Ari Widyanti

Cultural influences on the measurement of subjective mental workload

Cognitive ergonomics is well entrenched in North American and most European work environments, where systems and products are designed with the capabilities and limitations of the user in mind. A prominent technique for analysing task demands is subjective mental workload measurement. Subjective ratings of mental workload have been shown—in North American and European populations—to be reliable and sensitive to changes in mental workload. However, there is reason to think that cultural differences may affect subjective ratings. This study compared the performance and subjective mental workload ratings of Indonesian (n = 87) and Dutch (n = 88) students in the context of a hybrid memory/visual search task. Performance was comparable for the two groups, but the sensitivity of the subjective workload measures was better in the Dutch than in the Indonesian group. The results are interpreted in light of social axioms and cultural values. Statement of Relevance: Now more than ever ergonomists must think beyond national borders in improving work processes. Globalisation requires that cultural differences be taken into account in developing and applying ergonomic techniques. This paper presents empirical work showing that cultural differences seriously impact the sensitivity of mental workload measures.

National culture moderates the influence of mental effort on subjective and cardiovascular measures

Subjective measures of mental effort have been shown to be relatively insensitive in Indonesian participants. An open question is whether this insensitivity reflects how mental effort is experienced or how it is reported. We compared the performance, subjective workload ratings, heart rate and heart-rate variability (HRV) of 31 Dutch and 30 Indonesian participants under single- and dual-task conditions. Indonesians performed faster but less accurately and used a narrower range of subjective workload ratings than did the Dutch. Dutch participants showed a decrease in HRV both in the mid-frequency (MF) and high-frequency bands and an increase in heart rate during task performance compared with the resting period. Indonesians showed this pattern in the MF band only. The decrease of HRV in the MF band in both groups suggests that the relative insensitivity of subjective mental effort scales among Indonesians has to do with how workload is reported rather than with how it is experienced. Practitioner summary: The sensitivity of the subjective measures of mental workload has been shown to depend on culture. Here, we show that heart-rate variability reacts similarly to workload in Eastern as in Western participants. This suggests that culture influences more how invested mental effort is reported than how it is experienced psychophysiologically.

A Cross-Cultural Analysis of Personality Structure Through the Lens of the HEXACO Model.

ABSTRACT Across 5 different samples, totaling more than 1,600 participants from India, Indonesia, Oman, Romania, and Thailand, the authors address the question of cross-cultural replicability of a personality structure, while exploring the utility of exploratory structural equation modeling (ESEM) as a data analysis technique in cross-cultural personality research. Personality was measured with an alternative, non–Five-Factor Model (FFM) personality framework, provided by the HEXACO–PI (Lee & Ashton, 2004). The results show that the HEXACO framework was replicated in some of the investigated cultures. The ESEM data analysis technique proved to be especially useful in investigating the between-group measurement equivalence of broad personality measures across different cultures.

The sensitivity of galvanic skin response for assessing mental workload in indonesia.

BACKGROUNDnObjective measures have been shown to be equally sensitive in different cultures. However, these measures need special devices that are relatively expensive and need expertise to analyze the result. In Indonesia, there is a need for a sensitive and affordable mental workload measure.nnnOBJECTIVEnTo evaluate the sensitivity of Galvanic Skin Response (GSR) in assessing mental workload in Indonesia.nnnPARTICIPANTSnA total of 72 Indonesian students with normal visual capability.nnnMETHODnParticipants were asked to work on visual memory search task with a secondary task of counting with three different levels of difficulty. GSR, Heart Rate Variability (HRV), and the NASA-TLX were administered prior to, during, and after the tasks.nnnRESULTSnGSR measure was compared to NASA-TLX and HRV measures. Like the HRV, GSR showed to be sensitive in distinguishing rest and task condition significantly but not sensitive in distinguishing different levels of mental workload. In contrast, both the NASA-TLX and performance measure were sensitive in differentiating different levels of mental workload.nnnCONCLUSIONSnGSR has potential as a simple, cost-effective tool for measuring mental workload in Indonesia.

The relation between performance of lean Manufacturing and employee' mental workload

The application of lean manufacturing that is so standardized gives negative aspects for a company, such as the possibility of increased mental workload of employees. The purpose of this study is to observe the relation between lean manufacturing performance and employee mental workload. This research is conducted at an Indonesian aircraft company in division Manufacturing (DPM), Component Assembly (CA), and Final Assembly and Delivery Center (FD). To assess the implementation of lean manufacturing at the company, lean manufacturing benchmarks questionnaire that has been validated into Indonesian is used. Three lean manager in each division fulfill the lean manufacturing benchmark questionnaire. For the measurement of mental workload, the Raw-NASA-TLX is used. 30 operators in each division is participated by fulfilling the raw NASA-TLX questionnaire. Nonparametric statistics showed no significant correlation between the lean manufacturing performance and mental workload. Moderate mental workload in each division is found related with lean manufacturing implementation.

Prevalence of musculoskeletal symptoms/disorders in tofu industries in Kediri

Musculoskeletal symptoms/disorders (MSDs) are symptoms or disorders of muscle tissue or bone structure. Such symptoms will influence performance as well as safety and health of workers, therefore various studies have been done to observe and minimize the MSDs. They are commonly found in industries that involve intense manual task, for example in tofu industries. The purpose of this study is to observe MSDs among workers in tofu industries as the main industry in Kediri city, East Java. 300 workers in tofu industries voluntarily participated in this study by filling out a Nordic body map questionnaire. The participants were selected based on convenience sampling where permit was given by the owner of the industries for the data collection. Result shows that most workers suffer musculoskeletal disorders in the waist and shoulder. Implications of the results are discussed.Musculoskeletal symptoms/disorders (MSDs) are symptoms or disorders of muscle tissue or bone structure. Such symptoms will influence performance as well as safety and health of workers, therefore various studies have been done to observe and minimize the MSDs. They are commonly found in industries that involve intense manual task, for example in tofu industries. The purpose of this study is to observe MSDs among workers in tofu industries as the main industry in Kediri city, East Java. 300 workers in tofu industries voluntarily participated in this study by filling out a Nordic body map questionnaire. The participants were selected based on convenience sampling where permit was given by the owner of the industries for the data collection. Result shows that most workers suffer musculoskeletal disorders in the waist and shoulder. Implications of the results are discussed.