Article

Oh, my aching laptop: expanding the boundaries of campus computing ergonomics

Authors:

Tabatha VerbickAuthors Info & Claims

SIGUCCS '06: Proceedings of the 34th annual ACM SIGUCCS fall conference: expanding the boundaries

Pages 431 - 439

https://doi.org/10.1145/1181216.1181308

Published: 05 November 2006 Publication History

Abstract

Feeling pins-and-needles in your fingers, having a sore back, blurry vision or aching wrists are common symptoms for many employees in the technology field. Such aches and pains are often warning signs that significant injuries are just one more mouse click away. Until recently, such ailments have not traditionally been considered common symptoms for students. Yet, with the rapid growth of game-playing software, computer-related coursework and online classes, which cause students to spend longer hours in front of a computer, repetitive stress injuries are inevitable. Consequently, such injuries should and must be considered in the educational environment by department heads and information technology personnel. Repetitive stress injuries are of particular concern at Northwest Missouri State University, where all campus-housed residents are provided with campus-owned notebook computers. Notebook computers can increase the chances of injury since the monitor and keyboard cannot be positioned separately. Also, due to the notebook computer's portability students can work in locations and positions that can increase the risk of acquiring repetitive stress injuries from neck pain to carpal tunnel syndrome. Computer users need more education and training in the science of ergonomics in order to avoid injuries.In this paper, users and educators will learn techniques for adapting workspaces and habits in order to perform at optimum efficiency. The paper will define the problems and costs associated with workspace ergonomics and offer solutions to these problems. Additionally, the authors will discuss techniques to avoid repetitive stress injuries and how to effectively train users before injuries occur.

References

[1]

Anshel, J. "Computer Vision Syndrome," HealthyComputing.com, Inc., 2001, http://www.healthycomputing.com/articles/computer_vision_syndrome.htm (accessed June 8, 2006).

[2]

Anshel, J. "Visual Conditions Affecting Computer Users," HealthyComputing.com, Inc., 2001, http://www.healthycomputing.com/articles/visual_conditions.htm (accessed June 8, 2006).

[3]

"April is National Backpack Safety Month," Working Well Ergonomics Information Website, 2003, http://www.working-well.org/articles/backpacks.html (accessed June 15, 2006).

[4]

Becker, S. "The Computer User's Guide to an Ergonomic Workstation," State of California: Department of Personnel Administration, October 2002, http://www.dpa.ca.gov/Benefits/health/WorkComp/Pubs/CompUsersHndbk/dpahandb.pdf (accessed June 8, 2006).

[5]

Bennett, C. "Classrooms and Computers: An Elementary School Case Study." In Proceedings of the International Society for Occupational Ergonomics and Safety XV Annual Conference (Fairfax, Virginia, 2001).

[6]

Boss, R. "Ergonomics for Libraries," Library Technology Reports, 37.6 (November-December 2001), 1--65.

[7]

"Computer Ergonomics for Elementary School Students," Oregon Occupational Safety and Health Division, http://www.orosha.org/cergos/ (accessed June 8, 2006).

[8]

"Computer Workstation Ergonomic Training and Evaluation Program: Part 1 Ergonomic Information," Harvard University's On-line Training Program, http://www.uos.harvard.edu/ehs/training/ergo_info.html (accessed June 8, 2006).

[9]

Goldsborough, R. "Computing 'til It Hurts: Why PCs Can Be Hazardous to Your Health," Incentive, 174, 11 (November 2000), 152.

[10]

Harris, C. and Straker, L. "Survey of Physical Ergonomics Issues Associated with School Children's Use of Laptop Computers," International Journal of Industrial Ergonomics, 26 (2000), 337--347.

[11]

"Healthy Computing: The Premier Source for Computer and Office Ergonomics," HealthyComputing.com, Inc., 2001, http://www.healthycomputing.com (accessed June 8, 2006).

[12]

Hedge, A. "Ergonomic Tips to Choosing and Using Laptop Computers," Spine Universe, February 21, 2006, http://www.spineuniverse.com/displayarticle.php/article3205.html (accessed June 8, 2006).

[13]

Hedge, A., Muss, T., and Barrero, M. "Comparative Study to Two Computer Mouse Designs," Cornell University Ergonomics Web, July 1999, http://ergo.human.cornell.edu/Pub/HFlabReports/MouseRep.pdf (accessed June 9, 2006).

