Designing Human Factors Courses with a Human Factors Mind

2005 ◽  
Vol 49 (7) ◽  
pp. 783-787 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dahai Liu ◽  
Angela Baskin ◽  
Frances Greene ◽  
Christina Frederick-Recascino
Keyword(s):  
Human Factors ◽  
Engineering Design ◽  
Course Design ◽  
Teaching Style ◽  
Field Trips ◽  
The Body ◽  
Survey Study ◽  
Human Capabilities ◽  
Hands On

Human Factors is a discipline that studies the body of information about human capabilities and limitations for engineering design. Human Factors combines different Engineering areas and integrates them with human information into the engineering design. This applied and multidisciplinary nature of Human Factors in turn requires that education in Human Factors should also focus on the application of knowledge to design, and encourage hands-on exercise into the learning process. A new course “Design With a Human Factors Mind” was designed to demonstrate this concept. This course abandoned the traditional classroom lecture format, using labs, field trips and guest lectures instead to expose students with various Human Factors subjects. A survey study was conducted to assess the efficiency of this teaching style. Results showed that different teaching techniques have different effects on students' performance. This case study provides some preliminary results for different teaching styles and can help other educators to design effective teaching methods in Human Factors education.

A Pre-Prototyping Framework to Explore Human-Centered Prototyping Strategies During Early Design

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Salman Ahmed ◽  
H. Onan Demirel
Keyword(s):  
Human Factors ◽  
Product Development Process ◽  
Extensive Literature ◽  
Human Factors Engineering ◽  
Design Strategies ◽  
Key Factors ◽  
Hands On ◽  
The Right

Abstract Current prototyping frameworks are often prompt-based and heavily rely on designers’ experience. The lack of systematic guidelines in prototyping activities causes unwanted variation in the quality of the prototype. Notably, there is limited, or no prototyping framework exists that enables human factors engineering (HFE) guidelines be part of the early product development process. In this paper, a pre-prototyping framework is proposed to render human-centered design strategies to guide designers before the hands-on prototyping activity starts. The methodology consists of extracting key factors related to prototyping and human factors engineering principles based on an extensive literature review. The key elements are then combined to form the prototyping categories, dimensions (theory), and tools (practice). The resulting prototyping framework can be used to develop prototyping strategies consist of theoretical guidelines and practical tools that are needed during the prototyping of human-centered products. The framework provides systematic guidance to designers in the early stages of the design process so that designers, in particular novices in ergonomics and human factors, can have a head start in building the prototypes in the right direction. Finally, a case study is presented to demonstrate a walk-through and efficacy of the proposed pre-prototyping framework.

scholarly journals A Case Study in Incorporating Significant Design Content into a Third-Year Industrial Engineering Course “Design and Analysis of Production Systems”

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Scott Flemming
Keyword(s):  
Recent Article ◽  
Course Design ◽  
Production Systems ◽  
Industrial Engineering ◽  
Problem Solving Skills ◽  
Project Outcomes ◽  
Hands On ◽  
Design Skills ◽  
The University

In recent years the CEAB has ben communicating to Engineering Faculties in Canada that “Engineering Design” is a key attribute that graduates should have when they finish their undergraduate degree. It hasalso been suggested that producing engineers with significant design skills is important for the Canadian economy as a whole and, in Dalhousie University’s context, Nova Scotia. Unfortunately “Design” is adifficult skill to teach or transfer; a recent article in Maclean’s suggests many engineering graduates around the country are leaving the university with an uneasy feeling that all they have been taught to dois “plug and chug.” How do we respond to this need? This paper offers a case study of how a third-year Industrial Engineering course shifted from a mainly book-and-formula based course to an offering which incorporated significant open-ended design content (25%) intended to both satisfy CEAB requirements and address the need for students to exercise their creative, hands-on problem-solving skills. Student project outcomes as well as anecdotal and SRI data suggest the shift to a design-focussedcourse was a success.

