Work Intensity Research Articles

The impact of burnout on over-the-counter counseling: a survey of community pharmacists in Vietnam

Abstract Background In many countries, self-medication is, in fact, the main service provided, exhausting pharmacist time and increasing their workload. However, there are currently no reports describing the impact of burnout on patient medication counseling. Objectives This study was conducted to determine the influence of burnout on over-the-counter (OTC) medication counseling services in Vietnam. Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted in community pharmacies across four districts in Can Tho City, Vietnam, between April and May 2023. Burnout was assessed using the Maslach Burnout Inventory-Human Services Survey (MBI-HSS), comprising three subscales: emotional exhaustion (EE; 9 items), depersonalization (DP; 5 items), and personal accomplishment (PA; 8 items). OTC medication counseling activities were evaluated using 12 questions. Results Of the 385 participants recruited, 22.3% reported high work intensity as a common factor contributing to burnout. Pharmacists with burnout had significantly lower medication counseling scores than those without burnout (mean = 4.35 vs. mean = 4.55, P = 0.005). Of the 12 OTC medication counseling activities, 6 activities, including inquiring about the recent medications used by the patient (P = 0.044), discouraging long-term medication use (P = 0.021), warning about the possibility of self-misdiagnosis (P < 0.001), warning about the possibility of the patient choosing the wrong treatment method (P = 0.001), providing advice on improving health (P = 0.005), and inquiring about allergies in the patient (P < 0.001), had significantly lower scores in pharmacists with burnout. Conclusions There was a significant negative association between burnout and medication counseling activities. Increasing staff numbers may be a useful solution for reducing work intensity, as this factor is reported to contribute the most to burnout among current pharmacists.

Changes in the Dependence Structure of AROPE Components: Evidence from the Spanish Regions

The AROPE rate is a multidimensional indicator to monitor poverty in the European Union which combines income, work intensity and material deprivation. However, it misses the possible relationship between its components. To overcome this drawback, some authors proposed to complement the AROPE rate with measures of the dependence between its dimensions, since higher dependence can exacerbate poverty. In this paper, we follow this approach and measure such dependence in the Spanish regions over the period 2008-2018 using three multivariate versions of Spearman’s rank correlation coefficient. Our results reveal an asymmetric effect of the economic cycle on the dependence between poverty dimensions, as this dependence, in many Spanish regions, substantially increased during the Great Recession but dropped little during the economic recovery. Moreover, regions with higher AROPE rates also tend to experience more dependence between its dimensions.

Efektifitas Penggunaan Media Massage Gun Terhadap RPE Atlet Sepakbola

This study aims to determine the effect of massage gun media on RPE (Rated Percived of Exertion) in soccer athletes. This research uses experimental method with one-group pretest posttest design model. The population of this study were Persib Academy athletes, totaling 30 athletes, ranging the age of 16 years. This population was chosen because training was carried out intensively and training was carried out regularly for 4 times/week. 18 athletes of Persib Bandung Academy made the research subject with purposive sampling technique. The procedure of this study is to provide high-intensity training activities using the Yo-Yo Intermittent test. Recovery Test to determine the RPE scale when after the exercise is finished then give some treatment using Massage Gun with a duration of 15 minutes then re-tested RPE. The research instrument used is RPE or Rated Percived Exertion, RPE is a subjective scale used to measure the level of fatigue or perceived effort on an individual's perception of the intensity of work performed, based on the results of data processing, it was found that the massage method using massage guns had an effect on RPE (Rated Percived of Exertion) significantly. Based on the results of the data processing of hypothesis testing that has been done, it can be concluded that there is a significant effect of the use of Massage Gun significantly affects the decrease in fatigue symbolized by RPE (Rating of Perceived Exertion).

