In mid-1987, the existing workers’ compensation system in New South Wales was replaced by a new Scheme, called ‘WorkCover’. While WorkCover solved a number of the financial problems that had plagued its predecessor, its enactment created other issues. Furthermore, WorkCover has failed to deal with a number of gaps in providing compensation for occupational injuries, most notably those suffered by independent contractors. By combining a study of aspects of industrial law and industrial relations, this thesis will examine some of those problems and gaps, in particular: (a) Should WorkCover be amended to enable independent contractors to come within its ambit? (b) Should there be additional insurance cover available (known as ‘top-up’ insurance) to insure those parts of workers’ wages presently left unprotected by WorkCover? (c) Should workers be permitted to take out another form of ‘top-up’ insurance to increase the quantum of death cover presently provided by the Scheme? (d) Should independent contractors who arc permitted to enter WorkCover also be permitted to obtain the extended cover set out in (b) and (c) above? Where appropriate, the thesis compares WorkCover to the workers’ compensation schemes in other Australian jurisdictions. It develops each of the matters referred to above by referring to the results of the writer’s survey of members of the Institution of Engineers (NSW Branch) which was conducted in May and June 1991.

The site investigation phase plays a vital role in any foundation design where inadequate characterisation of the subsurface conditions may lead to either a significantly over designed foundation that is not cost-effective, or an under-designed foundation, which may result in foundation failure. As such, the scope of an investigation should be dependent on the conditions at the site and the importance of the structure. However, it is common for the expense dedicated to the site investigation to be a fraction of the total cost of the project, and is typically determined by budget and time constraints, and the experience and judgement of the geotechnical engineer. However, additional site investigation expenditure or sampling is expected to reduce the financial risk of the design by reducing the uncertainties in the geotechnical system and protecting against possible foundation failures. This research has quantified the relative benefits of undertaking site investigations of increased and differing scope. This has been achieved by simulating the design process to yield a foundation design based on the results of a site investigation. Such a design has been compared to an optimal design that utilises the complete knowledge of the soil, which has only been possible due to the use of simulated soils. Comparisons between these two design types indicate the performance of the site investigation to accurately or adequately characterise the site conditions. Furthermore, the design based on the results of the site investigation have been analysed using the complete knowledge of the soil. This yields a probability of failure and, therefore, has been included in a risk analysis where the costs associated with the site investigation have been measured against the financial risk of the design. As such, potential savings in financial risk for increased site investigation expenditure have been subsequently identified. A Monte Carlo analysis has been used in this research to incorporate the uncertainties in the foundation design process. Uncertainties have been included due to soil variability; sampling errors; measurement and transformation model errors; and errors related to the use of a simplified foundation response prediction method. The Monte Carlo analysis has also provided the means to obtain results in a probabilistic framework to enable reliability and risk analyses. Computer code has been specifically developed with an aim to: generate a simulated soil that conforms to the variability of soil properties; simulate a site investigation to estimate data for a foundation design; simulate the design of a foundation and conduct a reliability and risk analysis of such a design. Results indicate that there are significant benefits to be derived from increasing the scope of a site investigation in terms of the risk and reliability of the foundation design. However, it also appears that an optimal site investigation scope or expenditure exists where additional expenditure leads to a design with a higher financial risk due to the increased cost of the site investigation. The expected savings in terms of financial risk are significant when compared to the increased investigation cost. These results will assist geotechnical engineers in planning a site investigation in a more rational manner with knowledge of the associated risks. / http://proxy.library.adelaide.edu.au/login?url= http://library.adelaide.edu.au/cgi-bin/Pwebrecon.cgi?BBID=1255275 / Thesis(Ph.D.) -- School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, 2006

In this study, it is defined to treat the sources of work passion as independent variables and to treat organizational commitments as dependent variables. Based on the test samples of high-tech research and development engineers, it is intended to figure out the relationship between all variables and how they affect eath other. Futhermore, using person-organization fit and person-job fit as interference variables to study the interference among all variables. Totally 1,035 questionnaires are issued and get 642 valid copies returned. By using reliability analysis, factor analysis, on-way ANOVA, correlation analysis, multiple linear regression and hierarchical regression to analyze questionnaire data, the result is summarized as follows, 1.A positive relationship between the sources of work passion and organizational commitments. 2.The sources of work passion and organizational commitments differ significantly depending on personal attributes. 3.Person-organization fit and person-job fit interfere the relationship between the sources of work passion and organizational commitments.

