Resources for Improving

An Annotated Rev iew of Human Factors Li terature

By Andrew R. J. Yeaman

M y first opportunity to consult on computerized learning environ- ments came through my disserta- tion research. I was using micro- computers to simulate reading

from electronic books when I was asked to assist a local school district. They needed to know whether to purchase green or amber microcomput- er screens for their students. Green screens had a lower price at the time but amber screens were advertised as "easier on the eyes." It was inter- esting to work on this problem and in January, 1984, Instructional Innovator published the results.

Since then I have been aware of the tremendous need for applying what is already known about computerization to learning situations. I have writ- ten articles, conducted basic and applied research and continued taking on consulting assignments. However, I would much rather work myself out of this position by teaching people how to manage fa- cilities for themselves and, towards that goal, this article surveys the literature on computerization. The review is authoritative and includes only books by authors fully qualified and competent in the areas they address.

Dr. Andrew R. J. Yeaman consults nationally for corporations, libraries, schools and colleges on Human-Computer Interaction and Information Environment Design. In addition to computerized learning environments, he researches how people find their way around the electronic space caused by the fusion of books and computers. He also ad- vises on developing sign systems. Dr. Yeaman may be contacted at 222 N. Broad #12, Monmouth, OR 97361.

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An annotated list of resources follows and teachers, media specialists, librarians and comput- ing coordinators will find it helpful. In finding out about good office automation practices so as to apply them to education, it must be remembered that adult workers are in a very different situation from children in school. Recommended dimen- sions do not fit anyone except the average adult and students of different levels have varying re- quirements. Making application from video display terminals (VDTs) in the work place to learning en- vironments should also be based on locally estab- lished needs.

Annotated Resources

�9 American National Standards Institute. (1988). American national standard for human factors en- gineering of visual display terminal workstations: ANSI/HFS Standard No. 100-1988. Santa Monica, CA: Human Factors Society. The Human Factors Society was recognized in

1982 by the American National Standards Institute as the professional organization qualified to ad- dress the need for a national VDT standard. The standard subsequently produced is the work of a drafting committee made up of 19 human factors professionals from industry, academia and govern- ment. Review copies of the standard were re- leased for public commentary in 1985 and in 1986, prior to publication. The standard will be revised in the next five years.

This technical standard refers to the seated op- eration of computers in office environments and is coordinated with other relevant ANSI standards for working temperature, noise, seating and key- boards. There are five very specific sections on working environment, visual display design, key- board design, furniture design and measurement techniques.

Computeri ed Learning Environments

The appearance of an ANSI standard for VDTs ought to be helpful to everyone, including educa- tors. Unfortunately, the information in the report is indigestible to nonscientists, despite its high quality. The empirical emphasis limits its useful- ness. Despite the authority of the ANSI standard, most educators will do better to read the other re- sources reviewed in this bibliography.

Education researchers interested in the relation- ship between students and computers will find this an excellent synthesis of the basic VDT research literature. The standard only describes work situa- tions for adults but studies of the human engineer- ing aspects of schooling could be built on this foundation. Despite the obvious need there is not a comparable quantity of educational research in this area. �9 AT&T Bell Laboratories. (1984). Video display

terminals: Preliminary guidelines for selection, in- staUation & use. Indianapolis, IN: AT&T Technologies. This manual looks at setting up VDT worksta-

tions as whole things with related parts. Bell Tele- phone Laboratories created these guidelines be- cause existing guidelines were not specific enough or were too specific or were not sound. The intent was to cover significant issues, give enough detail so that readers can determine if their situation meets the guidelines, and be based on scientific evidence.

The book is presented well with index tabs to identify the main sections: furniture, VDTs, illu- mination and office environments. There are many line illustrations that break up the plain English of the text. An excellent series of photographs shows clearly how VDT workstations can adversely ef- fect posture. �9 Cakir. A., Hart, D. J. & Stewart, T. F. M.

(1980). Visual display terminals: A manual cover- ing ergonomics, workplace design, health and safe- ty, task organization. New York: John Wiley & Sons.

This is the first comprehensive book written in an understandable manner for the nonspecialist who works with computers and it is still refer- enced today. The book resulted from a two year study for the International Research Association for Newspaper Technology. The study took place because journalism was one of the first profes- sions to be computerized.

