Working Conditions Research Articles

Experimental design for sustainable tourism: a horizon 2050 paper

Purpose This paper aims to uncover the insights derived from past experimental studies in promoting sustainable tourism. It also advocates for leveraging future experimental designs to position tourism as a catalyst for positive change toward sustainable development goals. Design/methodology/approach A review of previous literature examines the contributions of experimental design in both tourist studies and employee studies within the tourism fields. Findings Previous experimental studies have explored effective methods shaping tourists’ sustainable behaviors and management strategies contributing to employees’ decent work. The importance of integrating digital technology in these interventions is highlighted. A future research agenda encompassing three dimensions – technological progress, theory development and practical implications and research design – is proposed to leverage experimental studies for fostering sustainable development within the tourism industry. Originality/value This study, through a comprehensive review, highlights the significant impacts of previous experimental studies on encouraging responsible consumption among tourists and championing improved working conditions for employees. It underscores the necessity for enhanced experimental design, which should integrate theoretical frameworks and prioritize technological innovations to address real-world challenges. These improvements are crucial for advancing the tourism industry toward greater sustainability.

Adding injury to insult: Unfair treatment at work and occupational injury among hospital patient-care workers.

Hospital patient-care workers have high occupational injury rates. While physical hazards within hospital work environments are established determinants of injury, social exposures may also contribute. This study examined how reports of unfair treatment at work, a dimension of work-related experiences of discrimination, were associated with injury among hospital-based patient-care workers. We used data from the Boston Hospital Workers Health Study, a longitudinal cohort of nurses and nursing assistants at two Boston-area hospitals. In 2018, we conducted a worker survey asking about three types of unfair treatment at work and occupational injuries during the past year. We used mixed-effects logistic regression models to evaluate associations between specific types, total load, and high-frequency exposure of unfair treatment with injury, adjusting for age, gender, race and ethnicity, job title, and unit type. Among 1001 respondents, 21% reported being humiliated in front of others at work, 28% reported being watched more closely than other workers, and 47% reported having to work twice as hard as others for the same treatment. For each type of unfair treatment, we observed a monotonic relationship with occupational injury wherein increasing frequency of exposure was associated with increased odds of injury. We also observed monotonic relationships between total load and high-frequency exposure to unfair treatment and odds of injury. Work-related unfair treatment is associated with injury among hospital workers. Programs and policies that focus on preventing unfair treatment may lessen injury burden in hospital workers.

A digital twin model of the axial temperature field of a DC cable for millisecond calculations

The most important features of digital twin technology for transmission and transformation equipment are symbiotic evolution and state prediction. In constructing the digital twin model for DC cables, the transient and steady-state temperature fields need to be considered comprehensively in the modeling process to consider the multi-physical field coupling, mathematical model, operational data, and environmental conditions in specific cases, which makes it difficult to satisfy the real-time requirements of the digital twin. To solve this problem, in this paper, a digital twin technology architecture for DC cables is proposed, and a neural network learning model is constructed to minimize the latency due to the complexity of the model simulation. Moreover, an efficient digital twin model that is based on the model-driven approach is developed for the fast computation of the axial temperature field of DC cables. The use of the Sequence-to-Sequence residual neural network algorithm for the reduced-order multi-physics field coupling modeling reduces the computational time and ensures as much accuracy as possible up to the finite element model simulation. The simulation results show that the use of the digital twin model reduces the simulation time from 275 s to 0.56 s, and the relative error between the accuracy of the digital twin model and the finite element model for the axial temperature field of the DC cable is 0.46 %. Finally, verification of the reasonableness and feasibility of the proposed method is carried out via an experimental platform according to the standard of CIGRE TB496. In particular, the maximum value of the DC cable temperature is verified to have a small error compared with the result of the Sequence-to-Sequence calculation under specific working conditions.

