Eight-hour Workday Research Articles

El jefe político: genre crossover and thematic originality in a restored French film

ABSTRACT In 2021, the restoration of the long-lost French film El jefe político (‘The Political Boss’, released as La Réponse du destin in France) was finally completed. Directed by André Hugon between 1924 and 1925 and based on the homonymous novel by the Spanish writer José María Carretero, alias ‘El Caballero Audaz’ (‘The Audacious Gentleman’), it is a most remarkable melodrama set against the backdrop of the turbulent political climate that prevailed in Spain in the early 1920s. Its revival has meant rescuing two subjects from oblivion: André Hugon, a French filmmaker with one of the most prolific careers who directed more than 80 films between the 1910s and 1950s; and the film itself, a stark portrait of an upstart embroiled in political corruption. The author aims to analyse El jefe político as a film in which the most representative genres of the French commercial cinema of the time come together. This analysis will demonstrate Hugon’s personal approach to these genres as well as his originality when adapting Carretero’s novel, to which he adds two striking themes: an epidemic outbreak and the socio-political struggle to introduce the eight-hour working day.

Impact of legal documentation requirements on physician practice using a regional specialty hospital as an example: an inventory

Doctors in German hospitals are critical of their working conditions. They complain about long working hours, inadequate remuneration for their work, poor training and development opportunities, and increasing time spent on administrative tasks. As these points of criticism are largely based on subjective perception, in the present study we documented in detail the workflows of physicians in a major regional hospital, determined the time taken for the workflows, and performed a statistical evaluation of the data. Nine doctors from the specialties of internal medicine, surgery, and anesthesia/intensive care medicine were observed during their shifts for a total period of 216 hours at an urban hospital in Germany. All of the tasks performed by the doctors were recorded in an observation protocol. The time spent daily on documentation by doctors of all specialties was on average 93.1 ± 23.4 minutes, accounting for 19.4 % of a doctor's working hours. The specialists who spent the longest period of time on documentation were internists (120.2 ± 15.0 minutes; 25 %). During an eight-hour working day, computers were used on average for 123.5 ± 44.4 minutes; surgeons spent the shortest period of time on computers (71.5 ± 16.6 minutes). The direct patient-related work time (excluding the time spent on operations) was considerably lower (33.8 + 22.7 minutes; 7 %) than thetime spent daily on documentation, increased to 80.7 ± 62.9 minutes when the time expended on actual surgical tasks was taken into account, and was then similar to the time spent on documentation (93.1 minutes). This pilot study was the first to determine, in real time, the work processes of doctors from different specialties at a German hospital. We noted a disparity between administrative and patient-related tasks in the in-patient setting. Legal and economic requirements exert a negative impact on medical care. We need to develop strategies for effective utilization of medical resources and for ensuring a high standard of medical care.

Artificial Neural Network-Based Model for Assessing the Whole-Body Vibration of Vehicle Drivers

Musculoskeletal disorders, which are epidemiologically related to exposure to whole-body vibration (WBV), are frequently self-reported by workers in the construction sector. Several activities during building construction and demolition expose workers to this physical agent. Directive 2002/44/CE defined a method of assessing WBV exposure that was limited to an eight-hour working day, and did not consider the cumulative and long-term effects on the health of drivers. This study aims to propose a methodology for generating individualised models for vehicle drivers exposed to WBV that are easy to implement by companies, to ensure that the health of workers is not compromised in the short or long term. A measurement campaign was conducted with a professional driver, and the collected data were used to formulate six artificial neural networks to predict the daily compressive dose on the lumbar spine and to assess the short- and long-term WBV exposure. Accurate results were obtained from the developed artificial neural network models, with R2 values above 0.90 for training, cross-validation, and testing. The approach proposed in this study offers a new tool that can be applied in the assessment of short- and long-term WBV to ensure that workers’ health is not compromised during their working life and subsequent retirement.

Changes in Baropodometric Evaluation and Discomfort during the Workday in Assembly-Line Workers.

