The aim of diploma thesis was to create a sequence of snowboard exercises for primary school pupils. These exercises were then tested with children from Základní škola T. G. Masaryka Vimperk, aged 6 to 10 years. In order to create and test the methodical sequence, two winter training sessions were organized. The first five-day session for pupils from the 2nd to the 5th grade took place in December 2017, while the second session for children of the 1st grade was realized in January 2018. Both groups were directed in the same way. On the first day, exercises for getting to know the snowboard were implemented. The remaining days were then spent on the slope. By the last day of training, both groups were able to ride a slope using skidded turns. 58% of the pupils managed to learn frontside carved turns, while 42% learned backside carved turns. The main contribution of the diploma thesis is the sequence of exercises which can be used by teachers and trainers to teach snowboarding.

The Organisation of Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) notes that regulations seek to make improvements by changing individual or organisational behaviour in ways that generate positive impacts in terms of solving societal and economic problems. At its most basic level, regulations are designed to work according to implementation, leading to changes in behaviours that, in turn, lead to changes in outcomes. Such outcomes can be satisfaction in terms of an underlying problem or other (hopefully positive) changes in conditions in the world. Following this premise, this research project investigates the implications of the 2014 Construction Regulations for the Department of Public Works’ procurement system. The study also examines the contents of the construction Regulations; the impact of the Construction Regulations 2014 – permit-to-work; client / contractor procurement issues; the enforcement of compliance to permit-to-work requirements, and education and training demands in relation to health and safety (H&S) competency. The study shows that even though industry role players are relatively familiar with the Construction Regulations 2014, there is a common concern regarding competency (education and training) levels required for the implementation of the permit-to-work requirement of the regulations. The concerns focus on the ability of the Department of Labour (DoL) to process the permits. Based on the study’s findings, the research concludes that there would be cost implications for project actors when implementing the permit-to-work requirement and this cost factor could delay project initiation and planning, as well as service delivery.

The Swedish Food Agency is responsible for giving guidelines and recommendations for businesses producing, importing, selling, and serving agricultural products in Sweden. The general discourse of these guidelines and recommendations are based on the notion of safeguarding the consumer from potential risks and harms. The discourse is further based on the European Union legislation of good governance which dictates the terms and conditions for businesses operating withing the EU market. In this explorative feminist decolonial discourse analysis I am analyzing the guidelines and recommendations for businesses dealing with agricultural products in Sweden communicated on the Swedish Food Agency’s website. The analysis is investigating the colonial epistemic and ontological assumptions underpinning the discourse. The analysis concludes that the discourse is based on modern/colonial assumptions about whom is to be kept safe and from what, and which products, countries, and territories are not safe to consume from. The discourse assumes humans as a homogenous group separate from animals and plants, and assumes that modern-scientific knowledge production will safekeep all humans and animals, and that food, supplements, and medicines should be understood as separate categories of foods. It is within and through these assumptions that the coloniality is being produced and reproduced in the discourse of the Swedish Food Agency. The discourse allows little to no room for other ontological and epistemic ways of relation to production, distribution and consumption of agricultural products. The discourse is limiting Swedish businesses in their ability to explore decolonial and unconventional business practices through border thinking, being, and doing at the colonial difference by engaging with other ways of relating to the world and the production, distribution, and consumption of food of the land.

