Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Work Break'

Forty percent of employed parents report that they experience work-family conflict (Galinsky, Bond, & Friedman, 1993). Work-family conflict (WFC) exists when role pressures from the work and family domains are mutually incompatible. WFC is associated with decreases in family, job, and life satisfaction and physical health; intention to quit one's job; and increases in workplace absenteeism. Women may be more impacted by WFC than men, as women report completing 65-80% of the child care (Sayer, 2001) and spend 80 hours per week fulfilling work and home responsibilities (Cowan, 1983). Research suggests that WFC can be reduced with social support, such as co-workers providing assistance when family interferes with work (Carlson & Perrewe, 1999). It is unclear whether parents 'get a break' or are penalized by co-workers. The purpose of the present study was to examine co-workers' reactions to individuals who experience WFC. Based on sex role theory and attribution theory, it was predicted that women, people who experience family interference with work, and those who have more control over the work interference would be helped less and evaluated more poorly on a team task than men, people who experience non-family related work interference, and those who have less control over the work interference. A laboratory experiment was conducted in which participants signed up for a team-based study. The teammate was a confederate who was late for the study. Teammate control over the tardiness (unexpected physician's visit versus forgotten physician's appointment), type of work conflict (self- versus family-related), and gender of the teammate were manipulated. After learning about the reasons for the tardiness of their teammate, the 218 participants (63% female; 59% Caucasian) decided whether to help the late teammate by completing a word sort task for them or letting the late teammate make up the work after the experiment. When the teammate arrived, the participants completed a team task and then evaluated the task performance of their teammate. None of the hypotheses were confirmed in this study. However, exploratory analyses showed that people who had more control over the tardiness were rated lower than people who had less control over the tardiness. Contrary to expectations, exploratory analyses also showed that men rated women who were late to the study for a family-related reason higher than women who were late due to a self-related reason. These findings suggest that male co-workers may give women a break when they experience family interference with work. Implications for future research and practice are discussed.
Ph.D.
Department of Psychology
Sciences
Psychology PhD

Work breaks during an individual's shift can be a powerful motivational tool for management; however, not all individuals receive breaks during their shifts. The purpose of this phenomenological, qualitative study was to explore how work breaks affect employee morale and satisfaction in the casual and fine dining restaurant industry. The questions explored in this study were related to the breaks effect employee satisfaction and morale in the casual and fine dining restaurant industry. Thirteen participants with a minimum of 5 years' experience as wait staff who worked more than 6 hours per day were interviewed using semi structured interviews. The results were analyzed using a modified version of van Kaam's method and MAXqda software. The results suggested that breaks did not directly affect employee satisfaction and morale; however, management style directly affected employee satisfaction and morale. The results from this study may help managers have a better understanding of how their interactions and dealings with employees affect employee satisfaction and morale. This research may spur a field-changing management training, which could promote positive social change for employees.

Studien handlar om projektet Sharafs hjältar, som syftar till att förändra – attityderna hos unga män med rötter i hederskulturen. En kvalitativ metod har använts, där fyra intervjuer av män som arbetar inom organisationen genomförts. Syftet med studien är att få ökad förståelse för hur arbetet mot hedersrelaterat våld kan se ut. Fokus ligger på männens egen syn och egna erfarenheter av hederskulturen, samt deras arbete inom Sharafs hjältar. Våra frågeställningar är; Vad är Sharafs hjältar och vad är syftet och målet med projektet? Vilka metoder används i arbetet? Vilka problem och hinder uppstår under arbetet i projektet och vilket resultat har projektet givit hittills? Vad består en hederskultur av, och vilka problem orsakar den? Vilken roll har unga män i hederskulturen? Hur kan de arbeta för att förändra den?

 

Resultatet visar att projektets syfte är att det ska vara en stödorganisation för att förebygga och förändra attityder, att fungera som en kunskapsbank för myndigheter i frågor gällande hedersrelaterat våld. Den huvudsakliga metoden i projektet är dialoggruppen, där arbetet startar ”underifrån” genom den unga generationens män. Resultatet som projektet har visat är att när dialogen kommer in i familjen, startar en tankeprocess, vilken leder till förändringar gällande rådande attityder. Problem som förekommer med arbetet handlar om brister i myndigheternas samarbete, samt att myndigheters kunskaper kring hedersproblematiken är bristfällig.

 

Nyckelord; Heder, Unga mäns roller, Sharafs hjältar, Hedersrelaterat våld och förtryck, Socialisation, Familjestruktur.

This study is about the project Sharaf’s heroes, which aims to change - the attitudes of young men with roots in honour culture. A qualitative method has been used, with four interviews with men who work within the organization. The aim of the study has been to increase the understanding of how work against honour related violence and oppressions can be dealt with, in order to decrease it. The focus in this study lies on the young men's own view on and experiences of honour culture and their work with the project Sharaf’s heroes. Our issues are as follows: What are Sharaf’s heroes and what is the purpose of the project? Which methods are used in their work? Which problems and obstacles will it be with the work in the project and which result has the project given so far? What does an honour culture consist of and what kinds of problems does it cause? Which role has young men living in honour culture and how can they work in order to change it?

 

Our result shows that the project’s purpose of the project is that it will work as an aid organization in order to prevent and to change attitudes. Additionally, it will function as a knowledge bank for different authorities when it comes to honour related violence. The main method in the project is the dialogue group, where the work starts from underneath through the young generation's men. The result that the project has given so far shows that when the dialogue between children and parents start, a process begins which leads to change the current prevailing attitudes. The problems with the work in the project are above all that there is a lack of cooperation within the authorities, and that authority’s knowledge about honour related problems is inadequate.

 

Keywords; Honour, Young men’s role, Sharaf’s heroes, Honour related violence and oppression, Socialization, Familystructure.

 

A Work Project, presented as part of the requirements for the Award of a Masters Degree in Management from the NOVA – School of Business and Economics
The objective of this work is to understand what kind of activities people develop at the workplace when they are not working and which are their work-related effects. The study of this subject was conducted through twenty interviews with people from different areas - tourism, banking, consulting, telecommunications, informatics, ambient, pharmaceutical, psychological, financial, and advocacy – that were not occupying leading positions inside their companies. The observed outcomes of these research show that people engage in a lot of different non-work related practices everyday that have diverse causes and consequences in their work life. The results reveal that in most of the cases, interruptions and breaks have a very positive impact on the work process and progress, increasing productivity and efficiency, improving the work rhythm and the most important thing – contributing for the solutions for wok-related problems and issues that cannot be resolved without a pause in the work. This means that the solution for some problems related to working issues, comes from the break that was done, this is, the revenue obtained is higher when there has been a pause than when there was not any interruption, as it is going to be explained further in this work.

This study examined the relationship of the winter break as influenced by occurrences of first semester and its effect on retention, self-efficacy and perceived social support for freshmen students. The target population for this research study was composed of freshmen students in the Atlanta University Center (AUC). One hundred and seventy-five respondents were selected, utilizing non-probability convenience sampling. The research found that there was a statistically significant relationship between winter break as influenced by first semester occurrences and retention, selfefficacy and perceived social support for freshmen students.

