History of Ergonomics Essay Example for Free

History of Ergonomics Essay Ergonomics refers to the study of the interaction between humans and the environment. This study is aimed at understanding mechanisms that are necessary in order to improve the working conditions of humans. Such working conditions include health, performance and comfort. The study is intended at enhancing strategies that optimize the performance of humans at work. This implies that it focuses on techniques that are required to restructure office etiquette and procedures in order to improve the overall productivity. However, ergonomics is not necessarily limited to office environment as it also encompasses other fields of human life. In a practical perspective, ergonomics is a science concerned with the design of office equipments and artifacts in order to improve the comfort of workers and improve the overall productivity and effectiveness (Gilmore et al. , 1998). An ergonomicist is interested in the study of the interaction between humans and the tools they use in their working environments. The study of ergonomic includes the design of office equipments and space, and the positioning of switches in control rooms. It additionally includes the study of the interaction of the human behavior and their surrounding. This study originated form Greece where the term ergonomics was derived from ergon meaning work and nomos meaning natural law in Greek. Later on a 19th century sociologist Fredrik Taylor invented the term ‘Scientific management’ to gain maximum results in the factory work. Since then, the practice of ergonomics has tremendously developed over time. As the age of space approaches, new factors continue to emerge such as weightlessness and gravitational force. As the modern world progresses into the future, the field of ergonomics continues to become more sophisticated. In the United States, an army personnel known as Alphonse Chapanis in 1943 explained that plane accidents caused by pilot errors could be significantly be reduced by using a more simple and rational cockpit instead of the common control layout (Jubel, 2007). Institutional ergonomics is concerned with the socio-technical aspects of the work environment which refers to the amalgamation of structure, process and organizational strategies. Cognitive ergonomics deals with the psychological perspectives of the workplace which involves the study of ideas, opinion and memory. In academic viewpoint, the study of ergonomics would comprise the knowledge of psychology, engineering and health science. It is therefore necessary for an ergonomicist to possess a bachelors or masters degree in these disciplines. The practice of ergonomics can find use in several aspects of human life such as workplace, home setting, education and sports. The practical study of ergonomics involves the design of working equipments such as computer chairs or keyboards. Other ergonomic discipline involves the study of the environment of the world as is referred to as quantum ergonomics (Gilmore et al. 1998). History of ergonomics In the United States, the field of ergonomic is believed to have originated during the period of the Second World War (Wickens Hollands, 2000), even though developments that led to its inception can be traced back to the 20th century. Before the Second World War, the main focus of the work place was designing humans to adapt to the machines used at work basically referred to trial and error method as opposed to designing the machines used at work to match the requirements of humans. This can be observed form the study conducted by Taylor in which the selection criteria, time and motion studies, training and work rest programs were examined (Taylor, 1911). This study of time and motions was expounded by Frank and Lillian Gilbreth (Gilbreth Gilbreth, 1917). Majority of the ergonomic developments were necessitated by military requirements. With the commencement of the First World War, which was the first conflict where airplane was used in combat, there emerged the need to adequately train pilots new mechanisms of war. This necessitated the development of new aviation technologies based on psychology. In addition these trends prompted the emergence of aeromedical research studies. Even though progress was made during this period, the momentum for developing and exploring the discipline further was no achieved since there was lack of vital technological advancements and personnel due to the ongoing Second World War (Meister, 1999). The period between the First World War and the Second World War recorded a significant decline in research, however, some success were realized during this period. Aeromedical research work did not stop during this time which realized advances in several laboratories built across the United States such as the Brooks Air Force Base located in the city of Texas and the Wright Field situated in Ohio. These laboratories were significant in the development of ergonomics. Their study was focused on identification of attributes of successful pilots and establishing the impacts of environment stressors on the performance and productivity of flights. Furthermore, the study of anthropometry which is a field concerned with the measurement of the human body was considerably employed in designing airplanes during this period. Other researches were also being done in the private sector such as the automobile behavioral studies (Forbes, 1939). The emergence of the Second World War, and its accompanied needs, formed the driving force behind the development of the field of ergonomics. First, the demand of mobilizing and recruiting substantial numbers of people both men and women made it very difficult for individuals to specialize in a particular job. Therefore, there was a shift in focus where individual’s capability was designed in order to reduce the negative impacts of their shortcomings. Secondly, the period of the Second World War witnessed the turning point in terms of technological advances. The rapid development of technology outpaced the capability of human to adapt and offset poor designs. This was particularly observed in airplane accidents experienced by vastly trained pilots as a result of problems witnessed with the configuration of the control systems and the instrument displays (Fitts Jones, 1947). In addition, enemy targets were unfortunately missed by machine controlled radars (Wickens Hollands, 2000). Psychologists were employed to experiment and study these emerging issues by employing laboratory mechanisms in order to solve these problems. As a result, the discipline was ergonomics emerged despite the fact that the people involved in its development failed to realize it during this period (Meister, 1999). The two subsequent decades immediate after the Second World War witnessed a growing military research catalyzed largely by the emergence of the cold war. Military research institutions developed during this war were enlarged and new ones created. The private sectors also continued to develop ergonomic groups mainly in aviation and communication, and digital Industry. The Human Factors Society, a professional body mandated to study ergonomics in the United States was established in 1957 and had an approximate of 90 members then who attended the first inaugural meeting. This name was later abolished in 1992 and replaced with the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society. Currently, this society boasts of over 4500 people, majority of who are participants in the technical groups established under this society, student bodies and attend the yearly meetings. Beginning in the 1960s, the field of ergonomics continued to expand especially in the previously identified areas. This development expanded into new fields such as computer architecture and software, nuclear weaponry, internet technology among others. In the recent past, new areas of study have emerged which includes neuroergonomics and nanoergonomics (Jubel, 2007). Conclusion A persistent premise that has been developed over several decades is the ever increasing center of influence that ergonomics has attempted to encompass, as technological advances continue to emerge. What simply began as a mere detachment of experimental psychology focusing on the interaction and relationship of people with machines in the work place has tremendously expanded to cover almost all aspects of interaction of individuals and their environment. Several researchers have hypothesized about the future of human factors and ergonomics. With the speedy technological advances in such areas as biotechnology and nanotechnology, it would be very exciting to speculate the emerging problems that ergonomics would be called upon to solve in the future (Vicente, 2008). In the today’s modern world, as it was the case during its inception, human factors and ergonomics has still remained a multi disciplinary field of study. In the United States for instance, this discipline has expanded from behavioral sciences including empirical psychology, and some engineering fields of study. Among the countries in the European block, the discipline of human factors and ergonomics has found its stronghold in physical science disciplines such as human physiology. Currently, people from diverse educational backgrounds and disciplines varying from physiology, engineering and psychology have focused their exclusive skills and knowledge in the study of the interaction and relationship of people with systems.

