The aim of the thesis is to approach the issues of health and safety at work and work-related accidents in the construction industry. The theoretical part is devoted to the historical development of occupational health and safety in general, and consequently the development of inspection bodies operating in this area at present. Then there is also handled accident statistics for 2012. The practical part is a form of treatment for specific health and safety plan construction contract with a subsequent risk analysis.

To safeguard the health and well-being of faculty, students, staff, and the community is of moral imperative for higher education institutions. Likewise, protecting the environment is a socially sound practice. Furthermore, building and maintaining a positive safety culture is believed to contribute to productive environmental health and safety (EH&S) outcomes. Higher education EH&S leaders are at the center of universities’ efforts in maintaining a positive safety culture. The purpose of this inquiry was to study higher education EH&S leaders’ perspectives on safety culture and contribute to closing the academic literature gap in the higher education setting. Interviews and a survey were the data collection techniques. EH&S leaders of U.S. higher education institutions participated in the study. I used Cooper’s (2000, 2016) reciprocal safety culture model as a theoretical framework and a mixed methods research design to find answers to the research questions. The survey results revealed how EH&S leaders viewed different aspects of their operations, and findings from the interviews revealed the leaders’ lived experiences. For example, the quantitative study showed 100% of the participants strongly agree or agree that shaping the safety culture of their campus is part of their role. In addition, the qualitative data identified distinct strategies employed by leaders to shape the safety culture of their campuses. Four major themes were identified in the qualitative data. In the first theme, The Higher Education Safety Culture, the EH&S leaders reflected on their lived experiences and the importance of positive safety culture in accomplishing their goals. They mobilize their campus communities in a collective effort to achieve a healthy and safe working environment, minimize the impact on the environment, and remain compliant with regulatory requirements. The second theme, Higher Education Environmental Health and Safety Programs, stressed the plans and procedures the leaders and their departments engage in their daily operations. The third theme, Higher Education Management’s Role in Environmental Health and Safety Operations, manifested the leaders’ equivocal voice on the necessity of the higher education leadership and upper management support to fulfill their missions. The last theme, Modus Operandi of Higher Education Environmental Health and Safety Leaders, is about a range of strategies and tactics the EH&S leaders employed to succeed in a structured, bureaucratic, and challenging environment. The findings have direct implications for both higher education EH&S professionals and higher education senior leadership. The study findings implied EH&S leaders should focus their effort where it generates the best outcome, namely: (a) orchestrate the campus community toward a positive safety; (b) build and implement effective EH&S programs; (c) bring upper management and leadership aboard; (d) apply effective communication; (e) build trust; (f) define their role as a consultant; (g) stand out; and (h) create a brand, motto, and slogan where possible. For higher education senior leadership, participants emphasized the necessity of upper management and leadership support to build and maintain a positive safety culture on the campus, agreeing with Cooper (2000, 2016). This work helps contribute to making higher education senior leadership and upper management understand their role in their campuses’ safety culture and provide due support and actively participate. This study served as an initial exploration in understanding higher education EH&S leaders’ perspectives on safety culture and contributing to closing the literature gap. It also opened a door for future research. Broadening the audience to students, faculty, and staff are reasonable candidates for further research for a more comprehensive understanding of the safety culture in higher education. In addition, expanding the survey to include more EH&S leaders of higher education will elaborate on the EH&S operations, challenges, and sentiment.

