Advances in Social and Occupational Ergonomics

New employees are supposed to quickly understand their tasks, internal processes and familiarize with colleagues. This process is called “onboarding” and is still mainly realized by organizational methods from human resource management, such as introductory events or special employee sessions. Software tools and especially mobile applications are an innovative means to support provide onboarding processes in a modern, even remote, way. In this paper we analyze how the use of gamification can enhance onboarding processes. Firstly, we describe a mobile onboarding application specifically developed for the young, technically literate generations Y and Z, who are just about to start their career. Secondly, we report on a study with 98 students and young employees. We found that participants enjoyed the gamified application. They especially appreciated the feature “Team Bingo” which facilitates social integration and teambuilding. Based on the OCEAN personality model (“Big Five”), the personality traits agreeableness and openness revealed significant correlations with a preference for the gamified onboarding application.

The construction industry has long experienced a shortage of skilled labor. This paper is intended to identify ergonomic problems that foreshorten older workers’ involvement in the industry in order to address the shortage of new workers and an exodus of often injured old ones. Challenges exist to attracting workers. These include resistance to technologies, tasks that must be performed by hand, mandatory lifting in excess of recommended limits, need for repetitive motions, existence of irregular and hazardous surfaces, noise levels exceeding safe limits, exposure of workers to vibration, frequent dust, and inadequate lighting, use of building materials that cause skin irritation, need to work in inclement weather, and work schedules that cause disruption to circadian rhythm. This study shows management must plan for older workers’ ergonomic needs, starting by creating site-specific plans more broadly focused on workers’ wellbeing than are safety plans, to extend older workers’ involvement in the field.

The ageing of population in Western societies has a marked impact on social reality and its effects affect many areas, including work.Ageing has implications, both positive and negative, in people’s abilities and skills. While some abilities (vision, hearing, strength …) may decrease, some cognitive functions, such as controlling the use of language or the ability to process complex problems, may improve with age.Although the effects of ageing on skills have been widely studied, the variability of the evolution of people makes it necessary to have assessment methods that consider older workers and, in particular, that value the ability to work and guide towards criteria that favour labour insertion and ergonomic adaptation of jobs.These are the principles that have guided the development of the “Ergo + 50” methodology, an ergonomic assessment procedure aimed at detecting working conditions that have a specific relationship with the ageing process. The methodology includes two interrelated modules that analyse, on the one hand, the characteristics of tasks and jobs (environmental conditions, cognitive aspects, physical load, design, organization, policies …) and, on the other hand, the perceived abilities of older workers, to carry out the tasks. The results obtained include the prioritized diagnosis of the situation, as well as recommendations for improvement.

Social innovation is not a new fact, but it has grown in importance over the last years as a driver for social change [1]. Although there is no universal definition of it, one widely-used is ‘ideas that are social in their ends and in their means’ [2] and concerns the process of developing and deploying new solutions to often systemic and complex social and environmental issues. On the other hand, social art is seen as any artistic expression that aims at inspiring social impact and change effectively society through emotionally captivating experiences [3]. Also, social ergonomics is understood as responses to social aspects of system use, envisioning, among others, socially proactive design and discussing the possibilities for embedding new paradigms for communication and problem-solving in specialized information systems [4]. Based on these ideas, this paper will elaborate on the above concepts, confronting and correlating them as complementary human actions and domains. Some considerations and challenges on the theme, as outputs of a post-doc research, will be also offered. It will be shown transdisciplinary approaches, methods, social actors, and complementary and blurred practices to an effective and meaningful design and implementation of new products, services, and systems. Its social, cultural and, educational relevance or holistic understanding will be underlined as strategies to achieve the sustainability of social systems, to share social value and promote resilience and wellbeing in a highly complex and changing world.

Producers and employers are still looking for ways to better understand the recipients of their services. This ability allows you to build a competitive advantage and gain or retain the interest of customers and employees. The dynamics of demographic changes and requirements related to technological development (including contextual requirements such as sustainable development) mean that the existing users’ groups and their needs are also changing. This results in the need to search for ways to better address technical features to the needs of individual. The article presents the concept of developing the Designing for Dynamic Diversity approach in designing for Wellbeing using similar for Kansei Engineering approach. The article presents the concept of dynamic adjustment of the user’s environment through the use of feedback and dynamic changes in work environment. In this way, a method of continuous improvement is supported, supported by the actual needs of the user. The problem in this area is to determine the level of dynamics of the technical system as well as the manner of its responsiveness to the user’s feelings. Due to the dynamics of demographic processes mentioned above, it was proposed to use the approach that engages the user in the process of creating a solution - through an innovative “senior customer” called “Innosumers” (Peine, Rollwagen, Neven 2014). The combination of these concepts allows us to present a holistic approach to design oriented to human well-being, and at the same time dynamically responsive.

Data shows that workers with disabilities are still lagging in employment rates compared to healthy workforce. They report high job insecurity, are less likely to receive employer-based benefits, are more likely to be laid off and are also more likely to work in part-time jobs. Since many companies do not employ ergonomists, employers have a problem to identify a suitable workplace, yet alone to propose the needed accommodations. To mitigate these problems, we developed a decision support system that aids in the whole process of categorizing and identifying disabilities of workers and assigns a suitable workplace in an integrated work environment inside the company to ensure high safety, productivity and satisfaction of workers and employers.

Taking the project “Echoes of Machim” by RIGO 23 as a starting point, I will attempt here to reflect on the meaning of the emergence of practices which aim to do social good, in both art and design, and on their potential as agents for the remodelling of society and for social emancipation.“Echoes of Machim” is a social interaction project directed by RIGO 23 under the orientation of curator Michelle Kasprzak, in the neighbourhood of Palmeira, also known as Malvinas, a much-degraded district of the municipality of Câmara de Lobos, on the island of Madeira. The project attempts to improve the self-esteem of members of the community through a number of initiatives with a group of 12 young people with learning difficulties. RIGO 23’s creative process has in common with social design the fact that it attempts to tackle social injustice by activating social creativity, thereby feeding the public sphere and fostering the necessary debate to create new visions of the future.

The transition from ambiguous and unclear areas of academic enquiry towards well-defined knowledge boundaries confronts design for social change. Research relevant to the epistemological dimensions of the related academic discipline is limited. Identification of Threshold Concepts (TCs) unique to this academic area can help define appropriate knowledge boundaries. TCs are essential knowledge portals that, once mastered, can result in a transformed way of developing knowledge. Transformation may be emergent or protracted. This paper identifies a number of TCs and elaborates on their significance. Data were collected through a questionnaire with participants from academic and social design practice. This paper argues that it is of educational value to consider that some TCs in the related Higher Education (HE) curricula have to do with ways of thinking and practice, rather than the mastering of discrete conceptual ideas. This has implications for curriculum development in the area of design for social change.

