PSYCH 494
Human Factors and Ergonomics
Industrial/Organizational Psychology
Design: The Good, the Bad, & the Ugly
Foundational Research Tutorials
— UAlberta Library tutorial videos step you through the process of finding research
UAlberta Libraries: A-Z Databases
— UAlberta credentials required to access online databases
Reading Reports of Empirical Studies
— helps you to learn how to read research studies, by Dr. Connie Varnhagen of the UofA
The Literature Review: A Few Tips On Conducting It
— What is a review of the literature? And how do you write one?
Writing a Psychology Literature Review
— from selecting a topic and collecting articles, to reading them, to writing the review
APA Style
— official site for APA style (including free Handouts and Guides)
Tutorials and Webinars
— tutorial and videos on the basics of APA style
APA Style Blog
— this official blog describes ways of citing and referencing all kinds of weird things (like Advance Online Publication)
APA Citation Style (7th edition)
— UAlberta Library information about citing and referencing
Purdue OWL: APA Style Introduction
— extensive description of APA style from the Purdue Online Writing Lab
Digital Object Identifier system
— resources on DOIs
Crossref
— search for the DOI of a source
APA Style Checklists:
— formatting, citations, references
Editing Checklist for Psychology Papers
— good checklist for word usage and grammar (archived)
Writing Services
— this UAlberta resource offers free, one-on-one writing support to all students
How to Avoid Plagiarism
— UAlberta tips for avoiding plagiarism
Plagiarism: What it is and how to recognize and avoid it
— this quiz tests your understanding of appropriate use of sources
Don Norman — Human Centered Design
— the guy who wrote the textbook
Don Norman’s jnd website
— contains excerpts from some of his books
Nielsen Norman Group
— Jakob Nielsen & Donald Norman’s consulting company
The Design Lab - UC San Diego
— Don Norman is the Director of this research lab
Design for the 21st Century with Don Norman
— online course on applying human-centered design principles to solve global problems
Human Factors 101
— not an online course, but a good introduction to topics and career profiles in human factors
People-centred designing
— free online course from the Open University focusing on usability
Human Factors and Engineering Psychology
— the American Psychological Association explains human factors
Human Factors FAQList
— Frequently Asked Questions on the human factors profession
Human Factors blogs and podcasts:
• Human Factors Cast — podcast about psychology, engineering, biomechanics, industrial design, physiology and anthropometry and how they affect our interaction with technology
• 1202 - The Human Factors Podcast — explores aspects of human factors, from practitioners in the field, through processes and tools that are useful, and other information and news
• The Power of Why — Spotify show explores human error, consulting, management and innovation
• The UI Observatory — trying to understand which interfaces between man and machine work well, which don’t, and why
• Human Factors 101 — an introduction to HF/E
• uiux.pt — usability & user experience thoughts
• Human Factors (discontinued)
• Unpleasant Design — case studies of design that is...unpleasant
Get Me The Geeks!
— 60 Minutes segment on complexity creep, featuring Don Norman
Disasters
— some background material on Three Mile Island, Chernobyl, and the blackout of 1965 (archived)
How To Find a Job or Graduate School in Design or HCI
— great advice from Don Norman. Get a job!
The Principles of Scientific Management
— complete book written by Frederick Winslow Taylor (1911)
The Easier Way
— short film from 1946 on time and motion studies by General Motors
Taylorism
— ABC News report on Taylor and scientific management
Frederick Taylor and Scientific Management
— includes description of work by Taylor and his ideas of scientific management
The Gilbreth Network
— explores the lives and work of efficiency experts Frank Gilbreth and Lillian Moller Gilbreth
The Original Films of Frank Gilbreth
— silent films showing the Gilbreth’s time and motion studies (part II here)
Cheaper by the Dozen (1950), and Belles on Their Toes (1952)
— information on the movies based on the Gilbreths (don’t bother with the bad 2003 remake)
Hawthorne Effect
— more details on Elton Mayo’s experiments leading to industrial psychology
Alphonse Chapanis - Wikipedia page
— the father of human factors died October 15, 2002 :-(
First Ladies of HFES
— articles on significant contributions made by women in human factors
Human Factors and Ergonomics Society (HFES)
• organization for human factors professionals
• has many technical groups specialize in specific topics
• also publishes human factors journals
Association of Canadian Ergonomists (ACE)
— about ergonomics and ergonomists in Canada (formerly the Human Factors Association of Canada)
American Psychological Association: Division 21
— this group’s focus is Applied Experimental & Engineering Psychology
Chartered Institute of Ergonomics & Human Factors (UK) (CIEHF)
— organization for professionals using information about people to design for comfort, efficiency and safety
International Ergonomics Association (IEA)
— association of ergonomics and human factors societies around the world
Explore the Possibilities...
