The importance of user centered design methods applied to the design of a new workstation: a case study

This paper presents a case study of the application of user centered design methodologies in the product development for a line of ergonomic office furniture. The study aimed to analyze the experience of using a workstation from the perspective of two groups of users, installers and end users. The observation of users in their natural context of use not only allowed the development team to identify key needs and strategies of the users, transforming them into design solutions, but mainly it warned them of the importance and impact of user involvement in the product development cycle.     

From assessing needs to designing and evaluating programs: Case study of a family support program in Portugal

In the last years, researchers have been emphasizing the importance of promoting needs-led, context-specific, user-centered services in the context of child protection. However, policy-makers and service planners around the world largely depend on US-based research evidence of what is effective in the domain of family support. This work presents, in two studies, the process of design and evaluation of a targeted family support intervention that was developed and implemented in Portugal.Following the Common Language Approach to needs assessment (Dartington Social Research Unit, 2001), in study 1 we screened 100 children and their families attending a generalist child care service for risk and protective factors. Four different clusters of needs were identified. One cluster was selected as target-group for the design of a service to match their needs. Results indicated that families in this cluster had socioeconomical disadvantages, a challenging family environment and inadequate parenting practices. Children were showing signs of problematic social behaviors.In study 2 we describe the theoretical process model and the logic model for the intervention, and experimentally evaluate the program's efficacy. Results from pre–post assessments indicate improvements in the intervention group (N = 20) in several areas of parental empowerment and family relations, comparing with the control group (N = 20).This approach to need-service matching seems to be a viable pathway to design needs-led, context-specific, and user-centered services, and to assess their efficacy, thereby informing policy makers and service planners.     

