An exercises editor for an e-learning environment

One of the most important tenets of e-learning is that it bridges work and learning. A great e-learning experience brings learning into the work environment. This is a key point, the capacity to construct a work environment when the student can develop proper tasks to complete the learning process. This paper describes a work environment based on the development of two tools, an exercises editor and an exercises viewer. Both tools are able to manage color images where, because of the implementation of basic steganographic techniques, it is possible to add information, exercises, questions, and so on. The exercises editor allows to decide which information must be visible or remain hidden to the user, when the image is loaded in the exercises viewer. Therefore, it is possible to hide the solutions of the proposed tasks; this is very useful to complete a self-evaluation learning process. These tools constitute a learning architecture with the final objective that learners can apply and practice new concepts or skills.

Ergonomics, the study of work.

"OSHA 3125."

Improving the quality of work life : managerial practices /

Photocopy of: 1975 ed.

The federal government : a model employer or a work in progress? : perspectives from 25 years of the Merit Principles Survey : a report to the President and the Congress of the United States /

"September 2008"

Benefits of all work and no play: The relationship between neuroticism and performance as a function of resource allocation

The authors evaluate a model suggesting that the performance of highly neurotic individuals, relative to their stable counterparts, is more strongly influenced by factors relating to the allocation of attentional resources. First, an air traffic control simulation was used to examine the interaction between effort intensity and scores on the Anxiety subscale of Eysenck Personality Profiler Neuroticism in the prediction of task performance. Overall effort intensity enhanced performance for highly anxious individuals more so than for individuals with low anxiety. Second, a longitudinal field study was used to examine the interaction between office busyness and Eysenck Personality Inventory Neuroticism in the prediction of telesales performance. Changes in office busyness were associated with greater performance improvements for highly neurotic individuals compared with less neurotic individuals. These studies suggest that highly neurotic individuals outperform their stable counterparts in a busy work environment or if they are expending a high level of effort.

Extending a model of shift-work tolerance

The present study contributes to theory and practice through the development of a model of shift-work tolerance with the potential to indicate interventions that reduce nurses' intention toward turnover and increase job satisfaction in hospital-based settings. Survey data from 1257 nurses were used to conduct structural equation modeling that examine the direct and indirect effects of supervisor and colleague support, team identity, team climate, and control over working environment on time-based work/life conflict, psychological well-being, physical symptoms, job satisfaction, and turnover intention. The analysis of the proposed model revealed a good fit The chi-square difference test was non-significant (χ2(26)=338.56), the fit indices were high (CFI=.923, NFI=.918, and NNFI=.868), the distribution of residuals was symmetric and approached zero, the average standardized residual was low (AASR=.04), and the standardized RMR was .072. In terms of the predictor variable, the final model explained 48% of the variance in turnover intention. The data revealed considerable evidence of both direct effects on adjustment and complex indirect links between levels of adjustment and work-related social support, team identity, team climate, and control. Nurses with high supervisor and coworker support experienced more positive team climates, identified more strongly with their team, and increased their perceptions of control over their work environment. This in turn lowered their appraisals of their time-based work/life conflict, which consequently increased their psychological well-being and job satisfaction and reduced their physical health symptoms and turnover intention. The type of shift schedule worked by the nurses influenced levels of turnover intention, control over work environment, time-based work/life conflict, and physical symptoms.

Individual differences in cognitive style and their effects on task and social orientations of self-managed work teams

When assembling self-managing work teams, the personalities of team members are often overlooked. One personality variable known to be critical for effective decision making in teams is cognitive style. This study sought to examine how differences and similarities in analytic/intuitive cognitive styles affected the behavior of team members on the task/emotionally expressive dimension identified by Bales. As hypothesized, intuitive individuals and homogeneous intuitive teams were found to initiate more social-emotional acts. Contrary to expectations, intuitive rather than analytic individuals and homogeneous intuitive rather than analytic teams engaged in more task-oriented behaviors. Teams also tended to select intuitive individuals as leaders. The possibility that different combinations of styles may be important for overall team effectiveness was subsequently discussed, and it was suggested that this may depend on whether the nature of the work environment is relatively well structured and mechanistic or relatively unstructured and organic.

A comparative analysis of self-determined evaluations of work performance and support needs by adults with mental retardation in supported work and in sheltered workshop environments

The purpose of this study was to determine if there was a difference in the self-determined evaluations of work performance and support needs by adults with mental retardation in supported employment and in sheltered workshop environments. The instrument, Job Observation and Behavior Scale: Opportunity for Self-Determination (JOBS: OSD; Brady, Rosenberg, & Frain, 2006), was administered to 38 adults with mental retardation from sheltered workshops and 32 adults with mental retardation from supported employment environments. Cross-tabulations with Chi-square tests and independent samples t-tests were conducted to evaluate differences between the two groups, sheltered workshop and supported work. Two Multivariate Analyses of Variance (MANOVAs) were conducted to determine the effect of work environment on Quality of Performance (QP) and Types of Support (TS) test scores and their subscales. ^ This study found that there were significant differences between the groups on the QP Behavior and Job Duties subscales. The sheltered workshop group perceived themselves as performing significantly better on job duties than the supported work group. Conversely, the supported work group perceived themselves to have better behavior than the sheltered workshop group. However, there were no significant differences between groups in their perception of support needs for the three subscales. ^ The findings imply that work environment affects the self-determined evaluations of work performance by adults with mental retardation. Recommendations for further study include (a) detailing the characteristics of supported work and sheltered workshops that support and/or discourage self-determined behaviors, (b) exploring the behavior of adults with mental retardation in sheltered workshops and supported work environments, and (c) analysis of the support needs for and understanding of them by adults with mental retardation in sheltered workshops and in supported work environments. ^

