Industrial Labor Research Articles

Safe Tourism: A Comparative Analysis of Worker Protection in Colombia and Costa Rica

This study focuses on a detailed review of relevant publications concerning labor protection and well-being in the travel industry of Colombia and Costa Rica. Both countries are recognized for their rich natural and cultural diversity, making them highly attractive international tourist destinations. The travel industry serves as a vital source of financial resources and employment, playing a crucial role in fostering economic prosperity and social progress in these regions. This research aims to investigate aspects related to worker protection in this sector, including the regulations, laws, and agreements that govern labor protection and employee well-being. The study examines initiatives implemented to ensure safe and healthy working conditions, the challenges faced by workers, as well as incidents and other pertinent factors. The primary objective of this research is to establish the standards set in Colombia and Costa Rica regarding the protection and well-being of employees within the tourism sector. It aims to analyze the strategies employed to safeguard employee welfare and promote healthy work environments, creating secure conditions that favor sustainable tourism in both nations. The methodological approach is based on a review of existing literature, encompassing documents and research published in the last five years. Reliable documentary sources will be examined, employing keywords in multiple languages to broaden the informational perspective on protection and well-being in the tourism industry's labor context. This review will include legislation, reports from international organizations, and relevant academic studies. The findings reveal that both Colombia and Costa Rica have a current regulatory framework addressing elements related to labor protection and well-being within the tourism sector. Both nations promote the establishment of safe and health-promoting work environments, outlining obligations for both employers and employees in implementing these standards. Additionally, initiatives and programs aimed at enhancing employee health and satisfaction, alongside sustainability in the tourism sector, contribute to developing safe and effective workplaces in the tourism industry of both countries.

Development and validation of a questionnaire to measure COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy within the Romanian industrial laborers

Development and validation of a questionnaire to measure COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy within the Romanian industrial laborers

Local Wisdom to Support the Development of Batik Creative Industry in Pamekasan

The creative industry is a form of economic activity that can encourage development like through the absorption of labor. Pamekasan is one of the regencies that has local wisdom, namely batik tulis, because it was designated as a Batik Regency by UNESCO in 2009. Batik industry is expected to help improve the regional economy and the welfare of batik craftsmen. However, in fact, batik craftsmen in Pamekasan have not felt a significant impact. The purpose of this research is to examine the contribution of the creative batik industry to economic growth and the role of the batik industry in welfare of craftsmen. This method used a qualitative method. The data was obtained from the results of interviews with informants, namely batik craftsmen. The results of the study show that the creative industry is able to have a positive impact on improving people’s welfare and reducing unemployment. This can be seen from the absorption of labor in the batik industry. Creative industries that can develop cannot be separated from local culture. Thus, local wisdom is one of the factors that supports the increase in creativity in producing certain works in the form of written batik.

Arginine accumulation suppresses heat production during fermentation of the biocontrol fungus Beauveria bassiana.

Beauveria bassiana (Bb) is one of the most widely used biocontrol agents, and its products constitute more than one-third of the global market share of fungal insecticides. Solid-state fermentation (SSF) is widely used in the production of Beauveria bassiana (Bb) because of its economic practicality and high production efficiency. However, the heat generated during fermentation can sharply reduce both the yield and quality of Bb, and current industrial methods to mitigate high temperatures during fermentation are inadequate, leading to increased production costs. Thus, exploring the underlying mechanism of how heat is produced by Bb is crucial for improving the SSF procedure and yield. This study employed multiomics data analysis of Bb during SSF to explore the relationships between fungal fermentation and environmental factors. We found that the heat production period for SSF was 12 hours to 48 hours post-inoculation. To further explore the underlying mechanism during this heating period, we identified 454 temperature-correlated metabolites (TCMs) and 1,994 temperature-correlated genes (TCGs). Annotations of the above TCMs and TCGs revealed significant enrichment in the arginine biosynthesis pathway; specifically, the expression level of glutamine synthetase, a TCG, decreased with fermentation time, whereas the expression levels of the TCGs L-arginine and L-glutamine increased with fermentation time, and glutamine synthetase and L-glutamine in the arginine biosynthesis pathway cycle produced the end product L-arginine. Furthermore, when the substrates of the SSF were treated with exogenous arginine, the temperature peak of the SSF significantly decreased with increasing concentration of exogenously added arginine.IMPORTANCEA large amount of experimental evidence from the field has shown that Bb is an irreplaceable mature product that protects the health of our agriculture and ecosystem. In addition to high efficiency and host extensiveness, low cost is a critical merit that makes Bb products frequently used in the field. However, the growing cost of power and labor in the Bb industry, especially the SSF procedure, has significantly increased the price of its products, thus restricting the use of Bb in the field. This study not only fills the theoretical knowledge gaps concerning the molecular basis of the interrelationship between Bb and the fermentation environment during SSF but also provides an economical and applicable strategy (the addition of arginine to the fermentation media) to further lower the cost and increase the yield of Bb during SSF at the industrial level.

