Documents subjective assessment 12 results

"This paper presents results on cross-country comparison of job satisfaction across seven EU countries taking into account that people in different countries may perceive subjective questions differently. We apply a chopit model approach where the threshold parameters in an ordered probit model are re-scaled through anchoring vignettes. Compared to a traditional ordered probit model, which yields the familiar result that Denmark and Finland are ranked in the very top, the country ranking is altered when the chopit model is applied. In this case, the Scandinavian countries are ranked somewhat lower while workers from the Netherlands are found to have the highest level of job satisfaction. These results suggest that cultural differences in the way people perceive subjective questions about satisfaction make simple cross-country comparison misleading."

"In reaction to the recent financial crisis, the European Commission re-stated its view that the balance between flexibility and security is the key to success for the future of the European social economy, as well as its belief in the power of institutional arrangements it deems necessary for this balance. However, do powerful institutions actually counter market forces where flexicurity is concerned? In this paper we address this question by analysing the impact of institutional configurations and market factors on perceived employment insecurity among workers in Europe. We use the 4th wave of the European Social Survey for 2008/2009, which covers 22 countries, and implement a multi-level approach where contextual effects are taken into account and individuals are considered to be embedded within a country. We find that policies that secure one's income and employability skills, such as passive and active labour market policies, are more important for providing employment security for individuals than institutions that secure one's current job, such as employment protection. Of the economic and labour market factors, general market conditions (measured as employment rate average) and the strength of the financial crisis (measured as gross domestic product growth rate from 2008 to 2009) are both similarly influential in explaining cross-national variance in the employment insecurity perception of individuals. More generally, and most interestingly, we find that institutional factors lose their significance when market factors are taken into account. Thus, it seems that differences in economic and labour market conditions between countries better explain why workers feel insecure about their employment, than the differences in employment and income policies. Although this result could be influenced by the time period under investigation, which is characterized by a financial crisis, results from previous studies using data from different periods suggest that it is not period-specific."

"Afin de faire face aux difficultés financières que risque de poser le vieillissement de la population, un enjeu majeur des nouvelles orientations politiques, notamment en Belgique, est la prolongation de la vie active effective (OCDE, 2005, 2006). Cependant, le faible taux d'emploi actuel au-delà de 50 ans soulève des questions quant à la motivation et aux capacités des travailleurs à prolonger la durée de leur vie professionnelle.

Dans ce cahier, nous examinons les attitudes de maintien dans l'emploi des travailleurs dits âgés et leur capacité à être performants au travail sur la base d'approches individuelles et organisationnelles du vieillissement au travail ainsi que d'une approche psychosociale. Plus précisément, nous analysons la manière dont les conduites des individus, étiquetés comme « travailleurs âgés » dans le monde du travail, peuvent être influencées par la manière dont ils se perçoivent eux-mêmes et sont perçus dans leur environnement de travail, sur base de croyances relatives au vieillissement professionnel."

Subjective muscular fatigue was evaluated for 10 female VDT workers over a working day; 5 workers had previous musculoskeletal problems in the shoulder-neck region, 5 had not. Electromyographic activity of the upper right and left trapezius was measured. The subjective scores for the shoulder were significantly higher for the group with complaints. The activity of the trapezius increased for both groups, with no significant differences between the groups. A reduction in load intensity by the introduction of frequent short breaks in continuous activity should be considered even for tasks with low static loads.

"Thermoregulatory and thermal subjective responses were studied in ten male, clothed subjects during continuous (C) and intermittent (I) exercise at the same average level of oxygen consumption. The subjects performed both I and C twice, dressed in two different three-layer cold-protective clothing ensembles of two thermal insulation levels [total clothing insulation = 2.59 clo (L) and 3.20 clo (H)]. Experiments were carried out at an ambient temperature of -10 degrees C. Rectal temperatures increased similarly in both types of exercise. Mean skin temperature (Tsk) was lower in I compared to C with both levels of clothing insulation. Over the last 0.5 h of the experiment Tsk was approximately 1.3 degrees C lower in I than in C for clothing L. The skin evaporation rate was higher in clothing H than L but did not differ between I and C. Subjective ratings for thermal sensations of the whole body (BTS) and hands were close to neutral in I and around slightly warm in C. The BTS was lower in I than in C and was lower in L compared to H. It was concluded that, at equal average energy expenditure, thermal responses to intermittent and continuous exercise in the cold differ in clothed subjects, principally as a result of different patterns of heat exchange."

"A study was conducted in sedentary human subjects of the temperature and humidity conditions under which wearing a respirator mask would be acceptable. Six healthy volunteers were studied during the summer months, when they were used to a hot environment. The experimental room was kept at one of the following combinations of ambient and dewpoint temperatures, in degrees-C: 25:11; 30:13; and 35:16. The subject remained sedentary and was given breathing air via a half facepiece respirator at a temperature of 27, 30, 33 or 36 degrees and a relative humidity of 47 percent (low) or 73 percent (high). Local skin temperatures and dew points were measured at several sites on the body, and the subjects provided ratings of acceptability (defined as desire to change or not change the respirator), thermal sensation, degree of discomfort, perceptions of sweating, and skin wettedness. All six subjects considered the respirator acceptable if the respirator air was 27 or 30 degrees at either humidity level, no matter whether the room condition was hot or not. At each level of environmental temperature, the acceptability of the respirator tended to decrease as either the temperature or the humidity of the respirator air increased. The acceptability of the respirator was related to the lip skin temperature and fell when this temperature exceeded 34.5 degrees or when the dew point of respirator air exceeded 20 degrees. Some subjects commented that they felt that breathing was slightly hard under conditions of high respirator temperature and humidity. High heat or humidity in the respirator air decreased the acceptability of the room environment for each level of room environment. The authors conclude that the heat and humidity conditions inside a respirator influence the acceptability of wearing a respirator. "

"Subjective and physiological responses were obtained from 6 subjects wearing a ventilated face mask while exercising for 15min on a bicycle ergometer. Different combinations of ambient air temperatures (7o, 16o, 25oC) and mask air temperatures (22o, 27o, 33oC) were studied together with two different air humidities inside the mask (61% and 86% RH). Control experiments were performed without the mask. Skin temperatures, heart rates and skin wettedness were monitored during exercise. The subjects' acceptance of the mask and of the thermal environment, thermal sensation, sensations of discomfort, sweating and skin wettedness, and their judgment of the effort involved in breathing were assessed at the end of the 15min exercise period. At ambient temperatures of 7oC and 25oC, the acceptance of the thermal work conditions decreased. In a warm environment a mask air temperature <=27oC was 100% acceptable and increased the acceptance of the thermal environment. In a cool environment, a mask air temperature >=27oC was 100% acceptable. Warm humid air significantly decreased acceptance of the mask conditions."

"Comparing self-assessed indicators of subjective outcomes such as health, work disability, political efficacy, job satisfaction, etc. across countries or socio-economic groups is often hampered by the fact that different groups use systematically different response scales. Anchoring vignettes have been introduced as an effective tool to correct for such differences. This paper develops an integrated framework in which objective measurements are used to validate the vignette-based corrections. The framework is applied to vignettes and objective and subjective self-assessments of drinking behavior by students in Ireland. Model comparisons using the Akaike information criterion favor a specification with response consistency and vignette corrected response scales. Put differently, vignette based corrections appear quite effective in bringing objective and subjective measures closer together. "