PSYCH 494
Human Factors and Ergonomics
Industrial/Organizational Psychology
Design: The Good, the Bad, & the Ugly
Foundational Research Tutorials
— University of Alberta Library tutorial videos step you through the process of finding research
University of Alberta Library: A-Z Databases
— University of Alberta 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)
— University of Alberta 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)
Academic Success Centre > Writing
— this University of Alberta resource offers free, one-on-one writing support to all students
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 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 Gilbreths
— 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 that 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
UX/UI Design Diploma
— online course offered by the University of Alberta - Continuing Education
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 postings in Canada
Canadian companies:
• 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
• Marc Green — consulting, testimony & depositions, and design & testing
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 (in-person or online)
• 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
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
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
— many examples of bad design
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
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
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
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 Museum
History of the Susan B. Anthony Dollar Coin
— explains why it failed to gain popularity
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
How to use Driving Focus on your iPhone to concentrate on the road
— support article from Apple
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:
— New York Times article, Scientific American article, and YouTube promo video about the elaborate control system
Human Factors & Performance
— explains how NASA applies human factors research
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
• The Nuclear Institute: Nuclear Reactor Simulator
• UManchester nuclear reactor simulator
• Nuclear Power Plant Simulator (archived)
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
50 Of The Funniest Signs Ever Spotted In The Wild
— some 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: Making Canada’s roads safer for all
— case study in sustainable transportation
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
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 a chart comparing several designers
Clothing Sizes Are More Inconsistent Than Ever
— recent article on vanity sizing from Fashion magazine
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
How to create a comfortable workspace with ergonomic computing
— Microsoft has ergonomic tips on using a computer
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
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
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
Inclusive Design Case Studies
— a collection of many categories of interesting Universal Design 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
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
Why Grapefruit Interferes with Medication, and What to Do about It
— article from Scientific American (University of Alberta credentials required)
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? Quizlet, JetPunk, Sporcle II, Sporcle III, CHN, Bizjournals
— 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 Alberta
— the HQA (formerly the Health Quality Council of Alberta) 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