The footwear factory's assembly sector: opposing organizational structure and quality from the ergonomic work analysis

Data from 2006 indicated that Brazilian footwear leather industry was composed of approximately 9,488 formally registered establishments, considering the leather industry, footwear and leather goods. It was responsible for 211,582 people employed. However, in spite of having many employees, this kind of organization found several problems when analyzed from the ergonomics view. With this premise, then, in order to identify bottlenecks and other engineering problems that could cause discomfort and motivation lack among workers, leading directly to the loss of the product quality, the assembly sector of women's shoes factory was characterized.     

Analysis of the lifted weight including height and frequency factors for workers in Colombia

Factors related to the height of the load and the frequency of handling have become a way to predict the acceptable standard weight lifted for workers whose main task is the manual lifting of materials and measuring the conditions is important to determine a maximum weight lifted. This study was conducted to twenty (20) workers between eighteen (18) and forty (40) years old with a minimum six months experience and belonging to the warehouse and packaging area of a dairy products company. Consideration was given to three different heights such as knuckle, shoulder and total height as well as frequencies of 2, 4 and 6 times per minute. Average values for lifted weight were 17.9306 ± 2.37 kg. The conclusions and recommendations included a review of legislation related to Colombian maximum acceptable weight of lifting due to the current law does not match the acceptable weight handled in this research.     

Human factors identification and classification related to accidents'causality on hand injuries in the manufacturing industry

The causes of occupational accidents from the perspective of human factors have been a subject which has received little attention into the field of scientific research. The aim of this research was to identify and classify the human factors that influence human errors and failures that cause accidents and injuries specifically on hands. Available studies related to the topic have been developed mainly for aerospace applications and are found insufficient to explain accidents causalities in the manufacturing industry. This research was developed in the assembly industry of automotive harnesses and was conducted following a mixed Cognitive Anthropological approach. This study was developed in two phases. During the first qualitative phase, participants freely listed their knowledge to identify elements of the cultural domain, then and in the second phase they performed the successive pile sort technique for the collection data to classify elements in the cultural domain. Statistical models like Cluster Analysis and Multidimensional Scaling were applied for results' validation purposes. As results, 70 different human factors were identified and in the second phase they were classified into 4 main categories which were: human error, unsafe conditions, individual factors, and organizational factors. Statistical methods validated these results.     

Exploring dialogic strategies in social media for fostering citizens’ interactions with Latin American local governments

Although the benefits of social media for enhancing citizens’ interactions with their local governments are well known in a more global context, few studies have focused on Latin America, or on the MERCOSUR countries in particular. This paper examines the use of dialogic strategies in the social media activities of local governments in MERCOSUR countries in order to generate citizens’ online engagement. Analysis of this question enhances our understanding of the use of social media by local governments in less developed countries and highlights the need for empirical evidence on the use of dialogic communication theory regarding stakeholder engagement with social media. The findings obtained reflect the positive influence of dialogic strategies on citizens’ online engagement, particularly those based on dialogic loop, useful information and generation of return visits, aimed at fostering participation via social media.     

Poverty and gender perspective in productive projects for rural women in Mexico: impact evaluation of a pilot project

The objective of this study is to evaluate the impact of a pilot study that promoted productive and capacity-building activities among deprived rural women of Mexico. The evaluation design is observational; 1,278 women are interviewed, and the comparison group is estimated by propensity score matching. The results show a positive impact on the carrying out of agricultural activities, in the autonomy of women in decision making, as does their perception of their role in the household. However, the project does not decrease the number of hours set aside for household chores or improve the women's technical and administrative skills.     

Determinants of Employment Decisions After the First Child Birth in Spain

The aim of this paper is to analyse impact of human capital on employment decisions (namely, entry and exit from employment) of first-time mothers in Spain. To carry out the analysis, we use the Fertility, Family and Values Survey of 2006. Transitions are studied via discrete-time duration models with control for frailty. The results indicate that education, previous work experience and living without a partner increase the likelihood of (re-)entering employment and decrease the likelihood of leaving employment after the first child than their low-educated, non-experienced and partnered counterparts. Women in recent cohorts register more (re-)employment transitions than the rest. However, no differences were observed in the transits out of employment across cohorts, which prove small progress in the work-life balance in Spain over the last decades. Finally, the circumstances around childbirth do not seem to influence employment decisions of first-time mothers.     

