But what do the universities do? If they do nothing they may be held responsible if students get RSI. The union FNV is at the moment involved in several test cases with students against institutes of higher education.
One of these institutes is Groningen University, which has recently developed a CD for students and staff with RSI-prevention software. The CD will be distributed this week and contains amongst others a simple pause programme that should force users to take a break at set times. A æmonitor-safety trainerÆ on the CD gives advice on the userÆs attitude and the design of his work area.
The UT, in its part, has this week extended its license for the RSI-prevention programme WorkPace by another year to 31 March 2004. WorkPace can be downloaded from the ITBE (formerly CIV) website and monitors keyboard and mouse use. It warns with pop-up messages whether it is time to take a 'micro-break', a 'rest-break' or a 'stretching exercise'. Both longer and shorter breaks are effective in combating fatigue. Regular stretching exercises help prevent complaints.