The change of models required to implement circular design brings real problems closer to the field of design education. The complexity of today’s world [8] favours the integration of systems, here a collaboration between the non-governmental organisation and university. Our understanding of sustainability requires understanding how affects everything in our lifestyle, governing and social corporate strategies adopted [1]. Innovation requires creativity, critical analysis and ethics, to understand the complexity of social behaviour, technology and business [6]. To observe that local and global issues are closely related [4] and solving design problems requires interdisciplinary teams, the praxis [3] and periphery, the dominated and primitive [2].

In the textile industry, the jacquard weaving industry is an important branch. Jacquard weaving industry offers rich varieties thanks to computer-aided design system used in pattern design. In parallel to changing fashion trends and consumer perceptions, design of the jacquard fabric is as important as the technology used in design. In researches to determine fabric-designing trends, the cultural perceptions embraced by the society are used. Accordingly, the themes that reflect the experiences and practices of the society are incorporated in the fabric designs. The fact that the designer emphasizes the culture of society and uses it in fabric designs emphasizes the culturally rich design concept. The aim of this research is to emphasize the social phenomena by making new designs inspired by the life stories of Ottoman sultans in jacquard fabric designing. This study was performed by scanning method. The population of the study was the life stories of the Ottoman Sultans, while the sample of the study was the study of the life story of the Ottoman Sultan “Mehmed the Conqueror”. Stories from the life of Fatih Sultan Mehmed were compiled based on the resources available within the scope of the study. Rumeli Fortress and the Map to which the Sultan attached importance, were determined as the theme. Jacquard weaving technique and the fabric patterns are created from in line with the themes and designed in detail from sketching phase to digital design phase and produced as jacquard fabric. In this study, the fabric designs and the images of the fabrics produced are included.

Products claiming sustainability benefits have been spreading all over the world in response, manly, to the consumer’s behavior change towards a healthier and more sustainable way of life.However, what guarantee do consumers have that the products they are consuming are in fact more sustainable? Apart from certified products, the consumer believes in a common-sense assessment of sustainability supported in part by self-declarations and allegations from designers, producers, and retailers focusing only in few aspects of the life cycle, and in some cases, misleading consumers through greenwashing approaches.This paper is part of a Ph.D. research aiming to support a transition to circular economy and sustainability through design. The authors explore in this article the consumer perceptions of sustainability in products and communication strategies adopted. The results will support the development of guidelines to promote a more effective design practice for the development of sustainable and circular economy-based products.

This paper presents a pilot project, developed under a research Ph.D. framework, showing that the multiplicity of actors from different branches allow the construction of innovative and framed projects. This dynamic and open process result in knowledge, skills and competences construction among themselves and, above all, their applicability in the context of social intervention. This reality emerges the need for integrated multidisciplinary social agents that are an added value for society, analyzing the capacity of cooperation between two different but complementary scientific areas of projectual nature, although with different methods and the practices, Design, and Engineering. The developed prototypes were analyzed quantitatively and qualitatively allowing the researchers to perceive some restrictions when assembling the different materials tested, for a solution more focused on the usability/mobility bearing in mind issues such as budgetary matters and product symbolic character, its main characteristic, related to the thermal efficacy.

At present time, many urban centres of European cities are losing their historical and socio-cultural identity due to ageing populations and a significant increase in tourism. If, on the one hand, there are many cases of revitalisation of the economic activity of these contexts, all very service focused, on the other hand, the network of human relations has become very fragile or non-existent. This has a significant impact on the wellbeing of remaining residents. For the new generation of dwellers and tourists, as a result, these neighbourhoods are less significant from a cultural and symbolic perspective. Adding to these arguments, in rehabilitation processes, chromatic proposals for neighbourhoods often are aimed at establishing or maintaining the architectural identity of the place. This type of colour research suggests that heterogeneity and unity of colours can contribute to cultural identity. Colour proposals often aim at increasing actual liveability and wellbeing of the users of the public space of the area under scrutiny. Yet, relatively little is known about how residents can use the colours of their neighbourhood to strengthen their own sense of place particularly when the area is under pressure from the tourism industry. This paper will address this research topic and present, in an initial phase, the methodology, some collected data and conclusions of a case study in Mouraria, a historical Lisbon neighbourhood.

Street sweepers are an indispensable part of urban cleaning. Unlike ordinary indoor cleaners, street sweepers need to face the outdoor environment and fields. Because of the long distance and extensive area, street sweepers have developed their own clean process. Due to the environment and process, street sweepers have more needs for cleaning tools. For example, carrying mobility. Through observations and interview, researchers found that different types of work and vehicles are used by street sweepers. After analyzing the advantages and disadvantages, different types of works can be merged into one new process. Then, use the insights found in the interview to design a new clean equipment set. This set can accord with the new process and meet street sweepers needs. In the design part, sketches are used to develop multi ideations. Then 3D printers are used to make prototypes to verify the usability of mechanism. In this study, a portable clean cart is proposed. It can reduce the size to be suitable for motorcycle carrying, and also expand the structure to facilitate the garbage bag. The newly designed broom and dustpan can easily fit into the cart. Since street cleaning system developed so far, though Taiwan has employed street sweep machine, still there are many special street types that can only clean by the human. Therefore, study for the work experience of street sweepers is valuable.

A subject of the paper is the reporting system that monitors the correctness of data in the IT production management system. The reporting system is also a feedback tool which helps to improve the process of entering data into the IT system.The IT system administrator created reports on the erroneous data to monitor the completeness and correctness of the data in the system.The research provided with the knowledge about quality of communication between company departments involved in the entering data process.The aim of the paper is to show the reporting system as a feedback tool, which is also a part of process of improving data entering into the IT system.The presented reporting system illustrates not only a data set for IT system users, but also provides a useful feedback about errors and lack of data in the IT system, improving this way the process of entering data and internal communication process as well.

The subject of this study are the processes of macroergonomic design, use and service as well as improvement of intelligent buildings. These processes involve both the technological-organizational component as well as human communities – users of these buildings subjectively treated in this system. Authors have made an attempt to determine few following notions: the intelligent building and macroergonomic conditions of designing and improving objects and processes. The main research stream of this study regards the relations combining the structural, technological and organizational design with their future exploitation understood as usage and service the objects. The issue of macroergonomic improvement of using and service the intelligent buildings as well as processes of their exploitation is based on the Deming cycle.