TyBox: An Automatic Design and Code Generation Toolbox for TinyML Incremental On-Device Learning

Incremental on-device learning is one of the most relevant and interesting challenges in the field of Tiny Machine Learning (TinyML). Indeed, differently from traditional TinyML solutions where the training is typically carried out on the Cloud and inference only occurs on the tiny devices (e.g., embedded systems or Internet-of-Things units), incremental on-device TinyML allows both the inference and the training of TinyML models directly on tiny devices. This ability paves the way for TinyML-enabled intelligent devices that can learn directly on the field and adapt to evolving environments, different working conditions, or specific users. The literature in this field is quite limited with very few solutions focusing only on the incremental fine-tuning of machine learning models, whereas a general solution encompassing algorithms and code generation for incremental on-device TinyML is still perceived as missing. The aim of this article is to introduce, to the best of our knowledge for the first time in the literature, a toolbox called TyBox for the automatic design and code generation of incremental on-device TinyML classification models. In more detail, starting from a “static” TinyML model, TyBox is able to (i) automatically design the “incremental” on-device version of the TinyML model that has been suitably designed to take into account the technological constraint on the RAM memory of the target tiny device, and (ii) autonomously provide the C++ codes and libraries to support the inference and learning of the incremental on-device TinyML model directly on the tiny devices. TyBox has been extensively compared with a state-of-the-art incremental learning solution for TinyML and tested on an off-the-shelf tiny device (i.e., the Arduino Nano 33 BLE) in three relevant TinyML application tasks and scenarios: binary image classification, multi-class image classification, and ultra-wide-band human activity recognition. In addition, TyBox is released to the scientific community as a public repository.

Effect of nano-graphene lubricating oil on particulate matter of a diesel engine

Nano-graphene lubricating oil with appropriate concentration shows excellent performance in reducing friction and wear under different working conditions of diesel engines, and has been widely concerned. Lubricating oil has a significant impact on particulate matter (PM) emissions. At present, there are few studies on the impact of nano-graphene lubricating oil on the physicochemical properties of PM. In order to comprehensively evaluate the impact of nano-graphene lubricating oil on diesel engines, this paper mainly focused on the effects of lubricating oil nano-graphene additives on the particle size distribution and physicochemical properties of PM. The results show that, compared with pure lubricating oil, the total number of nuclear PM and accumulated PM of nano-graphene lubricating oil is significantly increased. The fractal dimension of PM of nano-graphene lubricating oil increases and its structure becomes more compact. The average fringe separation distance of basic carbon particles decreases, the average fringe length increases. The degree of ordering and graphitization of basic carbon particles are higher. The fringe tortuosity of basic carbon particles decreases, and the fluctuation of carbon layer structure of basic carbon particles decreases. Aliphatic substances in PM are basically unchanged, aromatic components and oxygen functional groups increase. The initial PM oxidation temperature and burnout temperature increase, the maximum oxidation rate temperature and combustion characteristic index decrease, and the activation energy increases, making it more difficult to oxidize. This was mainly caused by the higher graphitization degree of PM of nano-graphene lubricating oil and the increased content of aromatic substances.

Consequences of using renewable energy sources

Developed countries offset global warming by abandoning high-carbon products in favour of low-carbon products and by introducing a transboundary carbon tax for those countries that are unable to make the transition immediately. One of the ways of the transition in developed countries is proposed generation of electricity from renewable energy sources (hereinafter referred to as RES). The purpose of the article is to assess the consequences of ­using RES as one of the ways to the transition to low-carbon products. RES are the object of the study, especially wind and solar power plants. Energy generation on them is considered an environmentally friendly production and does not require large operational costs. The subject of the study is economic relations that occur concerning construction and use of RES. The methodological basis of the study includes general scientific methods (generalization, systematisation) and economic-statistical methods (comparative analysis, tabular techniques for data visualisation). The main results of the study lie in justifying large investment costs in RES which are associated with provision of significant areas of land and sea and their withdrawal from agricultural turnover; with scarce and poorly developed deposits of non-energy commodities which are necessary for the creation of RES equipment; with unevenness in energy production and its low density in wind and solar power plants. That requires investments in storage and balancing systems. In pursuit of environmentally friendly production the West does not consider many components of economic efficiency: environmental protection and safety of working and living conditions of some countries in Asia, Africa and South America, and natural means of absorbing greenhouse gases. It should be ignored in the future when justifying economic efficiency of RES.