Sousveillance Work: Monitoring and Managing-Up in Patrimonial Hollywood

How do workers come to know what their bosses need and want? This paper shows how laborers in patrimonial work environments learn to serve their bosses through bottom-up observation, rather than top-down instruction. The author uses the case of assistants in Hollywood to introduce the concept of sousveillance work, which is the labor of monitoring, anticipating, and fulfilling a boss’s mutable needs and wants. Drawing on 60 + interviews with professionals in Hollywood, the author reveals how sousveillance work helps assistants manage-up and mitigate volatility wrought by their patrimonial superiors. The concept of sousveillance work adds to research on labor and uncertainty in creative industries, and also helps to reveal how patrimonial systems are sustained in contemporary work environments.

Object Detection and Multiple Objective Optimization Manipulation Planning for Underwater Autonomous Capture in Oceanic Natural Aquatic Farm

ABSTRACTUnderwater autonomous capture operations offer significant potential for reducing labor and health risks in sea organism industries. This study presents a comprehensive solution for cross‐domain underwater object detection and autonomous capture. A novel unsupervised domain adaptive learning method is proposed, integrating multiscale domain adaptive modules and attention mechanisms into a Faster Region‐Convolutional Neural Network framework. This approach enhances feature alignment across diverse aquatic domains without parameter tuning. Additionally, an efficient, parameterless constrained multiobjective optimization algorithm is introduced for underwater autonomous mobile capture, integrating parameterized trajectory planning with innovative features, such as adaptive mutation strategies and constraint violation tolerance. The proposed approaches are extensively validated through simulations, tank experiments, and real‐world oceanic trials in the Natural Aquatic Farm of Zhangzidao Island. Results demonstrate the system's robustness in complex underwater environments with varying currents, with experimental outcomes validating the accuracy and reliability of detection and capture capabilities. This research significantly advances autonomous underwater systems' capabilities in object detection and capture tasks, addressing complex challenges in realistic organism capture applications across diverse aquatic environments.

Advanced Design and Performance Evaluation of an Automatic Synchronized Grafting Machine for Solanum Vulgare

The adoption of grafting machines has become an essential trend in the advancement of the vegetable nursery industry, driven by the aging population and the rapid growth of the vegetable sector. Domestic and foreign research organizations have designed various types of vegetable grafting devices for the huge nursery market. However, most of the machines developed and designed at home and abroad are now semi-automated and are thus highly susceptible to damaging the stems of the seedlings during operation. Therefore, in order to realize the complete automation of the grafting operation and improve the grafting survival rate and quality, in this paper, eggplant hole tray seedlings were grafted as the object, and the cutting mechanism, the integrated mechanism of clamping and fitting, and the wrapping mechanism were structured on the basis of the affixing method. The transition conversion from semi-automatic to fully automatic was realized. And the rationality of the design was verified via the cutting test and the clamping characteristic test, which maximized the fit rate between the cutting surface of the rootstock and the scion seedling and maximized the protection of the grafted seedling from damage in the clamping process. Finally, the device was tested using Torubam rootstock and a Nova 101 tomato scion. The results showed that the optimal cutting angles were 35° and 30° for rootstock and scion, respectively, and that the lengths of the cutting surfaces were 11.28 ± 0.18 mm and 11.43 ± 0.14 mm. The grafting efficiency of the machine was up to 700 grafts per hour, with an average grafting success rate of up to 95% and zero stem damage to the seedlings. The experiments proved that the structure design of the machine is reasonable, and it can fully improve the grafting efficiency and quality. Meanwhile, the research findings can provide a theoretical basis for the application of the latter in the field of plant grafting. The research results can effectively alleviate the dependence on manual labor in the nursery industry and further liberate the labor force.