Organisational and individual Health and Safety (H&S) competence is an essential element to the successful completion of a construction project in a safe way and without hazards to the health of all workforce. Under the Construction (Design and Management) (CDM) Regulations 2007, the client should take reasonable steps to ensure that the appointed duty-holders and engaged people are H&S competent to design, build or co-ordinate the project. Although the CDM Regulations 2007 and its Approved Code of Practice (ACoP) have established ‘Core Criteria’ to guide the client to assess duty-holders’ H&S competence in the outset of a project, it is still difficult for most inexperienced clients to discharge the duty of making the key decisions in H&S competence assessment. In order to help the client implement H&S competence assessment, it is important to develop a tool that can effectively and efficiently support the client to make reasonable decisions in the selection of H&S competent duty-holders. According to the findings of the case study of existing formal H&S competence assessment schemes undertaken as part of this work, H&S competence assessment was characterised as a subjective, qualitative and non-linear regulation-compliance checking process. In addition, the case study helped identify the latent shortcomings in the ‘Core Critiera’ and the operational drawbacks in current practice of implementing H&S competence assessment. Based on a review of Information Technology (I.T.) and Artificial Intelligence (A.I.) applications in construction, Knowledge-Based System (KBS) is identified as being a suitable tool to support decision-making in H&S competence assessment, mainly due to its appropriateness to solve regulation-compliance checking problems and support subjective and qualitative decision-making process. Following a decision-making framework for H&S competence assessment, a KBS decision-support model was developed, applying three mechanisms to support the reasonable decision-making for H&S competence assessment. In order to develop an appropriate and practical KBS for H&S competence assessment, a textual knowledge base was developed, specifying the minimum satisfaction standards and a rating indicator system for ‘Core Criteria’. As a result, an online KBS was developed using Java Server Pages (JSP) technology and MySQL. The online KBS applied the textual knowledge base to support the screen, rating, ranking and reporting decision-supporting mechanisms. Simultaneously, the case inquiry and expert inquiry facilities were also included in the KBS for effective decision-making. Finally, construction experts and practitioners in H&S management evaluated the validity and usability of the KBS through a questionnaire survey. The prototype KBS was borne out to be an effective and efficient decision-support tool for H&S competence assessment and have the potential to be applied in practice.

The impact of a mandatory Part 48 training program on the health and safety knowledge level of newly employed inexperienced miners in Texas was studied. Part 48 training was defined by compliance with Mine Safety and Health Administration's (MSHA) mandatory health and safety training requirements. A two-group pretest, posttest research design was utilized. Group one individuals were newly employed inexperienced persons who received mandatory Part 48 training in accordance with MSHA guidelines. Group two subjects were newly employed inexperienced persons who worked for companies that were exempt from conducting a Part 48 training program. MSHA's health and safety knowledge inventory was utilized. A significant difference was found in the health and safety training program when compared with individuals who did not receive the training . A significant difference was also found in the posttest scores for eight of the ten subject areas of the MSHA health and safety knowledge inventory for persons who completed a Part 48 training program when compared to persons who did not receive the training . Analysis of gain scores resulted in significant differences in the same subject areas indicated by posttest scores. It was concluded that MSHA Part 48 did have a significant impact on the health and safety knowledge level of newly employed inexperienced miners. Additional implications noted relate to the impact of a Part 48 training program on accidents, productivity, absenteeism, turnover, job satisfaction and management styles; role of MSHA in miner training; development of new training materials; methods of training; and the evaluation of health and safety training programs.

- 193 - Abstract This dissertation theses describes the topic of company health-care services. The thesis provides a complex analysis of providing company health-care services with particular focus on the connection of these services with the employment relations and the legal instruments governed by the Labour Code. The thesis focuses in particular on the topic of medical examinations and medical reports, as well as the unfitness to work due to health-related reasons as a reason for termination of employment or other employment-law consequences. Besides an analysis of the current legislation, the theses further deals with the current case law, and in particular the judicial decisions on medical reports and their review by administrative and civil courts. The thesis also describes related legal instruments in the field of personal data protection and liability for damages, and provides a short comparison of the analysed legal regulation and the regulation of public service.

Selected aspects of occupational safety and health protection Abstract This thesis focuses on legal regulation of selected aspects of occupational safety and health (OSH) protection in the context of Czech law. This is a classical area of labour law whose importance grows together with the growing complexity of working practices. The aim of the thesis is to provide a description of the current regulation and subsequently to analyse selected aspects related to the educational sector. The thesis is, apart from introduction and conclusion, divided into six chapters. In the first chapter, the historical development of OSH is outlined in order to give context to the consecutive chapters. The following chapter provides an overview of the sources of law, since the area of OSH is heavily influenced by the European as well as the international law and the regulation on the national level is considerably fragmented. In the third chapter attention is paid to the rights and obligations of the employer, which are analogous to the fourth chapter, concerning the rights and obligations of the employees (in the field of occupational safety and health). OSH is closely linked to the risk assessment, which is key to successful implementation of OSH standards and greatly helps to reduce occupational injuries and illnesses....

