Ergonomics最新文献

Detecting daily stress is of vital importance for workplace safety and health, and natural speech is recommended as one of the main methods of mental stress detection. This study developed machine-learning models for daily stress detection from real-life speeches by fusing its acoustic and semantic signals. First, we collected real-life speech data from life-stress-catharsis room of online chat platform and established a speech database with real daily stress. Second, we obtained the model performances of common machine-learning classifiers for stress detection and compared them with human performance. The stress-detection classifiers achieved a promising performance of 74.25% accuracy and 83.73% F1-score using only acoustic signal. By fusing with the semantic signal, the stress detection model performance was significantly improved and achieved a performance of 81.20% accuracy and 87.46% F1-score, which validated the importance of semantic information in daily stress detection. Meanwhile, the best performance of the machine learning model was close to the human recognition capability. The results of this study validated the feasibility of detecting daily stress based on real speech. The models developed in this study could be used for daily stress detection in real life and can provide information for stress interventions to ease the negative effects on health.

This study examines the potential of ergonomic interventions to improve the well‑being and productivity of artisans in the Machilipatnam Kalamkari cluster, Andhra Pradesh, known for its traditional vegetable hand‑block printing. Due to a shortage of skilled labour and rising demand, the craft is transitioning to screen printing. The research assesses the feasibility of tools and equipment to ease manual labour, reduce stress, and prevent injuries, while enhancing productivity. The purpose of the study was to propose alternative mechanisms for the craft practices both at unit and cluster levels involving production and non‑production based activities. A survey of 30 artisans revealed strong support for items like anti‑fatigue flooring, measuring stands, and hydro extractors, with over 80% of responses rating them as relevant, useful, and feasible. There is significant association between the awareness and availability of suggested items. The study highlights the importance of introducing ergonomic tools to reduce fatigue, attract younger artisans, and sustain this traditional craft, contributing to both artisan welfare and the preservation of cultural heritage.

Construction is hazardous for workers' health. This study identifies the prevalence of spinal pain vis-à-vis associated occupational and socioeconomic factors, amongst 600 workers (from 20 construction sites, occupied at 7 work stages). We extracted data from the Nordic-Musculoskeletal-Disorders-Questionnaire and analysed in association with personal and occupational traits, using R-language. All workers were male with ages ranging between 15 and 53 years, a mean value of 28.43, and a mean BMI of 19.89 kg/m². A total of 506 workers reported pain in the upper back. Odd Ratios (ORs) of work experience were high (6.749) for the upper back. Income and a part-time job with ORs 1.957 and 2.238 affected upper back. The highest OR (1.165) for the upper back was in 'helpers', and for the lower back (1.643) in 'floor/roof slabbers'. The prevalence of pain with frequency (daily) in the upper back is high (n = 197) than the lower back (n = 170). Intervention is suggested to reduce risk factors.

The main objective of this research was to develop a questionnaire that demonstrates elevated levels of reliability to assess the behaviour of e-scooter users. The researchers designed an E-scooter Riding Behaviour Questionnaire (ERBQ) with 27 items. This questionnaire aimed to assess the self-reported frequency of various e-scooter riding behaviours, including errors, violations and behaviours. Four hundred eighty-three e-scooter riders completed the ERBQ with subsequent data analysis. Factor analysis was used to identify a six-factor solution that includes control errors, traffic violations, slips and lapses, prohibited actions, positive behaviour and negative behaviour. The findings of the variance study revealed that, after accounting for gender as a confounding factor, errors, violations and negative behaviour emerged as the primary indicators of the likelihood of a crash, near miss and ticket experience. This study focuses on the inferences drawn from the findings about the most effective countermeasures to reduce e-scooter crashes.

There are increasing calls for the application of systems ergonomics methods in healthcare, although evidence for their utility and uptake is limited. In this study, 67 Australian healthcare workers participated in a six-month longitudinal study where they were trained to apply the AcciMap adverse event analysis and Net-HARMS risk assessment methods. Data were gathered in line with the RE-AIM (Reach, Efficacy, Adoption, Implementation, and Maintenance) evaluation framework, including rates of organisational uptake and method validity, perceived workload, usability, and barriers and facilitators to use in practice. Overall RE-AIM ratings for AcciMap were relatively high, and more moderate for Net-HARMS. Time constraints was the most frequently identified barrier to the use of both methods in practice, while there was more organisational resistance to Net-HARMS uptake. Facilitators for the use of both methods include providing quality training and mentorship, additional time and software resources, and dedicated job roles.