A Case Study of a Blended Doctoral Program in Educational Technology

2011 ◽  
pp. 173-189 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michele Jacobsen
Keyword(s):  
Educational Technology ◽  
Doctoral Students ◽  
Virtual Worlds ◽  
Course Design ◽  
Doctoral Program ◽  
First Century ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
Hands On ◽  
Face To Face Learning

Educational technology is a hands-on, minds-on discipline that emphasizes knowing and doing. In this field, doctoral education needs to reflect digital and communication realities in the twenty-first century. In this case study, a blended learning approach to graduate education in educational technology is explored from the perspective of the author’s own classroom. The course design and blended delivery of an Advanced Concepts in Educational Technology seminar is described in detail. Active learning opportunities, using wikis, blogs, avatars and virtual worlds, learning managements systems, email, and face-to-face learning experiences engaged doctoral students in the collaborative investigation and critique of educational technology trends and research ideas. Doctoral students investigated their emerging digital lives as scholars and developed a personal cyberinfrastructure that they can continue to build, modify, and extend throughout their educational technology careers.

A FORENSIC CASE STUDY: Human Factors Issues Involved in a Fall Down an Elevator Shaft

2021 ◽  
Vol 65 (1) ◽  
pp. 312-316
Author(s):  
Leah S. Hartman ◽  
Stephanie A. Whetsel Borzendowski ◽  
Alan O. Campbell
Keyword(s):  
Human Factors ◽  
Human Capabilities ◽  
Hazard Management ◽  
Her Family ◽  
Locking Mechanism ◽  
Rental Property ◽  
Forensic Case ◽  
Elevator Door ◽  
Different Levels

This case study involves a woman (Mrs. V) who was renting a beach property for a vacation with her family. The rental property included a residential elevator that connected the garage to the three different levels of the property. On the second night of the vacation, Mrs. V fell asleep on the first-floor couch. After waking in the early hours of the night, she went to utilize the first-floor restroom. After opening the door, she believed was the restroom, she stepped across the threshold. Unbeknownst to her, she had been able to open the elevator door and fell down the empty shaft. It was determined that a failed locking mechanism allowed her to access the elevator shaft without the car being at the same level. The Human Factors consultants had to address numerous factors including hazard management, warnings, human capabilities navigating in low-level lighting, and the effect of alcohol.

“I Learned It through the Grapevine…”: Exploring Atypical Ecosystems in Schools as a New Out-of-School Learning Site

2017 ◽  
Vol 79 (5) ◽  
pp. 351-364 ◽  
Author(s):  
Astrid von Albedyll ◽  
Aline Fritsch ◽  
Daniel Dreesmann
Keyword(s):  
Content Knowledge ◽  
Field Trips ◽  
Learning Gain ◽  
Scientific Methods ◽  
Hands On ◽  
School Learning ◽  
Local Plants ◽  
Biological Education ◽  
Out Of School

Ecology may be seen as one of the main topics of biological education as it functions at the interface of several other aspects of biology. Although it may easily be conveyed through field trips and hands-on activities, it is taught theoretically most of the time and in traditional ecosystems like forests or lakes. For this study, new teaching material has been developed that demonstrates the exploration of more special or “atypical” ecosystems in biology classes. It combines working in a local vineyard with hands-on elements for school. By exploring a human-made ecosystem, which is different from those traditionally used, students gain content knowledge and get to know scientific methods. In our case study, students’ learning progress, motivation, and enjoyment of learning were measured. The results indicate that teaching at an out-of-school learning site as well as working with hands-on materials not only has a motivational effect but also increases enjoyment of learning. Furthermore, neglected ecosystems like vineyards serve as new and fitting examples for teaching ecological and plant-biological topics. The results indicate a significant learning gain for the participants. Thus, biology curricula should be broadened to include more and local plants and ecosystems.

scholarly journals Ecotourism Promotes Conservation Activity at Tourism Destinations: A case study at Limestone Forest, Langkawi

2021 ◽  
Vol 6 (SI6) ◽  
Author(s):  
Abu Ali ◽  
Siti Salwa Isa ◽  
Siti Suriawati Isa ◽  
Mohd Husba Isa
Keyword(s):  
Publishing House ◽  
Field Trips ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
Hands On ◽  
International Publishing ◽  
Conservation Activity ◽  
Tourism Destinations ◽  
Open Access Article

