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The change of productive skills and human work systems--function of work concept.

The techniques and skills of the age are changing, but the work situation is not corresponding to these changes. Furthermore, this causes problems in human resources development. We have investigated the contents of productive skills, vocational abilities, and work conditions, and as a result, productive skills were divided into two patterns: intellectual-management skills and sensory-motor skills. The contents of intellectual-management skills are divided into measurement, examination, design and arrangement, analysis and judgment, and understanding of technical knowledge. The contents of sensory-motor skills are divided into vision, audition and touch, visual judgment, motion of limbs, judgment by hands, and quality of the product. A sensory-motor skill is defined as one that mainly depends on judgment and memory capabilities. The former includes skills related to traditional handicrafts, processing assembling, and machine operation. The latter includes skills related to programming, designing, and controlling. A connection deeply related to the human being's essence can be found in both skills. When we examine human work systems, it is important to consider this essence.

Efficiency, Organizational↗

Work-sampling: a statistical approach to evaluation of the effect of computers on work patterns in the healthcare industry.

An increasing number of healthcare institutions are in the process of implementing clinical computing systems. The need for an accurate assessment of the clinical, administrative, social, and financial effects of such systems has been recognized. Techniques have been developed to evaluate these effects on the work patterns of healthcare workers including: 1) time-motion analysis, 2) subjective evaluations, 3) review of departmental statistics, 4) personal activity records, and 5) work-sampling. This manuscript reviews these techniques, discusses both positive and negative aspects, and presents a step-by-step description of work-sampling.

Evaluation Studies as Topic↗

Work simulation: putting training to work.

As awareness of the efficacy of using work for rehabilitation has expanded, a growing number of physicians have recognized the value of using work conditioning in early intervention for the injured worker and other patients. Work simulation therapy and its benefits are discussed.

Exercise Therapy↗

[Extension of the length of terms of temporary work incapacity, set by the Medical Expert Commission for Evaluation of Work Capacity, in the case of patients with malignant tumors].

The results of granting temporary disability payments for longer periods were followed in 549 patients with malignant tumors at various sites. It was found that 76-82% of stage I-IIa (T1-2N0M0) cancer patients resume working; working ability is limited in 14-18%. Two-thirds of them need another 2-3 months to complete treatment. To allow such patients to stay out of work is essential for prevention of disability from malignant tumors.

Humans↗

[Effects of microclimate, hardness of work and heat resistance on the allowable duration of human work].

Studies revealed the influence of microclimate and ergogenic parameters on allowable duration of work in humans with different levels of heat resistance. Regression equations are calculated so as to forecast the allowable duration of work in high, medium and low heat resistant humans. The allowable duration of work can be normalized physiologically by means of suggested principle, which is worthy to be applied in various industries.

Adult↗

[Work capacity of miners in clearing stopes of coal mines of the Donets Basin, working at normal and high temperatures].

Structure of labour activity in miners is based on adequate adaptive behavioral reactions. It is demonstrated by avoidance and appetitive behavior as well as slow work rate in faces with high environmental temperatures. Natural adaptive behavior however do not prevent miners from functional overload leading to low efficacy and capacity for work. Duration of work in such conditions must be shortened. Which was recommended as prophylaxis of fatigue and overheating in miners.

Adaptation, Physiological↗

Identical blood pressure levels and slower heart rates among nurses during night work and day work.

To investigate the effects of shift work on circadian BP variation, ambulatory 24h BP monitoring was performed during the day shift and night shift on 17 normotensive nurses. On both shifts, BP and heart rate increased in the working phase and decreased during sleep. The mean 24h BP and heart rate were identical in the two shifts. During sleep, BP was lower and the heart rate was slower in the day shift (night sleep) perhaps because of deeper sleep than during daytime sleep associated with the night shift. During work, BP was identical but the heart rate was significantly slower during the night shift. These data suggest that the circadian BP variation is determined largely by the sleep-wakefulness cycle and that the heart rate is also influenced by the internal body clock.

Adult↗

[The securing of adequate working possibilities for the older worker as a specific work-hygienic task].

It is an important problem for all institutions of work-safety and Public Health in enterprises to secure an adequate shaping of labour for elderly workers by means of work-studies and deducing staffs. The peculiar attitude in adaptation by aged people makes necessary to take into consideration specific formative principles as are here described and proved. With the help of a model is shown in which way work-studies on places of employment of aged women are used for rationalisation.

Aged↗

The impact of unwaged domestic work on the duration and timing of sleep of female nurses working full-time on rotating 3-shift rosters.

The study examined the impact of family type on the timing and duration of sleep of 16 experienced female shiftworkers working a rotating 3-shift roster. The nurses lived in one of three domestic lifestyle arrangements: single with no child care responsibilities (N = 4), partnered with no child care responsibilities (N = 5) and partnered with child care responsibilities (N = 7). Self report sleep diaries were used to collect data over a period of 28 days, following which each nurse took part in a conversational interview. Comparisons of the roster mean sleep durations between groups show that nurses who do not have the added unwaged workload of child care, record significantly more sleep than nurses with such responsibilities. Analysis of the data by shift type shows a significant difference for afternoon shift: nurses with child care responsibilities record a significantly earlier rise time and a significantly shorter total sleep duration. The interview data further highlights how sleep patterns are related to the time constraints of both domestic and waged work.

