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Physical Demands (physical + demand)
Selected AbstractsLifestyle, occupation, and whole bone morphology of the pre-Hispanic Maya coastal population from Xcambó, Yucatan, MexicoINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF OSTEOARCHAEOLOGY, Issue 3 2007Isabel S. Wanner Abstract The present bioarchaeological study examines the external diaphyseal geometric properties of humeri, radii, femora and tibiae of the Classic period skeletal population of Xcambó, Yucatan, Mexico. The diaphysial proportions are evaluated using a biomechanical approach together with data from the material context and other osteological information. Our intent is to provide new answers to questions concerning lifestyle, domestic labour division and subsistence strategies of this coastal Maya settlement that was inhabited from the Late and Terminal Preclassic (300 BC,350 AD) to the Postclassic Period (900,1500 AD). Our results provide evidence for a marked sexual division of labour when compared with values from contemporaneous inland populations. The overall male and female loading patterns differ remarkably in terms of form and in bilateral comparison. A high directional asymmetry in the upper limbs is evident among males, a condition related to maritime transportation and trading activities. On the other hand, female upper limbs are characterized by very low side differences. Forces on the arms of women were probably dominated by food processing, in particular the grinding of grains or seeds. In the lower limbs, males show significantly higher anteroposterior bending strengths, which can be explained by greater engagement in transportation tasks and carrying heavy loads. In the course of the Classic period (350,900 AD), diachronic changes affect the male sample only, which suggests a shift of occupational pattern and physical demands. This shift, in turn, reflects Xcambó's changing role as the centre of a densifying settlement area and its place in the trading activities of northern Yucatan. Other topics of discussion relate to general regional trends and local prehispanic subsistence strategies. Our conclusions emphasize the value of geometric long bone analysis in the reconstruction of activity patterns and lifestyles in ancient coastal settlements. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Managing job stress in nursing: what kind of resources do we need?JOURNAL OF ADVANCED NURSING, Issue 1 2008Marieke Van Den Tooren Abstract Title.,Managing job stress in nursing: what kind of resources do we need? Aim., This paper is a report of a study to investigate the functionality of different kinds of job resources for managing job stress in nursing. Background., There is increasing recognition that healthcare staff, and especially nurses, are at high risk for burnout and physical complaints. Several researchers have proposed that job resources moderate the relationship between job demands and job-related outcomes, particularly when there is a match between the type of demands, resources, and outcomes. Method., Based on the Demand-Induced Strain Compensation Model, cross-sectional survey data were collected between November 2006 and February 2007 by a paper-and-pencil questionnaire. The final sample consisted of 69 nurses from a Dutch nursing home (response rate 59·4%). Data were analyzed by hierarchical regression analyses. Results., High physical demands had adverse effects on both physical complaints and emotional exhaustion (i.e. burnout), unless employees had high physical resources. A similar pattern was found for high physical demands and emotional resources in predicting emotional exhaustion. The likelihood of finding theoretically-valid moderating effects was related to the degree of match between demands, resources, and outcomes. Conclusion., Job resources do not randomly moderate the relationship between job demands and job-related outcomes. Both physical and emotional resources seem to be important stress buffers for human service employees such as nurses, and their moderating effects underline the importance of specific job resources in healthcare work. Job redesign in nursing homes should therefore primarily focus on matching job resources to job demands in order to diminish poor health and ill-being. [source] TO DIVE OR NOT TO DIVE: SCUBA VERSUS ROV SAMPLING OF MACROALGAE AT 30M DEPTHJOURNAL OF PHYCOLOGY, Issue 2001Article first published online: 24 SEP 200 Spalding, H. L. Moss Landing Marine Laboratories, 8272 Moss Landing, Rd., Moss Landing, CA 95039 USA Remotely Operated Vehicles (ROVs) and enriched air Nitrox SCUBA diving have recently become available to researchers for studying the deep-water environment. Each use a different technique for collecting macroalgal abundance data: ROVs use collections and high-resolution digital video which can be quantified using an integrative laser and computer imagery program (high tech), while divers often count the densities of individuals and use a point contact method for sampling percent (%) cover in situ (low tech). While the types of data collected by both techniques are the same, the effects of the different sampling methods on data resolution are unknown. As part of a larger study on deep-water macroalgae