— HFES careers pamphlet describing work, educational background, employment areas, and salaries in HF/E
A Career in Human Factors Psychology
— the APA describes human factors and engineering psychology
Careers in Applied Psychology: Human Factors Careers in Applied Psychology Panel
— APA webinar video about HFE careers
Careers in ergonomics and human factors
— the CIEHF includes a career guide describing jobs in the field
Human Factors/Ergonomics Graduate Programs Directory
— the HFES lists North American institutions that offer master’s and doctorate degrees
Canadian College for the Certification of Professional Ergonomists
— the CCCPE describes certification requirements, the certification process, and has FAQs
Board of Certification in Professional Ergonomics
— the BCPE certifies all levels of HF/E professionals
Professional Certification
— describes the Canadian Certified Professional Ergonomist (CCCPE) designation
A Career in Ergonomics & Usability
— great site from the University of Toronto includes certification information
Quick Tips For Finding a Human Factors/Ergonomics Job In Industry
— describes educational achievements, internship experience, networking, and more
Ergonomic Professionals in Alberta
— a list of HF/E professionals
Education & Career Resources
— HFES has a learning centre, job board, and an annual job fair
Ergonomist Salary
— this page tracks the average salary for ergonomists in Canada
human factors jobs
— current job listings in Canada
EWI Works
— local Edmonton-based ergonomics consultants
Human Factors North
— this firm specializes in human factors and ergonomics, and conducts applied research, assessments, design guidance, forensic expert opinions, and training
C3 Human Factors
— this independent consultancy specializes in optimizing how individuals and teams interact with technology
HumanSystems Incorporated
— HSI works help make people safer, better at their job, and able to work more effectively
Industrial-Organizational Psychology
— free textbook chapter all about I/O psychology
A fast-growing segment of psychology is landing grads jobs in Corporate America
— Fortune article about job prospects in I/O psych
Fixing the Hated Open-Design Office
— Scientific American looks at productivity and health issues caused by “open-plan” offices and how to fix them
Yes, the Open Office Is Terrible - But It Doesn’t Have to Be
— Freakonomics podcast episode covers research on the open-plan office
I/O programs in Canada:
• Adler University: Master of Arts/Master of Industrial and Organizational Psychology
• Adler University: Doctor of Philosophy in Industrial and Organizational Psychology
• Saint Mary’s University: Industrial/Organizational (I/O) Psychology (PhD)
• University of Calgary: Industrial Organizational Psychology Graduate Program (MSc, PhD)
• University of Guelph: Graduate Program in Industrial-Organizational Psychology (MA, PhD)
• University of Waterloo: Industrial-Organizational Psychology (MASc, PhD)
• University of Western Ontario: Industrial/Organizational Psychology (MSc, PhD)
• Canadian Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology: I/O programs in Canada
How Blackouts Work
— from HowStuffWorks
A timeline of the 2003 blackout
— this detailed timeline from CNN.com shows the extent and speed of the problem (archived)
Blackout
— CBC site with background, explanations, and general advice for emergencies
North American Electric Reliability Council
— electricity industry group that investigates power outages
Blackout History Project
— archives information on the New York City blackouts of 1965 and 1977
Visualizing The U.S. Electric Grid
— interactive map of the U.S. electric grid (sorry, no Canada)
Affordances and Design — brief article by Don Norman on affordances
Giving You Fitts
— Microsoft Office user interface blog article on Fitts’s law
A Quiz Designed to Give You Fitts
— a test on the application of Fitts’s law to human-computer interface
Interactive Fitts’s Law demos:
• An Interactive Visualisation of Fitts’s Law
Visualizing Fitts’s Law
— good visual introduction to understanding Fitt’s Law
Fitts’s law applied to the web
— a consideration of web interface design
Improving Usability with Fitts’ Law
— more detailed application of Fitts to human-computer interactikon
The Road to Clarity
— New York Times Magazine article on the history and development of the ClearviewHwy font (UAlberta credentials required)
ClearviewHWY
— official website of the ClearviewHwy font
