3rd Turkish Ergonomics Congress Ankara, 22-24 May 1991

This conference, at the Middle East Technical University, was the Third Turkish Ergonomics Congress (Note: they have as yet no Turkish Ergonomics Society). I t is a peri- patetic affair, moving between Ankara, Istanbul and Izmir; indeed, there is some healthy rivalry here as to which centre best represents the growth of ergonomics.

Two concurrent sessions ran throughout the three days, attended by about 100 delegates. Although most sessions were in Turkish and thus difficult to ascertain their con- tent, one whole day's session was in English. This contained three invited speakers from the UK and Germany, and a number of Turkish ergonomists also. On the last morning a three-hour open panel session was held, with a question-and-answer discussion between the visiting speakers and the audience into the current trends in ergonomics around the world.

Previously, my main contact with Turkish ergonomics has been in the reviewing and editing of scientific

papers. This had given the impression that most of the work was in anthro- pomet ry and work physiology. How- ever, the presentations on topics as diverse as mental workload, robotics, quality control and icon design, as well as the evident breadth and depth of interest in ergonomics shown in the panel session, show this to be a false impression. Particularly, there was much debate on the meaning, measurement and significance of stress - a familiar debate for many of us, and possibly one that will not get our Turkish colleagues very far. None the less, the conference, and more significantly discussions with individuals, showed Turkish ergon- omics to be in a relatively heal thy state.

John Wilson

Participatory approaches to improving workplace health Michigan, USA, 3-5 (6-7) June 1991

It is always salutary to mix witfi specialists from different disciplines outside the usual world of ergonomists, psychologists and physiologists. This three-day conference brought

together a wide variety of 250 dele- gates and speakers, from ergonomics, occupational heal th and safety, labour studies, t rade unions, industrial management, etc. Constant themes were heal th and stress (in its widest sense) at work, strategies and pro- cesses for change, empowerment of the workforce, part icipation, cross- cultural issues and global socio- economic influences.

Those at tending were from both sides of industry, from education, consultancy and academic research, and from countries as far-flung as Zimbabwe and Trinidad & Tobago, as well as a smattering o f Germans, Swedes and a sole UK representative! The organisers, the Labor Studies Center and the School of Public Health at the University of Michigan, bravely tried out a number of participative and discussion formats, some of which worked well. A two-day meeting at the end, for speakers only, allowed a more leisurely review of the issues, and an agenda to be set for future meetings, networking, training programmes in each other 's countries, and resource production. Altogether, the week was a productive and worth- while enterprise.

John Wilson

284 Applied Ergonomics August 1991