Quality based macroergonomic improvement of industrial systems involve both a technological-organizational component as well as human communities subjectively treated in this system. The essence of Total Quality Management (TQM) is a fact of current, dynamic updating the mentioned above macroergonomic relation creating the industrial system. The base of this update is current identifying and assessing the TQM reaction on changing internal and external macroergonomic conditions. The publication presents the expert method of nonconformities’ estimation and identification of TQM current state with its primary assumptions. The analysis of these nonconformities using the quantitative examinations were conducted in 384 industrial enterprises. On this base a conceptual model of undertakings aiming at permanent improvement of TQM was proposed.

The effectiveness of systemic occupational health and safety management is linked inextricably to the nature and scope of improvement measures. In improving OHS management, organizations which have a management system in place need to account for all factors affecting their ability to secure their desired outcomes. Such outcomes include the satisfaction of ergonomic criteria, whose application enhances the robustness of systemic management defined as the successful establishment of worker-friendly working conditions. In addition, one of the most critical focal points emphasized in the ergonomic principles that constitute an integral part of systemic management is the role of worker and factors related to the working environment. Organizations that recognize such factors while complying with ergonomic standards will be able to fully enjoy an effective management system and ultimately generate benefits for the organization itself and its stakeholders. The paper underlines the importance of ergonomic standards governing the effectiveness of systemic occupational health and safety management. It identifies ergonomic requirements as a key to improving the effectiveness of systemic management while recognizing that failures to satisfy such requirements will inevitably undermine such effectiveness.

The article compiles the data of statistical offices and institutions monitoring entrepreneurship in the world, especially in Europe with results of original surveys conducted among potential female entrepreneurs in the last five years. This allows to determine what potential for use lies in the female entrepreneurship. Based on this insight social programs can be created to deal with current problems of Poland, such as aging society or poverty.

The article describes a solution for monitoring the presence and movement of workers between production halls in the factory. The physical structure of the monitoring system components based on RFID antennas and chips embedded in every clothing element of an employee is presented. The hardware and software architecture of the solution is also presented and described in the article. Particular attention was paid to the algorithmic issues related to the detection of ambiguities resulting from human-machine cooperation. A number of problems resulting from different behavior of employees and their interpretation on the basis of readings for individual elements of their work attire have been solved.

The effectiveness of a hearing aid (HA) is commonly assessed by a questionnaire that provide information on the benefits/disadvantages of the use of the HA in real life situations. This work wants to analyze if acoustic benefit and satisfaction levels depend by an HA equipped with different technologies (Basic technology HA, Medium technology HA, Premium technology HA trough the International Outcome Inventory for Hearing Aids (IOI-HA) questionnaire administered to 60 patients and the Hearing Handicap Inventory (HHI) questionnaire administered to 14 patients. The results show that regardless of technology, persistent problems remain such as perception in noisy environments. A further effort is required by the technicians in the evaluation of the patient as a whole, from the identification of the HA that ergonomically better suits the needs of each patient until the adaptation in complex environments, for the minimization of the perception of disability.

Handheld grass cutter is an electronic or petrol-powered machine which is used to cut the grass. Since everyone likes their houses, offices, buildings, etc. surrounded by natural beauty, they grow plants, garden around houses. But they are also careful about maintaining it, so grass cutter plays important role in it. Traditional cutters available in the market are heavy and do not have any supports so it requires many human efforts during grass cutting. Here, we basically modified traditional hand grass cutter by providing wheel supports and rod support at the front end and middle of the cutter. The study was carried out with two subjective measures such as discomfort rating and Borg category ratio. Total 20 participants were examined with a group of 10 people performed a task on traditional and another group of 10 people on modified hand-held grass cutter. Results of both grass cutters were obtained and compared with each other.

In Ecuador, ergonomic risk is present in all types of work activity. 1759 ergonomic evaluations were carried out between 2012 and 2017 applying methodologies validated and used worldwide. The results establish that more than 90% of jobs have an unacceptable level of ergonomic risk which determines that technical and organizational corrective measures must be taken to reduce or eliminate the risk and avoid a high incidence of musculoskeletal problems in the working population of the country.

This work used as an ergonomic analysis method the OCRA checklist method, thus enabling an ergonomic risk analysis of the external plaster activity, which is indicated by International Standard ISO 11228-3: 2009 as the preferred process of repetitive action analysis. The data collection took place in construction sites in the cities of Ponta Grossa/PR and Porto Alegre/RS through the application of filming and interview. The analysis of the demand verified the higher incidence of upper limb pain and lesions, besides the question of repetitiveness in the analyzed activity. The study of the chosen activity resulted in a high level of risk requiring immediate intervention, with subsequent suggestion of improvements and confirmation by means of recalculation of the ergonomic risk to implement the advances by one of the participating companies. The progress resulted in a reduction of ergonomic risks by more than 50%, with improvement in the postures and strength requirements.

This paper presents a case study of ergonomics in a materials recycling cooperative located in Brazil. Techniques of qualitative analysis and observation of the work environment were conducted to obtain data. Cooperatives are currently an outlet for municipal solid waste management, emerging as a source of income generation and labor integration for people who are marginalized from formal work. The main objective of this study is to analyze the work station of the cooperative with the largest number of workers, specifically the area for sorting recyclable materials. Given that income generation is concurrent with poor working conditions, this paper argues that ergonomics can greatly contribute to the improvement of productivity and the quality of life of the cooperative members.

Currently the Quality of Labor Life (QLL) has been studied only in formal work, regardless of economic conditions and employment policies have led to a substantial increase in the informal economy in our country. The informal worker is anyone who is part of a system of independent self-employment. According to the International Labor Organization (ILO), about 60% of workers in Mexico serve on informal employment.The aim of this research was to evaluate the QLL in the informal economy workers in the Metropolitan Area of Guadalajara.Voluntarily participated 507 informal workers, satisfaction with the QLL was measured with the CVT-GOHISALO instrument adapted to workers in the informal economy, this instrument has a reliability of 0.92 with 50 items.As for the study population, 48% of workers were men and 52% women, the highest percentage was between 15 and 29 years. The most common high school education was 43%, 67% are between 1 and 15 years of working in the informal economy and 67% work between 6 and 10 h a day, 55% of the population had a low level of satisfaction with their QLL, 39% a medium level and 6% a high level.This study found that, within the conditions of workers in this sector, they have good economic benefits, avoid paying taxes and have more flexibility with schedules; however, they have low level of satisfaction with their QLL, they do not have access to occupational safety and health, many works in unhealthy conditions and are exposed to risks in the workplace.