Supervision evaluation and legislation - a case study

Social work has always played a dominant role in shaping child welfare and child protection policy throughout the world. At the beginning of the twentieth century Hungary created one of the first and best laws for child protection. Since that time society, social work, and the political climate have changed significantly. The research discussed in this paper tries to show the implication of current political and ideological trends for social welfare of the children via social work methods. During the period of so-called socialism in Hungary, state care was the dominant form of child protection. After the transition to democracy new forms of child protection - including the provision of services by NGOs - became available. One such agency is the Child Protection Foundation that provides 'substitute' or 'deputy' parents (and social work) for families who are temporarily unable to care for their children. The agency's child welfare social worker needs specialized knowledge and skills relevant to the population and their problems. The knowledge base was developed and strengthened by supervision. A programme evaluation showed that out of 25 families more than 95% could care for the child at home after three years in the programme. Implications of the results of the new child protection law of 1997 are discussed. Auf der ganzen Welt hat die Soziale Arbeit sowohl bei der Ausgestaltung wohlfahrtsstaatlicher Politiken und Angebore für Kinder als auch in Bereich des Kinderschutzes schon imer eine dominante Rolle gespielt. Zu Beginn des 20. Jahrhundets wurde in Ungarn eines der ersten und auch besten Kinderschutzgesetze geschaffen. Seit dieser Zeit haben sich die Gesellschaft, die Soziale Arbeit und auch das politische Klima entscheidend verändert. Die in diesem Aufsatz diskutierten Forschungsergebnisse veruschen die Implikationen der gegenwärtigen politischen und ideologischen Trends für die Wohlfahrtspolitik und -angebote für Kinder im Rahmen sozialarbeiterischer Mothoden und Strategien aufzuzeigen. In der Phase des sog. Sozialismus stellte die staatliche form der Fürsorge die vorherrschende Weise des Kinderschutzes in Ungarn dar. Nach dem Übergang zur Demokratie wurden neue Formen des Kindersschutzes, einschließlich der Beretistellung von Diensten durch Nicht-Regierungsorganisationene verfügbar. Eine solche Einrichtung ist die Stiftung Kinderschutz, die 'Ersatz-' oder 'stellvertretende Eltern' (und auch soziale Arbeit) für solche Familien zur Verfügung stellt, die zeitweilig nicht für ihre Kinder zu sorgen in der Lage sind. Im Hinblick auf die Population und ihre Problemlagen benötigen die Sozialarbeiter dieser Einrichtung sowohl relevantes Spezialwissen wie auch Handlungskompetenzen. Die Wissenbasis wurde vermittels Supervision entwickelt und konsolidiert. Eine Evaluation des Programmes hat gezeigt, daß durch die Teilnahme am Programm über einen Zeitraum von drei Jahren 95% der Familien in der Lage waren, zuhause für ihr Kind zu sorgen. Abschließend werden die Implikationen des neuen Kinderschutzgesetzes von 1997 diskutiert. El trabajo social siempre ha jugado en todo el mundo un papel dominante en la configuración de las politicas de bienestar y de protección de infancia. Desde entonces la sociedad, el trabajo social y el clima politico han cambiado de forma significativa. Le investigación presentada en este articulo intenta mostrarla implicación de las actuales tendencias politicas e ideológicas sobre el bienestar social de la infancia a través de los métodos de trabajo social. Durante el periodo del ilamado socialismo en Hungria, la intervención del estado fue la forma predominante de protección social. Después de la transición hacia la democracia se dispuso de nuevas formas de protección a la infancia - incluyendo los servicios ofrecidos por ONG -. Una de estas agencias es la Fundación para la Protección de la Infancia, que provee de padres 'sustitutos' y servicios de trabajo social para las familias que temporalmente no pueden hacerse cargo de sus hijos. El trabajador social del ámbito de la infancia en la agencia necesita unas destrezas y conocimientos especificos aplicables a esta población y sus problemas. Estos conocimientos son desarrollados y fortalecidos a través de la supervision. Una evaluación de programa mostró que, en un grupo de 25 familias, el 95% pudo hacerse cargo personalmente de sus hijos después de tres años en el programa. Se analizan las implicaciones de los resultados de la nueva ley de protección a la infancia de 1997. Le travail social a tougjours joué un rôle dominant dans la formation des politiques de protection de l'enfance à travers le monde. Au début du siècle, c'est en Hongrie que fut créée l'une des premières et des meilleures lois de protection de l'enfance. La recherche décrite dans cet article concerne l'impact des courants politiques et idéologiques actuels sur la protection de l'enfance à travers les méthodes de travail social. Durant la période de soi-disant socialisme en Hongrie, la protection de l'enfance était prise en charge par l'Etat. Après la transition vers la démocratie, de nouvelles formes de protection de l'enfance - y compris les services dispensés par les ONG - sont devenues disponibles. La Fondation pour la Protection de l'Enfance est un organisme de ce type; elle propose, paralellement au travail social, des parents 'de substitution' ou 'délégués' pour les familes qui sont temporairement incapables de prendre soin de leurs enfants. Les travailleurs sociaux de cet organisme ont besoin de connaissances spécialisées et de savoir-faire se rapportant à cette population et à ses problèmes. Les connaissances de base ont été développées et renforcées par le suivi. Un programme d'évaluation a prouvé que sur 25 families, 95% pouvaient s'occuper de ses enfants à la maison après 3 années de ce programme. Les conséquences des résultats de la nouvelle loi de protection de l'enfance sont débattues.     