Design and Use Policy for Clearview Alphabet
— more on ClearviewHwy from the U.S. Department of Transportation
Votomatic
— the machine used in Palm Beach County in 2000
Election 2000
— a case study in human factors and design
Butterfly voters confused
— article on the Sinclair et al. (2000) study
From Ballots to Cockpits, Questions of Design
— The New York Times interview with Don Norman
The Butterfly Ballot: Anatomy of a Disaster
— by Bruce Tognazzini, renowned Apple interface designer, who now works for the Nielsen Norman Group
The Usability of Punched Ballots
— article on improving usability in America’s voting systems
Usability and the US Presidential Election Ballot
— collection of links to news stories, commentary, research studies, and more (archived)
The Problems with Poor Ballot Design
— a Q&A with psychologist Philip Kortum
Anywhere Ballot
— this interactive ballot was designed by the Center for Civic Design, which has UX guidelines for ballots
Making Votes Count
— it’s as much about psychology (and ballot design) as security; from the APS Observer
Impossible Objects
— catalog of Jacques Carelman’s impossible objects (archived)
Everyday Objects Redesigned to Make You Uncomfortable
— usability = 0, coolness = 100! (by Katerina Kamprani)
Norman Doors
— tumblr with so many Norman doors
Deceptive Design
— worse than just poor design, deceptive design (or “dark patterns”) tricks users into doing things they don’t want to do (see also articles by Vox and The Verge)
Unpleasant Design & Hostile Urban Architecture
— podcast episode and examples of design intended to be hostile, from 99% Invisible
Bad Usability
— X account on bad designs
This is Broken
— a project to make businesses more aware of their customer experience, and how to fix it
Bad Ergonomics
— from the HFES Europe Chapter
Bad Designs website
— cool examples of bad design, and proposed solutions
Who Designed This Thing?
— human factors engineering, illustrated by good and bad design examples for common, everyday consumer products and interactions (archived)
/r/CrappyDesign
— subreddit about designs so bad, they hurt your eyes
uglydesign
— Instagram of truly ugly designs
Skeu It!
— collection of skeuomorphs: visual metaphors
The church of usability
— Builder.com article featuring six different web designers discussing usability
Usability
— U.S. Government’s resources on user experience, usability testing, and design
Usable Web
— collection of links about website design
Web Pages That Suck
— excellent information on how not to design web pages
Color & Usability Matters
— examples of how colour affects usability
Vitality GlowCap®
— uses light, sound, and app for scheduled medication reminders (archived)
Symbol Signs
— classic set designed for airports and transportation hubs by the AIGA and DOT in 1974
The international language of ISO graphical symbols
— booklet of cartoons showing ISO 7001, Graphical symbols -- Public information symbols
Symbols.com
— the web’s largest resource for symbols, signs, & flags
5 Confusing Icons and Their History
— explains the history behind the share, play, Bluetooth, USB, and power button icons
The Accessible Icon Project
— design activism to reconceptualize the International Symbol of Access
A brief history of pictograms and ideograms
— this article discusses some of the nuances of these images, including when they overlap
6 Disasters Caused by Poorly Designed User Interfaces
— unfortunate consequences of bad design
Apple Shouldn’t Make Software Look Like Real Objects
— Scientific American column against skeumorphs by David Pogue
Inside the world of instruction manuals
— BBC article on instruction manuals--from Ikea to augmented reality
As We May Think
— read a view of the future, written in 1945 by Vannevar Bush
Design & Emotion
— about the emotional design of products, services, and brands (also has lots of interviews)
Design & Emotion Society
— working to integrate emotional experience into design
Patrick W. Jordan
— X account for the noted design, marketing, and brand strategist who promotes emotional design
Don Norman: 3 ways good design makes you happy
— TED talk by Don Norman on his theory of emotional design
Don Norman: Emotional Design
— Don Norman discusses emotional design and user experience
Emotion & Design
— articles by Don Norman on Emotional Design
Design and emotion
— definitions, measuring, applications, and links to further information
Kansei Design Lee Lab
— Kansei research lab at the University of Tsukuba
SA Technologies, Inc.
