bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Aging and Performance in Manual lifting activities: An experimental investigation
Authors: Mital Anil , Wright Ursula R. , Pennathur Arunkumar
Published: January 2012

This paper reports the results of a research study on the dynamic psychophysical strengths of the older population (aged 55 to 74 years; n = 20) for manual lifting activities (maximum acceptable weight of lift - MAWL). Lifting activities simulating work-related tasks included 8 sequences of lifting, involving a combination of 2 lifting heights, and 4 lifting frequencies. For each sequence, the MAWL was determined. Psychophysical lifting strengths of a younger population (18 to 35 years; n = 20) were compared to the MAWL of the older group. In addition to MAWL, the Heart Rate (HR), oxygen uptake (VO2), and category-ratio ratings of perceived exertion (CRRPE) were recorded. Results indicated no practically significant age-related differences in responses between either the older and younger males, or between the older and younger females. Based on the limited data collected in this study, it appears that age has no significant influence on people's capability to lift loads. Consequences of these findings on design are also discussed.
Is Age a Key Human Factor to be Considered as we Enter the New Millennium? Symposium Summary
Authors: Tepas Donald I.
Published: January 2012

In most industrially developed nations, the workforce is aging. This is expected to continue well into the next millennium. At the same time, we are in the midst of a period of rapid technological development wherein what we do, how we do it, and the conditions under which it is done are also changing. How these changes will interact with an aging workforce is not clear. It is possible that these interactions will lead to both decrements and increments in worker ability, health, performance, safety, and quality of life. This symposium explores the potential, for these decrements or increments in the next millennium, through a comparison of the diversity now present in the contemporary global workplace. Investigators from Brazil, Croatia, Poland, Ukraine, and the USA offered the same survey to samples of their health care workers. This symposium is the first presentation and comparison of data from all five nations. Overall, these presentations suggest that aging variable differences are a significant factor and merit human factors design consideration.
Aging and Performance in Manual Carrying Activities: An Experimental Investigation
Authors: Mital Anil , Wright Ursula R. , Pennathur Arunkumar
Published: January 2012

This paper presents a research study on the dynamic psychophysical strengths of the older population for manual carrying activities (maximum acceptable weight of carry - MAWC). 10 males and 10 females in each of two age groups — 55 to 74 years, and 18 to 35 years, participated in the manual carrying activities. A questionnaire was used to identify carrying activities routinely performed in and around the home and workplace. Three of these activities were simulated in laboratory settings, and included a two-handed carrying task, a one-handed carrying task, and bag carrying. All carrying activities were performed over a carrying distance of 6 m, and carrying frequencies of once and twice per minute and once every 5 minutes. The psychophysical approach was used to determine MAWC. Heart rate (HR), oxygen uptake (VO2), and category-ratio ratings of perceived exertion (CRRPE) at the MAWC were also recorded. Results indicated that MAWC for two-handed tasks was significantly influenced by age for males - younger males carried 26% more weight than older males. Males, even though carrying less weight in two hands, were subjected to higher physiological burden (elevated heart rate). Females performing two-handed carrying tasks, on the other hand, exhibited no age effect. MAWC for males and females for one-handed carrying tasks and bag carrying were not affected by age or frequency. None of the other responses (HR, VO2, and CRRPE) for one-handed carrying and bag carrying tasks were affected by either age or frequency. Although not directly compared, MAWC for all three activities were different.
Ergonomic Contribution to Architectural Programming in Healthcare
Authors: Martin Christian , Escouteloup Jacques , Grall Jerôme , Ledoux Elise , Daniellou François
Published: January 2012

Ergonomic methodologies are developed to gain upstream influence on the architectural design projects of healthcare systems. Two steps are described: 1) reaction to existing drawings, by means of simulations of future possible activity; 2) ergonomic contribution to the architectural programming.
Ergonomic Evaluation of a New Patient-Handling Device
Authors: Pan Chin-Cheng , Freivalds Andris
Published: January 2012

Nursing and personal care is one of the fastest growing but also most injurious U.S. industries. The majority of these injuries is due to patient handling and can be mitigated through the use of various assist devices. One such novel device, the Williamson turn stand, was evaluated and compared to the traditional manual walking belt as well as the more elaborate Hoyer-type lift. Averaged data from 6 healthy subjects across five dependent variables (shoulder EMG, low back EMG, low back compressive force, Borg's rating of perceived exertion and task completion time) indicated that the turn stand was ranked in the middle of the three devices; i.e. it required less effort than the walking belt, but more effort than using a lift device. On the other hand, it was quicker than the lift but not as fast as the purely manual walking belt. Overall the turn stand is an effective patient-handling device for weight-bearing individuals.
Integration of Human Factors and Hazard Analysis into Human Resource Management
Authors: Schmager Burkhard
Published: January 2012