A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings by Gabriel Garcia Marquez Essay

A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings is a story that not only brings imaginary characters into play but also it combines imagination with events that we live everyday. For me, the background of the story is not unfamiliar at all, since the author Gabriel Garcia Marquez was born and raised in Colombia and I found most of the details of the story related to me when I used to live in South America. The magic realism used in this story illustrates many aspects of our society today. The reaction of the people in the town towards the appearance of an unknown creature with a bald skull, just a few teeth in his mouth and enormous and dirty wings resembling a rare angel, makes me think about how people are very intolerant to differences of other individuals. I concluded this when I read the part ...

My Favourite Author †Ayn Rand Essay

â€Å"We are fast approaching the stage of the ultimate inversion: the stage where the government is free to do anything it pleases, while the citizens may act only by permission; which is the stage of the darkest periods of human history, the stage of rule by brute force.† Ayn Rand, who lived from 1905 to 1982, made this statement over 50 years ago; in 1961. One can only help but wonder if there’s a better way to describe the state of our country today; in 2013. There might be a lot of issues on which an intellectual mind may differ with Ayn Rand but on this particular statement, most would agree today. We might not already be there, in that stage; but we are fast approaching it. The stage where all the fundamental rights are reserved for the government, and whoever the government might decide to bestow them upon. The right to the freedom of speech seemed to be one of the first to be sacrificed followed by the right to equality before law. The others might just follow suit. This assertion is not based in vacuum but on the argument that how many people have suffered arrests and exile for executing their right to freedom of speech and how many people have faced the wrath of biased legal prosecution and persecution to satisfy the collective conscience of the society? Ayn Rand had, time and again, stressed on this very aspect of the course that we have been taking. Although her writings were based on American context, they can easily be seen to reflect the global society and also, specifically our Indian societal and administrative system. And that is why; Ayn Rand is my favourite author. For the ideas she propagated are universally applicable and are highly rational even though they have been widely criticised as impractical. And throughout her life she defended those ideas by her writings, by her life and by her conduct never compromising on her conviction. Her philosophy and school of thought came to be known as objectivism. It is based on the concept of objective reality that demands that ‘a man’s morality should not be based on faith, emotions or arbitrary whims but on reason and rationality that can be demonstrated when in question’. There are few things that can inspire a person throughout their life; Ayn Rand’s words have that potential. She inspired me.

Negative Effects Of American Culture - 1453 Words

A culture defines certain people as a whole and helps us distinct one from another. The culture that makes up the collective identity of a nation is made up from their values, beliefs, and attitudes in religion, education, government, geography, history etc. Specifically in American culture we are known for the creation of the Constitution, the Internet, and the Atomic bomb. All great achievements in American history some would say, but others could argue that they have been a disgraceful part of our history. Of course no one would oppose that those achievements have been beneficial but they certainly have their negative side effects. However you digest american culture you cannot deny that there is good and bad and when analyzed in†¦show more content†¦An aspect of America’s culture that I adore is how connected we are through social media. North America has the highest penetration of social media use with 59% of the 1.96 billion social media users. The benefits of social media is the simple connectivity with your neighbors, friends, family, and strangers from the comfort of your own home.You can share whatever you want to say with whoever and from wherever you want. We can also spread information and news like wildfire through the sheer amount of people wanting to give others facts instead of biased opinions through the mainstream media. Sometimes social media is even quicker to catch a story rather than a news network for instance, when Osama Bin Laden was killed, tweets about his death started to circulate at around 10:30pm then by 10:45pm most news channels were covering this story, and by 11:30pm Barack Obama went on television to address us on what had happened. There were an estimated 860,000 tweets about Osama Bin Laden’s death by 12:30am and by 9:30am there were more than 2 million tweets. 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