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A thesis submitted to the Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. Johannesburg, 2017 / The principle focus of this research is to provide a novel approach to accident investigation theory by focusing on the investigation process itself as a complex system. A number of systemic factors inherent in this system impact on the effectiveness (accuracy, quality, validity, reliability and objectivity) of railway investigations. There is a need to explore why railway occurrences remain high in South Africa, despite railway Operators investigating occurrences. If occurrences are investigated, why then do the number of events remain unchanged? Ineffective investigations impact on the accuracy of the findings identified and the suitability of the recommendations. Added to this is the failure of implementing recommendations from investigations contributing to the high number of occurrences and repeated occurrences. Complex influencing factors inherent within the railway system influence the actual investigation process and therefore its effectiveness. This is despite interventions put in place by various organisations, industries, and sectors to improve railway safety. A critical review of the literature, in terms of accident investigation theory, indicates that the current research targets various approaches, methods and models to determine why accidents occur; from a human, technical, or system perspective. The literature focusses on accident causation by addressing the system and its role in contributing to such events. However, very little critical analysis exists on the actual investigation process of accidents as a complex system in its own right, and its contributory role in the ongoing high number of accidents. Rasmussen’s (1997) Risk Management Framework is used in this research to illustrate the South African railway system hierarchy. A qualitative mixed methods approach using triangulation was adopted. Methods included a print media analysis of reported railway accidents, document analyses of governance documents, analyses of railway investigation reports, semi-structured interviews with railway investigators and observations of investigation inquiries. Thematic content analysis was conducted to identify the themes emerging from the data. The results indicate that systemic factors influence the manner in which occurrences are investigated. Examples include no National Rail Policy, limited resources to investigate, shortage of skilled investigators, absence of investigator training, non-compliance to governance documents, an underinvestment in rail, financial constraints, and a blame culture. An Accimap summarises the systemic factors impacting on the effectiveness of the accident investigation process, its outcomes and the recurrence of accidents. Conclusions demonstrate that the accident investigation process is indeed an example of a complex system. Systemic factors collectively behave to influence the effectiveness of the investigation process, but also on the bigger rail socio-technical system which impacts on the safety, reliability and efficiency of the South African railway system. The theoretical contribution of this research is identified in the useful and novel application of Rasmussen’s (1997) Risk Management Framework to illustrate that the accident investigation process is an example of a complex system. Adjustments to Rasmussen’s (1997) Risk Management Framework were made in order to contextualize it to the problem of this research, confirming the importance and application of Rasmussen’s work in the system of accident investigations and not only in accident causation. / MT 2018

Orientador: João Eduardo Guarnetti dos Santos / Banca: Jair Rosas da Silva / Banca: Luis Gonzaga Campos Porto / Resumo: O setor da cana-de-açúcar sempre foi muito bem visto no Brasil; nos séculos XVI e XVII com a grande aceitação do açúcar no mercado europeu e alto valor financeiro agregado ao produto, houve uma grande expansão do setor no nordeste brasileiro devido à adaptação da plantação ao clima e à grande presença do trabalho escravo africano no cultivo. Na década de 70 do século XX houve um salto do setor sucroenergético com a produção do etanol como fonte alternativa de energia e à fabricação do carro a álcool em um período de altas do petróleo no mercado mundial. Junto com a rápida evolução do setor sucroenergético, vieram também os problemas ecológicos e sociais. Grandes corporações subsidiadas pelo Governo Federal no Projeto Próacool, recebiam as verbas e benefícios para uma produção mais eficiente e limpa. Com todos esses problemas, no final da década de 80 do século XX, o setor entrou em desaceleração. No início do século XXI o setor vive uma oportunidade histórica, pois com o fim anunciado das reservas de petróleo e as catástrofes devido às mudanças climáticas causadas pelo homem, hoje o etanol brasileiro é visto pelo mundo como uma fonte alternativa e sustentável; sem contar com o alto valor do açúcar pelo mercado europeu como nos séculos XVI e XVII. Mas o setor não é só alegria, pois luta contra os problemas de vivência dos tratos dos trabalhadores do setor, que se assemelha muito ao trabalho escravo sofrido pelos africanos no período áureo do açúcar. Apesar de o governo fiscalizar e criar novas leis, como a NR 31 (Norma Regulamentadora - Segurança e Saúde no trabalho na agricultura, pecuária silvicultura, exploração florestal e aquicultura); os trabalhadores do setor sucroenergético tem tido pouca atenção dos profissionais que desenvolvem produtos para este setor. Tudo que se é exigido... (Resumo completo, clicar acesso eletrônico abaixo) / Abstract: The sector of cane sugas has always been well regarded in Brazil, in the sixteenth and seventheenth centuries with great acceptance in the European market for sugar and high value added to the product, there was a great expansion of the sector in northeastern Brazil due to adaptation plantation climate and large presence of African slave labor in cultivation. In the 70s of the twentieth century there was a jump of the sugarcane industry with the production of ethanol as an alternative energy source and manufacture the car with alcohol in period of high oil on the world market. Along with the rapid development of the sugarcane industry, came also the ecological and social problems. Large corporations subsidized by the Federal Government in Proálcool Project, received the money and benefits for a cleaner and more efficient production. With all these problems in the late 80s of the twentieth century, the industry went into deceleration. At the beginning of the XXI century industry is experiencing a historic opportunity, because with the announced end of oil reserves and disasters due to climate change caused by humans, today Brazilian ethanol is seen by the world as an alternative and sustainable source, not counting the high amount of sugar in the European market as the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. But the industry is not only joy, for combating the problems of living the treatment of workers in the sector, which closely resembles slave labor suffered by Africans in the heyday of sugar. Althrough the government oversee and create new laws, as the NR 31 (Norm - Safety and Health at Work in agriculture, forestry livestock, forestry and aquaculture); workers in the sugarcane industry has had little attention from professionals who develope products for this sector. All that is required is adapted from another industry... (Complete abstract click electronic access below) / Mestre

