[Actuality and originality in the scientific thought of Angelo Iannaccone (1925 - 1982).] / Attualità e originalità nel pensiero e nell'azione scientifica del Prof. Angelo Iannaccone (1925 - 1982).

SUMMARY: Background. Angelo Iannaccone is certainly one of the most important personalities in the field of occupational medicine of the last century. Aims. The fiftieth anniversary of the Post-graduate School of Occupational Medicine of the Catholic University of Rome gives us the opportunity to define this extraordinary figure of man and scientist, at over 35 years from his death. Results. Prof. Iannaccone was among the very first, if not the first to deal with chronobiology and occupational ergonomics in Italy, adopting the modern perspective of "upstream" prevention, since the design phase, which had to be based on the adaptation of work to man and not vice versa. He carried out important and pioneering studies on the effects of benzene on the hematopoietic apparatus and of various industrial toxicants on the neuroendocrine system. In establishing the formative principles for the occupational physician, he devoted a significant space to industrial hygiene, in the interdisciplinary perspective of prevention sciences. He gave a significant contribution to the scientific society of occupational medicine, first as a member of the board, then as the president of the Italian Society of Occupational Medicine and Industrial Hygiene. He realized the Institute of Occupational Medicine of the Catholic University of Rome and founded the post-graduate school. Conclusions. Prof. Iannaccone's contribution to occupational health and industrial hygiene emphasized applied research and prevention in the workplace.

The handaxe reconsidered.

The Acheulean handaxe is one of the longest-known and longest-surviving artifacts of the Palaeolithic and, despite its experimentally tested functionality, is often regarded as puzzling. It is unnecessary to invoke a unique-for-mammals genetic mechanism to explain the handaxe phenomenon. Instead, we propose that two nongenetic processes are sufficient. The first is a set of ergonomic design principles linked to the production of sturdy, hand-held cutting tools in the context of a knapped-stone technology that lacked hafting. The second is an esthetic preference for regular forms with gradual curves and pleasing proportions. Neither process is a cultural meme but, operating together in a cultural context, they can account for all of the supposedly puzzling time-space patterns presented by handaxes.

Between Two Worlds.

OBJECTIVE: To provide an evaluative overview of the life and contributions of Raja Parasuraman. BACKGROUND: From his earliest contributions in clarifying and explaining the problematic area of vigilance to his most recent interdisciplinary advances in understanding how genotype relates to behavior in complex technical environments, Raja Parasuraman was a giant of human factors and ergonomics. Our present exposition articulates and recounts his many contributions to our science and to science in general beyond the confines of our own discipline. METHOD: We use the history of scientific contributions, biographical analysis, and reported personal experience to accomplish our overall assessment of the man and his work. RESULTS: We conclude that Parasuraman's contributions were unique, substantive, and seminal, and will continue to influence our science for many years to come. APPLICATION: This work will serve as a record for those to come who look to make significant contributions to the goals, aims, and aspirations that we set ourselves in human factors and ergonomics in seeking to improve the human condition.

Rasmussen's legacy: A paradigm change in engineering for safety.

This paper describes three applications of Rasmussen's idea to systems engineering practice. The first is the application of the abstraction hierarchy to engineering specifications, particularly requirements specification. The second is the use of Rasmussen's ideas in safety modeling and analysis to create a new, more powerful type of accident causation model that extends traditional models to better handle human-operated, software-intensive, sociotechnical systems. Because this new model has a formal, mathematical foundation built on systems theory (as was Rasmussen's original model), new modeling and analysis tools become possible. The third application is to engineering hazard analysis. Engineers have traditionally either omitted human from consideration in system hazard analysis or have treated them rather superficially, for example, that they behave randomly. Applying Rasmussen's model of human error to a powerful new hazard analysis technique allows human behavior to be included in engineering hazard analysis.

Supporting the human life-raft in confronting the juggernaut of technology: Jens Rasmussen, 1961-1986.

