Health and safety is of the utmost importance for any company or institution to be successful. There is quite a negative perception regarding the health and safety of rural hospitals and clinics. Rural hospitals are most of the time overcrowded due the large amount of patients that has no medical aid, thus increases the risk for health and safety issues. Patients sit in long queues for hours to receive medical attention and their medication and are therefore exposed to all kinds of diseases, which is a high risk for these patients’s health. The employees working in these rural areas are also exposed to life-threatening diseases on a daily basis and have a good chance of being infected. Employees leave the public sector because of these unsafe working conditions and find themselves either working in the private sector or may even immigrate to foreign countries for better and safer working conditions. During this research done, there were a few shortcomings identified for the management to improvement on and to ensure a safe working environment. There are quite a lot of negativities surrounding the patients and employees in these rural hospitals, because patients get raped by nurses, babies get stolen from maternity wards, doctors are attacked by patients and much more horrific incidents happening in these hospitals. Cultural differences are also a main concern for management, because there are a lot of different races working together in the same department and not everyone has the same beliefs and ways in doing tasks. These cultural differences may lead to clashes amongst employees and result in a negative working environment. This quantitative research was done in selected rural hospitals, due to cost and time consumption. Only 80 employees (doctors, nurses and pharmacists) participated in the research done and the research was not an in-depth research, but enough evidence was compiled to make the necessary assumptions that all is not well in the public sector. With the new National Health Insurance (NHI) to be implemented from 2012, there may a lot of changes in the rural hospitals for the better. Hospitals all over the country are being upgraded and the working conditions are being attended to by the government which may attract more health professional to rural hospitals and clinics. / Thesis (MBA)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2012

Problems that face teachers, especially those in secondary schools, are discussed. How they have developed over the years to what is now considered to be a crisis level, the increase in absenteeism and illness of the teaching force are also reviewed. A review of existing material explains the nature of stress. The psychobiological aspects are reviewed paying particular attention to the many coping mechanisms that the person will employ and explains how perceptions of situations can play a vital role. Factors that create stress for the teacher are discussed and categorised into familiar sections including pupils, working conditions, working in an organisation, the effects of management, the self concept and role conflict. Selection, training, assessment, pay and promotion are dealt with together in an additional category. Results from a Questionnaire completed by teachers from four local education authorities provides additional material to be considered and reinforces many of the previous claims and observations. After the findings are discussed, conclusions and recommendations are made for the improvement of morale and the reduction of stress in the teaching profession. Many of the conclusions made are linked closely to the self concept of the teacher. This self concept appears to be the focal point at which the problems besetting the teacher meet and are dealt with in either a positive or negative manner. Many of the recommendations made have the effect on the self concept of the teacher as a prominent feature. The stress provoking situations experienced by teachers seem to be reaching unacceptable levels. The physical and mental welfare of teachers is called upon to be monitored in order to reduce the harmful effects that poorly motivated teachers may have on pupils and in order to reduce the physical and mental difficulties apparently being suffered by the teaching profession.

Diss. (sammanfattning) Alnarp : Sveriges lantbruksuniv. / Härtill 6 uppsatser.

Examensarbete.

Diss. Stockholm : Univ., 2004. / 3.-4. [tr.], 2005.

Diss. Uppsala : Sveriges lantbruksuniversitet, 2008.