I dagens samhälle är vi aktiva dygnet runt både gällande fritid och arbete. Detta innebär att det måste finnas tillgänglig arbetskraft under dygnets alla timmar, vilket medför stor påfrestning på arbetstagares biologiska dygnsrytm. De oregelbundna arbetstiderna kan inverka negativt på arbetstagarens både fysiska och psykiska hälsa. Företag kan tillsammans med lokala fackföreningar förhandla bort den lagstadgade matrasten och ersatta den med ett måltidsuppehåll vilket innebär att det ingår i arbetstiden och får nyttjas i mån av tid. Syftet med denna studie var att kartlägga de uppfattningar som arbetstagare i roterande 3-skift vid en processindustri har om måltidsuppehållet, var och när deras måltidsuppehåll tar plats och vad de äter och dricker. 15 skiftarbetare har under 6 arbetsskift vardera, fotodokumenterat vad deras födointag under måltidsuppehåll bestod av. Dessa kategoriserades genom Food-based Classification of Eating Episodes. Fotografierna visade att totala antalet ät-tillfällen var lägre under nattskiftet i jämförelse med andra skift. Skiftarbetarna intervjuades och deras utsagor genomgick en fenomenografisk analys där det framkom att deras uppfattningar om måltidsuppehållet är att det är en social tillställning som stärker gruppgemenskapen. När arbetstagarna äter en måltid sitter de oftast vid matbordet och då ”ställer man upp för varandra” så att måltiden skall kunna slutföras. Om det gäller ett mellanmål kan intaget ske vid arbetsplatsen och om något händer får de bryta och arbeta. Vidare studier behövs för att verifiera uppfattningar i andra arbetsgrupper.
In today´s society, we are active day and nights, both in leisure time and at work. This means that employees must be available at work 24-hours a day which inflict high strain on their circadian rhythms. The irregular working hours can affect negatively on the employee’s physical and mental health. Companies can, together with local unions, negotiate away the statutory dinner break and replace it with meal break, which means that it is included in working hours and should be used as time permits. The purpose of this study was to identify the perceptions of workers in rotating 3-shift, in a process industry, when and where their meal breaks take place and what they ate. 15 shift workers have during 6 shifts each, photo-documented what their meal breaks consisted of. Consumption of foods and beverages were categorized by Food-Based Classification of Eating Episodes. The photographs showed that the number of eating occasions was lower during the night shift in comparison to other shifts. Shift workers were interviewed and their statements underwent a phenomenographical analysis which revealed that their perception of the meal break is a social event as well that strengthens the group community. When the workers were having a meal, it is mostly occurred at the dinner table. The shift workers replaced each other so each one had the possibility to take a meal break. Regarding snack intakes, it could occur at their workplace and if something happened in the process, they could immediately return to work. Further studies are needed to verify the perceptions of other working groups.

This thesis presents a research effort aimed at developing using construction methods and techniques in army tactical shelter. The beginning step focuses on developing and identifying different activities and work breakdown structure applicable in shelter prototype. The next step focuses on identifying resource allocation. This include allocate resources based on the delivered project as per alternative one and for the second alternative as optimization, resource allocation modified and tried to level and minimize resource peak. In addition, the cost calculated for the whole project as well as for each WBS and activities which consider as alternative one and in the second alternative, cost mitigation applied according to available resources and adjusting predecessors and successors of each activity. In conclusion, two alternatives compared, available outcome presents, and future work suggested for the project team to continue this effort.

Former studies show that the break-up from prostitution can be seen as a process with several stages which the person has to go through and that there are several factors which can affect the break-up. The aim of this study is to create an understanding for and illustrate how a break-up from prostitution can look like. We have interviewed three ex-prostitutes about their own break-up and three social workers who work with helping individuals to exit prostitution. We have analyzed the material through the theory of exit process by Helen Fuch Ebaugh (1988) and through former studies. All the ex-prostitutes and the social workers in our study described the break-up from prostitution as a process. All our respondents agreed on that there are several different factors affecting a break-up from prostitution, whereof close relationships and the own motivation to make a change are the most significant ones. Formal support from professionals is also considered having an impact on the exit process as well as during the period after the break-up. In summary, the break-up process from prostitution is very complex, can be emotionally exhausting and may vary to a great extent between individuals.

In this study, the topic of men’s violence against women has been highlighted. Men’s violence against women is a societal problem that occurs in various social groups, ages and cultures. The study conducts semi-structured interviews with six social workers to examine their experiences working with abused women with foreign backgrounds. The collected data were analyzed through thematic analysis method based on: the normalization process, empowerment and break-up process. The study showed that some of the main factors that made it difficult for women were children, emotional ties, financial and housing dependencies. This study also confirmed previous studies which showed that women with a foreign background are particularly vulnerable and thus find it more difficult to break up a relationship due to societal norms, language difficulties, social networks and because of their ignorance of society. This study also shows that the interviewed social workers found that motivation and support given to violated women in various processes made the break-up process easier for these women. However, the social workers encountered some difficulties working with women with a foreign background, such as communication difficulties.

A Work Project, presented as part of the requirements for the Award of a Masters Degree in Management from the NOVA – School of Business and Economics
The purpose of this work project is to explore the activities people engage in while they are at work but not working. Twenty interviews were conducted with young workers from different occupational areas to map out those activities, to understand the reasons why people engage in certain routines and behaviours and what are the consequences for the productivity of the employee and for the company as a whole. The first conclusion is fact that people need some time to exit a role and enter a new role. The second states the importance to break between long periods of work. The third concerns the need to reconcile personal issues and professional lives. And the last conclusion links the need to be in touch with the outside world with the socialization requirement among workers.

Syftet med studien var att identifiera de faktorer i kvinnors utsatthet för våld av män i nära relationer som påverkar deras val och möjlighet att stanna i alternativt lämna en våldsam parrelation samt vilken inverkan och påverkan det sociala nätverket har på kvinnors beslut att stanna i alternativt lämna relationen. Genom kvalitativ innehållsanalys av fyra självbiografier skrivna av tidigare våldsutsatta kvinnor sammanställdes resultat, som tematiserades och analyserades med hjälp av teorierna och begreppen normaliseringsprocess, traumatisk bindning och uppbrottsprocess tillsammans med tidigare forskning. Resultatet visade att anledningar till att en våldsutsatt kvinna stannar i en våldsam parrelation är starka känslomässiga band, normalisering av våldet, beroende, psykisk nedbrytning, internalisering, rädsla samt hopp om förändring. Vad som gör att en våldsutsatt kvinna lämnar en våldsam parrelation är insikten om att det skulle vara ohållbart att stanna av olika anledningar samt rädsla för sitt eget eller annans liv. Uppbrottsprocessen kan förklaras likt en process i flera steg. Omgivningens stöd visade sig också ha stor betydelse i kvinnans val och möjlighet att kunna lämna relationen, dock är beslutet att lämna relationen tvunget att komma från kvinnan själv. Slutsatsen var därmed att kvinnor som utsätts för våld av män i nära relationer är en mycket utsatt grupp i samhället, relationen till männen är ofta komplex. För att bryta kvinnors isolering, som följd av våldsutsattheten, krävs insatser från omgivningen samt förändring på samhällelig nivå.
The purpose of the study was to identify the factors in women's exposure to violence by men in intimate relationships that affect their choice and ability to stay in or leave a violent relationship and what impact the social network has on women's decision to stay in or leave the relationship. Through qualitative content analysis of four autobiographies written by previously abused women, results were compiled, thematized and analysed using theories and concepts such as normalization process, traumatic bonding, and break-up process together with previous research. The results showed that reasons why an abused woman stays in a violent relationship are strong emotional bonds, normalization of violence, addiction, being mentally break down, internalization, fear and hope for change. What causes an abused woman to leave a violent relationship has turned out to be the realization that it would be unsustainable to stay for various reasons as well as fear for her own or someone else's life. The breaking process can be explained as a process in several steps. The social network had a great importance in the woman's choice and opportunity to be able to leave the relationship, however, the decision to leave had to come from the woman herself. The conclusion was thus that women who are exposed by men in intimate partner violence are a very vulnerable group in society, the relationship is often complex. Breaking women's isolation, as a result of domestic violence, requires efforts from the social network and change at the societal level.

A Work Project, presented as part of the requirements for the Award of a Masters Degree in Management from the NOVA – School of Business and Economics
The effects of interruptions at work were investigated, first through the work experience of a group of 20 white collar employees and as complementary information an overview of the interruptions literature was taken. Specifically this study falls on the reasons leading to employees solicited interruptions at work and which non-related work activities they engage in. The importance of these practises to the organization is the key variable of study of this project. Mainly, workers interrupt work in order to unwind, to establish relationships with colleagues, to take care of personal life and to gain stimulus to work. This study demonstrates the importance of practises performed by the employees and the positive impact they have in the organization.