in central California, I compared the abundance of common macroalgae (% cover of macroalgal groups and individuals/m2) collected by divers and the ROV Ventana at a depth of 30m at 3 locations in central California. Generally, there were no significant differences between diver and ROV data in the % cover of coralline Rhodophyta, non-coralline Rhodophyta, and Pleurophycus gardneri/m2. The use of a laser-calibrated computer imagery program and an ROV with user-controlled lighting greatly decreased lab analysis time, and a method for sampling macroalgal layers with the ROV was developed. Thus, ROVs with high-resolution digital video and supplemental macroalgal collections can be used to quantify deep-water algae as accurately as in situ divers, but without the limited dive time, depth limits, and physical demands of the latter. [source] (632) Impact of Chronic Pain Patients' Job Perception Variables on Actual Return to WorkPAIN MEDICINE, Issue 2 2000Article first published online: 25 DEC 200 Authors: DA Fishbain, University of Miami School of Medicine; RB Cutler; HL Rosomoff, University of Miami School of Medicine; T. Khalil, University of Miami Comprehensive Pain and Rehabilitation Center at South Shore Hospital; R. Steele-Rosomoff, University of Miami School of Medicine Objective: To examine the impact of preinjury job perceptions on chronic pain patients' (CPPs) return to work after pain facility treatment. Design: A total of 128 CPPs completed a series or rating scales and yes/no questions relating to their preinjury job perceptions and a question relating to intent to return to the same type of preinjury job following pain facility treatment. These CPPs were part of a grant study for prediction of return to work, and therefore their work status was determined at 1, 3, 6, 12, 18, 24, and 30 months after treatment. The preinjury job perceptions and other demographic variables were used to predict return to work. Stepwise discriminant analysis was used to predict return to work at the 1-month and final time points utilizing the above variables. Stepwise regression analysis was used to predict mean employment status (at all time points), also using the above variables. Results: For the 1-month time point, employment status was predicted by intent, educational status, work dangerous perception complaint, job stress, job physical demands, job liking, and job role conflicts. Here, 79.49% of the CPPs were correctly classified. For the final time point, employment status was predicted by the first 3 predictors for the 1-month time point (in the same order), and age, job stress, and gender. Here, 74.58% of the CPPs were correctly classified. Mean employment status was predicted by intent and educational status. Conclusions: There is a relationship between preinjury job perceptions and actual return to work after pain facility treatment. Voiced intent not to return to the preinjury type of job is highly predictive of not returning to work after pain facility treatment. [source] Physical activity, physical exertion, and miscarriage risk in women textile workers in Shanghai, ChinaAMERICAN JOURNAL OF INDUSTRIAL MEDICINE, Issue 5 2010E.Y. Wong PhD Abstract Background Strenuous occupational physical activity and physical demands may be risk factors for adverse reproductive outcomes. Methods A retrospective study in the Shanghai, China textile industry study collected women's self-reported reproductive history. Occupational physical activity assessment linked complete work history data to an industry-specific job-exposure matrix. Odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were estimated by multivariate logistic regression for the first pregnancy outcome and utilized generalized estimating equations to consider all pregnancies per woman. Results Compared with women employed in sedentary jobs, a reduced risk of miscarriage was found for women working in jobs with either light (OR 0.18, 95% CI: 0.07, 0.50) or medium (OR 0.24, 95% CI: 0.08, 0.66) physical activity during the first pregnancy and over all pregnancies (light OR 0.32, 95% CI: 0.17, 0.61; medium OR 0.43, 95% CI: 0.23, 0.80). Frequent crouching was associated with elevated risk (OR 1.82, 95% CI: 1.14, 2.93; all pregnancies per woman). Conclusions Light/medium occupational physical activity may have reduced miscarriage risk, while specific occupational characteristics such as crouching may have increased risk in this cohort. Am. J. Ind. Med. 53:497,505, 2010. © 2010 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source] Job control, substantive complexity, and risk for low birth weight and preterm delivery: An analysis from a state birth registryAMERICAN JOURNAL OF INDUSTRIAL MEDICINE, Issue 9 2007John D. Meyer MD Abstract Background Indices of job strain have demonstrated a variable relationship to low birth weight (LBW) and prematurity, with conflicting study results. This study sought to examine the associations of psychosocial work environment characteristics with adverse pregnancy outcomes using and comparing the demand-control model and job attributes derived from the O*NET. Methods Job characteristics were imputed to maternal occupation recorded in the 2000 Connecticut state birth registry for 26,408 singleton births, using scores for