Nontraditional employment: the careers of temporary workers

This chapter focuses upon the careers of temporary workers. Temporary employment for many workers presents a route to permanent employment. Other workers, however, get trapped into temporary employment or cycle between unstable jobs and spells of unemployment. Predictors of such transitions are multiple. We selected two broad categories, namely perceived employability from the area of career research and health and well-being from the area of occupational health and well-being research. The overall conclusion is that the association between temporary employment and both perceived employability and health and well-being is inconclusive. This suggests that there are boundary conditions that may make some temporary workers successful and others not. Risk factors include dynamics related to the dual labor market, including lower job quality, lower investments on the part of employers, and negative stereotyping of temporary workers as second-class citizens. On the positive side, many temporary workers have learned to manage their careers in the sense that they invest in training and in continuous job search.

Fatigue and workability in Brazilian textile companies in different corporate social responsibility score groups

The aim of this study was to evaluate working conditions in the textile industry for different stages of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) development, and workers` perception of fatigue and workability. A cross-sectional study was undertaken with 126 workers in the production areas of five Brazilian textile plants. The corporate executive officers and managers of each company provided their personal evaluations of CSR. Companies were divided into 2 groups (higher and lower) of CSR scores. Workers completed questionnaires on fatigue, workability and working conditions. Ergonomic job analysis showed similar results for working conditions, independent of their CSR score. Multivariate analysis models were developed for fatigue and workability, indicating that they are both associated to factors related to working conditions and individual workers` characteristics and life styles. Work organization, (what, how, when, where and for how long the work is done), is also an associated factor for fatigue. This study suggests that workers` opinions should be taken into greater consideration when companies develop their CSR programs, in particular for those relating to working conditions. Relevance to industry: This paper underlines the importance of considering working conditions and workers` opinions of them, work organization and individual workers` characteristics and life styles in order to restore or to maintain workability and to reduce fatigue, independently of how developed a company may be in the field of Corporate Social Responsibility. (C) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

EVOLUTIONARY BIOLOGY IN BIODIVERSITY SCIENCE, CONSERVATION, AND POLICY: A CALL TO ACTION

Evolutionary biologists have long endeavored to document how many species exist on Earth, to understand the processes by which biodiversity waxes and wanes, to document and interpret spatial patterns of biodiversity, and to infer evolutionary relationships. Despite the great potential of this knowledge to improve biodiversity science, conservation, and policy, evolutionary biologists have generally devoted limited attention to these broader implications. Likewise, many workers in biodiversity science have underappreciated the fundamental relevance of evolutionary biology. The aim of this article is to summarize and illustrate some ways in which evolutionary biology is directly relevant We do so in the context of four broad areas: (1) discovering and documenting biodiversity, (2) understanding the causes of diversification, (3) evaluating evolutionary responses to human disturbances, and (4) implications for ecological communities, ecosystems, and humans We also introduce bioGENESIS, a new project within DIVERSITAS launched to explore the potential practical contributions of evolutionary biology In addition to fostering the integration of evolutionary thinking into biodiversity science, bioGENESIS provides practical recommendations to policy makers for incorporating evolutionary perspectives into biodiversity agendas and conservation. We solicit your involvement in developing innovative ways of using evolutionary biology to better comprehend and stem the loss of biodiversity.

Short terms effects of air pollution from biomass burning in mucociliary clearance of Brazilian sugarcane cutters

Nasal mucociliary system is the first line of defense of the upper airways and may be affected acutely by exposure to particulate matter (PM) from biomass burning. Several epidemiologic studies have demonstrated a consistent association between levels of air pollution from biomass burning with increases in hospitalization for respiratory diseases and mortality. To determine the acute effects of exposure to particulate matter from biomass burning in nasal mucociliary transport by saccharin transit time (STT) test, we studied thirty-three non-smokers and twelve light smokers sugarcane cutters in two periods: pre-harvest season and 4 h after harvest at the first day after biomass burning. Lung function, exhaled carbon monoxide (CO), nasal symptoms questionnaire and mucociliary clearance (MC) were assessed. Exhaled CO was increased in smokers compared to non-smokers but did not change significantly after harvest. In contrast, SIT was similar between smokers and non-smokers and decreased significantly after harvest in both groups (p < 0.001). Exposure to PM from biomass burning did not influence nasal symptoms. Our results suggest that acute exposure to particulate matter from sugarcane burned affects mucociliary clearance in smokers and non-smokers workers in the absence of symptoms. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Task assignment optimization in SAP Extended WarehouseManagement