Behaviors that may waste time in the workplace, like surfing the Internet for personal purposes (cyberloafing) or smoking breaks, may be the root antecedent for poor productivity. The purpose of this correlational study was to examine whether there was a relationship between the independent variables: time spent cyberloafing and time in uncontrolled smoking breaks, and the dependent variable: employee productivity. Procedural justice theory was used to frame the study. The population consisted of 34 employees working in a multinational engineering company in Jordan who have official smoking policies, but not cyberloafing policies. Correlations and multiple regression were computed using a Cyberloafing Scale and time spent smoking (independent variables) and The Endicott Work Productivity Scale (dependent variable). The results of the correlations indicated no significant relationship between Internet surfing and employee productivity. Smoking breaks were not a significant source of wasted time during the workday (the subsample and frequency of engaging in smoking were low); therefore, smoking did not have an effect on productivity. The findings of this study support the theory that using the Internet at work does not affect employee productivity. These findings have implications for positive social change that are also supported by existing research. Employees who engage in personal Internet activities at work tend to meet private demands and obligations. This connectivity may help to facilitate work-life balance.

The purpose of this treatise is to present a survey of the solo guitar works written for Julian Bream and to illuminate their historical significance and lasting importance to the guitar repertoire. For each piece, this treatise provides a brief biographical sketch of each composer, a survey of the relevant literature and, where necessary, a brief theoretical analysis. At the end of each section, a “Performer’s Note” has been included, which details the specific difficulties of performing each piece. Hopefully, this treatise will provide guitarists interested in the pieces written for Julian Bream a reference for performance and study.

Emancipation tends to be understood almost self-evidently as a process that occurs over time. The core gesture of Ranciere's philosophy, as this dissertation argues, aims to challenge this view. It does this by emphasising spatiality in different ways over forms of temporalisation. While time generally functions as a form to order differences and directedness, space, as a broad abstract sphere, allows Ranciere to avoid such determinations and affirm egalitarian coexistence as such. Therefore, the logic of rupture at work in Ranciere's conception of emancipation is best understood not as a break in the temporal course of history, but rather as a break from time, as a dimension which is able to hold together a given course of things. As a theoretical background of this notion of emancipation lies Althusser's reconceptualization of historical time around the idea of rupture, while its main politico-historical coordinates lie in the Chinese Cultural Revolution. As will be shown, Ranciere's thought also bears affinity with the French Revolution seen through the question of the realization of eternal rights in the historically constituted reality. The logic of rupture which is played through space and time as different dimensional spheres provides a specific understanding of the vexed relation between eternal rights and historical time. While space and time always co-imply each other in human experience, it will be shown that Ranciere draws from the discrepancy between them to think a kind of timelessness immanent to historical temporality. As this thesis argues, we should recognise in this logic an attempt to think something like the Kantian noumenal dimension, as the realm of practical reason as such, without fettering it by temporal constraints. This philosophical radicality - characteristic of the current of French Maoism close to Ranciere - nevertheless ends up in a disappointing modesty when it comes close to actual practice. Thus, when emancipation is designed to reject in its principle any organisational discipline over time, the temporal order of things is left mainly to the 'police', while any emancipatory process is readily cancelled by the very logic it puts to work.

We are spending more and more time seated at work, which increases the risk for health problems. Behaviour change support systems that encourage breaks and stretching at work have been used as interventions to try to reduce these problems. No previous studies had looked at how these systems were used for long periods of time. In this qualitative study based on ten interviews, we aimed for expanding our understanding of long-term usage of such systems by studying one called ‘Efons’. The results indicate that the main factors influencing long-term usage are timely reminders, the impact that the stretching exercises has on the users’ health and the education of the user about health recommendations. We also found elements we argue have the ability to influence long-term usage and currently do not exist in the system studied or its context of use, such as adapt the system to the needs of the user or provide education about why these systems are useful.