psychological job demands, control, and physical demands derived from the Job Content Questionnaire, and for substantive complexity of work and physical demands using variables derived from O*NET job attributes. Odds ratios for LBW and preterm delivery were estimated while controlling for relevant covariates. Results High psychological demands were not associated with pregnancy outcomes, while high physical demand scores from the O*NET were associated with LBW. Associations of term- and all-LBW with both low control and low substantive complexity were attenuated by adjustment for educational and demographic covariates. A gradient with lower scores was seen for term LBW and substantive complexity, and for prematurity and control. Both constructs were correlated with maternal education. Conclusions These results suggest that low maternal job control and substantive complexity may be modestly associated with LBW and, to a lesser extent, prematurity. A greater association with control may explain why a weak link of birth outcomes to high-strain work has been noted in past studies. Observed associations with occupational are reduced after adjustment for relevant confounding variables, in particular educational level and race/ethnicity. Am. J. Ind. Med. 50:664,675, 2007. © 2007 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source] Musculoskeletal problems of the neck, shoulder, and back and functional consequences in nursesAMERICAN JOURNAL OF INDUSTRIAL MEDICINE, Issue 3 2002Alison M. Trinkoff ScD Abstract Background Though musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) are highly prevalent among registered nurses (RNs), little is known about functional consequences of MSDs in nurses. Methods Data on neck, shoulder, and back MSD problems were analyzed in 1,163 working nurses (response rate,=,74%). Cases had relevant symptoms lasting at least 1 week or occurring at least monthly in the past year, with at least moderate pain intensity, on average. MSD problems with a frequency, duration, or pain intensity below the level needed to meet the case definition were defined as MSD symptoms. Those who did not meet symptom or case criteria at any body site were defined as asymptomatic. Odds of consequences (e.g., saw a doctor/provider, missed work, reduced/modified work, non-work activities, or recreation, medication use, inadequate sleep) were estimated for cases versus those with symptoms. Results We found 45.8, 35.1, and 47.0% of nurses had neck, shoulder, or back MSD problems (either at the case or symptom level), respectively, within the past year. Cases were far more likely to have seen a provider versus those with symptoms (adjusted odds ratio, aOR Neck: 4.33, 95% CI: 2.85,6.56; aOR Shoulder: 4.83, 95% CI: 3.00,7.77; aOR Back: 3.69, 95% CI: 2.47,5.49). Cases also were more likely to experience all other functional consequences. Conclusions MSD consequences are substantial and suggest opportunities for intervention. Future research will examine the impact of work organization and physical demands on MSDs. Am. J. Ind. Med. 41:170,178, 2002. © 2002 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source] Australian veterinarians who work with horses: views of the futureAUSTRALIAN VETERINARY JOURNAL, Issue 8 2004TJ HEATH Objective To give an account of the views held by Australian veterinarians who work with horses on the future of their professional field. Method Questionnaires were mailed to 866 veterinarians who had been identified as working with horses, and 87% were completed and returned. Data were entered onto an Excel spreadsheet, and analysed using the SAS System for Windows. Results Their future prospects were believed to be very good or excellent by >60% of equine veterinarians but by only 30% of mixed practitioners seeing < 10% horses. The main factors believed likely to affect these prospects were the strength of the equine industries and the economic climate affecting horse owners, followed by the encroachment of cities into areas used for horses, competition from other veterinarians including specialist centres and from non-veterinary operators, and their ability to recruit and retain veterinarians with interest, experience and skill with horses. Urban encroachment, competition and recruitment were especially important for those seeing few horses. Concerns were also expressed about the competence and ethical behaviour of other veterinarians, the physical demands and dangers of horse work, the costs of providing equine veterinary services and of being paid for them, the regulatory restrictions imposed by governments and statutory bodies, the potential effects of litigation, and insurance issues. For many veterinarians in mixed practice these factors have reduced and are likely to reduce further the number of horses seen, to the extent that they have scant optimism about the future of horse work in their practices. Conclusion Economic and local factors will result in an increasing proportion of equine veterinary work being done in specialised equine centres, and the future of horse work in many mixed practices is, at best, precarious. A key factor influencing future prospects will be the availability of competent veterinarians committed to working with horses. [source] | ||||||||||