<p>Snežne lavine izazvane zemljotresima su fenomen koji se jo&scaron; uvek istražuje, iako je prisutan u skoro svim planinskim regionima &scaron;irom sveta. U okviru ove doktorske disertacije razvijena je i unapređena metoda procene bezbednosti i zdravlja na radu za slučaj snežnih lavina izazvanih zemljotresom. Osnovni cilj unapređene metode je smanjenje rizika na najmanji mogući nivo, odnosno prihvatanje najmanjeg mogućeg rezidualnog rizika, čije dalje smanjenje ili uklanjanje ne bi bilo isplativo. Unapređena metoda uzima u obzir niz faktora (duboku geologiju, sastav stena, visinu snežnog pokrivača, rasprostranjenost kritičnih nagiba, itd.) koji mogu da utiču na pojavu snežnih lavina uzrokovanih zemljotresom. Za verifikaciju metode uzet je skija&scaron;ki centar Kopaonik, koji nije dovoljno istražen, iako je jedan od najvećih centara u jugoistočnom delu Evrope.</p> / <p>Snow avalanches caused by earthquakes are a subject of many researches, even<br />though this phenomenon is present in mountain regions around the world. In this<br />doctoral dissertation, an improved method of assessing occupational health and safety<br />in cases of earthquake-induced snow avalanches has also been developed. The main<br />goal of the improved method is to reduce the risk to the smallest possible level, i.e. to<br />accept the least possible residual risk, the further reduction or removal of which would<br />not be profitable. This method takes into account a number of factors (deep geology,<br />rock composition, snow cover height, critical inclination distribution, etc.) that can affect<br />the occurrence of the earthquake-induced snow avalanches. For the verification of the<br />method, the ski center Kopaonik was analyzed, which has not been sufficiently<br />explored, although it is one of the largest ski centers in south-eastern part of Europe.</p>

<p>This dissertation examines lead exposure and effects across the lifespan among vulnerable populations. The vulnerable population that this dissertation focuses on are the elderly, newcomers to the US, which represents immigrants, as well as adolescents and women of childbearing age. The first chapter gives an introduction and highlights the history of lead as it relates to environmental and occupational exposure having deleterious effects on the human system. The second chapter highlights the association between blood lead level and subsequent Alzheimer’s disease (AD) mortality in those 65 years and older. Chapter 3 looks at whether length of time in the United States is a predictor of adolescent and adult blood lead levels. The fourth chapter assesses whether early life lead exposure is associated with AD mortality later in life. Adaptations of Chapter 2 and Chapter 3 of this dissertation have been submitted for publication.</p><p>Chapter 2 presents a longitudinal study of 8080 elders (≥60 years) with BLL data from the 1999-2008 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, where mortality was determined from linked 1999-2014 National Death Index data. In this study, a causal diagram presented causal assumptions and identified a sufficient set of confounders: age, sex, poverty, race/ethnicity, and smoking. Cox proportional hazard models were used to determine the association between BLL and subsequent AD mortality. Impacts of competing risks and design effect were also assessed. Adjusted hazard rate ratio (HRR) and 95% confidence interval (CI) were reported. Results showed that those with BLL of 1.5 μg/dL and 5 μg/dL had 1.2 (95% CI: 0.70, 2.1) and 1.4 (95% CI: 0.54, 3.8) times the rate of AD mortality compared to those with BLL of 0.3 μg/dL, respectively, after accounting for competing risks. Adjusted HRRs were 1.5 (95% CI 0.81, 2.9) and 2.1 (95% CI 0.70, 6.3), respectively, after considering design effect. This longitudinal study demonstrated a positive, albeit statistically non-significant association between BLL and AD mortality, after adjustment for competing risks or design effect.</p><p>Chapter 3 included cross-sectional 1580 women of childbearing age (15-45 years) and 5933 men and women (≥15 years) from the 2013-2016 United States National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Linear regression models adjusted for race/ethnicity, education, blood cotinine, age, sex (as appropriate) and accounted for complex survey design. Results showed that women of childbearing age who have lived 0-4 years in the US have, on average, a 43% (95% confidence interval (CI): 31%, 56%) higher BPb compared to women born in the US. Corresponding results for all adults and adolescents was 40% (95% CI: 28%, 51%). Similar, statistically significant, results were observed for other time periods (5-9 years, 10-19 years, and ≥20 years); the magnitude of the association decreased with increasing time in the US. Higher BPb was also significantly associated with Asian (vs. white), lower education, higher age, and male (vs. female).</p><p>Chapter 4 is an ecologic study utilizing data from the United States Census Bureau and American Fact Finder. This ecologic study uses publicly available data from the 1930s US census and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to compare estimated historic lead exposure with AD mortality rates among US states and Indiana counties. Occupations were assigned a numeric weight based on the likelihood of lead exposure. The proportion of workers in each occupation multiplied by this weight was used to create a historic lead exposure index; quintiles of this index were used in analyses. AD mortality rates among persons ≥ 65 years old from 1999-2016 were obtained from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The relationship between the historic exposure index and mortality was evaluated using correlation coefficients and linear regression models adjusting for age, sex, education, socioeconomic status (SES). Maps to characterize spatial pattern of historic lead exposure and AD mortality were completed using Geographic Information System (GIS) spatial analysis tools for the U.S. at state level and at county level for Indiana. Results showed that among states, the average AD mortality rate was 202.2 per 100,000 (SD=44.4). Within Indiana, the average AD mortality rate was 209.6 per 100,000 (SD= 64.9). Among Indiana counties, the unadjusted model shows an association of higher HEI with higher AD mortality, with the fifth quintile reaching statistical significance. Results for the adjusted model were not statistically significant. Results for US states for both unadjusted and adjusted regression models show that the third, fourth, and fifth quintiles of the historic exposure index were associated with a significantly lower AD mortality rate when compared to the lowest quintile.</p><p>Conclusion: The first study, using a longitudinal design, shows a positive but non-significant association between BLL and subsequent AD mortality after adjustments for competing risks or design effects. The second study, using a cross-sectional design, showed that newcomers to the US may be a population at higher risk for elevated BPb. The third, ecological study, did not find any significant association between historic lead exposure and AD mortality rates for Indiana counties, however there was a significant association of higher historic lead exposure index with lower AD mortality rates for states in the US.</p>