Theoretischer Hintergrund. Aufgrund des Wandels in der Arbeitswelt durch neue bzw. veränderte Belastungsformen gewinnt die Sicherung ausreichender Erholung schon während der Arbeitszeit an Bedeutung, um mögliche beeinträchtigende Folgen bei Beschäftigten zeitnah und effizient vorzubeugen. Bereits seit über 100 Jahren beschäftigen sich verschiedene Forschungsdisziplinen mit der Frage, wie Arbeitspausen beanspruchungsoptimierend gestaltet werden können. Im theoretischen Teil dieser Monografie werden diese arbeitswissenschaftlichen und psychologischen Beiträge diskutiert und schließlich in einem Rahmenkonzept integriert, dass die Beziehungen zwischen Merkmalen der Pausenorganisation, der Arbeit (Belastungsfaktoren) und des Beschäftigten (Personenmerkmale) sowie die beteiligten Wirkmechanismen zu strukturieren versucht. Im empirischen Teil dieser Arbeit werden auf Basis identifizierter Forschungslücken Teilbeziehungen des entwickelten Konzeptes anhand der Organisation von Kurzpausen geprüft. Die vier durchgeführten Studien sollen dazu beitragen, das bisher fragmentierte Vorgehen bei der Untersuchung von Kurzpauseneffekten aufzulösen und so zu einem umfassenderen Verständnis über die Modulatoren und Mechanismen der beanspruchungsoptimierenden Wirkung von Kurzpausen zu gelangen. Fragestellungen. Studie 1 zielt darauf ab, die Studienlage zur Wirkung von Kurzpausen auf verschiedene Beanspruchungsindikatoren zusammenzufassen und mögliche moderierende Einflussfaktoren zu identifizieren. Die folgenden laborexperimentellen Studien untersuchen Gestaltungs- und Einflussfaktoren der Kurzpausenorganisation anhand simulierter Kommissioniertätigkeiten bei der Arbeit am Fließband. In Studie 2 soll zunächst geklärt werden, ob zwei wesentliche Tätigkeitsmerkmale von Fließarbeit (Aufgabenrepetitivität, Taktung) die physiologische Erholung während passiver Kurzpausen (Ausruhen) beeinflussen und dadurch auf das Ausmaß beeinträchtigender Beanspruchungsfolgen wirken. Auf Basis dieser Studienergebnisse werden in Studie 3 und 4 unterschiedliche Formen der Kurzpausenorganisation bei repetitiver und fremdgetakteter Fließarbeit weiter untersucht. Studie 3 zielt darauf ab, die Kurzpauseneffekte gegenüber einer pausenlosen Kontrollbedingung zu prüfen. Es sollen erstmals auch mögliche beeinträchtigende und förderliche Mechanismen der Pausenwirkung (z.B. Rumination, Unterbrechungserleben) sowie direkte und interaktive Einflüsse eines weiteren Merkmals der Pausenorganisation, dem Pauseninhalt (passiv: Ruhe, Musik, aktiv: körperliche Aktivität), sowie der Person (Erholungsfähigkeit) geprüft werden. Studie 4 repliziert und erweitert den Forschungsansatz aus Studie 3, indem als zusätzlicher Faktor auf die Pausenwirkungen der Zeitdruck bei der Arbeit untersucht wird. Methoden. In allen Studien wurden kurzfristige Beanspruchungsfolgen mehrdimensional operationalisiert und erfasst (körperliche Beschwerden, psychische Beanspruchungsfolgen, physiologische Stressindikatoren, Leistungsindikatoren), um so die in der Literatur oftmals berichteten inkongruenten Effekte aufzudecken. In Studie 1 wurde eine Metaanalyse über Interventionsstudien zur Wirkung fremdorganisierter Kurzpausen durchgeführt und mittlere Effektstärken (Hedges‘ g) für verschiedene Beanspruchungsindikatoren ermittelt. Potenzielle Moderatoren der Kurzpausenwirkung (Pausenorganisation, Studienmerkmale, Arbeitsbedingungen, Personenmerkmale) wurden in den Analysen berücksichtigt. In die Auswertung gingen k = 33 (N = 1171) und in die zur Wirkung des Pauseninhaltes k = 6 (N = 147) unabhängige Studienstichproben ein. In den Studien 2 bis 4 wurden in einem Labor Kommissioniertätigkeiten über eine Dauer von 140 bis 176 Minuten simuliert. Die studentischen Probanden wurden den manipulierten Versuchsbedingungen stets zufällig zugeordnet (RCT-Designs). Studie 2 (N = 188) wurde als 2 (Aufgabenvielfalt: gering = repetitiv vs. hoch = abwechslungsreich) x 2 (zeitlicher Handlungsspielraum: gering = fremdgetaktet vs. hoch =selbstgetaktet)-faktorielles Messwiederholungsdesign realisiert, wobei die Probanden in allen vier Versuchsbedingungen alle 44 Minuten eine fünfminütige, passive Kurzpause einlegen mussten. Es wurden die kardiovaskuläre Erholungsreaktion (Herzrate, Herzratenvariabilität) während der Kurzpausen und verschiedene Beanspruchungsindikatoren (Ermüdung, Monotonie, Sättigung, systolischer und diastolischer Blutdruck, Arbeitsleitung) erfasst. In Studie 3 (N = 83) wurde ein unvollständiger 2 (drei fünfminütige Kurzpausen alle 40 Minuten: ohne vs. mit) x 3 (Pauseninhalt: passiv-Ruhe vs. passiv-klassische Musik vs. aktivkörperliche Ausgleichsübungen)-faktorieller Mischversuchsplan mit Messwiederholung realisiert und die individuelle Erholungsfähigkeit (Trait) als potenziell moderierende Variable bei allen Probanden erfasst. Die Beanspruchungsdiagnostik wurde im Vergleich zu Studie 2 erweitert (körperlich: Beschwerdelisten, systolischer und diastolischer Blutdruck, Herzrate[nvariabilität]; psychisch: Wohlbefinden, mentale Anstrengung, Ermüdung, Monotonie, Sättigung, Stress; Arbeitsleistung: Menge, Fehler, Fehlerrate). Als mögliche Prozesse der Pausenwirkung wurden die Rumination während der Pause, die Bewertung der Pausengestaltung sowie Veränderungen im Wohlbefinden, der Ermüdung, der mentalen Anstrengung und der physiologischen Aktivierung erfasst. In Studie 4 (N = 182) wurde ein unvollständiger 2 (Zeitdruck: gering vs. hoch) x 2 (Kurzpausen: ohne vs. mit) x 3 (Pauseninhalt: Ruhe vs. Musik vs. körperliche Aktivität)-faktorieller Mischversuchsplan mit Messwiederholung realisiert und die individuelle Erholungsfähigkeit erneut per Fragebogen erfasst. Es wurden die gleichen Verfahren und Methoden wie in Studie 3 angewendet. Ergebnisse. Studie 1 zeigte, dass organisierte Kurzpausen mit signifikant kleinem Effekt (g = 0.40) zur Reduktion beeinträchtigender Beanspruchungsfolgen beitragen. Die Effekte waren für verschiedene Beanspruchungsindikatoren (körperliche Beschwerden, psychisches Befinden, physiologische Aktivierung, Testleistung, Arbeitsleistung) stabil. Bezahlte Kurzpausen tragen trotz Arbeitszeitreduktion zu einer Verbesserung der Arbeitsleistung und des Wohlbefindens bei. Der Pauseninhalt hatte keinen direkten Einfluss auf die berichteten Effekte. Es gab Hinweise, dass förderliche Kurzpauseneffekte bei steigenden Arbeitsanforderungen und geringeren Arbeitsressourcen zunehmen. In Studie 2 führten reduzierte Arbeitsressourcen (repetitive Aufgaben und fremdgetaktete Arbeitsweise) zu einer Reduktion der kardiovaskulären Erholungsreaktion während der Kurzpausen. Dieser Effekt erklärte allerdings nicht, die unter dieser Arbeitsbedingung berichteten, höheren beeinträchtigenden Beanspruchungsfolgen. Studie 3 zeigte, dass Kurzpausen bei repetitiver und fremdgetakteter Arbeit im Vergleich zu einer Kontrollgruppe zu keiner Reduktion negativer Beanspruchungsfolgen beitragen. Die Effekte waren unabhängig vom Pauseninhalt und der Erholungsfähigkeit der Probanden. Weitere Analysen ergaben Hinweise, dass körperliche Aktivpausen Vorteile gegenüber passiven Pausen für das Befinden und die physiologische Aktivierungsregulation aufweisen. Probanden profitierten insbesondere dann von Kurzpausen, wenn sie vor der Pause bereits ein hohes Ausmaß beeinträchtigender Beanspruchungsfolgen entwickelt hatten. In Studie 4 wurde gezeigt, dass Kurzpausen bei steigendem Zeitdruck eine Zunahme psychischer und körperlicher Beanspruchungsfolgen vorbeugen, dieser Effekt aber nur bei erholungsfähigen Probanden und bei passiven Ruhepausen sowie bei körperlichen Aktivpausen auftritt. Die Verringerung der mentalen Anstrengung und der Ermüdung sowie die Steigerung des positiven Affektes durch die Kurzpausen konnten als vermittelnde Mechanismen identifiziert werden. Bei passiven Ruhepausen, nicht aber bei körperlichen Aktivpausen, qualifizierte die Erholungsfähigkeit die Wirkungen von Kurzpausen unter variiertem Zeitdruck. Beanspruchungsoptimierende Effekte von Ruhepausen traten mit steigendem Zeitdruck nur bei erholungsfähigen Probanden auf, während erholungsunfähige Probanden versuchten, dem steigenden Monotonieerleben durch schnelleres Arbeiten mit begleitend höheren psychophysiologischen Kosten zu begegnen. Es gab Hinweise, dass die arbeitsbezogene Rumination während der Pausen die Wechselwirkungen zwischen Zeitdruck, Kurzpausen und Erholungsfähigkeit vermittelt. Diskussion und Schlussfolgerungen. Es wurde ein Rahmenkonzept zu arbeitsbedingten, organisationalen und individuellen Einflussfaktoren sowie möglichen Mechanismen der beanspruchungsoptimierenden Wirkung von Arbeitspausen entwickelt und dieses schließlich für den Einsatz von Kurzpausen in Teilen geprüft. Kurzpausen haben förderliche Effekte für die Vorbeugung verschiedener kurzfristiger, negativer Beanspruchungsfolgen. Sie verbessern das körperliche und psychische Wohlbefinden und die Arbeitsleistung und können bei vielen Tätigkeiten als bezahlte Arbeitszeit gewährt werden. Insbesondere bei eher unterfordernden Tätigkeiten mit eingeschränkten zeitlichen Freiheitsgraden zeigt sich ihre vorbeugende Wirkung erst mit zunehmenden quantitativen Arbeitsanforderungen (Zeitdruck), was sich mit Vorhersagen stress- und erholungspsychologischer Theorien deckt. In Erweiterung dieser Modelle konnte für den Einsatz von Kurzpausen gezeigt werden, dass weitere Organisationsmerkmale der Pause (Pauseinhalt) und erholungsrelevante Personenmerkmale (Erholungsfähigkeit) diese Effekte gemeinsam qualifizieren. Darüber hinaus wurden gezeigt, dass affektive, kognitive und physiologische Prozesse die Wirkung der Pause auf verschiedene Beanspruchungsindikatoren erklären. Aus den Ergebnissen lässt sich schlussfolgern, dass sowohl verhältnis- als auch verhaltenspräventive Ansätze bei der Pausengestaltung berücksichtigt werden müssen. Zukünftige Studien sollten das Rahmenkonzept bei längeren Pausenformen prüfen und dabei mögliche längerfristige Beanspruchungsfolgen berücksichtigen. Auf Grundlage der hier erarbeiteten Erkenntnisse wurde ein Analyse- und Bewertungsinstrument zu Pausenorganisation entwickelt (Pausencheck), welches Praktiker und Forscher dabei unterstützen soll, die Pausenorganisation in ihrer Komplexität abzubilden und optimierend zu gestalten.

