Thesis (M. A.(Nursing Science)) -- University of Limpopo, 2021 / In this study, the working conditions of nurses in the public clinics are assessed as the nurses are not satisfied with their working conditions. The dissatisfaction on nurses working conditions by nurses was identified and observed by the researcher at certain clinics in the Sekhukhune District. Strategies are suggested to improve nurses’ working conditions in the selected public clinics of the Limpopo Province, South Africa. The study aims to develop strategies to improve nurses’ working conditions in selected public clinics of Limpopo Province, South Africa. A qualitative exploratory and descriptive research approach, using a phenomenological design has been used. Data were collected from professional nurses from the selected public clinics, using semi-structured interviews. Data were audiotaped and field notes were taken. The eight Steps of Tesch’s inductive, descriptive open coding technique, described by Creswell was used, followed by independent coding. Purposive sampling recruited 20 professional nurses from seven selected clinics in the Limpopo Province. The Turfloop Research Ethics Committee gave ethical clearance. The Department of Health gave permission for the study to be conducted in the selected clinics. Ethical considerations and measures to ensure trustworthiness have been observed. The results show that nurses’ working conditions are affected by the shortage of human and material resources, poor health clinic structures, unacceptable duty schedules, large numbers of clients which to lead to nurses’ burnout. In addition, there is the challenge of the different roles played by nurses, which impede the provision of quality patients’ care. The nurses suggested that the Department of Health should be transparent regarding any information regarding issues of the health system. Furthermore, strategies to improve patients’ awareness regarding the nurses’ working conditions have been developed from the themes that emerge from this study. The findings of the study cannot be generalized to other clinics of the Limpopo province and of other provinces.

