ErgonomicsPub Date : 2025-08-12DOI: 10.1080/00140139.2025.2543518
Lun-Wang Wu, Kun-Yi Chen, Hui-Ping Tserng
{"title":"Work-related mental stress in confined tunnel construction environments: a field study with heart rate variability (HRV).","authors":"Lun-Wang Wu, Kun-Yi Chen, Hui-Ping Tserng","doi":"10.1080/00140139.2025.2543518","DOIUrl":"10.1080/00140139.2025.2543518","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>This study conducted a non-interventional longitudinal study to collect physiological data from tunnel construction workers using an Internet-of-Things-based photoplethysmography physiological monitoring system. The analysis results indicated that among tunnel workers, the SDNN and RMSSD of muck car drivers were significantly lower than those of other occupations, reflecting decreased sympathetic innervation or parasympathetic activity, which is typical of mental stress. During tunnel construction, many HRV indicators of workers were significantly higher in the morning and afternoon than during the lunch break. The most obvious physiological response to noise was observed in the muck car driver, where the SDNN, LF, and LF/HF indices increased significantly under noise >85dB. This study fills an empirical gap in the objective assessment of mental stress among tunnel workers, providing a reference for optimising work scheduling and task allocation. It provides a framework for occupational health monitoring and stress management strategies.</p>","PeriodicalId":50503,"journal":{"name":"Ergonomics","volume":" ","pages":"1-23"},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2025-08-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144823147","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
ErgonomicsPub Date : 2025-08-12DOI: 10.1080/00140139.2025.2542421
Patrick Slattery, Jon Wheat, L Eduardo Cofré Lizama, Paul Gastin, Ben Dascombe, Kane Middleton
{"title":"Carrying a weapon does not change stride-time variability during treadmill-based load carriage.","authors":"Patrick Slattery, Jon Wheat, L Eduardo Cofré Lizama, Paul Gastin, Ben Dascombe, Kane Middleton","doi":"10.1080/00140139.2025.2542421","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/00140139.2025.2542421","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Gait biomechanics during load carriage tasks are a focus of military research aiming to optimise performance and manage injury risk. However, the impact of weapon handling on gait during these tasks remains relatively unexplored. This study investigates non-linear stride time measures, specifically detrended fluctuation analysis (DFA) and sample entropy (SE), which assess the persistence and regularity of stride time. Seventeen Australian Army soldiers completed 12-minute walking trials on an instrumented treadmill, both with and without a replica rifle while carrying 23.2 kg of load at speeds of 3.5 km/h, 5.5 km/h, and 6.5 km/h. Heel contacts were tracked using an 18-camera Vicon system. Mixed-effect model analyses indicated that weapon handling did not significantly affect stride time variability (DFA <i>p</i> = 0.46) or regularity (SE <i>p</i> = 0.42), suggesting it may not be a critical factor in future studies of stride time variability during load carriage tasks.</p>","PeriodicalId":50503,"journal":{"name":"Ergonomics","volume":" ","pages":"1-9"},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2025-08-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144823145","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Smart glasses: environmental perception and perceived health effects.","authors":"Marjorie Pierrette, Nellie Perrin, Aurélien Lux, Patrice Marchal, Alexandre Klingler","doi":"10.1080/00140139.2025.2545541","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/00140139.2025.2545541","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Augmented reality (AR) uses digital information to enhance our perception of the real world. Smart glasses (SG) are an example of AR, displaying information within the wearer's field of view. Although they offer advantages, such as leaving one's hands free to work, they nevertheless raise questions, particularly in terms of safety, comfort and their effects on health. In this context, an experimental laboratory study involving 80 volunteer participants was carried out to assess their environmental perception when using smart glasses and the effects on their health. The results underline an alteration in environmental perception linked to a reduction in the field of vision, as well as an attentional distraction following the processing of information received via the smart glasses. The perceived effects on health, mainly ocular, have been highlighted. The study enables recommendations to be issued on the use of SG, in order to guarantee the health and safety of users.</p>","PeriodicalId":50503,"journal":{"name":"Ergonomics","volume":" ","pages":"1-15"},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2025-08-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144823146","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Investigating the mechanisms of user attention allocation and interface interaction evaluation across different running states.","authors":"Qingxia Chen, Yonghong Liu, Pingping Fang, Yanlin Yin","doi":"10.1080/00140139.2025.2538706","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/00140139.2025.2538706","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Current research in sports interaction design emphasises interface optimisation, yet understanding user attention allocation mechanisms across exercise states remains limited. This study explores user attention and interface evaluation under three treadmill-based motion states: stationary, jogging, and