The Digital Market for Local Services: A one-night stand for workers? An example from the on-demand economy. CEPS Special Report, No. 133/April 2016

This case study provides a snapshot of the dynamics in the digital market for locally provided personal services. Based on a case study for a Belgium platform with 14,113 identified workers and 9,459 posted tasks, the findings suggest that the current intermediation is inefficient. Only a limited share of the tasks posted on the platform are being completed, whereas the characteristics of the not-completed tasks are fairly limited. Moreover, just a small share of the workers participating in the platform is actually performing the completed tasks. Their average earnings per hour are in most cases above the minimum wage and even above the median wage in the offline market. At the present time, however, the limited earnings for individual workers prevent this mode of working from becoming an alternative to a conventional job. In addition to the standard determinants of workers’ earnings (e.g. gender, age, occupation, etc.), the characteristics and evaluation mechanism of the platform have a large influence on the distribution of tasks and earnings.

Money disbursements of employed wage earners and clerical workers in twelve cities of the South, 1934-36 /

At head of title: United States Department of Labor, Frances Perkins, secretary. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Isador Lubin, commissioner.

Non-standard techniques for the investigation of the visual field

The study investigated the potential applications and the limitations of non-standard techniques of visual field investigation utilizing automated perimetry. Normal subjects exhibited a greater sensitivity to kinetic stimuli than to static stimuli of identical size. The magnitude of physiological SKD was found to be largely independent of age, stimulus size, meridian and eccentricity. The absence of a dependency on stimulus size indicated that successive lateral spatial summation could not totally account for the underlying mechanism of physiological SKD. The visual field indices MD and LV exhibited a progressive deterioration during the time course of a conventional central visual field examination both for normal subjects and for ocular hypertensive patients. The fatigue effect was more pronounced in the latter stages and for the second eye tested. The confidence limits for the definition of abnormality should reflect the greater effect of fatigue on the second eye. A 330 cdm-2 yellow background was employed for blue-on-yellow perimetry. Instrument measurement range was preserved by positioning a concave mirror behind the stimulus bulb to increase the light output by 60% . The mean magnitude of SWS pathway isolation was approximately 1.4 log units relative to a 460nm stimulus filter. The absorption spectra of the ocular media exhibited an exponential increase with increase in age, whilst that of the macular pigment showed no systematic trend. The magnitude of ocular media absorption was demonstrated to reduce with increase in wavelength. Ocular media absorption was significantly greater in diabetic patients than in normal subjects. Five diabetic patients with either normal or borderline achromatic sensitivity exhibited an abnormal blue-on-yellow sensitivity; two of these patients showed no signs of retinopathy. A greater vulnerability of the SWS pathway to the diabetic disease process was hypothesized.

The effects and extent of 1,1,1-trichloroethane vapor concentration exposure on workers during solvent vapor degreasing

This study attempted to determine if an excessive amount of 1,1,1 - Trichloroethane was released into the air, the acute effects of exposure and the cause(s) of excessive use. The types of degreasing equipments which were tested in this study are straight vapor and the vapor spray machines. The instruments utilized to obtain the data for this study are Gastech Haline Detector, Organic Vapor Monitor Badge and Personal Sampling Pump. Readings were taken on three different tanks. The data accumulated by this study were obtained during actual cleaning operation. During testing, increased exposure was detected due to exceeding the rate of removal, downward drafts were blowing right over the top of a degreaser and, in some cases, poor general ventilation caused solvent vapor to be blown out of the tank and into the workers' breathing zone, affecting excessive vapor drag out and solvent loss. The results show that, since the characteristics of solvent 1,1,1 - Trichloroethane are well suited to vapor degreasing requirements, by using proper procedures and maintenance, 1,1,1 - Trichloroethane emission during vapor degreasing can be controlled at levels well below the industrial hygiene standard established by OSHA for safe and healthful conditions.

Chronic low back pain among French healthcare workers and prognostic factors of return to work (RTW): a non-randomized controlled trial

International audience

Psychometric Properties Evaluation Of A New Ergonomics-related Job Factors Questionnaire Developed For Nursing Workers.

The objectives of this study were to develop a questionnaire that evaluates the perception of nursing workers to job factors that may contribute to musculoskeletal symptoms, and to evaluate its psychometric properties. Internationally recommended methodology was followed: construction of domains, items and the instrument as a whole, content validity, and pre-test. Psychometric properties were evaluated among 370 nursing workers. Construct validity was analyzed by the factorial analysis, known-groups technique, and convergent validity. Reliability was assessed through internal consistency and stability. Results indicated satisfactory fit indices during confirmatory factor analysis, significant difference (p < 0.01) between the responses of nursing and office workers, and moderate correlations between the new questionnaire and Numeric Pain Scale, SF-36 and WRFQ. Cronbach's alpha was close to 0.90 and ICC values ranged from 0.64 to 0.76. Therefore, results indicated that the new questionnaire had good psychometric properties for use in studies involving nursing workers.

[health Protection For Rural Workers: The Need To Standardize Techniques For Quantifying Dermal Exposure To Pesticides].

Quantification of dermal exposure to pesticides in rural workers, used in risk assessment, can be performed with different techniques such as patches or whole body evaluation. However, the wide variety of methods can jeopardize the process by producing disparate results, depending on the principles in sample collection. A critical review was thus performed on the main techniques for quantifying dermal exposure, calling attention to this issue and the need to establish a single methodology for quantification of dermal exposure in rural workers. Such harmonization of different techniques should help achieve safer and healthier working conditions. Techniques that can provide reliable exposure data are an essential first step towards avoiding harm to workers' health.