Mandated rest breaks and occupational injuries and illnesses in Dallas County, TX construction workers: A quasi-experimental, comparative interrupted time series study.

We estimated associations of a rest break ordinance, implemented for construction workers in Dallas, Texas in 2016, with workplace injuries and illnesses. We used workers' compensation claims data to compare changes in rates of injuries and illnesses among Dallas, TX County construction (i.e., "treated") workers with changes in untreated workers, before (2013 - 2015) and after (2016 - 2018) a rest break ordinance was implemented. Immediately after the ordinance was implemented, rates of injuries/illnesses among treated workers were modestly lower than in comparison workers (Rate Ratio comparing post- versus pre-mandate rates, treated versus comparison workers: 0.89, 95% CI: 0.72 - 1.11). Post- vs pre-ordinance slope trends were similar in the treated versus the comparison group. Ten-minute rest breaks were associated with modestly lower rates of workplace injury/illnesses. More comprehensive standards may be needed for protection.

Challenges and Solutions for Ride-Hailing Motorbike Drivers in Vietnam: An Analysis of Working Conditions and Health

In the digital age, ride-hailing motorbike services have become an indispensable part of the urban transportation system in Vietnam, attracting thousands of workers with their flexibility and income potential. However, occupation also poses numerous health and safety challenges. The job requires long working hours, exposure to harsh weather conditions, and highly competitive pressure, leading to physical and mental health issues such as muscle pain, fatigue, and stress. This research article employs a survey method to collect data from ride-hailing motorbike drivers to analyze the labor burdens they endure. Based on the findings, the study suggests solutions such as improving working conditions, developing health support programs, and implementing more flexible policies to enhance the quality of life and job satisfaction among workers, thereby contributing to the sustainable development of the industry in Vietnam.

Analysis of the COVID-19 pandemic on preferences of transport modes

The COVID-19 pandemic has affected the entire world and changed many aspects of daily life, including transportation behaviour and preferences. This study examines the situation of transportation behaviour and preferences before and after the COVID-19 pandemic process through a survey study. A total of 471 people participated in the survey, and thirty questions were asked to participants regarding transportation modes preference, daily usage habits, public transportation usage rate, income status, perceived risk level of transportation systems, preferences before and after the pandemic process, and more. The answers were classified, evaluated, and statistically analysed. The results showed that users were significantly affected by the COVID-19 process and changed their transportation mode preferences. The use of buses in urban journeys decreased, and the use of private vehicles significantly increased after the COVID-19 process. Hygiene was the key factor in travel, and it was followed by the vehicle occupancy rate, ventilation, fare, and travel time factors, respectively. The perceived risk levels of public transportation systems were ranked as metrobus, minibus (paratransit), bus, metro, tram, and ferry. The study suggests that future transportation system designs should consider user preferences, as well as changes in education and working conditions, and pandemic conditions.

Formation and evolution of apple (Malus pumila Mill.) bruising based on high-speed camera verification and finite element method

To analyse the characteristics and internal mechanical changes of bruising formed on apples under different working conditions, this paper explored the formation mechanism of bruising using finite element method. A composite model of peel and flesh was established by reverse engineering, and the accuracy of the apple model was validated two aspects: drop velocity and bruise volume, with a maximum error of 2.51 %. The collision velocity, contact force, stress, and energy of apple bruising were analysed using commonly used contact materials (wood and rubber) at falling heights of 600, 900, 1200, 1500, 1800, and 2100 mm. The characteristics of apple bruising after formation were analysed and the susceptibility of apple bruising were explored. The findings suggest that as the height increased, so does the maximum stress and bruise susceptibility. At a height of 2100 mm, the apple’s bruise susceptibility was measured at 24955.87 mm3 J−1 (wood) and 24710.18 mm3 J−1 (rubber), respectively. This study offers valuable insights into understanding the mechanism behind bruising in fruits, and has a guiding role in the control of bruising and the optimal design of related machinery.

