Peter Budnick reviews a 2010 study that investigates spinal pain among 11 to 14 year old school children in New Zealand. Even if you don't have children or work with them as part of your ergonomics work, the statistics in this research are revealing. Of course, children grow up and will soon be adults attending universities and assuming jobs, perhaps in your workplace. Are there trends that could lead to more back pain sufferers in the future?

Peter Budnick reviews recent research directed at helping security screeners recognize human verbal and non-verbal behavior that indicates deception. Specifically, the researchers conducted experiments in which participants were grouped into pairs of truth-tellers and liars. The interviewers were blinded from knowing which groups were telling a true story and which were being deceptive. Subsequent video analysis of behavioral metrics suggested behavioral cues that real-world security screeners might be able to recognize when interacting with two or more conspirators, including language/word use characteristics and visual cues like eye gaze patterns. The research demonstrates the breadth of ergonomics/human factors profession, as well as its diverse value to society.

Don Bloswick, a professor in in the Mechanical Engineering Department at the University of Utah, shares a variety of creative rehabilitation ergonomics applications he and his students have developed, including a tricycle designed to provide leg exercises for children with Cerebral Palsy (CP); an off-road walker allowing children with CP greater outdoor mobility; a wheelchair track device that allows wheelchair users to navigate on sand, snow and other rough terrain; foot and arm-lever propelled wheelchairs; and a paragliding system for people with disabilities. If you think ergonomics is only about preventing musculoskeletal injuries, this will open your eyes to new horizons.

Guest contributors Linda Miller and Lucy Hart provide an update on the emergence of ergonomics as a points category in the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) building rating system. Over a decade ago, a coalition of building industry leaders in the U.S. created building design and construction guidelines for the environmental assessment of buildings. The LEED Building Rating System is a voluntary, consensus-based standard that evaluates the environmental performance of a building over its entire life cycle. The primary goal of LEED is to promote building practices that are environmentally responsible, profitable, and healthy for its building occupants, and Miller and Hart explain how ergonomics is gaining a solid footing in the LEED rating system.

The Future of Ergonomics Committee, under the direction of the International Ergonomics Association (IEA), has published a report summarizing a strategic initiative for the world-wide promotion of the ergonomics discipline and profession in order to reach global excellence in HFE (human factors and ergonomics). The report does a nice job of summarizing the field of ergonomics, and specifies numerous specific values we can and should produce. Ergoweb's Peter Budnick reviews the report and offers his opinions.