Prolonged standing at work is associated with health risks. The appearance of lower-limb and lower-back discomfort is one of the most prevalent factors in prolonged standing workers. The aim of this research was to evaluate the effect of an eight-hour workday on foot pressure and musculoskeletal discomfort in standing workers. Thirty-six assembly-line workers (six women) were recruited to participate in a cross-sectional study to assess foot pressure and surface, foot, knee, and lower-back discomfort before and after a real workday. Baropodometry outcomes (surface and pressure) were evaluated by the pressure platform SensorMedica and musculoskeletal discomfort was evaluated by Cornell's Musculoskeletal Discomfort Questionaire. Total foot surface (p = 0.01) and foot discomfort (p = 0.03) increased significantly at the end of the workday. Prolonged standing during 8 h workday increased the foot discomfort and total foot surface in assembly-line workers. No foot pressure variable (forefoot, rearfoot, or total) was significantly modified after the workday in assembly-line workers.

FAKTOR-FAKTOR YANG BERHUBUNGAN DENGAN KELUHAN KELELAHAN MATA PADA PEKERJA KANTOR X KARANGANYAR

Office workers X Karanganyar are computer users, with an average duration of computer use in a day of more than 4 hours. The average worker has been working for more than three years and is still exposed to lighting intensity that is less than standard (< 300 lux) with an eighthour workday, putting them at risk of experiencing eye fatigue. This study aims to determine the relationship between lighting intensity, working period, and duration of computer use with complaints of eye fatigue in Karanganyar X Office workers. This study uses an analytical observational method with a cross-sectional approach. The research population was 80 people. The sampling technique used is purposive sampling with criteria of age 50 and working on a computer for at least 2 hours continuously, and the research sample is 45 people. Measurement of lighting intensity using a Lux meter and eye fatigue using a Visual FatigueIndex (VFI) questionnaire. The results of the bivariate analysis with Somers'd showed that there was a relationship between lighting intensity and complaints of eye fatigue (p-value = 0.030, r = 0.333), there was a relationship between years of service and complaints of eye fatigue (p-value = 0.003, r = 0.457), and there is a relationship between the duration of computer use and complaints of eye fatigue (p-value = 0.028, r = 0.326). To reduce eye fatigue, it can be done by setting up the layout of the workplace, taking breaks in between work, and getting regular eye health checks.

The Impact of the State Regulation System on the Income of Freelancers

This article presents the tools with which the state can influence the level of income of freelance professionals in Kazakhstan. Foreign methods and ways of state regulation of the freelance market in terms of freelancers' income, the infrastructure of Kazakhstan's remote work market reviewed and analyzed in this article, identified the main characteristics of independent professionals in 2021: working hours, income level, length of service of freelancers, etc. It is noted that freelancers' incomes depend on the influence of the state policy in the field of education and length of service as a freelancer. The stereotype that the more a freelancer works, the more he earns is refuted. In this case, the well-known eight-hour workday standard established by the state is the most optimal option for freelancers to earn more income, which is confirmed by the data of our study. Information is provided on the educational structure of freelancers, the amount of personal monthly income by type of freelancer employment, the experience of freelancers by type of employment, and the average number of hours allocated to work during the week. Multiple regression models of the dependence of freelancers' pay on their education level, work experience, and number of hours worked per week are presented and analyzed in this article. The authors propose recommendations for state regulation that would ensure an effective impact on the level of freelancers' income both in Kazakhstan and in former Soviet Union.

Time Spent: The Eight-Hour Day

This second article of the “Time Spent” series examines the eight-hour workday and considers its potential usefulness or applicability to studio voice teaching. The article explores the origin of the eight-hour workday and provides perspectives on how effective (or ineffective) it is in other fields, especially for those considered to be “knowledge workers.” It then presents alternative models to the eight-hour workday, including advocacy for shorter overall hours of work each day or interspersed periods of rest throughout the workday. Finally, the article offers suggestions for voice teachers as to how they may adjust their schedules to bring more focus and energy to a full day of teaching.