Alternaria in berry: Effects on its quality, pathogenic mechanisms and potential control strategies

AbstractIn recent years, the production and demand of berries in the world have gradually increased, but the infection of fungal pathogens has become one of the important factors restricting the production and sales of fresh berries. It has been found that Alternaria can cause a variety of plant diseases and fruit rot worldwide. This review introduces the effect of Alternaria infection on berry quality, including physical, chemical and physiological aspects, and discusses the possible infection mechanisms. In addition, Alternaria produces toxins during infections and seriously threatens the safety of berries and consumer health. Therefore, the prevention and control measures of Alternaria are systematically summarized. This review provides the basis for further optimization of postharvest preservation technology and fruit quality, to prolong the shelf life of berries. We can realistically expect to control plant diseases with increasing efficiency, which is conducive to improving the quality and safety of postharvest berry fruits.

Consumers’ Attitudes and Constraints towards Food Safety and Hygiene Practices in Ludhiana City

The study attempted to analyse the consumers’ attitudes towards food safety and hygiene practices. Further, an effort was made to analyse the constraints towards food safety and hygiene practices. A total of 200 consumers were randomly selected. The results of the study revealed that street food is not good for health (2.96), followed by food poisoning may occur after consumption of street food (2.28), it is important to follow hygiene practices (1.60) and contamination may occur due to poor hygiene practices (1.60) to maintain food safety and hygiene practices. Four factors came out from the study that confines consumers toward food safety and hygiene practices i.e. food safety knowledge and training, food poisoning, hygiene practices and food contamination. Lack of knowledge, adulterated food and poor hygiene practices were major constraints faced by consumers. The study also recommended that education and training programs on food safety and hygiene practices help create awareness among consumers.

The role of bipolar disorder and family wealth in choosing creative occupations

Research in psychology and medicine has linked mental health disorders, and particularly bipolar disorder (BD), to employment in creative professions. Little is known, however, about the mechanisms for this link, which could be due to biology (primarily through a person’s genes) or environmental (through socioeconomic status). Using administrative data on mental health diagnoses and occupations for the population of Denmark, we find that people with BD are more likely to be musicians than the population, but less likely to hold other creative jobs. Yet, we also show that healthy siblings of people with BD are significantly more likely to work in creative professions. Notably, people from wealthy families are consistently more likely to work in creative professions, and access to family wealth amplifies the likelihood that siblings of people with BD pursue creative occupations. Nevertheless, family wealth explains only a small share of the correlation between BD and creative employment.

Questionable Immunity to Mumps among Healthcare Workers in Italy—A Cross-Sectional Serological Study

Highly contagious diseases, such as mumps, are a global concern as new epidemics continue to emerge, even in highly vaccinated populations. The risk of transmission and spread of these viruses is even higher for individuals who are more likely to be exposed, including healthcare workers (HCWs). In healthcare settings, both HCWs and patients are at risk of infection during the care process, potentially leading to nosocomial epidemic outbreaks. Mumps is often underestimated compared with measles and rubella, despite being milder and less likely to spread. In fact, the risk of complications following mumps infection is extremely high, especially if the disease occurs in adulthood. The measles–mumps–rubella (MMR) vaccine has been shown to be an excellent preventive measure. Unfortunately, the mumps component appears to be less effective in inducing immunity than those for measles and rubella (two-dose effectiveness of 85%, 95% and 97%, respectively). The main aim of our study was to investigate the prevalence of detectable mumps antibodies (serum IgG antibodies) in a cohort of Italian and foreign HCWs in relation to personal and occupational factors. We included in the study 468 subjects who underwent health surveillance at the Occupational Medicine Unit of the Tor Vergata Polyclinic in Rome during the period from January 2021 to March 2023. In our study, the proportion of HCWs found to be unprotected against mumps was very high (8.3%), and those found to be immune are below the WHO threshold for herd immunity (95%). From our data, it seems essential that all occupational health services carry out an accurate screening with a dose of anti-mumps antibodies to assess serological protection before starting a job, regardless of an individual’s vaccination history. This approach is proving to be beneficial, accurate, as it allows all serologically non-immune individuals to be vaccinated in the workplace, including those who would be protected by their vaccination history but have lost the antibody response.