Despite extensive research into shift work, workers working under rotating shift conditions are still plagued by the effects of the desynchronisation resulting from working against their natural circadian rhythms. Additionally, modern industries are shifting towards tasks requiring greater cognitive demand with less manual labour incorporated into the tasks. Research into operator based tasks, and hence those of a sedentary cognitive base both during day and night shifts, has been focusing on the effectiveness of the standard rest/break schedule. Research indicating that the standard rest break schedule is often ineffective in eliminating operator discomfort and performance deterioration, with these affects argued to be more pronounced during a night shift schedule. Therefore current research set out to investigate alternative rest break schedules, incorporating a short bout of physical activity and stretching exercises which are proposed to enhance performance and subjective mood, while eliminating operator discomfort for sedentary based cognitive tasks. Three conditions were tested during a three day habituation shift cycle within a laboratory, incorporating two night shift groups (control and experimental) and a control day shift group. Twelve subjects made up each group, with the two night shift groups completing the shift schedule together. The control groups followed a typical 8 hour shift schedule while the experimental group performed a booster break (exercise and stretches) activity for 7.5 minutes every hour during the night shift schedule. Over the course of the shift, subjects completed a battery of six tests providing data on physiological measurements (heart rate and temperature), performance criteria (reaction time responses, memory and neurobiological) and subjective measures. Responses obtained for all the different parameters measured indicated a strong circadian influence for the majority of the variables, indicating the course of natural down regulation within physiological and performance criteria over the night shift. The booster break significantly improved reaction time performance, subjective ratings and resulted in a high sustainable activity level. Day shift comparisons indicating that within subjective measures and reaction time performance, the booster break resulted in similar responses to those of the day shift workers, while the control night shift groups reported significantly lowers results. Additionally, the booster break had positive influences during the circadian nadir, significantly improving parameters of performance and subjective ratings of sleepiness. The results of this study indicating which variables are strong predictors and indicators of the oscillations in performance and subjective ratings due to the circadian changes. The booster break interventions had positive effects on subjective ratings and reaction time performance, while also being argued to decrease the burden placed on the cardiac system as a result of increased sympathetic tone during the night shift, while additionally resulting in similar responses to those of day shift workers. Further studies are required, however, to provide conclusive evidence particularly within a working situation over a longer shift schedule.

The Nigeria economy is wholly dependent on revenue from oil. However, bitumen has been discovered in the country since 1903 and has remained untapped over the years. The need for the country to complement oil exploration with the huge bitumen deposit cannot be overemphasized. This will help to improve the country's gross domestic product (GDP) and revenue available to government. Bitumen is classifled as heavy crude with API (American petroleum Institute) number ranging between 50 and 110 and occurs in Nigeria, Canada, Saudi Arabia, Venezuela etc from which petroleum products could be derived. This dissertation looked at the Canadian experience by comparing the oil and tar sand deposit found in Canada with particular reference to Athabasca (Grosmont, Wabiskaw McMurray and Nsiku) with that in Nigeria with a view of transferring process technology from Canada to Nigeria. The Nigeria and Athabasca tar sands occur in the same type of environment. These are the deltaic, fluvial marine deposit in an incised valley with similar reservoir, chemical and physical properties. However, the Nigeria tar sand is more asphaltenic and also contains more resin and as such will yield more product volume during hydro cracking albeit more acidic. The differences in the components (viscosity, resin and asphaltenes contents, sulphur and heavy metal contents) of the tar sands is within the limit of technology adaptation. Any of the technologies used in Athabasca, Canada is adaptable to Nigeria according to the findings of this research. The techno-economics of some of the process technologies are. x-rayed using the PTAC (petroleum technology alliance Canada) technology recovery model in order to obtain their unit cost for Nigeria bitumen. The unit cost of processed bitumen adopting steam assisted gravity drainage (SAGD), in situ combustion (ISC) and cyclic steam stimulation (CSS) process technology is 40.59, 25.00 and 44.14 Canadian dollars respectively. The unit cost in Canada using the same process technology is 57.27, 25.00 and 61.33 Canadian dollars respectively. The unit cost in Nigeria is substantively lesser than in Canada. A trade off is thereafter done using life cycle costing so as to select the best process technology for the Nigeria oil/tar sands. The net present value/internal rate of return is found to be B$3,062/36.35% for steam assisted gravity drainage, B$I,570124.51 % for cyclic steam stimulation and B$3,503/39.64% for in situ combustion. Though in situ combustion returned the highest net present value and internal rate of return, it proved not to be the best option for Nigeria due to environmental concern and response time to production. The best viable option for the Nigeria tar sand was then deemed to be steam assisted gravity drainage. An integrated oil strategy coupled with cogeneration using MSAR was also seen to considerably amplify the benefits accruable from bitumen exploration; therefore, an investment in bitumen exploration in Nigeria is a wise economic decision.
Thesis (M.Ing. (Development and Management))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2010.

Det finns endast ett fåtal studier publicerade om återhämtning i arbetet, mer forskning behöver belysa återhämtningens viktiga roll och möjliga återhämtningsstrategier på arbetsplatsen. Syftet med föreliggande studie var att undersöka sjuksköterskors upplevelse av återhämtning i arbetet, genom att studera schemalagd återhämtningstid på 1177 Vårdguiden på telefon. Fokus riktas mot att skapa förståelse för vilken betydelse återhämtning i arbetet har för arbetsbelastningen och arbetsklimatet, genom att undersöka hantering av arbetsuppgifterna och socialt samspel iarbetsgruppen. Semistrukturerade intervjuer genomfördes med tio sjuksköterskor på 1177 Vårdguiden på telefon. Insamlade data analyserades med hjälp av tematisk analysmetod och resulterade i fem teman; energi i arbetet, full närvaro i samtalet, legitimt att återhämta sig i arbetet, att kunna släppa arbetet under pausen samt gemenskap i arbetsgruppen. Resultatet visar på vikten av att uppleva en frihet i att kunna återhämta sig efter eget behov samt möjligheten till att släppa arbetet under pausen. Återhämtning i arbetet är betydande för arbetsbelastningen då det upplevs ge mer energi, ett ökat fokus, effektivitet samt möjligheten att inta en professionell roll vid hantering av arbetsuppgifterna. Återhämtning i arbetet är betydande för arbetsklimatet då det upplevs ge gemenskap i arbetsgruppen, ett ökat stöd för varandra, reflektion med kollegor samt möjligheten till att utveckla arbetsrelationer vid studerande av det socialasamspelet i arbetsgruppen. Studien bidrar med en förståelse för att återhämtning är en viktig resurs för att uppleva kontroll och gemenskap i arbetet, vilket kan främja organisatorisk och social arbetsmiljö.
There are only a few published studies about recovery at work. More research would be necessary to investigate the importance of recovery and the potential recovery strategies in an working environment. The purpose of this study was to examine the nurses' experience of recovery at work by studying scheduled recovery time at 1177 Healthcare Service over the phone. The study focus on finding and to understand the importance of recovery at work by investigating the workload and working climate, these factors was looked at on how well the nurses managed their work tasks and social interaction in the workgroup. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with ten nurses at the 1177 Healthcare Service over the phone. Gathered data was looked at using thematic analysis which resulted in five themes; energy levels at work, the presence in the conversation with the caller, the legitimate acceptance to recover at work, ability to detach from work during breaks and the nurses solidarity in the workgroup. The result show the importance of each individuals need to feel like they are in demand of their own recovery as well as being able to detach themselves from work during their breaks. Recovery at work has a significant impact on the workload as it is perceived to provide the nurses with higher levels of energy, better focused, become more efficient and the ability to enter a more professional role when handling their work tasks. Recovery is also important for the nurses working climate, it provides the feeling of getting a closer relationship with colleagues, higher level of support and the time to reflect with each other and the opportunity to develop work related relationships, results shown after the insight of studying the interaction of the work group. The study contributes to understand the importance of recovery as a resource for the person to feelin control and solidarity at work which can benefit the organisational and social work environment.

This paper deals with prehistoric charred organic material, interpreted as bread, found in graves and in the underlying settlement at Kalvshälla, Järfälla parish in Uppland. The aim was to categorize the organic material morphologically and with the help of Fourier transformed Infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) to see whether it was bread or not. Material from 13 graves (dated to Late Roman Iron Age until Viking Age) and 3 finds from the settlement have been analysed. Differences were noted both in shape, porosity and structure. Some of the material has been interpreted as cereal based foodstuff instead of bread due to morphological discrepancies. No clear differences between material from the graves and the settlement can be seen. One find from a posthole can be dated to late Bronze Age, which is unusual. The bread in the graves was intentionally given to both adult females and males maybe as a symbol of their roles as the good householders. Several finds of root tubers of dropwort (Filipendula vulgaris) were identified in female graves from Early Iron Age, but also in two male graves with bread from Vendel period. The FT-IR method does not give a clear answer to whether the organic material can be bread or not. The method requires careful sampling procedures and several samples from each concretion to get good results.

