Small Work Research Articles

Indonesia’s Cigarette Culture Wars: Contesting Tobacco Regulations in the Postcolony

AbstractThis article juxtaposes representations of Indonesia’s tobacco control as temporally backwards with a counter-discourse defending its clove-laced cigarettes—called kretek—as a form of distinctive cultural heritage. These opposing discourses, which I characterize as public health evolutionism and commodity nationalism, structure clashes over Indonesian tobacco regulations. Public health evolutionism can take the form of voyeuristic, exoticizing, and Othering representations, but it can also be used to argue for more equitable access to global tobacco control knowledge and practices. Commodity nationalists insist that the kretek industry should be a source of pride rather than shame, depicting tobacco control as a neocolonial plot to destroy an indigenous industry that benefits small farmers, factory workers, and home industries. This subaltern emphasis obscures the fact that a few large companies dominate the industry, which is increasingly foreign-owned and mechanizing to increase production while reducing employment. The cigarette industry takes advantage of both discourses by marketing supposedly safer products to consumers alarmed by public health messaging, while also promoting the cigarettes-as-national-heritage narrative and undermining regulations. The stakes of these debates are high in the world’s second largest cigarette market, with over three hundred billion sticks smoked each year and more than two hundred thousand tobacco-related deaths.

Respiratory symptoms related to flour dust exposure are significantly high among small and medium scale flour mill workers in Ethiopia: a comparative cross-sectional survey

BackgroundInternational Labour Organization (ILO) report indicates more than 2.4 million workers die from work-related diseases and accidents each year. Work-related respiratory ailments related to airborne particulate matter such as flour dust are responsible for about 386,000 deaths and 6.6 million illness-adjusted life years. Even though exposure to flour dust together with the extreme expansions of flour mill sectors is a priority health concern, extent of the problem is little investigated in Ethiopia. The aim of this study was to evaluate the magnitude and risk factors of work-related respiratory symptoms among flour mill workers in Bahir Dar City, Ethiopia.MethodsThis study employed a comparative cross-sectional survey of 560 samples (280 exposed group from flour mill workers and 280 unexposed group from office workers) with a stratified random sampling technique. The study was conducted from March to April 2019 in Bahir Dar City, Northwest Ethiopia. We used the British Medical Research Council (BMRC) questionnaire to assess work-related respiratory symptoms. The questionnaire was pretested and interview administered to collect data. Binary logistic regression analysis was fitted to evaluate significant factors of respiratory symptoms at a < 0.05 p value. Adjusted odds ratio (AOR) with a confidence interval (CI) of 95% was calculated to determine a strength of association.ResultsAll the sampled participants had fully responded to the interview. The median age of exposed and unexposed groups was 28.5 interquartile range (IQR, 20) and 31 (IQR, 15) years, respectively. The prevalence of work-related respiratory symptoms among flour mill workers was substantially higher than that of among controls, 63.9% and 20.7%, respectively (Χ2 = 107.11; p < 0.0001). Chest illness among flour mill workers was higher, 43.6% (N = 122) compared to that of among control group, 7.9% (N = 22) followed by dyspnea, 33.6% (N = 94) versus 2.5% (N = 7) among flour mill workers and control group, respectively. Age > 35 years [AOR, 2.03; 95% CI (1.34, 5.48), having no education [AOR, 1.54; 95% CI (1.28, 3.06)], work set up with inadequate ventilation [AOR, 2.05; 95% CI (1.18, 3.56)], work experience > 5 years [AOR, 1.89; 95% CI (1.23, 4.67)] and having no training in safety [AOR, 2.45; 95% CI (1.45, 4.76)] significantly affected the experience of respiratory symptoms among flour mill workers whereas age [AOR, 1.79; 95% CI (1.06, 3.04)], monthly salary [AOR, 1.98; 95% CI (1.04, 3.78)] and exposure status [AOR, 5.18; 95% CI (3.34, 8.04)] were detected to be significant factors of respiratory symptoms in the exposed and the unexposed combined model.ConclusionRespiratory symptoms emanating from exposure to various flour dusts were significantly higher among flour mill workers than among the control group. Therefore, we recommend the need to effectively implement health and safety programs that account for the reduction of dust at a source, use of engineering controls (e.g., provision of adequate ventilation systems), use of administrative measures (e.g., training program and health surveillance) and provision of a suitable personal protective equipment (PPE). Furthermore, it is vital to integrate workplace health and safety programs to the wider public health policies and strategies to effectively mitigate the burden of work-related respiratory conditions. We also encourage future studies to evaluate concentration of flour dusts combined with physical examinations to establish plausible associations of respiratory symptoms with dusts of flour mill-related origin.

