Fifth Annual report of the Industrial Fatigue Research Board : to 31st December 1924.

  • Great Britain. Industrial Fatigue Research Board.
Date:
1925
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Fifth Annual report of the Industrial Fatigue Research Board : to 31st December 1924. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    No. 19.—Two Contributions to the Study of Accident Causa- tion, by ETHEL E. OsBorneE, M.Sc., H. M. VERNoN, M.D., and B. Muscio, M.A. 1922. (xi and 36 pages). [Price 1s. 6d. net, post free Is. 74d.] [Part A (The Influence of Temperature and other conditions on the Frequency of Industrial Accidents) is based on observations carried out during the war in certain munition factories in which accurate records of accidents of all kinds were kept. The results indicate that there is a minimum frequency of accidents at a temperature of about 67-5°F., and that both above and below that temperature accidents tend to increase innumber. The ultimate subjective causes of accidents are also discussed, and from a comparison of the day and night incidence the conclusion is reached that speed of work, the psychical state of worker, and, in some instances, fatigue all play a part. Part B (On the Relation of Fatigue and Accuracy to the Speed and Duration of Work) is an account of a laboratory research undertaken in order to determine to what extent accuracy of movement is affected by (a) speed of work, and (bd) fatigue as measured by the duration of work. The results, which are admittedly only tentative, indicate that the former is the important factor, since accuracy diminishes as_ the speed is increased, but actually increases over a continuous spell of work at a constant speed. The preface to the report contains a short analysis of the work carried out on the personal side of accident causation.] No. 28.—The Function of Statistical Method in Scientific Investi- gation, by G. Upny Yute, C.B.E., M.A. F.RS. = 1924. ‘(14 pages.) [Price 6d. net, ‘post free 7}d.] [Describes in popular language the uses and limitations of statistical methods in investigations of the kind carried out by the Board.] No. 29.—The Effects of Posture and Rest in Muscular Work, by E. M. Bepate, M.A., and H. M. Vernon, M.D. = 1924. (55 pages, with plates). [Price 2s. 6d. net, post free 2s. 74d.] [This Report contains the results of two investigations on muscular work. In the first of these, eight common methods of weight-carrying are compared. It is shown that these have a definite order of merit, as demanding different expenditures in the chemical exchanges of the body, and that these physiological ‘‘costs’’ are related to physical causes, particularly to the degree to which the body’s normal centre of gravity is displaced. The second investigation deals with effects of maximal effort in lifting and pulling, etc. The principal points that emerge are, first the existence of an optimum height from the ground at which the greatest effort can be exerted, and of a ‘‘ weak spot ’’’ nearer the ground, secondly the beneficial influence of changes in posture on the maintenance of pulling capacity, and lastly the beneficial influence of rest-pauses interpolated between the pulls. ]