The purpose of this study was to investigate how nurses describe their meals at work, and how meals at work was described as a possibility to recover. The method had a qualitative approach with semi-structured interviews. Five nurses participate and were recruited through a snowball sampling. The interviews were recorded and then transcribed. To analyze the data a manifest content analysis was used. The result showed that the four categories content and meaning for meals at work, environment for the meal at work, time to eat and social relations at the dining table summarized the nurses' descriptions of meals at work. The meal at work was described as one way to recover, but many other things also helped recovering. The conclusion was that nurses in this study described that meals at work can improve through enough length of the break, lower noise level, less stress while eating, enough room for eating and preparing food as well as nutritional food shall be available. The result of the study shows that meals are described as a chance to recover but also that the nurses associate recovery with night sleep, socialize with the family, perform physical activity or just gather your thoughts.
Sjuksköterskor är en utsatt yrkesgrupp och efterfrågan på sjuksköterskor ökar. Arbetsgivare inom vård och omsorg bedömer en brist på sjuksköterskor. En avgörande faktor till bristen är att sjuksköterskor avslutar sjuksköterskeyrket för bristande arbetsvillkor och arbetsmiljön.  Syftet med studien var att undersöka på hur sjuksköterskor beskriver sina arbetsmåltider och arbetsmåltiden som en möjlighet till återhämtning. Metoden som användes till studien var en kvalitativ ansats med semistrukturerade intervjuer. Urvalet bestod av fem sjuksköterskorna som alla arbetade på samma hälsocentral och åt arbetsmåltider. Rekryteringen av sjuksköterskorna skedde via ett snöbollsurval. Intervjuerna genomfördes på informanternas egna arbetskontor och spelades in och transkriberades sedan. För att analysera datamaterialet från intervjuerna användes en manifest innehållsanalys. Resultatet visade att de fyra kategorierna arbetsmåltidens innehåll och mening, miljö för arbetsmåltiden, tiden för att äta och sociala relationer vid matbordet sammanfattade sjuksköterskornas beskrivningar av arbetsmåltider. Arbetsmåltiden beskrivs som en möjlighet till återhämtning men även att återhämtning är mycket mer än måltider som ger energi. Slutsatsen är att sjuksköterskor i denna studie ansåg att arbetsmåltiderna kan förbättras genom tillräckligt långa raster, lägre ljudnivå i måltidsmiljön, mindre stress under måltider, tillräckligt med utrymmen för att äta och tillreda mat samt genom ett utbud av näringsrik kost på arbetsplatsen. Studiens resultat visar att arbetsmåltiden beskrivs som en möjlighet till återhämtning men att sjuksköterskor associerar återhämtning även till nattsömn, umgås med familjen, utföra fysisk aktivitet eller bara att få samla upp sina tankar som de anser ger dem energi.

La production verbale écrite constitue un vaste champ d’investigation pour les sciences cognitives. A l’heure où il est demandé de plus en plus tôt de savoir produire avec les outils numériques de production verbale écrite (clavier d’ordinateur et tablette tactile), l’utilisation de ces outils nécessite d’être étudiée. Nous proposons d’examiner les effets de trois outils sur la production (stylo numérique, clavier et tablette tactile). Pour ce faire, nous avons réalisé quatre études : la première porte sur la production orthographique en condition de dictée ; la deuxième s’intéresse à la copie de mots ; la troisième concerne la reproduction de phrases ; la quatrième aborde la production de textes.Nos analyses montrent que la variable outil de production a une grande importance lors de la production verbale écrite de mots, de phrases ainsi que sur la production de textes. Nous avons pu mettre en évidence l’effet de ces outils sur les temps de production, le nombre d’erreurs, la récupération d’information, le débit et la qualité des textes produits. Nos recherches ouvrent des perspectives nouvelles tant sur le plan méthodologique que sur le plan théorique. En effet, l’outil de production est une variable qu’il faut prendre en compte dans l’étude de la production verbale écrite
Written verbal production is a vast field of investigation for cognitive sciences. At a time when it is asked at an increasingly early age to know how to produce with the digital tools of written verbal production (computer keyboard and touch tablet), the use of these tools needs to be studied. We propose to examine the effects of three tools on production (digital pen, keyboard and touch pad). To do so, we conducted four studies: the first deals with orthographic production in dictation condition; the second is about copying words; the third concerns the reproduction of sentences; the fourth deals with the production of texts.Our analyzes show that the variable production tool is of great importance in the verbal production of words, phrases and the production of texts. We have been able to highlight an effect of these tools on production times, the number of errors, the retrieval of information, the throughput and the quality of the texts produced. Our research opens up new perspectives both from a methodological and a theoretical point of view. Indeed, the tool of production is a variable that must be taken into account in the study of written verbal production

L'opera esamina l'intervento pubblico nella gestione del rapporto di lavoro sotto il profilo storico e giuridico nelle tre fasi d'instaurazione, gestione e cessazione del rapporto. Si valorizza anche il ruolo specifico dei tre poteri legislativo, esecutivo e giudiziario, con particolare riguardo all'analisi sistematica del diritto amministrativo del lavoro. L'opera intende porre in luce gli elementi logici, giuridici ed assiologici di questo ramo del diritto del lavoro, per ricondurne le fattispecie esaminate ad un sistema coerente e razionale e per suggerirne sia un metodo d'analisi de iure condito sia una prospettiva per una lettura ed una proposta de iure condendo.
This work analyses how public powers affects labour relationships both from the historical and the juridical points of view. The three main phases of labour relationships beginning, management and end are examined separately. The specific contributions by the three public powers legislative, administrative and judiciary especially by the public administration, are also dealt with. The goal is to illustrate the logical, juridical and ethical elements of this branch of the labour law, in order to build a rational system for both the analysis de iure condito and the debate de iure condendo.

This thesis aimed at designing and developing a system that can a) infer individuals’ need for a break from sedentary behaviour in the workplace, and b) persuade them to take a break through the use of different techniques from persuasive psychology. We postulated three variables, namely, individuals’ posture, stress levels and involvement in their computer mediated activity. We developed and field-studied a system that could infer these using a web camera and a key presses and mouse clicks log. We found that the system could predict posture from viewing depth and stress from the movement detected. We then created a general formula that predicts individuals’ need for a break using only the posture and stress predictors. Once the first objective was set, we built and field-studied a system that used three ways to communicate a recommendation for a break to a user: implicit, just-in time and ambient feedback. The implicit feedback was operationalized through changes in the users’ computer wallpaper that provided subtle visual cues. The just-in time feedback employed prompting at the bottom right side of the user’s screen. In addition, we implemented an intuitive behind-screen interaction technique where people can snooze a notification using simple gestures. The ambient feedback mechanism employed an origami sculpture sitting on the user’s desk. This prototype was continuously reflecting the user’s posture and performed rhythmic movements when to recommend breaks. A field study demonstrated the overall success of the system, with 69% of the break recommendations received by users were accepted. The study further revealed the strengths and weaknesses of the three persuasive mechanisms.

Women are a major part of today’s working force but still are not a representative part of leadership roles. Executive boards worldwide and top management positions are predominantly male and despite advances in terms of government policies, education and corporate measures to include women in senior positions, there is still a small percentage of women in leadership roles. This paper analyzes the perceived challenges women face.

