{"id":109054,"date":"2020-08-13T07:53:40","date_gmt":"2020-08-13T05:53:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/ergoterapeuter-kritiserer-at-studerende-skal-undvaere-borde\/"},"modified":"2020-08-13T10:31:46","modified_gmt":"2020-08-13T08:31:46","slug":"university-to-remove-student-tables-occupational-therapists-not-happy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/university-to-remove-student-tables-occupational-therapists-not-happy\/","title":{"rendered":"University to remove student tables – occupational therapists not happy"},"content":{"rendered":"

It sounds like something from a parody news site, a commenter writes on a Facebook group for humanities students at the University of Copenhagen. This is just one of the critical or derisive reactions to the Faculty of Humanities’ announcement that the coming semester will be without tables:<\/p>\n

\u00bbWhen the tables are removed, there will be enough room for everyone. This means that you instead of table space for your computer and books, can attend class on campus and be with your fellow students, both academically and socially, and at the same time comply with the distancing requirements,\u00ab the faculty writes.<\/p>\n

It was a choice between tables or students<\/h3>\n

Associate Dean for Education at the Faculty of Humanities, Jens Erik Mogensen, says that the faculty has been working to ensure that students \u2013 due to the COVID-19 distancing requirements \u2013 were to attend half classes every second week, while otherwise keeping up with lectures via live streaming from home. But then management came up with an idea:<\/p>\n

\u00bbThe tables take up a lot of space, so there could only be 70 per cent \u2013 sometimes only 50 per cent \u2013 of the students in the classrooms to be in accordance with the new guidelines. If you removed the tables, there would be room for all of them, while complying with distancing requirements,\u00ab says Jens Erik Mogensen.<\/p>\n

This is about priorities.<\/p>\n

Jens Erik Mogensen, Associate Dean<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

The dean’s attempt to avoid infection by moving furniture does find some support among health experts (in spite of the derisive comments on Facebook). The Danish Health Authority’s guidelines on preventing the spread of infection<\/a> contains a point on changing the layout of tables in primary school classes to prevent face-to-face contact. It states nothing, however, about table-free school classes.<\/p>\n

READ ALSO:<\/strong> Scared and lonely in the land of corona<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

\u00bbThis is about priorities. Our point of departure has always been that as many students as possible should be able to have on-campus teaching. This is based on feedback from students and lecturers. People need the social element of meeting up, and many students have felt lonely,\u00ab says Jens Erik Mogensen.<\/p>\n

Buy a board to protect your testicles<\/h3>\n

But how are you expected to take notes for the lectures?<\/p>\n

\u00bbA table has a function, of course, but most people take notes on their laptops today,\u00ab says Jens Erik Mogensen. This was a point he also elaborated on to the listeners of the Danish radio channel P1<\/a> when the news broke of the Faculty of Humanities sacrificing their tables to prevent infection. Mogensen said to P1 that students could sit with a board on their lap so they would have a surface under their laptop.<\/p>\n

\u00bbI said this as an aside. I had read some studies of male students’ sperm count, that stated that you should not sit directly with a laptop on your lap because it could negatively affect fertility,\u00ab says Jens Erik Mogensen.<\/p>\n

SIGN UP FOR THE UNIVERSITY POST NEWSLETTER HERE<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

According to Jens Erik Mogensen, a board is available cheaply in supermarkets like F\u00f8tex, and that students have to buy it themselves. But how students work things put in a new table-free setting is \u00bbup to the individual students themselves,\u00ab the associate dean says.<\/p>\n

What about people\u2019s backs?<\/h3>\n

How good is it for your back to have to sit hunched over your computer on a chair? Jens Erik Mogensen says that he is aware that the working position with a computer in your lap is not an optimal one:<\/p>\n

\u00bbWe need to be aware of whether there are any consequences in terms of ergonomics. We will see this as the situation evolves.\u00ab<\/p>\n

READ ALSO<\/strong>: Three out of every four international students have had anxiety during the corona crisis<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

