In heterogeneous catalysis, uncovering the dynamic evolution of active sites in the working conditions is crucial to realizing increased activity and enhanced stability of catalyst in Fenton-like ...activation. Herein, we capture the dynamic changes in the unit cell of Co/La-SrTiO
catalyst during the exemplary peroxymonosulfate activation process using X-ray absorption spectroscopy and in situ Raman spectroscopy, revealing the substrate tuned its structural evolution, which is the reversible stretching vibration of O-Sr-O and Co/Ti-O bonds in different orientations. This process effectively promotes the generation of key SO
* intermediates, which is beneficial to the formation of
O
and SO
from persulfate on the Co active site. Density functional theory and X-ray absorption spectroscopy show that the optimized structural distortion enhanced the metal-oxygen bond strength by tuning the e
orbitals and increased the number of transferred electrons to peroxymonosulfate by about 3-fold, achieving excellent efficiency and stability in removing organic pollutants.
Objective Using a novel mediation method that presents unbiased results even in the presence of exposure-mediator interactions, this study estimated the extent to which working conditions and health ...behaviors contribute to educational inequalities in self-rated health in the workforce. Methods Respondents of the longitudinal Survey of Health, Ageing, and Retirement in Europe (SHARE) in 16 countries were selected, aged 50-64 years, in paid employment at baseline and with information on education and self-rated health (N=15 028). Education, health behaviors including body mass index (BMI) and working conditions were measured at baseline and self-rated health at baseline and two-year follow-up. Causal mediation analysis with inverse odds weighting was used to estimate the total effect of education on self-rated health, decomposed into a natural direct effect (NDE) and natural indirect effect (NIE). Results Lower educated workers were more likely to perceive their health as poor than higher educated workers relative risk (RR) 1.48, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.37-1.60. They were also more likely to have unfavorable working conditions and unhealthy behaviors, except for alcohol consumption. When all working conditions were included, the remaining NDE was RR 1.30 (95% CI 1.15-1.44). When BMI and health behaviors were included, the remaining NDE was RR 1.40 (95% CI 1.27-1.54). Working conditions explained 38% and health behaviors and BMI explained 16% of educational inequalities in health. Including all mediators explained 64% of educational inequalities in self-rated health. Conclusions Working conditions and health behaviors explain over half of the educational inequalities in self-rated health. To reduce health inequalities, improving working conditions seems to be more important than introducing health promotion programs in the workforce.
This paper explores how working conditions in meatpacking plants contributed to the spread of the COVID-19 virus. Data from the Occupational Information Network was used to construct a set of ...industry-level working condition variables and compare meatpacking to the sample of other manufacturing industries in our comparison group. This novel approach showed that proximity to others in the meatpacking industry is likely the main factor influencing the spread of COVID-19, more than three standard deviations higher in meatpacking than our comparison sample of other manufacturing industries. Subsequently, we performed a county-level analysis on COVID-19 spread, comparing rural counties with a large share of meatpacking workers to nonmetropolitan counties that were similarly dependent on other single manufacturing industries, using the time frame of mid-March to the end of 2020. In mid-April 2020, COVID-19 cases in meatpacking-dependent rural counties rose to more than 12 times compared to rural counties dependent on other single manufacturing industries. This difference disappeared completely by mid-July and held steady throughout the year. We demonstrate that our results are robust to a battery of robustness checks ruling out the set of plausible alternative hypotheses, including examining data on COVID-19 spread among meatpacking workers directly.
•A reliable recursive identification algorithm is proposed for random bounded noise.•The convergence of proposed identification algorithm is proofed using Lyapunov theory.•A time domain performance ...index is selected to ensure the control effects.•A slow-rate intelligent PID tuning method is proposed for long-period process control.
Chemical process models change frequently with operating conditions. However, the industry mostly adopts an off-line calibration and online fixed value commissioning scheme, which can be difficult to maintain control quality. Therefore, a long-cycle online intelligent PID controller calibration scheme is necessary.
Firstly, a high-order linear dynamic model is used as the identification model, and online recursive identification technology is utilized. Secondly, a comprehensive performance index is selected to ensure both stability and rapidity of dynamic transitions. Finally, the slow rate updated PID parameters are obtained during the process control, and the Levy Memory Particle Swarm Optimization (LMPSO) search is applied to harvest the optimal solution.
This paper has presented an intelligent PID tuning method based on reliable identification technology. The main contributions include: (i) By using Lyapunov theory, the boundedness of identification error using the proposed algorithm is guaranteed; (ii) The LMPSO algorithm is proposed to enhance global search capability and search efficiency; (iii) A novel optimization scheme is proposed for a full-process online closed-loop intelligent PID controller. The scheme aims to improve the industrial controller's performance without altering its structure.
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Unionized workers tend to be less satisfied with their jobs than their non‐union counterparts. Despite 40 years of research that has sought to explain this phenomenon, the causes of this relationship ...are not fully understood. Drawing on nationally representative panel data from the UK, this study uses quasi‐experimental methods to compare how the job satisfaction of union members and their non‐union counterparts changes in response to an exogenous event. Results suggest that working conditions rather than the behaviour of unions are the more likely cause of union member job dissatisfaction.
