Practitioner-Educator Model for Human Factors/Ergonomics Education

Human factors/ergonomics is an applied discipline. As such, we question whether students are adequately prepared if they are not learning, at least in part, from instructors who have real-world experience applying human factors/ergonomics knowledge to practical design problems. A wide variety of other disciplines such as medicine, the building trades, clinical psychology, military strategy, aviation, and the visual and performing arts have all faced this question and come up with educational approaches that typically include educators who are highly skilled in the practice of the discipline. Terms such as practitioner-scholar and scientist-practitioner, and the apprentice models all reflect this notion of students learning from highly skilled, knowledgeable, and practiced professionals in their disciplines. Is it time for human factors/ergonomics education to adopt such a model?

Reducing Substance Use and Improving Mental Health Among Construction Workers: An Interview With Chris Trahan Cain

Construction workers, their unions, and the construction industry face important challenges in addressing substance use disorders and mental health issues. To examine these issues further, we spoke with Chris Trahan Cain, Executive Director of CPWR—The Center for Construction Research and Training, a nonprofit organization that is affiliated with North America’s Building Trades Unions and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. As the chair of the North America’s Building Trades Unions opioid task force, she has been working with construction unions and employers to develop primary, secondary, and tertiary prevention methods to help combat the opioid epidemic, other substance use disorders and to improve worker mental health.

Recovering the heritage and building traditions of the village of Tacora, Chile

Tacora is a village in the Chilean highlands with an extraordinary natural and cultural landscape. During the last years, its population has migrated massively to the city of Arica. In 2018, the community and the Fundación Altiplano organized a training program for the restoration of the façades of its buildings. The program employed and qualified community members in traditional building trades related to construction with earth, stone and wood. This training program opens up a horizon of new opportunities for sustainable development related to the extraordinary cultural heritage of Tacora.

Constructing construction careers: the case for the building trades

PurposeThis paper discusses the well-publicized labor shortages in the building trades, reviews the causes for the deficiencies, and presents prescriptions for how career counselors and schools can play a critical role in encouraging young adults to consider construction occupations.Design/methodology/approachUsing data from government agencies, trade organizations, and scholarly publications, this paper describes the categories of the building trades as well as their employment trends and compensation prospects. It also reviews the personal and environmental factors that could lead to the “construction of a construction career.”FindingsThis article documents the reasons for the labor shortages in the construction industry and then offers recommendation on how younger adults could be encouraged to consider the building trades as viable career alternatives.Social implicationsLabor shortages in the construction industry have a direct and indirect deleterious effect on the economic well-being of every country. This article provides suggestions on how to inspire young adults to consider the building trades as worthwhile career pursuits.Originality/valueThere is a limited amount of scholarly attention given to career decision making related to occupations that do not require a college degree, including the building trades. This paper attempts to fill this gap in the literature by focusing on the individual characteristics and environmental factors that might prompt consideration of a career in the building trades. It also describes the educational, governmental, and corporate initiatives that work to encourage individuals, working in conjunction with their career counselors, to consider careers in the construction industry.