He says that it is, of course, important that the physical working environment is taken into consideration during lectures:<\/p>\n

\u00bbI can imagine that you, as a lecturer, tell people to stretch their legs or backs, or whatever.\u00ab<\/p>\n

The Danish Association of Occupational Therapists: It is completely inappropriate<\/h3>\n

\u00bbYou can never defend having to sit like this at an educational institution. This will be the cause of injuries to the neck, back, arms and legs,\u00ab says the chairman of the Danish Association of Occupational Therapists Tina N\u00f8r Langager.<\/p>\n

You can never defend having to sit like this at an educational institution.<\/p>\n

Tina N\u00f8r Langager, chair of the Danish Association of Occupational Therapists<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\u00bbFor most people, the computer will be too low relative to the arms, and you will be sitting and tensing your neck muscles much more than if you had it on a table,\u00ab says Tina N\u00f8r Langager.<\/p>\n

The missing tables will not only weaken students physically, but the working position with a computer on their laps will also give them concentration problems, she says.<\/p>\n

\u00bbWe need physical support to be able to concentrate on listening. When you don’t have that stability in your sitting position, the brain will be using energy to sit better and you won’t be able to listen to what is being said,\u00ab says Tina N\u00f8r Langager.<\/p>\n

But can\u2019t you do some exercises to prevent the injuries and help concentration?<\/em><\/p>\n

\u00bbIf you sit on a chair with a computer at home, you can find out how to sit with your arms and find the best support. You can buy a type of stabilisation cushion where you can get the computer up a bit higher. But this is not a solution that I would recommend in the long term,\u00ab says Tina N\u00f8r Langager, who questions the quality of the teaching when tables have been removed.<\/p>\n