Jens Rasmussen's contribution to the field of human factors and ergonomics has had a lasting impact. Six prominent interrelated themes can be extracted from his research between 1961 and 1986. These themes form the basis of an engineering epistemology which is best manifested by his abstraction hierarchy. Further, Rasmussen reformulated technical reliability using systems language to enable a proper human-machine fit. To understand the concept of human-machine fit, he included the operator as a central component in the system to enhance system safety. This change resulted in the application of a qualitative and categorical approach for human-machine interaction design. Finally, Rasmussen's insistence on a working philosophy of systems design as being a joint responsibility of operators and designers provided the basis for averting errors and ensuring safe and correct system functioning.

Rasmussen number greater than one.

This essay describes the ramifying influence of Jens Rasmussen, illustrating how his work lives on through people whom he has influenced, even though they may have never directly collaborated. I approach this in three ways: a social network analysis of the 'Rasmussen number' (an analogue of the Erdös number); and two citations network analyses based on different search domains and different network structures.

Cognitive work analysis: An influential legacy extending beyond human factors and engineering.

Jens Rasmussen's multifaceted legacy includes cognitive work analysis (CWA), a framework for the analysis, design, and evaluation of complex sociotechnical systems. After considering the framework's origins, this paper reviews its progress, predictably covering experimental research on ecological interface design, case studies of the application of CWA to human factors and engineering problems in industry, and methods and modelling tools for CWA. Emphasis is placed, however, on studying the nexus between some of the recent results obtained with CWA and the original field studies of human problem-solving that motivated the framework's development. Of particular interest is a case study of the use of CWA for military doctrine development, a problem commonly regarded as lying outside the fields of human factors and engineering. It is concluded that the value of CWA, even for such diverse problems, is likely to result from its conceptual grounding in empirical observations of patterns of human reasoning in complex systems.

A review and exploration of sociotechnical ergonomics.

A holistic review of ergonomic history shows that science remains important for general occupational health and safety (OSH), the broad society, culture, politics and the design of everyday things. Science provides an unconventional and multifaceted viewpoint exploring ergonomics from a social, corporate and OSH perspective. Ergonomic solutions from this mindset may redefine the science, and it will change with companies that change within this socially hyper-connected world. Authentic corporate social responsibility will counter 'misleadership' by not approaching ergonomics with an afterthought. The review concludes that ergonomics will be stronger with social respect and ergonomic thinking based on the optimisation of anthropometric data, digital human models, computer-aided tools, self-empowerment, job enrichment, work enlargement, physiology, industrial psychology, cybernetic ergonomics, operations design, ergonomic-friendly process technologies, ergonomic empowerment, behaviour-based safety, outcome-based employee wellness and fatigue risk management solutions, to mention a few.

Reflecting on Jens Rasmussen's legacy (2) behind and beyond, a 'constructivist turn'.

This article is the second part of a study on the legacy of Jens Rasmussen. The first article, subtitled 'A Strong Program for a Hard Problem', looks back on his 30 years of scientific contribution, from 1969 to 2000. This second article explores and investigates some of the intellectual roots which influenced his thinking, using them as a basis to understand some limits and move forward. Indeed, historically oriented studies such as this one are not only tributes to researchers, but a way to differentiate and contrast our present situation with the past in order to integrate contemporary trends, be they theoretical or empirical, or oriented towards research and new models. In the first section of this article, I offer a synthesis of the background covered in the previous article, but I use a tree here as a graphical complement. Branches of the tree show the many fruitful directions opened by Jens Rasmussen, directions which inspired many researchers. In the second part, I address what I believe to be behind this wealth of engineering legacy: cybernetics. I contend that cybernetics has had a profound influence on his thinking and provided him key principles for his inspiring and successful models. To develop the tree image, one might say that cybernetics is the trunk of the tree. Finally, in the third part, I take the opportunity to explore the relevance of extending and sensitising his program to constructivist discourses. After an introduction to this discourse, identifying four types of constructivisms (cognitive, social, epistemological and anthropological), I characterise this move as a 'constructivist turn'.

Human Factors Science: Brief History and Applications to Healthcare.

This section will define the science of human factors, its origins, its impact on safety in other domains, and its impact and potential for impact on patient safety.

[AVIATION MEDICINE: THEORETICAL CONCEPTS AND FOCAL FUNDAMENTAL AND PRACTICAL ISSUES (for the 80th anniversary of the Research Test Center of Aerospace Medicine and Military Ergonomics)].