Assessing Water Poverty of Livelihood Groups in Peri-Urban Areas around Dhaka under a Changing Environment

Water poverty, measured by the Water Poverty Index (WPI), is traditionally applied at country and community levels. This study presents a livelihood-inclusive approach for measuring WPI at the livelihood group level. The specific objectives are to evaluate present and future WPIs for different livelihood groups, such as large and small male farmers, female farmers, male and female industrial workers and economically inactive women. Primary data are collected from three peri-urban areas around Dhaka using a mixed approach, including a semi-structured questionnaire survey of 260 respondents. The WPIs are calculated by using a weighted multiplicative function, and the component weights are assigned by principal component analysis. The results show that the economically inactive women are presently the most water-poor group, with a WPI value of 41, whereas the small male farmers would be the most water-poor group in the future, with a WPI value of 34. Environmental changes, such as high temperature, variability in rainfall and surface water, lowering of groundwater level, rapid population growth and unplanned urbanization, are found to be responsible for the dynamism in WPIs for different livelihood groups. The Resource and Environment components should be paid immediate attention in order to protect peri-urban livelihood groups from future water poverty.

Crimination of Criminal Activities That Caused The Influence of Liquid Drink That Happened in Indonesia

The problem of inequality related to wages for workers in a society that we often encounter must be resolved. So, this study aims to determine the effectiveness of the application of the Labor Law on wages of Small and Medium Enterprises workers in the culinary sector in Batam, as well as to see the obstacles that occur in the implementation of wages of Small and Medium Enterprises workers in the culinary sector of Batam City. This reserach is empirical research that is based on events that have occurred in the field regarding the application of the law through a series of observations, interviews with competent government officials, small and medium enterprises in the culinary sector. This research shows that the wages received by most of the Small and Medium Enterprises workers in the culinary sector in Batam City are not feasible, such as the absence of a work agreement as mandated by the Labor Law. This can occur because the Manpower Law does not explicitly accommodate the interests of Small and Medium Enterprises workers in the culinary sector, then the government's lack of awareness in preparing skilled workers, and the low quality of education of workers.

The Effectiveness of Legal Protection on The Wage of Workers in Small Medium Enterprises in The Culinary Sector

The problem of inequality related to wages for workers in a society that we often encounter must be resolved. So, this study aims to determine the effectiveness of the application of the Labor Law on wages of Small and Medium Enterprises workers in the culinary sector in Batam, as well as to see the obstacles that occur in the implementation of wages of Small and Medium Enterprises workers in the culinary sector of Batam City. This reserach is empirical research that is based on events that have occurred in the field regarding the application of the law through a series of observations, interviews with competent government officials, small and medium enterprises in the culinary sector. This research shows that the wages received by most of the Small and Medium Enterprises workers in the culinary sector in Batam City are not feasible, such as the absence of a work agreement as mandated by the Labor Law. This can occur because the Manpower Law does not explicitly accommodate the interests of Small and Medium Enterprises workers in the culinary sector, then the government's lack of awareness in preparing skilled workers, and the low quality of education of workers.

Exploitation And Bad Working Conditions Of Employees In Small Hotels In Tourist City Ajmer: Reality Or Rumer?