The circadian cycle, although seasonally adjusted, consists of two phases: a nocturnal period of darkness and a diurnal period of light. Many parameters of human physiology display either a nocturnal or diurnal peak as seen in athletic performance, immune, endocrine, physiology and cognitive function, respectively. The studies included in this thesis focused on the diurnal (morning or AM versus evening or PM) effect of high-intensity self-paced exercise on physiological and immunological measures and the influence of individual preference for activity or chronotype on these responses. Self-paced time-trials were completed in an environmental chamber (6°C) in the AM and PM and displayed a similar effect on physiological and biological parameters. Performance times were non-statistically quicker (P > 0.05) at PM. Physiological parameters heart rate, rate of perceived exertion, lung function and self-paced treadmill speed were not found to be statistically different at AM or PM trial (p > 0.05). Core body temperature (CBT), was significantly higher (p0.05). CD8+ T-lymphocyte cell-surface markers for naïve/senescence and differentiation (CD27CD45RA and CD27CD28) reported no diurnal difference between AM and PM exercise in experienced and experienced/recreational distance runners respectively (P > 0.05). However, a higher percentage of highly differentiated phenotypes were found in the recreationally active population. Neutrophils displayed a pronounced elevation in response to PM exercise with the mechanism driving this response unclear at this time. Cortisol concentration displayed less inflammatory responses in the morning compared to the evening with higher values pre, post and one-hour post AM trials. Chronotype showed no effect on physiology or biology at rest or in response to exercise. Chapter 4 presents data from a study that investigated diurnal physiology and immune response to high-intensity exercise in highly-trained men. Recreational and experienced endurance male runners at differing diurnal time-points were investigated in Chapter 5, while individual chronotype differences and circadian phase responses were explored in Chapter 6.In summary, it is concluded from this work that there was a lack of evidence showing a diurnal effect on running performance and subsequent immune response. Elevated circulating immune counts prior to exercise, irrespective of diurnal phase, appear to govern exercise-induced responses. The effect of high intensity exercise is subject to three distinct variables: the fitness status and experience of the individual completing the exercise, the time of day at which the exercise is undertaken, and the phase response of exercise at that point of the circadian cycle. No diurnal phase mediated a divergent effect on variables examined was observed at 09.00hrs and 17.00hrs. These time-points should be considered not sufficiently dissimilar to elucidate diurnal variation in trained and healthy males.

