Ruth Sims

• PhD, MSc Ergonomics, BSc (hons) Psychology
• Lecturer at University of Derby

During the COVID-19 pandemic, there was a shortage of personal protective equipment, PPE, which resulted in non-certified PPE being used by healthcare staffs. These would not provide the appropriate protection against the SARS-CoV-2 virus. Together with the local NHS Trust (University Hospitals of Derby and Burton (UHDB) NHS Foundation Trust) and a...

During the COVID-19 pandemic, there was a shortage of personal protective equipment, PPE, which resulted in non-certified PPE being used by healthcare staffs. These would not provide the appropriate protection against the SARS-CoV-2 virus. Together with the local NHS Trust (University Hospitals of Derby and Burton (UHDB) NHS Foundation Trust) and a...

This paper explores the potential for interventions to develop pro-animal welfare habitual behaviours (PAWHBs) in people to improve the lives of animals. Human behavioural research indicates that opportunities exist to deliver lasting change through developing positive habitual behaviours. The routine nature of many equine care and management pract...

A quantitative field study measured end-user availability, knowledge and use levels of adjustable office chair functions in Korea-based office workers, together with their perceived barriers towards making adjustments. Fifty-one English-speaking workers were interviewed and surveyed in a related design. Results showed that of the number of adjustab...

Introduction In Britain today, living arrangements vary: we live on our own, as couples, in families or in non-related groups, across a range of dwelling types and experiencing different forms of domesticity and tenure. While older members of the population are likely to have experienced rented accommodation during their lives, over the past 30 yea...

This chapter discusses the domestic kitchen in the lives of older people whose ages range across four decades and who were born between 1919 and 1948. They were living in various types of housing from detached to terraced; from maisonette to flat; from mainstream to supportive. By looking at past experiences of the kitchen across the life course ge...

This paper presents research into the area of public transport and accessibility, addressing the support of practitioners in achieving socially inclusive solutions to the mobility issues of diverse populations. For decades, social policy has been underpinned by a stereotyping of populations into simplified sub groups: old, young, disabled, etc. and...

This paper presents an empirical comparison of idea generation within the context of reducing the number of single occupancy car journeys to and from a UK university campus. Separate co-design and consultative groups were matched with respect to (1) creativity when problem solving, (2) normal commuting mode and (3) intention to adopt sustainable be...

The kitchen is an important area in the home serving many purposes both functional and social. It is central to enabling people to stay within their own homes in their later life. As part of a detailed study of 'past' and 'present' kitchen living, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 48 older people about their current kitchen and how wel...

This paper describes the aim and preliminary results obtained during the first year of the project: "DEVICE: DEsign for Vulnerable generatIons- Children and Elderly". The aim of the project is to develop new educational programs for students and professionals with a specific focus on design for vulnerable generations, mainly children and elderly. T...

Understanding the needs and aspirations of a suitable range of users during the product design process is an extremely difficult task. Methods such as ethnographic studies can be used to gain a better understanding of users needs, but they are inherently time consuming and expensive. The time pressures that are evident in the work performed by desi...

With the rapid expanse of motorised traffic in countries such as Brazil and India, the safety of vulnerable road users (VRUs) needs to be a key component in any transportation development. It should be considered what can be learnt from European transport planning experiences. This review identifies current good practice in Europe and considers how...

Purpose This paper aims to present the quantitative results based on a comparison and evaluation of older people's experiences, needs and wants from their current kitchens, combining and comparing the results obtained from two studies conducted in 2000 and 2010 to see what progress has been made. Design/methodology/approach A study in 2010 investi...

For the last decade research by the Loughborough Design School in the UK has lead a computer-based tool called HADRIAN has been developed to encourage empathy between design professionals, policy makers, commissioning clients and potential end-users, including people who are older or who may have some form of impairment. The tool provides a means t...

A project, Transitions in Kitchen Living (TiKL) has been conducted to study kitchen histories and current use by older people. A multidisciplinary team developed a common interview methodology to collect people’s personal kitchen histories and their views on their current kitchen. Now and in the future ambient assistance and applied electronic tech...

For over 10 years research has been conducted by the Design School at Loughborough University in the United Kingdom (UK) into accessibility of products, services and environments with a particular focus on the needs of older and disabled people. As part of this research a computer based tool called HADRIAN has been developed to encourage empathy be...

This article describes research into the area of ‘design for all’. The research addresses two common needs for designers working towards developing inclusive products and environments, namely, data on users that are accessible, valid and applicable, and a means of utilising the data to assess the accessibility of designs during the early stages of...

The HADRIAN human modelling system is under development as part of the EPSRC funded AUNT-SUE project. The HADRIAN system aims to foster a 'design for all' ethos by allowing ergonomists and designers to see the effects of different kinds of disability on the physical capabilities of elderly and people with disabilities. This system is based upon the...

The HADRIAN human modelling system is under development as part of the EPSRC funded AUNT-SUE project. The HADRIAN system aims to foster a ‘design for all’ ethos by allowing ergonomists and designers to see the effects of different kinds of disability on the physical capabilities of elderly and disabled people. This system is based upon the long est...

Anthropometric data are often described in terms of percentiles and too often digital human models are synthesised from such data using a single percentile value for all body dimensions. The poor correlation between body dimensions means that products may be evaluated against models of humans that do not exist. Alternative digital approaches try to...

This is a conference paper. It was presented at the Second International Conference, ICDHM 2009. The original publication is available at: http://www.springerlink.com/content/v22t580752233557/ Human modelling tools provide a means to perform virtual task evaluations upon designs within the computer environment. The ability to evaluate the accommoda...