Adult↗

Working parents: what factors are involved in their ability to take time off from work when their children are sick?

BACKGROUND: A series of studies has demonstrated that sick children fare better when their parents are present. OBJECTIVE: To examine working conditions that determine whether parents can spend time with and become involved in the care of their children when they are sick. DESIGN: Survey with a multivariate analysis of factors influencing parental care of sick children. PARTICIPANTS: Mixed-income urban working parents aged 26 to 29 years participating in the Baltimore Parenthood Study. RESULTS: Only 42% of working parents in our sample cared for their young children when they became sick. A multivariate logistic regression analysis was conducted to predict which parents stayed at home when their children were sick. Those parents who had either paid sick or vacation leave were 5.2 times as likely to care for their children themselves when they were sick. Of parents with less than a high school education, 17% received paid leave, compared with 57% of parents with a general equivalency diploma, 76% of parents with a high school diploma, and 92% of parents with more than a high school education (P<.001). CONCLUSIONS: The finding that many parents were unable to care for their sick children themselves is important for pediatric care. While low-income children are more likely to face marked health problems and to be in need of parental care, they are more likely to live in households in which parents lack paid leave and cannot afford to take unpaid leave.

Adult↗

Psychosocial work environment and registered absence from work: estimating the etiologic fraction.

BACKGROUND: Evidence is growing that an adverse psychosocial work environment increases sickness absence, but little is known on the magnitude of this problem or the impact of specific factors. METHODS: Psychological demands, decision authority, skill discretion, social support from colleagues or supervisor, predictability, and meaning of work were assessed with questionnaires at baseline and sickness absence was followed-up in employers' registers for 1,919 respondents (response rate 75.2%, 68% women, mainly low-skilled jobs) from 52 Danish workplaces during a 2-year period. Etiologic fractions (EFs) were calculated with the most favorable quartiles as reference. RESULTS: In the fully adjusted model, the following EFs were found: decision authority: 12%; social support from supervisors: 8%; psychological demands: 6%; and predictability: 5%. In total, the seven psychosocial factors explained 29% of all sick-leave days. CONCLUSIONS: The results suggest that improving the psychosocial work environment among the less favorable 75% may prevent substantial amounts of absence.

Absenteeism↗

Occupational case-control studies: I. Collecting information on work histories and work-related exposures.

The strength and credibility of evidence from occupational case-control studies largely depend on the validity and precision with which the work history is reported and the exposure is assessed. We discuss the two steps which ultimately lead to an exposure decision. The first step involves the exchange between the respondent and an interviewer. The latter is usually naïve to occupations and workplace exposures and, as such, is limited to asking generic and open-ended questions about the workplace. Often, this type of information is too nonspecific to assess exposure. In the second step, an expert reviews the information reported on each occupation and decides on exposure status without contacting either the interviewer or respondent. Exposure assessment is not, therefore, integrated with data collection and, in fact, is usually not initiated until after all the interviews are completed. As such, the exposure expert does not have an opportunity to resolve questions before making the exposure decision. To improve the quality and specificity of data collected, we have developed over 40 sets of close-ended questions (branch questions) which are specific to defined occupations. These branch questions, incorporated into a computer-assisted telephone interview, are asked if selected occupations or their synonyms are reported. Second, to link the data collection process with the assessment process, we have developed a procedure called SCORE (Subject Corrected Occupational Report) which provides the industrial hygienist with a cost efficient method to ask questions directly of respondents. Shortly after each interview is completed, a computerized version of the work history is reviewed by the industrial hygienist who develops questions when more information is needed. Subsequently, respondents are mailed a form listing their reported work history along with the questions. After two mailings, 73% of participants in a pilot study returned the SCORE form.

Case-Control Studies↗

Nested ideation and the problem of reality: dreams and works of art in works of art.

This paper continues a line of investigation begun in a previous paper on nested dreams and works of art in dreams (Balter 2005). Part I of the present paper seeks to establish that works of art with nested dreams and works of art within them display certain phenomena also observed in comparable dreams: (i) they unsuccessfully deny a painful reality represented in the nested element; (2) they present an antithetical view of that reality (both denying and affirming); and (3) they are consistently associated with the problem of reality (the problem of deciding what is real or true). Part II of this paper seeks to establish the heuristic value of this line of investigation in dreams and art to elucidate the origin of reality testing.

Art↗

Dynamic evaluation of exercising leg muscle in healthy subjects with echo planar MR imaging: work rate and total work determine rate of T2 change.