Personal Support Workers (PSWs) are at particular risk in slippery condition. One-hundred-and-ten PSWs were recruited and asked to report on exposure to icy surfaces, slips and falls in weekly online surveys. Fifty participants (the intervention group) were provided one of two casual winter footwear models that performed the best in our lab-based testing. The remaining sixty participants (the control group) wore their own footwear for the eight-week period. Results showed that PSWs wearing our recommended footwear reported a 68% lower slip rates (control = 1.285, intervention = 0.413, p < 0.05) and 78% lower fall rate (control = 0.0859, intervention = 0.01812, p < 0.05) compared to workers wearing their own footwear. Findings demonstrate there are clear benefits of injury prevention and sizable net cost savings that would result from encouraging/requiring slip resistant winter footwear use for PSWs. The benefits would be similar in any industry where workers are exposed to outdoor winter conditions.

In order to determine ergonomic risk factors to be abated during an ergonomic intervention in a metal washing process, two tools were implemented. The questionnaires from the QOC Matrix the workers’ voice was used to build a relationship diagram used to develop an ergonomic mapping. The Ergonomic risk map resulted identified the relationship, between workplace design and non-ergonomic content task. The method used to determine the risk factors was the follow: (a) define the non-ergonomic parameters inside work areas and task content using QOC results, (b) measure the results to categorise them in an ergonomic risk map, (c) using the ergonomic risk map a diagnosis was to carry out, (d) a redesign was proposed to abate non-ergonomic parameters. The activities developed for filling and discharging the washing machine included handling, lifting and carrying a plastic bucket of 40 kg above the shoulders, with an exerting force of 250 N in each lifting, for 120 times. It represented the main ergonomic problem. During the intervention, a new redesign for the working place was proposed; the improving phase incorporated two automatic sulfuric acid dilution system, two automatic mixers and an automatic production line for filling and discharging the washing machine. Consequently, workers change their character of mixers and loaders to the operators of an automatic control panel.

The city of Quito capital of Ecuador has a heavy traffic problem, due to its geography that prevents the city from growing, in all the geographical coordinates and can only grow towards the North and the South, reason that extends the times of the trips of citizens within the urban perimeter and is the reason why it was decided to build, the first underground train of the city and the country, work of emblematic civil engineering, which until now is the one of greatest technical difficulty developed in Ecuador, the present The article is responsible for characterizing the ergonomic hazards encountered during the construction of the fifteen stations, as well as the drilling of the twenty-two kilometers of the Quito metro tunnel, using ISO/TR 12295 as an evaluation criterion: 2014, and digitizing the results obtained within computer graphics from a spreadsheet, to facilitate the initial estimation of the Ergonomics aspects encountered throughout the execution of the aforementioned works, this information helps as a baseline for the selection of critical tasks and the subsequent evaluation of ergonomic hazards, the analysis of this work allows us to have an approximation of the ergonomic risks found during the execution of the initial works that concluded in October 2018, as well as the prevention measures used to reduce the health effects of workers.

The purpose of this study was to compare the agreement of three risk assessment tools for WMSDs, KIM-MHO, OCRA Index, and RSI, on upper extremities. Three raters were recruited to evaluate the risks of 30 repetitive pump assembly jobs based on job characteristics. The highest intra-class correlation coefficient (ICC) of risk scores was 0.6 (95% CI: 0.39–0.76) when using OCRA Index. Pearson’s Correlation coefficient on the averaged risk score between KIM-MHO and RSI was high (r = 0.893, p < 0.01). The highest weighted-kappa coefficient of risk category between KIM-MHO and OCRA index was 0.21, which was a little low. The possible reason may be the definition of “risk” and the cut-off values used by each assessment tools. In conclusion, KIM-MHO is a recommended screen tool to assess the WMSDs risk on the upper extremities because of easy to use and less time consuming.

The quality of education in the Nigerian university sector is gradually deteriorating, which becomes highly imperative to identify factors responsible for the this decline which has sometimes been associated with the lingering effect of poor working conditions of academia and students in Nigerian Universities. This study examines the effect of the external environment, on staff and student productivity in Nigerian Universities. A total of three hundred and forty-seven respondents were received from the three hundred and ninety-eight questionnaires that were systematically distributed. Questionnaires were used to collect primary data from the universities which was analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS). Hypotheses were tested using percentages and chi-square statistical method. This study reveals evidence of a significant relationship between productivity and the external environment at 0.000  < 0.05. The study findings show that lack of funding, inadequate training on use of school facilities, poor motivation, amongst others have either hampered or are capable of hindering productivity in Nigerian Universities. It is therefore imperative for key stakeholders managing the higher institutions to exert conscious efforts towards improving the quality of education by creating enabling and conducive work environments which will translate into greater productivity.

The cooling performance of three equestrian helmets was investigated within this research. The helmets were evaluated for their capacity to remove convective heat loss in the scalp area with the use of a thermal manikin head with nine thermal zones. The manikin head was placed in a climate chamber with an open loop wind tunnel. Ambient air temperature was 20 °C, air velocity was 6 ms−1. Two commercially available equestrian helmets were included (one closed, one vented) in the study and one custom made equestrian helmet. The custom made helmet was optimized using design criteria for bicycle helmets. Cooling performance is a measure for quantifying the ability of a helmet to remove heat as compared to a nude manikin head under identical environmental conditions.The closed equestrian helmet had a cooling performance of 56% (22,6 W). The open equestrian helmet had a cooling performance of 86% (32,9 W), and the custom helmet had a cooling performance of 97% (38, 1 W). The results show that cooling performance of equestrian helmets can be improved with use of design guidelines that are used in bicycle helmets. Most equestrian helmet may currently not yet have specified inlets, outlets and internal channels that connect inlets with outlets.

Data collection and analysis have become a critical component for decision-making and workout regimen design in athletic competition. The more data sports performance personnel have for individual athletes from a time in which the athlete was injury free, the more the coaching staff can utilize the movement data to baseline the athlete’s movement before an injury occurs and then train the athlete back to that baseline if an injury does occur. In this paper, we discuss the benefits and roadblocks of baselining. We present a case of baselining jumping performance for 22 division 1 football athletes, including a presentation of the methods used to measure jumping performance. Descriptive summaries of selected variables are presented, with a single participant highlighted to demonstrate a standard baselined jumping profile. Finally, ways in which an athlete’s jumping baseline can be used for future training and conditioning decisions are discussed.

Numerous reports on kinematic and kinematical analysis of walking with prosthetic leg prosthesis have been made. In recent years, the necessity for analysis of running behavior such as jogging and sprints has become high. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the ground reaction force from the obtained value and to investigate the change of the ground reaction force pattern during running. We conducted experiments by placing two 9 axis motion sensors (manufactured by Logical Products, Inc.) on the prosthesis of the subject at the socket part and the foot part.