Purpose- This paper looks to inspect visit issues looked by employees in a small hotel with the point of distinguishing issues and worker's sufferings. Design/methodology/approach- Self-completed questionnaires based on the interview were utilized to gather information from small hotel's workers and investigations on different variables. Findings-The paper finds the states/conditions of workers who are working in small hotels and ventures to improve the working states of small hotels for the betterment of workers. Research limitations/implications- The accumulation of data on careful lengths of work would have encouraged an increasingly thorough examination of the circumstances and end results of worker's conditions and proposal for small hotels. Practical implications- Policies of hotels must be as such to accompany to employees and treat them well. Investment by a hotel owner in infrastructural development for benefit of hotel and employee both. Small hotels must follow the government’s policies andthe government also has to check strictly. The original/value-This study focuses on the relationship between employee’s condition and the working environment in small hotels

Unification Trails and Heritage Tourism Potential in Nepal

By the end of the eighteenth and early twentieth century, Shah Kings of Nepal succeeded in bringing together several small kingdoms under the Gorkha rule. King Prithvi Narayan Shah and his successors– led Gorkhali troops fought wars and travelled through several routes and trails across the Trans–Himalayas to expand the vast geography from Gorkha to Tista River in the east and Kangra fort in the west. In this background, this paper examines the importance of the unification trails, the routes used by Gorkhali troops, to unify neighboring principalities that eventually developed into modern Nepal. The unification trails are less explored issues in Nepal. In recent years, they have become popular historical sites for trekkers, visitors, researchers and historians to explore how Gorkhali soldiers skillfully expanded the territory. This is a descriptive and exploratory study based on historical facts and secondary resources. This paper concludes that the unification trails have historical and contemporary relevance for research as well as tourism potential. As one of the crucial forces to revitalize these trails, Nepali Army has constantly engaged with local people, and thus, promoting tourism activities. It offers the local communities the pathways of connection, avenues for development, basis for serving the daily livelihood and increase of income for the medium and small size entrepreneurs, workers, and other disadvantaged groups located along these trails.

Finding the Social Life of Rural Non-Elites in Roman Italy

Scholarship generally places peasants on a spectrum of socio-economic independence and dependence. While opinions are shifting away from subsistence, self-sufficiency, and socio-political autarky as mainstays of the peasant condition, the conventional focus on hierarchical relations persists, leaving horizontal or ‘relational’ ones neglected. To address this imbalance, I first detail our need to deal with literary (self-) representations of rural non-elite life. I use Dio Chrysostom’s Euboean discourse to develop a non-exhaustive range of peer-level interactions including hospitality, reciprocity, and cooperative work. Archaeology can help unravel how these played out, but as site 9 from the Ager Lunensis shows, we need better evidence. Nevertheless, I offer tentative possibilities about veteran interactions and the dynamics between villa and small farm workers from site 154 from the Ager Capenas and Case Nuove from the Roman Peasant Project. I close by alluding to the potential of integrating horizontal social relations in broader historical narratives.

Big bees spread disease: body size mediates transmission of a bumble bee pathogen.

Trait variation can have important consequences for the outcomes of species interactions. Even though some traits vary as much within species as across related species, models and empirical studies typically do not consider the role of intraspecific trait variation for processes such as disease transmission. For example, many pollinator species are in decline because of a variety of stressors including pathogens, but the role of intraspecific trait variation in mediating disease dynamics is rarely considered. For example, pollinator body size could affect pathogen transmission via differences in resistance, foraging behavior and physiology. We tested effects of body size on pollinator pathogen transmission using the common eastern bumble bee Bombus impatiens in field tents, introducing an infected "donor" microcolony of large or small workers with an uninfected average-sized "recipient" microcolony and allowing bees to forage for 9-16d. Small donor bees had nearly 50% higher infection intensity (cells/0.02 μL) than large donor bees, but large donor bees were twice as likely to transmit Crithidia bombi to recipient bees. Both behavioral and physiological mechanisms may underlie this apparent paradox. Compared to small bees, large bees foraged more and produced more feces; simulations showed that foraging and defecation rates together had stronger effects on transmission than did donor infection intensity. Thus, effects of bee size on contact rates and pathogen supply may play significant roles in disease transmission, demonstrating the multifaceted impacts of traits on transmission dynamics.

