The integrated assessment of occupational risks in a pharmaceutical manufacturing plant

Pharmaceutical plants are usually characterized by workplaces with quality levels generally higher than in other manufactoring sectors since healthcare products need to be produced in special conditions, keeping under a strong control hygiene, chemical and biological contaminants, and giving a particular emphasis on equipment maintenance. Limited physical work load, a low rate of injuries and work related pathologies together with a high level of quality process control contribute to consider pharma work conditions as generally light and safe. In this kind of contexts risk assessment cannot be based on factors individually considered, neither work load can be essentially measured on material handling and physical effort. Risk assessment and work environment improvements, on the contrary, have to be studied by an integrated view point. The paper presents methodologies and results of the applied research project IntegrARE (INTEGRated Assessment of Risks within Ergonomics) aimed at analyzing, in a big solid forms pharmaceutical plant, three different risk categories - architectural, ergonomic and active pharmaceutical ingredients risks - in order to highlight possible interactions on workers health, safety and wellbeing. After a detailed risk situations survey, singularly analyzed by a number of ad-hoc procedures, the study presents a methodology for integrated assessment of risks, aimed at identifying and evaluating integrated effects increasing or triggering risk situations for workers.     

Design and implementation of ergonomic performance measurement system at a steel plant in India

Management of Tata Steel, the largest steel making company of India in the private sector, felt the need to develop a framework to determine the levels of ergonomic performance at its different workplaces. The objectives of the study are manifold: to identify and characterize the ergonomic variables for a given worksystem with regard to work efficiency, operator safety, and working conditions, to design a comprehensive Ergonomic Performance Indicator (EPI) for quantitative determination of the ergonomic status and maturity of a given worksystem. The study team of IIT Kharagpur consists of three faculty members and the management of Tata Steel formed a team of eleven members for implementation of EPI model. In order to design and develop the EPI model with total participation and understanding of the concerned personnel of Tata Steel, a three-phase action plan for the project was prepared. The project consists of three phases: preparation and data collection, detailed structuring and validation of EPI model. Identification of ergonomic performance factors, development of interaction matrix, design of assessment tool, and testing and validation of assessment tool (EPI) in varied situations are the major steps in these phases. The case study discusses in detail the EPI model and its applications.     

Ergonomic design of crane cabins: a case study from a steel plant in India

The study, carried out at the Batch Annealing Furnace (BAF) shop of Cold Rolling Mill (CRM) at an integrated steel plant of India, concerns ergonomic evaluation and redesign of a manually-operated Electrical Overhead Travelling (EOT) crane cabin. The crane cabin is a complex worksystem consisting of the crane operator and twelve specific machine components embedded in a closed workspace. A crane operator has to perform various activities, such as loading and unloading of coils, setting and removal of convector plates, and routine maintenance work. Initially, an operator had to work in standing posture with bent back most of the time. Ergonomically poor design of the chair and the controls, awkward work postures, and insufficient vision angle resulting in musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) are some of the critical problems observed.. The study, conceived as an industry-academia joint initiative, was undertaken by a design team, the members of which were drawn from both the company concerned and the institute. With the project executed successfully, a number of lessons, such as how to minimize the anthropometric mismatch, how to improve the layout of the components and controls within enclosed workspace, and how to improve work posture minimizing risk of MSDs have been learned.     

Working,yet not working: Assessing labour underutilization in India

Labour market responses to past business downturns across countries have been ambiguous and paradoxical, including both pro- and counter-cyclical reactions. In the absence of adequate social safety nets, including unemployment insurance, counter-cyclical employment rates could signal distress rather than productive employment opportunities. Juxtaposing household employment- unemployment data with the recommendations of the 19th International Conference of Labour Statisticians on labour underutilization, this article critiques existing data on underemployment in India and calls for the review of data collection methods to better inform labour market policies.     

Strengthening communities through women's self help groups in South India

This article reports on an evaluation of women's Self Help Groups(SHGs) in an area in south India. Groups were evaluated, notin terms of their success as microcredit schemes, from a financialperspective, but in relation to their contribution to genderdevelopment. Evidence emerged that women perceived changes intheir identity towards working collectively to influence forchange at the village and panchyat levels. They engaged in communityand social action programmes, both at the local level and byjoining with issues beyond the local. When considered withinconstructs of empowerment, capability poverty, citizenship,and participation in democratic processes, such SHG outcomes,and the community development processes that accompany theirwork, can be seen to make a modest but significant contributionto broader transformations of oppressive structures.     

South to south learning experiences: Popular housing problems in Nigeria and India

Slums exist in every known city of the world. Their problems are basically that of urban poverty and deprivation. The management of slums and governmental attitudes have varied from one country to another. Generally in most it has been one of intolerance and denial of utilities. Governments in fact pretend they do not exist. India is one country that has lived with slums and will continue to do so. It has shaped policies to recognise their usefulness and provide them with amenities, however minimal. What lessons can we learn in Nigeria from the India experience? The paper highlights the universality of slums and spontaneous settlements in most Third World Cities. It goes on to examine the Nigerian situation with a special focus on Lagos, the present Federal Capital. This is followed by an appraisal of the Indian housing situation. The Slum Upgrading Projects of New Delhi and other Indian cities are also examined in the context of the agencies involved. Finally conclusions and recommendations are made in an attempt to draw parallells and for us in Nigeria to selectively learn from the experience of another major Third World nation.     