Urban infrastructure: Trends,needs and the role of aid

The benefits of urban services have to be made accessible to increasing numbers of low income families in less developed countries. High levels of service are unlikely to be sustainable, and success depends upon addressing the key issues of Affordability and Maintenance. The complex interactions between technical, financial and social factors must be considered. The provision of high standards of service by implementing agencies is expensive and reflects neither the priorities of the beneficiaries nor their ability to pay. It is more effective to provide only the most basic level of service (primary level infrastructure) at the outset, which can subsequently be upgraded. The community should be able to take individual and collective responsibility for their priorities in improving the services based upon what they can afford. Primary level infrastructure is provided without cost recovery, with subsequent improvements being funded through loans to individuals and the community. It is easier both to recover costs from and to maintain individual plot service connections; however, the installation costs and tariffs must be affordable. Efficient operation and maintenance is essential. This is frequently the responsibility of an urban local authority who should be fully involved throughout; design and implementation should take account of their technical and financial capabilities.The factors which should be considered in the implementation of urban infrastructure can be summarised by the “Five I's”: Incremental improvement; Involving people; Individual services; Income related; Institutional.Possible implications for external aid are: (1) funding of primary level infrastructure for identifiable communities, including support for continued community development; (2) funding loans for infrastructure upgrading, with loan repayments forming a revolving fund; (3) strengthening the financial and managerial performance of urban local authorities; (4) technical training for housing authorities, urban local authorities, and public utilities.     

The importance of ergonomics in the design conceptual process: Daciano da Costa - a case study on practicing and teaching

This paper, which stems from a developing research project, aims to disseminate among the international scientific community the thought of Daciano da Costa (1930-2005) given the importance he conferred to Ergonomics, throughout his teaching career and his professional practice as a reference figure in the Design of the twentieth century in Portugal. We focus on the important role played by Ergonomics within the conceptual Design process, through the case study Daciano da Costa.What Daciano brought to the practice and teaching was a modernization of processes, a new perspective on the emerging themes of design, like ergonomics. Daciano believed that designing was providing a service. This task was understood as the building of a relationship with users. One of his distinguished features was the particular attention he paid to the unique aspects of the scale of proximity: the scale of the hand, of the immediate gesture, of the body. As a professor he insisted not so much on the end product, but rather on the recognition of the research process and how it was conducted. When designing, developing and supervising the exercises he set, ergonomic factors were one of his main concerns.     

Inclusive design in the implementation of projects for schools modernization in Portugal - case studies

The Project for Schools Modernization taking place in Portugal, with an estimated total investment of 2450 million for the intervention in the first 205 schools, provide the reclassification of 332 secondary schools by 2015. One of the questions we can pose is if the authorities and the teams of architects selected to design these schools considered fundamental for the correctness of architectural barriers within the school and its accessibility the implementation of standards and principles of inclusion of children/teenagers with special needs within their school environment. As most of the projects are already being implemented, the main aim of this paper is to present the outcomes of a comparative analysis and synthesis of six schools located in the northern part of the country. This analysis occurs from the of Participatory Design perspective which appeals to the experience of the disable children to look (or evaluate) the negative and positive factors in terms of physical space, interpreted by inclusive design rules and orientations. Therefore, the evaluation of schools modernization project, and its discussion, is central for the understanding how these children are addressed in projects which are directed at them.     

Ergonomic design of crane cabins: a case study from a steel plant in India

The study, carried out at the Batch Annealing Furnace (BAF) shop of Cold Rolling Mill (CRM) at an integrated steel plant of India, concerns ergonomic evaluation and redesign of a manually-operated Electrical Overhead Travelling (EOT) crane cabin. The crane cabin is a complex worksystem consisting of the crane operator and twelve specific machine components embedded in a closed workspace. A crane operator has to perform various activities, such as loading and unloading of coils, setting and removal of convector plates, and routine maintenance work. Initially, an operator had to work in standing posture with bent back most of the time. Ergonomically poor design of the chair and the controls, awkward work postures, and insufficient vision angle resulting in musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) are some of the critical problems observed.. The study, conceived as an industry-academia joint initiative, was undertaken by a design team, the members of which were drawn from both the company concerned and the institute. With the project executed successfully, a number of lessons, such as how to minimize the anthropometric mismatch, how to improve the layout of the components and controls within enclosed workspace, and how to improve work posture minimizing risk of MSDs have been learned.     