\u00bbIf we want to have the best prerequisites for learning, we need people to sit properly. The fact that you can sit on a chair and do not have the option of a folding table or any form of support is completely inappropriate for the body and for learning,\u00ab says Tina N\u00f8r Langager.
\n<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Faculty of Humanities is to remove the tables from classrooms to make room for more students without breaking social distance rules. 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sperm count could be lowered if computers are held on laps. Management of Faculty of Humanities at University of Copenhagen counters with a call for students to bring a board or panel to put their laptops on when the tables go."},{"acf_fc_layout":"Standfirst","subject":"Corona risk","text":"The Faculty of Humanities is to remove the tables from classrooms to make room for more students without breaking social distance rules. The Danish Association of Occupational Therapists says that it can lead to physical disability and concentration difficulties.","use_post_excerpt":false},{"acf_fc_layout":"Byline","is_author":false,"contributors":[{"use_registered_user":true,"user":{"ID":76,"user_firstname":"Johanne","user_lastname":"Nedergaard","nickname":"Johanne Nedergaard","user_nicename":"johanne-nedergaard","display_name":"Johanne Nedergaard","user_email":"johanne.jensen@adm.ku.dk","user_url":"","user_registered":"2020-02-03 09:56:48","user_description":"","user_avatar":"<img alt='' src='https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/3a469244ff23247d79486a762488b3a8b3375d25b38f455dc0f0869501eafe99?s=96&d=identicon&r=g' srcset='https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/3a469244ff23247d79486a762488b3a8b3375d25b38f455dc0f0869501eafe99?s=192&d=identicon&r=g 2x' class='avatar avatar-96 photo' height='96' width='96' loading='lazy' decoding='async'\/>"},"contributor_name":"","contributor_title":"","contributor_image":false}]},{"acf_fc_layout":"Content","content":"<p>It sounds like something from a parody news site, a commenter writes on a Facebook group for humanities students at the University of Copenhagen. This is just one of the critical or derisive reactions to the Faculty of Humanities’ announcement that the coming semester will be without tables:<\/p>\n<p>\u00bbWhen the tables are removed, there will be enough room for everyone. This means that you instead of table space for your computer and books, can attend class on campus and be with your fellow students, both academically and socially, and at the same time comply with the distancing requirements,\u00ab the faculty writes.<\/p>\n<h3>It was a choice between tables or students<\/h3>\n<p>Associate Dean for Education at the Faculty of Humanities, Jens Erik Mogensen, says that the faculty has been working to ensure that students \u2013 due to the COVID-19 distancing requirements \u2013 were to attend half classes every second week, while otherwise keeping up with lectures via live streaming from home. But then management came up with an idea:<\/p>\n<p>\u00bbThe tables take up a lot of space, so there could only be 70 per cent \u2013 sometimes only 50 per cent \u2013 of the students in the classrooms to be in accordance with the new guidelines. If you removed the tables, there would be room for all of them, while complying with distancing requirements,\u00ab says Jens Erik Mogensen.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>This is about priorities.<\/p>\n<p class=\"quotee\">Jens Erik Mogensen, Associate Dean<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>The dean’s attempt to avoid infection by moving furniture does find some support among health experts (in spite of the derisive comments on Facebook). The Danish Health Authority’s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sst.dk\/-\/media\/Udgivelser\/2020\/Corona\/Forebyggelse-af-smittespredning\/Forebyggelse-af-smittespredning-publikation.ashx?la=da&hash=FD3E64042EEDB7A6C3305BD37A003B5B58B1BC79\">guidelines on preventing the spread of infection<\/a> contains a point on changing the layout of tables in primary school classes to prevent face-to-face contact. It states nothing, however, about table-free school classes.<\/p>\n<p><strong>READ ALSO:<\/strong><em> <a href=\"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/scared-and-lonely-in-the-land-of-corona-its-hard-to-do-normal-things-like-getting-up\/\">Scared and lonely in the land of corona<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n<p>\u00bbThis is about priorities. Our point of departure has always been that as many students as possible should be able to have on-campus teaching. This is based on feedback from students and lecturers. People need the social element of meeting up, and many students have felt lonely,\u00ab says Jens Erik Mogensen.<\/p>\n<h3>Buy a board to protect your testicles<\/h3>\n<p>But how are you expected to take notes for the lectures?<\/p>\n<p>\u00bbA table has a function, of course, but most people take notes on their laptops today,\u00ab says Jens Erik Mogensen. This was a point he also elaborated on to the listeners of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dr.dk\/radio\/p1\/p1-morgen\/p1-morgen-2020-08-07\">Danish radio channel P1<\/a> when the news broke of the Faculty of Humanities sacrificing their tables to prevent infection. Mogensen said to P1 that students could sit with a board on their lap so they would have a surface under their laptop.<\/p>\n<p>\u00bbI said this as an aside. I had read some studies of male students’ sperm count, that stated that you should not sit directly with a laptop on your lap because it could negatively affect fertility,\u00ab says Jens Erik Mogensen.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/mailchi.mp\/adm\/universitypost\"><strong>SIGN UP FOR THE UNIVERSITY POST NEWSLETTER HERE<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p>According to Jens Erik Mogensen, a board is available cheaply in supermarkets like F\u00f8tex, and that students have to buy it themselves. But how students work things put in a new table-free setting is \u00bbup to the individual students themselves,\u00ab the associate dean says.