First observation of an ant colony of Formica fuscocinerea Forel, 1874 invaded by the social parasite F. truncorum Fabricius, 1804 (Hymenoptera, Formicidae)

In the northern Alps of Switzerland we observed a mixed ant colony of Formica truncorum Fabricius, 1804 and F. fuscocinerea Forel, 1874 at the foot of a schoolhouse wall in the built-up centre of the small town of Näfels (canton of Glarus). Based on the fact that the habitat is favorable only for F. fuscocinerea and that F. truncorum is a notorious temporary social parasite, we conclude that in this case a colony of F. fuscocinerea must have been usurped by F. truncorum. This is remarkable, as it is the first reported case where a colony of F. fuscocinerea has been taken over by a social parasite. We consider the observed unusually small workers of F. truncorum to be a starvation form. This is probably due to the suboptimal urban nest site, as this species typically occurs along the edge of forests or in clearings.

Development of the Training Tool “KUG” for Temporary Lodging Facilities and Companies for Stranded Commuters

In order to restrain stranded commuters from returning home en masse in the event of an earthquake, in recent years in large cities across Japan, it has been necessary to encourage stranded commuters, who have no place to go to, to remain on their company premises or stay in temporary lodging facilities. However, specific plans and systems that provide appropriate accommodation for stranded commuters vary greatly depending on the state of the disaster, the characteristics of the facilities, and the affected region. Considering the issue of responsibility, it is difficult for business operators to permit stranded commuters to stay. Therefore, local governments have been making efforts to regard their offices as temporary lodging facilities through agreements and setting up a subsidy system for stockpiling. However, they have not yet made progress in securing temporary lodging facilities, nor in the preparations for restraining small and medium-sized enterprise workers from simultaneously returning home in large numbers. To address this issue, this study developed a training tool on the map with which offices can consider the stay and acceptance of stranded commuters and evaluated its usefulness through a workshop and a questionnaire survey.

Adherence to COVID-19 appropriate behaviour among small scale workers in unorganized sector in Rajasthan by applying health belief model and generalized social beliefs

Background: People’s adherence to COVID-19 appropriate behavior (CAB) is important to prevent and manage coronavirus disease-19. The study aimed to determine the prevalence and associated factors of adherence to CAB in small-scale workers in the unorganized sector by applying health belief model (HBM) and generalized social beliefs.Methods: This community-based, cross-sectional study was done in Central Rajasthan from January 2021 to March 2021. A pre-tested, structured, interviewer-administered tool was used to collect data from 384 participants. Data were collected on five constructs of HBM and two social axioms.Results: The mean (SD) age of participants was 36.89 (10.84) years. About 58% of participants were male. Adherence to all CAB measures was 15%, it was not found to be associated with age, gender, education level, residence and occupation. The most common practiced CAB measure was face cover (57.8%) followed by handwashing (43.75%). Adherence was found associated with all five HBM constructs and two social axioms.Conclusions: The adherence to CAB was low among small-scale workers in the unorganized sector. It is pivotal to consider the community’s perceived susceptibility, severity, benefit, barrier, cue to action, cynicism and reward for application to improve the adherence towards CAB.

