Here’s some news of workers sleeping on the job that’s downright scary. A news investigation produced a story and footage of air traffic controllers at Westchester County Airport sleeping during their [5] shifts. The video, provided to the news outlet by an employee in the air traffic control tower at Westchester Airport, also shows controllers reading and using laptops and cell phones while on duty. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) bans its controllers from [10] use of cell phones, personal reading material and electric devices while on duty. Sleeping is prohibited anywhere in air traffic control towers.
All of these violations are alarming and dangerous, and pose a serious public safety problem. [15] It is important, I believe, to separate the issue of air traffic controllers sleeping on the job from their choice to play with laptops and cell phones when they are supposed to be working. The video images showing air traffic controllers slumped over and sleeping [20] at their stations is truly frightening. But the issue of sleep deprivation among air traffic controllers is a very real one, and means that some instances of falling asleep—however dangerous and wrong—is not entirely the controllers’ fault, or even within their [25] control.
Unfortunately this is not a new problem. We’ve seen several instances of air traffic controllers falling asleep on duty in recent months.
In response to these cases, the FAA in 2011 [30] revised its regulations for air traffic controllers to include additional time for rest between shifts. The FAA:
• Raised the minimum amount of time off between work shifts to 9 hours from 8 hours
• [35] Prohibited air traffic controllers from swapping shifts without having a minimum of 9 hours off in between shifts
• Increased supervisor coverage in air traffic control towers during late night and early morning shifts
• [40] Prohibited air traffic controllers from picking up an overnight shift after a day off
These adjustments are a step in the right direction, but they don’t go far enough. Managing schedules for shift workers in these high-pressure jobs where [45] public safety is at stake is too important to settle for improvements that don’t actually solve the problem.
Shift workers of all types face challenges to getting enough sleep while managing long hours, overnight shifts, and changing schedules that fluctuate between [50] day and night. Research shows that:
• People who engage in shift work get less sleep overall than those of us who work more regular hours
• Shift workers are at higher risk for illness and chronic disease [55]
• The sleep deprivation associated with shift work increase the risk of accidents, injuries and mistakes in high-profile, public-safety related industries like medicine and law enforcement, as well as air traffic [60] control
In addition to making people more prone to accidents and injury, sleep deprivation causes a number of negative effects — both physical and psychological—that can impair the on-the-job [65] performance of air traffic controllers and other shift workers. Sleep deprivation:
• Slows reaction time
• Interferes with memory
• Causes fatigue
• [70] Compromises judgment
• Impairs the ability to retain new information
I think we can all agree that we don’t want the people responsible for guiding our planes to be sluggish, slow-reacting, forgetful, fatigued and of [75] questionable judgment. But that’s exactly what being sleep deprived can make them!
It’s the FAAs responsibility to create workplace regulations that enable air traffic controllers to get the rest they need. This can include not just mandating [80] reasonable time off between shifts, but also giving controllers breaks during shifts and allowing them to nap on their breaks. There are also some basic things that the controllers themselves — or any shift workers—can do to help avoid sleep deprivation:
• [85] Make sure to get adequate rest before a shift begins. Take a nap before work, if need be.
• Limit your reliance on caffeine. While it’s okay as an occasional pick-me-up, coffee and caffeinated beverages are not substitutes for adequate sleep. [90] And caffeine can interfere with your sleep when you actually want and need to be sleepy.
• Keep a strong and consistent sleep routine both during your workdays and your days off. It’s not always easy, but shift workers in particular need to [95] build their off-duty schedules around making sure they get the sleep they need.
Similarly to the recent changes in health care, the FAA is moving in the right direction to help its employees get the sleep they need to do their jobs [100] safely. As this latest incident at Westchester Airport confirms, there is a great deal of work still to be done. And it’s in everyone’s best—and safest—interest that progress continues to be made.
Sweet Dreams,
Michael J. Breus, PhD
The Sleep Doctor™
www.thesleepdoctor.com
🔗 Texto adaptado de:
Available at: Available at: http://www.theinsomniablog.com/the_insomnia_blog/2012/03/air-traffic-controllers-asleep-on--the-jobstill.html. Retrieved on: July 25, 2012.
After reading Text I, it is possible to infer that the author’s intention is to
expose the serious situation of air traffic controllers caused by sleep deprivation and present some recommendations to prevent this problem.
criticize the FAA for not defining coherent regulations for workers in the airport control tower.
challenge the efficacy of several recommendations for better public safety norms in air traffic control.
list all the negative effects of shift work on the lives of airport staff and defend a less stressful job routine.
blame the work load of air traffic controllers and their low salaries for the high frequency of air traffic incidents.
