Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!usc!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!mips!atha!aunro!alberta!cpsc.ucalgary.ca!news
From: sharp@cpsc.ucalgary.ca (Maurice Sharp)
Newsgroups: comp.human-factors
Subject: Re: Human Factors or also called Ergonomics
Message-ID: <1991Jun19.231551.20143@cpsc.ucalgary.ca>
Date: 19 Jun 91 23:15:51 GMT
References: <1991Jun12.091705.2823@actrix.gen.nz> <31211@hydra.gatech.EDU> <1991Jun13.000119.4664@cs.UAlberta.CA> <1906@vtserf.cc.vt.edu>
Organization: U. of Calgary Computer Science
Lines: 39

In article <1906@vtserf.cc.vt.edu> cohill@vtserf.cc.vt.edu (Andrew M. Cohill) writes:

>Now you've hooked me on one of my pet peeves.  My own view of the state
>of HF *education* in this country is that many of the classes are
>taught by people who are still uncomfortable with computers.  These are
>professors who acquired both their education and their reputations in a
>pre-digital world, and have never really embraced the new technology. Or
>they cling to the old mainframe, command-line paradigm of computing,
>which explains why so many studies seem irrelevant or microscopic in
>scope.  Human factors labs are filled with old stuff like PDP-11s, VAX
>11/730s, and 3270 display terminals.  Off to one side, you'll find one
>or two six year old pcs with CGA displays.  

Well, that may be the case at your place, it certainly is not the case
at ours. Project have been done on anything from a VT220, through
various DOS boxes (XT, AT, ...), Macintoshes, SPARCS, ... mucho stuff.

>Human factors won't begin to have a serious impact on HCI design for
>another ten or fifteen years, when some of the old fogies start to
>retire from their academic chairs and the digital-era faculty are able
>to have a real impact on education and research.

You have to be kidding. There are lots of examples of decent HCI
design out there. Take the Macintosh interface for example. That was
not just thrown together, it was designed. Using some principles from
HCI even. There are lots of other examples if you bother to look.

>Andy Cohill

Maurice Sharp MSc. Student (403) 220 7690
University of Calgary Computer Science Department
2500 University Drive N.W.	      sharp@cpsc.UCalgary.CA
Calgary, Alberta, T2N 1N4	      GEnie M.SHARP5

-- 
Maurice Sharp MSc. Student (403) 220 7690
University of Calgary Computer Science Department
2500 University Drive N.W.	      sharp@cpsc.UCalgary.CA
Calgary, Alberta, T2N 1N4	      GEnie M.SHARP5