fast running. Sixteen participants completed visual tasks across four interface layouts, with multimodal data collected via EEG, eye-tracking, and subjective ratings. Results show that running state alters attention allocation patterns, with increased exercise intensity leading to a pronounced shift towards centrally located interface regions and core exercise metrics. While motion state adversely affects operational performance-most notably during fast running-it does not directly influence users' subjective evaluations of the interface. Importantly, well-structured visual flow can effectively mitigate the impact of motion-induced cognitive constraints. The proposed model of dynamic cognitive resource allocation offers empirical and practical guidance for developing motion-adaptive interfaces that support usability in high-intensity physical environments.</p>","PeriodicalId":50503,"journal":{"name":"Ergonomics","volume":" ","pages":"1-18"},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2025-08-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144776783","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
ErgonomicsPub Date : 2025-08-01Epub Date: 2024-08-28DOI: 10.1080/00140139.2024.2395412
Ahmed Ashour, Darren M Ashcroft, Denham L Phipps
{"title":"The role of the community pharmacy work system in the enactment of pharmacists' non-technical skills.","authors":"Ahmed Ashour, Darren M Ashcroft, Denham L Phipps","doi":"10.1080/00140139.2024.2395412","DOIUrl":"10.1080/00140139.2024.2395412","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Non-technical skills are recognised as important in various work domains, but have been the subject of debate regarding their role in ergonomics/human factors, given their focus on human behaviour itself rather than the interaction between people and systems. This study aimed to examine the relationship between non-technical skills and the work system in which they are enacted. The study setting was community pharmacies in England. Qualitative data were obtained from observation of seven pharmacists and semi-structured interviews with 16 pharmacists, and subjected to thematic analysis. Elements of their work system were found to be related to their non-technical skills; either by creating a need for the skill in the first place, or by facilitating or inhibiting its enactment. The findings highlight the importance of considering the work system that contextualises individuals' and teams' behaviour, in addition to the behaviour itself, when investigating non-technical skills.</p>","PeriodicalId":50503,"journal":{"name":"Ergonomics","volume":" ","pages":"1181-1191"},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2025-08-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142082458","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
ErgonomicsPub Date : 2025-08-01Epub Date: 2024-09-16DOI: 10.1080/00140139.2024.2404637
Yu-Hui Ho, Kai Way Li, Lu Peng
{"title":"Movement and positioning of a virtual cuboid in 3d space in an augmented reality environment.","authors":"Yu-Hui Ho, Kai Way Li, Lu Peng","doi":"10.1080/00140139.2024.2404637","DOIUrl":"10.1080/00140139.2024.2404637","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Human-virtual object interaction is common in both entertainment and work settings. This study investigated the movement time (MT) and subjective rating of difficulty (SRD) for moving a virtual cuboid in a 3D space. The participants wore an augmented reality (AR) headset, picked up a virtual cuboid, and placed it on an assigned target. They rated the SRD of the task on a five-point scale. The effects of the 3D coordinate of the target, sex, and handedness on the MT were analysed. The error placement rate was also recorded. Significant effects of spatial coordinates were found on both MT and SRD. Both single- and two-stage MT modelling were conducted using segmented and unsegmented MT data, respectively. The insignificant prediction error between the models indicates that the two-stage MT model is not superior to the single-stage one. The findings of this study are beneficial to software designers in designing user-friendly AR applications.</p>","PeriodicalId":50503,"journal":{"name":"Ergonomics","volume":" ","pages":"1309-1319"},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2025-08-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142300027","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
ErgonomicsPub Date : 2025-08-01Epub Date: 2025-07-14DOI: 10.1080/00140139.2025.2477624
Angèle Picco, Arjan Stuiver, Joost de Winter, Dick de Waard
{"title":"Information, assessment, or decision: a driving simulator study on the effect of real-time feedback based on information-processing stages.","authors":"Angèle Picco, Arjan Stuiver, Joost de Winter, Dick de Waard","doi":"10.1080/00140139.2025.2477624","DOIUrl":"10.1080/00140139.2025.2477624","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>This driving simulator study, which focused on supporting drivers through feedback rather than automating the driving task, examined the effect of real-time feedback based on different stages of information processing on driving behaviour. The stages investigated included providing information alone, assessment of that information, and a decision based on that assessment, following Parasuraman, Sheridan, and Wickens's (2000) model of information-processing automation. The acceptability and effectiveness of the different stages of feedback were assessed on two key driving behaviours: speed and distance from the vehicle ahead. The results indicated that feedback had a limited effect on driving behaviour. However, the stage of information processing in the feedback did affect a number of outcomes, with decision-oriented feedback leading to improved behaviours but less favourable attitudinal results. Future safety interventions should consider altering risk perception and beliefs, or providing external motivation for behavioural change.