The risk of developing playing-related musculoskeletal disorders (PRMD) can be reduced by taking break in between practicing sessions. The study aimed to determine the level of knowledge on PRMD and its associated factors. The cross-sectional study was done among 192 randomly selected subjects. Data was collected by face to face interview method using pre tested questionnaire. Most of respondents are female (84.9%), young (median age is 20 years), practice piano for <3 h/day (53.1%) and 91.7% of them take break in between their practice. Most of them are aware of PRMD (76%) and most heard it from their teachers. Significant association was found between PRMD and practice habit of <3 h/day, taking break in between practice, doing physical cool down after practice and taking dietary supplements. This finding indicate that simple measures like limiting the duration of piano practice time and taking break in between practicing piano can help to prevent muscle tiredness that may contribute to PRMD.

In this study, we will focus on extracurricular activity experiences as a result of taking a physical activity. In recent years, the Japan Business Federation has stressed the importance of communication skills for Japanese university students. However, the effect of physical activity on communication skills and feelings of anxiety due to physical activity experience is not sufficiently considered in Japan. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to examine the effects of physical activity experiences, especially on communication skills and feelings of anxiety (State-Trait anxiety). This study compared the degree of progress of communication skills and feelings of anxiety of the intervention group, consisting of students who participated in extracurricular activities, with the control group who did not engage in any sports clubs. The subjects were about 500 students aged 18 to 23 at a university in the Kanto region of Japan. A paper-based survey asked respondents about extracurricular activity experiences and sport performed in their school days, what type of sport they did, how frequently they engaged in sport, and the purpose of engaging in sport. The survey also consisted of a “communication skills scale” developed by Fujimoto et al. (2007) and the STAI (State-Trait Anxiety Inventory) developed by Charles D. Spielberger (1983), which was a well-known questionnaire designed to evaluate anxiety. The communication skill scale was divided into six factors: “self-control”, “expressiveness”, “decipherability”, “self-assertion”, “acceptance of others”, “relationship adjustment”. Our data shows correlations between the amount of sports activities and the improvement of communications skills, as well as a decrease in anxiety. Thus, we conclude that group sport activities seem to help students improve their communication skills and to lower their anxiety.

The purpose of this study was to develop a comprehensive list of risk factors for lower-extremity work-related musculoskeletal disorders (LE-WMSDs) in the hip. The comprehensive list of risk factors provided information such as specific factors, exposure dosage, and the degree of risk. The development process used the Delphi method that involved subject-matter experts in evaluating risk factors from the literature and adding risk factors based on the expert’s opinion. Eighteen risk factors for LE-WMSDs in the hip were confirmed through two rounds of Delphi surveying. The results of the study suggest that occupational risk factors such as lower extremity postures (i.e., kneeling, sitting, stair climbing, and standing), manual material handling activities, and whole-body vibration with various exposure dosing are risk factors for LE-WMSDs in the hip. The results of the study also indicate the importance of considering worker-specific factors such as body mass index, gender, medical history, and sports participation as another category of risk factors for LE-WMSDs in the hip. Furthermore, the results of this study suggest that the application of the Delphi method offers a possibility for broadening the state of knowledge for an issue such as risk factors for LE-WMSDs.

According to ILO, WHO and EU data, the fishing sector is among the most dangerous working sectors. Common standardized protocols for biomechanical risk assessment can hardly be used due to peculiar characteristics of high seas fisheries (exposure to extreme temperatures, boat instability, floor slipperiness). Few studies, carried out in laboratory simulations, have already highlighted the high biomechanical load risk to which workers are exposed. Aim of the study is to analyze manual material handling task and awkward postures adopted by workers during sorting and cleaning in real working conditions. The last version of the 3DSSPP software was used. This software takes into account the recent muscle fatigue limits suggested by the ACGIH.During the sorting and cleaning tasks, the most relevant risk factor was trunk flexion. Workers maintain static extreme trunk flexion for long times often exceeding fatigue limits suggested by ACGIH. Also, for manual material handling we found high level risk exceeding the limits suggested by literature for shear and orthogonal forces acting at lumbosacral level and the fatigue limits suggested by ACGIH. The most relevant risk factors for manual material handling were trunk extreme postures and the handled weight.Mutual support of the crew and the introduction of automated systems can reduce biomechanical risk increasing rest times for physiological recovery.

Interestingly, awareness and action in developing countries about psychosocial risks is far off the successes experience in developed economies. Psychosocial risk places huge cost on organisations as workers are faced with strain and job-related diseases which affect overall output of organisations. Also, few studies on psychosocial risk seems to focus more on heavy industries rather than the service sector where psychosocial risk factors can be identified and stress is overlooked or misinterpreted. The aim of this study is to examine the mediation role of job satisfaction on the relationship between psychosocial risk management and psychological attachment.A cross-sectional survey was designed to collect quantitative data from respondents within the Ghanaian Banking sector. The study adopted a multi stage sampling technique to select 220 employees for the survey. First, researchers used hierarchical correlation coefficient to test hypotheses and SPSS Process to test for mediation. The findings revealed that there is a significant relationship between the predictor which is psychosocial risk management and psychological attachment which is the outcome(r = 0.209, p < 0.01) with job satisfaction as a partial mediator between the relationship (z = 2.3003, p = 0.0214), after a sobel test was conducted. An indication that job satisfaction is critical in explaining the relationship between psychosocial risk management and psychological attachment.

Nursing is one of the occupations with a high risk for the occurrence of low back pain, affecting both health and working abilities. The low back pain management among healthcare professionals could be one of the key implications to prevent and control injuries and accidents related to low back pain. This research aims to study the prevalence, risk factors, impact, and guidelines on low back pain management. Another aim is to assess the low back pain knowledge among working nurses. One hundred nurses (78 females and 22 males) aged 34.2 ± 8.8 years from a Thai public hospital, were participated in this study. The survey was distributed to all participants to access to personal information, work information and low back pain assessment. The results showed that there were about 86 nurses experiencing low back pain at the time of the study. The severity was analyzed according to the Fairbank disability scores from Oswestry low back pain disability questionnaires. There were mild disabilities about 71% among participants. The three greatest impacts of low back pain on the daily activities were standing (31%), sitting (26%) and walking (26%) respectively. Risk factors associated with low back pain were age, body mass index, weight, duration of employment, gender, marital status, job category, smoking and wearing high-heeled shoes. Specific tasks were ranked from the greatest to the least that associated with low back pain. There are following: pushing or pulling loads, twisting the trunk, bending forward or leaning backward, lifting heavy objects with two hands and carrying loads with one hand. The massage therapy, relaxation, and pain killer medication were as common low back pain management among nurses. Most of the nurses assessed their knowledge about low back pain at a moderate level.