A dual pathway model of remote work intensity: A meta‐analysis of its simultaneous positive and negative effects

AbstractAs the COVID‐19 pandemic wanes, many organizations are asking employees to return to the office concerned that more extensive remote work could hurt employee morale and productivity. Employees, however, prefer to work remotely because of the flexibility it provides. In light of such competing perspectives, we conducted a meta‐analysis examining remote work intensity's (RWI) effects on employee outcomes. RWI refers to the extensiveness of remote work ranging from one or two days a week to full‐time remote work. We propose a dual pathway model linking RWI to employee outcomes arguing that it has indirect but opposing effects on the same outcomes via two mediators—perceived autonomy and isolation. Findings from a meta‐analysis of RWI's effects based on 108 studies (k = 110, N = 45,288) support the dual pathway model. Allaying organizational concerns about remote work, RWI had overall small but beneficial effects on multiple consequential employee outcomes including job satisfaction, organizational commitment, perceived organizational support, supervisor‐rated performance, and turnover intentions. We also conducted a meta‐analysis of the effects of remote work use (RWU), a binary construct taking on two values—remote workers (users) versus office‐based workers (non‐users of remote work). Findings from the RWU meta‐analysis based on 62 studies (k = 63, N = 41,904) suggest that remote workers generally have better outcomes than their office‐based colleagues. Altogether, findings suggest that remote work offers modest upsides with limited downsides—even for those who spend more time working away from the office.

Unravelling the relationship between employment, social transfers and income poverty: Policy and measurement

Despite the rise in employment, consistently high EU-average poverty rates continue to generate debates about the factors that explain the level and changes in the relative poverty rate, both within and across countries. Assuming a strong negative correlation between poverty and employment, the article investigates the role of four mechanisms responsible for this blurred relationship. Using decomposition analysis and macro-level regression analysis, we investigate the extent to which (i) the distribution of employment across households with different levels of work intensity, (ii) the expansion of non-standard work, (iii) the change in the effectiveness of social welfare systems, and (iv) the change in median income and the corresponding shift in the poverty threshold have contributed to changes in relative income poverty in the last decades. We found that employment growth benefits poverty reduction, but this positive effect was partially offset by the precarious characteristics of some newly created jobs. If the distribution of jobs had favoured the jobless more in the pre-crisis period, the relative income poverty rate would have been lower. Although the share of persons in jobless households decreased during the recovery years, their risk of poverty increased due to the retrenchment of social transfers during and after the Great Recession. Furthermore, the use of a floating threshold, which is linked to changes in median income, underestimates the strength of the relationships between poverty, employment and social transfers: when the poverty threshold is kept fixed, not only do the dynamics of poverty look different, but the estimated coefficients are considerably larger.

ВЛИЯНИЕ ПСИхОСОЦИАЛьНых ФАКТОРОВ НА УДОВЛЕТВОРЕННОСТь ТРУДОМ ВОСПИТАТЕЛЕЙ

Labor protection and health of people is a state task, therefore, in accordance with Russian legislation, everyone has the right to work in conditions that meet safety and hygiene requirements. The Constitution of the Russian Federation guarantees not only care for the life and health of workers, but also establishes the right to time intended for rest. The dynamic pace of modern life dictates its own conditions and requires high levels of mental and physical strength from people in different professions. In our opinion, pedagogical activity is especially filled with tense situations. In particular, the work of educators, which is associated with daily communication with children, their parents, work colleagues and management. A wide range of communication, relationships in a team, a variety of tasks and the intensity of work have a significant impact on the emotional state of teachers. Constant stress at work can lead to depression, poor health, low satisfaction with the profession and a formal attitude towards work, which is unacceptable when working with children. The purpose of the work is to analyze the psychosocial risks of preschool education that influence job satisfaction.

Joint optimization of component reassignment and working intensity adjusting strategy for multi-state systems with periodic inspection in a shock environment

For some engineering systems performing a mission with long duration, the component positions and working intensity can be dynamically adjusted to improve the efficiency of mission completion and system reliability. Motivated by this reality, a joint strategy of component reassignment and working intensity adjusting is proposed for a multi-component system. Components at different positions can be functionally exchanged. When at least one component fails completely, the system fails. The system operates under a shock environment and the probability that a shock is valid to a component is affected by its position and working intensity. The system can complete more tasks per unit time in a higher working intensity, but the probability that a shock is valid to a component is also larger. The mission is divided into multiple phases, and the action of component reassignment and working intensity adjusting needs to be decided at the beginning of each phase. A Markov decision process is constructed and the optimal mission phase number and strategy are obtained by a finite stage backward recursive iterative algorithm. An Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) swarm performing an emergency rescue mission is taken as an example to verify the effectiveness of the proposed joint strategy.

