The research involves the testing of Overall and Experimental Hypotheses concerning the nature of design activity and the relationship between designers' cognition and their use of CAD systems. In particular, a lack of understanding of the design process was perceived together with a need to utilize aspects of designers internal problem solving capabilities in the specification of electronio design aids. A multidisciplinary approach is used in review and experimental methods in order to associate theoretical aspects of design behaviour with the measurement of practice. The social, economic and industrial implications of new technology are reviewed in the light of their e~~ects upon intellectual industrial tasks, such as designing within the textile and other industries. Also considered are the theoretical aspects o~ designing and in particular the designers' cognitive activity is described in behavioural terms. Such theories are tested in experimental situations where the problem solving aspects are elicited from designers in relation to their internal schematic representation o~ design problems. Speci~ic conclusions in the area o~ person-system interaction concern both Hypotheses. Adaptation was ~ound to be best considered as another aspect of the holistio representation that a designer has of his task. This resulted ~rom a recognition o~ the individuals own methods o~ problem solving within the con~ines of the task. The use o~ repertory grid techniques ~or the investigation of designing did not prove however that a designer's internal spaoe is completely measurable. Indeed, it resulted that some phenomena associated with design appear ~undamentally subjective although it was £ound that identi~iable and individual oriteria are used by designers. The particular contribution that this work makes is in the assooiation o~ psychological, sociologioal and industrial aspects o~ designing in an approach to the adaptive behaviour of designers in their use of CAD "systems

Different motivation theories have been developed in general management to explain workers' attitude to production. Collectively, these theories represent manufacturing workers more than any other set of workers. Attempts made to apply these theories to construction operatives have produced different and often confused explanations of the motives behind construction operatives' productivity. This research approached construction operatives directly in order to evaluate their motivation in relation to their productivity. The research aimed at proving or disproving a conceptualised positive relationship between construction operative motivation and productivity. Previous construction researchers assumed that there was a positive relationship between productivity and motivation without any empirical prove. This oversight was largely due to problems of quantifying abstract concepts such as motivation. This obstacle needed to be removed before the relationship between motivation and productivity could be empirically established. A technique based on the Subjective Expected Utility Theory was developed to quantify motivation. Productivity was measured by activity sampling. Relating them together gave a third order polynomial relationship indicating that there is a basic motivation in every bricklayer regardless of his working environment. The relationship also provided an empirical prove of an earlier conceptualised optimal motivation theory. The thesis shows that there is no significant causal relationship between motivation and work rate; rather, motivation significantly influences the proportion of working time spent productively. From a model of production output, motivation and skill, it was demonstrated that skill dominates productivity in bricklaying. Motivation accounted for 2.4% of the percentage variation in work rate and 25.3% of the percentage variation in percentage productive time. From a sensitivity analysis of the predominance of skill, critical activities controlling production output which could form the basis of a training programme for new bricklayers were identified. After testing all observations and findings for validity, they were combined into a list of propositions which form the basis of a theory of construction operative motivation. Based on the affirmation of the optimal motivation theory in construction operatives, a new concept of hyper-production was proposed.