Service vs. manufacturing: how to address more effectively eco-innovation public policies by disentangling the different characteristics of industries

Eco-innovation is actually a fashionable topic, and several researchers are working on understanding the defining characteristics of firms that consider the environment as a priority when innovating. To date most of these studies have been carried out on manufacturing industries. This article investigates the similarities and differences among service and manufacturing firms. An empirical analysis of a sample of 5509 Spanish companies shows that the variables affecting the eco-innovative orientation of firms are quite similar. Results reveal that manufacturing firms have higher orientation toward the environment than service firms. Furthermore, highly polarized positions in environmental aspects can be found. Despite the limitations of the study, conclusions may help public policy to encourage environmental proactivity in service industry and innovation.     

Cognitive Deficits in Executive Functions and Decision-Making Impairments Cluster Gambling Disorder Sub-types

To identify Gambling Disorder (GD) subtypes, in a population of men seeking treatment for GD, according to specific executive function domains (i.e., cognitive flexibility, inhibition and working memory as well as decision making) which are usually impaired in addictive behaviors. A total of 145 males ranging from 18 to 65 years diagnosed with GD were included in this study. All participants completed: (a) a set of questionnaires to assess psychopathological symptoms, personality and impulsivity traits, and (b) a battery of neuropsychological measures to test different executive functioning domains. Two clusters were identified based on the individual performance on the neuropsychological assessment. Cluster 1 [n = 106; labeled as Low Impaired Executive Function (LIEF)] was composed by patients with poor results in the neuropsychological assessment; cluster 2 patients [n = 46; labeled as High Impaired Executive Function (HIEF)] presented significantly higher deficits on the assessed domains and performed worse than the ones of LIEF cluster. Regarding the characterization of these two clusters, patients in cluster 2 were significantly older, unemployed and registered higher mean age of GD onset than patients in cluster 1. Additionally, patients in cluster 2 also obtained higher psychopathological symptoms, impulsivity (in both positive and negative urgency as well as sensation seeking) and some specific personality traits (higher harm avoidance as well as lower self-directedness and cooperativeness) than patients in cluster 1. The results of this study describe two different GD subtypes based on different cognitive domains (i.e., executive function performance). These two GD subtypes display different impulsivity and personality traits as well as clinical symptoms. The results provide new insight into the etiology and characterization of GD and have the potential to help improving current treatments.     

Bad mothers,labouring children: emancipation,tutelage and motherhood in São Paulo in the last decades of the nineteenth century

ABSTRACT

This article discusses disputes involving the regimentation of underage labourers in the city of São Paulo, Brazil, and its relation with the stigmatization of African-descended women as unfit mothers. In the 1880s and 1890s, informal labour regimentation practices were increasingly, although only partially, replaced by formal labour arrangements largely targeted at underage workers born to enslaved or freed mothers. Depicted as incapable of performing the maternal duties and virtues as defined by the ascending bourgeois normativity, impoverished and morally attacked, these women and their children faced particular challenges in the unfolding of emancipation.     

The politics of Latino publics: Immigration reform,political participation and intention to vote

Latinos are the largest U.S. minority group and are poised to play an increasingly important role in U.S. society. Public relations practitioners who work in politics should be interested in what motivates young Latinos to participate in politics. This study reports the findings of a national nonprobability survey with young Latinos (N = 434). The analysis explores how demographic variables, acculturation, political ideology and media use predict perceptions of the importance of immigration reform, reported political participation, and vote likelihood in the 2016 U.S. presidential election. Of the dependent variables, findings show that acculturation (β = ?0.13) only predicts perceptions of the importance of immigration reform, suggesting acculturation’s effects are issue specific. Interest in politics is the largest influential factor in predicting all of the dependent variables.