The information used in personnel departments is often separated from information derived from hazard analysis activities in the company. Nevertheless both kinds of information focus on the same subject: workforce working under defined working conditions at different workplaces. This case study shows how these two subjects can be combined in one integrated database management system in the personnel department, which could also be used by the health and safety department.
Prediction of Falls Using a Robust Definition of Slip Distance and Adjusted Required Coefficient of Friction
Authors: Lockhart Thurmon E. , Woldstad Jeffrey C. , Smith James L. , Simon M. Hsiang , Li Pingshan
Published: January 2012

This paper proposes a new method to identify slip distance and adjusted required coefficient friction to predict falls among different age groups. These methods were based on the fact that the dynamics of slips are altered due to the fall arresting rig (or harness) during the critical moment of slips and falls.
A Kinematic Arm Model Based on the Transverse Elbow Axis
Authors: Jung Eui S. , Woo Bumyoung , Yun Myung
Published: January 2012

To determine the exact direction and location of the human joint in motion is crucial in developing an accurate human model. All the previous studies investigated, in vitro, the passive movement of the joint from cadavers and the suggested location of the joint axis was difficult to make practical applications due to the lack of the direction of joint axis. So, each joint axis has been assumed to lie horizontally or vertically to the adjacent links in many biomechanical models. In this study, the direction and location of the transverse elbow axis was obtained with respect to the global coordinate system whose origin is on the lateral epicondyle of the humerus. From the experiments conducted for five subjects, the direction and location of the transverse elbow axis was determined for each subject by the helical axis method. A statistical validation was also performed to confirm the result. The result was applied to develop an elbow model, which is a part of the kinematic arm model. The elbow model was developed to validate the significance of the result and the kinematic arm model was able to describe the geometry of any complex linkage system. As a result, the errors incurred from the proposed model were significantly reduced when compared to the ones from existing models.
Ergonomics Tools for Evaluation of Small-Scale Industries?
Authors: Paraguay Ana Isabel B. B.
Published: January 2012

This paper presents a partial overview of scientific data on OSH - Occupational Safety and Health and small-scale enterprises from international and regional bibliographic databases. It points out Ergonomics contributions to the subject and difficulties of such data collection on SME in developing countries.
Effects of Musculoskeletal and Sensory Degradation Due to Aging on the Biomechanics of Slips and Falls
Authors: Lockhart Thurmon E. , Smith James L. , Woldstad Jeffrey C. , Li Pingshan
Published: January 2012

A laboratory study was conducted to examine the initiation and recovery from foot slips among different age groups utilizing biomechanical parameters, muscle strength, and sensory measurements. Forty two subjects from three age groups (young, middle, and elderly) walked around a circular track at a comfortable pace, while carrying a light load and while unloaded. Slippery floor surfaces were placed on the track over force platforms at random intervals. The results indicated that younger subjects slipped as often as elderly subjects, however, the recovery process of older individuals was much slower and less effective. The ability to successfully recover from a slip (thus preventing a fall) is believed to be affected by lower extremity muscle strength and sensory degradation of the elderly individuals.
The Effectiveness of Whole Body and Localized Measures of Fatigue
Authors: Maronitis A.B. , Kovacs K.M. , Splittstoesser R.E. , Marras W.S.
Published: January 2012

Localized muscle fatigue in the back, with a resulting decrease in muscle force production, may increase risk of injury. Numerous methods have been used to assess fatigue in the back during materials handling, but many of these methods remain questionable as to what they are actually measuring. The goal of this study was to compare five different methods for measuring fatigue resulting from dynamic lifting, and to determine which methods correlate best with fatigue. Eight subjects performed sagittally symmetric lifts at a frequency of 12 lifts per minute for 60-minutes. Throughout the experiment, VO2, heart rate, local muscle oxygenation measured by Near Infrared Spectroscopy (NIRS), and subjective feedback was recorded. The whole body measures, VO2 and heart rate, were weakly correlated with the localized measures of NIRS and spectral analysis. Few of these correlations were significant, and none showed strong relationships. The subjective measures correlated well with NIRS. The results of this study suggest current measures of fatigue may not assess the risk of fatigue to a particular muscle. It is important that more comparative studies are done to better the understanding of fatigue and what is being measured by common measures of fatigue. Additional studies should be done, particularly for the more quantitative, localized, measures such as NIRS.
Ergonomic Improvements of Workstations for Visual Inspection and Electrical Tests in a Multimedia Product Factory
Authors: Yeow Paul H. P. , Sen Rabindra Nath
Published: January 2012