The effects of new ways of work in the Netherlands: national data and a case study

In 2010 15.2% of the work force in the Netherlands works with a computer at another location than at the office or at the clients' location. 27% of the Dutch working population is not satisfied about the possibility to work at home and 18% is not satisfied on the possibility to plan your own working time. The case control study affirms what has been reported as effects of new ways of work: the experienced productivity by communication and the representativeness of the office interior are improved and attention is needed for workers that need concentration space and need to personalize their work environment. In implementing new ways of work these issues need attention.     

Evaluating economic theories of NPOs: A survey, a case study and some new directions for socio-economics

The contribution economists have made to the multidisciplinary field of non-profit studies is remarkable when one considers that non-profit organizations (NPOs) have traditionally been regarded as “non-economic” institutions that lie outside the scope of economic analysis. However, despite its achievements there has been concern about the emergence of “theoretical inertia” in the economics of NPOs. This paper suggests some ways in which the revisionist approach reflected in economic theories of the supply-side of the voluntary sector could be augmented. In particular it focuses on the emotional basis for stakeholder commitments and the consequent dependence NPOs have on their organizational leadership to foster the development of shared hopes that can sustain these commitments in the face of disappointments. These ideas are discussed in relation to the provision by NPOs of supported employment services to the disabled.     

The needs and experiences of injured workers: a participatory research study

This paper reports on the findings of a participatory research study in which 290 injured workers in Ontario, Canada responded to a survey that was developed and administered by a group of university researchers in partnership with injured worker peer researchers. The objectives of the study were to gain a broad view of the needs and experiences of injured workers and to develop strategies for change. Findings indicated that many injured workers experience undue financial, emotional and physical hardship during the compensation, treatment and rehabilitation process. These hardships are experienced due to perceived lack of respect, insufficient information concerning rights and the return-to-work process, and limited opportunities for input into the medical or rehabilitation process. Recommendations for increasing the power of workers and creating a more supportive climate are included.     

Accommodating diverse clients' needs in evaluation capacity building: A case study of the Tobacco Control Evaluation Center

In this case study, we detail and analyze how the Tobacco Control Evaluation Center (TCEC), an evaluation technical assistance center that serves approximately 100 local tobacco control organizations in California, endeavors to build capacity among the state-funded local providers it serves by using evaluation capacity building activities with an utilization-focused evaluation framework. We call this a "blended approach" and describe these methods. Satisfaction and demand for TCEC services are documented to provide measurements for evaluation capacity building. Final evaluation report scores from two intervention cycles (2004-2007 and 2007-2010) submitted to the California Health Department, Tobacco Control Division are also assessed and compared. These measures demonstrate an increase in evaluation capacity by local projects under TCEC's purview.     

Case study as a research method to study life histories of elderly people: Some ideas and a case study of a case study

The article explores conditions under which life history interviewing, based on case study research, may become a valuable research instrument. Validity and reliability of case study as a form of qualitative research are discussed. It is shown that neither triangulation nor internal consistency methods can guarantee a single interpretation. As an example a case study of Zina, an immigrant from Russia, is used, and two explanations of her behavior are proposed. The choice between them is made through construction of a holistic image of Zina, which essentially means introduction of a new dimension—theory, worldview—as a criterion of validity and reliability of case studies. Relations of a case study to a theory are discussed, and the conclusion is made that a case study enables a researcher to utilize the most the diversity of life histories of elderly people.     

Disabling Homes: a study of the housing needs of disabled people in Cornwall

This research was carried out between January and July 1993. The study was an evaluation of housing need of disabled people who were wheelchair users through a process of consumer consultation. It was concerned to find out the extent and nature of that need whilst also testing out consultation through the use of research methods in comparison with a non-consultative approach taken by the local authorities. The nature of need was found to be qualitatively different to that found through the study of normative needs. A significant number of disabled people were being made more dependent by their housing and this was being reinforced by the agencies that were intended to help them. In particular, the failure to consult disabled people was leading the local authorities to make inappropriate plans for new build housing while the major need for adaptations was being undermined by their operation of the Disabled Facilities Grant. The findings support the call from other writers that the solutions to housing problems will only come through viewing disability as a civil rights issue.     

