Cultural Ergonomics in Ghana, West Africa: A Descriptive Survey of Industry and Trade Workers’ Interpretations of Safety Symbols

Globalization and technology transfer have led to the diffusion of risk communications to users from cultures that were not initially viewed as the target users. This study examined industry and trade workers’ overall impressions of symbols used to convey varying degrees of hazardousness. Six symbols, including symbols from the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) Z535 Standard (ANSI, 1998) and the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) 3864:1984 Standard (ISO, 1984) were selected. With the exception of the SKULL symbol, results showed wide discrepancies between users’ perceptions of the symbols and their intended meanings. Implications for cross-cultural research on warning components and risk communications are discussed.

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