SCIENCE IN THE HOME

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume LXI, 7 August 1928, Page 7

SCIENCE IN THE HOME

An investigation- into psychological problems connected with domestic work has been undertaken in Britain by the National Listitute of Industrial Psychology. This proposal is based on two cogent considerations: that housework employs a larger group of workers than any other occupation or industry; and, that industrial workers' lives are influenced by conditions in their homes as well as by conditions in their workplaces. - The investigation will begin with a study of the best layout and arrangement of a house, the form of utensils used, and the methods of working, all considered from the point > f view of the prevention of fatigue. "Our idea, at the start at any rate, is to restrict the investigation to workingclass homes ajnd to middle-class houses with only one servant," said Miss Winifred Spielman, the expert in charge of the investigation. "In the structure and planning of kitchens we hope to have the co-operation of architects, and we propose to get in touch with the manufacturers of the kitchen apparatus, and utensils'to sec if these can be improved. There; arc good and bad ways'of scrubbing a floor, polishing hoofs, laying and clearing a table, and washing up, and we will try to discover how these monotonous jobs can be done most quickly and with the smallest amount of fatigue. 'We are embarking on this investigation not as interfering efficiency experts, but as. people who genuinely believe 'that useful results can be obtained, which will help to reduce * the fatigue and the monotony of domestic work, and add to the happiness and content of home life.'