Maintaining due diligence on safety practices at the workplace of battery technicians is the most cost-effective intervention against lead-related hazards. The safety practice on lead poisoning in Nigeria is below average, and the compliance level is far from the expected target of 90%. Using Dejoy's workplace self-protective behavior theory, this study investigated multilevel factors that influence safety practices on lead poisoning and compared the rate of utilization of personal protective equipment by battery technicians in the organized and roadside settings. The study was a quantitative, cross-sectional survey design, and a multistage and systematic sampling technique was used to select 293 adult battery technicians aged 18 years and above. Hypotheses were tested with chi-square and multivariate logistic regressions at the significant level of p < 0.05 and 95% confidence interval. The outcome of the safety practice status of battery technicians is 20%, and the rate of utilization of personal protective equipment is 18% in Lagos, Nigeria. Findings revealed that workplace conditions, blood lead levels, knowledge, education, and the rate of utilization of personal protective equipment are predictors of the safety practice status of battery technicians. There was no significant difference between battery technicians in the organized and roadside setting considering the perceived risk of lead poisoning and utilization of personal protective equipment. The positive social change implications of this study include recommendations for battery technicians to use the evolved alternative safety approaches to reduce lead-related hazards. Public health professional and policymakers should invest resources towards reducing the impact of lead poisoning on battery technicians at the workplace.

The present study attempted to measure the overlap of tasks being performed by Librarians Class One and Library Technicians Grades Two and Three in special libraries located in Commonwealth Government Departments and Statutory Authorities in the ACT. Overlap was also measured between the two groups in libraries with six or more staff, since size of library could have affected the results; and between graduates (those employees with university or college of advanced education degrees or graduate diplomas in library and information science), and nongraduates (those without such qualifications). To measure the overlap, a task list questionnaire was devised based on task lists utilised in other research studies or which had been the outcome of professional workshops. Work level guidelines and position classification standards developed by pertinent Australian employing authorities and the Library Association of Australia were also used. Results suggested that there may be considerable overlap in work being performed by Librarians Class One and Library Technicians Grades Two and Three in the nominated libraries. Of the eight functional areas of library work into which the task list questionnaire was divided, only two areas, Reference, and Current Awareness and User Services, resulted in proportions of the groups tested being assigned the tasks in significantly different proportions. For the six other functional areas, representing 125 of the 160 tasks Librarians Class One and Library Technicians Grades Two and Three performed the same tasks in similar proportions. Testing for size of library and qualifications of respondents made very little difference to these results. Conclusions drawn from the present study are limited because the questionnaire ignored the level of importance and the time occupied in completing these tasks. Other constraints occurred in relation to conclusions which could be made. The questionnaire methodology as utilised by the present study is more likely to evoke responses to what is there; and it does not identify what should be done or how well tasks are performed. The study is limited to special libraries within Commonwealth Government Departments and Statutory Authorities and is confined to three levels of staff only, Librarians Class One and Library Technicians Grades Two and Three. Despite these limitations, it seems clear that the levels of staff included in the present study are often assigned tasks on the basis of what tasks have to be done, rather than with regard to matching level of task to level of position within the boundaries of the work level guidelines; and this situation is also true of the larger libraries with six or more staff. These results have implications for those involved in educating professional librarians and library technicians, for the interpretation given by the profession to the meaning of professionalism and for staff relations between librarians and library technicians. Debate by the profession concerning the roles of librarians and library technicians is an issue demanding urgent attention.

Unintentional harm due to healthcare is common, especially in the operating theatre. Previous research, aiming to reduce harm to patients in the operating theatre, has not examined the non-technical skills of anaesthetic assistants. The aim of this project was to identify the essential non-technical skills required by anaesthetic assistants for safe and effective practice, and to develop a behavioural marking system to assess these skills. A literature review identified three articles which described anaesthetic assistants' non-technical skills. An interview study with anaesthetic assistants (n=22) and anaesthetists (n=23) described the use of situation awareness, teamwork and task management more commonly than leadership or decision making. This was corroborated by a critical incident database review of the Australian Incident Monitoring System from 2002 to 2008. The material identified in the interview study was considered by focus groups of anaesthetic assistants (n=6,7,3,4) to generate headings. These themes were considered by anaesthetic assistant lecturers (n=6) in a Delphi questionnaire, and positive and negative behavioural markers proposed. The Anaesthetic Non-Technical Skills for Anaesthetic Practitioners (ANTS-AP) behavioural marker system was completed by a research panel. The prototype ANTS-AP system had three categories: 'situation awareness', 'communication and teamwork', and 'task management', each with three elements. The reliability, validity and usability of the ANTS-AP system were evaluated by anaesthetic assistants (n=48) observing videos of simulated theatre work at a 3.5 hour workshop. The system had good internal consistency, and was able to discriminate good, average and poor behaviours. The element 'coping with pressure' was removed due to its poor inter-rater reliability. Future work will assess the inter-rater reliability of the ANTS-AP system, when observers have the opportunity for calibration. This project has provided anaesthetic assistants a means of structuring observation and feedback for training and reflection with the goal of improving patient care.

