Issues related to the wearing of fall-arrest harnesses in the construction industry

Work-related falls continues to be one of the leading causes of fatalities in the Australian construction industry, and the failure to use fall protection equipment, such as fall-arrest harnesses and arresting devices, has been found to be a contributing factor. In an attempt to gain an understanding of the issues surrounding the use of fallarrest harness systems by construction workers a study involving semi-structured interviews of 15 male construction workers was carried out at three construction sites. The majority of interviewees commented that there was discomfort in wearing a fall-arrest harness; that there were a number of problems when anchored via an arresting device; and that using a fall-arrest system reduced productivity. Most of the interviewees considered that they needed safety precautions against falls, and they expressed the view that workers��� attitudes towards safety depended critically upon their supervisors��� attitude towards safety. It was also found that workers were not trained in rescue procedures. Interviewees expressed concern that retrieval of a suspended worker may not be carried out in time to prevent the onset of suspension trauma. A number of issues were identified which require further research, such as, investigation into suspension trauma, harness and arresting device design, training provided to workers, and the provision for rescues.

As pol��ticas da inseguran��a : da Scuderie Detetive Le Cocq ��s masmorras do novo Esp��rito Santo

A presente disserta����o tem como objetivo a an��lise das pol��ticas de seguran��a p��blica e justi��a criminal no Esp��rito Santo entre 1989 e 2013, utilizando metodologia historiogr��fica e observando a dist��ncia entre os objetivos oficiais e as consequ��ncias pr��ticas. No primeiro cap��tulo, me concentro na contextualiza����o hist��rica das pol��ticas criminais, analisando a forma����o organizacional do sistema punitivo brasileiro. Coloco ��nfase, de um lado, no processo de militariza����o, isto ��, a ado����o de hierarquia, disciplina e forma����o militares nas ag��ncias de seguran��a p��blica, e de outro lado, e nas sucessivas legisla����es penais aprovadas pelo Congresso Nacional. Tais processos nacionais se refletem no Esp��rito Santo, onde se difundiram ���grupos de exterm��nio��� como a Scuderie Le Cocq, mas n��o havia pol��tica de seguran��a p��blica. A primeira surge em meio a grave crise pol��tica, entre 1999 e 2002. Mas os seus prop��sitos s��o mais avan��ados com o processo de reforma administrativa ap��s 2003, quando o governo se esfor��a por imp��r modelos de gest��o empresariais e parcerias p��blico privadas �� administra����o estadual, incluindo a seguran��a p��blica e sistema penitenci��rio. Com isto, ocorre uma r��pida expans��o do encarceramento seletivo em condi����es extremas de superlota����o e viol��ncia, desenvolvendo uma ind��stria carcer��ria. No segundo cap��tulo, realizo uma an��lise na qual relaciono informa����es criminais, penitenci��rias, econ��micas e demogr��ficas, tanto no contexto do Brasil quanto do Esp��rito Santo. Constato que a repress��o estatal tem ���prefer��ncia��� por homens, negros, jovens e de baixa escolaridade; por crimes de drogas e contra o patrim��nio, com a utiliza����o cada vez maior da pris��o provis��ria. No Esp��rito Santo o encarceramento seletivo cresce em maior velocidade que na m��dia nacional, o que se reflete no perfil da popula����o carcer��ria, sendo esta ainda mais negra, jovem, de baixa escolaridade e presa por tr��fico e drogas e em regime provis��rio, com frequentes den��ncias fundamentadas de torturas, mortes e desaparecimentos for��ados entre as popula����es criminalizadas.

Brazil: an emerging military power? The problem of the use of force in Brazilian international relations in the 21st century

The central goal of this paper is thinking about the Brazilian military power and its linking to the international ambitions of the country in the 21st century. After a comparative analysis to other BRICs and with a historical one about Brazil's strategic irrelevance, we aim to establish what the minimum military capacity Brazil would need in order to meet the country's latest international interests. Similarly, it will be discussed if the National Strategy of Defense, approved in 2008, and the recent strategic agreements signed with France represent one more step toward this minimum military capacity.