The Worsening of the employment and work conditions and its relationship to the self-perceived health in European working population. Relevance and effects of the latest socioeconomic crisis

The recent crisis of the capitalistic economic system has altered the working conditions and occupations in the European Union. The recession situation has accelerated trends and has brought transformations that have been observed before. Changes have not looked the same way in all the countries of the Union. The social occupation norms, labour relations models and the type of global welfare provision can help underline some of these inequalities. Poor working conditions can expose workers to situations of great risk. This is one of the basic assumptions of the theoretical models and analytical studies of the approach to the psychosocial work environment. Changes in working conditions of the population seems to be important to explain in the worst health states. To observe these features in the current period of economic recession it has made a comparative study of trend through the possibilities of the European Working Conditions Survey in the 2005 and 2010 editions. It has also set different multivariate logistic regression models to explore potential partnerships with the worst conditions of employment and work. It seems that the economic crisis has intensified changes in working conditions and highlighted the effects of those conditions on the poor health of the working population. This conclusion can’t be extended for all EU countries; some differences were observed in terms of global welfare models.

Arbetsmiljö : Med fokus ur ett könsperspektiv

För att åstadkomma en god arbetsmiljö ska arbetsgivaren och arbetstagaren gemensamt sam-verka enligt Arbetsmiljölagen. Därav ligger ansvaret både på arbetsgivaren och arbetstagaren (Arbetsmiljölagen). Denna studie har utförts på ett industriföretag med syfte att undersöka ar-betsmiljön och arbetsskador ur ett kön- och genusperspektiv. För att kunna uppnå ett trovärdigt och tillförlitligt resultat har tre olika metoder använts såsom intervjuer, deltagande observation och information från företagets IA-system. Resultatet visar att det inte finns lika stora skillnader mellan kvinnor och män idag som det gjorde för 15 år sedan. Någonting annat som upptäcktes var att det finns ett stort mörkertal när det gäller att rapportera in säkerhetssamtal, tillbud och olycksfall i företagets IA-system. Efter att ha analyserat det insamlade empiriska materialet blev slutsatsen att kvinnor inte får arbetsskador lättare än män, utan att det beror på de kulturer, normer och värderingar som finns inom industrin. Företaget arbetar på rätt sätt när det gäller säkerhet, utrustning, ergonomi med mera, men når ändå inte ända fram till medarbetarna. Stu-dien visar att en stor del till att arbetsmiljön har blivit skapad på detta sätt genom att det finns en konflikt mellan medarbetare och ledning. Kultur, norm och värderingar påverkar både ar-betssituationen och arbetsmiljön. För att lyckas med sitt arbetsmiljöarbete måste företaget ar-beta med sin kultur och lösa konflikten mellan medarbetare och ledning, vilket kommer att bidrar till nöjdare medarbetare och ett trivsammare klimat.

Objective Methods for Characterizing Physical Exposures which may contribute to Work-related Musculoskeletal Disorders in Agricultural Workers

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Washington, 2016-08

Influence of the perception of discrimination on women's work motivation

Nowadays, despite anti-discrimination policies, women suffer frequently from a lack of consideration from their male colleagues, altering their well-being and motivation to work. More precisely, perceived personal or groupal discrimination, could have a distinct influence on work motivation. Previous studies showed that the impact on women varies in function of the type of perceived discrimination (Bourguignon et al. 2006). Based on the self-categorization and the social identity theory, work motivation is differently structured as if employees categorized themselves as individuals or as part of a group. As a result, a different impact from personal and group discrimination on work motivation is expected. Moreover, it has been proved that typical men behavior is heavily associated with competence compared to women behavior (Marchand, Saint-Charles & Corbeil, 2007). Therefore, it is hypothesized that women with more masculine traits will suffer from less perceived discrimination, and work motivation. An online survey was created in order to collect data over work motivation, perceived personal and group discrimination. The respondents were also questioned on typical men and women behavior to determine their gender-conformity. To test our hypotheses, data were collected from 57 women stemming from the labour force, aged from 21 to 63 years old. Results indicate that perceived personal discrimination was negatively related to work motivation and that perceived group discrimination was negatively correlated with masculine behavior. Thereby, our study enhances the importance of work environment, and especially discrimination, on work motivation. This research also corroborates the self-categorization and the social identity theory framework to study these issues.

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

International audience

Chronic low back pain, chronic disability at work, chronic management issues.

International audience