Support system for management of shares ergonomic

This article discusses the development of a computerized support to demands for treatment of a wide spectrum and diverse nature. Developed under SPM platform (Situa??o, Problema e Melhoria), the practitioner seeks to provide an ergonomic aid from the identification and characterization of the processes of analysis demands. The interest of a technological support the practice of ergonomics is a domestic origin, which already features a wide universe. For purposes of this article will be drawn the line defined by the universe in the Federal Public Service occupations within the guidelines set Subsystem Integrated System for Health Care Workers of the Federal Government. The development of this system initially intended to assist the practitioner in ergonomics mapping situations in which the federal public servant has been undergoing for the second time that can classify and then treat them.     

Evaluation and control of ergonomics actions in federal public service: the case of FIOCRUZ-RJ

This article presents information about the development of the dissertation. Deals with the production of ergonomic diagnosis in the environments and work processes of an important center of research and development in Public Health, FIOCRUZ. Critically evaluates the performance of a team promoting and facilitating the process of implementing ergonomic changes suggested. Through analysis of documents and statements by some managers and representatives of Human Resources was possible to identify the factors that facilitate and hinder the implementation process, linking them to the organization of the institution and conduct of the agents involved. Finally, it makes a reflection on practice, results and developments involved in the processes of change initiated by the ergonomic actions, proposing its replication along with other institutes of the Civilian Personnel of Federal Public Administration.     

Lambie-Mumford,H. Silvasti,T. (ed.): The Rise of Food Charity in Europe

VOLUNTAS: International Journal of Voluntary and Nonprofit Organizations -     

Comparison: Israeli families anxiety from SCUD missiles versus Palestinian families anxiety since the Intifada

This is a study of 309 Palestinian families comparing their current trauma with the trauma experienced by Israeli families during the Gulf War during the SCUD missile attacks. Both populations have experienced adaptations of trauma but the Palestinian fathers have generally been more effected than their counterpart Israeli fathers. There are less reported symptoms of trauma when the victims have an active role to resist trauma.     

Ergonomic sustainability based on the ergonomic maturity level measurement

This paper aims at the application of an ergonomic maturity model (EMM), in order to assess the ergonomic sustainability outreach of ergonomic actions. This proposition was motivated by the widespread sensation that the development of the discipline, its educational devices and related practices depends on the attitude of ergonomics practitioners rather than environmental macroergonomic conditions. Maturity modeling in this paper is undertaken as a tool for ergonomic practitioners. Thus, its foundations were uprooted from diverse fields: Clinic Psychology, Quality Management and Project Management. The paper brings about a detailled explanation of this ergonomic maturity tool. The empirical part is fulfilled by the examination - using the EMM - of four emblematic cases excerpted from our research lab ergonomic portfolio.     

Analysis of the implementation of ergonomic design at the new units of an oil refinery

Ergonomic design is the adaptation of working conditions to human limitations and skills in the physical design phase of a new installation, a new working system, or new products or tools. Based on this concept, the purpose of this work was to analyze the implementation of ergonomic design at the new industrial units of an oil refinery, using the method of Ergonomic Workplace Assessment. This study was conducted by a multidisciplinary team composed of operation, maintenance and industrial safety technicians, ergonomists, designers and engineers. The analysis involved 6 production units, 1 industrial wastewater treatment unit, and 3 utilities units, all in the design detailing phase, for which 455 ergonomic requirements were identified. An analysis and characterization of the requirements identified for 5 of the production units, involving a total of 246 items, indicated that 62% were related to difficult access and blockage operations, while 15% were related to difficulties in the circulation of employees inside the units. Based on these data, it was found that the ergonomic requirements identified in the design detailing phase of an industrial unit involve physical ergonomics, and that it is very difficult to identify requirements related to organizational or cognitive ergonomics.     