Managing ambiguity: between markets and managerialism - a case study of 'middle' managers in further education

Advocates of devolved and market oriented Education reform, point to the benefits from self determination which enhance both teacher and managerial autonomy. Critics refer, on the other hand, to the ways in which running education institutions on business and accounting principles have introduced a new managerialism (Clarke et al, 1994; Pollitt, 1990; Clarke and Newman, 1997), which has driven a wedge between lecturers and senior manager interests. In Further Education, according to Elliott (1996a), this finds expression in conflict between lecturers in defence of professional and pedagogic values, and senior managers promoting the managerial bottom line (Randle and Brady, 1994). The danger in polarising such interests in this way is that it presents a plausible, if not oversimplified, analysis of organisational behaviour as market forces permeate FE. If this paper concurs with many critics on the effects of the new managerialism, it departs company from a prevailing determinism which assumes an over controlled view of the FE workplace (Seddon and Brown, 1997). Despite evidence of widespread casualisation and deprofessionalisation in FE, this paper examines changing managerial cultures in the FE workplace, in this case among academic 'middle' managers, which suggests that managerialism is not as complete or uncontested as is often portrayed. The paper draws on an ESRC research project conducted by the authors (ESRC no. R000236713), looking at Changing Teaching and Managerial Cultures in FE, at a time when the sector is emerging from a series of funding crises associated with redundancies, industrial action, mismanagement and low morale at college level.     

Consequences of organizational commitment in abolished company sports team - a case study in Japan

The purpose of this study was to show that how the abolishment of company sports team influenced the organizational commitment in employees. In this study, Three-Component Model of Organizational Commitment (Meyer and Allen, 1997) was tested with 16 employees (10 males, 6 females) of T Company in NAGANO prefecture. The average age of the participants was 44, 50 years (SD=±0.85). And from 16 employees, 3 male employees were measured on organizational commitment with interview test. According to the analysis, the relation between organizational commitment in employees and the abolishment of company sports team was not positive significant correlation. Furthermore, results of interview test did not show the relation between organizational commitment in employees and the abolishment of company sports team. However, results of interview test showed the relation with organizational commitment of players in T Company sports team. Consequently, the goal to possess a sports team in T Company was not to boost organizational commitment in employees. In addition, it is necessary to reconsider the correlation among employees engaged in T Company in the future.     

Challenges for ESL teacher professionalization in the US: a case study

As the language minority student population in the US increases at a rapid pace, a larger number of teachers are pursuing a primary or secondary certification in English as a Second Language (ESL). This case study describes the professional development efforts to provide an ESL endorsement to a group of K‐12 teachers in a large mid‐western university. It describes the systemic nature underlying their professional development, highlighting the influence of different constituencies. These range from federal, state, county and district levels to the university teacher preparation program, as well as the teachers themselves. By understanding how these factors influence teachers' professional development, the authors identify important lessons that can be learned by teacher educators.     

The Fourth Estate is dead,long live the Fourth Estate: A new military mindset for a rapidly evolving communication environment

The authors identify a need for a shift in the communication mindset of the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) to better account for the speed, ubiquity and mobility of human interaction in the evolving communication environment. The leadership requirement to define a new reality when guiding transition and complex change is identified. Three reality-defining truths are drawn from the convergence of leadership and communication theories. First, it is not possible to lead without communicating. Second, it is not possible to not communicate. Third, it is not possible to communicate without influencing others. Analysis of current DoD lexicon, principles and organizational design related to communication activities reveals a technical/monologic mindset. This mindset is evaluated based on the three truths, shortfalls of the mindset are identified, and four concrete leadership actions are proposed to guide a transition to a social/dialogic mindset. Proposed actions include defining a new vision and purpose for the military based on preservation of credibility and trust, creation of a new communication lexicon, creation of universal guiding principles, and revision of doctrine and training to incorporate social-communication thought, theory and practice.