This study aims to investigate the role of ecotourism activities and programs in promoting the conservation and protection of the limestone forest at tourism destinations in Langkawi. University students from Malaysia and Australia collaborated in this case study to gather data on the applicability of using ecotourism as a tool for conservation activities in Langkawi. Three field trips were undertaken to the Langkawi limestone forests, where researchers employed onsite observation and face to face interviews with 30 stakeholders from multiple backgrounds. The result indicated that through hands-on experience, ecotourism promotes the conservation and protection of the limestone forest. Keywords: ecotourism, conservation, limestone forest, Langkawi eISSN: 2398-4287 © 2021. The Authors. Published for AMER ABRA cE-Bs by e-International Publishing House, Ltd., U.K. This is an open access article under the CC BYNC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/). Peer–review under responsibility of AMER (Association of Malaysian Environment-Behaviour Researchers), ABRA (Association of Behavioural Researchers on Asians) and cE-Bs (Centre for Environment-Behaviour Studies), Faculty of Architecture, Planning & Surveying, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Malaysia. DOI: https://doi.org/10.21834/ebpj.v6iSI6.3047

Exploring Absolute Happiness Through Experiential Education

2020 ◽  
pp. 105382592097514
Author(s):  
Nai-Cheng Kuo ◽  
Tomohiro Kawaguchi ◽  
Yu-Fen Yang
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
College Students ◽  
Experiential Learning ◽  
Course Design ◽  
Field Trips ◽  
Learning Activities ◽  
Healthy Life ◽  
Course Materials ◽  
Hands On ◽  
Involved Field

Background: Happiness is an important but less-explored topic in higher education. This calls for examining courses in higher education on happiness and how college students perceive happiness through experiential learning activities. Purpose: The purpose of the study is to analyze the development of a happiness course in higher education and understand students’ perspectives toward their experiential learning activities. Methodology/Approach: The course materials (e.g., the syllabus), teaching logs, students’ reflective observations, and final projects were collected. Content analysis was adopted to analyze the course design. Findings/Conclusions: The concrete experiences in this happiness course involved field trips, hands-on activities, dialogue, inquiries, and shared reading. These activities were associated with good relationships, art, and the human spirit, a healthy life, peaceful coexistence with nature, as well as harsh realities and optimism. Evidence from reflective observations demonstrates students’ personal unique perspectives toward the experiential learning activities on absolute happiness. The final projects as active experimentation deepened students’ understanding of absolute happiness. Implications: Converging evidence across intrapersonal, interpersonal, and intergroup domains, our study suggests the possibility of using Ikeda’s six life conditions for absolute happiness and Kolb’s experiential learning model to help college students develop knowledge and wisdom for creating absolute happiness.

scholarly journals WHO IS RESPONSIBLE FOR HUMAN FACTORS IN ENGINEERING DESIGN? THE CASE OF THE VOLVO POWERTRAIN

2011 ◽  
Author(s):  
W. P. Neumann ◽  
J. Winkel
Keyword(s):  
Human Factors ◽  
Engineering Design ◽  
Design Process ◽  
Process Design ◽  
Design Decisions ◽  
Stakeholder Groups ◽  
Engineering Design Process ◽  
Multiple Stakeholder ◽  
A Chain

A case study in Volvo Powertrain is conducted to examine the distribution of responsibility for human factors in the companies’ engineering design process. Design decisions with human factors impact, and hence system performance implications, are identified in the design of both the product and the production system in a chain of decisions, spread across multiple stakeholder groups. Thus the organisational structure of the engineering design process appears to influence the ability to handle human factors appropriately at each stage of design. Responsibility (although perhaps not accountability) appears to be distributed throughout the engineering design process. Thus human factors aspects require careful coordination throughout engineering design.

Creative Design Solutions as a Class Exercise

2009 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
pp. 6-7 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennifer L. Dyck
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Factors ◽  
Human Factors ◽  
Visual Display ◽  
Creative Design ◽  
Display Design ◽  
Everyday Objects ◽  
Class Comparison ◽  
Hands On ◽  
Psychology Course

This article describes a case study I use as a hands-on design assignment in a human factors psychology course. The assignment is to redesign an exit sign, taking into account principles of visual display design and environmental factors that could reduce the sign's visibility. Assigning a particular object to redesign allows in-class comparison and discussion, and it is relatively easy for students when they begin to identify human factors deficiencies in everyday objects. Students consistently rate this assignment positively, and they especially enjoy its creative aspects.

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