Made available in DSpace on 2014-06-11T19:24:10Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 2012-08-23Bitstream added on 2014-06-13T19:30:46Z : No. of bitstreams: 1 queiroz_frc_me_bauru.pdf: 907123 bytes, checksum: 0089cd5002e3325a1111218cf4f9b9c7 (MD5) / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES) / O setor da cana-de-açúcar sempre foi muito bem visto no Brasil; nos séculos XVI e XVII com a grande aceitação do açúcar no mercado europeu e alto valor financeiro agregado ao produto, houve uma grande expansão do setor no nordeste brasileiro devido à adaptação da plantação ao clima e à grande presença do trabalho escravo africano no cultivo. Na década de 70 do século XX houve um salto do setor sucroenergético com a produção do etanol como fonte alternativa de energia e à fabricação do carro a álcool em um período de altas do petróleo no mercado mundial. Junto com a rápida evolução do setor sucroenergético, vieram também os problemas ecológicos e sociais. Grandes corporações subsidiadas pelo Governo Federal no Projeto Próacool, recebiam as verbas e benefícios para uma produção mais eficiente e limpa. Com todos esses problemas, no final da década de 80 do século XX, o setor entrou em desaceleração. No início do século XXI o setor vive uma oportunidade histórica, pois com o fim anunciado das reservas de petróleo e as catástrofes devido às mudanças climáticas causadas pelo homem, hoje o etanol brasileiro é visto pelo mundo como uma fonte alternativa e sustentável; sem contar com o alto valor do açúcar pelo mercado europeu como nos séculos XVI e XVII. Mas o setor não é só alegria, pois luta contra os problemas de vivência dos tratos dos trabalhadores do setor, que se assemelha muito ao trabalho escravo sofrido pelos africanos no período áureo do açúcar. Apesar de o governo fiscalizar e criar novas leis, como a NR 31 (Norma Regulamentadora - Segurança e Saúde no trabalho na agricultura, pecuária silvicultura, exploração florestal e aquicultura); os trabalhadores do setor sucroenergético tem tido pouca atenção dos profissionais que desenvolvem produtos para este setor. Tudo que se é exigido... / The sector of cane sugas has always been well regarded in Brazil, in the sixteenth and seventheenth centuries with great acceptance in the European market for sugar and high value added to the product, there was a great expansion of the sector in northeastern Brazil due to adaptation plantation climate and large presence of African slave labor in cultivation. In the 70s of the twentieth century there was a jump of the sugarcane industry with the production of ethanol as an alternative energy source and manufacture the car with alcohol in period of high oil on the world market. Along with the rapid development of the sugarcane industry, came also the ecological and social problems. Large corporations subsidized by the Federal Government in Proálcool Project, received the money and benefits for a cleaner and more efficient production. With all these problems in the late 80s of the twentieth century, the industry went into deceleration. At the beginning of the XXI century industry is experiencing a historic opportunity, because with the announced end of oil reserves and disasters due to climate change caused by humans, today Brazilian ethanol is seen by the world as an alternative and sustainable source, not counting the high amount of sugar in the European market as the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. But the industry is not only joy, for combating the problems of living the treatment of workers in the sector, which closely resembles slave labor suffered by Africans in the heyday of sugar. Althrough the government oversee and create new laws, as the NR 31 (Norm - Safety and Health at Work in agriculture, forestry livestock, forestry and aquaculture); workers in the sugarcane industry has had little attention from professionals who develope products for this sector. All that is required is adapted from another industry... (Complete abstract click electronic access below)