The scope is broad and looks at how a VDT works; light and vision and the optical characteris- tics of visual displays; ergonomic requirements for VDTs; ergonomic requirements for VDT work- places; and the health, safety and organizational aspects of working with VDTs. There is a detailed checklist in the appendix. Photographs in the text document the visual and postural problems people experience in VDT work. �9 Canadian Labour Congress Labour Education

and Studies Centre. (1982). Digest of the survey report: Towards a more humanized technology: Ex- ploring the impact of video display terminals on the health and working conditions of Canadian o~ce workers. Ottawa: Canadian Labour Congress. A survey comparing the work of 1,742 VDT

workers with 588 non-VDT workers is reported here in condensed form. Charts illustrate the data collected. Video display terminal workers experi- enced more visual, muscular and stress problems than non-VDT workers. As well as recommending improvements in the design of equipment and fa- cilities, the Canadian Labour Congress recom- mends improving the social aspects of VDT work. The report is broken up by boxed comments such as, "Employers should be made aware of tedious working conditions associated with VDTs and not assume that employees are mental morons who will not or should be not affected by working con- ditions," (p.5). �9 Castaldi, B. (1987). Educational facilities: Plan-

ning, modernization and management. Boston, MA: Allyn and Bacon. This third edition of Basil Castaldi's comprehen-

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These three books are recommended reading for anyone working with computers.

ANSI-Accredited Standards Committee IT7 for Instructional Audiovisual Systems Standards

This committee is working on updating the standards for ~ining the design of teaching-learning spaces where audiovisual equipment is used. The term

commercial ~aining.

,ement of this standard will sent to Richard I-littner, e/o

Harrison, New York 10528.

sive text mentions computers in education on pages 50 through 65. This section does not directly cite any research and the recommendations are not explained. Nevertheless, this is a good over- view for anyone planning improvements in in- structional buildings, furnishings or equipment. �9 Grandjean, E. (1987). Ergonomics in computer-

ized offices. New York: Taylor & Francis. Etienne Grandjean is known internationally and

was Director of the Department of Ergonomics and Hygiene at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, a position from which he recently re- tired. Like many of the other books reviewed here, this one is informative about the physiologi- cal, cognitive and social aspects of working with computers. Not only does the author explain how to eliminate problems but he also suggests ways to avoid them in the first place. The contrast be- tween traditional work and computerized work is made clear early on in the book with a series of photographs portraying the variety of movements required at an office desk and the rigid posture re- quired by a VDT. �9 International Business Machines Corporation.

(1984). Human factors of workstations with visual displays. San Jose, CA: International Business Machines Corporation. The late Bruce Rupp, a senior engineer at

IBM's Human Factors Center in San Jose and a contributor to the ANSI standard, was the princi- pal author of this technical manual. The emphasis Is on the visual output of computer displays. The level of writing suggests it is intended for readers with at least a basic knowledge of physics and perceptual psychology.

The topics covered are: radiation safety, the hu- man optical system, visual display considerations, the keyboard, workstation configuration, lighting and acoustic noise. The information is well written and clearly organized with many graphic illustra- tions to help clarify the concepts. This technical report includes excellent references and a bibliog- raphy of the research literature.

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�9 Kirk, N. S., Knave, B. G., Peters, T., Shackel, B., Snyder, H. L. & Stewart, T. (1983). Ergo- nomic principles in office automation: State of the art reports and guidelines on human factors in the office environment. Garden Grove, CA: Anacon- da Ericsson. Like the IBM and AT&T books, this was writ-

ten for a computer manufacturer. Each author wrote a chapter in his area of special knowledge: the visual display unit, keyboard design, worksta- tion design, the software interface, health and safety aspects and organizational aspects. The text is both practical and readable. Not only does this book contain many recommendations but it also is the product of good graphic design. �9 Knirk, F. G. (1979). Designing productive learn-

ing environments. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Educa- tional Technology Publications. This is a general introduction to designing edu-

cational facilities. A particularly helpful flow chart of the process is presented on page four. It is an important book because it emphasizes the system- atic approach. Also see the 1986 textbook by Knirk and Gustafson on Instructional Technology. �9 Mandal, A. C. (1985). The seated man: Homo

sedens. Klampenborg, Denmark: Dafnia Publications. Christen Mandal, chief surgeon at the Finsen

Institute in Copenhagen, began his research on chairs and posture in response to the back pains he developed in the operating theater. He believes that conventional school furniture substantially contributes to the back problems people experi- ence later in life. The studies reported here cover children, different size adults and VDT operators in their usual constrained positions.