A break in the gradient: relational social class and high-impact chronic pain

The association between socioeconomic status (SES) and health is usually depicted by a monotonic gradient, where higher SES is associated with better health outcomes. We aimed to investigate whether the association between high-impact chronic pain (HICP) and a newly adapted measure of social class was consistent with relational class theories predicting non-gradient patterns. This study included a nationally-representative sample of 50,860 adults aged ≥25 years who had ever worked, from the National Health Interview Survey 2016-2017. HICP was defined as pain that interferes with life or work activities on most days or every day for 6 months or longer. We constructed a 5-category measure of relational social class based on the UK National Statistics Socio-Economic Classification (NS-SEC), using occupational codes, employment type and firm size (managerial and professional occupations, intermediate occupations, small employers and own account workers, lower supervisory and technical occupations, semi-routine and routine occupations). We used Poisson regression weighted for survey sampling, adjusted for age, sex, race, ethnicity, US citizenship, marital status, education and census region to estimate prevalence ratios (PR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) for the association between social class and HICP. HICP prevalence was similar between the reference class, managerial and professional occupations, and intermediate occupations (PR=0.99, 95% CI 0.88, 1.12); both lower than all other classes. Despite not being hierarchically lowest, lower supervisory and technical occupations had the highest prevalence of HICP relative to the reference class (PR=1.37, 95% CI 1.23, 1.53). That was higher than semi-routine and routine occupations (PR= 1.27, 95% CI 1.15, 1.40), and small employers and own account workers (PR=1.27, 95% CI 1.10, 1.47). HICP prevalence by social class is compatible with the concept of ‘contradictory class location’. Relational class measures can provide insight into the complexity of socioeconomic position and illuminate potential targets for interventions to reduce pain disparities. Scan|Design Foundation Innovative Pain Research Grant (2019), American Academy of Orofacial Pain Research Grant (2019).

Gold eco-toxicology: Assessment of the knowledge gap on the environmental and health effects of mercury between artisanal small scale and medium scale gold miners in Ghana

The use of mercury is a prevalent characteristic of Ghana's artisanal small and medium scale goldmining subsector. This however has deleterious effects on the environment and on human health. Considerable efforts have hitherto been made to shift artisanal small and medium scale gold miners' behavior towards more sustainable practices although with limited success. Therefore, understanding how knowledge mediates the connection between perception of danger and behavioral change is essential. To evaluate the knowledge gap in the environmental and health effects of mercury exposure using four counterfactual decomposition methods, a cross-sectional survey of 500 artisanal gold miners (300 small-scale and 200 medium-scale) in Ghana was conducted. The findings indicated that the distinction in productive features accounted for the bulk of the knowledge disparity between artisanal small scale and medium scale gold miners. Regardless of the decomposition technique used, level of education contributed the biggest part of the general explained knowledge gap. Artisanal medium scale gold miners (more educated) had relatively higher levels of knowledge indicating that the knowledge gap of mercury's environmental and health effect between artisanal small scale and medium scale gold mine workers was possibly as a result of compositional attributes instead of contextual factors. Notwithstanding the considerable level of knowledge exhibited by the highly educated cohort of the artisanal gold miners, this did not automatically result in adopting cleaner production behaviours. This means that the processes that reconcile the effect of knowledge on the production practice and behavior of artisanal small-scale and medium scale gold miners in the working environment are crucial.

Proposing a social ecological approach to address disparities in occupational exposures and health for low-wage and minority workers employed in small businesses.

Occupational disease and injuries are the 8th leading cause of death in the United States. Low-wage and minority workers are more likely to work in hazardous industries and are thus at greater risk. Within the small business sector, in particular, the health of low-wage and minority workers is threatened by a multitude of complex and interrelated factors that increase their risk for injuries, death, and even chronic disease. The COVID-19 pandemic has amplified these concerns, as many low-wage and minority workers are essential workers, and many small businesses are reopening with little to no guidance. The article describes work-related health risks and reviews current research on occupational and social ecological approaches to improving the health of minority and low-wage workers primarily employed by small businesses. We propose a conceptual framework that integrates the social ecological model with the hierarchy of controls to address work-related health among low-wage and minority workers specifically in the small business sector. Community-based strategies are recommended to engage small business owners and workers in efforts to address their immediate needs, while building towards sustainable policy change over time. These strategies are of particular importance as small businesses reopen in the ongoing pandemic.

Body Size and Behavioural Plasticity Interact to Influence the Performance of Free-Foraging Bumble Bee Colonies.