Cesgranrio • DECEA • Controlador de Tráfego Aéreo
Questão 16 • Gabarito: (A)
After reading Text I, it is possible to infer that the author’s intention is to
(A) expose the serious situation of air traffic controllers caused by sleep deprivation and present some recommendations to prevent this problem.
(B) criticize the FAA for not defining coherent regulations for workers in the airport control tower.
(C) challenge the efficacy of several recommendations for better public safety norms in air traffic control.
(D) list all the negative effects of shift work on the lives of airport staff and defend a less stressful job routine.
(E) blame the work load of air traffic controllers and their low salaries for the high frequency of air traffic incidents.
Para chancelar a identificação legítima e validar o gabarito oficial, confronta-se o propósito central inferido com a sua perfeita tradução descritiva:
01. Comando (Command): Inferir e sintetizar qual é o real objetivo ou intenção comunicativa central do autor com a publicação do Texto I.
02. Gatilho (Trigger): Isolar o operador implícito "infer that the author's intention is to" para buscar a macroestrutura e o tom do texto.
03. Operação (Operation): Executar a integração holística de dados textuais, ligando a apresentação do problema às suas propostas de solução.
04. Evidência (Evidence): Rastrear passagens que descrevem o esgotamento físico dos operadores e os trechos subsequentes focados em recomendações preventivas.
05. Discriminação (Discrimination): Blindar o julgamento contra desvios de alvo (B), inversões de atitude autoral (C), inflações de escopo (D) e dados fantasmas (E).
06. Validação (Validation): Confirmar que o binômio "Denúncia + Recomendação" coincide precisamente com o mapeamento intencional descrito no item A.
07. Decisão (Decision): Cravar a alternativa A no cartão-resposta, operando sob o padrão de blindagem absoluta e conformidade total ao protocolo B3GE™.
Tipo B3GE: 33. Inferência por Pistas Contextuais (Item Correto)
Resume e integra perfeitamente as duas forças motrizes da composição textual. O texto expõe a vulnerabilidade operativa dos controladores devido à falta de sono e, de forma construtiva, expõe as recomendações desenhadas para mitigar o perigo.
Tipo B3GE: 16. Inversão Argumentativa / Imposição Indevida
Falsifica a atitude do autor. Aloca um tom de crítica direta ou hostilidade institucional contra a FAA por uma suposta ausência de coerência em suas regras, forçando uma intenção combativa que o texto de fundo neutro não sustenta.
Tipo B3GE: 16. Inversão Argumentativa (Contradição de Propósito)
Subverte o sinal lógico do fechamento do texto. Coloca o autor em oposição aberta ("challenge the efficacy") às novas diretrizes de segurança, quando na verdade o texto as elenca como passos essenciais para a salvaguarda da atividade aérea.
Tipo B3GE: 02. Generalização Excessiva (Distorção de Escopo)
Rompe as barreiras de escopo do artigo. Expande a intenção para um catálogo enciclopédico de mazelas causadas pelo trabalho em turnos em toda a equipe aeroportuária, adicionando uma militância sindical por rotinas menos estressantes que desvia do foco analítico.
Tipo B3GE: 07. Inversão de Causa e Efeito (Extrapolação Factual)
Introduz ruído temático exógeno. Tenta imputar a culpa dos acidentes a fatores financeiros ("low salaries"), misturando reivindicações econômicas que sequer foram mencionadas como variáveis causais de desastres no corpo do texto.
O Filtro do Neutralismo contra Tons Militantes (🚫): A Cesgranrio frequentemente insere distratores que injetam verbos de forte carga emocional ou combativa (criticize, challenge, blame, defend). Se o texto original possui natureza meramente informativa ou documental, expurgue termos hiperbólicos que transformem o jornalista ou cientista em um militante feroz contra o sistema.
O Filtro da Blindagem contra Dados Fantasmas (🔎): Monitore elements extratextuais de apelo popular, como menções a salários baixos, injustiças trabalhistas amplas ou exigências sindicais. Se a palavra ou o conceito correlato (ex: remuneração) não figurar no texto como causa explícita do fenômeno, descarte imediatamente a opção por extrapolação infundada.
Taxonomia Core: 33. Inference (Implicit Meaning • Context Clues)
SILO 3 (Macrotema): 23. Transportation & Mobility
Subtema Técnico: Inferência da intenção autoral por integração de evidências distribuídas: identificação da relação entre exposição de um problema e apresentação de recomendações para sua prevenção.