Rhodes University Human Kinetics and Ergonomics Department

Humans are the central factor in all activities of work life and society. No social, medical, technical or economical progress may take effect without the humans being involved. Human health and performance are the key issues for a productive and successful individual and a progressing society.

Human Kinetics and Ergonomics provides the knowledge about the function and the reaction of the human body in order to

• optimise human performance
• avoid injury and keep health in professional activities as well as in private life, and
• improve productivity and quality of output in all domains of work life.

This is of essential importance for the South African society to further develop and help individuals for a healthy, wealthy and independent lifestyle.

Object of StudyFocus of study is the Human Factor at different activities and different conditions of life. We study human responses and reactions as well as the design of tasks, treatments, objects and environmental conditions according to the needs of the human. The unique approach of HKE is the holistic consideration of biomechnical, physiological, perceptual, mental and psycho-emotional aspects. This is jointly applied to improve human health, human performance and the productivity of human operation.

Kinesis = Greek for motion: Understanding the complex eclectic nature of human movements

Ergonomics a= derived from the Greek ergon (work) and nomos (laws): The science of work, studying the interplay between humans and its tasks and environment, now extending across all aspects of human activity

HKE is an interdisciplinary subject that integrates knowledge from different disciplines such as anatomy, biomechanics, neurology, psychology, sociology, anthropology, engineering, computer science, management, economics etc. This variety makes it a fascinating subject but also a challenging one.

Fields of study

Application AreasKnowledge of Human Kinetics and Ergonomics is applied to

• improve hazardous working conditions,
• optimise fitness and performance of sports people,
• enable maximum productivity without harming the human body,
• appropriate use of equipment and technology, and
• help people live a healthy lifestyle.