Workstations for Visual Inspections (WVIs) and also for Electrical Tests (WETs) of a multimedia product factory were studied from Ergonomic viewpoints. The problems, identified by subjective assessments and direct observations, were related to poor designs of workstations, work processes and improper tools, causing high (12.2 ± 4.1 %) product returns. In some WVIs, operators were having visual fatigue due to excessive magnifying glass usage, glare from inspection templates and too many components to check within a very short period. Some WETs were not organised to reduce hands and body motions, and to eliminate confusing criteria for passing or failing of the tests. They also had poor visual projection tests due to too bright ambient illumination on the screen. The Ergonomic improvements were: the reduced usage of magnifying glass, the use of no-glare templates, visual inspection of only the electrically non-tested components, the re-design of WETs for economy of motion, the improvement on pass or fail criteria, dark space for effective visual projection tests, etc. These ergonomic interventions improved the company's productivity and operators' health, reduced the product returns and saved USD 70,900 per month.
Surface EMG Recordings as a Risk Assessment Tool for Musculoskeletal Disorders
Authors: Westgaard Rolf H.
Published: January 2012

Injury models for musculoskeletal disorders are considered. It is suggested that several injury mechanisms may coexist in the same body region. This has implications for data reduction procedures used in risk evaluation by surface EMG (SEMG). Biomechanical exposure as an injury risk may conceptually be characterized by the three exposure dimensions: amplitude, duration and repetitiveness. The time dimension has become increasingly important since many work tasks are performed at low exposure amplitude. For practical purposes, static activity levels higher than 2% EMGmax appear to signify increased risk of musculoskeletal disorders. However, a lower activity level does not guarantee good health, as risk factors apparently unrelated to muscle activity also exist. Mental stress may be one such risk factor.
Worker Monitoring Tests for Carpal Tunnel Syndrome: Results from an Industrial Longitudinal Study
Authors: Sesto Mary , Radwin Robert G. , Salvi Frank , Manning Ronald
Published: January 2012

This paper presents the initial findings from a study using two computer-controlled functional tests for sensory and motor deficits in carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS). The gap detection sensory test quantifies dynamic tactile inspection thresholds for areas of the hand innervated by the median nerve. The rapid pinch and release psychomotor test measures the initiation and control of specific muscles innervated by the median nerve motor branch. The purpose of this ongoing study is to evaluate industrial subjects recruited from varying high risk industrial settings, such as poultry processing, automotive manufacturing, plastics manufacturing, assembly, and newspaper publishing for longitudinal changes in test outcomes. A total of 169 subjects were tested during the first year of this study. All subjects completed a symptom survey, underwent a physical examination of the upper limbs, shoulder and neck, had a nerve conduction study (NCS), and were administered the Wisconsin Test Battery. Both hands of the subjects are examined and categorized by presence of absence of physical exam findings, self-reported symptoms, and nerve conduction study (NCS) results. The data was analyzed for differences between subjects reporting positive or negative symptoms, and positive or negative physical exam and NCS findings. In summary, the psychomotor and sensory test outcomes were related to objective NCS findings but it is interesting to note that symptoms alone were not significantly associated with functional sensory or psychomotor performance. Unlike our previous studies, where CTS patients in the electromyography (EMG) clinic seeking medical assistance were tested, all subjects were from a working population. It is likely that most of the positive exam and NCS subjects in the current study involve CTS symptoms that are less severe than our previous studies using EMG clinic subjects, many whom were preparing for surgery.
Interviews and Observation to Investigate Health Effects from Using Non-Keyboard Input Devices (NKID)
Authors: Hastings S , Woods V , Haslam R A , Buckle P
Published: January 2012

In-depth interviews and observations have been undertaken with intensive and non-intensive non-keyboard input device (NKID) users. Fifty individuals at ten organisations were interviewed to gain insight into how users arrange their workstations and use NKID in connection with different tasks. Observational data have also been collected on posture and workstation set-up, with video recordings at all sites. Initial results are presented here based on the first twenty-five interviews. A wide range of NKID was seen at the organisations visited including the mouse, touchscreen, joystick, trackball, and tablet and pen. Users reported a range of problems associated with the use of some devices: maintenance issues, device responsiveness and size of devices were some of those mentioned. Musculoskeletal pain and discomfort was also reported, particularly in mouse users n=9 (36%) with reports of weakness, stiffness and discomfort in the hands and wrist. An important observation was the variety of configurations of workstation furniture and equipment, which in some cases, constrained the position of the input device in relation to the user. This may result in the users having to work with the input device at some distance away from their body.
Eyestrain and Musculoskeletal Disorders among Video Coders
Authors: Woods V , David G
Published: January 2012