He makes a good case for higher, sloping desks and higher, forward sloping seats. These factors retain the lumbar curve and reduce pressure on spinal discs. The Balans chair design from Nor- way is favored but, unfortunately, the Balans knee rest immobilizes the legs of the seated person. However, he recommends simple techniques for

modifying existing chairs so that the seat pans can tilt forward and give a more comfortable and healthy way of sitting.

�9 National Research Council. (1983). Video dis- plays, work and vision. Washington, DC: Nation- al Academy Press. This report came about in response to a request

from the National Institute for Occupational Safe- ty and Health for a review of the visual aspects of VDT work. It is an informative and critical review of the technical literature. The chapters cover a critique of survey methodology: radiation emis- sions and their effects; display characteristics; lighting and reflections, anthropometry and biome- chanics in VDT applications; visual tasks; func- tions and symptoms; job design and organizational variables; design, practice and standards for VDT equipment and work; and research needs.

There is a thought provoking dissent from Law- rence W. Stark, who is an M.D. and a professor of physiological optics. He believes "many highly motivated VDT users suffer from ocular discom- fort and visual fatigue beyond that appropriate to a normal workplace" (p. 235) and he fears that the report will be taken as support for the status quo as acceptable. �9 Sauter, S. L., Chapman, L. J. & Knutson, S. J.

(1987). Improviing VDT work: Causes and control of health concerns in VDT use. Lawrence, KS: The Report Store. This report was commissioned by Wisconsin to

assist State employees in their work and was sub- sequently reprinted by The Report Store. Basic concepts are reviewed from the point of view that people can act to look after themselves. An amaz- ing amount of useful information is packed into just over 80 pages. The chapters address musculo- skeletal strain, preventing back strain, preventing problems in the arms and hands, preventing leg discomfort, eyestrain in VDT work and preventing eyestrain.

Improving VDT work concludes with checklists, exercises, a relaxation technique for coping with psychological stress, references and bibliography. The photographs are especially specially good be- cause they show how real people work with com- puters instead of the poses by models often seen in advertisements. This is the one manual that should come with every computer. �9 Scailet, E. A. (1987), VDT health and safety: Is-

sues and solutions. Lawrence, KS: Ergosyst Associates. This book presents a well written synthesis of

the research and reviews the theoretical underpin- nings so that the mystery is taken out of the sci- ence. The text has good references and the chap- ters end with specific recommendations for further reading. The chapters examine: VDTs and radiai- ton; eyes and vision; strain and injury; stress;

pregnancy and reproduction; and policy and regu- latory issues. This book is not only helpful in im- proving computerized environments but it also causes readers to understand the problems. While it accomplishes the job of offering solutions, its greatest contribution is in demystifying the issues. �9 Stellman, J. & Henifin, M. S. (1989). OaOice work

can be dangerous to your health: A handbook of oJ~ice health and safety hazards and what you can do about them. New York: Fawcett Crest. This revised and updated paperback edition be-

longs in every office lunch room and in every fac- ulty lounge. It looks at all aspects, from VDTs to fire safety to heating, ventilating and air condition- ing. There is a 20 page survey keyed to the pages of the book so you can find out about the health and safety problems that exist in your environ- ment. It is easy to read but the sources of infor- mation in the text are seldom referenced. There is a substantial bibliography.

Conclusions

Prescription by numbers is impractical for many aspects of computerization in learning situations. When considering students who are too young to be in the work force, no one can apply the num- bers describing the dimensions of VDT worksta- tions for adults. Children are people with different mental, physical and social characteristics from adults. Even adult students are in a different social situation from adult workers and respond to a dif- ferent set of stressors.

There are two contributions the literature on VDT work can make to learning environments. The first is in suggesting to educators what prob- lems to look for and how to fix them. The second is in identifying what to teach students about steps they can take to make computers function safely, efficiently and comfortably for them.

The rational, systematic approach of instruc- tional development is preferable to misplaced quantification. Doing the best job possible of es- tablishing and maintaining a computerized learning environment requires three steps: planning, evalu- ation and revision. Cycling though those steps means setting goals, putting selected strategies into action, deciding if the goals have been reached and working out what to do next. In the initial planning phase, knowledge of how comput- ers affect people at work should be judiciously ap- plied. In the evaluation and revision phases, the students' responses and interactions should be systematically observed. Also, students should be encouraged to discuss what the process of using the computers feels like so it is possible to under- stand how that affects their thinking. Only these verification procedures will ensure good decision making when managing computerized learning environments. �9

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