Nowadays in the world of mass consumption there is big demand for distributioncenters of bigger size. Managing such a center is a very complex and difficult taskregarding to the different processes and factors in a usual warehouse when we want tominimize the labor costs. Most of the workers’ working time is spent with travelingbetween source and destination points which cause deadheading. Even if a worker knowsthe structure of a warehouse well and because of that he or she can find the shortest pathbetween two points, it is still not guaranteed that there won’t be long traveling timebetween the locations of two consecutive tasks. We need optimal assignments betweentasks and workers.In the scientific literature Generalized Assignment Problem (GAP) is a wellknownproblem which deals with the assignment of m workers to n tasks consideringseveral constraints. The primary purpose of my thesis project was to choose a heuristics(genetic algorithm, tabu search or ant colony optimization) to be implemented into SAPExtended Warehouse Management (SAP EWM) by with task assignment will be moreeffective between tasks and resources.After system analysis I had to realize that due different constraints and businessdemands only 1:1 assingments are allowed in SAP EWM. Because of that I had to use adifferent and simpler approach – instead of the introduced heuristics – which could gainbetter assignments during the test phase in several cases. In the thesis I described indetails what ware the most important questions and problems which emerged during theplanning of my optimized assignment method.

Implementation of Video Monitoring In Aluminium Industry

The aim was to evaluate results and experiences from development of new technology, a training program and implementation of strategies for the use of a video exposure monitoring method, PIMEX. Starting point of this study is an increased incidence of asthma among workers in the aluminium industry. Exposure peaks of fumes are supposed to play an important role. PIMEX makes it possible to link used work practice, use of control technology, and so forth to peaks. Nine companies participated in the project, which was divided into three parts, development of PIMEX technology, production of training material, and training in use of equipment and related strategies. The use of the video exposure monitoring method PIMEX offers prerequisites supporting workers participation in safety activities. The experiences from the project reveal the importance of good timing of primary training, technology development, technical support, and follow up training. In spite of a delay of delivery of the new technology, representatives from the participating companies declared that the experiences showed that PIMEX gave an important contribution for effective control of hazards in the companies. Eight out of nine smelters used the PIMEX method as a part of a strategy for control of workers exposure to fumes in potrooms. Possibilities to conduct effective control measures were identified. This article describes experiences from implementation of a, for this branch, new method supporting workers participation for workplace improvements.

Towards a measure of income inequality freed from the volatility caused by variations in the rate of unemployment

By mixing together inequalities based on cyclical variables, such as unemployment, and on structural variables, such as education, usual measurements of income inequality add objects of a di§erent economic nature. Since jobs are not acquired or lost as fast as education or skills, this aggreagation leads to a loss of relavant economic information. Here I propose a di§erent procedure for the calculation of inequality. The procedure uses economic theory to construct an inequality measure of a long-run character, the calculation of which can be performed, though, with just one set of cross-sectional observations. Technically, the procedure is based on the uniqueness of the invariant distribution of wage o§ers in a job-search model. Workers should be pre-grouped by the distribution of wage o§ers they see, and only between-group inequalities should be considered. This construction incorporates the fact that the average wages of all workers in the same group tend to be equalized by the continuous turnover in the job market.

