A Human Factors Analysis of Work in Food Pantries: A Case Study of Two Local Pantries

A Human Factors Analysis of Work in Food Pantries: A Case Study of Two Local Pantries Nicholas A. Higgins, B.S., Danielle S. Vanderhill, Keshia D. Pierre, Jeremy DaCruz, Nicholas W. Fraulini & Andrew B. Talone University of Central Florida ABSTRACT The goal of the present study was to investigate the work environment and main work processes in two small food pantries from a human factors perspective. Current research on enhancing food pantries in general is very limited, especially with a focus on human factors improvements. This study specifically aimed to understand and evaluate food pantry design (i.e., the environment and workflow), potential physical demands on worker performance (e.g., heavy lifting), and cognitive components of human-machine interaction for main tasks (e.g., perceptual-motor skills, disuse or misuse of the equipment, mental workload, decision-making, and error-recovery strategies). Findings were then used to identify improvements for current procedures and optimize the work environment and worker performance (i.e., increased comfort and efficiency) for both pantries through the application of human factors principles. The study was conducted over the course of six months. Across both locations, 37 workers were observed in total (16 volunteers and 1 supervisor, 18 student volunteers and 2 supervisors; respectively). Two investigators for each location observed daily tasks and procedures within the pantry and conducted interviews with the pantry supervisors using techniques of ethnography (c.f., Wimmer & Dominick, 2006) and task analysis (c.f., Mayhew, 1999). Interviews addressed which tasks were the most or least common, the easiest or most difficult to perform, any issues workers had in general or specifically with the equipment, and clarification of observation notes. Then a more in-depth analysis was conducted on what were determined to be the main tasks for each pantry (i.e., obtaining pantry items, organizing pantry items, distributing pantry items to clients). Suggestions for enhancing the human-machine interaction (e.g., enhancing the interface used for inputting volunteer and food information) and work environment (e.g., reducing clutter) are provided. It should be noted that sustainable improvement may be difficult to implement in small food pantries given the often transitional nature of the workers. Additional investigations should be implemented to further support small non-profit organizations such as these where there is a great need. Contact Information Nicholas A. Higgins 3609 Stonefield Drive Orlando, FL, 32826 Phone: 850-524-1875 Email: [email protected] University Affiliation: University of Central Florida, Orlando, FL Danielle S. Vanderhill Department of Psychology 4000 Central Florida Blvd Orlando, FL, 32816 Phone: 407-371-7077 Email: [email protected] University Affiliation: University of Central Florida, Orlando, FL Keshia D. Pierre Department of Psychology 4000 Central Florida Blvd Orlando, FL, 32816 Phone: 407-361-8035 Email: [email protected] University Affiliation: University of Central Florida, Orlando, FL Jeremy DaCruz Department of Psychology 4000 Central Florida Blvd Orlando, FL, 32816 Phone: 434-213-0345 Email: [email protected] University Affiliation: University of Central Florida, Orlando, FL Nicholas W. Fraulini Department of Psychology 4000 Central Florida Blvd Orlando, FL, 32816 Phone: 617-968-0496 Email: [email protected] University Affiliation: University of Central Florida, Orlando, FL Andrew B. Talone Department of Psychology 4000 Central Florida Blvd Orlando, FL, 32816 Phone: 407-362-8492 Email: [email protected] University Affiliation: University of Central Florida, Orlando, F

Issues in the balancing of the SMOS ocean salinity trieval cost function

Peer Reviewe

SMOS Measurements Preliminary Validation: Objectives and Approach

European Geosciences Union General Assembly, 2-7 May 2010, Vienna, Austria.-- 2 pagesThe Earth Explorer Soil Moisture and Ocean Salinity (SMOS) mission was successfully launched on November 2nd, 2009, in the framework of the European Space Agency Living Planet programme. It will provide long-awaited remotely-sensed Sea Surface Salinity (SSS) maps over the oceans with a 3-day revisiting time [1]. The SMOS Barcelona Expert Centre (SMOS-BEC) in Barcelona, Spain, will be involved in several activities at different levels of the salinity retrieval processing chain, which are classified according to the objectives/issues being addressed. In particular, those described hereafter refer to the validation of the products and the consolidation/improvement of the salinity retrieval procedure itself [2]. This will be carried out by performing specific comparisons against modelled brightness temperatures (TB) or external salinity data sources. Due to start at the beginning of the Commissioning Phase, the post-launch 6-month checkout and calibration period, these studies will continue through the nominal satellite operation phase. They will support the choice of an optimal data selection strategy in regard to the existing trade-off, for instance the Ascending/Descending tracks selection, the AF-FOV/EAF-FOV (Alias-Free Field Of View/Extended Alias-Free Field Of View) selection, and some possible across-track data filtering. Moreover, they will help in the definition of an optimal processing configuration (separated polarization retrieval versus first Stokes parameter retrieval). Concerning the TB, the approach is to perform inter-comparisons of the TB departures (SMOS TB minus modelled TB, assuming knowledge of auxiliary information and proper TB direct modelling). [...]Peer reviewe

La legge e la regolamentazione antidoping nel 2004

In the last e years important updates have been introduced both in law and in international anti-doping regulations; these have led to a modern and improved giht against doping. This study aims at summarizing the most significant topics inorder to appl these rules in Italy.[...

Usability Of Pay-As-You-Go Cell Phones: A Cross-Cultural Analysis

The goal of the current study was to assess the usability of pay-as-you-go cell phones across specific cultures-one cell phone model from Honduras and one model from the United States. Bilingual participants completed three basic tasks with both cell phones while performing the think-aloud protocol and then completed surveys evaluating their user experience. Findings revealed that participants had more difficulty and were less satisfied when using the Honduran phone to complete the tasks. Universal and cross-cultural usability heuristics are used to evaluate performance issues with the phones and provide basic design recommendations to optimize user performance with the cell phones across the two cultures