and everyday maintenance of racialized psychological borders in the Greenlandic Police Force reproduce a postcolonial hierarchy of knowledge, where Danish knowledge and perceptions of professionalism are constructed as superior to Greenlandic knowledge and perceptions of professionalism.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper is based on an ethnographic study comprising 5 days of observation of a training course for Danish police officers going to Greenland on summer assistance, 13 days of observation of police work in Greenland, 2 days of participatory observation of a leadership development seminar in Greenland, 26 interviews conducted in Denmark and Greenland with both Danish and Greenlandic officers and interventions in Denmark and Greenland.
Findings
The racialized borders create strong perceptions of “us” and “them”, which are maintained and reinforced through everyday work practices. The borders have damaging effects on the way police officers collaborate in Greenland and as the borders are maintained through (often implicit) everyday micro-processes, management has difficulty dealing with it. However, the way the racialized borders became visible through this research project created an awareness of – and sparked conversation about – the colonial stereotypes that have constructed and reinforce the borders. This awareness opens up possibilities of collaborative disruption of those borders.
Research limitations/implications
The paper shows how racialized borders limit the way professionalism is understood in the Greenlandic Police Force. But it also shows that, because these borders are socially constructed, they can be contested. Making the implicit everyday discrimination explicit through vignettes, for example, offers the chance to contest and disrupt the colonial hierarchy otherwise deeply embedded in the work practices of the police force.
Originality/value
Thanks to unique access to Greenland’s police force, this paper offers exclusive in-depth insights into current processes of racialization and colonialization in a contemporary colonial relationship.
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