The purpose of the present study was to integrate findings from commitment (organizational and professional commitment), its antecedents (especially in terms of personal characteristics), and pay satisfaction literature into a more comprehensive model that would further enhance the understanding of the full concept of commitment, which has been regarded as an important variable in appreciating the work behaviour of employees in organizations. The present study contributed to the literature on commitment in five important ways: (1) Consideration of multiple commitments was included in this study; organizational and professional commitment were examined in a multidimensional way; (2) Since different organizational and professional commitment varied across occupations (Wallace, 1993), it was worthwhile to explore the commitment orientation of R&D engineers in the electronics industry of Taiwan; (3) Direct effects of personal characteristics on two forms of commitment were measured; (4) Moderating effects of pay satisfaction on the relationship between personal characteristics and commitment were observed; (5) Whether there was a complementary or incompatible association between organizational commitment and professional commitment was examined. Several significant and interesting findings of this study are presented as follows. (1)Given that a higher education level has been considered to predispose individuals to lower organizational commitment, but stronger professional commitment, this idea was tested, and as hypothesized, R&D engineers with higher levels of education did report lower commitment to stay in the same organization but stronger value commitment to their profession, as well as stronger commitment to stay in the same profession. However, higher education levels did not cause lower value commitment to the organization. Indeed, it was found in this study that pay satisfaction moderated respectively, the relationship among different education levels, the commitment to stay in the same organization, the value commitment to the profession, and the commitment to stay in the same profession. (2)It was supported that a higher position demonstrated stronger commitment to stay in the same organization. Pay satisfaction moderated the relationship between different position level and commitment to stay in the same organization, as well as commitment to stay in the same profession. (3)As hypothesized, increased age correlated with stronger organizational commitment. It was also confirmed that pay satisfaction moderated the relationship between age and organization commitment. However, there was no significant relationship between increased age and professional commitment. Nor did pay satisfaction influence the relationship between age and professional commitment. (4)The hypothesis that increased organization tenure led to increased organizational commitment but decreased professional commitment was rejected. However, the hypothesis that pay satisfaction moderated the relationship between organizational tenure and organizational commitment was supported. (5)The hypothesis that women tended to demonstrate lower organizational and professional commitment was partially supported. Women reported lower value commitment to the organization, lower value commitment to the profession and lower commitment stay in the same profession, than their male counterparts. However, the relationship between gender and commitment to stay in the same organization was not supported, but pay satisfaction was found to moderate the relationship between gender and commitment to stay in the same organization. (6)This study confirmed that married engineers had stronger commitment to stay in the same organization and that pay satisfaction moderated the relationship between marital status and organizational and professional commitment, except for the value commitment to the profession. (7)In spite of the value commitment to the organization, however, it was found that the more dependents, the higher organizational commitment and the less professional commitment was demonstrated. That pay satisfaction moderated the relationship between number of dependents and organizational commitment was approved in this study. (8)The hypothesis that the more income an individual received, the higher organizational and professional commitment s/he demonstrated, was supported. However, a negative relationship was found between income and commitment to stay in the same organization. As anticipated, pay satisfaction moderated the relationship between salary level and organizational commitment. (9)A positive relationship between organizational and professional commitment was found in this study.

Thesis (M.B.A.)--University of Hong Kong, 1987.

Thesis (Ph.D)--History, Technology and Society, Georgia Institute of Technology, 2010. / Committee Chair: Pearson, Willie, Jr.; Committee Member: Bauchspies, Wenda; Committee Member: Damarin, Amanda; Committee Member: Shapira, Philip; Committee Member: Wong, Raymong. Part of the SMARTech Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Collection.

In this study information-related activities engaged in by engineers during work task performance in the research and development centre at Sandvik Materials Technology AB are investigated. The purpose of the present study was to identify and achieve an understanding of the information-related activities performed by engineers during work task performance in a corporate context. The work task performance in focus is the task of writing a technical report.The study rests on methodological triangulation through the use of a work task diary, a semi-structured questionnaire and focus groups. In total 16 engineers participated in the study. The theoretical framework is based on theories of information in social practice, the information seeking process and the concept of task.The study presents results showing that engineers work in a highly complex information environment and their work task performance is to a high degree affected by situational attributes such as previous experience, type of work task, time, target group, and access to information. The results show that the information sources preferred by engineers have not changed over time; rather a change is seen in the type of sources. There is a distinct increase in the use of electronic sources; which in turn seem to affect the way engineers perceive accessibility. The study also shows that there are evident situational and contextual attributes affecting the information-related activities. Information needed to perform a work task is strongly related to data retrieved from experiments. There also seems to be an embedded tolerance for a low scientific level in technical reports, even though the scientific practice is the norm.This study also shows that the concept of work task forms a relevant basis for studies of information-related activities, particularly in combination with theories on information in social practice. The model of the work task process combined with a faceted classification of work tasks provides a sound methodological tool for the analysis of work tasks in different contexts.

M. Tech. Business Administration / Work Integrated Learning forms part of all the engineering programmes at the Universities of Technologies and need to be effectively and efficiently managed as poor management thereof could negatively affect the students and the throughput of the university as a whole. This study investigates the factors impacting the management of the Work Integrated Learning programme at a University of Technology. Such factors include the preparation, placement, registration, mentoring, and monitoring as well as the assessment and debriefing during the undertaking of Work Integrated Learning for engineering students at a Universities of Technology.

M. Tech. Human Resources Management / The purpose of the research was to develop a list of priority training needs for engineers in the platinum mining industry. In the current skills shortage, it is imperative to reconsider engineering disciplines or qualifications in relation to the engineering skills in the mining industry, taking cognisance of the list of training priorities in the platinum mining sector. The study intended to achieve the following objectives: to develop a list of priority training needs of the engineers in the platinum mining industry; and to determine if there is correlation between the training needs of engineers in the platinum mining industry.

This thesis will identify what career paths, advanced degrees, and supportive industries best enable engineers and other highly technical professionals to move past middle management layers into executive leadership. Specific questions to be addressed include: 1. Which technical degrees most often lead to CEO appointments? 2. Which industries offer the most advancement opportunities for technical degree graduates? 3. Which advanced degrees are most useful for ascension into CEO ranks? This research is specifically geared to extend the key learnings of the University of Texas at Austin Executive Engineering Management curriculum giving the reader foresight into what executive career paths are available for those with technical degrees. / text