THE HUMAN FACTORS (COMPUTER)

As we saw in the section on fear of computers, technology can have a profound effect on people. Fear, however, is not the only element that should be considered. People can also be affected by:
The physical demands placed on them by the technology.
The way that personal computers can impact job performance.
As more people spend increasing amounts of their day in front of video display terminals (VDT), more concern is being expressed for their physical well-being. This has increased interest in ergonomics, the study of the relationship between the human body and the machines we use.
One reason for the heightened interest is the growing concern over issues of health, comfort, and stress associated with the growing use of personal computers. Studies by several groups have concluded that there are a number of comfort issues related to the use of personal computers and computer terminals. Among the most cited problems is poor lighting and inadequate furniture that was often designed before anyone ever heard of office automation. According to a 1984 study released by the Administrative. Management Society Foundation, the most commonly reported problems associated with VDTs include pain in the shoulders, neck, buck, arms, and hands. Visual problems include burning eyes, headaches, focusing problems, and stress. These are brought about in part by poor lighting, problems of brightness contrast I twin characters and background, and flickering. Stress is also a factor that needs to be considered. Research landings indicate that some users show anxiety, depression, irritability, anger, confusion, and fatigue when working with terminals Jobs content can also play a factor. According to the Administrative Management Society study, clerical users complain more about discomfort than professional users. This seems to be a result of how personal computers fit into various jobs. For professional workers, they are often problem-solving tools, while data entry left to the clerks. In short, professional workers often use computers to perform tasks that result in something they can take pride in. Clerks, on the other hand, end up doing the simple repetitive jobs in which the end results are not as visible or meaningful. These are all issue that need to be conveyed to managers and owners, Training program can certainly help make the various levels of an organization aware  of the complexities of office automation tools, such as the personal computer, an can help educate people on the human needs in working with such a technology.

 

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Fear oF Damaging The Computer

When they first begin working with a personal computer, many people hardly touched the keyboard for fear of doing something that would cause damage to the computer. People who don’t think twice about slamming down a telephone receiver, or driving their car to its very limits, suddenly grow passive when confronted with a keyboard. From secretaries to corporate executives to the folks down on the loading dock, there is something about a computer keyboard that can turn each into a shrinking violet.
There are two basic reasons for this initial passivity
1. The perception that despite their power, computers are extremely fragile devices.
2. The feeling that computers are on a somewhat different plane than other types of tools, the "gift of the God" syndrome.
Let's take a closer look at each of these observations. The first is a result of the day-to-day contacts that most people have with computers and the limited knowledge they possess about them. From the average person’s vantage point, computers are like newborn infants that need special handling and protection. Most people never see the large mainframe systems where they work. These computers are typically locked away behind security doors, in guarded environments with their own air conditioning, heating, electrical, and humidity control systems. From the outside looking in, it would appear that computers require a lot of care and attention. This particular point of view is often strengthened by day-today experiences that may often be punctuated by periods when the computer isn’t available. In the jargon of data processing, people are told of down time, system failure, or crashes, without any idea what those things might really relate to. Small wonder that when they suddenly come face to face with a personal computer some people are somewhat reluctant to touch it. After all, if the big ones come tumbling down from time to time, despite the care and attention of experts, what will happen when they start touching one? The second observation is that some people view computers in a somewhat different light than they do other office tools, maybe because of the sheltered environment that most people associate with the large systems. Computers operate in an almost mystical realm. Movies and popular works of fiction have pictured them as extending human powers beyond those of the body and mind. We think computers can solve complex problems almost in the blink of an eye. What could take a human hours, days, years, or even decades to work through might be processed in a matter of seconds or minutes by a computer. A mystique has grown up around not only the systems themselves, but also around the people who work with them. In a society that is growing increasingly dependent on technology, many who lack education or insight into computers look on those who can make them work in much the same way that ancient cultures viewed their high priests. As computers have become increasingly insulated, their operations cloaked in jargon and acronyms foreign to most people, many ascribe a certain reverence and awe to everything associated with them. Computers, and those who run them, have come to occupy a special niche beyond the province of the average person. With the arrival of the personal computer, all this is suddenly changing. Now individual workers are being given access to the same power and magic previously associated with the large systems. For some, this sharing of the technology can be likened to the Greek gods descending from the mountain top to share their secrets with their mortal followers. Against these backgrounds, it’s easy to understand why many men and women are apprehensive when it comes to touching a personal computer for the first time. As computers are extended through organizations, it is important for people to see them in the same light as they do other fixtures of the office, such as telephones and copiers. Some of this will certainly occur over time and with increased usage, and can be facilitated through introductory training programs that emphasize or demonstrate the difficulty actually damaging a system. The message that should come across is that while a lot of things. Can occur to the information they are working with, simply banging away on the keyboard won’t do much to actually harm the computer itself.