“An eight-hour day for women workers”: negotiating working time in the Bulgarian textile industry between international labour politics and the shop floor, 1890s to 1930s

ABSTRACT The article investigates the issue of the eight-hour workday and its application from the early 1890s – when it first appeared on the Bulgarian organized labour movement’s agenda following the decisions of the Second International – to its adoption in national legislation as well as by the International Labour Organization in 1919, and finally, the enforcement of the eight-hour day in the Bulgarian textile industry between the two world wars. This article explores continuities and changes in the struggle to adopt and enforce the eight-hour day, conceptualizing them as parts of a single negotiated social process. The article employs a gendered and multi-scale approach to explore how working time limits were negotiated on and between the shop floor, the national political stage, and in international labour organizations by diverse social groups such as (un)organized (women) workers, trade unions and labour activists with various political affiliations, the state through its labour inspectorate, as well the International Labour Organization. The article goes beyond the gender-neutral language of legal documents, instead arguing that the eight-hour day was conceptualized differently – with some variations depending on women’s life-course stage and social circumstances – and held particular importance for women workers.

Florence Kelley: Pragmatist, Feminist, Socialist

Florence Kelley: Pragmatist, Feminist, Socialist

FAKTOR-FAKTOR YANG BERHUBUNGAN DENGAN KELUHAN KELELAHAN MATA PADA PEKERJA KANTOR X KARANGANYAR

Office workers X Karanganyar are computer users, with an average duration of computer use in a day of more than 4 hours. The average worker has been working for more than three years and is still exposed to lighting intensity that is less than standard (< 300 lux) with an eighthour workday, putting them at risk of experiencing eye fatigue. This study aims to determine the relationship between lighting intensity, working period, and duration of computer use with complaints of eye fatigue in Karanganyar X Office workers. This study uses an analytical observational method with a cross-sectional approach. The research population was 80 people. The sampling technique used is purposive sampling with criteria of age 50 and working on a computer for at least 2 hours continuously, and the research sample is 45 people. Measurement of lighting intensity using a Lux meter and eye fatigue using a Visual FatigueIndex (VFI) questionnaire. The results of the bivariate analysis with Somers'd showed that there was a relationship between lighting intensity and complaints of eye fatigue (p-value = 0.030, r = 0.333), there was a relationship between years of service and complaints of eye fatigue (p-value = 0.003, r = 0.457), and there is a relationship between the duration of computer use and complaints of eye fatigue (p-value = 0.028, r = 0.326). To reduce eye fatigue, it can be done by setting up the layout of the workplace, taking breaks in between work, and getting regular eye health checks.

Like a Meteorite: The Life of Mike Davis

AbstractThis article surveys the lifetime work of scholar-activist Mike Davis, and his attentiveness to the wide-ranging synthesis of the global political economy and ecology of capitalism and militarism, focusing on labor and social history, and to inequalities of race, class, gender, and nation, and struggles for diversity and inclusion, marking his distinctive style. Covering themes ranging from American exceptionalism, working-class formation, struggles for the eight-hour workday, the political economy and ecology of the Third World, and the growth of today's informal proletariat, the article underlines the author's deepest commitments to a lifetime of scholarship. These include democratic control over the means of production, and the remaking of the global system on new and enlarged, more peaceful and just socioecological foundations, now essential if humanity and other sentient beings are to survive and thrive.

On the Issue of the Activities of the Prosecutor’s Office and the Court in the Context of the Introduction of Criminal Liability for Violations of Labor Discipline in the Pre-War Period (Based on the Materials of the Middle Volga Region)