碩士
銘傳大學
商品設計學系碩士班
99
Two experiments were manipulated in this study. The first experiment investigated the effects of ambient illumination (100, 300, and 500 lx), text difficulty (high, medium, and low), holding method of electronic book (one hand, two hands, and slope on the desk), and books category (text book, extracurricular reading material) on reading and visual performance for electronic book. A total of 48 collage students aged 18-23 (SD = 1.87) participated in the experiment. Analysis showed that text difficulty and books category significantly affected subject’s reading performance. Ambient illumination and books category significantly affected subject’s visual performance; however, holding method of electronic book was not significantly affected subject’s reading and visual performance. Moreover, two interactive two-way effects were found: text difficulty × books category significantly affected subject’s reading time. The interactive of ambient illumination and books category significantly affected subject’s subjective preference. 　　The second experiments examined the effects of holding angle of electronic book (105, 125, and 145∘), work-break schedule (type Ⅰ, typeⅡ, and type Ⅲ), and book category (text book, extracurricular reading material) on reading and visual performance for electronic book. A total of 48 collage students aged 18-23 (SD = 1.87) participated in the experiment. Analysis showed that book category significantly affected subject’s reading performance, and visual fatigue. Holding angle of electronic book significantly affected subject’s reading time. Work-break schedule significantly affected subject’s accuracy; however, holding angle of electronic book, work-break schedule, and book category was not significantly affected subject’s subjective preference. Moreover, one interactive two-way effects were found: The interactive of holding angle of electronic book and books category significantly affected subject’s reading time. Results are applicable to design of electronic book.

The budding yeast, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, serves as an excellent model for identifying fundamental mechanisms of DNA repair. A Local Coherence Detection (LCD) algorithm that uses biclustering to assign genes to multiple functional sub-groups was applied on the chromosome E-MAP containing genetic interactions among genes involved in nuclear processes. Using this method, we found that Asf1 and Rtt109, genes that are together required for histone H3K56 acetylation, cluster together with Ctf4, Ctf18, Ctf8 and Dcc1, genes important for efficient sister chromatid cohesion. It is known that H3K56 acetylation is required for post-repair chromatin reassembly at sites of DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs). The cohesion genes were previously implicated in the repair of some DNA DSBs, but the nature of their involvement has not been reported. The experimental data in my thesis work suggest that Ctf4, Ctf8, Ctf18 and Dcc1 function in the post-repair chromatin reassembly pathway.

The development of cottons with improved fiber quality has been a major objective in breeding programs around the world. Breeders have focused their attention on improving fiber strength and length, and have generally not used fiber elongation in the selection process. Although literature has reported a negative correlation between fiber elongation and tenacity, this correlation is weak and should not prevent breeders from simultaneously improving fiber tenacity and fiber elongation. Furthermore, the work of rupture property, important in the spinning process, could be best enhanced by improving both fiber tenacity and fiber elongation. Fifteen populations were developed in 2007 by crossing good quality breeding lines with high elongation measurements to ‘FM 958’; a High Plains standard cultivar with good fiber quality but reduced elongation. Samples in every generation were ginned on a laboratory saw gin, and the lint was tested on HVI (High Volume Instrument). The F2 and F3 generations showed a wide range of variation for elongation (6.9% - 12.8% for the F2 and 4% - 9.20% for the F3) allowing divergent selection for low and high fiber elongation. A correlation (r) of -0.32 between strength and elongation was observed in the F2 individual plant selections. In the F3, the correlation (r) between strength and elongation was -0.36, and in the F4 the correlation (r) was -0.08. Nine lines were selected from the original 15 populations for spinning tests. The correlation between fiber elongation and strength for these lines was positive (r=0.424), indicating that with targeted selection, fiber elongation and strength can be simultaneously improved. Fiber elongation was positively correlated with yarn tensile properties tenacity (r=0.11), work-to-break (r=0.68) and breaking elongation (r=0.87); and was negatively correlated with yarn evenness properties, number of thin places (r=-0.16), number of thick places (r=-0.9), nep count (r=-0.24), hairiness (r=-0.38) and total number of imperfections (r=-0.38). All selections for high elongation were superior for all tensile properties compared to the low selections and the check in the analysis over locations and in each location. Furthermore, selections for high elongation were significantly different from the selections for low elongation and the check. In addition to developing lines for fiber spinning tests with improved, or differentiated, fiber elongation, this project was amended to evaluate and determine the heritability of fiber elongation. Three different methodologies were used to obtain estimates of heritability; variance components, parent off-spring regression, and realized heritability using F3, F4, and F5 generation. No inbreeding was assumed because there was no family structure in the generations within this study. Estimates of heritability by the variance component methods in the F3, F4 and F5 were 69.5%, 56.75% and 47.9% respectively; indicating that 40-50% of the variation was due to non-genetic effects. Parent off-spring regression estimates of heritability were 66.1% for the F3-4 and 62.8% for the F4-5; indicating a high resemblance from parents to off-spring. Estimates of realized heritability were obtained to determine the progress realized from selection for the low and high selection for fiber elongation. Estimates were intermediate (0.44–0.55), indicating moderately good progress from selection. The results from this project demonstrate that it is possible to improve fiber elongation and to break the negative correlation between elongation and strength. Furthermore, it has been demonstrated that improving fiber elongation results in the increase of length uniformity index and decreased short fiber content. Additionally, directed divergent selection was a successful methodology for the improvement of fiber elongation, and was useful to demonstrate that higher fiber elongation has a positive effect on yarn tensile properties, yarn evenness and processing. The development of new cultivars with improved fiber elongation will improve the quality and reputation of U. S.-grown cotton. The ultimate result will be better yarn quality and improved weaving efficiency, and particularly address current weaknesses in U. S. –grown cotton cultivars, especially from the High Plains of Texas, of more short fiber content, lower uniformity ratios, and weaker yarn strength.

M.B.A.
The aim of this research is to determine whether a glass ceiling does exist in education, and if so, possible reasons why women teachers fail to break through the so-called "glass ceiling". Objectives The objectives identified include the following: To determine historical perspectives on women and work To explore the incidence of glass ceilings To ascertain the value the Department of Education places on women teachers To determine by means of questionnaires whether there is a 'glass ceiling' in education To determine issues relating to the inability of so few women teachers to break through the glass ceiling

Servicemen returning from two World Wars were granted assistance in finding work, retraining and other benefits in recognition of the sacrifices they had made. Yet mothers' returning to work after time out bearing and raising children are reliant on a booming economy to obtain even limited entry to the labour market, and the work obtained is very often inferior to the jobs held by women before becoming mothers. Currently due to lower fertility rates and the ageing populations of the world's richer nations, a shortage of working-age people is predicted to continue into at least the middle of the twenty-first century. To overcome this shortfall, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) advises its member states to assist mothers to return to paid work sooner. Most OECD nations are complying, with varying degrees of success. Some policy frameworks make this goal more easily attainable than others. Mothers in liberal welfare states often return to paid work later than they might otherwise prefer. Many returners are overqualified for the work they are doing. While there appears to be relatively few barriers to re-entry, the choice of re-entry occupations are limited and returners are predominantly offered low status jobs with no career opportunities at the back of the job queue and gender queue. Mothers who interrupt their careers by taking a career break for childbearing and rearing generally face downward occupational mobility and loss of lifetime incomes. This thesis assesses the experiences of mothers who return to employment in one liberal nation, New Zealand. It applies Esping-Andersen's three models of welfare states and Reskin and Roos' gender queues model to the situation of returners. The study investigates the precise nature of the obstacles and processes encountered by a number of mothers attempting to resume a career. It argues that social policies matter: returners in countries where state intervention is more widespread and where there is universal, extensive and generous social provision and support for working mothers are economically better off. The research methods include in-depth interviews and a focus group with mothers, a mail questionnaire and interviews with employers, and a study of recent and current New Zealand and overseas government policies to assist working parents. The findings of this thesis are that regardless of skill levels, New Zealand returners are consigned to low status occupations where they are not fully integrated into the 'normal' full-time workforce with career opportunities. These mothers generally suffer more than one episode of returning to the back of the queue. They also earn less (weekly and annually) than mothers who do not take career breaks. The study identifies social policy frameworks and employers' policies and practices as factors contributing to the processes whereby returners are relegated to the back of the queue. Although New Zealand has recently brought in policies to assist mothers to return to paid work these initiatives have not addressed the processes that currently confine returners in low status, part-time employment. Policies similar to those created to specifically target the needs of ex-servicemen would go a long toward assisting mothers to access higher status and better-paid jobs at the head of the queue. The thesis concludes with policy recommendations to facilitate mothers' integration into such jobs.

