The Search for Relevance in Human Factors

Reviews the book, Measurement of Man at Work: An Appraisal of Physiological and Psychological Criteria in Man-Machine Systems edited by W. T. Singleton, J. G. Fox, and D. Whitfield (see record 1972-03904-000). This book consists of 27 papers based on presentations made during a symposium held in Amsterdam in September 1969 under the sponsorship of the International Ergonomics Association. The subtitle, An Appraisal of Physiological and Psychological Criteria in Man-Machine Systems, gives a clearer indication of the idea behind both the meeting and the publication. The failing of the book is that it never does come to grips with the important problems posed by Chapanis in the introductory chapter. The search for relevance must obviously go beyond the papers in this book. The book has been finely produced and attractively printed by Taylor & Francis Ltd. The authors and editors should be proud of their association with the volume and with each other. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved)