le travail à l'écran de visualisation work with display units

VDU USE IN SCHOOLSBengt Knave, Department of Neuromedicine, National Institute of Occupational Health, Solna*SwedenIt is easy to understand - by giving practical examples from everyday school life - that the introductionof computers has changed ways of basic education. Pupils spend an increasing amount of timem front of VDUs - an increase which we know will continue even more in the future.In 1984 the Swedish Government and Parliament issued a new computer education policy resolution,prompted by the rapid transformation of working life and the availability of low-price powerfulpersonal computers. The policy resolution provided for the computer science teaching time atsenior level of compulsory school (Grades 7-9) to be increased to 80 hours over a three-yearperiod starting in the 1986/87 school year. Supportive measures were also introduced to speed updevelopments in upper secondary schools, e g grants sufficed for about 500 fully equipped computerrooms in the country (10-15 VDU stations/school). As to the compulsory school level thebest progress has been made in teaching word processing, and how to set up data bases and registers.Pupils spend about 50% (40 hours per three-year period) of their computer science teachingtime in front of a VDU. In the upper secondary schools all sorts of programs are used dependingupon subject. The average time spent at a VDU varies with education lines, the Distribution andClerical Line, and the Economics Line topping the list with 50-60 hours per three-year period.The introduction of computer science in schools has raised some questions in the general debate-What ought basic computer education to include to prepare students for the computer society'' Inwhat grade is computer education to begin? Are standard programs, or for the schools speciallydeveloped programs, to be used? What hardware is suitable for schools? The questions are notespecially controversial; there is mostly a general agreement in standpoints from authorities, andother parties in the society. In one question, though, opinions diverge. Computer education begins,as a rule, in Grade 7. Several voices are now being raised, however, for a start alreadyduring the first three years in school (Age 7-9 ; Grades 1-3). Reference is made to the general receptivenessat this age and to the possibility of counteracting later sexual bias in recruitment forinfotech jobs.Questions on comfort at computer work and possible health effects have been more or less absentin the debate. By all means this depends on the very limited VDU "exposure" of the pupils (10-20school hours per year) and the fact that there have been no signals on adverse effects from thechildren. Furthermore the locomotor system of children allows more strain than in adults, andchildrens' eyes accommodate more easily to different viewing distances.However, since we know that the amount of VDU work at school will increase rapidly there arereasons for recommending some sort of "VDU health and comfort" program aiming at possible eyeand musculo-skeletal discomforts. Such a program should also pay attention to dyslectic childrenwhere problems could be foreseen, and to different psycho-social effects of computerisation: Doesthe segregation into winners and losers of later work computerisation start already in school?KEYWORDS: schools, computerisation, displaysANALYSIS OF ENVIRONMENTAL AND WORKING CONDITIONS AGAINST HEALTHAND VISUAL COMPLAINTS IN VDT OPERATORSRubino G. F., Di Bari A., Sonnino A., Maina G.University of Torino, Italy.The aim of this survey was to analyse a number of symptomsconnected to ocular eyestrain and subjective disorders connectedto the working conditions inon a group of 30.000 clerk, allworking for the Italian Telephone Company.With the aid of an administred questionnaire, two groups,one of VDT users (about 22,000 subjects) and one of non-VDT users(about 8,000 subjects), were asked to give a personal assesmentabout the ergonomie conditions of the working place, that is thelighting, the microclimate, the posture, the noise and the VDTcharacteristics.The questionnaire also enquired about the ocular,muscoloskeletal and neurovegetative symptoms.All subjects were also examined by an ophthalmologist andall ocular and visual information was recorded on to a data filewith the answers to the questionnaire.The scored symptoms obtained were processed using the factoranalysis and related to the working place conditions, type andhours of work and ophthalmological disturbances.The conversational operators showed the highest number ofcomplaints according to this analysis; the most acceptable typeof VDT job was word processing.The hours of work were found to be directly related to thesymptoms; the highest prevalence was also found in the femalegroup.Relationships with age, years of VDT work, ophthalmologicalanomalies were established with all symptoms and the factors extractedfrom the statistical analysis.The main ophthalmological anomalies determining oculardiscomfort were: miscorrected refractive defects, heterophoriasand ocular hypertension.Non satisfactory microclimate conditions and noise weresource of the largest number of complaints, whereas there was nosignificant evidence in the correlation between equipment, VDTcharacteristics and the symptoms complained.Keywords:Epidemiology, Ergohphtalmology, VDTTEV 1989 — DEUXIÈME CONFÉRENCE SCIENTIFIQUE INTERNATIONALE•MONTRÉAL • SECOND INTERNATIONAL SCIENTIFIC CONFERENCE18— WWDU1989TEV 1989 — DEUXIÈME CONFÉRENCE SCIENTIFIQUE INTERNATIONAL!! • MONTRÉAL • SECOND INTERNATIONAL SCIENTIFIC CONFERENCE — WWDU 198919