Essays in heterogeneous agent macroeconomics

This thesis is comprised of three chapters. The first article studies the determinants of the labor force participation of elderly American males and investigates the factors that may account for the changes in retirement between 1950 and 2000. We develop a life-cycle general equilibrium model with endogenous retirement that embeds Social Security legislation and Medicare. Individuals are ex ante heterogeneous with respect to their preferences for leisure and face uncertainty about labor productivity, health status and out-of-pocket medical expenses. The model is calibrated to the U.S. economy in 2000 and is able to reproduce very closely the retirement behavior of the American population. It reproduces the peaks in the distribution of Social Security applications at ages 62 and 65 and the observed facts that low earners and unhealthy individuals retire earlier. It also matches very closely the increase in retirement from 1950 to 2000. Changes in Social Security policy - which became much more generous - and the introduction of Medicare account for most of the expansion of retirement. In contrast, the isolated impact of the increase in longevity was a delaying of retirement. In the second article, I develop an overlapping generations model of criminal behavior, which extends prior research on crime by taking into account individuals' labor supply decisions and the stigma effect that affects convicted offenders, lowering their likelihood of employment. I use the model to guide a quantitative assessment of the determinants of crime and of a counterfactual experiment in which an income redistribution policy is thought as an alternative to greater law enforcement. The model economy considered in this paper is populated by heterogeneous agents who live for a realistic number of periods, have preferences over consumption and leisure, and differ in terms of their age, their skills as well as their employment shocks. In addition, savings may be precautionary and allow partial insurance against the labor income shocks. Because of the lack of full insurance, this model generates an endogenous distribution of wealth across consumers, enabling us to assess the welfare implications of the redistribution policy experiment. I calibrated the model using the US data for 1980 and then use the model to investigate the changes in criminality between 1980 and 1996. The main results that come out of this study are: 1) Law enforcement policy was the most important factor behind the fall in criminality in the period, while the increase in inequality was the most important single factor promoting crime; 2) Stigmatization is not a free-cost crime control policy; 3) Income redistribution can be a powerful alternative policy to fight crime. Finally, the third article studies the impact of HIV/AIDS on per capita income and education. It explores two channels from HIV/AIDS to income that have not been sufficiently stressed by the literature: the reduction of the incentives to study due to shorter expected longevity and the reduction of productivity of experienced workers. In the model individuals live for three periods, may get infected in the second period and with some probability die of Aids before reaching the third period of their life. Parents care for the welfare of the future generations so that they will maximize lifetime utility of their dynasty. The simulations predict that the most affected countries in Sub-Saharan Africa will be in the future, on average, thirty percent poorer than they would be without AIDS. Schooling will decline in some cases by forty percent. These figures are dramatically reduced with widespread medical treatment, as it increases the survival probability and productivity of infected individuals.

Quebrando as regras: o poder discricionário na linha de frente do programa esportivo-social RIO 2016 um estudo sobre a situação do integrador de núcleo, um verdadeiro "sociological citizen"

Este estudo analisa o indivíduo que atua na linha de frente do RIO 2016, um programa social do Governo do Estado do Rio de Janeiro que opera 800 unidades de atendimento no Estado, com gestão da Secretaria de Estado de Esporte e Lazer. O indivíduo analisado nesta pesquisa é denominado Integrador de Núcleo Esportivo e é o responsável pela gestão de uma dessas unidades — Núcleo Esportivo — que atende em média 50 alunos de uma comunidade carente no Estado do Rio de Janeiro. Essa pesquisa analisa o Integrador de Núcleo Esportivo sob uma perspectiva inédita, entendendo-o como um agente que atua além do seu escopo burocrático de trabalho. Para esse estudo foram consideradas teorias sobre burocracia organizacional, lançando mão da literatura de Michel Crozier ―The Bureaucratic Phenomenon‖ (1964), que analisa as relações entre pessoas, grupos e poder para entender a influência da organização burocrática no indivíduo. O termo ―sociological citizen‖,desenvolvido por Silbey (2009), também foi considerado para classificar esse indivíduo que se mostra mais aplicado que outros nos serviço de seu mandato organizacional e legal. Silbey aplica também o termo ―relational regulation‖ para denominar esta forma particular de prática da ―cidadania sociológica‖ (tradução do autor), por meio da qual os agentes ―governam a lacuna existente entre as expectativas regulatórias e o desempenho requerido‖.

Rent-sharing in Brazil: using trade liberalization as a natural experiment

This paper examines the extent of rent-sharing in Brazil, between 1988 and 1995, combining two different data sets: annual industrial surveys (pIA) and annual household surveys (PNADs). The aim is to use the trade liberalization policies that took place in Brazil in the early 1990s as a "natural experiment" to examine the impact ofproduct market rents on wages. We first estimate inter-industry wage differentials in Brazil, using the household surveys, afier controlling for various observable workers' characteristics. In a reduced form fixed effects equation, these controlled inter-industry differentials are seen to depend on the industries' rate of effective tariff. We also find that LSDV estimates of the effect of value-added per worker (computed using the industrial surveys) on the wage differentials are positive, but somewhat small. However, we find that instrumenting the valued-added with the effective tariffs more than doubles the estimated rent-sharing coefficient. The paper concludes that rent-sharing is prevalent in the Brazilian manufacturing sector, and this mechanism transferred part of the productivity gains due to trade liberalization to manufacturing workers in the form ofhigher (controlled) wage premium.