Physiological and Thermal Sensation Responses to Severe Cold Exposure (−20 °C)

Various jobs, indoors and outdoors, are subjected to severe cold temperatures during daily activities. Extremely low-temperature exposure and work intensity affect health, safety, and occupational performance. This work aimed to assess the physiological and thermal sensation responses before, during, and following a 60 min exposure to cold (−20 °C), during which occupational activities were developed. Using ingestible telemetric temperature pills, eight skin temperature sensors, blood pressure equipment, and the Thermal Sensation Questionnaire, experiments were conducted with 11 healthy male volunteers wearing highly insulating cold protective clothing. The most notorious alterations were reported in mean skin temperatures and thermal sensation responses during the first 20 min of cold exposure. Among the eight skin temperature points, the forehead and left hand showed a higher sensitivity to cold. The mean core temperature reported significant variations throughout the protocol, with decreases during the initial 10 min of cold exposure and posterior increases despite the cold environment. Blood pressure showed slight increases from the initial to the recovery period. Overall, outcomes contribute to current scientific knowledge on physiological and perception responses in extremely cold environments while describing the influence of protective clothing and occupational activities on these responses. Future research should be developed with additional skin temperature measurements in the extremities (fingers, face, and toes) and the analysis of thermal sensation potential associations with performance changes, which can also be of great significance for future thermal comfort models.

Effect of Various Hydration Strategies on Work Intensity and Selected Physiological Indices in Young Male Athletes during Prolonged Physical Exercise at High Ambient Temperatures.

Background: In high temperatures, adequate hydration is vital for sustained physical exercise. This study explores the effect of three hydration strategies on physiological indices and work intensity. Methods: The research involved 12 healthy males who engaged in three test series, each separated by a one-week interval. During the trials, participants underwent a 120 min cycling session in a thermal climate chamber (temperature: 31 ± 2 °C, humidity: 60 ± 3%, air movement: <1 m/s). Measurements of rectal temperature (Tre) and heart rate (HR), and assessment of subjective workload perception, and thermal comfort were made both before and during the exercise. The computation of the physical strain index (PSI) relied on Tre and HR values. Three hydration strategies (isotonic drink, water, and no hydration) were administered before, during, and after the exercise. Results: Regardless of the hydration strategy, the participants' mean body mass decreased as a result of the exercise. Statistically significant differences in HR were observed between the no-hydration and water groups (p < 0.036). The mean PSI values significantly varied between hydration strategies, with the no hydration group exhibiting a higher PSI compared to the isotonic drink or water groups (p < 0.001). Conclusions: All hydration strategies contribute to thermoregulatory processes and mitigate the rise in internal body temperature during sustained physical exercise in elevated ambient temperatures.

Looking at the other side: working conditions in Portuguese courts

Abstract QUALIS is a research project that studies ‘the other side of courts’ by looking at the working conditions of judicial professions in Portugal and their impacts on the profession, health, family and personal life. The objective of this article is to provide an overview of the results obtained, based mainly on the interviews and the online questionnaire administered to the Portuguese judicial professions (judges, public prosecutors and court clerks). The questionnaire was sent to all professionals (more than 10,000) working in the courts and had a good response rate; the interviews were conducted among the three judicial professions. The article focuses on three main dimensions of working conditions, namely physical environment, working time and work intensity, and work/social environment of professionals working at first instance courts. It will make then a further analysis of their impacts in the health and well-being and in the work-family conflict of the judicial professionals.