<\/p>\n<h3>What about people\u2019s backs?<\/h3>\n<p>How good is it for your back to have to sit hunched over your computer on a chair? Jens Erik Mogensen says that he is aware that the working position with a computer in your lap is not an optimal one:<\/p>\n<p>\u00bbWe need to be aware of whether there are any consequences in terms of ergonomics. We will see this as the situation evolves.\u00ab<\/p>\n<p><strong>READ ALSO<\/strong>: <em><a href=\"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/three-out-of-four-international-students-have-had-anxiety-during-the-corona-crisis\/\">Three out of every four international students have had anxiety during the corona crisis<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n<p>He says that it is, of course, important that the physical working environment is taken into consideration during lectures:<\/p>\n<p>\u00bbI can imagine that you, as a lecturer, tell people to stretch their legs or backs, or whatever.\u00ab<\/p>\n<h3>The Danish Association of Occupational Therapists: It is completely inappropriate<\/h3>\n<p>\u00bbYou can never defend having to sit like this at an educational institution. This will be the cause of injuries to the neck, back, arms and legs,\u00ab says the chairman of the Danish Association of Occupational Therapists Tina N\u00f8r Langager.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>You can never defend having to sit like this at an educational institution.<\/p>\n<p class=\"quotee\">Tina N\u00f8r Langager, chair of the Danish Association of Occupational Therapists<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>\u00bbFor most people, the computer will be too low relative to the arms, and you will be sitting and tensing your neck muscles much more than if you had it on a table,\u00ab says Tina N\u00f8r Langager.<\/p>\n<p>The missing tables will not only weaken students physically, but the working position with a computer on their laps will also give them concentration problems, she says.<\/p>\n<p>\u00bbWe need physical support to be able to concentrate on listening. When you don’t have that stability in your sitting position, the brain will be using energy to sit better and you won’t be able to listen to what is being said,\u00ab says Tina N\u00f8r Langager.<\/p>\n<p><em>But can\u2019t you do some exercises to prevent the injuries and help concentration?<\/em><\/p>\n<p>\u00bbIf you sit on a chair with a computer at home, you can find out how to sit with your arms and find the best support. You can buy a type of stabilisation cushion where you can get the computer up a bit higher. But this is not a solution that I would recommend in the long term,\u00ab says Tina N\u00f8r Langager, who questions the quality of the teaching when tables have been removed.<\/p>\n<p>\u00bbIf we want to have the best prerequisites for learning, we need people to sit properly. The fact that you can sit on a chair and do not have the option of a folding table or any form of support is completely inappropriate for the body and for learning,\u00ab says Tina N\u00f8r Langager.<\/p>\n"},{"acf_fc_layout":"ArticleEnd"},{"acf_fc_layout":"Newsletter","lang_select":"en","identifier":"Newsletter","headline":"Get a weekly newsletter","button_text":"Sign up here","class":""},{"acf_fc_layout":"OtherStories","headline":"","hand_picked_posts":false,"references":false,"category":false,"theme":false,"number_of_posts":"4","style":"default"}],"expression":{"term_id":18,"name":"Feature Article","slug":"feature_article","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":18,"taxonomy":"expression","description":"","parent":0,"count":1200,"filter":"raw"},"enable_comments":true,"align_content":"alignleft","feature_color":"#8e0039","article_updated":""},"taxonomyData":{"category":[{"term_id":44,"name":"Campus","slug":"campus","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":44,"taxonomy":"category","description":"","parent":0,"count":1547,"filter":"raw"},{"term_id":3302,"name":"Coronavirus","slug":"corona-virus","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":3302,"taxonomy":"category","description":"","parent":0,"count":58,"filter":"raw"}],"post_tag":[{"term_id":207,"name":"Arbejdsmilj\u00f8","slug":"arbejdsmiljoe-en","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":207,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":10,"filter":"raw"},{"term_id":3201,"name":"Coronavirus","slug":"coronavirus-en","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":3201,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":25,"filter":"raw"},{"term_id":3844,"name":"ergonomi","slug":"ergonomi-en","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":3844,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":1,"filter":"raw"},{"term_id":3845,"name":"Ergoterapeutforeningen","slug":"ergoterapeutforeningen-en","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":3845,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":1,"filter":"raw"},{"term_id":3847,"name":"Tina N\u00f8r Langager","slug":"tina-noer-langager-en","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":3847,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":1,"filter":"raw"}],"post_format":[],"expression":[{"term_id":18,"name":"Feature Article","slug":"feature_article","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":18,"taxonomy":"expression","description":"","parent":0,"count":1200,"filter":"raw"}],"translation_priority":[]},"featured_media_url":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/raspc-1280x854.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/109054","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=109054"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/109054\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":109058,"href":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/109054\/revisions\/109058"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/108960"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=109054"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=109054"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=109054"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}