Ergonomics 12/9/11

Ergonomics is the “applied science concerned with the characteristics of people that need to be considered in designing and arranging things that they use in order that people and things will interact most effectively and safely” (“ergonomics”, Miriam Webster Online)

Ergonomics is about the fit and interaction between the person, activity and environment. These factors can either afford or press the activity.

In my experiences of cooking as the person there are many considerations that impact on the ergonomics of my cooking. This includes my past experiences of cooking which gives me knowledge of recipes, methods and gives me the skill set that I use when cooking. This both affords my cooking as it gives me the building blocks to cook but simultaneously ‘presses’ my cooking  in I am limited by what I don’t know. My past experiences influence my self-efficacy and how competent I feel in cooking. My preferences for different foods influence what I cook. For me the biggest presses that influence my cooking are the time available, energy, motivation and the costs involved. My sense of agency, or why I am cooking, impacts on how much effort I put into cooking. Usually when cooking for myself it can be simply a matter of sustenance while if I am cooking for others I am more motivated to put more thought and effort into making a meal to impress. It is different when I am with my family where I am expected to cook. This both reflects the roles I have chosen to take in my family and also wider societal values in which women are expected to cook.

The nature of the activity itself can be determined or adapted by many factors. In cooking this can be how processed your ingredients are.  This is on a continuum from what is considered from scratch to pre-made. This greatly influences the activity by how much labour is involved. .  The activity is changed whether or not a recipe is used (which is something I rarely do) or by adapting a recipe. It can be simple or complicated in both ingredients and method, traditional or more experimental.

Wendy Molony (1997) describes the fit between her and her “waste not, want not” (p.31) approach to life. Because of financial presses of “never having money to waste” (p.31) she speaks with pride that she “can live on the smell of an oily rag” (p. 34)  stating that it comes from the pioneer in you, the way you’re brought up” (p.34). Similarly I feel that the presses of being a student both financial and time available influence and have pressed me to adapt what I cook. 

Ergonomics. 2011. In Merriam-Webster.com. Retrieved May 8, 2011, from http://www.merriamwebster.com/dictionary/ergonomics

Unknown author. (1997, June). [Interview with Wendy Molony]. Occupation, 5(1), 28-34.