The BRICSplus Network: A Historical Overview and Future Perspectives of the Network’s Role in Human Factors and Ergonomics. In: Bagnara S, Tartaglia R, Albolino S, Alexander T, Fujita Y, editors. Proceedings of the 20th Congress of the International Ergonomics Association (IEA 2018). Cham: Springer International Publishing; 2019. pp. 647-56. [DOI: 10.1007/978-3-319-96080-7_78]

The barriers and opportunities to support the early career academics and professionals in human factors/ergonomics - revisiting reflections from IEA2015, IEA2018 & IEA2021

BACKGROUND: The Early-Career Community (ECC) comprises researchers, practitioners, and professionals in their “early-career” stages in the Human Factors/Ergonomics (HFE) profession. Early-career HFE professionals are essential to both current industry decision making and future growth of our profession. OBJECTIVE: This paper provides detailed insights into the barriers and suggestions to support engagement with ECC within the International Ergonomics Association (IEA) and its Federated Societies. METHODS: This report integrates key findings from the formal and informal discussions that occurred with diverse groups of stakeholders (n > 100) at IEA2015, IEA2018 and IEA2021 guided by the participatory inquiry paradigm, cooperative action-inquiry and participatory ergonomics approaches. RESULTS: Barriers to support ECC include: a lack of employment opportunities, poor general awareness and integration of HFE in existing university-courses, financial constraints, inclusivity challenges and a lack of Influence in decision-making. While some of the more systemic challenges are context-specific and cannot be overcome, ECCs suggested that: the IEA and its Federated Societies include ECC members as part of their boards; a Standing Committee for the ECCs be established as part of the IEA; make use of social-media more effectively to engage the ECC. More mentorship, networking, knowledge sharing, training and education, combined with financial-support will ensure that the ECC can participate. CONCLUSION: ECC members experience complex and dynamic challenges that affect their development and involvement in the broader HFE profession. It is therefore critical that appropriate, global, national and local strategies are developed to continue to support and develop the ECC to ensure the continued growth of and demand for HFE.

Interactions between e-commerce users during the COVID-19 pandemic period: What came and what remained

BACKGROUND: During the COVID-19 pandemic, the online sales industry experienced record-breaking growth. The number of businesses that decided to enter the e-commerce market for the first time was enormous. At the height of the quarantine, Brazil was registering a new virtual store every minute. This was an unanticipated and unplanned expansion. OBJECTIVE: This study aims to identify existing challenges in human interactions with e-commerce, such as the difficulties faced during the pandemic and improvements to ensure growth of, and confidence in, this type of business. METHODS: An exploratory study of e-commerce data and an online survey using the snowball non-probabilistic method were developed to research the growth of, and issues in, Brazilian users’ interaction with e-commerce, comparing findings before and after the pandemic restrictions. RESULTS: Some businesses were not prepared, and the lack of experience among workers contributed to businesses not delivering on their promises. The acceleration of e-commerce demonstrates the need to guarantee that Brazil can effectively use e-commerce to capitalize on digital supply chain opportunities and enhance their role in its economic expansion, while remaining human-centered. CONCLUSIONS: For users’ needs to be met, companies and online workers must understand people’s needs and behaviors in order to provide excellent service.

Tertiary education in ergonomics and human factors: quo vadis?

In 2019, the Human Factors and Ergonomics (HFE) discipline turned 70; to celebrate, an international group of academics and educators have reflected on the status of HFE tertiary education across the globe. This paper draws on presentations and discussions from the 20th Triennial International Ergonomics Association (IEA) conference and considers the implications for HFE education programmes. Past, current, and future challenges are outlined and discussed with examples from different countries and programmes. This paper builds on 2012 strategy proposed by Dul and colleagues, to strengthen the demand, and application, of the HFE discipline and profession. It provides a considered set of reflections, noting the range of structural issues and financial pressures within the tertiary education system that create challenges for the viability of specialist programmes such as HFE. A need exists for the broader profession to collaborate and share innovations in HFE programme development, to ensure sustainable HFE education programmes. Practitioner summary: A range of structural issues and financial pressures exist within the tertiary education system that creates challenges for the viability of specialist programmes such as HFE. A need exists for the broader profession to collaborate and share innovations in HFE programme development, to ensure sustainable HFE education programmes. Abbreviation: HFE: Human Factors and Ergonomics; IEA: International Ergonomics Association; CIEHF: Chartered Institute of Ergonomics & Human Factors; UX: User Experience; CREE: Centre for Registration of European Ergonomist; BRICSplus: Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa; MOOCS: Massive Open Online Courses; STST: socio technical systems theory; LMIC: low and middle-income countries.