Multi-level ergonomics: determining how to bound your system

Human Factors and Ergonomics (HFE) researchers have a long tradition of focusing on the individual or micro-level. However, HFE researchers have started expanding their focus to include organizational or macro-level factors. That said, a gap still exists of theories or models that explain the link between micro and macro variables. Identifying these links and thus integrating macroergonomics and microergonomics is called mesoergonomics. Mesoergonomics considers the relationship between variables bounded across multiple levels in a work system. By bounding the system of interest across levels (or time, hierarchy, space, and process), the context surrounding the phenomenon of interest is identified. Understanding the context lessens the risk of missing contributing factors or explanations of the phenomenon, reducing the likelihood of contextual and ecological fallacies. This panel will discuss the challenges and benefits of conducting meso-or multi-level ergonomics research. Some of the panelists, specifically Carayon, will also discuss the difficulties of determining the proper system boundaries for researching particular phenomenon.