Best Practices in Documenting and Coding High-Value Care in Workers' Compensation Encounters - ACOEM Guidance Statement.

Workers' compensation outpatient care requires attention to causation, functional assessment, work disability prevention and return-to-work planning, elements not usually addressed in other types of outpatient encounters. Because these elements of care deviate from the usual pattern of ambulatory services, providers of workers' compensation care have faced challenges in billing and auditing practices resulting in underpayment when providing high-value care based on evidence-based guidelines. Recent changes in Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services rules on documentation requirements for coding outpatient evaluation and management encounters offer an opportunity for occupational health clinicians to be paid appropriately for care that follows occupational medicine practice guidelines. There remains a need to define the elements of documentation that should be expected in delivering high-value workers' compensation care. This paper provides guidance for documenting high-value workers' compensation care.

Fuzzy PID Control Design of Mining Electric Locomotive Based on Permanent Magnet Synchronous Motor

Achieving precise stopping of electric locomotives is crucial for the realization of intelligent and unmanned auxiliary transportation systems. Presently, human drivers play a central role in ensuring accurate stopping, presenting obstacles to automation and cargo location precision, especially within the coal mining sector. This article centers on achieving the precise stopping of electric locomotives under various conditions through the utilization of permanent magnet synchronous motor-driven locomotives. This approach introduces a novel stopping control method that integrates a fuzzy proportional–integral–derivative (F-PID) controller with a vector control model for permanent magnet synchronous motors (PMSM). Subsequently, we develop the F-PID controller using the PMSM technique, incorporating new fuzzy rules for each subsystem to enhance control accuracy and efficiency. Finally, extensive simulations and real-world experiments are conducted on an electric locomotive stopping test bed to validate the effectiveness of the proposed control method. The results show that the method consistently achieves precise stopping under diverse working conditions, with an error of less than 0.3 m, confirming its robustness and reliability.

Role of an organizational psychologist in improving and accelerating work engagement

Purpose-. Work is an integral part of human life, where progress and productivity are more expected or demanded but an employee’s mental health is rarely considered a priority. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to highlight the significance of placing an organizational psychologist at the forefront of workplaces, to encourage the mutual wellbeing of individuals and organizations. Approach- This is a conceptual paper that builds upon a thorough review of existing conventional management theories to identify key cracks in knowledge about the importance of organizational psychologists to deal with a diverse range of social and behavioral issues within organizations considering common psychological safety at work. We start by conducting a content analysis of a few articles in the field that discuss the ‘why’ for organizational psychologists under work climate and continue with the strategies that can help organizations in reducing work-related stressors and improving social working conditions, and training. Findings- This study proposes a model that can be used to consider individual (employee) and situational (organizational) psychological wellness by underlining the direct interaction of organizational psychologists in managing human resources. The model of this study elucidates that collective wellbeing relies equally on organizational support teams (HR) and organizational psychologists through collective mindfulness. Originality/Value- Many studies are conducted in different countries with different perspectives of the organization and HR, where the role and importance of the organizational psychologist or psychologist in the organizations were highlighted, yet the concept is still blurry in Pakistan, and thus, this study is a novel contribution in a geographical context. Keywords- Psychology, Organizational psychologist, Employee wellbeing, Corporate wellness, Organizational development Paper type- Conceptual Paper