A study was conducted for a trade union in the UK to identify the extent of eyestrain and musculoskeletal problems among video coders and to investigate the main causes of these problems at work. A questionnaire study indicated high levels of musculoskeletal pain and discomfort and eyestrain among coders. Problems concerning work organisation (e.g. poor job control), posture (e.g. excessive neck flexion), provision of suitable equipment and furniture (e.g. broken chairs), software (e.g. slow speed), training (e.g. insufficient programmes) and environmental concerns (e.g. variable temperature and airflow) were highlighted during the workplace assessments at two mail centres. Recommendations for risk reduction were made in the following areas: training programme design, system development, selection and provision of equipment and furniture, cleaning and maintenance, environmental issues, work organisation and reduction of health risks.
Prevention of Cumulative Trauma Disorders: An Ergonomic Study on Radio Assembly Lines for the Automotive Industry
Authors: Dias Marta , Brandão M. Filomena , Simões Anabela
Published: January 2012

This study aimed the design and implementation of a plan for job rotation, as well as the workstation' improvement at the three radio assembly lines for the automotive industry in order to prevent and reduce the cumulative trauma disorders affecting the upper limbs.

It was carried out in three phases: ergonomic analysis, design and development of the plan for job rotation and proposal for workstation improvement and implementation, as well as the corresponding evaluation and re-adjustments. The preliminary results of the implementation of the plan for job rotation express a decreasing amount of the complains in 40% and for the number of the seack-leaves repetitive work-related.
A Topic for Debate: Does Human Factors and Ergonomics Differ on Opposite Sides of the Atlantic?
Authors: Van Cott Harold P.
Published: January 2012

Four eminent scholar-practitioners of the science and arts of human factors debate the proposition that “Human Factors and Ergonomics is very different on opposite sides of the Atlantic.”
Applying Cultural Ergonomics/Human Factors to Safety Information Research
Authors: Smith-Jackson Tonya L. , Wogalter Michael S.
Published: January 2012

Cultural ergonomics/human factors (CE/HF) is an approach that considers situation- and trait-based variations among cultures. Several trait and environmental factors that vary by culture have been shown to influence risk perception, risk-taking behavior, and compliance as well as other processes and behaviors. When applying a CE/HF approach to safety information research, researchers should pay careful attention to the planning and implementation of research activities. This paper discusses methodologies, recruitment strategies, and issues to consider when designing research intended to yield cross-cultural application.
Assessment of Autonomic Responses to Different Driving and Road Conditions
Authors: Min Byung-Chan , Chung Soon-Cheol , Kim Sang-Gyun , Min Byung-Woon , Kim Chul-Jung , Park Se-Jin
Published: January 2012

The purpose of this study was to compare changes in autonomic responses due to different driving and road conditions. We measured physiological responses of the 10 health subjects such as Heart Rate Variability (HRV), Galvanic Skin Response (GSR) and skin temperature in rest and stimulation conditions. The ratio of LF/HF significantly increased and averaged R-R interval decreased on the abrupt stopping and starting and abruptly curved road conditions, compared to other conditions. Mean value of GSR increased and mean value of skin temperature decreased in the abrupt stopping and starting and abruptly curved road conditions, compared to other conditions.
Vision of Asian Ergonomics: The Trend of Ergonomics Development in Korea
Authors: Lee K. S.
Published: January 2012

This paper presents the current status of Ergonomics in Korea by analyzing the papers published in the area of Ergonomics in the country and predicts the direction of Ergonomics in 21st century in Korea.
Design Practice and ‘Designing for All’
Authors: Gyi Diane E. , Porter J. Mark , Case Keith
Published: January 2012

It is essential that all designers with responsibility for the human-machine interface have access to information on the anthropometry and capabilities of the whole population of people who may wish to interact with the design in question. Current databases used by designers typically present only very limited information concerning people who are older and/or disabled. Furthermore, tables of data are known to be largely ineffective and designers prefer to see visualisations of design data. In order to establish the current situation regarding design in relation to the needs of older and disabled people, existing products, procedures and systems were investigated. The objective was to identify current practice and the needs of designers whilst attempting to ‘design for all’. This paper will report on the findings from these interviews to date, which will ultimately lead to a requirements specification to aid design for the needs of older and disabled people.
Disruptions, Interruptions and Information Attack: Impact on Situation Awareness and Decision Making
Authors: Endsley Mica R. , Jones Debra G.
Published: January 2012

This paper presents a model of depicting the ways in which disruptions, interruptions and information attack can effect situation awareness and decision making in a variety of contexts. Those effected in military aviation include not just those in the cockpit, but also forward air controllers, ground based air traffic controllers and those in intelligence and support functions. The model incorporates the ways in which information attacks can effectively disrupt human decision making at various points in information processing. By carefully examining not just what cues might depict an attack to information systems, but also how human observers will be effected by such cues, more robust systems for protecting against disruptions and information attack can be developed.
Evaluation of CDTI Dynamic Predictor Display Technology
Authors: Thomas Lisa C , Johnson Walter W
Published: January 2012

