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| 2. |
- Abeysekera, John, et al.
(författare)
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Body sizes and other human factors differences between Swedish and foreign students in Swedish universities
- 1994
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Ingår i: Ergonomics for Quality Life. - : PPCOE. ; , s. 420-423
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- Past studies have shown large differences in body size between people of Industrialized Countries (ICs) and Industrially Developing Countries (IDCs). These differences can have negative effects on the usage of technology which IDCs today acquire to a great extent from ICs. At the same time, the number of students from IDCs seeking education and training in universities in ICs is increasing. This paper reports on the impact of human factors differences particularly body size differences between foreign and local students on the use of university facilities, based on anthropometric and questionnaire surveys carried out on a small scale by foreign graduate students of Lulea University, Sweden. The study revealed large differences in body sizes between local and foreign students. The questionnaire survey of foreign students showed that there are other significant human factors differences such as the use of a foreign language, viz. Swedish which is unique to Scandinavia, and the exposure to long cold winters. Whether these differences in human factors influence the acquisition of knowledge or learning capacity of foreign students is worth further investigation.
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| 3. |
- Abeysekera, John D. A., et al.
(författare)
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Adaptation to discomfort in personal protective devices: an example with safety helmets
- 1990
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Ingår i: Ergonomics. - : Informa UK Limited. - 0014-0139 .- 1366-5847. ; 33:2, s. 137-145
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Discomfort in the use of personal protective devices (PPD) has been one of the chief causes of their non-use. A field trial using industrial helmets was carried out to ascertain whether by training and repeated wearing subjects could experience a significant adaptation to discomfort. Ten subjects took part in the trial in a tropical environment by wearing helmets repeatedly (6 h a day) for one month. Subjective evaluations of discomfort were made at the end of the 1st, 3rd, 5th, 14th and 30th day. It was revealed that complaints of discomfort, viz. hotness, heaviness, bad fit, etc., decreased markedly throughout the 30 day period. Though positive responses of adaptation to discomfort seem to reach an optimum towards 30 days, it is difficult to draw any conclusions on the optimum period of adaptation for each discomfort factor. In relation to inherent discomforts that are extremely difficult to overcome without compromising the protection efficiency of a PPD, the principle of adaptation seems to be a very important facet which has to be developed for an effective PPD programme.
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| 4. |
- Abeysekera, John D.A.
(författare)
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Ergonomics and technology transfer
- 1990
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Ingår i: International Journal of Industrial Ergonomics. - 0169-8141 .- 1872-8219. ; 5:2, s. 181-184
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)
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| 5. |
- Abeysekera, John D.A., et al.
(författare)
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Ergonomics in developing countries
- 1990
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Ingår i: Advances in industrial ergonomics and safety 2. - : Taylor and Francis Group. - 0850667488 ; , s. 771-778
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)
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| 6. |
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| 7. |
- Abeysekera, John
(författare)
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Ergonomics aspects of personal protective devices
- 1993
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Ingår i: Occupational and environmental economics. - : Indian Society of Ergonomics.. - 819005080X ; , s. 109-114
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- The use of a personal protective device (ppd) is a widely accepted method of safeguarding workers from occupational hazards in industrialized countries (IC) and an important method employed in developing countries (DC). Though protection is assured if the devices are worn constantly, it is unfortunate that due to discomfort and inconvenience, the majority of those exposed to hazards do not wear them. DCs which mainly import ppds from ICs are confronting many ergonomics problems, because the equipment designed for IC conditions is inappropriate for use in DCs, due to significant differences in user body sizes, environments and working methods. A questionnaire survey conducted among ppd manufacturers in 11 ICs revealed that 90% followed standards in manufacturing. Another survey conducted among health and safety authorities who responded on behalf of ppd users in 35 DCs revealed that the most common ergonomic causes of non-use are stresses from hotness, weight, improper fit and obstruction at work. While manufacturers place greater emphasis in the protection performance of the equipment, users in DCs refuse to wear it because the comfort needs are not fulfilled. Developing ergonomics standards for ppds seems to be a feasible way of persuading the manufacturers to provide ergonomic values in ppds. The need for maximum allowable comfort in the design, taking into consideration the user characteristics and protection factor is emphasized. To overcome the inherent discomforts that are extremely difficult to reduce without compromising the protection efficiency of a ppd, the principle of user adaptation seems to be a very important facet which has to be developed. A