The Sitting Posture and Behaviour for Floor-Sitting Furniture Design In Malaysia

• Main Author: Mohd Najib, Abdullah Sani
• Format: Thesis
• Language: English
• Published: Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (UNIMAS) 2015
• Subjects: NK Decorative arts Applied arts Decoration and ornament
• Online Access: http://ir.unimas.my/id/eprint/9319/1/Najib.pdf; http://ir.unimas.my/id/eprint/9319/
• Institution: Universiti Malaysia Sarawak

The intertwining of the cross-discipline studies forms the influence for novel oeuvre in the study of anthropology, ethnography, sociology, history and literary studies that are often conducted in fragments. With reference to the subject of floor-sitting, and tapered into the Malaysian practice, this phenomenon was investigated within the verge of furniture design that is integrated within the ergonomics signification. This thesis presents the study of floorsitting behaviour within the ergonomics’ science context for the development of floor-sitting furniture designs. This study was conducted by observing floor-sitting behaviours using the video surveillance method, synchronizing the time and event sampling method within the perimeters of the home environment. The floor-sitting furniture prototype was used as the auxiliary tool to manifest the dwellers’ postural dynamics. Data collection was gathered over a 6-month period in order to identify the frequency of various floor-sitting postures, based on the synthesis of the ergonomics science elements signification. These include: physics, psychology, anatomy, physiology, and engineering, which are mellifluously engaged and articulated within the ergonomics’ ergosystems. The prototype of the floor-sitting furniture contemporaneously exhibits the significant context of objects used as perching mechanisms; where through this engagement to floor-sitting posture expressions, the dwellers form another dimension to the extensive sitting comfort definition. This study has successfully produced a detailed illustration of the different floor-sitting postures that are idyllically practiced by Malaysians at home. The majority of houses used in this study were fully furnished. However, it was identified that the majority of Malaysians observed in this study typically preferred sitting on the floor with their bodies perched against objects used for resting. A compilation of floor-sitting data was obtained, and the designed prototype demonstrates the capability of the culturally linked subject’s extension within the explication of the ergonomics, and creative design contexts.