The interpersonal relationships in organizations have generated deficient processes of interrelation due to labour harassment. Inadequate organizational dynamics, in addition to the lack of activation of administrative management strategies for the prevention of these events, lead to the interior of workplaces towards harmful environments, promoting scenarios of arbitrariness and psychological violence.The objective of this study is to identify psychosocial risk factors at work and outside of work, in addition to stress symptoms in order to verify their relationship with workplace harassment and formulate organizational strategies for their control. This is a mixed and correlational investigation. Realized in four (4) companies of services of transport of raw materials for the industry of the cement, in the municipality of the Calera of the department of Cundinamarca in Colombia.

The purpose of this study was to elucidate the changes and differences in mental activity status of nurses at a university hospital in Japan. We adopted the technology to monitor mind status by voice inputted from apps on iPhone and Android smartphones, which was developed by the members of the Center of Innovation (COI) of the University of Tokyo. The technology shows the long-term/short-term tendency of mind status, calculating emotional components contained in voice cord, feature of voice, and fluctuation pattern, which cannot be manipulated by person itself, involuntary reaction. After informed consent, we delivered apps implemented the technology to 33 nurses (male = 4, female = 29) belonging to the surgical ward of the university hospital in Tokyo and requested the participants to input their voices at the beginning and end of work shift for 14 days. We evaluated generation and age differences in mental activity status and changes between the beginning and end of work periods, between the day before a holiday and after a holiday, and between 16-h night shifts and day shifts. This study suggests the possibility of viewing mental activity status from voice noninvasively and supports the creation of healthy workplaces by predicting mental disorder.

The aim of the study is to investigate the effect of a specific training on muscle fatigue by means of the analysis of the amplitude and spectral parameters of surface electromyography.This report is a second part of our first paper on muscle fatigue in high performance pilots.One experienced jet pilot was enrolled for this study. sEMG activity of the neck and shoulder muscles was recorded before and soon after a flight on European Fighter Aircraft. Afterwards, the pilot followed a specific neck and shoulder muscles training and he was recorded before and soon after a flight. Muscle activity was recorded bilaterally from Sternocleidomastoid, Upper and Middle Trapezius muscles. The temporal changes of amplitude and frequency of the sEMG signals were calculated on root mean square values, median frequency of the power spectrum and on spectral full width at half maximum.The main finding of this study is that training strengthened the muscles of both the dominant and non-dominant side, as through the fatigue indexes we observed less fatigue after flight after the training.It is possible to conclude that it would be important to incorporate neck and shoulder specific training in the list of operational duties. Moreover, by studying sEMG fatigue parameters, it is possible to obtain more detailed information about neck stress in order to deeper understand some of the causative factors for neck pain, so it would be possible to provide recommendations and tools to increase and improve the career longevity of jet pilots.

Aim of the study is to compare the most relevant protocols for the assessment of the rehabilitative path of patient with lower limb prosthesis.The first one is the “Timed up and go”, a test created to analyse balance disorders in adults. It was modified to quantify the mobility in adults with different pathologies. The test analyses the transition from the sitting to the upright position and vice versa after a walking distance of three meters. This test is quick and easy to perform, does not require special instruments or training, so it can be administered by any healthcare professional.The second one is the “2-minute walk test”. It is proposed when it is difficult for the patient to support the walk for a longer time. Results from previous studies show that this test is particularly sensitive to clinical changes resulting from rehabilitation treatment; it is also practical, simple and quick to administer.One of the most used protocol in the field of prosthetics is the “K level” test. The method classifies patients in five levels that indicate the degree of activity that the amputee can sustain based on an assessment of the patient’s current situation, including the status of the stump, the desire to walk and other pathological conditions. With this test it is possible to determine the components of the prosthetic aid best suited to the patient’s activity levels.The “Locomotor Capabilities Index” is a questionnaire that allows to define the gait characteristics of prosthetic amputees and their level of independence.The “Russek’s Code” protocol is used to measure the functional abilities of amputees with their own prosthesis. This test provides significant results for differences between patients of different ages and amputation level. However, these results require a fairly large sample of patients.The “Prosthetic Profile of the Amputee” is a questionnaire that consists of 44 questions divided into six sections concerning the patient’s physical condition, the prosthesis, use of the prosthesis, the environment of use, recreational activities and other general information. The questionnaire is completed in approximately 25 min, and clear instructions on how to proceed are provided to facilitate the patient.Finally, it is appropriate to mention the fact that a fundamental contribution to the assessment of the amputee’s mobility is given in the Gait Analysis with which it is possible to objectify the spatio-temporal parameters of the gait.

The objective of this study was to analyze short-term absences and to associate it with socio-demographic and occupational variables of workers at a poultry slaughterhouse. The factors associated with short-term sick leave (4,344 absences) from July 2014 to June 2015 were analyzed. Descriptive statistics, the Chi-square test and Pearson’s correlation were used (p ≤ 0.05). Most workers obtained 1 to 3 medical certificates per year and were absent from the company between 1 and 2 days. The most common frequency of absences among males was once per year, while among females, it was five or more (p < 0.001). The number of days absent per medical certificate had a positive correlation with the length of time working at the company (r = 0.082; p < 0.001). It was concluded that the majority of the workers obtained more than one medical certificate per year and the longer time working at the company, the more days absent.

Power grip and pinch force are considered as important parameters of hand function. The aims of the present study were to compare the maximum hands strength of Taiwanese workers with the results from different countries and to establish the prediction models on the maximum muscle strength for different type of force exertion for Taiwan manufacturing workers.One hundred and ninety-eight participants (99 males/99 females) were recruited to measure three different types of maximum strength (power grip, palmar pinch, lateral pinch). The participants were in five different groups (20–24, 25–34, 35–44, 45–54, 55–64).Study results revealed that hand strength of power grip, lateral pinch and palmar pinch of right-hand exertion were 31.9 ± 12.6 kgw, 7.1 ± 2.2 kgw and 6.6 ± 2.0 kgw, respectively. Most of the maximum hands strengths of Taiwanese workers were smaller than those in Europeans and American. Using power grip force predict lateral pinch (Adjusted R2 = 0.717) and palmar pinch (Adjusted R2 = 0.609).

The goal of the current study is to explore relationships between the antecedents and perceived occupational stress amongst the managers of the textile sector organizations in Pakistan. Sheldon Cohen’s perceived stress scale-10 (PSS-10) was employed to measure the perceived occupational stress level while a self-designed instrument to collect data to identify the antecedents. Data collected was analyzed primarily through exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and the partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM). The stress components physical agents at work (β = 0.292, T-value = 2.765, p = 0.006) and social working environment (β = 0.253, T-value = 2.618, p = 0.009) were found as statistically significant antecedents of the occupational stress. Interventions are to be designed and implemented to deal with the situation. The findings of the study will benefit the practitioners and the researchers in carrying out further research and devising and implementing interventions strategies.

