The aim of this research is to inform conceptual approaches to health and safety (H&S) training for mineworkers in South Africa. The study focuses specifically on those mineworkers who have the least formal education or training, termed elementary workers (unskilled) and machinery operators and drivers (semi-skilled). It is an integrative literature review of sources drawn from mine health and safety in South Africa; self-efficacy; adult education and training (AET); education and training in mining; and relevant health promotion studies. The sources selected refer to work in the Southern African mine H&S context, or comparable situations. Compelling ideas and formulations for training are suggested in the literature of the different disciplines reviewed. A core concept considered is self-efficacy and the concept has substantial support in the literature. Both the term and concept of ‘self-efficacy’ have been used in South African and mining studies, but often without proper consideration of the sources of self-efficacy and its task- and context-specificity. The review reveals a lack of evidence of effective advocacy and training around generic mining occupational hazards, such as lung disease. H&S training is most evidently linked to operator training, which is aligned with unit-standards. However, substantial numbers of mineworkers lack adequate formal education for such training programmes, or the informal skills to be included via recognition of prior learning (RPL) processes. The proposed role of H&S representatives appears demanding, but the associated skills training outlined in public unit standards, lacks essential elements. The findings identify key considerations for an underpinning approach to H&S training for elementary mineworkers. These are: new learning required; risk perception and management; existing and associated logics; team ethos; maintaining new learning and practice; and a dialogic aspect to programmes. Additional findings suggest that the convergent effects of different policies result in the training of the least educated mineworkers being marginalised. The study concludes with six propositions that relate to the research and development of H&S training for mineworkers, public evidence of training, policy effects and the predicament of mineworkers who lack formal education. / Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2011. / Education Management and Policy Studies / unrestricted

Byggbranschen är en riskfylld industri med ett stort antal olyckor i jämförelse med andra branscher, vilket är en indikation på att åtgärder för att hindra detta krävs. Samtidigt har digitaliseringen framgångsrikt etablerats mer och mer trots att det gått långsamt jämfört med andra branscher. Många positiva effekter på arbetsmiljöarbetet har påvisats men än så länge har produktionen varit svår att nå. Frågan kring hur den svenska branschen ligger till med digitaliseringen för att förbättra arbetsmiljöarbetet kvarstår. Examensarbetets syfte är därmed att beskriva nuläget samt belysa möjligheter och utmaningar med digitaliseringen av arbetsmiljöarbetet. En annan anledning till studien är att identifiera viktiga faktorer för implementeringen av digitala verktyg och ta reda på hur framtiden kan se ut. En kvalitativ intervjustudie användes för datainsamlingen där nio respondenter deltog. Studiens resultat visar på att åtgärder och ansträngningar inom arbetsmiljöarbetet har förbättrats under de senaste åren men ännu finns det mycket kvar att göra. Våra resultat visade att digitala verktyg ofta används för arbetsmiljöarbetet men det uppstod en diskussion om vad som är digitalt och inte. Mallar i olika format används fortfarande i många situationer och ses inte som digitalt för alla. Det finns stora möjligheter med digitaliseringen av arbetsmiljöarbetet. Några av dem är ökad kontroll, tidsbesparingar och enklare kommunikation. Även då det finns stora möjligheter finns en del utmaningar bland annat antalet verktyg, en lagstiftning som fortfarande inte fullt ut tillåter en fullständig digitalisering för detta ändamål samt att det finns ett motstånd mot förändring. För att enklare kunna implementera digitala verktyg är det viktigt att visa på nyttan, börja smått, identifiera nyckelpersoner som kan leda förändringen och leverera tydliga strategier. I framtiden önskas mer standardiseringar, ökade krav från byggherrar samt ett större involverande från fler projektdeltagare. / The construction industry is hazardous with a high number of accidents compared to other industries, which is an indication that actions to prevent those are required. Meanwhile, digitalization is successively established in the construction industry, however, not with the same pace as in other industries. Digitalization generates several positive effects on occupational health and safety, but has so far had limited success in the production phase. As of today, the present status of digitalization in order to improve occupational health and safety in the Swedish construction industry remains unclear. Therefore, the purpose of this thesis is to identify the current status and describe the existing opportunities and challenges with digitalization for occupational health and safety. Moreover, another reason for this study is to identify important factors for the implementation of digital tools and find out what the future may hold. In order to study the present status, a qualitative interview study was performed for the data collection where nine representatives participated. The results of the study show that actions and efforts in occupational health and safety has improved over the last years, although much more is yet to be done. Furthermore, our results show that digital tools are often used in occupational health and safety. There is, however, a discussion around what is digital and what is not. Templates in different forms, for instance, are still used in various situations and are not to be seen as digital for some. As of today, there are great benefits with the digitalization of the work of occupational health and safety, including increased control, time savings and easier communication. On the other hand, there are a number of challenges, including the vast number of digital tools, a legislation that still not fully approves a complete digitalization for this purpose, and it exists a resistance to change. To be able to more easily implement digital tools, it is important to highlight benefits, start small, identify key persons that can lead the change and provide clear strategies. In the future, there is a wish for a greater degree of standardizations, increased requirements from clients and finally involvement of more project participants.

