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Health Issues in Business

made the floppy disk obsolete; new computers do not BIBLIOGRAPHY
come with a floppy disk drive. The newest storage device CMP Net Online Encyclopedia. http://www.techweb.com/
is the flash drive, which is smaller than a package of gum encyclopedia
Forcier, R. (1996). The computer as a productivity tool in educa-
but can hold 1 gigabyte of storage. The hardware allowing
tion. Boston: Merrill.
for flash drives is also used on such devices as Sony’s Mem-
Hutchinson, S., and Sawyer, S. (1998). Computers, communica-
ory Stick and other units that are designed to be supple-
tions, and information. Boston: Irwin/McGraw-Hill.
mental storage for PDAs, iPods, cameras, telephones,
MP3 players, and other mobile devices. Jennings, Lane (2003, May/June). From virtual communities to
smart mobs. The Futurist, 37(3).
Long, L., and Long, N. (1999). Computers. Upper Saddle River,
LOOK TO THE FUTURE NJ: Prentice-Hall.
Computers are an increasingly critical component of the Walker, Jesse (2003, April). Is that a computer in your pants? [an
workplace, home, and school. New generations of hard- interview with Howard Rheingold]. Reason Magazine.
Retrieved December 3, 2005, from
ware are supporting and even creating new avenues of http://www.reason.com/0304/fe.jw.is.shtml
interpersonal and data communications never possible
previously. Hardware that used to fill rooms now is tucked
into one’s pocket. Cyberculture chronicler Howard Armand Seguin
Rheingold in an interview with Jesse Walker described the Cynthia Shelton (Anast) Seguin
various new ways of connectivity (cell phones, pagers,
handheld computers, etc.) as producing new forms of
social interaction. Additionally, computing power is
becoming more pervasive around the globe. For example, HAWTHORNE STUDIES
Rheingold stated his belief that mobile communication SEE Motivation
devices played roles in elections in South Korea, Kenya,
and the United States at the start of the twenty-first cen-
tury. Text messaging allows communication globally very
quickly and simply. HEALTH ISSUES IN
Based on the history of hardware development, some BUSINESS
trends emerge. Computer hardware will probably con-
tinue to become even smaller, lighter weight, more Health issues in business are as critical in the early twenty-
first century as they were in the mid-twentieth century.
portable, and less expensive. Keyboards may even become
Many of the injuries and illnesses have changed but their
obsolete as voice activation equipment becomes more
impact is no less dramatic. The increased use of comput-
sophisticated. Connectivity within and between systems
ers and job specialization have contributed to a new gen-
on a global basis, as well as from home to work to school
eration of occupational hazards, especially repetitive
will accelerate to the point where, Rheingold predicted,
motion injuries, also known as cumulative trauma disor-
more objects will be communicating via the Internet than
ders. These are injuries caused by repetitive hand, arm, or
people. Futurist Lane Jennings noted that handheld wire-
finger motions that cause tendons to swell and become
less phones, linked to the Internet (transmitting images
progressively more painful. In advanced cases, workers
and text) may radically transform how individuals and
lose the strength in their thumb and fingers and eventu-
groups operate. Yet, cyberterrorism and/or hackers access-
ally become unable to complete simple tasks, such as lift-
ing hardware may leave computer users vulnerable.
ing a baby or tying their shoes. Cumulative trauma
Elementary and secondary schools increasingly disorders were the most common type of illness reported
emphasize the use of technology to access information in 1997, accounting for 64 percent of the 430,000 cases
and are changing the way students learn. New generations of illness reported.
of students will be entering the workforce with more-
sophisticated computer skills, and perhaps will be less
FEDERAL AGENCIES
fearful of “new hardware” and change in general than pre-
Two federal agencies are designed to operate in the occu-
vious workforces. The foreseeable future holds the prom-
pational health and safety arena: the Occupational Safety
ise of more and more integration of work, home, and
and Health Administration (OSHA) and the National
computers, with digital devices as companions and collab-
orators that exhibit uncanny understanding. Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH).
Both were created by the same act of the U.S. Congress in
SEE ALSO Information Processing: Historical Perspectives; 1970; each, however, has a very distinct purpose. OSHA,
Information Technology which is part of the U.S. Department of Labor, is respon-
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BUSINESS AND FINANCE, SECOND EDITION 363