The relationships that people have with their work, and the difficulties that can arise when those relationships turn sour, have been long recognised as a significant phenomenon of the modem age. The use of the term burnout for this phenomenon began to appear with some regularity in the 1970s in the United States, especially among people working in the human services. Burnout can be expected amongst engineers, technicians and electricians, due to the integration of their work activities and the quality of support received from their supervisors or managers as well as from other departments. Front line staff can be expected to experience higher levels of burnout, because of their direct contact with difficult customers (cut-offs due to non-payments, for instance), certain job demands (restoration of power interruptions), staff shortages, training of new staff, and so on. The objective of this study was to determine the relationship between burnout, job stress, sense of coherence and coping of engineers, technicians and electricians in a South African electricity distribution organisation. A cross-sectional survey design was used. The study population consisted of 38 engineers, 86 technicians and 91 electricians. Four questionnaires were used, namely the Maslach Burnout Inventory - General Survey, a Job Stress Questionnaire, the Orientation to Life Questionnaire and COPE. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used to analyse the results. The results showed that stress because of job demands, lack of support, supervision and transformation, as well as a weak sense of coherence predicted exhaustion. Exhaustion and avoidance predicted cynicism. A causal sequence was found between sense of coherence, job stress and exhaustion. Active coping moderated the effect of sense of coherence on professional efficacy. Employees with a lower job grade show higher levels of cynicism and lower levels of professional efficacy compared with those with a higher job grade. An explanation might be that the lower job grades lack the necessary coping skills. Therefore, it seems that employees who have a weak sense of coherence are inclined to suffer from job stress, which will lead to exhaustion. Sense of coherence and the use of active coping strategies seem to contribute to the professional efficacy of employees, which may lead to health-enhancing behaviours and better social adjustments. Job stress impacts on exhaustion and sense of coherence, and a strong sense of coherence moderates the effects of job stress on exhaustion. Sense of coherence also protects employees from developing low professional efficacy. Active coping strategies moderate the effects of sense of coherence on professional efficacy. Avoidance as a coping strategy mediated the relationship between sense of coherence and cynicism. Recommendations for future research were made. / Thesis (M.A. (Industrial Psychology))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2004.

The purpose of this study was to investigate whether the kinds of terminology used in writing job descriptions for library assistants who provide information services affected the job evaluation rating for the jobs described. The study provided background information on the importance of the problem, pay equity and job evaluation systems, the nature and purpose of contacts in information and reference services, the changing roles of information providers and the problem of terminology in writing job descriptions. To examine whether the terminology in job descriptions made a difference in evaluation, three experienced job evaluators were asked to rate nine job descriptions representing three levels of jobs and three different terminologies: library, computer and generic. The respondents' ratings, five sets of nine ratings each, were analyzed by comparing the individual job evaluation plans, the respondents' numerical ratings and rationales. The findings revealed the similarities and differences in definitions used in each of the plans, the differences in ratings within and among plans and the extent to which the terminology used in the job descriptions could be attributed to differences in ratings. Some inconsistencies in ratings occurred. In most cases, the job description using library terminology was rated higher than its computer or generic counterparts but in two cases it was not. Of the three versions of terminology, the generic version led to the least favourable ratings. Considering the complexity of the responsibility o f contacts present to some degree in all three levels of jobs, some of the jobs may have been undervalued. Recommendations were made for action and for further study.

Mémoire numérisé par la Division de la gestion de documents et des archives de l'Université de Montréal

The relationships that people have with their work, and the difficulties that can arise when those relationships turn sour, have been long recognised as a significant phenomenon of the modem age. The use of the term burnout for this phenomenon began to appear with some regularity in the 1970s in the United States, especially among people working in the human services. Burnout can be expected amongst engineers, technicians and electricians, due to the integration of their work activities and the quality of support received from their supervisors or managers as well as from other departments. Front line staff can be expected to experience higher levels of burnout, because of their direct contact with difficult customers (cut-offs due to non-payments, for instance), certain job demands (restoration of power interruptions), staff shortages, training of new staff, and so on. The objective of this study was to determine the relationship between burnout, job stress, sense of coherence and coping of engineers, technicians and electricians in a South African electricity distribution organisation. A cross-sectional survey design was used. The study population consisted of 38 engineers, 86 technicians and 91 electricians. Four questionnaires were used, namely the Maslach Burnout Inventory - General Survey, a Job Stress Questionnaire, the Orientation to Life Questionnaire and COPE. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used to analyse the results. The results showed that stress because of job demands, lack of support, supervision and transformation, as well as a weak sense of coherence predicted exhaustion. Exhaustion and avoidance predicted cynicism. A causal sequence was found between sense of coherence, job stress and exhaustion. Active coping moderated the effect of sense of coherence on professional efficacy. Employees with a lower job grade show higher levels of cynicism and lower levels of professional efficacy compared with those with a higher job grade. An explanation might be that the lower job grades lack the necessary coping skills. Therefore, it seems that employees who have a weak sense of coherence are inclined to suffer from job stress, which will lead to exhaustion. Sense of coherence and the use of active coping strategies seem to contribute to the professional efficacy of employees, which may lead to health-enhancing behaviours and better social adjustments. Job stress impacts on exhaustion and sense of coherence, and a strong sense of coherence moderates the effects of job stress on exhaustion. Sense of coherence also protects employees from developing low professional efficacy. Active coping strategies moderate the effects of sense of coherence on professional efficacy. Avoidance as a coping strategy mediated the relationship between sense of coherence and cynicism. Recommendations for future research were made. / Thesis (M.A. (Industrial Psychology))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2004.

Thesis (Ed. D.)--Oregon State University, 2008. / Printout. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 138-145). Also available on the World Wide Web.

Thesis (M.Sc.)--Edith Cowan University, 2007. / Submitted to the Faculty of Computing, Health and Science. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M.S.M.)--Regis University, Denver, Colo., 2006. / Title from PDF title page (viewed on Aug. 29, 2006). Includes bibliographical references.