The assembly line at Ford and transportation platforms: A historical comparison of labour process reorganisation

AbstractThis paper provides a historical comparison of the introduction of the moving assembly line at Ford Motor factories in the early 20th century, with the development of transportation platforms in the 21st century. The paper pushes back against the argument that either of these cases was based upon technological innovation, arguing that in neither case was new technology developed, but rather existing machinery was made use of. The paper argues that each case was built upon the reorganisation of the labour process, to increase the control that capital held over the labour process, increase the intensity of work and increase the levels of exploitation and surplus value extraction that workers are subjected to. By demonstrating this, it removes the technological façade that contemporary platforms hide behind, showing that they do not represent a qualitative break from the past, but rather the repackaging of old forms of work intensification.

Scientific justification of the predictive model of selection of schoolchildren in educational institutions for gifted children

Introduction. Academic performance and the results of entrance tests are the key criteria for the competitive selection of students into educational institutions for gifted children, while the psychophysiological abilities of children and adolescents, determining the possibility of learning under conditions of high academic loads, are usually not taken into account.&#x0D; The purpose of the study is to scientifically substantiate a predictive model for the selection of students into educational institutions for gifted children.&#x0D; Materials and methods. For students of a lyceum for gifted children with high mental development (Group 1) and a general education institution with an average level of mental development (Group 2), an assessment was made of risk factors for the management and intensity of the educational work, and daily routine; functional state according to integral indicators: the index of tension of regulatory systems with the determination of biological adaptation, mental performance, as well as cognitive and non-cognitive functions using modern hardware and software complexes.&#x0D; Results. The students of the lyceum for gifted children in conditions of high intensity of educational work (class 3.1), in comparison with the data of students &#x0D; of a general education institution with optimal intensity of the educational process (class 1), were established to reveal the development of cognitive functions, &#x0D; as evidenced by an increase in the level of mental performance by 1.3 times, it productivity and speed by 1.2 times, thinking by 1.6–2.6 times, as well as a decrease in anxiety by 17.2%, stress by 24.5% compared to the data of students of the 2nd group, an increase in stress resistance by 25.0% and cognitive activity by 22.2%. At the same time, the formation of cognitive and non-cognitive functions in students from the 1st group was ensured by a decrease in the level of biological adaptation, confirmed by the formation of a breakdown in biological adaptation in every fourth student from the 1st group (26.4%) (according to data of 33.9% among students 2nd group). As a result of correlation analysis, reliable dependences of integral indicators of the functional state of students on factors of the management of the educational process and daily routine were determined. Correlation dependencies of cognitive and non-cognitive functions on the level of mental performance and tension in the regulatory systems of students have been established, which, based on logistic regression analysis, made it possible to develop a predictive mathematical model for the selection of students in educational institutions for gifted children, based on determining mental performance, the index of tension in regulatory systems, the level mental development, anxiety, cognitive activity, resistance to stress, and stress.&#x0D; Limitation. The study is limited to a sample formed within one educational institution for gifted children.&#x0D; Conclusion. Thus, the use of a prognostic model when selecting students for educational institutions for gifted children will not only identify students with a high level of mental development, but also assess their psychophysiological abilities, predict possible difficulties in the process of educational activities, identify strong and weak personality traits associated with academic performance.

Application and analysis of machine learning in handwritten digit recognition

It appears from the information that Character recognition research is currently focused on handwritten digit recognition, a significant subfield of optical character recognition, i.e. the use of computers to recognise and process digital information. In today's increasingly mainstream computer and data era, handwritten numeric recognition can simplify the process of paper-based offices, reduce the intensity of work when analysing data statistics afterwards and improve work efficiency. There are many algorithms to achieve recognition, each with different recognition accuracy, implementation efficiency and application scope. Based on the basic concepts described above, this thesis investigates the efficiency and accuracy of three algorithms - template matching, SVM and deep learning - in recognising handwritten digits with different sample sizes. The models or kernel functions currently used to process data of varying complexity and restricted scenarios also require continuous improvement to ensure accuracy, making it all the more important to discuss them in detail.