Thesis (MTech (Human Resource Management))--Cape Peninsula University of Technology, 2011. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 109-117). / The construction industry is an important player in the economy of South Africa. In spite of the numerous constraints facing the industry in developing countries, it makes significant contributions to economic growth. The construction industry is a challenging place to work (Pillay & Haupt in Hinze, Bohner & Lew, 2008). The diverse industry is, however, associated with high risk environments and employees are exposed to harsh and dangerous situations, e.g. employees have to work with dangerous machines and equipment. The industry stands out from other industries as having the highest worker injury and fatality rates. Every construction worker is likely to be temporarily unfit to work at some time as a result of moderate injuries or health problems after working on a construction site (Shakantu, Haupt & Tookey, 2006; Smallwood, 2004). This study was prompted by the lack of an Employee Assistance Programme for workers in a medium-sized construction company. A non-probability sampling procedure was utilised. In order to investigate and explore the well-being of employees a research questionnaire was developed and presented to a sample of 34 male respondents in the construction company for completion. The empirical results indicated the difficulties that the respondents are experiencing. The results further revealed the need for assistance from the employer to the respondents. It is anticipated that the research will contribute to, firstly, an awareness of problems in the construction industry regarding the well-being of workers, and secondly to develop a model which will positively contribute to the effective development and implementation of an assistance programme for employees in the construction industry.

D.Phil. (Engineering Management) / Considering its share in and impact on national economies, the construction industry receives additional attention in terms of its performance and productivity especially small and medium construction enterprises (SMEs). However, with the extensive amount of workforce it employs, health and safety (H&S) has become important. Since the industry has the reputation of poor H&S performance especially SMEs. It has been accepted that H&S management practices constitute a vehicle to improve H&S performance, which reflects the H&S culture of the organization. However, the challenge is to determine what needs to be measured and practiced by SMEs at project level. The main objective of this thesis was to develop a construction H&S performance improvement model at project level of SMEs. A triangulation approach was used to develop the model using Delphi method and questionnaire survey. The Delphi method straddles between quantitative and qualitative research. Thirty H&S experts were purposively sampled and 20 agreed to participate in the Delphi process. However, 16 H&S experts completed the four iterations. The experts reached consensus on 31 statements or leading indicator metrics categorized in seven H&S elements/constructs. The final refined H&S conceptual model consisted of one independent construct, four intervening constructs and one dependent construct. Furthermore, a quantitative survey with 1,450 conveniently sampled SMEs was conducted. A total of 228 questionnaires were returned of which 216 were deemed usable representing 15.72% response rate. Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) version 20 using Maximum Likelihood with Promax rotation was used to determine the validity and reliability of the six H&S constructs of the refined conceptual model. The six H&S construct and 40 statements were retained as valid and reliable measures of H&S for SMEs at project level. A further validity and reliability test was conducted using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) using Mplus version 6.1, software program. The CFA revealed acceptable model fit of the measurement model after the re-specification of some of the measurement models. Finally the structural model was tested using Mplus version 6.1 to determine the constructs relationship. The findings revealed that the structural model data was acceptable and of the 12 hypotheses tested, six were significant. However, four significant relationships influenced H&S performance. The influential relationships were; upper management commitment and involvement in H&S indirectly influenced H&S performance through project supervision and H&S resources and training. These three proactive H&S elements are posited to be essential to improve H&S performance at project level of SMEs. Furthermore, one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) established no statistical significant difference on the respondents’ perception of H&S model elements. However, t–test revealed statistical significant difference on the respondents’ perception on H&S performance, upper management commitment and involvement in H&S and H&S resources and training. The respondents with post-matric qualification strongly agreed that the way they managed H&S at project level had improved their H&S performance. Furthermore, they strongly agreed that upper management are committed and involved in H&S and H&S resources and training were provided. Multiple linear regression analysis was further used to test the influence of demographic variables on the H&S model elements. The selected demographic variables were; experience in the construction industry, education level and the number of employees. The result indicated that the demographic variables were not good predicators of the H&S model elements. Finally, the use of self-reported questionnaire and majority of respondents conducting business in Gauteng province in South Africa were some of the limitations in this study.

Over the last years, bicycles have been addressed in newly developed driver assistance systems for passenger cars on a voluntary basis, and beginning with the blind spot assist systems, this tendency has been picked up by vehicle regulations and systems are made mandatory. This paper intends to give a detailed summary of which vehicle regulations are currently addressing bicycles, when they come into force and if they will be mandatory in the EU. Also, the performance of already available active safety systems for bicycles (not covered by regulatory requirements) and their technological potential will be included.