Autorentext

David Meister

Klappentext

Human factors/ergonomics (HFE) as a discipline has grown by accretions rather than having been developed systematically and deliberately. Therefore, this book's goal creates a formal conceptual structure for HFE. It is intended as a contribution to cultural history because (a) ours is a technological civilization, and (b) one cannot understand technology outside of the various disciplines that make up that technology. A disciplinary history is highly specialized, but the author maintains that HFE is distinctive in being the only discipline that relates humans to technology. Other behavioral disciplines like anthropology have little connection with technology, and this is what makes HFE important in the present historical era.

Inhalt

Contents: Preface. Introduction to HFE. The Conceptual Structure of HFE. The System as a Fundamental Construct. The Formal History of HFE. The Informal History of HFE. Characteristics of HFE Research. Special Interests Within HFE. HFE Practice. A Commentary on the Big Issues.