Simple SummaryBehavioural specialisation of individuals may improve the performance of groups, but could also limit the ability to switch tasks (behavioural ‘plasticity’) in response to changing group needs. In bumble bee colonies, body size, which is fixed once the bees reach adulthood, influences the tasks that bees perform, meaning that large and small bees often act as specialists. We found that when we experimentally reduced the body-size variation of colonies, some performed less well than normal. Nonetheless, in other colonies, individuals increased task specialisation or effort, which apparently compensated for the absence of large and small workers. These results suggest that both behavioural specialisation and plasticity can be important in collective group performance.Specialisation and plasticity are important for many forms of collective behaviour, but the interplay between these factors is little understood. In insect societies, workers are often developmentally primed to specialise in different tasks, sometimes with morphological or physiological adaptations, facilitating a division of labour. Workers may also plastically switch between tasks or vary their effort. The degree to which developmentally primed specialisation limits plasticity is not clear and has not been systematically tested in ecologically relevant contexts. We addressed this question in 20 free-foraging bumble bee (Bombus terrestris) colonies by continually manipulating colonies to contain either a typically diverse, or a reduced (“homogeneous”), worker body size distribution while keeping the same mean body size, over two trials. Pooling both trials, diverse colonies produced a larger comb mass, an index of colony performance. The link between body size and task was further corroborated by the finding that foragers were larger than nurses even in homogeneous colonies with a very narrow body size range. However, the overall effect of size diversity stemmed mostly from one trial. In the other trial, homogeneous and diverse colonies showed comparable performance. By comparing behavioural profiles based on several thousand observations of individuals, we found evidence that workers in homogeneous colonies in this trial rescued colony performance by plastically increasing behavioural specialisation and/or individual effort, compared to same-sized individuals in diverse colonies. Our results are consistent with a benefit to colonies of large and small specialists under certain conditions, but also suggest that plasticity or effort can compensate for reduced (size-related) specialisation. Thus, we suggest that an intricate interplay between specialisation and plasticity is functionally adaptive in bumble bee colonies.

Impact of \u201cnon-lethal\u201d tarsal clipping on bumble bees (Bombus vosnesenskii) may depend on queen stage and worker size

Recent bumble bee declines have prompted the development of novel population monitoring tools, including the use of putatively non-lethal tarsal clipping to obtain genetic material. However, the potential side effects of tarsal clipping have only been tested in the worker caste of a single domesticated species, prompting the need to more broadly test whether tarsal clipping negatively affects sampled individuals. To determine if tarsal clipping reduces queen survivorship and colony establishment, we collected wild queens of Bombus vosnesenskii and clipped tarsi from a single leg of half the individuals. We reared captive queens and estimated survivorship and nest establishment success. We also clipped tarsi of workers from a subset of colonies across a range of body sizes. We found no consistent negative effect of clipping on queen survival. In the first year, clipped nest-searching queens suffered heavy mortality, but there was no effect on foraging queens. The following year, we found no effect of clipping on queen survival or establishment. Clipping did not reduce overall worker survival but reduced survivorship for those in the smallest size quartile.Implications for insect conservationOur findings suggest tarsal clipping does not have consistent negative effects on individual survival. However, our results varied with queen behavioral state, year, and worker size, suggesting differences within and among species and interactions with landscape stressors warrant further study. In the interim, we recommend researchers and conservationists minimize the use of tarsal clipping for sensitive species, populations, or small workers except in cases of exceptional scientific need.