Den globala uppvärmningen är en stor utmaning för världen att hantera och därför har länder som Sverige och unioner som EU kommit överens om olika klimatmål. Fram till 2020 är planen att utsläppen av växthusgaser skall sänkas med 20% jämfört med nivåerna 1990 och sen 2050 skall det reduceras med 80%. För att kunna möta dessa miljömål måste energiproduktionen inom EU-länderna bli mer miljövänlig. Ett sätt att producera sådan energi är med biobränslen vilket kan göras genom förbränning av biobränslena i en fjärrvärmeanläggning. Därmed blir det viktigt att alla energiproducenter strävar åt att gå mot en mer miljövänlig energiproduktion. Utöver att energiomvandlingen måste göras på ett miljövänligt sätt för att uppnå ett hållbart samhälle måste bra arbetsklimat också erhållas på anläggningarna. För om ett bra arbetsklimat inte infinner sig kan hälsan hos dem anställda riskeras med hälsoproblem som till exempel illamående och i värsta fall hjärtproblem. Dåligt arbetsklimat kan uppkomma på olika sätt men två exempel är vid för höga inomhustemperaturer eller dålig luftkvalitet. För att utvärdera hur bra ett inomhusklimat är finns olika typer av komfortindex, i denna studie har PMV-metoden använts för att utvärdera komfortnivåerna på Lersäters värmeverk som är en del av Kils Energi AB. Genom att samla in klimatdata inne i tre lokaler som används vid fjärrvärmeproduktionen kunde komfortnivåer för samtliga våningar beräknas. Dessutom har luftflöden i ventilationssystemet beräknats för vardera lokal och don för att säkerställa att anläggningen möter de rekommenderade kraven för ventilation från Arbetsmiljöverket. Ett av sätten att säkerställa ett bra arbetsklimat i lokaler är att ha ett väl fungerande ventilationssystem. Finns många olika tillvägagångssätt för att få en lokal väl ventilerad där vissa är energikrävande och vissa inte. Lersäters värmeverk har ett tilluftsventilationssystem som har pannan som utflöde ur pannhuset. PMV:s som beräknades fram i Lersäters värmeverk varierade kraftigt beroende på vilken lokal och vilken våning som undersöktes. När spjällen var stängda i pannhuset blev det beräknade PMV högre än 3 på våning 5 och 6 i pannhuset vilket är över det maximala värdet för PMV-metoden. Längre ner i pannhuset sjönk PMV till mer acceptabla nivåer där det gick mellan 1–2 för resten av anläggningen. Två olika fallstudier utfördes där olika fläktfrekvenser på ventilationssystemet och med öppna eller stängda spjäll i pannhuset. När spjällen var öppna blev komforten bättre i pannhuset. På våning 5 och 6 i pannhuset ökade komforten avsevärt när spjällen var öppna i jämförelse mot vid stängda spjäll. PMV minskade till runt 2 istället för 3–4 vid stängda spjäll. Pannhuset hade upp till 18 gånger högre luftomsättning än rekommenderade värden för inomhusklimat men stor del av denna luft blev stillastående på de lägsta våningarna där komforten blev god men på bekostnad av låga komfortnivåer på de övre våningarna. På dem två översta våningarna i pannhuset vid grundfallet var PMV till och med högre än det maximala värdet PMV-metoden normalt kan ge. En undersökning av vad de anställda tyckte om klimatet utfördes med hjälp av ett frågeformulär, se bilaga 3. Resultaten från formuläret visade att stora delar av mätresultaten stämde överens med dem anställdas åsikter. Personliga preferenser varierar alltid från person till person men genomsnittet bekräftade många av resultaten utöver komfortnivåerna i lagerlokalen 108an. I lagerlokalen 108an visade mätningarna en god komfort medan dem anställda ansåg den vara väldigt varm. Anledningen till denna skillnad är att lagerlokalen 108an påverkas mer av vilken säsong det är. För i beräkningarna visas bara resultatet från våren när utomhustemperaturen var låg medan de anställda bygger uppfattningen på hela året. Eftersom alla in- och utflöden för ventilationen sitter monterat på samma sida av pannhuset blir luftomrörningen dålig trots det aktiva ventilationssystemet som är monterat på anläggningen. Vilket rökanalyserna bevisar då bara ett par meter ifrån utflöden som spjäll eller insugen till pannan avtar lufttransporten mot dessa. Placering av utflödena i pannhuset är dessutom monterade på samma sida och dessutom sitter spjäll 1 och primär- och sekundärinsuget till pannan precis ovanför varandra. Detta leder till att trots höga flöden av friskluft tillgodoses in i lokalen blir utbytet av den förorenade luften bristfällig. För att förbättra komforten i pannhuset måste luftomrörningen förbättras. Det kan göras på flera olika sätt men till exempel genom att installera fler spjäll på väggarna och installera ställbara takluckor för att bättre kunna ventilera ut den varma stillastående luften runt taket. / The global warming is a big challenge for the world to handle and therefore have countries such as Sweden and unions agreed on different climate goals. Before 2020 the goal is to reduce the emissions of greenhouse gases by 20% compared to the levels at 1990 and then before 2050 reduce it to 80%. To achieve these climate goals the energy production within the EU gas to become more environmentally friendly. One way of producing such energy is with biofuels which can be done by burning biofuels in a district heating. Therefore, it’s important that energy producers try to become more environmentally friendly. To reach a more sustainable society the energy production must become environmentally friendly and make sure that the workers have good working conditions. Because if bad working conditions are not achieved the workers could get health problems, such as nausea and in worst case heart problems. Bad working conditions can be for example to high temperature indoors or poor air quality. To evaluate how good an indoor climate is there are different types of comfort index, in this study the PMV-method has been used to evaluate the comfort levels at Lersäters värmeverk which is a part of Kils Energi AB. Through climate data collection from inside of three different buildings that are used at the production facility could the comfort levels for all stories be calculated. Also, the flow of fresh air in the different rooms and from each diffuser was measured to secure that enough air was supplied to the buildings. One was of securing that good working conditions is achieved is to have a well-functioning ventilations system. There are many ways of making a building will well ventilated, there are some that require energy and some that don’t. Lersäters värmeverk have an active ventilation system which transport fresh air into the buildings through ducts. The calculated PMVs for Lersäters värmeverk varied heavily depending on which building and story that was evaluated. The calculated PMVs on Lersäters värmeverk varied largely depending on which building and what floor was evaluated. When the dampers were closed the PMV on floor 5 and 6 in the boiler room was higher than 3 which is normally the maximum value for the PMV-method. Further down in the boiler room the PMV decreased to more acceptable levels and was between 1 and 2 for the rest of the facility. Two different case studies were done where different frequencies on the ventilation system was used and if the dampers were open or closed in the boiler room. When the dampers were open the comfort was improved in the boiler room. On story 5 and 6 in the boiler room the comfort was greatly improved when the dampers were opened compared to when they were closed. The PMV went from above maximum to around 2. For the case studies different frequencies for the ventilation fan was tested and how open or shut dampers impacted the comfort levels.   When the dampers were open like in case 2 the comfort in the boiler room was improved. For story 5 and 6 in the boiler room the comfort was greatly improved with open dampers which was lowered to around 2 instead of 3-4 in the standard-case. The boiler room up to 18 times higher air intake than the minimum requirement for indoors climate but large part of this are became stagnant at the lower stories which made the comfort good there but at the cost of the comfort of the higher stories. With the comfort levels above maximum for the PMV-method at story 5 and 6 in the boiler room. A survey of what the employees at Lersäters värmeverk thought about the climate at the facility was done with a questionnaire. The results from the survey confirmed a lot of the calculated values for the comfort. But personal preferences always differ from person to person, but the averages confirmed the results except for the warehouse building called warehouse 108. In warehouse 108 the calculated values showed good comfort, but the employees thought it was a lot warmer. The reason for this difference is probably that this building is on a higher degree effected by seasonal changes and the employees evaluate the total comfort level for the building while the calculations only show results during the spring while the outdoor temperature is still low. All intake and outtake of air is located at the same side in the boiler room which makes the air circulation bad even though an active ventilation system is installed. Which the smoke analysis confirmed by noticing that the transport of air towards the outtakes reduces to almost zero just a few meters away from an air outtake. The placements of the outflows are also placed on the same side in the boiler room and damper 1 is placed right above the primary and secondary intake to the boiler. This led to that even though lots of air is supplied into the building the exchange between the contaminated air and the fresh air was far from good. To improve this exchange the air circulation must improve. This can be done in several ways, one way of doing it is the install more dampers and controllable hatches in the ceiling to be able to ventilate out the hot air around the ceiling.