Introduction. The study of the activities of the prosecutor’s office and the court to maintain labor discipline is important for understanding the mechanisms of preparation of the USSR for the war of 1941–1945. The purpose of the article is to reconstruct the processes that took place in the judicial and investigative bodies of the Middle Volga region in the light of the joint resolution of the Council of People’s Commissars of the USSR, the Central Committee of the CPSU(b) and the All-Union Central Council of Trade Unions of December 28, 1939 “On strengthening labor discipline” and the Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of June 26, 1940. “On the transition to an eight-hour working day, to a seven-day working week and on the prohibition of unauthorized departure of workers and employees from enterprises and institutions”. Materials and Methods. The study is based on the analysis of documentary complexes of party organizations, prosecutor’s offices and courts from the funds of the State Archive of the Russian Federation and three regional archives, which predetermined the use of concrete historical methods necessary for a detailed study of the interrelated processes of the emergence of new judicial practices during the transition of acts from the sphere of administrative to the sphere of criminal law. Results. Despite the tendencies of tightening the consequences of violations of labor regulations observed in the party-state policy of the USSR in the late 1930s, the organs of the court and prosecutor’s office of the Middle Volga region were not prepared for its implementation. Since July 1940, due to the receipt of criminal cases under the Decree of June 26, 1940, the volume of work of the people’s courts has increased by an average of 6 times. The low legal culture of the heads of enterprises and institutions led to careless registration of documents for violators, which required high-quality preliminary investigation from the staff of the prosecutor’s office and the court. At the same time, the Kuibyshev Department of the People’s Commissariat of Justice has not sent any explanations to the judges for several months, solely demanding compliance with the five-day deadline for the consideration of cases. In fact, people’s judges were left to themselves, did not have a generalized practice of trials, which is why sentences and measures of criminal prosecution for the same type of crimes differed. Discussion and Conclusions. Both in the Middle Volga region and on the scale of the USSR, absenteeism and unauthorized abandonment of a place of work have become the most widespread criminal offense. On average, in the USSR, the share of these crimes in the second half of 1940 accounted for over 60 % of convicts, in the Middle Volga region, which had a fairly high share of industry – more than 75 %. The result of the lack of preparatory work was the forced refusal of a preliminary investigation, and then of an in-person court session, which led to a decrease in the quality of work of courts in the territory of the Middle Volga region.

The implementation of the eight-hour working day in Spanish pharmacies, 1904-1936

This is a study about the implementation of the eight-hour day (1919) in Spanish pharmacy offices and the legislative antecedents that led to it: the Sunday rest law and the law regulating commercial dependency. These health establishments were contemplated in some of the exceptional situations that marked these provisions, which were different depending on whether the worker was "external" or was part of the "internship" system. The article also collects and analyzes the points of view of pharmacists and auxiliaries, that is, employers and workers, through the most prominent professional press, which represented the conflicting interests of these professionals.

“A Revolution in Labor”: African Americans and Hybrid Labor Activism in Illinois during the Early Jim Crow Era

“A Revolution in Labor”: African Americans and Hybrid Labor Activism in Illinois during the Early Jim Crow Era

The Herrin Massacre of 1922: Blood and Coal in the Heart of America

The Herrin Massacre of 1922: Blood and Coal in the Heart of America

On Corruption in America and What Is at Stake by Sarah Chayes

<i>On Corruption in America and What Is at Stake</i> by Sarah Chayes

Prvo jugoslovansko leto Slovencev – gospodarski ukrepi, razhajanja in negotovosti

The discussion deals with economic developments in 1919, the first year of the interwar period and the first Yugoslav year. In the case of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, which is the subject of the analysis, the 1919 year was a complex process due to dynamics of transition to and establishment of new state. At the same time, the Habsburg monarchy was still very much alive in its concepts of regulating everyday private, social and economic life. The author analyzes these processes on the example of the eight-hour working day, agrarian reform, nostrification, war loans, currency reform and entrepreneurial practices in 1919.

Potere e lotta delle mondariso vercellesi ai primi del Novecento

Between the end of the nineteenth century and the beginning of the twentieth century, the women rice weeders gained political visibility and participated in the construction of a new emancipatory and egalitarian law. From their first claims that were limited to wage increases totheir demand for an eight-hour working day in the rice fields, these women engaged themselves in local and national political life, learning to to turn the confining rules and laws of the very legislation that enchained them into weapons to claim new rights. Their fight and their successes are celebrated in various rice field songs, the texts of which allow us to reflect on the existence of a symbiotic link between the socialist party and these heroic women, who took on the double role of teaching socialism to other workers and exercising authority over the governing bodies of the new party.