Changes in the social and occupational professional structure of the farmers of Dagestan and their budget in 1970s

Abstract. Relevance. Agriculture plays a unique role in the livelihood of any society. Modern reforms in the agricultural sector require workers of a new type, i.e. economically literate, comprehensively educated, professionally trained, and proactive. In this context, the experience of one of the regions of the Russian Federation, Dagestan, in staffing the agricultural sector, which has contributed to the qualitative renewal of its employees, is of particular value. For the first time, an attempt has been made to show the effective development of the human resources potential of agricultural production in the Republic on the basis of modernization of the material and technical base.The problem statement. The article examines the influence of transformation of agricultural labor into a kind of industrial labor on changes in the social and occupational structure of agricultural production workers in Dagestan. It has been noted that these changes also have contributed to an increase in the standard of living of farmers. The goal of the research is to identify the factors that have caused changes in professional qualification groups in state farm and collective farm production, to show the convergence of wages of collective farmers, workers and employees with industrial and production personnel. The research methods used are scientific objectivity and historicism, comparative historical, logical, statistical ones, which allowed us to recreate the scientific picture of the topic under consideration. It has been concluded that industrialization of agriculture has contributed to changes in the nature of labor, bringing it closer to the level of industry in terms of technical equipment and production organization. As a result, there is a convergence in the wages of agricultural workers to industrial and production personnel, which leads to the growth of their incomes.

FROM PLATFORMS TO PROTOCOLS, FORGES, STACKS AND DAOS: ON THE PLATFORMISATION AND DEPLATFORMISATION OF SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT

This paper contributes to the critical study of platformisation and deplatformisation of software development and how networked infrastructures commodify, configure and challenge relations between code, coders, communities, technologies, investors and industries. It explores the political economic and cultural dimensions of the platformisation of software development in the news industry with a case study on Github. It then examines how resistance to platformisation and counter-mobilisations in the context of free software, art and activism surface alternative arrangements for socialising software development imbued with other logics. The paper proposes the concept of “connective coding” to characterise GitHub’s dominant modes of configuration and capitalisation of public repositories and profiles and the power relations that underpin it, whereby public software and project development work becomes assets in the platform economy that have the potential to be variously capitalised by the platform and its associated third-party ecosystem. This institutional perspective is complemented by an analysis of newsroom industry practices mediated by the platform and how GitHub modulates visibility in this space. The second part of the paper reflects on efforts to deplatformise software development by examining various responses and counter-mobilisations partly prompted by Microsoft’s controversial purchase of Github. It reviews the development of alternative coding spaces such as Gogs, Gitea, Radicle and Forgejo, and the values, practices, concerns and communities associated with them. In doing so it contributes to conference themes pertaining to political economy, labour and resistance in digital industries.

The use of apparel cad technology in pedagogical training among technical universities in Ghana

The study investigated the use of apparel CAD technology in pedagogical training among technical universities in Ghana. The study respectively drew 285 respondents from two public universities, i.e., Kumasi Technical University, Accra Technical University, and Sunyani Technical University in Ghana. The overall population of the study was 285 randomly sampled from the three public universities. The study employed questionnaires as a data collection tool. The data gathered were 285 responses representing 100%. The data was analysed using pie charts, and frequency tables. The study findings show that there is minimal training and inadequate usage of clothing computerised design technology (CCDT). This was brought about by the lecturers' poor instruction and learning resources, the students' limited industrial exposure, and the lack of a competent CAD studio, hardware, and software for clothing design. The instruction and implementation of clothing CAD technology that students received, according to graduates, instructors, and students themselves, did not prepare them or the students to meet the industrial labour need. Therefore, there is a gap between industrial labour demand and university products. It was concluded that teaching and learning materials should be made available, universities' human capital should be well-equipped and motivated, and curricula should be restructured through broad stakeholder consultation. The study finally recommends that the universities should fully invest in the required CAD technology to provide the necessary facilities and equipment and provide lecturers with the needed resources and motivation to restructure the program's fate in our academic space.

Feminist genealogies, archival constellations and women’s labour in fashion films: Anna Piaggi: una visionaria nella moda (2016) and Triangle (2014)

In this article, I examine how Alina Marazzi and Costanza Quatriglio deal with the world of haute couture and off-the-rack fashion, and with the turn to the archive in their documentaries. They construct feminist genealogies (between maternage and spectral sisterhood) in the fashion world and adopt different modalities of montage (between gleaning and détournement). In Anna Piaggi: una visionaria nella moda (‘Anna Piaggi: A fashion visionary’) (2016), Marazzi focuses on Anna Piaggi, a renowned fashion editor for Vogue Italia. In contrast, Costanza Quatriglio in Triangle (2014) centres her story on the 123 women textile workers, victims of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire in New York in 1911, in counterpoint to her interview with Mariella Fasanella, the only survivor of a collapsed sweatshop in Barletta, Italy in 2011. The two filmmakers produce a short circuit in fashion films among feminist genealogies, archival constellations and women’s labour in the fashion industry, activating a feminist and ethical stance.