The purpose of the study here reported was twofold: to ascertain the nature and extent of gainful employment and the hazards to health in such occupations among boys and girls of high school age (14-18) and ; to inquire into the recreational and leisure-time activities of boys and girls.

Teacher recruitment and retention is a problem of perpetual concern among education policymakers. High rates of teacher attrition, particularly within the first few years of a teacher’s service have been of particular concern. It is believed that persistent teacher shortages contribute both to underperformance of students generally, as well as to achievement gaps between students of different races and socioeconomic backgrounds. The importance of this issue has led to a great deal of research in the field, which has found that there are a large number of factors that influence the desirability of schools to teachers. What is still unclear from this research is how much these different factors matter relative to one another and to salary. This study aimed to address this gap in the literature by introducing a new survey methodology to the field that allows for quantification of the extent to which various working conditions factors matter to teachers. A survey was distributed to all secondary teachers in the state of Utah where respondents were asked to choose between hypothetical school choices that varied on salary and certain nonmonetary factors. Periodically, respondents were asked to answer open-ended questions explaining their responses. The results of this survey allow for an estimate for each individual of how much salary and each of the working conditions influenced the decisions that they made. These results were analyzed for trends with respect to teacher demographics and contextual factors and were compared to the responses teachers gave to the open-ended questions. This study resulted in a number of practical recommendations for school administrators, policymakers, and fellow researchers. For practitioners, there are results from this study that generate clear recommendations for using limited resources to make schools more desirable to teachers. The results of this study also provide estimates for how much additional salary is needed to entice teachers to work in schools that traditionally struggle to recruit and retain high quality teachers. For researchers, this study provides a model that can be replicated in additional contexts to answer these important practical questions. The study also opens up avenues of future research including new methodological questions worthy of further investigation. By introducing a new survey methodology to this well-developed field of research, this study aims to recommend a new tool for use by researchers in addressing the persistent challenge of teacher recruitment and retention.