Echo planar MR imaging of the leg was performed in nine healthy volunteers to better understand the dynamic relationship between exercise and changes in muscle T2. Imaging and T2 calculation was performed before, during, and after ankle dorsiflexion exercises using a TR of 9 seconds and a TE of 60 msec. Performing 9-second duty cycles, six of the subjects exercised for sets of 12 duty cycles, three with a graded series of weights and pulleys and three with an isometric orthotic device graded in varying percentages of maximum voluntary contraction. The other three volunteers performed duty cycles to fatigue. Gastrocnemius and soleus muscle T2 relaxation times were unchanged before, during, and after exercise. The tibialis anterior muscle showed an initial brief 1.7-6.2% decrease in T2 values after starting exercise, followed by a linear increase. Maximum T2 values and percent changes were higher for higher work rates (P < .05), and the rate of T2 change increased in a linear fashion with increasing work rates. By using rapid serial MR imaging, we show that the rate of muscle T2 change bears a simple linear relationship to muscle work. This technique may be exploited in both diagnostic and rehabilitation procedures.

Adult↗

Does work with visual display units impair visual activities after work?

It is well established that visual display unit (VDU) operators complain of visual fatigue and visual stress during after-work hours. The present study was divided into two parts. In the first part, standard eye examinations were performed on a group of VDU workers (n = 32) and a control group (n = 15); those subjects who were found to have correct vision (n = 16 and 13, respectively) participated in the second part. The eye examinations revealed that on the average, the VDU workers suffered more than twice as many visual impairments as the controls. In those with correct vision, the near point of accommodation was measured at the beginning of the workday at the start of the week, and at the end of the workday, four days later. In the VDU group, the decrease in accommodation was uniformally distributed between zero and 1.0 diopter, whereas among the non-VDU workers, 77% of the decrease was between zero and 0.25 diopter. The dynamic range of accommodation in the VDU workers on the second examination was smaller than on the first. We conclude that some of the visual stress and visual fatigue that developed at work hindered visual activities after work.

Accommodation, Ocular↗

Relation between work and power calculated from force-velocity curves to that done during oscillatory work.

The force-velocity relation during oscillatory work was compared with that measured in the traditional way with quick release and force clamps using toad sartorius, frog sartorius, and mouse soleus muscles. Plotting the force and corresponding velocity data in this way produces a 'power-loop'. The 'power-loop' has less intuitive value than the frequently reported 'work-loops' but it is useful because it permits comparison with the force-velocity curve produced using traditional methods. The force/velocity combinations for oscillatory work during a contraction often exceed those that would be predicted from the force-velocity curve. Although it has been known for many years that more force is developed by stimulated muscle when it is being stretched than can be developed during an isometric contraction, my results show that the increase in force is of importance at stretch velocities that probably occur in vivo during locomotion.

Animals↗

The relationship between work-related and non-work-related injuries.

A case-control study of occupational injuries sustained by 914 male hourly workers employed in two Tenneco manufacturing divisions in 1987 was undertaken to examine the association between occupational and non-occupational injuries. Its aim was to evaluate whether employees who experienced a work-related injury were more likely to have sustained a previous non-work-related injury compared to individuals who did not experience a work-related injury. A statistically significant association between occupational injuries and past non-occupational injuries was seen when all workers compensation (WC) claims were analyzed (OR = 1.41) and when claims involving indemnity for lost time were analyzed (OR = 1.82). In addition, both workers who had occupational low-back injuries and workers who had occupational non-low-back injuries also had significantly higher risks of such injuries from a non-occupational origin (OR = 1.91 for low-back injuries and OR = 1.44 for non-low-back injuries). The findings suggest that elements other than workplace hazards (such as life-style and physical and psychological factors) may predispose an individual to both occupational and non-occupational injuries.

Accident Proneness↗

A proposition for the diagnosis and treatment of gastro-oesophageal reflux disease in children: a report from a working group on gastro-oesophageal reflux disease. Working Group of the European Society of Paediatric Gastro-enterology and Nutrition (ESPGAN).

In this paper, a Working Group on Gastro-Oesophageal Reflux discusses recommendations for the first line diagnostic and therapeutic approach of gastro-oesophageal reflux disease in infants and children. All members of the Working Group agreed that infants with uncomplicated gastro-oesophageal reflux can be safely treated before performing (expensive and often unnecessary) complementary investigations. However, the latter are mandatory if symptoms persist despite appropriate treatment. Oesophageal pH monitoring of long duration (18-24 h) is recommended as the investigation technique of choice in infants and children with atypical presentations of gastro-oesophageal reflux. Upper gastro-intestinal endoscopy in a specialised centre is the technique of choice in infants and children presenting with symptoms suggestive of peptic oesophagitis. Prokinetics, still a relatively new drug family, have already obtained a definitive place in the treatment of gastro-oesophageal reflux disease in infants and children, especially if "non-drug" treatment (positional therapy, dietary recommendations, etc.) was unsuccessful. It was the aim of the Working Group to help the paediatrician with this consensus statement and guide-lines to establish a standardised management of gastro-oesophageal reflux disease in infants and children.

Child↗