A study on industry labour management with refrence to plywood industry

A study on industry labour management with refrence to plywood industry

False news claims as media criticism: Situating 1930s-1940s U.S. progressive critiques of “falsehood in the daily press”

Widespread claims charging news media with intentionally presenting false information to advance a political agenda are commonly understood as a recent phenomenon driven by the rise of right-wing populism. This article unpacks the prominence of charges of false news in the 1930s and 1940s United States among progressives who identified the commercial press as a powerful conservative force working on behalf of economic elites and against progressive movements. It argues that liberal and left critics deployed claims of falsehood in news as they sought to convince audiences that dominant news institutions were unworthy of their trust, underscore the importance of alternative media, and promote reform of newspaper industry labor practices. Bringing a case study from an illustrative past moment into conversation with recent work on post-truth politics and journalistic authority, this article contributes to the literature on “fake news” as media criticism.

Interplay between job satisfaction and employee motivation among contract labor in pharmaceutical industry

The aim of this paper is to evaluate and understand the interplay between job satisfaction and employee motivation among contract labor in the pharmaceutical industry. This research evaluates the association between job satisfaction and motivation based on Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs theory w.r.t. contract labor in pharmaceutical industry. This study explores the motivating factors and expectations of contract labor working in the pharmaceutical sector. The study includes surveying 384 contract workers in the pharmaceutical industry. The poll included an updated rendition of Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs theory, as well as work satisfaction scores. The basic data were acquired via convenience sampling. The model's credibility and consistency were assessed using Confirmation Factor Analysis (CFA) and Structured Equation Modelling (SEM). The model passed both the convergent and discriminant validity tests. The model was also determined to be statistically fit and verified with the necessary fit indices. It was discovered that understanding contract labor expectations for working in a pharmaceutical company (physiological needs, safety needs, belongingness needs, esteem needs, and self- actualization needs) is critical for job satisfaction. The study was done in Visakhapatnam city with just 384 contract workers as respondents. The model was built with five constructs (five types of requirements), one construct (job satisfaction), and three attributes (Variables) in each need (construct), however there might be more than three attributes in each type of needs. This study used statistical analysis to validate and assess Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs concept in relation to work satisfaction. The approach was applied to contract labor in the pharmaceutical business, but it may also be used in other industry verticals and sectors. The study extended the literature related to motivation studies and job satisfaction, delivered a model by applying Maslow’s’ need hierarchy theory. The model is useful for the HR practitioners to enhance job satisfaction levels of contract labor.

Analysis of skilled labor shortage in the construction industry of developing countries

Labor productivity is an essential component for the effective execution of a project. This research aimed to determine the cause of the labor crisis in the construction industry of developing countries. This research focuses on numerous aspects such as the trades of shorted skilled labor, the shortage causes, the effects of the shortage of skilled labor in industry, the characteristics that skilled labor should have, and the mitigation strategies. The field survey conducted included twelve trades, sixteen causes, nine effects, and eleven characteristics of skilled labor. The top three trades with a significant shortage are heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) installer technicians, wood carpenters, and glazier/aluminum workers. The top three causes accountable for the labor shortage are irregular and low wages, poor training, and economic change. Extension in the duration of the project and Errors during construction emerged as the top two effects caused by a shortage. The top three characteristics of skilled labor are technical competence, in-depth knowledge of handling tools and equipment, determination, and persistence. The survey concluded that offering advantageous wages and benefits, providing opportunities for advancement and professional development, and establishing a positive work environment can effectively reduce the effects of labor shortages by recruiting and retaining skilled individuals.

РЫНОК ТРУДА В ФАЗЕ СТАРЕНИЯ РАБОТНИКОВ: АНАЛИЗ ТЕОРИЙ, КОНЦЕПЦИЙ И МОДЕЛЕЙ АКТИВНОГО ДОЛГОЛЕТИЯ

This paper examines the relevance of the topic related to changes in the labor market caused by demographic and social factors. Changes in the demographic structure of the workforce can lead to the following transformations: First, there is a shortage of labor in various industries. The emigration of workers abroad and the shortage of incoming migrants lead to this phenomenon. In addition, the shortage of workers is influenced by low activity among young people due to changes in their values, mobility and the desire for a work-life balance. Secondly, the aging phase in the context of theories of models of successful aging is an important aspect that is being investigated within the framework of various approaches to understanding the aging process and its impact on society and the labor market. Thirdly, the predominance of older workers. The influence of the process of social aging, which leads to an increase in the number of older workers in the labor sphere, is considered. According to Rosstat, more than half of the employed in Russia are people over 40 years old. The study offers a comprehensive approach to the classification of social theories, concepts and models of active longevity for a deeper understanding of the aging phase. The practical value of labor market research in the aging phase of workers with an emphasis on the analysis of theories, concepts and models of active longevity may lie in rethinking personnel management strategies, improving employment policies and creating intergenerational interaction programs.