Till följd av Covid-19 har distansarbetet ökat och med det behovet att undersöka medarbetares självskattade hälsa och upplevda arbetsförhållanden. Syftet med föreliggande studie var att ur ett slutogent perspektiv undersöka arbetsmiljö och hälsa vid distansarbete på en statlig myndighet. En webbaserad enkätstudie genomfördes innehållande en kvantitativ och en valitativ del. Statisktiska beräkningar utfördes i SPSS i form av t-test coh multipel regressionsanalys samt en induktiv tematisk analys. Resultatet visade att distansarbetet haft positiv påverkan på självskattad hälsa och upplevda arbetsförhållanden med vissa signigikanta skillnader mellan verksamhetsområden och mellan kön. Vidare visade resultatet att självskattad hälsa kan förklaras med 20 procent utifrån upplevda arbetsförhållanden. Den tematiska analysen genererade sex huvudteman med vissa underteman av viktiga faktorer vid fortsatt arbete på distans. Dessa var socialt stöd, teknik och friskvård (stödjande arbetsförhållanden), ledarskap, arbetsmiljö samt flexibilitet. Majoriteten av respondenterna önskade arbeta på distans två till tre dagar i veckan i framtiden. Ett främjande av upplevda arbetsförhållanden kan generera i fortsatt ökad hälsa bland medarbetarna. / As a result of Covid-19, teleworking has increased and with it the need to research employees self-rated health and working conditions. The purpose of this study was to examine empolyees self-rated health and perceived working conditions from a salutogenic perspective during teleworking at a government agency. A web-based survey was conducted containing a quantitative and a qualitative part. Statistical calculations were made in SPSS in the form of t-tests and multiple regression analysis and an inductive thematic analysis was made as well. The results showed that telework had a positive impact on self-rated health and preceived working conditions with some significant differences between business areas and between gender. Furthermore, the results showed that self-rated health can be explained by 20 percent based on perceived working conditons. The thematic analysis generated four main themes with certain sub-themes of important factors in continued work at a distance. These were supportive working conditions (social support, technology and wellness), leadershio, work enviroment and flexibility. The majority of respondents wnated to work remotely two to three days a week in the future. A promotion of perceived working conditions can generate continued increased health among empoyees.

Labour in our current dispensation can be understood by critically examining their embeddedness in their geographical spaces and their spatial connection to those geographical spaces. Meanwhile, it has been highly contested by famous economic geographers like Andrew Herod and Don Mitchell, who argues that although labour shapes their economic and political spaces, they do not do this by choice and, as such, their power to make structural changes had been overemphasised. Therefore, a further study into other structures in which labour works and live can help reveal the extent of their influence on structures of any kind. Mainly, working conditions are essential for workers, and this study contests their power of influence on them. Notably, working conditions are formulated by the employers basing their decisions on their societal values, morals, and other factors. In order to understand the interplay of these components in influencing the decision of employers on working conditions, ethical leadership at the workplace is necessary to be studied to uncover how employers' ethical stances influence the working conditions of their workers. Particularly, ethical leadership is a complex structure involving a leadership style and ethics that affect employers' decision-making process. This qualitative paper used purposive and snowball non-probability sampling techniques to select participants from Holiday Club Åre and Ski Star Åre. The results from this study show that ethical leadership influences working conditions and it existed within the two workplaces even during the pandemic; however, it is unevenly exhibited, and the reason for such disparities can be attributed to the personalistic characteristics of the managers. Namely, ethical leadership and good working conditions lead to a higher level of job satisfaction and trust in leadership, higher productivity, behaviour emulation and reduction in counterproductive behaviour at the workplace. Workers were also found to have a marginal structural impact on their working conditions because of their low bargaining power despite the support of their labour agency. / <p>2022-01-22</p>