 

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Communications and Computer Phobia

While sheer volume can sometimes be a deterrent to learning about personal computers, what happens after a person begins the educational process can also bring things to an exasperating halt.
This is largely due to:
The language and jargon associated with computers
The fact that software and other instruction manuals are written almost as an afterthought, and represent the last priority for most manufacturers.
If there is one factor that can be cited for scaring people the most about computers, it is probably the language. Faced with an almost incomprehensible array of jargon and acronyms, many turn back convinced they can never learn about the world of computers. “I remember the first time I ever picked up a computer publication,” a manager recalls. “I started flipping through the pages and seeing words like baud and modem and RAM. The first thought that came to my mind was ‘this isn’t English.” “I went to a seminar put on by a local professional group,” says an accountant. “They brought in a consultant to explain how computers could help us in our businesses. Within five minutes he had used at least half a dozen words I had never heard before. I was totally lost and left thinking that I would never have a computer because no one would ever be able to explain one to me.” “The meetings I dread the most,” confides a personnel director, “are the ones with data processing. They start talking about disk space and bytes, coupling and buffers. They throw the words at you like a rapid fire gun. I might as well be listening to a Martian for all I understand.”
For a lot of users, computerize probably does sound a lot like Mongolian. Yet, having a basic understanding and knowledge of computer terms and jargon is essential to working with a personal computer, because so much of it has found its way into everyday usage and become a part of the language itself. There are those who also charge data processing with using the vocabulary to their own benefit, beating down any opposition with a barrage of “techno speak” that can leave the uninitiated churning in its wake. “If they don’t know what we’re talking about,” confided one data processing manager, “they aren’t going to put up too loud a fight.”That same tactic seems to have found its way into the battle to keep personal computers out of some organizations. “When people come and ask for a personal computer,” an information center manager stated, “I just start asking them how they want it configured. You know, how many K of memory, whether they want floppy or hard disk, an internal or external modem, expansion boards, color graphic card, tape back-up, emulation capabilities. Most of them just sit there staring at me. Then they get up and leave and not too many come back.”Whether they like it or not, a great many people will have to become computer conversant just to hold their own. Training can contribute. a great deal to this process by making sure that people have access to as much of the terminology as possible, and that it is properly defined on a level they can understand.For those involved in computer training outside of data processing this means a process of self-education and a willingness to stand up and ask what something means. Those within data processing need to have a greater empathy for the nontechnical user, and to be prepared to explain everything no matter how rudimentary that might be.During a presentation not long ago, data processing staff members were using terms they were thoroughly familiar with. The audience, who didn’t know a bit from a byte, was quickly lost. In the past such groups suffered in silence or found ways to excuse themselves and never return. This group turned on the presenters, asking questions about basic definitions and demanding explanations that left the presenters flustered and unable to continue. Another user revolt occurred at a professional gathering of trainers. One of the presentations, entitled “Computer Literacy for Beginners,” was billed as a guide to understanding the terminology. The consultant making the presentation promised to explain all the jargon, but within the first five minutes had used two or three terms that the audience was obviously unfamiliar with. Finally, one man stood up. “You promised to explain computers in terms we could understand, but you’ve already thrown jargon at us without telling us what it means. Can’t anyone describe these things in plain English?” As he finished, the audience broke into applause. People will begin speaking up more and more in their quest to understand and as they do, there will be an increasing demand not only for more user-friendly resources, but also for people who can communicate clearly.

 

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Lack of keyboard skills

This particular category applies to a surprisingly large number of people, many of them in management and executive positions, who are being asked to pass judgment on the acquisition and placement of personal computers in their organizations.
Typing skills and knowledge of keyboards have generally been the province of those working in secretarial or clerical positions, dominated primarily by women. Only in the last decade have typing skills become more universally accepted as important to other jobs and careers. A great many managers, executives, and other professionals, particularly those over 40, never learned to type.
Now, they are suddenly being asked to use a technology that nothing in their education or job experience has prepared them for. Many have always had access to secretaries or office typing pools and the thought of typing one’s own letters, reports, and memorandums is somehow demeaning to a large number of these success-oriented males.

It is easy to understand why this can scare the daylights out of almost an entire generation of decision makers. Many of them not only share the usual frustrations of learning about computers, but have to do so at an agonizing hunt and peck pace. The magical productivity value of the personal computer is lost amidst the jumble of the keyboard.
The problem is further complicated by pride. Many of these people don’t want to be seen by their staffs as not knowing something, particularly something like typing. They view this gap as a weakness that might somehow affect their control of the work, or possibly their careers.
Some of these men and women treat their inability to type in a manner reminiscent of someone who can’t read or write. If given a personal computer, they often try to ignore it as long as they can or ask others to help them do something (“I don’t think this thing is working right. How about trying to get it to do this •. .“). When they do turn it on it is often done behind closed doors where others can’t see them trying to figure out how to use a keyboard. These individuals are among the first to delegate the technology to someone else, or otherwise move the machines out of their offices. This may seem like a small thing to dwell on, since many of these people can easily bluff their way through or simply delegate the computer and its keyboard to someone else. One of the problems, however, is that such people wield a lot of power, which they can use to keep the technology out of their offices or departments and thus avoid any kind of embarrassment at all. (As I have watched personal computers begin the march to the desk tops, I have seen frequent attempts made to stop or divert them. In several of these cases, I believe that the lack of typing skills on behalf of the person or persons making the decisions played a prominent part in the underlying rational for keeping them Out.)The need to learn keyboard skills may not be a pressing priority for a lot of those currently in such high level positions, since the greatest impact of personal computers is still in the future. Many of these individuals will make it through their careers without having to worry about using the personal computer as an integral part of their jobs. The next generation of managers and executives, however, will have to possess a greater knowledge of keyboards than did their predecessors. This has the potential of becoming a sensitive training issue in some organizations, one that will require some tact and perseverance in overcoming. It seems inevitable, however, that typing skills will become a necessity in higher level positions that never required them before. Management may not want to hear this, but it is a subject that will have an effect on how they do their jobs in the future. It is to everyone’s benefit if these issues are discussed and planned for openly. It will also require some special training approaches to meet the needs of such a special audience. Until these things occur, the lack f education in typing and keyboard skills will play a part in the fear people have of personal computers in their offices.

 

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