Pesquisa realizada em um Centro Integrado de Saúde inserido no âmbito de uma Instituição de Ensino Superior Particular, situada no Município do Rio de Janeiro. Metodologia fundamentada em uma abordagem quantitativa, não-experimental, apoiada na estatística inferencial descritiva, baseada no problema de estudo: Quais os fatores que caracterizam as condições de trabalho em um Centro Integrado de Saúde (CIS)? Teve como objetivo, analisar a visão dos trabalhadores em um Centro Integrado de Saúde acerca de suas condições de trabalho. Utilizou-se uma população constituída de 73 trabalhadores. Foram aplicados dois instrumentos: o caderno B, que consta de um questionário auto-aplicativo sobre Riscos e Danos e o caderno C que é um formulário de observação sobre as condições de trabalho de Mauro & Mauro (2009) adaptado de Boix e Vogel (1997). Os dados foram analisados através do Programa Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) versão 13.0. Na visão dos trabalhadores, os resultados em relação aos riscos (físico, químico, biológico, ergonômico e de acidente) e considerando as variáveis desconhece, não acontece, raramente e freqüentemente, os mesmos indicaram uma freqüência diversificada, embora a maior incidência esteja no grupo de risco biológico com a variável freqüentemente e nos demais a variável raramente. Quanto aos problemas de saúde evidenciados, no questionário B em ordem decrescente, os que se destacaram foram os problemas oculares; lesão por acidente; varizes; dor de cabeça; hipertensão; doenças infecciosas; lombalgias; lesão da coluna vertebral; dores musculares crônicas; problemas de articulação e estresse. Quanto aos resultados do Caderno C, através de observação pelos especialistas, os riscos são variáveis, destacando-se os riscos ergonômicos, os de acidentes e os biológicos. Conclui-se que as condições de trabalho não são satisfatórias evidenciando-se a falta de conhecimento sobre o conteúdo da investigação, assinalados as respostas na alternativa (desconhece) e da aplicação correta das medidas de prevenção de riscos ocupacionais. Recomenda-se neste sentido uma incorporação institucional dos trabalhadores valorizando a capacitação desses profissionais de saúde, com ênfase na promoção da saúde, segurança, meio ambiente de trabalho e os conhecimentos de ergonomia. Como também uma atuação integrada do Serviço Especializado em Engenharia e em Medicina do Trabalho (SESMT) com a Comissão de Biossegurança, além do incentivo à gestão participativa, educação continuada efetiva, e a criação do Comitê de Ergonomia, para a análise e intervenção das propostas. / Research took place in an integrated health center inserted in the ambit of a private college degree institution, in the county of Rio de Janeiro. Methodology based on quantitative approach, non-experimental, based on the descriptive with inference statistics, based on the problem of study: Which factors characterized the working conditions in an integrated health center (IHC)? The objective was, to analyze the point of view of workers in an integrated health center about their working conditions. It was used a population of 73 workers. Two instruments were applied: the copybook B, that has a questionnaire self-explanatory about risks and damages and the copybook C that is a form of observation about the working conditions from Mauro & Mauro (2009) adapted from Boix and Vogel (1997). The data was analyzed through the software Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) version 13.0. In the workers' point of view the results according to risks ( physical, chemical, biological, ergonomic and from incident) and considered the variables " do not know", " does not happen", " rarely" and " usually", they indicated a diverse frequency, although the highest incidence be in the biological group with "the option usually" and in the others " the option rarely". When it comes to the health problems evidenced, in the questionnaire B in decreasing order the highlighted ones were ocular problems, injury from incidents, varicose veins, headache, hypertension, infectious diseases, back pain, hurt backbone, chronicle muscular pains, joint problems and stress. The results in copybook C, through observations by the experts, the risks can vary, highlighting the ergonomic ones, the ones from incidents and the biological. We can conclude that the working conditions are not satisfactory showing the lack of knowledge about the investigation content, checked the answers in the option (do not know) and in the correct application of occupational risk prevention methods. It is recommended that one workers institutional incorporation to valorize the health professionals capacity, with emphasis in health promotion, safety, work environment and knowledge about ergonomics. Also one integrated performance from the Special Service in engineering and Labor Medicine ( SESMT-in Portuguese) with the biosafety commission, in addition stimulus to participatory management, continued effective education, and the creation of a ergonomics committee, to the analysis and interventions of the suggestion.