[14]

"Help with Using Your Keyboard and Mouse: Alternative Mice," Ability Net, http://www.abilitynet.org.uk/myway/keyboard/instead/alt-mice.htm (accessed June 14, 2006).

[15]

Kennedy, M. "High-Tech Comfort," American School & University, 73.6 (February 2001), 26--30.

[16]

"OSHA Ergonomic Solutions: Computer Workstations eTool," U.S. Department of Labor: Occupational Safety & Health Administration, http://www.osha.gov/SLTC/etools/computerworkstations/index.html (accessed June 8, 2006).

[17]

Quilter, D. "Are You at Risk for Computer Injury?," HealthyComputing.com, Inc., 2001, http://www.healthycomputing.com/articles/computer_injury.htm (accessed June 8, 2006).

[18]

Rasicot, J. "How to Guard Against Health Problems in the Computer Lab," Electronic School, January 2000, http://www.electronic-school.com/2000/01/0100f2.html (accessed June 7, 2006).

[19]

Rempel, D. "Carpal Tunnel Syndrome," HealthyComputing.com, Inc., 2001, http://www.healthycomputing.com/articles/carpal_tunnel_101.htm (accessed June 8, 2006).

[20]

Rickman, J., Miller M., Verbick T. and Todd K. "Notebook Universities Do Not Have To Be Expensive." In Proceedings of ACM SIGUCCS 2006 Fall Conference (Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, November 2006).

Digital Library

[21]

Robertson, M., Amick III, B., Hupert, N., Pellerin-Dionne, M., Cha, E. and Katz, J. "Effects of a Participatory Ergonomics Intervention Computer Workshop for University Students: A Pilot Intervention to Prevent Disability in Tomorrow's Workers," Work: A Journal of Prevention, Assessment and Rehabilitation, 18, 3 (2002), 305--314.

[22]

Straker, L., Pollock, C. and Burgess-Limerick, R. "Towards Evidence Based Guidelines for Healthy & Wise Use of Computers by Children," Cyberg 2005: Keynote Address, 2005, http://cyberg.wits.ac.za/cb2005/key1.htm (accessed June 9, 2006).

[23]

Strasser, A. "Computers and the Body: The Ergonomics Solution," Spine Universe, February 8, 2006, http://www.spineuniverse.com/displayarticle.php/article3189.html (accessed June 8, 2006).

[24]

"United States Department of Commerce News," U.S. Census Bureau: Public Information Office, October 10, 2001, http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/2001/cb01-147.html (accessed June 16, 2006).

[25]

"Useful Tools," Computers in Libraries, 24, 5 (May 2004), 45.

[26]

Wagner, F. and Ong, F. "Easy Ergonomics for Desktop Computer Users," California Division of Occupational Safety and Health, http://www.dir.ca.gov/dosh/dosh_publications/ComputerErgo.pdf (accessed June 8, 2006).

Cited By

Quevedo Piratova DSánchez Duarte MChiappe ASáez Delgado F(2025) Intelligent Classrooms: How AI and IoT Can Reshape Learning Spaces European Journal of Education10.1111/ejed.7000060:1Online publication date: 24-Jan-2025
https://doi.org/10.1111/ejed.70000
Depreli ÖTopcu ZAngın EDeğer ÜKaraman A(2024)The effect of ergonomic interventions on fatigue and musculoskeletal symptoms of university students during combined information and communication technologies tasksWORK: A Journal of Prevention, Assessment & Rehabilitation10.1177/10519815241289836Online publication date: 4-Dec-2024
https://doi.org/10.1177/10519815241289836
Seffah AKuhail MNegreiros J(2021)IT Teaching Labs: Innovations in a Distance Education Era2021 9th International Conference on Information and Education Technology (ICIET)10.1109/ICIET51873.2021.9419598(215-221)Online publication date: 27-Mar-2021
https://doi.org/10.1109/ICIET51873.2021.9419598
Show More Cited By

Index Terms

Oh, my aching laptop: expanding the boundaries of campus computing ergonomics
1. Applied computing
  1. Education
  2. Operations research
    1. Consumer products
2. Social and professional topics

Recommendations

Understanding Musculoskeletal Injuries, Their Causes, Potential Mitigation Solutions, and Recommendations for Future Prevention Within the Manufacturing Industry
HCI International 2022 – Late Breaking Papers: Ergonomics and Product Design
Abstract
This paper was written to explore solutions to the following problem: an employee at a die-cutting station in a manufacturing plant is experiencing pain in her right shoulder. It is deduced that this pain results from improper posture due to a ...
Effects of Chair Rise Strategies on Joint Loads
MSIE '20: Proceedings of the 2020 2nd International Conference on Management Science and Industrial Engineering