This study examines the value of two proposed aids for a cockpit display of traffic information (CDTI): Dynamic Conflict Alerting and Dynamic Trajectory Pulse Prediction. We studied the effectiveness of these two aids in combination and individually against a control condition with neither aid to evaluate the following performance criteria: 1) whether the resolution resulted in a conflict, 2) distance at closest approach, and 3) how much the resolution cost in terms of added distance to flight plan. Results indicated that pilots have difficulty in designing successful resolutions without the Dynamic Conflict Alert aid, which tells them if the proposed resolution is clear of conflicts. The Dynamic Trajectory Pulse Predictors are helpful, but do not sufficiently raise conflict avoidance performance by themselves. When combined with Dynamic Alerting, Dynamic Trajectory Pulse Predictors enable pilots to create resolutions with an extra safety “margin” as compared to their resolutions using Dynamic Alerting alone, which are successful by a narrower margin.
Automation as Caregiver; the role of Advanced Technologies in Elder Care
Authors: Miller Christopher A. , Dewing Wende , Krichbaum Kathleen , Kuiack Stacy , Rogers Wendy , Shafer Steven
Published: January 2012

An unprecedented boom in the elderly population will hit all industrialized and most other countries over the next 30 years. In many cases, governments, social service organizations and even individuals and families are turning to technological solutions to aid in care giving for this elderly population. While much of this technology continues to occupy traditional assistive roles such as aiding in walking, door opening, and communication, increasingly advanced technological solutions are being proposed to aid in monitoring, diagnosis, situation awareness, decision aiding and the direct automation of tasks for either the elderly themselves or for their caregivers. That is, technology is increasingly either occupying or sharing the role traditionally occupied by human caregivers. This role is understudied from a Human Factors perspective and, as with all human interactions with novel technology, failure to consider the humans' needs, desires, capabilities and limitations will lead to unsatisfactory technological solutions at best, and disasters at worst. This panel will explore the role of automation as caregiver for the elderly. The central question will be how automation can be most appropriately integrated into a caregiving infrastructure so that it provides the best, most acceptable and most effective care from both the elders' and the human caregivers' (both professional and informal) perspectives.
Experience and Grouping Effects when Handling Non-Normal Situations
Authors: Trujillo Anna C.
Published: January 2012

Currently, most of the displays in control rooms can be categorized as status, alerts/procedures, or control screens. With the advent and use of CRTs and the associated computing power available to compute and display information, it is now possible to combine these different elements of information and control onto a single display. An experiment was conducted to determine which, if any, of these functions should be collocated in order to better handle simple anticipated non-normal system events. The results indicated that there are performance benefits and subject preferences to combining all the information onto one screen or combining the status and alert/procedure information onto one screen and placing the controls in another area. The results indicated that operators quickly modify their display preferences to the display configuration most recently used.
Extracting Event Patterns from Telemetry Data
Authors: Christoffersen Klaus , Woods David D. , Blike George T.
Published: January 2012

Typical low-level telemetry displays provide little support for understanding how a monitored system is changing over time. Similarly, advanced display techniques have not explicitly addressed the representation of change and events. This paper describes a study which seeks to work towards a foundation for displays which highlight coherent units of behavior in system properties (“events”). In the study, 17 medical professionals viewed simulated telemetry from a surgical procedure. A technique adapted from social perception research was used to trace participants' flow of attention to new information as they viewed the case. The results demonstrate that observers dynamically construct higher-level descriptions of system behavior from instantaneous data values, and that these descriptions implicate various types of contextual information.
Conflict Warnings and the Search and Detection of Collisions in a Simulated Atc-Like Task
Authors: Jürgensohn Thomas , Park Ilyong , Sheridan Thomas B. , Meyer Joachim
Published: January 2012

An experiment assessed the effects of properties of a warning system on visual search patterns and collision detection efficiency in a simulated air traffic control-like task. Participants had to detect collisions between pairs of objects before they occurred. They were assisted by warning systems that had different levels of reliability and gave a warning either 5 or 15 seconds prior to a collision. The participants' eye-movements were recorded. The detection of the collisions was not affected by the timing of the warning, but only by the reliability of the warning system. However, visual search patterns differed markedly between early and late warnings. A metric was developed to calculate an “attention value” out of the eye-movement data. The metric corresponds well to the behavior of the participants in the different experimental conditions. This may be particularly important for the analysis of real air traffic control tasks.
Understanding Web Technologies
Authors: Lu Hongzheng “Cindy”
Published: January 2012

