Search results for "ergonomics"

Funerary practices or food delicatessen? Human remains with anthropic marks from the Western Mediterranean Mesolithic

2017

Abstract The identification of unarticulated human remains with anthropic marks in archaeological contexts normally involves solving two issues: a general one associated with the analysis and description of the anthropic manipulation marks, and another with regard to the interpretation of their purpose. In this paper we present new evidence of anthropophagic behaviour amongst hunter-gatherer groups of the Mediterranean Mesolithic. A total of 30 human remains with anthropic manipulation marks have been found in the Mesolithic layers of Coves de Santa Maira (Castell de Castells, Alicante, Spain), dating from ca. 10.2–9 cal ky BP. We describe the different marks identified on both human and fa…

Neolithic rock art in context: Landscape history and the transition to agriculture in Mediterranean Spain

2008

Rock art is one of the most salient features of Neolithic societies in eastern Spain and an explicit form of landscape history. This paper summarizes current debates of Mediterranean rock art chronology and interpretation and explores the contextual differences in two areas of Neolithic settlement with rock art: the Canyoles Valley (Valencia) and the Alcoi Basin (Alicante). Large-scale survey of the Canyoles Valley resulted in a clearer understanding of agricultural land use during the Neolithic that contrasts with evidence from the Alcoi Basin. By analyzing Neolithic rock art in its archaeological context, we discuss the significance and limitations of rock art analysis for understanding a…

Economic evaluations of ergonomic interventions preventing work-related musculoskeletal disorders: a systematic review of organizational-level interv…

2017

Background Work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WMSD) represent a major public health problem and economic burden to employers, workers and health insurance systems. This systematic review had two objectives: (1) to analyze the cost-benefit results of organizational-level ergonomic workplace-based interventions aimed at preventing WMSD, (2) to explore factors related to the implementation process of these interventions (obstacles and facilitating factors) in order to identify whether economic results may be due to a successful or unsuccessful implementation. Methods Systematic review. Studies were searched in eight electronic databases and in reference lists of included studies. Companio…

Evaluation of ergonomic factors and postures that cause muscle pains in dentistry students’ bodies

2015

Background: Work-related musculoskeletal disorders commonly experienced by dental professionals are one of the main occupational health problem affecting their health and well-being.This study was conducted to evaluate ergonomic factors and profession-related postures and also investigate relationship between demographic factors and work condition with pain in dental students. Material and Methods: 60 freshman and sophomore dentistry students were randomly chosen as the subjects of control group, and 60 of 5th and 6th-year students were selected as the members of exposure group. Data related to the subjects such as sex, doing exercise, severity of musculoskeletal pain were obtained through …

Promoting health in everyday settings: Opportunities and challenges

2014

Using protection motivation theory in the design of nudges to improve online security behavior

2019

Abstract We conducted an online experiment (n = 2024) on a representative sample of internet users in Germany, Sweden, Poland, Spain and the UK to explore the effect of notifications on security behaviour. Inspired by protection motivation theory (PMT), a coping message advised participants on how to minimize their exposure to risk and a threat appeal highlighted the potential negative consequences of not doing so. Both increased secure behavior – but the coping message significantly more so. The coping message was also as effective as both messages combined, but not so the threat appeal. Risk attitudes, age and country had a significant effect on behavior. Initiatives seeking to promote se…

Étude expérimentale de l'usage des organisateurs para-linguistiques de mise en retrait dans les documents électroniques

1997

This paper deals with what is called here paralinguistic organizers i.e. textual devices like underlining, brackets, footnotes, and, on screen, pop up fields,... In the frame of the theory of discourse comprehension (van Dijk & Kintsch, 1983) it is proposed to view technical texts as tools, more or less efficient, that readers use to build their representation (situation model). It is known that the schematic superstructure of a text can significantly enhance its comprehension and memorization. It is assumed here that another kind of text structure could play a similar role i.e. the structure based on the main points / secondary points distinction. More generally a text can be viewed as a s…

The effects of organizational and individual factors on occupational accidents

2002

This study examined the relationships between individual psychological, work environment and organizational variables and occupational accidents using structural equation modelling with latent variables. A series of nested explicative models of the relationships between these variables was derived. Data were collected from a wide range of industrial sectors in the Valencia region of Spain using structured interviews. In total, 525 valid questionnaires were completed and these formed the basis for the subsequent analyses. Analysis showed that the model in the series that proposed relationships between all the latent variables provided the best representation of the data. This supported the b…

Job insecurity, recovery and well-being at work: Recovery experiences as moderators

2010

In the present study, the moderating role of recovery experiences in the job insecurity— occupational well-being relationship was examined. Recovery experiences refer to psychological mechanisms (psychological detachment from work, relaxation, mastery and control during off-job time) facilitating recovery. Altogether 527 employees from a variety of different jobs participated in the questionnaire study. The moderated regression analyses revealed that in an insecure job situation, relaxation buffered against increased need for recovery from work, and psychological detachment impaired vigour at work. The results suggest that recovery experiences can to some extent be a buffer against strain r…

Muscular strength profiles and anthropometry in random samples of men aged 31–35, 51–55 and 71–75 years

1985

Maximal isometric muscular strength and anthropometric characteristics were studied among three random samples each containing about 180 Finnish men belonging to three generation cohorts, and having a mean age of 32·9 ± 1·4, 53·1 ± 1·5 and 72·7± 1·4 years. Strength was measured on special dynamometers for grip, trunk and knee extension and trunk and elbow flexion. The anthropometric characteristics included body height, weight, body-mass index, skeletal weight, fat weight and a weight factor. The youngest cohort had the highest and the oldest cohort the lowest values for strength as well as body height and fat-free body weight, while the middle-aged group had the highest and the youngest gr…