Structural Problems of Traditional Ergonomic Research

The application of scientific insights becomes questionable in the light of the experimental abstraction from the complexity of life. Ergonomics suffers from this disparity between reality and research. Sometimes this even leads to the user - whose situation was to be improved - being the one suffer...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inIFAC Proceedings Volumes Vol. 23; no. 7; pp. 135 - 138
Main Author Tietze, B.
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published 01.11.1990
Subjects
behavioural science
ecology
ergonomics
industrial design
man-machine-systems
physiological models
standards
behavioural science
ecology
physiological models
ergonomics
industrial design
man-machine-systems
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Summary:The application of scientific insights becomes questionable in the light of the experimental abstraction from the complexity of life. Ergonomics suffers from this disparity between reality and research. Sometimes this even leads to the user - whose situation was to be improved - being the one suffering from these "insights". The discussion of symptomatic examples from the fields of the physical environment and biomechanics illustrates that a priori assumtions are often questionable. This is contrasted with the results of some studies done with Musicians, and underlines the vital necessity of creating a new type of scientific research which integrates potential users of ergonomic services more adequately.
ISSN:1474-6670
DOI:10.1016/S1474-6670(17)52148-5