Forthcoming and Online First Articles

International Journal of Human Factors and Ergonomics

International Journal of Human Factors and Ergonomics (IJHFE)

Forthcoming articles have been peer-reviewed and accepted for publication but are pending final changes, are not yet published and may not appear here in their final order of publication until they are assigned to issues. Therefore, the content conforms to our standards but the presentation (e.g. typesetting and proof-reading) is not necessarily up to the Inderscience standard. Additionally, titles, authors, abstracts and keywords may change before publication. Articles will not be published until the final proofs are validated by their authors.

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International Journal of Human Factors and Ergonomics (2 papers in press)

Regular Issues

  • Evaluation process of gripping comfort based on mechanical stimulation in finger soft tissue and macroscopic roughness perception during grasping an object   Order a copy of this article
    by Kazuki Hokari, Hironari Ono, Jonas A. Pramudita 
    Abstract: This study investigated the relationships among the groove dimensions of grasped objects, strain energy density in finger soft tissue, macroscopic roughness perception, and gripping comfort to understand the process of evaluating gripping comfort through mechanical stimulation and roughness perception via grasping experiments and simulations. The simulation results showed that the local strain energy density in the finger soft tissue increased with the groove width on the cylinders, whereas the effect of ridge width was relatively small. Additionally, the roughness perception increased with the groove width, whereas ridge width had a relatively small effect. These results suggest that the local strain energy density contributes to the perception of roughness. Besides, whether the relationship between roughness perception and gripping comfort exhibited a positive or negative correlation varied among participants, indicating that the factors contributing to better gripping comfort differed among individuals. These findings are valuable for designing products with improved gripping comfort.
    Keywords: macroscopic roughness; roughness perception; gripping comfort; grasping experiment; mechanical stimulation; strain energy density; finger soft tissue; finite element model.

  • The multidimensional determinants of outpatient pharmacy dispensing errors: a mixed approach   Order a copy of this article
    by Kuo-Wei Su, Yao-Te Tsai, Quan-Kai Feng 
    Abstract: This study examined workload, musculoskeletal health, and dispensing error risk factors among outpatient pharmacists in a medical centre. Mixed methods, including the analysis of current status, interviews, and multidimensional surveys, were employed. The results showed that 51.4% of pharmacists experienced musculoskeletal discomfort lasting over two weeks in the past year, primarily in the neck, shoulders, and knees, with no significant association with seniority or job content. High time pressure and physical demands, with an overall workload that was higher than that of other medical professionals. Several significant risk factors for dispensing errors were also examined, including drug name similarity, appearance similarity, staff fatigue, and work interruptions being most significant. This study proposed five recommendations for improving pharmacy service quality and occupational health: 1) refining drug labelling; 2) allocating workload; 3) improving processes; 4) enhancing training; 5) focusing on pharmacists well-being.
    Keywords: dispensing errors; musculoskeletal discomfort; cognitive load; pharmacists; NASA-TLX.