Many Aboriginal women in Canada go missing each year and many of them are engaged in the sex trade industry. Thus far, little has been done to prevent this trend. This study is aimed at filling this gap by exploring and highlighting several challenges confronted by Saskatchewan (Saskatoon) Aboriginal women who are engaged in sex work. Existing literature indicate an overrepresentation of Aboriginal women involved in sex work, their experiences of abuse while working on the street, and their lack of adequate protection from law enforcement agents and members of the Canadian Criminal Justice System (CCJS). The overall theoretical framework of this thesis is intersectionality theory with focus on the compound oppression faced by Aboriginal prostitutes due to the intersection of gender, race, and socio-economic class. This study examines the reasons for Aboriginal women’s overrepresentation in street prostitution, their experiences while working on the streets, and how they are treated by the CCJS. The three main questions addressed in the study are: a) Why are Aboriginal women overrepresented in the sex trade industry in Saskatchewan?; b) Do Aboriginal women involved in prostitution confront violence from clients and other members of the society? If so, why?; and c) Do Aboriginal women sex workers receive protection and justice from law enforcement agents and members of the CCJS? If so how, and if not, why? First, these questions are explored through semi-structured, open-ended interviews with two Aboriginal women who have been involved in street prostitution in Saskatchewan. Second, content analysis of three court transcripts of cases where men were charged with violence towards Aboriginal women working in the sex trade in Saskatchewan is conducted. The results of this study indicate that Aboriginal women are highly overrepresented in the Saskatchewan sex trade for reasons that include: a) childhood sexual abuse and b) lack of options due to the multiple oppression of the intersection of gender, race, and class. And that Aboriginal sex workers encounter severe violence and abuse on the street including rape and death with limited protection and justice from the CCJS due to multiple forms of oppression as racialized women living in poverty. The study’s results provide an understanding of how the intersection of race, class and gender impact the experiences of Aboriginal women in the sex trade industry. The study’s findings also allow for the recommendation of strategies for dealing with these issues and preventing these trends from continuing in the future.

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This thesis attempt to uncover the qualitative different ways that Taiwanese workers experienced health. Workers' health is important to a country's economic, cultural and social development. Both Taiwanese government and health professionals acknowledgement the importance of health. A considerable amount of literature has been released over the past two decades in Taiwan around related issues. Most published research has reported investigation into occupational disease diagnosis, disease prevention, safety behaviours and health-related intervention for behaviour change. None has addressed the health experiences of workers. To address this gap in knowledge and literature, phenomenographic research has been completed to identify and describe the ways in which Taiwanese workers in an industrial complex experience health. In-depth interview was undertaken with eighteen participants. The interview was tape-recorded and then transcribed verbatim. Data was collected in Mandarin or Taiwanese and analysed in Chinese. This avoids the loss or change of original meaning during the translation process. Significant quotations were then translated to English by the principal researcher. Discussions between the researcher and supervisor, and between researcher and another native English speaker who is be able to read Chinese were continuous through the analysis process to ensure that the English translation is as close possible as to the original meaning. The outcomes of the research have been the identification of five conceptions of health which together represent understanding of the experience and the meaning of health. The five distinct conceptions are: health is absence of disease; health is a holistic view of the body function; health is a reward of doing 'good' deeds; health as living a healthy lifestyle; and health as a consequence of stress management. All conceptions combined constitute an outcome space that represents the referential and structural relationship between conceptions. The research outcomes contribute to an understanding of how a group of Taiwanese workers were aware of their health experience and have significant implications for health professionals in developing and conducting health intervention, for policy makers in planning occupational health policies, for describing health with a cultural context and for educators of health professionals. Furthermore, this research provides the basis for further research into specific aspects of health and its meaning in different work settings.

The negative physical effects of night shift work are well understood. Research into psychological problems associated with night shift work, however, is sparse. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the difference in psychological symptom patterns between day and night shift workers. Data were obtained on 121 undergraduate volunteers. The sample consisted of 39 male and 82 female volunteers between the ages of 18 and 58 years. All participants were organized into two shift types: Day and Night. Day (n = 65) was classified as working hours primarily in the daytime (7 AM – 5PM). Night (n = 56) was classified as working hours primarily in the nighttime (6 PM – 6 AM). A two-way between-subjects MANOVA was used to assess the influence of gender and shift on the nine SCL-90-R subscale T-scores. The gender main effect was not significant, F(9, 109) = .668, p = .736. No significant difference in SCL-90-R subscale scores as a function of shift was observed, F(9, 109) = 1.141, p = .34. The gender x shift interaction was not significant, F(9, 109) = 1.308, p = .241. Results showed no significant difference between day and night shift worker distress levels. Further research into this topic is recommended.