Situation awareness (SA) and workload have both received considerable attention over the past several decades. Little research has investigated the relationship between these two constructs however. The present study examines the relationship between workload and SA in a task involving operation of unmanned vehicles performing an inspection task. Overall, an inverse correlation between SA and workload was found, with SA decreasing by approximately 20% as workload increased. Unexpectedly, considerable differences in this relationship across individuals were found, however, with 50% of participants showing a correlation between SA and only one workload measure (subjective or secondary task) and 30% showing no correlation between SA and workload on either measure. Reasons for dissociation within different measures of workload and SA are discussed, as well as potential reasons for individual differences leading to dissociations across these two constructs.

This study explored the effects of scene complexity factor on cybersickness. In this between-subjects experiment, 44 participants played the Pendulum Chair VR game, half with a simple scene and half with a complex scene. The complex scene featured higher optic flow (lower-level perceptual factor) and higher familiarity (higher level factor). Dependent variables were cybersickness and task performance. Results were unexpected in that cybersickness did not differ significantly between the simple and complex scenes. These results suggest that the impact of optic flow and familiarity on cybersickness may be affected by each other or other factors, making them unreliable predictors of cybersickness if considered alone. Both lower level and higher-level factors would benefit from further research to deduce the conditions under which they affect cybersickness. VR designers could consider that optic flow and familiarity alone are not reliable factors when predicting the cybersickness-inducing effects of a new environment.

Stress is both a driver of objective performance impairments and a source of negative user experience of technology. This review addresses future directions for research on stress and ergonomics in the digital age. The review is structured around three levels of analysis. At the individual user level, stress is elicited by novel technologies and tasks including interaction with AI and robots, working in Virtual Reality, and operating autonomous vehicles. At the organisational level, novel, potentially stressful challenges include maintaining cybersecurity, surveillance and monitoring of employees supported by technology, and addressing bias and discrimination in the workplace. At the sociocultural level, technology, values and norms are evolving symbiotically, raising novel demands illustrated with respect to interactions with social media and new ethical challenges. We also briefly review the promise of neuroergonomics and emotional design to support stress mitigation. We conclude with seven high-level principles that may guide future work.

Focusing on the design of a public space, we propose a methodological contribution to integrate possible future users to studies in prospective ergonomics. Our objective is to establish a rigorous protocol for comparing two methods of projecting potential usage. First, a projection interview based on a virtual environment movie and second, a Guided Imaginary Projection interview. We sought to determine to what extent these two methods provide participants with the ability to live a 'quasi-experience' of the space. This 'quasi-experience' is measured by a questionnaire inspired by the concepts of presence and absorption and by the analysis of the embodiment level of the discourse produced during the interviews, from embodied to general discourse. The results show that while the two methods produce similar results in terms of the level of projection experience, the virtual environment movie projection produces significantly more general discourse.

In this commentary, we argue that the field of Ergonomics and Human Factors (EHF) has the tendency to present itself as a thriving and impactful science, while in reality, it is losing credibility. We assert that EHF science (1) has introduced terminology that is internally inconsistent and hardly predictive-valid, (2) has virtually no impact on industrial practice, which operates within frameworks of regulatory compliance and profit generation, (3) repeatedly employs the same approach of conducting lab experiments within unrealistic paradigms in order to complete deliverables, (4) suggests it is a cumulative science, but is neither a leader nor even an adopter of open-science initiatives that are characteristic of scientific progress and (5) is being assimilated by other disciplines as well as Big Tech. Recommendations are provided to reverse this trend, although we also express a certain resignation as our scientific discipline loses significance.Practitioner Summary: This paper offers criticism of the field of Ergonomics. There are issues such as unclear terminology, unrealistic experiments, insufficient impact and lack of open data. We provide recommendations to reverse the trend. This article concerns a critique of EHF as a science, and is not a critique of EHF practitioners.