The study was conducted to examine the extent to which informal sector workers understand new pension scheme of Ghana, together with its benefits, challenges and adequacy in guaranteeing their retirement income security. Primary data through interviews and focus group discussions, and secondary data through review of relevant laws were obtained. A total of 86 participants constituted the sample, made up of the regulator, regulated and cross-section of informal sector workers. There is generally low patronage by the informal sector workers which can be attributed to lack of trust in the trustees. Awareness creation and public education are still being embarked upon to win public trust and confidence. The adequacy of the pensions scheme is attained through investments in permissible ventures such as treasury bills, real estate, bonds and stocks.

Temporary works designers influence construction ergonomics directly and indirectly. The direct influence is because of design, details, and method of connecting, and depending upon the type of procurement system, supervisory, and administrative interventions. The indirect influence is because of the type of procurement system used, pre-qualification, project duration, partnering, and the facilitating of pre-planning. A questionnaire survey was administered among attendees attending an in-house support work designer and supplier ‘designing for construction ergonomics’ workshop. Findings include: a range of temporary works design related aspects impact on construction ergonomics, and the respondents’ organisation considers/refers to such aspects frequently, and on a range of design, procurement, and construction occasions. Experience predominates in terms of how ergonomics knowledge was acquired. It is concluded that respondents contribute to construction ergonomics, but there is potential for enhanced contributions. Recommendations include that tertiary-built environment education should address temporary works design and construction H&S and ergonomics, temporary works design standards should highlight designing for construction H&S and ergonomics, and practice notes, and continuing professional development (CPD) should be evolved.

To progress a science communication (SciCom) in the field of ergonomics, this study organized the project of “ErgonomicThon.” It was an ergonomics version of a kind of the Ideathon or Hackathon famous for brainstorming events. This case study introduced the first workshop of ErgonomicThon that was the special program to share useful research findings about disaster and evacuation behavior. Theme discussed in the program was the human behavior under emergency evacuation. The final goal of this program was sharing the ergonomic perspective of “4M (Man–Machine–Media-Management)” to utilize disaster risk management. The main program was group discussion and presentation to create new ideas about how stimulate appropriate human behavior under serious evacuation with sharing each experience. According to the results of questionnaire survey, many participants satisfied the ErgonomicThon workshop. Simultaneously, this study lead three suggestion to increase satisfaction levels among participants in the future challenge; (1) Localization of SciCom guideline for ergonomics, (2) Selection of academic topics for SciCom, and (3) Development of the specific guideline for short time event.

A safety analysis of an industrial gas-fired furnace is presented. The analysis includes a discussion of prior injury data, a preliminary hazard analysis, a fault tree analysis, and a failure modes and effects analysis of the bench grinder. Based upon these various analyses, the most common and the most severe injury modes are identified, as well as the causes of these injury modes. Finally, in each analysis, specific preventive measures, including preventive maintenance is discussed.

A safety analysis of a cordless (handheld) angle grinder is presented. The analysis includes a discussion of prior injury data, a preliminary hazard analysis, a fault tree analysis, and a failure modes and effects analysis of the angle grinder. Based upon these various analyses, the most common and the most severe injury modes are identified, as well as the causes of these injury modes. Finally, in each analysis, specific preventive measures, including preventive maintenance is discussed.

Worldwide, 270 million occupational accidents occur, and 160 million occupational diseases are reported, each year. Moreover, hundreds of millions of work days are lost every year as a result of poor working conditions in the European Union alone. One of the most advocated accidents preventive measures is the education and training of workers. This work proposes to make a systematic literature review, whereby the Authors aim to answer the research question: “Is there evidence within the scientific literature of the relationship between education/training and accident occurrence?”. In a brief analysis of the results, it is observed that extending the keywords Education AND occupational AND accidents to the Topic field, a higher number of results were shown, whereby the majority of the documents were articles, and records stemmed from early 1990s, in a variable behaviour. The Portuguese language is second to the English-written documents. These results will yield important information to determine future approaches in the prevention of occupational accidents occurrence.

The PDCA cycle proposed to prevention activities of medical accidents. We will propose suitable manager to operate this PDCA cycle. They are not only support for planning measures but also on the qualities items of the site leader which is the center of improvement of the workforce in various industries, safety personnel in various industries. We will report on the contents of consideration based on the survey of education, tasks and so on.

Enterprises engaged in public services have tolerable risk the rage is limited narrow, so they need to engage in safety management activity as a whole organization and to upgrade safety culture. They are required to try to new activities for upgrading safety culture not being satisfied with the present safety management activity. As new activities, they begin considering introducing a new technology into safety management activity focusing on “technology” that is one of the three major elements keeping security.In this study we organize the policy of exit strategy aimed at introducing new technology to safety management activities in public service.

This study explored FA system of MLB and NPB, and summarized the cross-cultural difference of FA between MLB and NPB. First, the cognitive biases that are observed in common to both leagues were discussed from the viewpoint of our propensity to inaccurately predict the future. Second, the cross-cultural difference was discussed from the two viewpoints: (1) difference of mindset between two leagues, and (2) difference of authority of commissioner between two leagues. Finally, it was proposed how inefficiencies in baseball markets in sports management (failure in FA) should be avoided for the coexistence of teams and the prosperity of the league.

The present study aimed to examine whether four weeks of short-term study abroad (SA) was effective in promoting second language (L2) proficiency gain, the development of affect such as L2 willingness to communicate (WTC) and L2 motivation, and a reduction in L2 anxiety. This study investigated proficiency test results and multiple questionnaire results collected before and after the four-week SA experience. 29 Japanese university students studying English in Canada participated in the study. The results showed that the participants made gains in L2 proficiency, developed L2 WTC and L2 motivation, and reduced L2 anxiety levels after studying abroad for four weeks in Canada. This study is a part of a bigger longitudinal research project, in which short-term SA in traditional destinations such as Canada, and short-term SA in non-English speaking destinations such as the Philippines are compared.

This paper discusses the strategy and policy on English Language Teaching (ELT) for young learners in China and Europe. ELT for very young learners is a double-edged sword. Before the establishment of native language acquisition, alien system plays a competitive role. Chinese and English belong to different families while many European languages belong to similar families. The competition between Chinese and English is fiercer than one among European languages. Chinese learners are encouraged to start English education at age nine when Chinese acquisition is nearly completed while European learners are allowed to begin as young as possible. An effective ELT method promotes the development of cultural diversity and social cohesion, and strengthens the sense of individual and national identity of young learners.

The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between role conflict, task performance and satisfaction. Concretely, this study examines that moderator hypothesis of emotional labor between task performance and job satisfaction. The questionnaire surveys were administered to a total of 827 flight attendants, including 414 flight attendants working for a European airline and 413 for an Asian airline. The results indicate that, role conflict perceived by the employees decreases their task performance and job satisfaction. A moderation analysis indicates that deep acting, an emotional work, repair the decreasing propensity of task performance and satisfaction. The finding of this research implies that the emotional work practice may moderate or repair the emotional issues such as job stress and burnout of customer service employees.