The HADRIAN (Human Anthropometric Data Requirements Investigation & Analysis) human modelling system is under development at Loughborough University as part of the EPSRC funded AUNTSUE (Accessibility and User Needs in Transport for Sustainable Urban Environments) project. The HADRIAN system aims to foster a 'design for all' ethos by allowing ergono...

Loughborough University's initial role in the Accessibility and User Needs in Transport (AUNT-SUE) project led to the development of a database that describes 100 people. This drives a 3D human modelling tool called HADRIAN that allows designers and ergonomists to assess discrete interaction points in a journey. The need for both the public and pra...

This is a conference paper. This paper describes research carried out into the area of accessibility and 'design for all'. The Accessibility and User Needs in Transport (AUNT-SUE) project was initiated to develop and test sustainable policies and practice that would deliver effective socially inclusive design and operation in transport and the publ...

This paper describes research carried out at Loughborough University in the UK into the areas of 'design for all' and accessible transport. The research addresses two common needs for designers and ergonomists working towards developing more inclusive products and environments, namely data on users that is accessible, valid, and applicable and a me...

This conference paper is also available at: http://www.sae.org/technical/papers/2008-01-1899 This paper details the development of our computer based design tool: HADRIAN. Developed to address the area of user accommodation within design and in particular the support for ‘design for all’, HADRIAN provides an integrated database and analysis system....

Invited paper for the annual edition of Design for All

A computer-based inclusive design tool (HADRIAN), developed under the EPSRC 'EQUAL' initiative, is being expanded through the EPSRC Sustainable Urban Environments programme. This development will result in the tool including data on transport usage and related issues, providing a database of physical, emotional and cognitive information for 100 ind...

HADRIAN is a computer-based inclusive design tool developed initially to support the design of kitchen and shopping based tasks. The tool is currently being expanded to include data on an individual's ability to undertake a variety of transport-related tasks, such as vehicle ingress/egress, coping with uneven surfaces, steps, street furniture and c...

This conference paper is Restricted Access. More information can be found at http://www.de2006.chalmers.se/m/ppd/de2006/index.xml HADRIAN was created to make a step-function change in the way that inclusive design is accepted and integrated within design practice. Tables of percentile data have now been replaced by holistic databases of individuals...

A database was developed to support the creation of a computer-based tool which will support design teams in evaluating the usability of a design during early prototyping and indicate which individuals are effectively excluded or designed out. Methods are described for the collection of multivariate data on 100 real individuals covering a range of...

‘Design for all’ is an approach to product, environment or service design that aims to maximize the usability of a particular design. However, a key concept of this approach is not to tailor designs to the user in a bespoke fashion, but rather to provide a single solution that accommodates the needs of all users, including those who are older or ar...

In order to support the practice of ‘design for all’ within the design community two key areas have been identified that are critical to success. The first is the provision of accurate and relevant data on the target users, in this case people of all shapes, sizes, ages and abilities. The second is the efficient and effective support in the use of...

This is a conference paper. Fitting trials are a common technique employed in ergonomics evaluation. Fitting trials employ a panel of users carefully selected to be representative of the population at which the product, or environment, has been targeted. The panel are then used to evaluate the design against a set of criteria in order to determine...

The ‘design for all’ philosophy promotes the development of products that meet the requirements of a broader section of the population, including those who are older or disabled, to minimise the need for bespoke designs and individual customisations. Such an approach begins to meet the needs of a population containing an ever increasing proportion...

‘Design for all’ embraces the concept of designing products and workplaces so as not to exclude significant sections of the total user population. In particular, the needs of old and disabled people are to be considered alongside the younger and able-bodied population to ensure that products that are equally appropriate for all users. This is to be...

This is a conference paper. Accessible design is being promoted through concepts such as ‘Design for All’. This is an approach to design that aims to maximise the accessibility of a product, environment, or service through the provision of a solution that accommodates the needs of all users including those who are older or disabled. To support a ‘D...

This is a conference paper. The aims of this paper are: • Provide a background to the Design for All (DFAll) philosophy and its importance to the design community • Present some initial findings of a survey into the DFAll needs and desires of design practitioners • Highlight a few specific details of an integrated computer aided ergonomics solution...

A Doctoral Thesis. Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the award of Doctor of Philosophy of Loughborough University. If designers are to meet the needs of the growing population of older and disabled people then data on size, shape, posture and capabilities will be increasingly important. This thesis details a methodology for t...

This is a conference paper. HADRIAN is a computer aided design tool, developed to support designers in their efforts to ‘design for all’. Combining a database of individuals together with a task analysis tool HADRIAN provides a virtual group of 100 people, ready to perform a user trial at any point throughout a product’s design. Developed initially...

This is a conference paper. In order to support the philosophy of 'design for all' within the design community two key areas have been identified which are critical to success. The first is the provision of accurate and relevant data on the target users. The second is the efficient and effective support in the use and application of this data durin...

This is a chapter from the book, Handbook of Digital Human Modeling [© CRC Press]. Further details of this book are available at: http://www.routledge.com/books/details/9780805856460/ HADRIAN is a computer-based inclusive design tool developed initially to support the design of kitchen and shopping based tasks. The tool is currently being expanded...

This conference paper is Closed Access until June 2011. The kitchen is an important space in the home serving many purposes both functional and social. The need was identified to chart social changes experienced by older people in relation to the kitchen and to understand current issues and problems of kitchen usage. Two interviews were conducted w...