Capacity-based daily maintenance optimization of urban bus with multi-objective failure priority ranking

There is a specific correlation between bus operational failures and work intensity. The hysteresis effect identified the correlation between the number of repairs and the bus capacity of urban bus fleets. Therefore, administrators can determine whether to perform maintenance on a specific bus based on the severity of detected potential failures. At this stage, administrators should make a maintenance decision after considering maintenance costs, operational losses, and bus capacity. As a result, we propose a model for optimizing maintenance decisions with multi-objective failure priority ranking in this article. We employ the TOPSIS to prioritize the maintenance of failed buses based on indicators such as transport capacity loss, downtime, and maintenance cost. Finally, the study verifies the model's validity by utilizing real data from urban bus operation and maintenance data in China. The outcomes of the case study indicate that implementing the model can reduce operating expenses by 18.8143% when considering a corrective maintenance cost of 300. The model adoption provides a significant reduction in operating costs.

Sensitivity Analysis of SPR Nano Hole Array Structure for Lab-On-Chip Application

In this work sensitivity analysis of surface plasmon resonance based nano hole array (SPR NHA) is reported. SPR NHA are suitable for lab-on-a-chip applications. These devices work in three different modes, namely intensity mode, phase mode, and angular mode. In this work intensity mode analysis is used. The SPR NHA consisting of gold metal and silicon dioxide substrate dielectric material is used. Gold material is widely used in SPR sensors due to its excellent optical properties, high electrical conductivity and bio-compatibility. The Finite Difference Time Domain (FDTD) method is used for the simulation and analysis. An optical source at a wavelength of 675 nm is used for the analysis and simulation. The structure of the proposed SPRNHA consists of Substrate which is made of silicon di oxide dielectric material and a thin layer of gold is deposited on the substrate having thickness 0.1 µm. The nano hole array is etched on the gold layer. The pitch of the NHA is 0.6 µm and diameter of each hole is 0.2 µm. The diameter of the holes present in NHA is 0.2 µm. The sensitivity of the proposed device for different analytes such as albumin, RBC and hemoglobin is determined. The maximum sensitivity of 298.35 nm/RIU is achieved for the proposed device. The results obtained shows that the sensor has better sensitivity and suitable for use in lab-on-a-chip applications.

Telework and Work Intensity: Insights from an Exploratory Study in Portugal during the COVID-19 Pandemic

The expansion of teleworking and the digital transition movement have given companies and workers great flexibility, albeit with significant organisational consequences. The recent COVID-19 pandemic further reinforced the scale of this impact. Thus, the current research aims to understand whether the multiple dimensions of telework have impacted upon workers’ time management and work intensity through the unprecedented experiences during the pandemic and, in particular, to assess whether telework intensifies work, in what ways and the main reasons for this. The article analyses the literature on teleworking and work intensity and presents a documentary analysis on the subject, in addition to presenting the results of an exploratory study carried out in 2021 in Portugal which investigates the impact of teleworking on workers’ time management. The article underlines that although teleworking can increase a worker’s well-being by eliminating travel time, it presents several risks, namely it can intensify work through increased pressure to meet objectives and targets. Therefore, it is essential to develop research on the effects of telework, particularly assessing the relationship between telework and work intensification, as well as its effects on working conditions and workers’ well-being. This research will be an important resource for regulating labour laws and designing human resource management policies.

Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on infection control nurses: A path analysis of job stress, burnout, and turnover intention

A infection control nurse (ICN) has played substantial roles in infection control and epidemiology programs in hospitals to protect patients and coworkers during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. This study aimed to explore the association between intention to leave in ICNs and job stress and burnout. This cross-sectional study was conducted among ICNs working in hospitals with ≥200 beds in South Korea from October 1 to 22, 2021. Variables included were related to general and job characteristics specific to COVID-19, as well as measures of job stress, burnout, and turnover intention for ICNs from previous studies. Path analysis was used to examine the relationships between job stress, burnout, turnover intention, and COVID-19-related work characteristics. A total of 203 participants were included, of whom 95% were women. The results showed that work intensity in COVID-19 infection control was significantly associated with job stress (P<.001) and burnout (P=.035). Furthermore, job stress (P=.019) and burnout (P<.001) were positively correlated with turnover intention. In a pandemic with emerging infectious diseases, strategies to reduce turnover among ICNs and ensure a sufficient workforce are crucial to reducing work intensity, considering the factors that affect job stress and burnout.