L’obligation de disponibilité du travailleur met en lumière un temps durant lequel le travailleur demeure à la disposition de son employeur malgré le fait qu’il n’accomplit pas concrètement sa prestation de travail, le temps de disponibilité. Conséquence de plusieurs phénomènes, notamment la mondialisation des marchés, la financiarisation de l’économie et l’essor des nouvelles technologies de l’information et de la communication, l’obligation de disponibilité est mal définie par les règles juridiques actuelles au Québec. Considérant cet état du droit, notre mémoire cherche à évaluer dans quelle mesure la Loi sur les accidents du travail et les maladies professionnelles capte l’obligation de disponibilité du travailleur. Pour ce faire, nous avons effectué une analyse quantitative et qualitative de la jurisprudence rendue par la Commission d’appel en matière de lésions professionnelles et la Commission des lésions professionnelles entre 1995 et 2014. Notre mémoire comporte trois volets. Sous un angle plus sociologique, nous voulions examiner si notre population de décisions nous permettait, d’une part, de constituer différentes manifestations-types de l’obligation de disponibilité et d’autre part, de discerner une progression dans le temps du nombre de décisions portant sur une obligation de disponibilité. Enfin, nous désirions examiner dans quelle mesure un travailleur victime d’une lésion durant une période de disponibilité peut se prévaloir des droits accordés par la L.a.t.m.p.. À l’aune de notre mémoire, plusieurs manifestations-types de l’obligation de disponibilité peuvent être en constituées en fonction du moment durant lequel elle se manifeste. L’obligation de disponibilité peut également être rattachée au statut de travailleur autonome. En outre, il semble que la reconnaissance de la lésion professionnelle du travailleur varie en fonction de ces manifestations-types. Cependant, nos résultats ne révèlent pas une progression dans le temps du nombre de décisions portant sur une obligation de disponibilité.
The concept of worker availability requirements refers to instances in which workers are required to be available to their employers outside of standard work hours (off-duty). Due to several factors, especially the internationalization of markets, financialisation of the economy, and the development of information and communication technology, this normative requirement is inadequately regulated by current legislation in Quebec. Therefore, our research evaluates the extent that the Loi sur les accidents du travail et les maladies professionnelles addresses availability requirements imposed on workers in the province. To this end, we carried out qualitative and quantitative analyses of decisions made by the Commission d’appel en matière de lésions professionnelles and Commission des lésions professionnelles between 1995 and 2014. From a sociological perspective, we attempted to produce different categories of off-duty availability requirements, and to discern whether an augmentation in the number of decisions concerning availability requirements has taken place over time. Finally, we examined the extent that workers benefit from the rights provided by the L.a.t.m.p. when injuries occur during off-duty hours in which workers are required to be available. Our results demonstrate that many categories of availability requirements can be developed related to the period of time during when such obligation occurs. Furthermore, these requirements are also linked to individuals’ status as self-employed workers. Finally, it seems that the recognition of workers’ employment injuries vary along these categories. However, our results also suggest that there exists no positive trend in the number of decisions concerning worker availability requirements over time.

碩士
義守大學
企業管理學系
102
Customer first is emphasized in service industry today. There is not much research on the relationship between of negative mood and first-line service employee deviance behaviors, and how we can alleviate employee’s negative mood. The present study aimed to, first, investigate the relationship between negative mood and employee deviant behavior (interpersonal deviance, organizational deviance and service sabotage); Second, we intend to explore the moderating role of recovery after within-workday break. In the first phase of the present study, we interviewed 10 service employees from different service organizations. In the second phase, questionnaires were delivered to participants who are first-line service employees. We finally got 109 complete cases and used hierarchical regression analysis to examine all hypotheses. The results showed that negative mood positively related to interpersonal deviance and services sabotage. Moreover, when employees experienced more control recovery experience after the break, the relationship between negative mood and services sabotage became weaker. Finally, according to the results of this study, we discussed theoretical implication and managerial suggestions.

need to dry-mill the wheat into flour, and as a result, the total cost of conversion from wheat to bread is reduced. The resulting product has been perceived as being more filling than normal bread and it is also more nutritious and more affordable. The wet-mill concept was developed in a laboratory environment and no process methodology or equipment has existed to enable the technology to be used in a real bakery environment. The focus of this research was to design the particular equipment required for a medium plant-bakery production facility based on the wet-mill technology. Due to severe overcapacity in the bread-making industry, the research focuses on how best to integrate this equipment into an existing production facility. Three broad areas are investigated: • Product Development • Process Design • Machine Design The aim of the Product Development phase was to create a recipe that would withstand the rigours of the plant bakery environment, while at the same time satisfying consumer demand for taste and texture. The Process Design phase ensured that any new equipment had the capacity to match the throughput rate of the rest of the plant bakery, so that wet-mill dough could seamlessly continue downstream. Process control variables were examined to ensure that a consistent quality product was delivered. Inbound material handling was also investigated and designed to ensure safe and uncontaminated delivery of perishable raw material. Since the end product is edible, hygiene design requirements were also considered by completing a HACCP study to ensure a consumer-safe product. The Machine Design phase involves the development and design of a completely new food machine: a vertical wet-mill cutter. Many ideas are evaluated and a prototype machine, based on the optimal design, was built to test the concept. This prototype was then used to define process and design constraints for a scaled, large plantbakery machine. The final detailed design of a plant bakery wet-mill cutter was then completed. It includes drive, belt, bearing and pneumatic cylinder selection, and shaft and blade design. Safety considerations were an important part of the design process and production facility. Conformity to OHS Act regulations required investigation into the safe operation of the designed equipment with particular reference to driven and rotating machinery sub-regulations of the Act. A hazard analYSis and operability study was also undertaken. Lastly, the research calculates a financial valuation of the project to ascertain whether a plant baker should be interested in implementing wet-mill technology. The research concludes with a discussion of the various successes of the three research areas, and states any further investigation that may be required before full implementation.
Thesis (Ph.D.)-University of Natal, Durban, 2003.

abstract: Individuals fluent in sign language who have at least one deaf parent are considered native signers while those with non-signing, hearing parents are non-native signers. Musculoskeletal pain from repetitive motion is more common from non-natives than natives. The goal of this study was twofold: 1) to examine differences in upper extremity (UE) biomechanical measures between natives and non-natives and 2) upon creating a composite measure of injury-risk unique to signers, to compare differences in scores between natives and non-natives. Non-natives were hypothesized to have less favorable biomechanical measures and composite injury-risk scores compared to natives. Dynamometry was used for measurement of strength, electromyography for ‘micro’ rest breaks and muscle tension, optical motion capture for ballistic signing, non-neutral joint angle and work envelope, a numeric pain rating scale for pain, and the modified Strain Index (SI) as a composite measure of injury-risk. There were no differences in UE strength (all p≥0.22). Natives had more rest (natives 76.38%; non-natives 26.86%; p=0.002) and less muscle tension (natives 11.53%; non-natives 48.60%; p=0.008) for non-dominant upper trapezius across the first minute of the trial. For ballistic signing, no differences were found in resultant linear segment acceleration when producing the sign for ‘again’ (natives 27.59m/s2; non-natives 21.91m/s2; p=0.20). For non-neutral joint angle, natives had more wrist flexion-extension motion when producing the sign for ‘principal’ (natives 54.93°; non-natives 46.23°; p=0.04). Work envelope demonstrated the greatest significance when determining injury-risk. Natives had a marginally greater work envelope along the z-axis (inferior-superior) across the first minute of the trial (natives 35.80cm; non-natives 30.84cm; p=0.051). Natives (30%) presented with a lower pain prevalence than non-natives (40%); however, there was no significant difference in the modified SI scores (natives 4.70 points; non-natives 3.06 points; p=0.144) and no association between presence of pain with the modified SI score (r=0.087; p=0.680). This work offers a comprehensive analysis of all the previously identified UE biomechanics unique to signers and helped to inform a composite measure of injury-risk. Use of the modified SI demonstrates promise, although its lack of association with pain does confirm that injury-risk encompasses other variables in addition to a signer’s biomechanics.
Dissertation/Thesis
Doctoral Dissertation Exercise and Nutritional Sciences 2018