Researchers have linked physical activity (PA) with positive health outcomes. Unfortunately, PA in young people continues to be reported as a concern with many not achieving the recommended guidelines. Further, participation in childhood and adolescence is positively associated with PA into adulthood, highlighting the importance of PA habits in young people for lifelong participation. Gender, socio- economic status (SES), and motivation have all been shown to be important factors that influence participation, and as such are a focus of this thesis. Mixed methods research was adopted to ‘investigate the nature of PA in young people within a Scottish context' including quantitative (study one) and qualitative (studies two and three) methodologies. The initial motivation for study one emerged through my personal interest in understanding the nature of young people's participation in structured club activities and the role SES, gender and motivation play in a Scottish context. Sport is often used as a proxy for PA and as such, young people's participation is frequently reported on sports club based activities. On reflection, this focus on ‘weekly club activity sessions,' rather than a more broad, valid, and reliable measure of PA, limited the application of the findings. Nevertheless, the findings and reflection on the methods used in study one informed the direction of the thesis moving forward. More specifically, SES was found to be the strongest predictor of club activity participation, with those from higher SES taking part in more club activity sessions than those from lower SES. No significant gender differences in participation were found. While SES was the sole predictor of school club activities, perceived competence and intrinsic motivation were also important predictors of participation in out-of-school club activities. The regression models predicted between 5% and 27% of the variance in club participation, highlighting the multi-factorial nature of the influencers of participation. In order to understand the nature of PA more broadly in young people from lower SES within a Scottish context and to investigate the complexity of participation influencers, a qualitative methodology was used. Study two investigated low SES Scottish youths' PA experiences across key development stages (i.e., childhood, adolescence and newly identified early adulthood, study two). Results suggested that young people from low SES participate in a high variety of unstructured PA throughout their lives, which is under reported in the literature. Participation in structured sport based activities in childhood, particularly those in which a young person forms a sport ‘identity,' influences future adherence, but also engagement and enjoyment of school physical education (PE). For many young people, particularly those from less affluent backgrounds, school PE may be the only opportunity for them to participate in structured PA. While some young people embraced school PE, others perceived PE a threatening, so leading them to avoid or drop out altogether. Findings showed that in addition to previous experience, the nature of the PE climate also influenced participation as young people entered early adulthood. As well as shedding light on the broad nature of young people's PA from low SES backgrounds, the findings from study two highlighted the role that schools (e.g., through PE) have in influencing young people's PA and associated attitudes. Study three aimed to investigate young people's PA, motivational influences, and the role of schools from the perspective of qualified Scottish PE teachers, knowledgeable on policy issues and active in the development of future teachers. The main findings from study three showed that family influences (mostly parents) and SES were key towards the formation of young people's attitudes and behaviours towards PA, particularly in sports. Those young people with parents not showing any interest in PA were more likely to be inactive compared to those youngsters with active parents. Young people from lower SES backgrounds were less likely to participate in sports activities, thus preventing them from gaining the necessary experiences (and competencies) needed to successfully take part in many school PE activities. Also, this study found that secondary school PE is perceived by many pupils as threatening which subsequently led many to avoid PE altogether. Many young people are not achieving the curriculum expected health and well-being benefits through school PE. The results also highlighted the huge challenge and role conflict that is apparent for PE teachers in schools, which is a barrier to effective promotion of PA and positive attitudes in a range of young people. This thesis supports the contention that SES is an important factor in young people's PA. While those from lower SES were shown to participate in less structured sport club activity than those from higher SES, evidence emerged suggesting that young people from lower SES participate in a variety of unstructured PA which is underreported in the literature. The complexities of PA participation were also apparent where previous experience, parents and school PE were found to have important roles, which either facilitated or debilitated motivation, and participation. This thesis also highlighted that there are serious challenges in delivering an effective PE experience to pupils with a wide range of ability and backgrounds. These challenges were exacerbated by the vagueness of policy guidance (e.g., within Scotland's curriculum for excellence), the pressures of certification, and the mostly sport dominated culture of PE. Implications for policy and practice in relation to the motivational climate of PEemerged. Recommendations for future research and practice in this area are discussed.