An edge detection method of colony image based on mediocrity ant colony algorithm

The colony is one of the important research objects in microbial technology, which can realize the evaluation of food safety level, environmental pollution degree, therapeutic effect of medical drugs, and characteristics of agricultural fungicides. Traditional colony image research requires human visual observation and statistics, which will result in low work efficiency and high work intensity. Colony image edge detection is an important basis for colony image research. Traditional edge detection operators cannot meet the accuracy requirements of the detection results. This paper proposes a Mediocrity Ant Colony Algorithm (MACA) to achieve edge detection of colony images. MACA combines the mediocrity rule, uses empirical functions to establish a pheromone database that can be used as a pheromone update reference table, adopts the Chebyshev distance as a weight that affects pheromone update, and combines heuristic information acquisition with maximum variance classification method and local path weights. The method that jointly affects the ant transition probability incorporates feedback rules for obtaining path weights to improve the edge detection effect. By performing edge detection simulation experiments on six colonies of three types of bacteria, and comparing with the classic edge detection operators and two classic ant colony edge detection algorithms, the detection performance, detection results and running time are proposed. The stability and accuracy of MACA algorithm is better than other methods, and the ideal results of the colony image edge detection by the ant colony algorithm are obtained.

Exploring Nursing Research Culture in Clinical Practice: Qualitative Ethnographic Study.

Cultivating a positive research culture is considered the key to facilitating the utilization of research findings. In the realm of clinical nursing research, nurses conducting research may find the utilization of findings challenging due to the lack of a positive research culture. This study aims to identify and describe the sociocultural context of nursing research in a clinical setting at a Korean tertiary hospital. We included participant observation and ethnographic interviews with 6 registered nurses working in a medical-surgical unit in a Korean tertiary hospital who had experience conducting nursing research in clinical settings in this qualitative ethnographic study. The study was conducted from April 2022 to May 2022. Data analysis was conducted using Spradley's ethnographic approach, which includes domain analysis, taxonomic analysis, componential analysis, and theme analysis, and occurred concurrently with data collection. The overarching theme identified for nursing research culture in clinical practice was the development of a driving force for growth within the clinical environment. This theme encompasses (1) balancing positive and negative influences in the research process, (2) fostering transformational change for both nurses and patients, and (3) promoting complementary communication among nurses. Clinical research plays a vital role in nursing practice that requires a balance of supportive elements, such as patient-driven research questions and hospital research support, with practical challenges such as shift work and high work intensity. This study found that a positive clinical nursing research culture can serve as a unifying bridge, connecting researchers, patients, who serve as both the origin and ultimate beneficiaries of research, and hospitals that facilitate research endeavors. Future research should explore whether the themes derived from this study fully reflect a clinical nursing research culture comprising patients, nurses, and the hospital environment and determine what requirements are needed to establish such a nursing research culture.

Control System Design for Accurate Operation of Auxiliary Excavator Clusters

Abstract In recent years, with advancements in machine control automation and intelligent systems, both domestic and international research has increasingly focused on the automation and semi-automation of excavator control. This study introduces an auxiliary control system for excavator fleets, which utilizes sensor and wireless communication technologies. The research investigates the excavation errors that arise when operators rely on personal vision and experience in complex working environments, as well as the challenges of managing large fleets of excavators. By assisting operators in controlling the excavators, the system significantly reduces the operator’s experience requirements and work intensity and provides higher precision, consistency, and efficiency for excavation equipment. This method not only further improves the operating efficiency and excavation accuracy, but also saves the overall construction cost and improves the sustainability of the project.