Human Kinetics and Ergonomics
Welcome to the Department of Human Kinetics and Ergonomics!
HKE is a unique subject in southern Africa studying the Human Factor in a variety of contexts including: work life, sport and activities of daily living. We currently teach +/- 180 undergraduate students in HKE as well as 40 postgraduate (Honours, Masters and PhD) students. Our degrees are recognised by top universities all over the world and our graduates are requested by local and international companies.
Please spend some time learning more about the department, its teaching and research activities and other services we provide.
2011 Academic Year Information
Welcome to the 2011 academic year. We look forward to a productive year of teaching and research. Below are several documents (in pdf format) to help you for the upcoming academic year:
HKE-GeneralCareerConsiderations
GeneralCareerConsiderations2009.pdf HKE Undergrad Student Handbook 2011
Please feel free to contact us any time for advice about subject combinations and other queries you may have. Email: hke@ru.ac.za or phone 046 603 8471 or visit us at the HKE department.
Departmental News
Office ergonomics is imperative in ensuring comfort and productivity
Andrew Todd, a lecturer in the HKE department was recently interviewed for the Sunday Times (25th of September) regarding office ergonomics. This branch of ergonomics is involved in ensuring that there is a match between the human user and the office environment they are using. In modern working environments we often sit for extended periods of time without moving, consequently there has been an increase in the number of complaints coming from, in particular, computer workstation users. The Sunday Times article highlighted ways in which ergonomics can be used to reduce the strain placed on the body, with factors such as the appropriate placement of the screen, keyboard and mouse being discussed. Further factors such as the design of the chair were also highlighted in the article.
This is an important stepping in educating the general public about the benefits of implementing sound ergonomics principles. There is significant literature available demonstrating not only the benefits in terms of discomfort but also productivity. However, the South African public still remains unaware of these benefits, thus the mention of ergonomics in a leading weekend paper is a boost to our discipline.
Forging a link between Ergonomics and Occupational Hygiene in South Africa
Andrew Todd recently attended the South African Institute of Occupational Hygiene at the Lesedi Cultural Village in Johannesburg as a guest speaker. As the chairman of the Ergonomics Society of South Africa (ESSA - www.ergonomicssa.com) Andrew spoke about the various ergonomics assessment tools available for the effective analysis of the comparability between the human operator and the task within the work environment. He also highlight the various roles of the numerous occupations involved in occupational health and in ensuring that ergonomics is successfully implemented within the South African context. This was followed by constructive discussions on the specific roles of the ergonomist and occupational hygiene specialist within occupational health. Such discussions are imperative in improving working conditions within South Africa and also to improve productivity of industry. The conference therefore facilitated a closer working relationship between ergonomics and SAIOH an important step in getting ergonomics further recognition within the South African industrial setting.
Searching for new horizons in Sports Science in the home of the Beatles
Dr Candice Christie and Mathew Kirkland, an ex Honours student of the department recently attended16th Annual Congress of the European College of Sports Science, held from the 6th to 9th July 2011 in Liverpool in the United Kingdom. The conference is held annually by a different host country in Europe. The conference previous to this was in Turkey and the one previous to that, Norway. The next conference is in Belgium. It is a large conference with over 2500 delegates from 60 different countries covering a wide range of sports science/medicine topics. Two presentations were made at the congress (presenters underlined):
Christie CJ and Pengelly R (2011). Does heart rate feedback influence ratings of perceived effort and performance time during competitive cycling?
Kirkland M and Christie CJ (2011). Alterations in lower extremity muscle function during squash play.
While attending the conference, also Dr Christie discussed challenges in the current pacing research in the HKE department with researchers from the Australian Institute of Sport regarding. In addition to the congress, Dr Christie also had the opportunity to visit the School of Health and Performance, at Dublin City University, in Ireland where she was shown around the department and discussed possible future collaborations.
Abstracts from the congress were published in book of abstracts (ISBN: 978-09568903-0-6) while a paper on Mathew’s research is nearly ready for publication in the British Journal of Sports Medicine. For more information on the congress, please visit http://www.ecss-congress.eu/2011/
Feeling the heat in India
Dr Candice Christie and three MSc students, Bronwyn Sheppard, Lee Pote and Gareth Barford recently attended the 4th World Congress of Science and Medicine in Cricket, held between the 31 March and 01 April 2011, in Chandigarh, India. The conference is held every 4 years and coincides with the World Cup Cricket tournament. “Owing to the sparse research surrounding the sport of cricket, this gathering offers those doing research in field to congregate to share knowledge and to establish collaborations” commented Dr Christie. As well as attending the meeting, two oral presentations were made (presenters underlined):
Christie CJ, Barford G and Sheppard B (2011). Concentric and eccentric strength changes in the lower limb musculature following repeated sprints between the wickets.
Christie CJ, Pote L and Sheppard B (2011). Changes in physiological and perceptual responses over time during a simulated high scoring batting work bout.
The conference also provided the opportunity for discussions of collaborations with West Indian Cricket through their medical doctor and researcher Dr Mansingh as well as with the strength and conditioning coach from the New Zealand cricket team. Abstracts from the meeting were published in a proceedings (no ISBN) which is available from Dr Christie in hard copy format. As regards journal submission, a combination of the two presentations is in the final stages for submission to the Journal of Sports Sciences. Furthermore, a book chapter has been written on request for publication in the book: Sports Medicine and Sports Injuries (ISBN 979-953-307-096-3) edited by Professor Zaslav from Virginia University, USA. For more information on the conference please visit http://cricketworldcongress.com/index2.php. The next conference will be held in Australia in 2015.
HKE staff member receives research funding from the MRC
Dr Candice Christie, a senior lecturer in the HKE department has received a substantial amount of funding from the Medical Research Council (MRC) for work into the health profile of post-menopausal South African women. The value of the award is R 145 639 per year for the next three years, a total amount of R 436 917
Candice
The title of the project is ‘The effects of progressive resistance training on the blood lipid profile of post-menopausal women’. The main objective of the research is to establish whether exercise therapy, in the form of chronic, progressive resistance training would be a more effective treatment for hypercholesterolemia in post-menopausal women than either a combined therapy of resistance training plus HRT or just HRT in isolation. The immediate student involved in the project is Janet Viljoen (PhD) but the project funding will continue past her PhD with any other students interested in the project under Dr Christie's supervision.
