The History of Human Factors and Ergonomics, by David Meister, Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Mahwah, New Jersey, USA, 382 pp., 1999, ISBN 0-8058-2768-4
✍ Scribed by Heloisa Martins Shih
- Book ID
- 101294277
- Publisher
- John Wiley and Sons
- Year
- 2000
- Tongue
- English
- Weight
- 11 KB
- Volume
- 10
- Category
- Article
- ISSN
- 1090-8471
No coin nor oath required. For personal study only.
✦ Synopsis
Although the title of the book suggests that this is only a "history," the author pursues a broader goal through a review and analysis of the past and present work in Human Factors and Ergonomics (HFE) in the context of HFE history. He tells where the discipline has been, evaluates the current HFE strengths and weaknesses, describes where the discipline is now, and discusses his view of the road ahead-where the discipline will (or should) be.
Prior to reviewing the history of the discipline, the author first defines HFE and its parameters with a comprehensive scope suggesting "everything relating the human to technology is within the purview of the discipline" (p. 21). Assumptions related to HFE are presented in Chapter 2. The author classifies the assumptions into positive and negative, and discusses their implications. In one positive assumption, he defines the object of study of HFE as the system or "the combination of technology and the humans in an organization designed to achieve a common goal" (p. 72). He again sets broad boundaries for the discipline by including the organization in the definition. In Chapter 3 he further analyzes the system as a fundamental HFE construct and describes the implications for the discipline. Close to 40% of the book is dedicated to this initial discussion, clearly settling the definitions and the objective of the discipline according to the author's view.
A formal history of HFE in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Russia is presented in Chapter 4. The strong influence of the two World Wars and the early role of the military, governmental requirements, and funding on the discipline is unequivocal. In Chapter 5, a very interesting informal history of the discipline is presented, using written answers to a questionnaire mailed to the first generation of American HFE professionals (those who graduated in or before 1965). Based on the answers of 46 respondents, the author revisits the history presented in the previous chapter. In addition, the views of those experienced professionals regarding definitions, the current state of the discipline, and HFE in the 21st century are also presented. Most questions elicited contradicting positions and arguments. Those exploring definitions, boundaries, and the current state of the discipline seemed to show it most.
Chapter 6 examines the characteristics of HFE research based on a content analysis of 621 papers published between 1965 and 1995 by the Human Factors and Ergonomics