— publications on various aspects of situational awareness
Cognitive Solutions
— this division of consulting company Applied Research Associates uses knowledge about psychology and human factors to aid decision making
Birthday Paradox Calculator
— interactive calculator, with explanation
Bank Note Series
— listing of bank notes of various series, from the Bank of Canada
Making Change
— Failure magazine explains how the Susan B. Anthony shaped the Golden Dollar
Cognitive Bias Cheat Sheet
— categorized by information overload, lack of meaning, the need to act fast, and how to know what needs to be remembered for later
Distraction.gov
— official US government site about distracted driving
Hands-Free Info
— lists cell phone laws and legislation, and has updated news
Applied Basic Cognition Laboratory
— lab of David Strayer looks at effects of advanced in-car technologies on driving performance and traffic safety
Highway Safety Research Center
— at the University of North Carolina; has info for the public
Driving and Dialing
— special report from CBC.ca
Advocates for cell-free driving:
• EndDD
• Texting & Driving...It Can Wait
Distracted driving simulators:
• Heads UP: The distracted driving challenge
How to use Driving Focus on your iPhone to concentrate on the road
Android Auto
— mobile app to connect Android smartphones to vehicles
Apps/hardware that block/delay cell communication while driving:
8 drivers who blindly followed their GPS into disaster
— yikes!
Integrated Vehicle-Based Safety Systems
— Intelligent Vehicles Initiative from the US Department of Transportation
Intelligent Transportation Society of America
— about using technology to increase safety and efficiency
Human Factors Group
— part of the Transportation Research Institute; the interactions of the driver, the vehicle, and the environment
iDrive:
— NYTimes article, Scientific American article, and YouTube promo video about the elaborate control system
SAVE-IT
— SAfety VEhicle using adaptive Interface Technology (SAVE-IT) is designed to help drivers
NASA Human Factors
— reseach and technology on information processing, automation integration, and system safety
ASRS
— Aviation Safety Reporting System website
Asaf Degani
— LinkedIn page for this Technical Fellow at General Motors Advanced Technology Center
Aviation Safety Network & Bureau of Aircraft Accidents Archives
— internet resources for news in aviation safety, & accident database
Air Canada 143 (the “Gimli Glider”)
— Wikipedia entry on this incident, mentioned in the textbook
Northwest 255
— description, photos, video, and article about Northwest Airlines flight 255 (MD-82), August 16, 1987
Delta 1141
— description, photos, and article about Delta Air Lines flight 1141 (B727-232), August 31, 1988
USAir 5050
— description, and article about USAir flight 5050 (B737-401), September 20, 1989
Air Transat 236
— description, video, and article about Air Transat flight 236 (A330-243), August 24, 2001
Eastern 401
— description, photos, video, and article about Eastern Air Lines flight 401 (L-1011-1), December 29, 1972
United 173
— description, photos, and article about United Airlines flight 173 (DC-8-61), December 28, 1978
United 232
— description, video, and article about United Airlines flight 232 (DC-10-10), July 19, 1989
Scientific American Frontiers, hosted by Alan Alda: Cockpit Confusion
— to watch video, under “603 - Episode 3 - Flying High” click “Watch Episode”
— transcript of video
— description, video, and article about Air Inter flight 148 (A320-111), January 20, 1992 (case of mode confusion shown in the video)
— R. John Hansman of MIT, who designs advanced cockpit information systems, was featured in the video
The Deadliest Plane Crash
— companion site for episode of the PBS series NOVA
The Human Factor
— Vanity Fair article on the human factors involved in Air France 447
The Checklist Manifesto
— website for Atul Gawande’s book on checklists (based on this article he wrote for the New Yorker)
WHO Surgical Safety Checklist
— developed to decrease errors and adverse events, and increase teamwork and communication in surgery
FreeChecklists.net
— download free aircraft checklists and handling notes
Crew Resource Management (CRM)
— description of CRM from SKYbrary
Safer Air Travel Through Crew Resource Management
— CRM prevents aviation accidents and may soon save lives in operating and emergency rooms
