Cultural Ergonomics: Theory, Methods, And Applications

Description: Even when products and systems are highly localized, rarely is there one design suitable for a single, mono-cultural population of users. The products and systems created and used are cultural artifacts representing shared cognitions that characterize mental models that result from interactions with physical environments. Thus, culture is embedded and impacts the extent to which products are usable, accessible, useful, and safe. Products and systems that deviate from users' mental models may have negative consequences for users, ranging from minor annoyance to more serious consequences such as severe injury or death. Both an introduction and a primer, Cultural Ergonomics: Theory, Methods, and Applications demonstrates how cultural ergonomics can be applied in research and practitioner contexts. It covers selection of theories, descriptions of research designs, methods to analyze the results, case studies, and strategies used to draw inferences and conclusions in a vast array of areas including occupational safety, global issues, emergency management, human-computer interaction, warnings and risk communications, and product design. Human factors/ergonomics, as a discipline, is slowly integrating cultural ergonomics into efforts to explore human capabilities and limitations in the context of design and evaluation. Edited by experts and containing contributions from pioneers in this area, this book provides examples and methodologies within a human factors framework. It provides systematic methods to apply what is learned from analysis of culture to the design, development, and evaluation of products and systems.

Review: "A beautiful and timely book: Ergonomics is about to learn that it needs to catch up with a postmodern world, one that valorizes local practices and diversity over the totalizing grand narratives of the West. Don't do ergonomics anywhere but the Europeanized world without reading this first." --Sidney Dekker, PhD,Professor, Director, Safety Science Innovation Lab, Griffith University Honorary Professor, School of Psychology, the University of Queensland "... this book is very much needed for ergonomics scholars to meet the global grand challenges of the 21st century ..." -Barrett S. Caldwell, Purdue University "This book should pave the way for expanded and systematic incorporation of cultural factors into the design and evaluation of products, devices, and systems. It should raise the visibility of these issues within the ergonomics and engineering sciences. This type of detailed treatment is critically important at this juncture." -David M. DeJoy, University of Georgia "I really like the presentation of the cultural information and the integration of global issues into the ergonomic dialogue. The materials were easy to read and understand. I thought the authors did a great job communicating abstract concepts and ideas into a common language." Dr. Lance Franklin, Director, Environmental Health and Safety, Virginia Polytechnic Institute "... will expand the framework of research in the field of ergonomics and contribute to the design of more culturally inclusive workplaces." -Betty M. Sanders, Humanomics.Inc.

Contents: Cultural Ergonomics: Overview and Methodologies, Tonya Smith-Jackson and Abeeku Essuman-Johnson Global Issues, Marc L. Resnick and Sharnnia Artis Role of Culture in the Design and Evaluation of Consumer Products, Shreya Kothaneth Human-Computer Systems, Kayenda T. Johnson Creating Inclusive Warnings: The Role of Culture in the Design and Evaluation of Risk Communications, Christopher B. Mayhorn, Michael S. Wogalter, Richard C. Goldsworthy, and Brannan R. McDougal Cultural Ergonomics Perspectives on Occupational Safety and Health, Sharnnia Artis and Tonya Smith-Jackson Military Systems, William Lee Disaster Management Systems, Rashaad E. T. Jones, Haydee M. Cuevas, Cheryl A. Bolstad, Taylor J. Anderson, Diana Horn, and Mica R. Endsley Cultural Ergonomics Implications in Forensics, Marc L. Resnick and Tonya Smith-Jackson Future Directions: A Preliminary Research Agenda, Tonya Smith-Jackson, Marc L. Resnick, and Kayenda Johnson Index

Author Biography: Tonya L. Smith-Jackson, Ph.D. currently holds the position of Associate Professor of Human Factors Engineering at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg. She is also Associate Director for the Center for Innovation in Construction Safety and Health and Director of Human Factors Engineering and Ergonomics Center at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University.