Studies examining occupational class differences in burnout symptoms across employment sectors are scarce. The aim of this study was to examine whether occupational class is associated with emotional ...exhaustion, and whether there are differences in the examined associations between employment sectors. A further aim was to examine to which extent psychosocial working conditions may explain these associations. Survey data were collected in 2017 among 19–39-year-old employees of the City of Helsinki (4630 women and 1267 men, response rate 51.5%). Occupational class included four classes: 1. manuals, 2. routine non-manuals, 3. semi-professionals, 4. managers and professionals. Employment sector was classified into three groups: 1. health and social care, 2. education and 3. ‘other’. Linear regression analysis and IBM SPSS 25 statistical program were used. The analytical sample included 4883 participants. The highest occupational class, i.e. managers and professionals, reported the highest emotional exhaustion. In terms of the sector, those working in education had the highest scores of emotional exhaustion. The associations between occupational class and emotional exhaustion differed somewhat between the sectors. Adjustment for job demands attenuated the differences in emotional exhaustion between occupational classes, whereas adjustment for job control and job strain widened the differences. Attention should be paid to occupations with excess mental demands, and to employees in the education sector, who showed the highest risk of emotional exhaustion.
Background:
Healthcare workers are frontline responders facing a disproportionate increase in occupational responsibilities during the COVID-19 pandemic. Added work-related stress among healthcare ...personnel may lead to personal and work-related repercussions, such as burnout or decreased quality of care for patients; however, little is known about how the COVID-19 pandemic affects the daily work and life of these workers. This study aimed to evaluate the personal and occupational impacts of the COVID-19 induced partial lockdown in Vietnam among hospital staff.
Methods:
A cross-sectional web-based study was carried out to collect demographic data and the personal and job impacts of respondents during the second week of national lockdown in April 2020. Snowball sampling technique was applied to recruit 742 hospital staff. The exploratory factor analysis (EFA) was used to examine the validity of the instrument.
Results:
Of the 742 respondents, 21.2% agreed that “working attitude well-maintained,” followed by 16.1% of respondents who reported that there were “enough employees at work.” Only 3.2% of respondents agreed that “their work was appreciated by society.” Furthermore, healthcare workers in the central region were less likely to have experienced “Avoidance of disclosure and discrimination related to COVID-19” than other areas (Coef. = – 0.25, CI: −0.42 to −0.07). Being women also had a negative association with scores in “Avoidance of disclosure and discrimination related to COVID 19” domain (Coef. = −0.27, CI: −0.43 to −0.12) while having a positive association with “negative attitude towards working conditions” domain (Coef. = 0.19, CI: 0.09 to 0.3). In addition, working in administrative offices (Coef. = 0.20; 95% CI = 0.05 to 0.36) and infectious departments (Coef. = 0.36; 95% CI = 0.09 to 0.63) had a positive association with “Increased work pressure due to COVID 19” domain.
Conclusion:
These findings revealed marginal impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on the work and life of hospital staff in Vietnam. Furthermore, this study highlighted the importance of implementing preventive strategies during the nationwide partial lockdown to manage hospital admissions and the burden on healthcare workers. Finally, this study characterizes targeted demographics that may benefit from appreciation by employers and society during a national pandemic.
The COVID-19 emergency has significantly transformed the working environment and job demands. Providing care was emotionally difficult for healthcare workers. Uncertainty, stigmatisation, and ...potentially exposing their families to infection were prominent themes for healthcare workers (HCWs) during the crisis, which first broke out in China at the end of 2019, and then in Italy in early 2020. This study examined the effects of stigma, job demands, and self-esteem, and the consequences of working as a “frontline care provider” with patients infected with the coronavirus (COVID-19). A correlational design study involved 260 healthcare workers (HCWs) working in a large hospital in southern Italy. The following questionnaires were administered: (1) the Job Content Questionnaire (JCQ), for assessing psychological and physical demands; (2) the Professional Quality of Life Scale (ProQOL) to measure the quality individuals feel in relation to their work as “frontline care providers”, through three dimensions: compassion fatigue (CF), burnout (BO), and compassion satisfaction (CS); (3) the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale, for evaluating individual self-esteem; (4) a self-administered multiple-choice questionnaire developed by See et al. about attitudes of discrimination, acceptance, and fear towards HCWs exposed to COVID-19. The findings suggest that stigma has a high impact on workers’ outcomes. Stigma may influence worker compliance and can guide management communication strategies relating to pandemic risk for HCWs.
Internet use and job satisfaction Castellacci, Fulvio; Viñas-Bardolet, Clara
Computers in human behavior,
January 2019, 2019-01-00, 20190101, Volume:
90
Journal Article
Peer reviewed
Open access
Does the use of Internet for professional purposes foster employees' job satisfaction? We focus on six main work characteristics – income, education, occupation type, autonomy, time pressure and ...social interactions – and we develop new hypotheses on how Internet use moderates the effects of these factors. We use data from the European Working Conditions Survey, and estimate a bivariate ordered probit model, and a hierarchical ordered probit model. The results point out that Internet technologies enhance job satisfaction by improving access to data and information, creating new activities, and facilitating communication and social interactions. However, these positive effects are skewed. Workers in some occupations, and with higher income and education levels, benefit relatively more from the Internet vis-a-vis workers in occupations that are more weakly related to ICTs activities.
•Topic: Effects of Internet use for professional purposes on job satisfaction.•Main idea: Internet use moderates the relationships between work characteristics and job satisfaction.•Data:European Working Conditions Survey (2005 and 2010).•Method: bivariate ordered probit and hierarchical ordered probit model.•Result: Internet use at work has positive effects on job satisfaction, but these effects are skewed.
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