COVID-19 and Ludhiana’s woolen knitwear industry: way forward

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine the challenges faced by the Ludhiana’s woolen knitwear industry that got accentuated with the outbreak of Corona Virus Disease 2019 (COVID-19). The paper discusses the road map for building capabilities within the industry from the perspective of “system of innovation” approach that would help the industry to comply with the recent call for “AatmaNirbhar Bharat Abhiyan.”Design Methodology ApproachThe woolen knitwear industry from Ludhiana district of North Indian state, Punjab, was taken as a case to examine the impact of COVID-19. Data was collected online through self-structured questionnaire along with telephonic interviews. Stage I was the period of “total lock-down” and Stage II was conducted after the announcement of “stimulus package” and during the unlocking period. Some local industry associations and labor unions were also interviewed to understand the wider perspectives of different stakeholders. Descriptive statistic was applied to analyze the results of the survey.FindingsIt is estimated that the industry would lose about INR 2,000 crores approximately US$282.1m with the monetary loss of man-days nearing INR 157 crores approximately US$22.1m for the total lockdown period of 68 days. This amount is feared to increase with the lackluster re-opening of the industry in the unlocking period. The study reveals that there were some concerns, such as infrastructural bottlenecks, obsolete internal and international connectivity and institutional rigidity with cumbersome rules and regulations that get heightened with the outbreak of COVID-19. The entrepreneurs and workers are skeptic regarding the nature of demand revival in the changing world economic order. The paper suggests a dynamic policy intervention with inbuilt feedback mechanism along with reviving the organizations to infuse enthusiasm among various actors of industry.Originality/valueThe study is one of the first few to conduct surveys at two different stages to assess the impact of COVID-19 from the perspective of micro, small and medium enterprises and workers working therein while taking the case of Ludhiana woolen knitwear industry. The findings of this study will aid the industry and policymakers to take essential steps to make the industry more innovative and competitive in the dynamic world market.

Responsibility for chemical exposures: perspectives from small beauty salons and auto shops in southern metropolitan Tucson

BackgroundThroughout the United States, low-wage, minority workers are disproportionately affected by occupational illnesses and injuries. Chronic exposure to hazardous chemicals at work can lead to serious illnesses, contributing to health inequities. In this article, we expand on theories of ‘responsibilization’ in an occupational health context to reveal how responsibilities for workplace chemical exposures are negotiated by workers and owners in Latinx-owned small businesses.MethodsWe conducted semi-structured interviews with a total of 22 workers and owners in auto repair shops and beauty salons – two high-risk industries – in Southern Metropolitan Tucson. Participants were asked about their insights into workplace chemical exposures and health. A qualitative analysis team with representation from all study partner organizations collectively coded and reviewed the interview data in QSR International’s NVivo 11 and identified overarching themes across the interviews.ResultsWe identified three primary themes: 1) ambivalence toward risks in the workplace; 2) shifting responsibilities for exposure protection at work; and 3) reflections on the system behind chemical exposure risks. Participants discussed the complexities that small businesses face in reducing chemical exposures.ConclusionsThrough our analysis of the interviews, we examine how neoliberal occupational and environmental policies funnel responsibility for controlling chemical exposures down to individuals in small businesses with limited resources, obscuring the power structures that maintain environmental health injustices. We conclude with a call for upstream policy changes that more effectively regulate and hold accountable the manufacturers of chemical products used daily by small business workers.

Recommendation System for Workers &amp; Customers for Informal Jobs

Recommender systems are software applications that provide or suggest items to users. These systems use filtering techniques to provide recommendations. The Purpose of this recommendation system was to provide services to small or part-time workers. It has been observed by the team that recommendation systems that are studied have not focused on small workers like electricians and carpenters but the corporate people. Recent trends in technology have made us dependent on technology too much itself. To cope up with the problems of urbanization and employment trends in this ever-changing world, a well-suited system for corporate workers as well as skilled laborers should coexist. This model is designed to help recruiters to hire employees based solely on work type and rating. A Recruiter can hire a person for a specific task or time frame dependent on what type of employee he/she is expecting. It is designed in such a way that it will help to reduce the gap between both of them leading to a hassle-free experience for an employer as well as an employee. The content-based technique is adopted as it is used to know the content of both user and item. A Manually generated dataset is used by taking the reference of the standard dataset of the formal employees present on the Kaggle website. This system is based on the Vector Space Model and TF-IDF vectorizer. A literature survey of several research papers in the same domain was conducted. The recommendation system has been implemented in the python programming language. The results obtained were quite accurate which helps to recommend jobs to workers and workers to customers in the required work field.