While much is known about what contributes to teacher attrition, there is less research on those who leave teaching positions to work as a union representative. The purpose of this study was to explore how three teacher union representatives frame their experiences with mobility, leadership, and advocacy in education. The research question was: How do former teachers enter and perform the role of teacher union representative? The sub-level questions were: a) How do they story their transition from teaching students to representing teachers? b) How do they frame the responsibility of teacher unions and teacher union representatives to advocate? Data were collected using semi-structured interviews, examined for story elements and plot, and interpreted using a framework on working conditions (House, 1981). The major theme was that educators left their positions as teachers in response to emotional, instrumental, informational and appraisal factors, namely discrepancies between what they wanted and what was provided as part of their working conditions. The findings are: 1) Working conditions pushed educators to pursue union leadership, 2) Professional responsibilities of a Union Representative varied 3) Issues for which Union Representatives advocated involved the improvement of working conditions. The findings are discussed, as are implications for revising the theoretical framework for use in future studies with regard to the fluidity of the advocacy process, and the long-term sustainability of American Educational Unions. Recommended are longitudinal studies to determine how teacher union representatives’ frame their narratives of working conditions and advocacy in response to changes in legislation, including union decertification, over time. Keywords: advocacy, union representation, working conditions, administrators, teacher’s rights, framing and professional mobility.

My thesis has dealt with the topic of impact of work environment on employee motivation in the selected company and its aim was to briefly literally introduce the issue of human resources and personnel management conditions, further to shed a light on the importance of ergonomics and the impact of working conditions on employees' motivation as well as their subsequent remuneration options. The methodology part includes the interviews with employees of the selected company, which were needed to determine primary information and follow-up survey, where the topic of the impact of working conditions on staff motivation and performance was specified. The outcome of the thesis is to propose innovative improvement measures leading to positive changes in the area of human resource management. This ought to result in the improvement of both the physical condition of workers and their satisfaction and motivation to administer the best possible job performance; not only currently, but even henceforth. All proposals for improving are processed with an approximate cost of the realization in case of potential interest, which has been significantly shown by company Unterer Ltd.

O setor fumageiro no Brasil vem contribuindo expressivamente para o crescimento da economia nacional, em especial para o desenvolvimento da região do Vale do Rio Pardo, no estado do Rio Grande do sul. No entanto, os pequenos fumicultores desta região carecem de mais atenção no que se refere a sua saúde. Para atingir o nível de qualidade exigido, o trabalho desenvolvido nestas lavouras expõe estes trabalhadores a intempéries climáticas, a adoção de posturas desfavoráveis, exigindo também o emprego de grande esforço físico. A associação destes fatores de risco podem favorecer o surgimento de problemas de saúde, além de alterações no desempenho funcional, que em curto ou longo prazo podem levar ao afastamento do trabalho. Este estudo buscou levantar dados a respeito da situação atual de saúde dos fumicultores, bem como mapear o processo produtivo de fumo nestas pequenas propriedades e realizar uma análise ergonômica deste. Através da comparação dos dados coletados com os encontrados na literatura, foi possível verificar que as condições de trabalho podem estar influenciando nas condições de saúde e segurança desta população. A partir de então, foram formuladas propostas de ações que visam melhorar estas condições laborais, assim como diminuir sua influência na saúde e segurança destes trabalhadores. / The tobacco sector in Brazil has grown in recent years, contributing significantly to the growth of national economy, specially the development of Vale do Rio Pardo, in state of Rio Grande do Sul. However, the small tobacco growers in this region require further attention regarding to their health, because to achieve the required quality, the work developed in these crops exposes these workers to bad weather, the adoption of awkward postures and required the use of excessive physical efforts. The association of these risk factors can favor the appearance of health problems, changes in performance, that in short or long term can lead to a great absenteeism. This study aimed to collect data about the current health state of local tobacco growers, map the production process of tobacco in these smaller properties and perform an ergonomic analysis. By comparing the data collected with the data found in the literature it was concluded that working conditions can be influencing the health and safety of this population. From then, there were formulated proposals of actions that aim to improve the work conditions, as well as to reduce his influence in the health and security of these workers.