With the deepening of globalization, cross-cultural communication has gradually entered people’s daily lives. In order to improve people’s intercultural communication ability to adapt to new developments. Based on the sensitivity of cross-cultural communication ability, this paper analyzes the interaction between multiple groups (individuals) based on the DMIS model. From the perspective of complex systems, analyze the interaction between multiple groups (individuals). According to the Voronoi diagram, the geometry of the strong and weak relationship of group culture interaction sensitivity can be well reflected. With the Voronoi diagram theory, we can draw the sphere of influence between multiple cultural groups. Based on the detailed analysis of the research results, this study knows that the cross-cultural sensitivity of individual education level and individual imbalance is the reason that affects the change of group sensitivity. Therefore, starting from strengthening cross-cultural education for local students, To reduce the cultural conflict brought about by the mutual penetration of Chinese and Western cultures. Enhance cross-cultural sensitivity of local groups by enhancing individual cross-cultural sensitivities.

The aim of present study was to reveal the differences of web design including cultural preference among the four countries that have different cultures. Twenty local municipal sites were randomly chosen from United States, Japan, China, and Brazil. The characteristics of these web sites was investigated from viewpoint of the following seven categories: (1) text, (2) layout, (3) navigation, (4) multimedia, (5) links, (6) items location, (7) color. When the web site had each factor, the researcher gave a “1” for that factor. Chi-square goodness-of-fit test was performed to compare the percentage of “0” or “1” of each factor among the four countries. Additionally, the correspondence analysis was performed to grasp the characteristics of each country. The characteristics of the top page design of the four countries were grasped based on these analyses.

Global transformations of the modern world, which have a multidimensional nature, and which almost all aspects of social existence are subject to, seem to be inescapable and their complexity difficult to grasp. Globalization tendencies in the world deprived the modern society of stability which was characteristic for the modern epoch of industrial society. However, dialectical nature of globalization determines development of societies’ ability to anticipate dangers and coping with them at individual, social and global levels. New chances and new possibilities emerge in micro- and macro-scale, but there are also fears and concerns, which define the contours of the society of tomorrow. Quality specification of new transformations in relations between globality and locality, society and unit, and their interconnections, is by no means irrelevant to multicontextual changes in the world of work. These changes make new demands on employees. The vision implies a completely new perception of reality, ways of interpreting the worlds, and new quality of judgments on the condition of modern world – including a man as the “manager” of his own career. The most important, subjective and internal meaning of career must be correlated with its external traits. Therefore, personal meaning, despite being influenced by social categories to which the individual belongs, cannot be derived only from these categories. It is also important to consider orientation categories which are understood as individual tendencies characterized by lasting expressiveness. Coexistence of cognitive, normative, emotional and behavioral components is accompanied by an objective which relates to achievement of what, according to the individual, is worthy of desire in career. Career commitment is characterized by development of personal career objectives, devotion to these objectives, identification with them and commitment to them. Changes in the world of “boundary-less” careers make the problem of entity’s proactivity, that is proactive behavior of the entity in career, topical [37]. The distinctive feature of proactive planning and career management is awareness of being an entity which follows the desired direction and influences the surrounding reality by initiating changes. Proactive attitude of an entity is reflected in the processes of pursuit and achieving objectives which, as a result, make the entity a creator of reality rather than its forecaster. Proactive persons explore the environment, look for the possibilities of change, go beyond the limitations imposed by the situation, directing it in a way which allows to derive all benefits brought by reshaping the situation. Commitment to an internally defined career may be a significant source of shaping entity’s (professional) identity, which seems to be indispensable for the entity’s career progress in the world of “boundary-less” careers in the reality of a globalizing world.

Benchmarking is the ways to improve performance by comparing with the most successful competitors in its field. Yiwu has 1.8 million kinds of small commodities, which is the largest small commodity market in the world. Alessi is an Italian designer and manufacturer of household goods, which is famous all over the world for “ordinary citizens can also enjoy famous designer products”.In this paper, aiming at the urgent need of Yiwu small commodities to enhance product added value, the classical design of Alessi product line are analyzed by case analysis method, and the design success factors are summarized by KJ method and cluster analysis method from the aspects of industrial background, design concept, design management, product presentation and other dimensions. The analysis results are compared with similar commodities in Yiwu market. The existing gap and its causes between Chinese commodities and Alessi products in the process of design are summarized and analyzed. The optimization strategy of design for contemporary Chinese commodities based on individuation and popularization is put forward. Finally, taking Chinese bamboo products as an example, the design practice shows that the design strategy has good application value. The research results of this paper have certain guiding significance and practical value for the future design of small commodities in China, and will further enhance the design level of small commodities in China.

With the acceleration of the global integration, an increasing number of projects which require multinational cooperation are carried out worldwide. Standards, as the common requirements and rules for companies involved in these cross-countries projects, become one of their primary concerns. However, different countries vary distinctly in standard systems and there are also substantial discrepancies among their standard contents under the influences of culture background, organization management, language, team behaviors, political issues, regulatory rules and other human factors domains. And thus, there can be many obstacles when companies endeavor to comply with more than one standard at the same time. Confusion during the process of standards adoption, according to statistics, is capable of causing a great loss, from the perspective of both economics and human resources. We conducted an in-depth literature review to generate a conceptual framework, which can orderly simplify cross-country standards adoption (CSA)’s factors. Afterwards, we identified potential influential factors in cross-country standards adoption from a macroergonomics perspective, and provided a new approach to cross-country standards adoption CSA’s study. More than 20 influential factors and around 40 indicators were summarized in our framework and key human factors related influential factors were discussed in this paper. Under the framework with those factors identified, it is promising to evaluate their impact quantitatively by using indicator(s) for each factor, and finally to propose insightful guidelines to smooth the process of cross-country projects, particularly in the areas of architecture, transportation and infrastructure construction.

The purpose of this paper is to explore how the motivations for sharing information exhibiting aspects of cross-cultural differences and how decisions undertaken by diverse organizations participating in incident management at major events interact. This context is natural and challenging, one that embraces routine and contingent incidents involving varied and linked organizations serving as incident responders. Here, a qualitative and interpretive paradigm was used in order to obtain a clear picture of the context. Activity Theory served as a conceptual and analytical tool providing the basis to discover the mentioned elements. Diverse themes were recognized exhibiting those revealed from incident responders. Diverse motivations were uncovered through the actions undertaken in sharing information. These similarly revealed the cross-cultural differences and decisions between organizations using information sharing in a context that could shape the performance of incident responders.