BACKGROUND Prolonged sitting is a specific occupational hazard in office workers. There is growing evidence that prolonged sitting is detrimental to metabolic health. The aim of this study is to determine whether providing office workers with education along with adjustable sit-stand workstations leads to reduction in sitting behavior. METHODS/DESIGN A randomized control trial (RCT) with thre...

Occupational exposure to welding fumes causes a higher incidence of cardiovascular disease; however, the association remains unclear. To clarify the possible association, exposure assessment of metal fumes with an aerodynamic diameter of <2.5 μm (PM2.5) in welding and office areas was characterized in a shipyard in Taiwan. Cardiovascular toxicity caused by PM2.5 was determined in workers (in bo...

BACKGROUND The evidence regarding the association between lung cancer and occupational exposure to cement is controversial. This study investigated causes of deaths from cancer of respiratory tract among cement workers. METHODS The deaths of the Greek Cement Workers Compensation Scheme were analyzed covering the period 1969-1998. All respiratory, lung, laryngeal and urinary bladder cancer pro...

Forty female clerical workers were randomly assigned to a control condition or to 3-hr exposure to low-intensity noise designed to simulate typical open-office noise levels. The simulated open-office noise elevated workers' urinary epinephrine levels, but not their norepinephrine or cortisol levels, and it produced behavioral aftereffects (fewer attempts at unsolvable puzzles) indicative of mot...

Knowledge workers, a growing component of our modern workforce, have specialized work practices not well served by existing office technology solutions. Our research in designing office systems that better support this class of workers has included an in-depth study of traditional whiteboard use and the development of three large display systems, each addressing different aspects of and work pr...

To compare the prevalence of disabling low back pain (DLBP) and disabling wrist/hand pain (DWHP) among groups of workers carrying out similar physical activities in different cultural environments, and to explore explanations for observed differences, we conducted a cross-sectional survey in 18 countries. Standardised questionnaires were used to ascertain pain that interfered with everyday acti...

Since the introduction of ergonomic guidelines in the design of office chairs, a lot of effort has been put in designing these office chairs accordingly. Because these features all have to be adjusted in different ways (mostly a knob underneath the seat surface), and because every office chair offers different solutions, often users do not use all of the adjustments, and thus do not use the off...

In this position paper we argue that we lack an adequate modeling approach for the design of modern, integrated information systems. Different technologies are available, but their integrated use leaves the designer with a gap between the global business process view and the local views of the information system applications. The global view concentrates on the business goals, while the local v...