A Feasibility Study Of Fricke Dosimetry As An Absorbed Dose To Water Standard For 192ir Hdr Sources.

High dose rate brachytherapy (HDR) using 192Ir sources is well accepted as an important treatment option and thus requires an accurate dosimetry standard. However, a dosimetry standard for the direct measurement of the absolute dose to water for this particular source type is currently not available. An improved standard for the absorbed dose to water based on Fricke dosimetry of HDR 192Ir brachytherapy sources is presented in this study. The main goal of this paper is to demonstrate the potential usefulness of the Fricke dosimetry technique for the standardization of the quantity absorbed dose to water for 192Ir sources. A molded, double-walled, spherical vessel for water containing the Fricke solution was constructed based on the Fricke system. The authors measured the absorbed dose to water and compared it with the doses calculated using the AAPM TG-43 report. The overall combined uncertainty associated with the measurements using Fricke dosimetry was 1.4% for k = 1, which is better than the uncertainties reported in previous studies. These results are promising; hence, the use of Fricke dosimetry to measure the absorbed dose to water as a standard for HDR 192Ir may be possible in the future.

Lymphocyte Activation In Silica-exposed Workers.

Exposure to silica dust has been examined as a possible risk factor for autoimmune diseases, including systemic sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis, systemic lupus erythematosus and ANCA-associated vasculitis. However, the underlying cellular and molecular mechanisms resulting in the increased prevalence of autoimmunity remain elusive. To clarify these mechanisms, we studied various markers of immune activation in individuals occupationally exposed to silica dust, i.e., serum levels of soluble IL-2 receptor (sIL-2R), levels of IL-2, other pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokines and lymphoproliferation. Our results demonstrate that silica-exposed individuals present important alterations in their immune response when compared to controls, as shown by increased serum sIL-2R levels, decreased production of IL-2 and increased levels of the pro-inflammatory (IFN-γ, IL-1α, TNF-α, IL-6) as well as anti-inflammatory (IL-10 and TGF-β) cytokines. Furthermore, silica-exposed individuals presented enhanced lymphoproliferative responses. Our findings provide evidence that the maintenance of immune homeostasis may be disturbed in silica-exposed individuals, possibly resulting in autoimmune disorders.

Audiogram Comparison Of Workers From Five Professional Categories.

Introduction. Noise is a major cause of health disorders in workers and has unique importance in the auditory analysis of people exposed to it. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the arithmetic mean of the auditory thresholds at frequencies of 3, 4, and 6 kHz of workers from five professional categories exposed to occupational noise. Methods. We propose a retrospective cross-sectional cohort study to analyze 2.140 audiograms from seven companies having five sectors of activity: one footwear company, one beverage company, two ceramics companies, two metallurgical companies, and two transport companies. Results. When we compared two categories, we noticed a significant difference only for cargo carriers in comparison to the remaining categories. In all activity sectors, the left ear presented the worst values, except for the footwear professionals (P > 0.05). We observed an association between the noise exposure time and the reduction of audiometric values for both ears. Significant differences existed for cargo carriers in relation to other groups. This evidence may be attributed to different forms of exposure. A slow and progressive deterioration appeared as the exposure time increased.

Gênero e estresse em trabalhadores de uma universidade pública do estado de São Paulo

The aim of this paper was to identify, according to gender, the indexes of Mental Health and the Psychosocial Risk Factors in workers at a state University. A sample of 400 was randomly selected, 253 female and 147 male. They were assessed by means of The Questionnaire SWS Survey (Self, Work and Social) (Ostermann & Gutiérrez, 1992), validated in Brazil by Guimarães and Macfadden (1999). Univariate, bivariate, multivariate statistics were assessed. Significant associations emerged from Mental Health and Gender, and Psychosocial Risk Factors and Gender. Women showed greater Psychosocial Risk Factors, Work and Social Stress, worst mental health than men (p < 0.05), which place them at greater risk for developing physical and/or mental illness.

Sensitivity and specificity of machine learning classifiers for glaucoma diagnosis using Spectral Domain OCT and standard automated perimetry

PURPOSE: To evaluate the sensitivity and specificity of machine learning classifiers (MLCs) for glaucoma diagnosis using Spectral Domain OCT (SD-OCT) and standard automated perimetry (SAP). METHODS: Observational cross-sectional study. Sixty two glaucoma patients and 48 healthy individuals were included. All patients underwent a complete ophthalmologic examination, achromatic standard automated perimetry (SAP) and retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) imaging with SD-OCT (Cirrus HD-OCT; Carl Zeiss Meditec Inc., Dublin, California). Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were obtained for all SD-OCT parameters and global indices of SAP. Subsequently, the following MLCs were tested using parameters from the SD-OCT and SAP: Bagging (BAG), Naive-Bayes (NB), Multilayer Perceptron (MLP), Radial Basis Function (RBF), Random Forest (RAN), Ensemble Selection (ENS), Classification Tree (CTREE), Ada Boost M1(ADA),Support Vector Machine Linear (SVML) and Support Vector Machine Gaussian (SVMG). Areas under the receiver operating characteristic curves (aROC) obtained for isolated SAP and OCT parameters were compared with MLCs using OCT+SAP data. RESULTS: Combining OCT and SAP data, MLCs' aROCs varied from 0.777(CTREE) to 0.946 (RAN).The best OCT+SAP aROC obtained with RAN (0.946) was significantly larger the best single OCT parameter (p<0.05), but was not significantly different from the aROC obtained with the best single SAP parameter (p=0.19). CONCLUSION: Machine learning classifiers trained on OCT and SAP data can successfully discriminate between healthy and glaucomatous eyes. The combination of OCT and SAP measurements improved the diagnostic accuracy compared with OCT data alone.