The ability to rise from a sitting position is considered as a key determinant of independence. An ergonomic analysis of sit-to-stand (STS) is needed for people to improve the daily activity, avoid the re-injury and be a reference by documenting the ...
Healthy human sitting posture estimation in RGB-D scenes using object context

Unhealthy sitting posture leads to cervical spondylosis and other related cumulative trauma disorders (CTDs). Unfortunately, the research on the investigation of heathy sitting posture is rare. The current research is to estimate heathy sitting posture ...

Comments

Information & Contributors

Information

Published In

cover image ACM Conferences

SIGUCCS '06: Proceedings of the 34th annual ACM SIGUCCS fall conference: expanding the boundaries

November 2006

478 pages

ISBN:1595934383

DOI:10.1145/1181216

General Chair:
Alex Nagorski
University of Alberta
,
Program Chairs:
Gordana Brouilette
University of Alberta
,
Carol Rhodes
Indiana University

Copyright © 2006 ACM.

Permission to make digital or hard copies of all or part of this work for personal or classroom use is granted without fee provided that copies are not made or distributed for profit or commercial advantage and that copies bear this notice and the full citation on the first page. Copyrights for components of this work owned by others than ACM must be honored. Abstracting with credit is permitted. To copy otherwise, or republish, to post on servers or to redistribute to lists, requires prior specific permission and/or a fee. Request permissions from [email protected]

Sponsors

Publisher

Association for Computing Machinery

New York, NY, United States

Publication History

Published: 05 November 2006

Permissions

Request permissions for this article.

Request Permissions

Check for updates

Author Tags

Qualifiers

Article

Conference

SIGUCCS Fall06

Sponsor:

SIGUCCS Fall06: ACM SIGUCCS Fall Conference:Expanding the Boundaries

November 5 - 8, 2006

Alberta, Edmonton, Canada

Acceptance Rates

Overall Acceptance Rate 192 of 261 submissions, 74%

Contributors

Other Metrics

View Article Metrics

Bibliometrics & Citations

Bibliometrics

Article Metrics

5
Total Citations
View Citations
1,157
Total Downloads

Downloads (Last 12 months)14
Downloads (Last 6 weeks)1

Reflects downloads up to 01 Mar 2025

Other Metrics

View Author Metrics

Citations

Cited By

Quevedo Piratova DSánchez Duarte MChiappe ASáez Delgado F(2025) Intelligent Classrooms: How AI and IoT Can Reshape Learning Spaces European Journal of Education10.1111/ejed.7000060:1Online publication date: 24-Jan-2025
https://doi.org/10.1111/ejed.70000
Depreli ÖTopcu ZAngın EDeğer ÜKaraman A(2024)The effect of ergonomic interventions on fatigue and musculoskeletal symptoms of university students during combined information and communication technologies tasksWORK: A Journal of Prevention, Assessment & Rehabilitation10.1177/10519815241289836Online publication date: 4-Dec-2024
https://doi.org/10.1177/10519815241289836
Seffah AKuhail MNegreiros J(2021)IT Teaching Labs: Innovations in a Distance Education Era2021 9th International Conference on Information and Education Technology (ICIET)10.1109/ICIET51873.2021.9419598(215-221)Online publication date: 27-Mar-2021
https://doi.org/10.1109/ICIET51873.2021.9419598
Dugan RDugan RTrabucco C(2011)Healthy computer use for computer scienceJournal of Computing Sciences in Colleges10.5555/2037151.203715527:1(9-15)Online publication date: 1-Oct-2011
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.5555/2037151.2037155
Berque DBurgess JBillingsley AJohnson SBonebright TWethington BHaugtvedt CEwoldsen D(2011)Design and evaluation of persuasive technology to encourage healthier typing behaviorsProceedings of the 6th International Conference on Persuasive Technology: Persuasive Technology and Design: Enhancing Sustainability and Health10.1145/2467803.2467812(1-10)Online publication date: 2-Jun-2011
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/2467803.2467812

View Options

Login options

Check if you have access through your login credentials or your institution to get full access on this article.

Full Access

Get this Publication

View options

PDF

View or Download as a PDF file.

eReader

View online with eReader.

Figures

Tables

Media

View Table of Conten