A SMART Diversity & Inclusion Charter?
Democratising “Digital Literacy” for the Age Diverse and Excluded remains a touchy subject with plenty of misinformation, misrepresentation and a shed load of myths and propaganda
Over the years, many have insisted that computer eye strain, visual deficits and loss are nothing more than “temporary”, and all will be restored in the morning after a good night’s rest.
Regardless of WHO ICD-10, or any other research, contradicted by equally weighted research denying that vision and visual systems have anything to do with the brain function when deprived of sensory input.
This confusion and denial expediently allow for not disconnecting from screens, regardless of the predictable induced visual repetitive stress injuries / monocular adaptations, due to the eye muscles over-exposure.
Including the stress and strain from the other Muscular Skeletal Disorders (MSD’s) and other comorbidities in work-related upper limb disorders. It is no coincidence that they affect around two-thirds of 58% of operators presenting with visual deficits!
I have never been able to figure out whether it’s just the practicality of collective denial or the individual fear of being found wanting in the post-industrial end of the 20th and beginning of the 21st Century that has led to this.
And I am acknowledging the 2017 Hourglass Economy of Haves and Have-nots (HSE RR 600), the scale of the Global Disability industry or, in general, the dumbing-down of populations in preparation for the 4.0 digital revolution.
So, it’s sort of back to general ergonomics and exceeded work exposure limits for anyone working continuously for up to 90 minutes without a visual, physical, or cognitive break, suffering performance/productivity, impairing tiredness/fatigue and increasing the risk of minor errors mishaps and potential accidents.
Hence the idea of promoting a generic campaign for a “SMART Diversity & Inclusion Charter” for schools and employers to sign-up to, encompassing compliance with Digital Accessibility Reg’s as an indirect route to reaching out to the more compliant institutions and effectively better employers.
And I’m curious, following the release of the ISO 45003, that the HSE now have to review their Fatigue Risk Index. They must now accept the focus on shift-work as fatigue science systems show the critical need for work-life balance, rest and recovery periods, and a structured routine for good quality sleep.
Of course, rotating or even permanent night shifts are going to screw with your body-clock but, sleep deprivation and fatigue-related repetitive stress injuries are not limited to night workers as there is still no right to disconnect, nor vigorous enough guidance over late-night screen use without sufficient wind-down time from stimulation on-screen, resulting in sleep procrastination, with microsleeps during the working day, rather than experiencing tiredness taking over.
Nigel Dupree is the founder of www.screenrisk.com. You can sign up for his monthly newsletters regarding digital health by using this link