The Internet and web technologies continually evolve and advance. The web based technologies, systems and products have created tremendous challenges and opportunities for human factors professionals. We need to keep up with the technology trend in order to participate in the system and product design and development processes and advocate for the users. This panel session invites four human factors professionals who will review the current Internet and web technology trends and their impact on our professional work. The panel chair will start the session with a short overview and introduction. Each panelist will then give a short presentation. The discussion session will then follow. It is hoped that presentation will invoke questions from audiences, which in turn generates lively discussions.
Human Modeling and Simulation: Establishing Parameters for an Adjustable Notebook Computer Display
Authors: Stewart Aaron M. , Sommerich Carolyn M. , Mirka Gary A. , Lewis Glenn E.
Published: January 2012

A human simulation model was created that estimates potential locations of a notebook computer display and keyboard. The simulation model effectively addresses human anthropometric, postural, and visual preference variability. Simulation output yielded ranges of movement for a display adjustment mechanism that accommodates a potential user population while allowing for acceptable working postures. Human-subject work established postural regressions for the simulation model, validated methodology used to create the model, and determined the simulation accuracy. Simulation output of display adjustment ranges was compared against real adjustability distributions established during the human subject work. A notebook display design mechanism that implements such horizontal, vertical, and tilt adjustments should help to reduce ergonomic stressors associated with notebook computing. The research promotes the effectiveness of utilizing human simulation modeling during product development.
Evaluation of a New Scraper
Authors: Eikhout Sandra M. , Bronkhorst Robin E. , van der Grinten Maarten P.
Published: January 2012

Paint scraping with the traditional triangular scraper is a tiring job causing hazardous forces and high wrist moments (Van Rhijn & Eikhout, 1998). As an answer to those problems the recently developed scraper has been designed with the end user in mind. This paper reviews a field study testing the new product with 20 professional painters. The results show that the new scraper, in comparison with the traditional one, has strong positive effects on physical load: wrist moments and forces are reduced. Furthermore, the new paint scraper was considered very user-friendly by professionals and ergonomic experts.
Using a Website in a Human Factors Course: A Case Study
Authors: Boren Rebecca W.
Published: January 2012

Using a website with a college course can be beneficial both to the students and to the instructor. The purpose of a class website is not to replace the instructor, but to supplement, enhance, and provide educational experiences that are not easily obtained in other ways. This paper discusses the benefits of having a class website and how an instructor can set up and maintain a site with a minimum of experience and effort. The elements of a good class website are described. This paper discusses the method of determining the quality of information found on the Internet.
Human Factors & the Sustainable Design of Built Environments
Authors: Wise James A.
Published: January 2012

This Panel examines the emerging relations between practice and principles of Human Factors and the popular worldwide movement towards sustainable building design. Our panelists assess the recent history of Sustainability and its impacts on Human Factors Engineering, and provide an exemplar of how Human Factors has already been included in the Minnesota Sustainable Design Guide. They will examine ‘ergo vs. eco’ design to show that human and environmental design goals are more compatible than competitive. And they will show how human factors and sustainability may finally be the ‘magic’ combination of design philosophies needed to create buildings worthy of a 21st century high technology civilization.
Information Processing Changes following Extended Stress
Authors: Hancock Peter A. , Harris Wayne C. , Harris Scot C.
Published: January 2012

Extended periods of stress are associated with subjective fatigue and performance deterioration. Psychological state and cognitive performance were assessed before and after one week of field training at a Navy Survival, Evasion, Resistance and Escape School. Subjective discomfort increased, but average cognitive performance deterioration was limited to increased Simple Reaction Time. Considering that decrements in complex performance are commonly associated with fatigue, the stability or improvement of the more complex cognitive tasks was unexpected. Given that increasing effort is required to maintain performance as time-on-task increases, performance changes within pre and post-training trials were compared. While performance was stable or improved in the pre-training session, complex task performance deteriorated during post-training trials. The results are consistent with the hypotheses that fatigued individuals maintain complex cognitive task performance by exerting increased effort, but that increasing effort becomes increasingly difficult even during brief assessments.
A Sawmill Industry-Wide Musculoskeletal Ergonomics Intervention Program in Washington State
Authors: Bao Stephen , Wilcox Dana , Wright Alex , Mettler Kenneth ,   HIP-sawmill project team
Published: January 2012