El camino hacia la conquista de las ocho horas de trabajo en Perú y Bolivia, 1905-1930

En 1905, los trabajadores de Perú y Bolivia conmemoraron por primera vez el 1° de mayo. Estaban dando el paso inicial que los llevaría, años después, a conquistar las ocho horas de trabajo. A partir de un amplio corpus documental, que incluye publicaciones periódicas y documentación sindical y legislativa, en el presente artículo nos proponemos reconstruir este camino, en el que el anarco-sindicalismo peruano y boliviano tuvo una destacada presencia y actuación. Utilizando el método comparativo, abordaremos las distintas etapas de este proceso y los principales conflictos sociales que antecedieron a dicha conquista. De esta manera, logramos develar las similitudes y diferencias entre los casos. No sólo en relación a luchas por la jornada de ocho horas y la significativa experiencia libertaria allí desarrollada durante las primeras décadas del siglo XX, sino también sobre el proceso de configuración del movimiento obrero en ambos países de la región andina.

Gas Discharge Atmospheric Pressure Systems for the Biomedical Use

The analysis of world literature is carried out, which indicates the intensive development of the scientific and technical field “Plasma in Medicine” based on the use of different gas-discharges for biomedical purposes. The atmospheric pressure plasma discharge systems have the favorite features and are very suitable for medical physiotherapy, bactericide treating and even for sterilization. The systems with non-thermal plasma are in the most use and one of their applications is generation of gas ozone. The given paper is devoted to looking for atmospheric pressure discharge modes, which are more suitable for ozone therapy equipment taking into account the peculiarities of such type of electronic apparatus. As practice shows, for the generation of ozone, discharges with a secondary-emission cathode and non-thermal plasma are most preferable, and of these two types of discharges are discharges with a dielectric barrier and corona discharges with uncoated metal electrodes. The article focuses on the appropriateness of the use of a corona discharge for ozone therapy equipment. This is justified by the fact that the corona discharge ozonizers have certain design advantages over the ozonizers on the discharge with dielectric barriers, namely that the advantages of the ozonizers on the corona discharge are the absence of a expensive barrier and low resistance to the gas flow, so there is no need to significantly increase the pressure at the ozonizer oxygen inlet, and possibility of power supplying the ozonizer with DC voltage. Also, ozonizers on the corona discharge have a lower cost. From the literature and the authors' own practice, there is a wide variety of configurations of electrode systems for creating the corona discharge, but they always have electrodes with a small radius of curvature of the surface: threads, wires, nets, various pointed needles, serrated electrodes. The article considers the physical mechanism of maintaining the corona discharge of a unipolar or bipolar type and notes the role of secondary electron emission of the cathode. All types of corona discharge are capable of generating ozone because discharge electrons have the energy required to dissociate oxygen molecules in a non-thermal gas environment. Then a free oxygen atom attaches to an oxygen molecule to form a metastable ozone molecule. It is noted that the corona discharge and ozone generation were studied in detail mainly in unipolar point-of-plane or wire-in-pipe systems. The data on ozone generation in bipolar discharge is not enough to develop an ozone therapy apparatus, although this form of discharge is interesting because it requires relatively small values of the supply voltage and operates at a direct current. Based on the review of the prospects for the use of bipolar corona discharge in biomedical apparatus and practical considerations of the realistic and expanded future usage of bipolar corona equipment in the ozone therapy, the tasks have been formulated to be solved. It is necessary to thoroughly study the characteristics of the developed equipment and the influence of various external operational factors and physico-chemical processes in the ozonizer electrode system on them. It is necessary to ensure that the parameters of the equipment are maintained during operation, which means that during the eight-hour working day and with the total time between failures of at least 1000 hours. Also, it is necessary to take into account the effect of the decomposition of ozone molecules at elevated temperatures and not to allow excessive heating of the ozonizer. These requirements must be met by choice of the configuration and materials of the electrode system and must be experimentally verified. It is proposed to ensure the linearity of the calibration characteristics of the ozonizer and to formalize it mathematically to simplify the setting and maintenance of stable operating modes of ozone equipment. It is necessary to prove its therapeutic efficacy, including for sterilization treatment, with the participation of medical specialists.