Sudden Acceleration & Stuck Throttles
— an essay giving another view of unintended acceleration, from e-zine Autospeed
Sudden Unintended Acceleration
— discussion of SUA in Jeeps, with info from ABC News Primetime Live (archived)
Revisionist History: Blame Game
— excellent episode of Malcolm Gladwell’s podcast on sudden acceleration in Toyotas
How To Deal With Unintended Acceleration
— Car and Driver puts unintended acceleration to the test and examines how to handle a runaway vehicle
Women in Transportation: Elizabeth Dole
— Dole pushed for the third brake light; from the US Department of Transportation
Traffic Psychology
— includes information on driving, traffic, and road rage (archived)
Traffic Safety
— online book by Dr. Leonard Evans discusses multiple risk factors in driving
NHTSA
— US National Highway and Transportation Safety Association website
Alberta Class 7 Practice Test Signs
— take this interactive quiz to test your knowledge of traffic signs
Escape! Fire, Car Crash, Plane Crash, Abandon Ship
— what engineers have learned from past disasters to make accidents increasingly survivable
Encyclopedia Titanica
— Titanic passenger and crew biography, Titanic history, research and discussions
The Psychology of the Breathtakingly Stupid Mistake
— Scientific American article on three distinct types of errors--with some fun examples
Why Things Fail: From Tires to Helicopter Blades, Everything Breaks Eventually
— article on reliability, failure, and warranties from Wired magazine
Human Error in Simple but Nontrivial Cognitive Actions
— for a lot of different tasks, from the Human Error Home Page
The Swiss cheese infographic that went viral
— gives history of Reason's Swiss Cheese model, in the context of response to the COVID-19 pandemic
Human Factors Analysis and Classification System
— all about HFACS from SKYbrary
The HFACS Framework
— introduction by the consulting firm of the creators of HFACS
Nuclear Power Plant
— still don’t get nuclear power plants? This is a great, basic introduction.
How Nuclear Power Works
— from HowStuffWorks
The quick virtual nuclear power plant tour
— from The Virtual Nuclear Tourist
The Three Mile Island Event
— from The Virtual Nuclear Tourist
Meltdown at Three Mile Island
— from The American Experience show on PBS (watch online here)
Inside Three Mile Island: Minute By Minute
— excellent narrative and explanation of the structure of the plant, and the events (archived)
Three Mile Island: The Inside Story
— explainer website about the meltdown
A Nuclear Nightmare in Pennsylvania
— a report 20 years later, from the Washington Post
The Chernobyl Event
— from The Virtual Nuclear Tourist
RBMK Reactors
— reactor description from the World Nuclear Association
Back to Chernobyl
— watch this episode of NOVA online
The Chernobyl Gallery
— eerie photographs of Chernobyl and Pripyat after the world’s worst nuclear disaster
Chernobyl after 30 years: a photo gallery
— photos of a walkthrough the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in honor of Vladimir Ilyich Lenin
Nuclear power plant simulators: these interactive games let you test what you’ve learned
• Nuclear Institute nuclear reactor simulator
• UManchester nuclear reactor simulator
• Nuclear Power Plant Simulator (archived)
The Nuclear Institute: Nuclear Reactor Simulator
Nuclear Power Reborn
— Scientific American article about the application for the first new nuclear power plant in the U.S. in 30 years
Fukushima crisis: Anatomy of a meltdown
— account of the 2011 crisis in Japan
A Century of Spectacular Failure
— article on the top 20 failures from 1900-1999 from Wired.com
Najmedin Meshkati’s website
— at the University of Southern California
Bhopal.org, Bhopal.net
— information on the Bhopal tragedy
Tacoma Narrows bridge
— explanation of the famous bridge collapse
Exponent, Inc. (formerly Failure Associates)
— consulting company that analyzes when things go wrong; has interesting project highlights
BSMS
— this consultancy promotes behavior-based safety and safety culture, and has many free online resources
60% of Projects Fail: Improve Your Odds with the Premortem Technique
— blog post about the premortem (with free guide)
WOOP
— apply the Wish-Outcome-Obstacle-Plan technique to your life; similar to the premortem strategy
55 Funniest Signs Around the World
— signs that are funny (What did you expect?)
