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Addresses research results and controversies concerning the ergonomic design of computer work stations ranging from the traditional concerns with anthropometric fashions, work posture, and visual performance to the recent considerations about human information processing capacities and awareness of problem-solving strategies. (eight references) (JJK)

Emotions are compelling human experiences and product designers can take advantage of this by conceptualizing emotion-engendering products that sell well in the market. This study hypothesized that product attributes influence users' emotions and that the relationship is moderated by the adherence of these product attributes to purchase criteria. It was further hypothesized that the emotional experience of the user influences purchase intention. A laboratory study was conducted to validate the hypotheses using mobile phones as test products. Sixty-two participants were asked to assess eight phones from a display of 10 phones and indicate their emotional experiences after assessment. Results suggest that some product attributes can cause intense emotional experience. The attributes relate to the phone's dimensions and the relationship between these dimensions. The study validated the notion of integrating affect in designing products that convey users' personalities. Keywords: Affective product design; Product design; Multilevel modelling; Phone design

Research into the levels of comfort and discomfort experienced by people, whilst sitting in chairs, found that comfort could be measured as being applied to the design of the chair and as a feeling of being relaxed. A feeling of discomfort can be applied either to the way a chair has been made or a physical feeling, such as being tired. The studies concluded that the look of a chair will affect how comfortable it is perceived to be by the person using it. The two studies used both secretaries and managers in their place of work.

The evaluation of human cognitive abilities and limitations is necessary in engineering-oriented analyses of industrial manual assembly tasks. This helps to identify the areas of difficulty and also demonstrates how the task content causes the problems. The information analyses reveal the problematic areas but not the content of individual steps causing the problem. It also fails to find any qualitative relationship between steps in varied assembly tasks. The task content models identify the task demands, training requirements and transfer possibilities.

An investigation on the adjustability controls on ergonomic chairs reveals that chairs with the highest number of adjustability controls have the maximum comfort. The controls are suggested to be 'discernible,' that is, they should be clearly visible and easy to reach. Preferred features are push-buttons and short levers, suggesting larger controls.

Analysis of height changes and comfort of 16 young, old, healthy and herniated subjects, seated in sit-stand and conventional chairs, reveals that sit-stand chairs reduce height loss more than conventional chairs. Herniated subjects lose more height than healthy subjects in both the chairs. The age and height loss with sit-stand chairs are proportional, with both the old and young healthy subjects feeling more comfortable in conventional chairs than sit-stand chairs.

To design inspection systems for modern manufacturing conditions, an appropriate mix of human and computer abilities is required. Human inspectors are not very effective at the Search function of inspection, meaning that search tasks are more suited to automated vision systems. We assessed a novel visual technique—binocular rivalry arising from stereo viewing conditions—to enhance human search performance. A sequence of three inspection experiments was used to determine whether binocular rivalry is practical and effective. An initial study using circuit board images showed a small but significant effect of binocular fusion. A second study using simulated material with excellent registration between the left and right images showed binocular rivalry to increase performance considerably. Binocular rivalry also removed any negative effect of inspecting for multiple defects simultaneously. The third study returned to realistic inspected items, but ensured good registration by placing images on a computer screen. This study again showed the superiority of binocular rivalry. There was no unusual visual strain from stereo viewing. Together, these studies allow us to delineate the conditions under which the benefits of binocular rivalry can be exploited in quality control practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Byline: Rosemary R. Seva, Martin G. Helander, Henry Been-Lirn Duh The Pre-purchase Affect Model (PAM) was developed. It predicts how product criteria for purchase may engender affect. A field survey was conducted to determine what criteria consumers use to purchase electronic products and items of clothing. A total of 23 and 21 criteria were identified for buying clothing and electronic products, respectively. There were 11 types of criteria for clothes and nine for electronic products. The criteria were compared with the product attributes. If there was a match pre-purchase affect resulted. The use of the model will help define design attributes that are capable of eliciting affect.

Users have difficulties in perceiving discomfort and making fine discriminations of chair design factors related to spinal pressure and biomechanics. Assessing the comfort factors related to aesthetics, plushness and a sense of relaxation are comparatively easier.

We used 3 psychophysics methods to determine perceptible changes in seat height, seat pan angle, and backrest angle using an experimental chair. In the method of adjustment, the chosen chair [...]