This thesis is a case study of the 1989 closure of the Inglis Ltd. plant in Toronto, Ontario. The purpose of the study is to examine worker-ownership as a labour strategy in a period of economic restructuring. In the Inglis case, Local 2900 of the United Steelworkers of America developed a response to closure comprised of three elements: negotiating improvements on the terms of closure specified by contract and by legislation; participation in a state-sponsored Labour Adjustment Committee; and a study of the prospects for worker-ownership as an alternative to plant closure. Through document analysis and interviews with union members, officials, and consultants, the relation between these three strategic elements is outlined. Gramsci's concept of "passive revolution" is employed to analyze the role of the state in economic restructuring and in the plant closure. It is argued that the state's role in economic restructuring has fostered forms of worker-ownership which are difficult to translate into effective labour strategy. State reforms embodied in plant closure legislation and adjustment programs have simultaneously channelled labour responses away from worker-ownership and towards severance negotiations and adjustment activities. / Thesis / Master of Arts (MA)

This study reviewed current Taiwan abroad-employed related regulations, administrations and fishery labor globalization with related researches so as to further probe the abroad-employed fishery workers in Tong-Kang Area of Pingtung County. Due to the unique labor import mechanism and special political situation between Taiwan and China, mainland Chinese and foreign abroad-employed fishmen have very different ways of restrictions on border crossing, working restriction and life and culture adoption. This study conducts face-to-face interviewed with government officials, union staffs, ship owners, and fishery workers to clarify the role, status of abroad-employed institution and to explore and discuss the possible future amendment for policy makers. After analyzing the interviews of the 12 cases, there are 8 main findings as follows: 1. the abroad-employed fishery play a strong and positive role on fishery labor supplement; 2.ship owners and workers expect working permits when ashore; 3.the difference and coexist of abroad and domestic employing policy, lower the number of local fishery workers and obstruct the development; 4. the institutional difference and coexist of abroad and domestic employing contribute to management chaos; 5. future policy amendment is inevitable; 6. Jumping ship cases (fishermen escape from legitimate employer) might be caused by malfunction of management and life adaption; 7. Compulsive confinement for mainland Chinese fish men need to be renamed for humanistic reasons; 8. The government ought to improve and supervise the operation of confinement centers. Based on the findings, we suggest that 1. Compulsive confinement policy and the ban on working seem adjustable; 2. Giving working permit and individual life consulting could help improve working efficiency; 3. The integration of competent authorities including fishery, immigration, quarantine, the police, mainland affairs council, will benefit the continuity of Fishery workers¡¦ abroad-employing policy.

Hong Kong plays host to hundreds of thousands of female migrant domestic workers, who have become an integral part of the local economy and a common sight in households. Despite their importance, their live-in status continues to place migrant domestic workers at a disadvantaged position in their host society and at the mercy of their employers. Articles about the exploitation and abuse of migrant domestic workers are commonplace in Hong Kong news, and in many cases the victims are Indonesian. At the same time, however, stories about migrant domestic workers who are treated very well and given large amounts of freedom have also been featured, but these cases are generally about Filipinos. Despite being the same gender, having the same occupation and being subject to the same set of laws, a discrepancy exists in the treatment of Indonesian and Philippine migrant domestic workers in Hong Kong. The main aim of this thesis is to unravel the underlying reasons behind this difference. I argue that the systematic advertising and perpetuation of nationality-based stereotypes and “brand images” lead to Philippine migrant domestic workers being valued higher than their Indonesian counterparts, impacting how they are perceived and treated by Hong Kong society. I employ empirical data obtained from international organizations, state governments, public media and the findings of earlier scholarly research to show how these following factors establish and maintain Hong Kong’s system of stratification: migration infrastructure impacting the labor migration corridors connecting Indonesia and the Philippines to Hong Kong, laws that dictate the treatment of migrant domestic workers, the actors involved in creating and maintaining stereotypes and “brand images”, and the respective efforts made by the two migrant worker groups at challenging their disadvantaged positions in Hong Kong society. / Graduate

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