Warning Labels
— more funny actual warning labels
Score Your Safety Culture
— try James Reason’s interactive online checklist for institutional safety
Shared Space
— European project about designing public spaces for pedestrians and vehicles, without traffic signals, signs, or road markings
Complete Streets Guidelines
— the City of Edmonton’s vision and strategic plan for enhanced complete streets
Complete Streets for Canada
— policy and design hub for building safe and inviting streets for all
National Complete Streets Coalition
— promotes the development and implementation of Complete Streets policies and professional practice; a coalition of over 1,000 separate agencies
Where the sidewalk doesn’t end
— blog post from the Project for Public Spaces
Shared Streets
— information from the Global Designing Cities Initiative
Roads Gone Wild
— article on the late Hans Monderman, designer of Shared Space, from Wired magazine
Monderman videos
— first of 10 YouTube videos of Hans Monderman showing Shared Space in Drachten
Traffic: Why We Drive the Way We Do
— companion website for Tom Vanderbilt’s book
Mission 51-L
— official NASA site for the last Challenger mission
Rogers Commission Report
— Report of the Presidential Commission on the Space Shuttle Challenger Accident
The Shuttle Challenger Memorial
— memorial for the Challenger astronauts at the Arlington National Cemetery
How the Challenger Disaster Happened
— Time magazine’s original cover story from 1986
Fifteen years after Challenger, NASA inoculates against ‘go fever’
— report from CNN.com
Go or No Go: The Challenger Legacy
— The New York Times Retro Report looks back at Challenger after 30 years, as well Columbia (also available here
The Challenger: An Information Disaster
— excerpt from Edward R. Tufte’s book Visual Explanations
Space Shuttle News Reference Manual
— the manual for the space shuttle program, revised after the Challenger disaster
Remembering Roger Boisjoly: He Tried To Stop Shuttle Challenger Launch
— NPR radio story about whistle-blower Roger Boisjoly
Mission STS-107
— official NASA site for the last Columbia mission
Columbia Accident Investigation Board
— results of the Gehman investigation of the February 1, 2003 tragedy
The Columbia Disaster
— articles from the Washington Post
The Space Program: Triumph and Tragedy
— photo gallery from The Washington Post Online
Space Shuttle Era
— general information and details about the Space Transportation System
Touchy-Feely NASA Effort
— Wired article on changing NASA’s culture
One Size Fits Nobody: Seeking a Steady 4 or a 10
— describes the problem of vanity sizing, with chart comparing several designers
Aeron Chair
— product information, with background and in-depth ergonomics information
The Untold Story Of How The Aeron Chair Was Born
— FastCoDesign reveals the surprising origins of this high-tech design classic
Herman Miller Just Redesigned Its Iconic Aeron Chair
— Wired on the newest version of the Aeron chair
Against Chairs
— are chairs bad for us?