Organizational Effects of the Hubris Syndrome and the Ways of Solution

Hubris syndrome is defined as a managerial disease caused by the power possessed by people in managerial positions, and gives rise to positive and negative outcomes in organizations. For this purpose, the banking sector was chosen as the research area due to the fact that banking sector is one of the areas where the hubris syndrome can most commonly be seen due to the known characteristics of the sector such as tough working conditions and working goals. Data were obtained via interviews carried out with 12 managers working in the field of banking with a semi-structured interview form using the phenomenology experience research pattern, which is one of the qualitative research models. Maxqda 2022 data analysis software was used for data analysis. Study results according to data received from managers revealed that the characteristics of people suffering from hubris syndrome are seeing oneself as perfect and superior, believing that anything can be done with authority, the utopical goals given to lower-level employees and disregarding opinions of others. The reasons for the emergence of the syndrome are the problems in the institutional structure and functioning, bullying and exclusion experienced in the past and the lack of clarity about the authority and responsibilities of people within the organization. When the organizational impacts of Hubris syndrome are taken into account, two types of impacts are observed, such as the impacts on the organization and the impacts on the employees. People with the hubris syndrome harm the organization, prevent the emergence of new ideas and decrease the motivation of employees.

The Need for a Chainsaw Safety Training Program for Female Forest Landowners

Female forest landowners (FFLO) are increasing in numbers but have been marginalized in technical training programs in the past. We conducted chainsaw safety training programs geared towards FFLO and compared program evaluation results with results from male-dominated chainsaw training workshops. FFLO are limited in their technical knowledge at the beginning of a workshop, are more likely to own different types of chainsaws than male participants, and generally liked having a women-only workshop. The takeaway is that FFLO strive in a women-only environment and that more women-focused extension training programs are needed to provide with a safe and inclusive learning environment.

“On the books” yet “off the record”-occupational injury and migrant women: scoping review findings from OECD countries, with implications for New Zealand

IntroductionLittle appears to be known regarding the work-related injury (WRI) experiences of migrants (those born in a country other than their identified host country) and specifically, women migrants.MethodsAs part of a wider PhD project investigating the WRI experiences of New Zealand (NZ) migrants, a review of NZ mainstream media coverage of migrants WRIs was undertaken, which identified no representations of migrant women's WRI experiences. In turn, a scoping review was undertaken to identify peer-reviewed publications reporting empirical findings about WRI experiences and outcomes for migrants in Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) member countries, including NZ. This paper aims to identify and describe findings for migrant women specifically. From 2,243 potential publications, 383 proceeded to full text review; ultimately 67 were retained. These 67 publications were reviewed to identify findings specifically for occupationally injured migrant women; 22 such publications (from 21 studies) were found. This paper reports: the characteristics of identified studies; characteristics of migrant women within; frameworks and theories used, and knowledge (and gaps) related to occupationally injured migrant women.ResultsPublications came from only four OECD countries, the United States, Canada, Australia, and Spain. A range of study designs, and topic areas (working conditions, legal rights, identities, the role of gatekeepers, and precarity), were identified; however, only three studies reported findings for longer-term experiences and outcomes of WRIs. Nine publications considered theoretical models underpinning research, including theories about precarious work, stigmatization, and citizenship. However, there was a paucity of analyses of the WRI experience throughout the life-course, highlighting a gap in understanding of how these experiences are “lived” over the long term by occupationally injured migrant women.DiscussionScoping review findings were synthesized using a provisional “matryoshka framing narrative” model, to be refined through forthcoming qualitative interviews with occupationally injured NZ migrant women. This model highlights the multitude of influences in WRI experiences, potentially specific to migrant women, suggesting the consequences of WRIs may be uneven, with migrant women experiencing different, and potentially, greater disparities in outcomes. These findings provide an impetus to investigate knowledge gaps and urgently address potential disparities in WRI outcomes for migrant women specifically.