The COVID-19 pandemic has immeasurably impacted nearly every aspect of schools from day-to-day operating procedures to the way students attend classes to curricular and instructional matters. In the early stages of the pandemic, while COVID-19 spread across the country, the large-scale, nationwide closure of schools in March 2020 forced educators, students, and families alike to adjust to emergency remote teaching with virtually no warning or preparation (Marshall et al., 2020; Hodges et al., 2020). As the 2019–2020 school year came to a close remotely, states began the process of reopening after initial COVID-19 related closures; and the predicament of how to reopen schools in the fall became a major topic of debate. This contentious debate continued throughout the rest of the 2020–2021 school year as school buildings went in and out of in-person, hybrid and remote instructional models; and the public health crisis persisted. Caught squarely in the crossfire of the debate and on the receiving end of policy coming down from state governance were public-school classroom teachers. Historically, this top-down dynamic is certainly not new for the teaching profession (Lortie, 1975; Cohn et al., 1993; Gratch, 2000). Intersecting with this reality is the view of teachers as executors of policy that others create (Cohn et al., 1993; Cochran-Smith et al., 2009) — a view that situates teachers in a web of bureaucracy (Elvira, 2020) that is often at odds with their expertise and local knowledge of practice (Cochran-Smith et al., 2009). This view ultimately results in the exclusion of teachers’ voices in decision-making arenas (Cohn et al., 1993). While preliminary research investigating the impacts of COVID-19 on teachers and the teaching profession has established some of the emotional and physical toll that has occurred, more details with respect to the way that teachers experienced the work of teaching itself in conjunction with policy decisions is necessary. The three studies in this dissertation address these needs by teasing out teachers’ perspectives, challenging the lingering image of teachers as technicians and the status quo of top-down policy enactment, and determining a way to move forward. More specifically, these studies occur within the context of public-school teaching in the state of Massachusetts (MA) and involve data sources that include survey responses from full-time, public-school teachers in MA who actively taught in the 2020–2021 school year as well as policy memos that came from the MA state educational agency (SEA). The combination of articles in this dissertation examines topics including the status of teachers’ voices and influence in decision-making forums, the relationship between policy and teachers’ work, teachers as experts versus technicians, and teacher demoralization throughout the pandemic. By drawing upon teacher survey data from 122 full-time, public-school teachers in MA, the first study captures their experiences teaching during the pandemic from the onset of the pandemic in March 2020 through April of the 2020–2021 school year. This first study provides a window into the direct experiences teachers had teaching during the pandemic in comparison to teaching prior to the pandemic and sets the groundwork to show how teachers’ experiences do not align with images of teaching as put forth by the MA SEA and the policy rolled out during the pandemic. The second study uses document analysis to examine policy artifacts produced by state governance in the wake of COVID-19 and the way they communicate certain perceptions of teachers and the work of teaching. The third study returns to teacher responses to inquire about their perceptions of the state educational agency’s level of support and policy developed during the pandemic. As such, this third study demonstrates the teacher demoralization that results from the lack of inclusion of teachers’ voices in decision-making forums and the disconnect between policy and teachers’ work during the COVID-19 pandemic. Together these studies reflect that the COVID-19 pandemic has further underscored the gap between the individuals in the classroom and those in decision-making forums. As such, it has revealed the need for a more detailed understanding of the commitments that teachers juggle at the classroom level in order to better align policy, research, and state and national responses with the daily needs of students and teachers.

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.

The overall purpose of the essay is to, based on an anthology book with acollection of texts, reproduce voices from elderly care by describing carerelationships and what significance they can have for care recipients, care staffand the quality of the work. A second purpose of the thesis is to describe howworking conditions can affect the quality of the care relationship and the carework. When my idea was to write about care relationships and working conditionsin elderly care, I chose to start from some form of reality-based book with storiesbased on care staff and / or care recipients. The choice of empirical data landed inan anthology book consisting of thirty-five reality-based stories of experiencesand concrete knowledge about elderly care. The stories constitute the authors&amp;#39; ownperspectives and experience of elderly care. The stories reflect both urban andrural areas, as well as positive and negative experiences. The authors of theanthology are as numerous as the stories and consist of relatives who tell abouttheir mothers, thus mostly daughters, assistant nurses, care staff, who tell abouttheir work either in home care or in nursing homes. The theoretical frames ofreference I have used to gain an understanding of my results are relational theory,coping and Maslow&amp;#39;s description of a pathogenic approach. As an analysismethod, I chose to use a thematic analysis. The method takes into account partly avisible content but also an implicit content, which I thought was appropriate basedon my empirical data. The results and analysis part show that the importance ofthe care relationship between staff and care recipients is a fundamental factor forgood quality care. The care staff strives to create good and meaningful carerelationships with the care recipients, which generates a good quality of care.Furthermore, it appears that the working conditions with its control instrumentsthat are implemented affect the quality of care and generate an inadequacy of thecare staff.

No description available.