Thesis (M.COM. (Accounting)) -- University of Limpopo, 2022 / The corporate sustainability performance (CSP) journey is coupled with many complex issues which have subsequently eliminated the boundary between legal and discretionary social practices. In South African JSE SRI listed organisations, sustainability performance programmes are regarded as tools for redressing socioeconomic disparities. However, the influence of sustainability performance on organisations‟ financial performance becomes a vital notion in contemporary sustainable development debates as evidenced by extensive inconclusive literature that has its long roots in the research field. The aim of the study is to examine how corporate sustainability performance influences organisations‟ financial performance which is return on assets (ROA). Through content analysis, secondary data were extracted from annual integrated reports of 175 purposively sampled South African organisations registered on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE SRI Index) for the years 2009-2019. The study employs cross-sectional time series feasible generalised least regression (FGLS) to test the correlation between the dimensions of corporate sustainability performance and return on assets as a proxy for organisational financial performance. The study results confirm that employees‟ health and safety sustainability performance programmes have a significant and positive impact on return on assets, whereas CSP programmes in community social activities have a positive and significant influence on return on assets. An insignificant relationship exists between Eco-investments (socially responsible investments) and return on assets (ROA). The study concluded that there is a significant association between CSP and ROA. The findings further confirm that control variables (leverage ratio, current ratio, total assets turnover, operating profit margin and price earnings ratio) have an effect on the correlation between CSP and ROA. The results have potential implications for corporate sustainability performance policy makers in South Africa, and contribute to corporate sustainability performance/organisations‟ financial performance debate. The study further stresses that continuous review of CSP policies is imperative to ensure that sustainable business practices are achieved.

The oil and gas industry in Libya has suffered a number of health and safety accidents including environmental disasters due to the nature of the work involved and the hazardous materials it handles in all facets of exploration and production. Such issues have hitherto not received due attention by the Libyan Authorities. The fact that strict HSE assessment standards are neither well-defined nor established in Libya is not helpful. Furthermore, oil and gas industry in new free Libya has suffered immensely during the 2011 Arab Spring and its rebuilding poses a number of critical HSE challenges. The purpose of the research is to develop and validate a HSE Performance Review Methodology for Libyan oil and gas industry based on clearly defined and measurable aspects for assessment. The thesis starts by performing a comprehensive literature review on all aspects of HSE including universal standards. The review indicates that there is a gap in respect of semi-qualitative methods for assessing HSE performance commensurate with other disciplines. The thesis then identifies four key research problems in the context of Libyan oil and gas industries. Based on these problems, an empirical research was conducted and included three distinct Stages. Stage 1 consisted of a pilot study based on an interview questionnaire with 15 experienced HSE professionals working in oil and gas companies in Libya to help identify key issues pertaining to HSE assessment. Data analysis results for Stage 2 have been used to derive a list of 12 main groups of HSE questions which have then been tested on 84 HSE professionals working in Libya stemming from 35 medium and large oil and gas companies. Modal distribution analyses have been performed to scope down the number of HSE performance factors, which would then be used in Stage 3 of the empirical research. This consisted of issuing the same 84 interviewees with a questionnaire requesting their assessment of how Critical, Important and Less Important were the 60 factors identified. Central Tendency, Variation Ratios and Indices of Diversity were used to successfully analyse the data. With the QAA Subject Review in mind as a potential model for the sought methodology, and a mapping of the four research problems with data analysis results from Stages 1, 2 and 3; six HSE Performance Review Aspects emerged: Prevention, Surveillance, Response, Achievements, Resource and HSE Management and Enhancement – judged and graded using a 1 to 4 scale. The HSE Performance Review methodology has been validated by direct application to five comprehensive studies starting from the self-assessment document written by the companies, an extensive review visit by peer-assessors and a final report showing grades, benchmarks and shortcomings. Lessons learned from the validation exercise have been used to revise the definition of the six Aspects and used to propose an appropriate implementation plan in Libya. The results of the validation exercise are very encouraging and readily confirm that the methodology can be applied to other industry sectors.