Improving HIV testing amongst adolescents through an integrated Youth Centre rewards program: Insights from South Africa

Despite high HIV prevalence the uptake of HIV counseling and testing (HCT) has been low in South African adolescents, in particular among boys. We designed and implemented an integrated Youth Centre (YC), which included a health clinic and a points based rewards program to incentivize YC services, adjacent to a peri-urban community in Cape Town. We compared 12 month age and gender specific HCT rates for 12–22 year olds between the YC and the single local community clinic in the adjacent community prospectively and for the 12 months prior to YC implementation. Local clinic data were collected through the HCT register. At the YC demographic, attendance, incentives and HIV testing data were prospectively collected via a biometric data collection system. 1187 12–22 year olds attended the YC in the 12 month period. Within the 12–15 year old age group, 12.7% more individuals tested at the YC compared to the clinic in 2011–2012; this difference was greater in males than females. In the 16–22 year category, significantly more individuals tested at the clinic compared to the YC. The use of the YC reward program was associated with undergoing an HIV test. Understanding the specific programmatic factors that led to increased testing behaviour including the role of incentives at the YC warrants further attention.     

Review Essay: Recent Research on Philanthropy and the Nonprofit Sector in India and South Asia

VOLUNTAS: International Journal of Voluntary and Nonprofit Organizations -     

Youth violence in South Africa: exposure, attitudes, and resilience in Zulu adolescents

Exposure to violence is common in South Africa. Yet, few studies examine how violence exposure contributes to South African adolescents' participation in youth violence. The aims of this study were to examine effects of different violence exposures on violent attitudes and behavior, to test whether attitudes mediated effects of violence exposures on violent behavior, and to test whether adult involvement had protective or promotive effects. Questionnaires were administered to 424 Zulu adolescents in township high schools around Durban, South Africa. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to test associations among violence exposures and both violent attitudes and behavior. Victimization, witnessing violence, and friends' violent behavior contributed directly to violent behavior. Only family conflict and friends' violence influenced violent attitudes. Attitudes mediated effects of friends' violence on violent behavior. Multiple-group SEM indicated that adult involvement fit a protective model of resilience. These findings are discussed regarding their implications for prevention.     

Improving occupational safety in a bedding manufacturing plant: A case study in management problem solving

The development and evaluation of a data-based intervention program to reduce work-related injuries in a bedding manufacturing plant are described. This is an example of a “pure” study in the pragmatic paradigm, and therefore this article follows a nontraditional format. It is written for busy corporate managers rather than for social science researchers. [Editor's note: Because this article was written independently of the conceptual framework outlined in Table 3 of my introductory article to this Special Feature section, there is no formal discussion by Rose and Harshbarger of the issues raised by the table. However, these authors did provide feedback to me through personal communication that their report was very positively received by its target audience (company management) because of its clarity of presentation and its simple but dramatic message: significantly improved safety performance and bottom-line savings for the company. In addition. Rose and Harshbarger reported that they were able to follow up this project with similar, very successful safety programs at several other large corporations.]     

Socio-cultural History and Sex Roles in an Urban Minority of India

Abstract

The Anglo-Indians, descendents of intermarriage between British fathers and Indian mothers, are India's most urbanized minority group. This article traces their socio cultural and historical development in relation to the Indian urban economy. It is suggested that the greater employment potential of Anglo-Indian females than of males has affected gender roles in this group, resulting in a partial reversal of male-female roles.     

The ethnophysiology and folk dietetics of pregnancy: a case study from South India

The contingency between notions of ethnophysiology and the folk dietetics of pregnancy are examined in a region of South India. Attention is focused on lay perceptions of essential body processes and health concerns during pregnancy. Preventive and promotive health strategies employed during pregnancy by the rural poor which involve diet are considered. The tendency for rural South Indian women to prefer smaller babies and the relationship of this preference to dietary behavior are considered in relation to both concepts of the appropriate quality and quantity of food to eat during pregnancy and the concepts of baby space and baby strength. Nutritional ramifications of alternative food consumption patterns are considered. The importance of understanding indigenous health concerns and notions of ethnophysiology when introducing public health programs is highlighted by a discussion of why many pregnant women are reluctant to comply with iron sulfate, tetanus toxoid, and vitamin therapy as currently presented by primary health care staff.     

Divergent trajectories of democratic deepening: comparing Brazil,India, and South Africa

Theory and Society - This article argues that democratic deepening is shaped by shifting civil society-state relations that can only be understood by disaggregating democratic deepening into its...     

Democracy as a transitional compass: women’s participation in South Africa and Kerala,India

ABSTRACT

In this article I explore the attempts by the states in South Africa and Kerala to create spaces for public participation by specifically focusing on women’s involvement in local spaces. Democracy is a crucial part of any emancipatory future that seeks to challenge and overcome inequality. I show that both states have ‘invited’ participation by women in various ways, but that the transformative potential of this participation is limited by national political economy, bureaucratization, and the lack of political will. In South Africa, the invited spaces eventually transformed into avenues for delivery and in response the women in this study shifted to inventing ways to engage in development in their personal lives. By using a double comparison – South Africa over time and South Africa compared to India – I argue that transformative politics requires a combination of invented and invited spaces.