Labor legislation and the size of informal sector in Brazil

This paper studies the increase in the rate of informal workers in the Brazilian economy that occurred between 1985 and 1999. We develop an overlapping generations model with incomplete markets in which agents are ex-post heterogeneous. We calibrate it to match some features of the Brazilian economy for 1985. We conduct a policy experiment which reproduces the 1988 constitution reforms that increased the retirement benefits and labor costs in the formal sector. We show that these reforms can explain the increase in informal labor. Then, we conduct a policy experiment and analyze its impact on the Brazilian economy.

Old-age benefits and retirement decisions of rural elderly in Brazil

I estimate the impact of social security benefits on retirement decisions of rural workers by studying changes in the roles governing social security in Brazil. I focus on a 1991 reform, which brought a reduction in the minimum eligibility age for males and females, a doubling of benefit values and the extension of benefits to non-heads of households. Because beneficiaries are not subject to means or retirement tests, I estimate apure income effect. I find that a reduction in the minimum eligibility age for old-age benefits was an important determinant in the reduction in labor supply of elderly rural workers in Brazil. Finally, I find that benefit take-up rates are larger among the better educated, but least-schooled workers show the largest labor supply responses to the reform.

The risk-incentive trade-off in competitive search

Usando a abordagem de competitive search, modelo um mercado de trabalho com trabalhadores heterogêneos no qual há um problema de risco moral na relação entre firmas e trabalhadores. Nesse contexto, consigo prever como contratos reagem a mudanças nos parâmetros do mercado (em particular, o risco de produção), assim como a variação da probabilidade dos trabalhadores serem contratados. Minha contribuição principal é ver que, no nível individual, existe uma relação negativa entre risco e incentivos, mas efeitos de equilíbrio geral implicam que essa relação pode ser positiva no nível agregado. Esse resultado ajuda a esclarecer resultados empíricos contraditórios sobre a relação entre risco e incentivos.

Semiparametric modeling of the spatial distribution of occupational accident risk in the casual labor market, Piracicaba, southeast Brazil

The objective of this study was to estimate the spatial distribution of work accident risk in the informal work market in the urban zone of an industrialized city in southeast Brazil and to examine concomitant effects of age, gender, and type of occupation after controlling for spatial risk variation. The basic methodology adopted was that of a population-based case-control study with particular interest focused on the spatial location of work. Cases were all casual workers in the city suffering work accidents during a one-year period; controls were selected from the source population of casual laborers by systematic random sampling of urban homes. The spatial distribution of work accidents was estimated via a semiparametric generalized additive model with a nonparametric bidimensional spline of the geographical coordinates of cases and controls as the nonlinear spatial component, and including age, gender, and occupation as linear predictive variables in the parametric component. We analyzed 1,918 cases and 2,245 controls between 1/11/2003 and 31/10/2004 in Piracicaba, Brazil. Areas of significantly high and low accident risk were identified in relation to mean risk in the study region (p < 0.01). Work accident risk for informal workers varied significantly in the study area. Significant age, gender, and occupational group effects on accident risk were identified after correcting for this spatial variation. A good understanding of high-risk groups and high-risk regions underpins the formulation of hypotheses concerning accident causality and the development of effective public accident prevention policies.

Sleep complaints and polysomnographic findings: A study of nuclear power plant shift workers

The literature widely recognizes that shift workers have more health complaints than the general population. The objective of this study was to describe the prevalence of sleep complaints and verify the polysomnographic (PSG) variables of shift workers in two Brazilian nuclear power plants. We carried out a subjective evaluation with a sleep questionnaire. Based on these results, the interviewees that reported sleep-related complaints were referred for polysomnographic evaluation. of the 327 volunteers initially evaluated by the sleep questionnaire, 113 (35%) reported sleep complaints; they were significantly older, had higher body mass index (BMI), and worked more years on shifts than those without sleep complaints. of these 113, 90 met criteria for various sleep disorders: 30 (9%) showed obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), 18 (5.5%) showed limb movement, and 42 (13%) evidenced both sleep problems and had a significantly higher proportion of sleep stage 1 and arousals compared with the 23 shift workers that had no indices of sleep problems. The present study found that 90 (27.5%) of the evaluated participants met the PSG criteria of some type of clinical sleep disorder. This high proportion should be investigated for associations with other aspects of work, such as working hours, working schedule, years performing shift work, and access to health services. Due to the strong association between sleep disorders and the incidence of fatigue and sleepiness, the evaluation of the sleep patterns and complaints of shift workers is essential and should be considered to be one of the basic strategies of industry to prevent accidents.