</p>","PeriodicalId":50503,"journal":{"name":"Ergonomics","volume":" ","pages":"1165-1180"},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2025-08-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144627636","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Critical success factors for ergonomics programs and their relationship to benefits of health and safety in Mexico's manufacturing industries.","authors":"Julio César Ramos-Rodríguez, Aide Aracely Maldonado-Macías, Arturo Realyvásquez-Vargas, César Omar Balderrama-Armendáriz","doi":"10.1080/00140139.2024.2403001","DOIUrl":"10.1080/00140139.2024.2403001","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>This research determines the critical factors for implementing ergonomics programs related to health and safety benefits in the manufacturing industries of Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, from the middle/upper management perspective. The sample was non-probabilistically selected for convenience, comprising individuals in middle and senior management positions. An original questionnaire containing 105 items measuring five latent variables was developed, reviewed, and validated for data collection. The sample size totalled 206 participants. Structural equation models using partial least squares (PLS) were employed to analyse interrelationships between variables. This research demonstrated acceptable reliability and quality indices. Management commitment emerged as the most significant factor, exerting the highest direct, indirect, and total effects on the work environment and prevention activities, significantly enhancing health and safety benefits. Consequently, manufacturing companies in Juarez City must strive to improve management commitment in the working environment and prevention activities since both strategies can increase employee health and safety benefits.</p>","PeriodicalId":50503,"journal":{"name":"Ergonomics","volume":" ","pages":"1293-1308"},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2025-08-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142300024","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
ErgonomicsPub Date : 2025-08-01Epub Date: 2024-08-29DOI: 10.1080/00140139.2024.2396516
Mevra Temel, Eleanor Scott, Rebecca Cain, Andrew A Johnson
{"title":"The impact of knitted linked seams on comfort and friction perception.","authors":"Mevra Temel, Eleanor Scott, Rebecca Cain, Andrew A Johnson","doi":"10.1080/00140139.2024.2396516","DOIUrl":"10.1080/00140139.2024.2396516","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Friction from knitted clothing can cause discomfort and skin issues, underscoring the importance of tactile comfort for wearers. Seamless knitted garments are assumed to be comfortable to wear, yet there is little understanding of their tactile comfort in comparison to linked seams - the most common form of knitted garment. This novel study examines the influence of a garments knitted structural architecture on clothing comfort and wearability by investigating skin friction and tactile perception across ten body regions in both male and female participants, using two commonly utilised materials and seam designs: cotton and merino wool with plain and linked seams. The impact of seam design and regional factors on skin friction and tactile perception was analysed, revealing varying levels across tested body regions. Removing seams exposed a greater surface area to skin contact, leading to higher perceived friction levels. As such, structural elements in knitted garments enhance wearer comfort.</p>","PeriodicalId":50503,"journal":{"name":"Ergonomics","volume":" ","pages":"1222-1238"},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2025-08-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142114378","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
ErgonomicsPub Date : 2025-08-01Epub Date: 2024-08-28DOI: 10.1080/00140139.2024.2396038
Kiana Kia, Jaejin Hwang, Jeong Ho Kim
{"title":"The effects of target sizes on biomechanical and cognitive load and task performance of virtual reality interactions.","authors":"Kiana Kia, Jaejin Hwang, Jeong Ho Kim","doi":"10.1080/00140139.2024.2396038","DOIUrl":"10.1080/00140139.2024.2396038","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>This study evaluated the effects of target sizes on biomechanical and cognitive load and the performance of virtual reality (VR) interactions. In a repeated-measures laboratory study, each of the twenty participants performed standardised VR tasks with three different target sizes: small, medium, and large. During the VR tasks, biomechanical load in the neck and shoulders (joint angles, joint moments, and muscle activity), cognitive load (perceived workload and cognitive stress), and task performance (completion time) were collected. The neck and shoulder joint angles, joint moments, and muscle activities were greater with the large targets compared to the medium and small targets. Moreover, the larger VR targets caused greater temporal demand and longer task completion time compared to the other target sizes. These findings indicate that target sizes in VR interfaces play important roles in biomechanical and cognitive load as well as task performance.</p>","PeriodicalId":50503,"journal":{"name":"Ergonomics","volume":" ","pages":"1207-1221"},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2025-08-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142082457","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}