No description available.

The outputs that form the basis of this PhD submission include a web site that summarises a unique collection of over 200 Court Judgments in personal injury claims for work-related upper limb disorders heard in the UK, together with a number of more conventional publications. Individually, these outputs all address upper limb disorders associated with work although they each had slightly different objectives and the audiences for which they were produced significantly influenced the type of publication in which they appeared. Together, they help illustrate when, how and, to some extent, why upper limb disorders associated with keyboard use became the issue it did in the UK in the late 1980s and 1990s. While many might now regard keyboard or computer use as an innocuous task, in the late 1980s and 1990s upper limb disorders associated with keyboard use, particularly computer use, became the subject of litigation, legislation, industrial disputes and widespread publicity. The outputs on which this submission is based, together, suggest that following the importation of the concept of repetitive strain injuries (RSI) from Australia in the later 1980s, the activities of trades unions and journalists in the UK promoted work-relevant upper limb symptoms and disorders associated with keyboard use as work-induced injuries. Subsequently, a small number of successful, union-backed, personal injury claims, which involved contentious medical evidence and perhaps an element of iatrogenesis, were widely promoted as proof that computer use causes injury. Around the same time, the government chose to implement flawed Regulations relating to the design and use of computer workstations, which failed to distinguish between that which might give rise to discomfort, fatigue and frustration and that which might give rise to injury. The existence of these Regulations, which among other things require regular, individual risk assessments of computer users, unlike any other type of work, could be interpreted as further 'proof' that computer use causes injury. The approach to the prevention and management of musculoskeletal disorders advocated in current HSE guidance, including the risk assessment strategy, remain capable of generating distorted perceptions of the risks arising from keyboard and computer use.

Health and safety issues have always been a major problem and concern in the construction industry. Wherever reliable records are available, construction is found to be one of the most dangerous on health and safety criteria, particularly in developing countries. Efforts have been made to address this problem, but the results have been far from satisfactory, as construction accidents continue to dominate the overall construction industry. Despite the programs implemented by government authorities and measures introduced by companies themselves, the number of construction accidents still remains alarmingly high. In developing countries, safety rules usually do not exist; if they do, the regulatory authority is usually very weak in implementing such rules effectively. The UAE is one of developing countries that are currently enjoying a strong growth in construction activities. Unfortunately, some sectors of its construction industry suffer from poor safety and health conditions. Any framework of the existing occupational and health conditions is fragmented and inadequately enforced, making construction sites more hazardous. It may even be argued that relevant regulations are outdated and irrelevant in day-to-day construction operations. From this perspective this research explores the approved methods adopted in the UK in order to improve the existing code of practice in the UAE and thus introduce the foundations on which appropriate health and safety systems may be built. A framework for Health and Safety management in the UK is suggested. To reach this objective an overview of the published materials as well as the legislation has been undertaken. Questionnaires were designed and distributed to potential construction industry players and interview sessions have been conducted to meet the first objective of the project which to determine the health and safety measures currently applied on construction sites. In addition, structured interviews were carried out with selected managers from a selection of construction and oil companies, medium and large size. This thesis specifically, it investigates the safety perceptions, attitudes, and behaviour of construction workers and management safety practices. Based upon the analysis of the results, this study has demonstrated that the majority of those questioned UAE construction companies have a poor degree of risk awareness and do not seems to take health and safety as an important issue.

