Access to and Egress from Chairs as a Function of their Design and the Age of the User

Abstract

s of Higher Degree Dissertation A full list of Fellowship and higher degree dissertations and theses is available from Maureen Muir in the Information Resource Centre at the CSP offices. Dissertations housed at the CSP may be viewed by appointment. For access to dissertations housed elsewhere, please contact the institution concerned. (They are not normally available for loan.) Access to and Egress from Chairs as a Function of their Design and the Age of the User Vasiliki Sakellari MSc MErgS GradDipPhys Course: Master of Science (Ergonomics in the Faculty of Science), University of London, 1993 Housed at Ergonomics Unit, University College, London This study relates to two features of the use of chairs which have previously received little attention. The first is the age of the user. The second is the opinions and behaviour of users during access and egress. An adjustable chair was used which provided 16 variations of configuration around a chair design which is frequently used in public lounges and waiting rooms. It is not intended as a chair to be used in conjunction with a table in a workplace. Questionnaire and video analysis were employed to study 16 healthy subjects (eight men and eight women, eight young and eight elderly adults). Seat height and slope, backrest slope and inter-armrest width were varied. The questionnaire and the video analysis, as well as examination of chairs from the point of view of getting in or getting out, complement each other. Old people are more sensitive to the different task requirements but less consistent in their opinions. ?b improve access and egress, a shallower seat nearer to horizontal level, a more upright backrest, and a higher seat and armrests are required. Acknowledgment I would like to thank the State Scholarship Foundation of Greece (IKY) for financial support of my studies, and Professor D W Grieve for advice. The Role of the Physiotherapist in Ballet and the Role of the Physiotherapist in Football Britt Tajet-Foxell MSc MCSP Course: MSc in occupational psychology, University of Hertfordshire, 1993 Housed at the University of Hertfordshire The main objective of this investigation was to examine the role of a physiotherapist to a ballet company, and the role of a physiotherapist to a football club. Initially, a job analysis was carried out in order to identify the most important qualities necessary to perform effectively within these two distinct disciplines. The three job analysis methods chosen were semistructured interviews, the critical incident technique and questionnaire survey. From this qualitatitive anlaysis, six main dimensions were identified as being important. These were communication skills, management skills, sensitivity, clinical skills, interpersonal skills and control (assertiveness). In order to assess the relative importance of these dimensions within each group, a questionnaire was designed to facilitate a deeper quantitative analysis. The experimental hypothesis predicted that there would be differences in how the role of a physiotherapist to a ballet company is perceived compared to the role of a physiotherapist to a football club. The prediction was supported by multivariate analysis of variance and discriminate function analysis. Such findings may have implications for the selection of physiotherapists to either ballet or football. It may also have relevance in career counselling for therapists intending to enter the field of sports physiotherapy. Furthermore, it may assist in the identification of certain training needs which are important in training physiotherapists to work effectively in either ballet or football. Physiotherapy, March 1994, vol80, no 3