Exploring the potential mechanisms and future trends of industrial eco-efficiency: a case study of coastal China

The industrial economy occupies a crucial position in China’s national economy, and industrial eco-efficiency (IEE) as a significant indicator of regional green development levels. Balancing the positive interaction between industrial economy and resource environment, and enhancing ecological efficiency in industrial development are vital for achieving sustainable regional economic development. This study measures the IEE of 115 cities in coastal China based on panel data of industrial resources and the environment factors. Subsequently, it further analyzes the influencing mechanisms and future trends of IEE. The results indicate that the overall IEE in coastal China is on an upward trend, with higher efficiency values in provinces and regions characterized by faster economic development and better environmental conditions. Significant changes in spatial patterns are observed, with the gaps between cities narrowing and a “multi-core” development model emerging. Factors such as per capita GDP, the ratio of industrial pollution control investment to GDP, innovation index, the proportion of foreign direct investment to GDP, and industrial labor productivity significantly positively influence IEE. In contrast, the proportion of industrial added value to GDP, urbanization rate, and the number of industrial enterprises exhibit notable negative inhibitory effects. Moreover, the interaction effect between industrialization level and other factors is most significant. In the future, IEE is expected to continue improving, although the sustainability of these changes appears weak. These findings reveal the potential impact mechanisms of resource consumption and environmental pollution caused by industrial activities on economic benefit output. This study provides a scientific basis for optimizing energy development layout, enhancing the comprehensive utilization of energy resources, and improving ecological compensation and protection mechanisms.

The Impact of Sustainability on the Labour Market and Employability in the Construction Industry

The present article analyses how the changes in the labour market are impacting employability, within the context of sustainability, with a special focus on the construction industry. This paper explores the relevance of employability in the construction industry, in an economy that is more and more oriented towards sustainable practices. The added value of the present paper resides in the proposed methodology that includes identifying and ranking the sustainability indicators that contribute to a sustainable employability model. The main objective of this research is to highlight the importance of sustainability in terms of training and preserving the specific competencies for the construction industry labour market, which is an essential sector for the transition to a green economy. The methodological innovation of the present study is that it proposes a model for the assessment of the sustainability indicators, thus offering a practical and ready-to-use framework for decision-makers in the industry. These indicators, which influence sustainability in the long term, were analysed from the viewpoint of the construction industry in Romania. This study used secondary statistical data, with a focus on the evolution of employability and of the professional training of graduates in this field of activity. The conclusion of the analysis is that a sustainable employability model should be implemented that meets the needs of the contemporary labour market and ensures an effective transition to a green economy. Implementing sustainable strategies in the construction sector facilitates the transition to responsible practices that are adapted to the current requirements of the green economy.

Estimating the prevalence of child labour in the cocoa industry via indirect elicitation methods: a mixed-methods study

Data from children suggest that the prevalence of child labour in the cocoa industry in Côte d’Ivoire is a worrying 38%. However, while surveying children has the potential to reduce sensitivity biases such as social desirability bias, it presents significant ethical dilemmas and may also be associated with other reporting biases, making accurate estimates of child labour difficult. To address this, we collected data from 1741 cocoa producers to assess whether parents could provide more accurate estimates using indirect survey methods. We compared direct questioning with a list experiment and a novel non-verbal method (‘colorbox’). We found higher prevalence rates of child labour using indirect elicitation methods, but lower than those obtained from children’s surveys. Qualitative in-depth interviews revealed motivations for underreporting, including fear of legal consequences and mistrust of stakeholders. Indirect methods alone are not sufficient to correct for underreporting when child labour is collected from parents. Future research should prioritise direct data collection from children and address ethical concerns to obtain more accurate estimates of child labour.

Do Corporate Films Dream of Cybernetic Governance? Computers (as Metaphors of) Industrial Labor and Society in Olivetti-Sponsored Films

Do Corporate Films Dream of Cybernetic Governance? Computers (as Metaphors of) Industrial Labor and Society in Olivetti-Sponsored Films