The wide scale use of ZnO nanoparticles (NPs) in the world consumer market has resulted in likelihood of exposure to human beings. The present study was aimed to assess the in vitro and in vivo interactions of ZnO NPs in the mammalian system and to elucidate the possible mechanism of their toxicity. Our in vitro results using human epidermal cells (A431), primary human epidermal keratinocytes and human liver cells (HepG2) demonstrated that cells exposed to ZnO NPs exhibit a decrease in cell viability which was independent of NP dissolution. ZnO NPs also induced oxidative DNA damage as evidenced by an increase in the Fpg sensitive sites. The reactive oxygen species triggered a decrease in mitochondrial membrane potential and an increase in the ratio of Bax/Bcl2 leading to apoptosis through the intrinsic pathway. In addition, ZnO NPs induced phosphorylation of JNK, P38 and P53ser15. The results from our in vivo studies using a mouse model showed that ZnO NPs induce lipid peroxidation, oxidative DNA damage and apoptosis in liver which further confirmed our in vitro findings. The data from the present study provide valuable insights into the cellular interactions of ZnO NPs and the underlying molecular mechanism of their toxicity. The results also stress the need for a comprehensive environmental health and safety assessment of engineered nanomaterials to ensure safer nanotechnology based products.

This thesis aims at investigating the importance of effective implementation of health safety and hygiene legislations and practices in Health Care delivery systems. A new System Based Approach for Strategic Implementation of Occupational Health & Safety Practices is proposed in this thesis. The underlying principle of the approach is based on involvement and inputs from staff and management rather than by pre-specified requirements and objectives. Furthermore, the development process is a closed loop process that provides a mechanism for continuously evaluating system performance and monitoring activities that have considerable impact on health and safety practices. A case study was conducted in the medical laboratories of five major hospitals in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi. Data were collected through questionnaires, staff interviews, and reviewing laboratory safety reports compiled over a three years period. The main conclusions from this study are: 1. The proposed approach has proven to be useful in analyzing existing health and safety systems. The methodology and tools proved to be instrumental in defining inefficiencies and determining the status of the Health & Safety policies & practices in the selected medical laboratories. 2. Effective implementation of the proposed approach has shown improvements in productivity, operational cost, service quality, staff and management satisfaction. 3. The case study has demonstrated that a developing country such the UAE, with no previously existing Health & Safety legislation and little risk prevention culture, can rapidly and effectively introduce effective industry specific H&S by adopting an integrated systems based approach. 4. UAE has highly advanced and economically developing base, there is a general willingness at senior level within the UAE to achieve high levels of competence and standards in all industrial sectors. 5. CAP is a system based management tool which has been implemented globally, but only limited in the gulf region; CAP has been implemented by the author and colleges within Zayed Military Hospital between 2003-2007.

<p>This thesis identifies and systematizes two categories ofpractical problems that stem from work and working environmentcontexts: workplace privacy and occupational health risks. Thefocus of the discussion is on ethical justification. Do we havereason to accept a certain level of (potential) harm toemployees by virtue of the fact that they are employees, and ifso, under what circumstances? The thesis consists of a briefintroduction and three essays.</p><p>In<i>Essay</i>I, it is argued that employees have a prima facieright to privacy, but that this right can be overridden bycompeting moral principles that follow, explicitly orimplicitly, from the contract of employment. Three types ofjustification are specified: those that refer to the employer'sinterests, those that refer to the interests of the employee,and those that refer to the interests of third parties. A setof ethical criteria is developed and used in the subsequentessay to determine the moral status of infringement ofworkplace privacy.</p><p>In<i>Essay</i>II, these criteria are applied to three broadcategories of intrusive workplace practices: (1) monitoring andsurveillance, (2) genetic testing, and (3) drug testing.Scenarios are used to show that such practical ethical problemscan be handled systematically using proposed guidelines. It isalso shown that some practices are dubious and at least some ofthem can be replaced by less intrusive means of ensuring thedesired outcome, for instance efficiency or safety in aworkplace.</p><p><i>Essay</i>III deals with the fact that health and safetystandards for employees are less protective than those thatapply to the public. Emphasis is put on the distinction betweenexposure and risk, and this distinction is claimed to be a keyfactor in the relevance of arguments in favour of such doublestandards. The analysis of 'double standards' for public andoccupational exposure to risk aims to show that a justificationof such standards is closely linked to two separate types ofissues, namely empirical and normative issues. It is claimedthat this kind of differentiation seems to be supported neitherby a reasonable conception of the contract of employment nor byany obvious ethical principle that is applicable to workplacesor work situations in general.</p><p><b>Key words:</b>Contract of employment, double standards,drug testing, ethics, ethical justification, exposure, genetictesting, health and safety standards, privacy, surveillance,risks, work, work environment</p>