Occupational Safety & Health Administration
— OSHA in the US has many ergonomics guidelines
Interface Analysis Associates
— human factors, usability, and ergonomics consultancy
Office Ergonomics
— Washington State Department of Labor & Industries computer workstation office ergonomics online safety course
Setting Up Your Desktop
— Microsoft has ergonomic tips on using a computer workstation
Office Ergonomics
— animated online training session to help you make your workstation more ergonomic
Safety and Comfort Guide
— by HP; more ergonomic info on using a computer
Push/Pull/Carry Calculator and Lift/Lower Calculator
— online calculators from WorkSafeBC show force needed for certain tasks
Ergobuyer
— ergonomic products and services
System Concepts
— ergonomics consulting firm; has online case studies
ErgoWeb
— occupational ergonomics company, offering consulting and training
Carpal Tunnel Syndrome, Typing Injury FAQ
— includes information on how to avoid injuries
The Center for Excellence in Universal Design
— discusses what UD is all about
UniversalDesign.com
— billed as the leading source for news and information on UD
The Universal Design Network of Canada
— provides best practice resources in UD on the built environment, the virtual environment, and products
Universal Design
— Institute for Human Centered Design gives UD history, and many resources to learn more
Universal Design Case Studies
— a collection of many categories of interesting UD case studies
Universal Design
— explains the goals of UD
Universal Design Product Collection
— digital archive of the Unlimited by Design collection of over 200 products
The untold story of the vegetable peeler that changed the world
— Fast Company reveals the history of OXO’s iconic swivel peeler
The Encyclopedia of Human-Computer Interaction, 2nd Ed.
— free online book written by leading designers, authors, and professors
ACM SIGCHI
— Association for Computing Machinery Special Interest Group on Computer-Human Interaction
IBM Design
— information about design, careers in design, and more from IBM
Evaluating Usability
— Microsoft article on computer usability
Epic failures: 11 infamous software bugs
— a list from Computerworld
Mariner 1
— a computer error sent Venus space probe off-course in 1962
Risks Digest
— digest of the comp.risks newsgroup
Computer Stupidities and Tales from the Techs
— do you feel stupid when it comes to computers? Tech-support thinks you are!
Year 200 problem
— Wikipedia article
The Y2K Solution: Run for Your Life!!
— article describing programmer’s perspective of Y2K, from Wired magazine
Powerless
— article comparing Y2K to the Great Ice Storm in Eastern Canada in 1998, from Wired magazine
The Myth of Order
— article discussing Y2K and the realities of software, from Wired magazine
Killed by a Machine: The Therac-25
— describes the incidents and investigation
Race conditions in Therac-25
— part of a series on the the worst computer bugs in history
The Therac-25 Case
— from ComputingCases.org, presenting ethical issues in computing
To Err Is Human: Building a Safer Health System
— the Institute of Medicine’s groundbreaking study of error in medicine
Advances in Patient Safety: From Research to Implementation
— a 4-volume collection of research into patient safety and error, published by the AHRQ in 2005
Grapefruit Juice and Some Drugs Don’t Mix
— info sheet from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration
How jelly beans made a Canadian man deathly ill, and highlighted the dangers of licorice
— National Post story on black licorice’s effects on blood pressure and potassium levels
Can You Read These Rxs?
— here are some actual prescriptions that pharmacists have to try to read
Institute for Safe Medication Practices
— the ISMP is behind initiatives like “tall man” letters on prescriptions and ISMP’s List of Confused Drug Names
Institute for Safe Medication Practices Canada
— independent national not-for-profit organization committed to the advancement of medication safety in all healthcare settings; also runs SafeMedicationUse.ca
The art and science of naming drugs
— article on the challenge of naming drugs, and why so many names use the letters X, Y, and Z
Drug name or Pokémon? Sporcle, Sporcle II, Sporcle III, AllTheTests.com
— test your knowledge of whether a name refers to an antibiotic or a Normal (A medicine or a poison? A drug or a dragon?)
Sorry Works!
— promotes disclosure, apology (when appropriate), and upfront compensation (when necessary) after adverse medical events
Patients for Patient Safety Canada
— advocating to improve patient safety at all levels in the health system
Healthcare Excellence Canada
— HEC brings together the Canadian Patient Safety Institute and Canadian Foundation for Healthcare Improvement
Health Quality Council of Alberta
— the HQCA identifies best practices, and reviews and monitors health care quality in Alberta (more on Hazards of Abbreviations and Symbols bookmarks here)
Why Doctors Make Mistakes
— the first episode (UK version) is available on YouTube