Musculoskeletal reported symptoms among aircraft assembly workers: a multifactorial approach

The aim of this study was to evaluate factors associated with reported work-related musculoskeletal symptoms among aircraft assembly workers. Population consisted of 552 (491 men/61 women) workers who performed tasks related to the work of aircraft assembly. Participants completed a comprehensive questionnaire, including socio-demographic information, habits/lifestyles, working conditions, and work organization. Workers also answered the Nordic Musculoskeletal Questionnaire to obtain data on musculoskeletal symptoms. Multivariate logistic regression was performed to analyze factors associated with musculoskeletal reported symptoms. Results showed that body regions with the highest prevalence of reported musculoskeletal symptoms were similar when referred the past twelve months and the past seven days. Significant factors associated with musculoskeletal symptoms included variables related to conflicts at work, sleep problems, mental fatigue, and lack of time for personal care and recovery. Working time in the industry was associated only with reports for the last seven days and regular physical activity off-work seems to be a positive factor in preventing musculoskeletal symptoms for the past twelve months. The results highlight the multi-factorial nature of the problem. Actions to prevent musculoskeletal diseases at the aircraft assembly work should consider multiple interventions that would promote better recovery between work shifts.     

Exploring the organization of daily life among women with disabilities in Belo Horizonte,Brazil: perspectives of functionality and temporality

Time is a fundamental instrument of orientation for social life, and it is closely intertwined with both public and private spaces and the resources contained therein. The aim of this study is to describe and analyse the organization of daily life among women with disabilities in Belo Horizonte, Brazil, from the perspective of temporality. Results were obtained by a combination of quantitative and qualitative methods, using a sample of 50 women with physical/motor disabilities. They self-reported difficulties when walking and/or climbing stairs. The analysis of time use by individuals with disabilities revealed six main types of activities associated with daily life: personal care, paid work, studying, housework, free time, and travelling from one place to another. The results reveal that although the daily lives of these women are hampered by their functional limitations, their lives are also directly influenced by their physical and social contexts and their attitudes.     

Moving from sustainable management to sustainable governance of natural resources: The role of social learning processes in rural India,Bolivia and Mali

The present paper discusses a conceptual, methodological and practical framework within which the limitations of the conventional notion of natural resource management (NRM) can be overcome. NRM is understood as the application of scientific ecological knowledge to resource management. By including a consideration of the normative imperatives that arise from scientific ecological knowledge and submitting them to public scrutiny, ‘sustainable management of natural resources’ can be recontextualised as ‘sustainable governance of natural resources’. This in turn makes it possible to place the politically neutralising discourse of ‘management’ in a space for wider societal debate, in which the different actors involved can deliberate and negotiate the norms, rules and power relations related to natural resource use and sustainable development. The transformation of sustainable management into sustainable governance of natural resources can be conceptualised as a social learning process involving scientists, experts, politicians and local actors, and their corresponding scientific and non-scientific knowledges. The social learning process is the result of what Habermas has described as ‘communicative action’, in contrast to ‘strategic action’. Sustainable governance of natural resources thus requires a new space for communicative action aiming at shared, intersubjectively validated definitions of actual situations and the goals and means required for transforming current norms, rules and power relations in order to achieve sustainable development. Case studies from rural India, Bolivia and Mali explore the potentials and limitations for broadening communicative action through an intensification of social learning processes at the interface of local and external knowledge. Key factors that enable or hinder the transformation of sustainable management into sustainable governance of natural resources through social learning processes and communicative action are discussed.     

Does Frequency of Interruptions Amplify the Effect of Various Types of Interruptions? Experimental Evidence

The aim of this experiment was to determine if the frequency of interruptions during an interaction amplifies the effect of the type of the interruptions on the interruptee (the amplification hypothesis). While interviewing 90 participants, two confederates manipulated four different kinds of interruptions (change-subject, same-subject, disagreement, and supportive interruptions) at two different frequencies (mean rates, 1.58 and 2.94 per minute), in addition to a no-interruption control condition. At the end of the interview, the participants were asked to answer questions about themselves, the interlocutor, and the situation. The results showed that the negative effects of change- and same-subject interruptions were amplified when they were more frequent, as were the positive effects of supportive interruptions. Contrary to expectations, disagreement interruptions were regarded as positive. All the results provide support for the amplification hypothesis.