An outline of military technological dynamics as restraints for acquisition, international cooperation and domestic technological development

The expectation that technological returns from defense expenditure through acquisition, international cooperation and domestic research would further national development underappreciates the different technological dynamic of the armed services. This paper outlines the technological dynamic the stems from fighting in the air, at sea and on land, exemplifying consequences for the case of acquisition.

Improving the environmental performance of bedding products by using life cycle assessment at the design stage

Improvement of the environmental performance of processes and products is a common objective in industry, and has been receiving increased attention in recent years. The main objective of this work is to evaluate the potential environmental impact of two bedding products, a polyurethane foam mattress (PFM) and a pocket spring mattress (PSM). These two types are the most common mattresses used in Europe. A Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) shows that the PFM has a higher environmental impact than the PSM. For both products the main cause of environmental impact is the manufacturing process, respectively the polyurethane foam block moulding process for the PFM, and the pocket spring nucleus process for the PSM. A scenario analysis shows the possibility of reducing the environmental impact of the products��� life cycle using an alternative End-of-Life scenario, resorting to incineration rather than landfill. Two strategies were also studied in order to reduce the environmental impact of the PFM: (1) reutilization of foam that was sent to the waste system management, and (2) a 20% weight reduction of the polyurethane foam. The second strategy has proven to be the most effective.

Gender wage and productivity differentials in the Portuguese tourism industry

The objective of this paper is to provide empirical evidence on the determinants of gender wage inequality in the Portuguese tourism industry. Relying on firm level wage equations and production functions, gender wage and productivity differentials are estimated and then compared in order to infer whether observed gender disparities are justifiable on the grounds that women are relatively less productive than men, or instead disparities are due to gender wage discrimination. This approach is applied to tourism industry data gathered in the matched employer-employee data set Quadros de Pessoal (Employee Records). The main findings indicate that female employees in the tourism industry in Portugal are less productive than their male colleagues and that gender differences in wages are fully explained by gender differences in productivity.

Gender, wages, and productivity: an analysis of the tourism industry in northern Portugal

Tourism represents a major economic activity in Portugal, with an enormous wealth and employment growth potential. A significant proportion of jobs in the industry tourism are occupied by women, given that this industry is characterized by a relatively higher percentage of female employees. Despite the evidence of female progress with regard to their role in the Portuguese labor market, women continue to earn less than their male counterparts. This is clearly the case of the tourism industry, where statistics reveal a persistent gender wage gap. The objective of this paper is to provide empirical evidence on the determinants of gender wage inequality in the tourism industry in northern Portugal. Relying on firm-level wage equations and production functions, gender wage and productivity differentials are estimated and then compared. The comparison of these differentials allows inferring whether observed wage disparities are attributable to relatively lower female productivity, or instead disparities are due to gender wage discrimination. This approach is applied to tourism industry data gathered in the matched employer-employee data set Quadros de Pessoal (Employee Records). The main findings indicate that female employees in the tourism industry in northern Portugal are less productive than their male colleagues and that gender differences in wages are fully explained by gender differences in productivity.

Style and performance of international socially responsible funds in Europe

This paper analyses the performance and investment styles of internationally oriented Socially Responsible Investment (SRI)funds, domiciled in eight European markets, in comparison with characteristics-matched conventional funds. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first multi-country study, focused on international SRI funds (investing in Global and in European equities), to combine the matched-pairs approach with the use of robust conditional multi-factor performance evaluation models, which allow for both time-varying alphas and betas and also control for home biases and spurious regression biases.In general, the results show that differences in the performance of international SRI funds and their conventional peers are not statistically significant. Regarding investment styles, SRI and conventional funds exhibit similar factor exposures in most cases. In addition,conventional benchmarks present a higher explaining power of SRI fund returns than SRI benchmarks. Our results also show significant differences in the investment styles of SRI funds according to whether they use ���best-in-class��� screening strategies or not. When compared to SRI funds that employ simple negative and/or positive screens, SRI ���best-in-class��� funds present significantly lower exposures to small caps and momentum strategies and significantly higher exposures to local stocks.