case study on safety helmets is reported. The use of a personal protective device (ppd) is a widely accepted method of safeguarding workers from occupational hazards in industrialized countries (IC) and an important method employed in developing countries (DC). Though protection is assured if the devices are worn constantly, it is unfortunate that due to discomfort and inconvenience, the majority of those exposed to hazards do not wear them. DCs which mainly import ppds from ICs are confronting many ergonomics problems, because the equipment designed for IC conditions is inappropriate for use in DCs, due to significant differences in user body sizes, environments and working methods. A questionnaire survey conducted among ppd manufacturers in 11 ICs revealed that 90% followed standards in manufacturing. Another survey conducted among health and safety authorities who responded on behalf of ppd users in 35 DCs revealed that the most common ergonomic causes of non-use are stresses from hotness, weight, improper fit and obstruction at work. While manufacturers place greater emphasis in the protection performance of the equipment, users in DCs refuse to wear it because the comfort needs are not fulfilled. Developing ergonomics standards for ppds seems to be a feasible way of persuading the manufacturers to provide ergonomic values in ppds. The need for maximum allowable comfort in the design, taking into consideration the user characteristics and protection factor is emphasized. To overcome the inherent discomforts that are extremely difficult to reduce without compromising the protection efficiency of a ppd, the principle of user adaptation seems to be a very important facet which has to be developed. A case study on safety helmets is reported.
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| 8. |
- Abeysekera, John, et al.
(författare)
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Human factors of clothing and work-wear : a review
- 1994
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Ingår i: Proceedings. - Kiel : German Society of Physiological Anthropology. ; , s. 137-142
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- An extraordinarily large share of research carried out in the near past on clothing comfort has been in the area of thermal comfort. Accordingly standards, norms and guidelines on thermal requirements of work-wear have been developed. Through behavioural adjustments people have learned to achieve thermal comfort even if the work clothes have slight deficiencies in thermal characteristics. It is beyond doubt that the thermal characteristics need careful consideration in the manufacture of work clothes. At the same time one must be aware that other human factors can also influence the overall wearability of clothing. This paper reviews the wearability and comfort of the clothing and work-wear to provide better understanding of the priorities in user needs in work clothes which can help plan future research and the need for new standards
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| 9. |
- Abeysekera, John
(författare)
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Some ergonomics issues in the design of personal protective devices
- 1992
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Ingår i: Performance of protective clothing. - Philadelphia, Pa. : ASTM International. - 0803114303 ; , s. 651-659
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- The use of personal protective devices (ppd) is an important method to safeguard workers from occupational hazards both in industrialized and developing countries. Surveys have indicated that majority of those exposed to hazards are reluctant to use ppd because they are uncomfortable for such reasons as hotness, heaviness, ill fit, inconvenient, etc. Investigations have revealed that user-centered designs which satisfy the human factors needs of ppd, can reverse this trend and make ppd more acceptable. Because a questionnaire survey has shown that manufacturers are more inclined to adhere to standards, developing ergonomic standards seems to be a feasible method to persuade the manufacturers to provide the user needs in the design. Any unavoidable discomforts in ppd can be controlled by adaptation of users to ppd wearing.
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| 10. |
- Abeysekera, John
(författare)
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The use of personal protective clothing and devices in the cold environment
- 1992
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Rapport (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- In the use of personal protective devices (ppd) in the cold environment the wearability problems become more aggravated as the ppd must be worn over the cold protective clothing. Research in the area of human factors of ppd in cold environment has been scarce in the past. The lack of adequate user needs in currently used ppd in the cold environment, has resulted in discomfort, injury, non-use, and performance decrement among outdoor workers, particularly in the extreme cold regions, viz. Arctic countries. A preliminary study on the 'state of the art' was carried out on the use of ppd in cold environment which consisted of a literature survey, questionnaire survey among outdoor workers and information search through visits to relevant research institutions, discussions with researchers and participation in Conferences. The literature search carried out in 6 data bases revealed useful information about specific areas where wearability problems exist in ppd as well as some methods to be employed in research. The results of the questionnaire survey carried out in the Luleå region confirm that workers confront many inadequacies in the use of ppd in the cold climate. From the findings of this preliminary study three important kinds of ppd viz. safety gloves, safety shoes and safety helmets are discussed in this report. Human factors research for ppd in the cold environment with a view for improvement of wearability and use seem urgent.
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