The Hazard Impact Project (HIP-sawmill) of the Washington State sawmills was presented in this paper. This project involved multiple parties to tackle work-related musculoskeletal disorders in the sawmill industry. Five sawmills voluntarily participated in this project. Based on injury statistics, the project team decided to select lumber handler jobs to be studied. Site visits were conducted and jobs were analyzed using a number of different evaluation tools including the newly published Washington State's Ergonomics Regulation. Evaluations were done between comparable production processes in the five sawmills in order to determine variations of physical exposure and identify solutions. It was found that often solutions to problems at one sawmill could be found at another sawmill. Sometimes solutions to reduce or eliminate certain risk factors at one job might be located at the up-stream of the production line, rather than at the workstation where the risk factors were identified. Simple solutions could reduce physical exposure and improve productivity. Automation in many cases could reduce or eliminate some high risks, but may incur high cost to the companies. However, many automations may be primarily introduced to solve production problems.
Tactical Routing Using Two-Dimensional and Three-Dimensional Views of Terrain
Authors: John Mark , Smallman Harvey S. , Bank Timothy E. , Cowen Michael B.
Published: January 2012

When and how should 3-D views be used? We report the results of two experiments in which participants had to plan a route across terrain shown in a 3-D perspective view or in a 2-D (top-down) plan view. We used a non-stereoscopic 3-D perspective view that displayed terrain from 45 degrees above the ground plane onto a flat screen, and a 2-D plan view that displayed the same terrain as a topographic map. The task was to create a chain of antennas across the map so that consecutive antennas could “see” each other. We found that antenna placement was performed better with the 2-D plan view, but that initial planning of the antenna route was performed better with the 3-D perspective view. We introduce the concept of “orient and operate” to explain the findings.
Hold On! An Observational Study of Staircase Handrail Use
Authors: Cohen Joseph , Cohen H. Harvey
Published: January 2012

Handrails are the primary safety devices installed on staircases, yet it has not been empirically determined to what extent they are actually used. This study selected two staircases, one long and wide and another short and narrow, serving a newly remodeled shopping mall. Variables observed were: handrail use, ascent/descent, number of hands free, within arm's reach, gait, gender, and age. Less than a third of all staircase users utilized a handrail, with the likelihood of use increasing with age. Overall, 59% were observed to place themselves within arm's reach of a handrail. Staircase users were more likely to be within arm's reach during descent. Women were more likely to have just one hand free, while men more frequently had both hands free. Handrail use was observed to be 10% greater during descent than ascent. The study shows that even with handrails having high usability characteristics, actual handrail use is minimal. This finding has implications for behavioral compliance in situations where a safety device is provided, but its need is not perceived to be immediate.
Detection of Cars and Pedestrians While Making Left Turn Decisions
Authors: Creaser J.I. , Edwards C J. , Uggerslev K.L. , Caird J.K.
Published: January 2012

In intersection accidents, the majority of drivers report that they either did not see a pedestrian or vehicle, or saw it too late to avoid a collision (Cairney & Catchpole, 1996). This research investigated left turn decision-making using a change blindness paradigm. We explored whether or not drivers were able to see and respond quickly and accurately to changes occurring in intersections. Results showed that drivers took longer to assess whether or not it was safe to turn when a change occurred than when no change occurred. There was a main effect of object type, where drivers responded faster to pedestrians than cars. As well, drivers responded faster to relevant versus irrelevant changes. We discuss the practical and theoretical implications of change blindness for investigating intersection decisions.
Shared Control between Human and Machine: Using a Haptic Steering Wheel to Aid in Land Vehicle Guidance
Authors: Steele Micah , Gillespie R. Brent
Published: January 2012

When humans interface with machines, the control interface is usually passive and its response contains little information pertinent to the state of the environment. Usually, information flows through the interface from human to machine but not so often in the reverse direction. This work proposes a control architecture in which bi-directional information transfer occurs across the control interface, allowing the human to use the interface to simultaneously exert control and extract information. In this alternative control architecture, which we call shared control, the human utilizes the haptic sensory modality to share control of the machine interface with an automatic controller. We present a fixed-base driving simulator experiment in which subjects take advantage of a haptic steering wheel, which aids them in a path following task. Results indicate that the haptic steering wheel allows a significant reduction in visual demand while improving path following performance.
Virtual Environments as a Multi-Modal “Real World” Laboratory for Training
Authors: Cohn LT Joseph , Patrey LT Jim
Published: January 2012

This panel focuses on applied R & D that seeks to employ and extend theory in VE-system development while maintaining a clear focus on end-user requirements. The efforts described in this panel will demonstrate the power and effectiveness of applying Virtual Technologies and Environments (VIRTE) to training. VIRTE will focus on developing two basic elements of VE training technology: (1) improving the quality of interaction provided by VE, and (2) applying advanced training aids and methodologies. Quality interaction is essential for making VE usable for extended training and for applying VE technology to build combat simulators. Advanced training aids and methodologies will be developed to derive full benefit from the flexible new medium provided by VE technologies.
Salient Characteristics of Virtual Trees
Authors: Sims Valerie K. , Moshell J. Michael , Hughes Charles E. , Cotton James E. , Xiao Jiangjian
Published: January 2012