The article discloses postulates of theoretical concepts that make the methodological basis for addressing the real-world aviation medicine challenges of humanizing aviator's environment, labor content and means, and health and performance maintenance. Under consideration are focal fundamental and practical issues arising with the technological progress in aviation and dealt with at the AF CRI Research Test Center of Aerospace Medicine and Military Ergonomics.

El enfoque ergonómico en el Instituto Nacional de Salud de los Trabajadores de Cuba. Su historia y estado actual / The ergonomic approach at the National Institute for Workers' Health of Cuba. Its history and current status

Introducción: El desarrollo histórico de la aplicación del conocimiento ergonómico en la investigación e intervención en el Instituto Nacional de Salud de los Trabajadores (Insat) de Cuba se muestra a través de más de tres décadas. Desarrollo: Fueron catalogados tres momentos, que responden a la utilización de la aplicación en su construcción teórica y el alcance para la salud de los trabajadores, el rol de la ergonomía en la busca de la salud y seguridad de los trabajadores. En la construcción teórica y el alcance para la salud de los trabajadores son expuestas las bases metodológicas e instrumentales de su desarrollo como parte importante del progreso en la investigación en el Insat, y su aplicación con un enfoque multidisciplinario. Conclusiones: Se caracteriza el momento actual en que se utilizan con gran frecuencia las principales técnicas e instrumentos de la Macroergonomía en la investigación e intervención en Salud ocupacional(AU)

Introduction: The historical development of the application of ergonomic knowledge in research and intervention at the National Institute for Workers' Health (INSAT) of Cuba is shown through more than three decades. Development: There were categorized three stages , corresponding to the use of the application in its theoretical construction and scope for the workers' health , the role of ergonomics in the pursuit of occupational health and safety. In the theoretical construction and scope for the workers' health, the methodological and instrumental bases of its development are exposed as an important part of progress in research at the Insat , and its application to a multidisciplinary approach. Conclusions: The present moment is characterized by the use very often of the main techniques and instruments of Macroergonomy in research and intervention in Occupational Health(AU)

History of Inclusive Design in the UK.

The UK Design Council describes Inclusive Design as neither a new genre of design, nor a separate specialism, but as a general approach to designing in which designers ensure that their products and services address the needs of the widest possible audience, irrespective of age or ability. Inclusive Design (also known [in Europe] as Design for All and as Universal Design in the USA) is in essence the inverse of earlier approaches to designing for disabled and elderly people as a sub-set of the population, and an integral part of a more recent international trend towards the integration of older and disabled people in the mainstream of society. This paper describes the development of Inclusive Design in the UK, from its early beginnings, through its subsequent adoption as a topic of academic research, leading to its recent emergence embodied as a framework and toolkit for design.

A legacy of struggle: the OSHA ergonomics standard and beyond, Part I.

In November 2000, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) issued an ergonomics standard to prevent debilitating work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WMSDs). It was rescinded by Congress within four months. We explore how this story unfolded over two decades of collaboration and conflict. Part I provides an overview of the historical context of the struggle for a standard, followed by interviews with key players from labor, academia and government. They provide a snapshot of the standard; discuss the prevalence of WMSDs in the context of changing work organization; give insight into the role of unions and of scientific debate within the context of rulemaking; and uncover the basis for the groundbreaking OSHA citations that laid the foundation for a standard. Part II interviews further explore the anti-regulatory political landscape of the 1990s that led to repeal of the standard, discuss the impact of the struggle beyond the standard, and describe creative approaches for the future.

A legacy of struggle: the OSHA ergonomics standard and beyond, Part II.

The OSHA ergonomics standard issued in 2000 was repealed within four months through a Congressional resolution that limits future ergonomics rulemaking. This section continues the conversation initiated in Part I, documenting a legacy of struggle for an ergonomics standard through the voices of eight labor, academic, and government key informants. Part I summarized important components of the standard; described the convergence of labor activism, research, and government action that laid the foundation for a standard; and highlighted the debates that characterized the rulemaking process. Part II explores the anti-regulatory political landscape of the 1990s, as well as the key opponents, power dynamics, and legal maneuvers that led to repeal of the standard. This section also describes the impact of the ergonomics struggle beyond the standard itself and ends with a discussion of creative state-level policy initiatives and coalition approaches to prevent work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WMSDs) in today's sociopolitical context.