Recent research on the design of virtual environments has focused on the important perceptual characteristics of man-made “carpentered” environments, rather than on VEs of natural environments. The present research examines memory for characteristics of natural settings consisting of virtual trees. Participants viewed either a symmetrical or asymmetrical virtual tree and then re-created it using custom-designed tree editing software. Memory was more accurate for the symmetrical tree. Across trees, participants were most accurate re-creating gross structural dimensions of a tree such as height and leaf size, and were particularly inaccurate at re-creating the curvature of tree branches. Our conclusion is that the design of virtual environments should focus on accurately representing gross structural properties of trees, rather than on using high levels of detail to accurately portray trunk and branch curvature.
Utilizing Dynamic Cognitive Feedback to Facilitate Learning on Diagnostic Tasks
Authors: Gattie Gordon J. , Bisantz Ann M.
Published: January 2012

As more organizations rely on computer-based training, greater emphasis should be placed on constructive feedback information to improve performance. Providing effective information support for decision tasks such as medical diagnosis is a challenging problem for interface designers. Dynamic cognitive feedback based on the Lens Model was provided for 36 medical experts-in-training and 36 medically untrained participants. Participants examined 50 dental patient case studies consisting of color photographs, demographic information, and feedback information. Task predictability and feedback content were manipulated. Trained participants scored higher and applied their decision policies more consistently. Results also indicated performance differences based on feedback type and participants' experience level. Trained participants relied more on information between the judgment and individual environmental cues, whereas untrained participants performed better with feedback pertaining to their own decision policies.
Segregation of Multiple Talkers in the Vertical Plane: Implications for the Design of a Multiple Talker Display
Authors: McAnally Ken I. , Bolia Robert S. , Martin Russell L , Eberle Geoff , Brungart Douglas S.
Published: January 2012

Three experiments were conducted to evaluate the effect of spatial separation of multiple talkers in the vertical plane on speech intelligibility. The first experiment demonstrated a release from masking due to separation in the median plane, and that this release was not due to the presence of residual interaural time differences (ITDs). The second experiment showed that this release corresponded to an increase in signal level of 1.3 dB. The third experiment demonstrated that the increase in intelligibility due to separation in elevation and that due to separation in azimuth were not additive. Results are discussed in terms of their implications for the design of spatial audio displays.
First Annual User-Centered Consumer Product Design Award
Authors: McMullin Dianne L. , Caplan Stan
Published: January 2012

The Consumer Product Technical Group (CPTG) is sponsoring the first annual user-centered consumer product design competition emphasizing product design and/or the methods used to specify and achieve the design. Emphasis is placed on innovative and user-centered approaches to Human Factors and Industrial Design.
Low-Technology Demonstrations of the Role of Peripheral Vision in Human Factors and Ergonomics
Authors: Moroney William F.
Published: January 2012

This paper provides two demonstrations that highlight the importance of peripheral vision issues in system design. The first demonstration concerns the ability of the visual system to detect motion, while the second addresses the impact of reduction of visual field on the perception of optical flow data. Educators can use these demonstrations as the basis for discussions about the design implications for warning displays, attention gathering devices, optical flow, off-axis accidents, aging, attention, and night vision goggles. These demonstrations can be used at both the undergraduate and graduate levels. Relevant research findings are also discussed, and references for further exploration of the topics are provided.
Designing Airport Security Checkpoints of the Future
Authors: Snyder Michael D. , Neiderman Eric C. , Dixon Melissa W.
Published: January 2012

Aviation security checkpoints present a great challenge for designers. Paradoxically, they should not be a burden to innocent passengers, and yet they must be impenetrable by terrorists. Therefore, human factors engineers, security experts, and architects need to work together to design checkpoints to meet stakeholders' needs, as well as the competing demands of deterrence, detection, and throughput.
Behavioral Adaptation: Unintended Consequences of Safety Interventions
Authors: Young Stephen L. , Frantz J. Paul , Rhoades Timothy P.
Published: January 2012

Various types of safety interventions (i.e., design attributes, guarding, personal protective equipment, training, warnings, etc.) can be, and often are, used to enhance safety with products or in environments. However, a safety intervention introduced into a system can, as with other changes to a system, produce secondary effects that have the potential to reduce the safety of the system rather than increase it as intended. One such effect, discussed in the present paper, is that humans may adapt their behavior in the presence of a safety intervention and that this behavioral adaptation can create a continuum of effects ranging from a positive increase in safety to a net decrease in safety. Several examples of behavioral adaptation are provided and implications for human factors and safety professionals are discussed. This paper will help human factors and safety professionals assist others in seeing the need to consider potential implications of safety interventions as a result of behavioral adaptation.