scholarly journals Experiences and Challenges of Foreign Agricultural Workers in Finland

2021 ◽  
Vol 27 (1) ◽  
pp. 13-28
Author(s):  
Tiina E. A. Mattila ◽  
Ulla Ovaska ◽  
Birgitta Kinnunen ◽  
Veli-Matti Tuure ◽  
Jarkko Leppälä ◽  
...  

HighlightsBetter control of musculoskeletal workload remains a key factor in improving working conditions on Finnish farms.Orientation and training of workers should be carefully prepared with attention to content, method, and timing.Continued training is needed, especially for foremen and the increasing number of long-term foreign workers.Abstract. Foreign workers have become an important part of the workforce on horticulture and livestock farms in Finland. The aim of this study was to investigate the experiences of foreign workers regarding their working and living conditions. We conducted semi-structured theme interviews during two time periods: in 2008-2009 (n = 40 workers on eight farms) and again in 2018-2019 (n = 9 workers on four farms). We found variations in expectations and goals among workers when they take a job abroad. Compelling factors in the origin country included unemployment, low wages, and low standards of living, and enticing factors in the destination country included social relationships and expectations of better income. Personal networks had a strong role in the recruiting processes. Work on farms is physically demanding, and being a foreign worker affects social life in many ways, such as being separated from family and facing pressures from the home community to arrange jobs for others. New communication technologies have improved possibilities to stay in contact. Employers could contribute to better working and living conditions for foreign workers by improving work organization, ergonomics at work, orientation of new workers, and continued training of supervisors. Worker orientation and training should be carefully planned, taking into consideration the limited language skills, work competence requirements, and possibilities for career advancement of the workers. Keywords: Descriptive study, Foreign farm workers, Horticulture, Occupational safety.

2018 ◽  
Vol 14 (29) ◽  
pp. 170
Author(s):  
Coulibaly Doppon Ali

This study aims to analyze the working and living conditions of teenagers in the informal sector of the small business in Abidjan. To achieve this goal, the following hypothesis has been formulated: The difficult working and living conditions of adolescent girls in the informal sector favor the development of deviant or marginal behaviors (begging, prostitution, theft, delinquency, violence, etc.). Victimological theories and criminological theories of acting out were used. The methodological approach took into account the documentary research, the inquiry by interview as well as the phenomenological method, the ethnographic method and the dialectic. The study was conducted among 150 respondents. The route technique has been associated with the area technique for the conduct of the field survey. Qualitative and quantitative analysis were used. The results of this research reveal that it is the combination of internal and external factors with households (socio-economic and cultural conditions) that explains the exploitation of children. These factors must be seen simultaneously in the sense that the exploitation of children remains a social and almost structural phenomenon. In this sense, the study reveals the preponderant role of social capital (kinship and other social norms) that has been neglected in the economic analysis of child labor. In fact, by its ambivalence, work participates in material life as well as in social life.


Sains Insani ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 69-77
Author(s):  
Intan Suria Hamzah ◽  
Sity Daud

Malaysia experienced a number of the entry of foreigners in the world, mainly as low-skilled workers. Malaysia has been experiencing shortage of workers in main sectors such as construction, agriculture, industrial and service. Foreign workers are workers came from other countries who come to work in Malaysia for a certain period, they are also known as economic’s workers. The study found that foreign workers give benefits for country development process in variuos sectors but with their numbers growing and reaching millions of peoples were disturbing economy and local communities.Keywords: Foreign worker, demand, economy, PATI, crime, security Abstrak: Malaysia mengalami jumlah kemasukan warga asing yang besar di dunia, terutamanya sebagai buruh berkemahiran rendah. Malaysia telah mengalami masalah kekurangan buruh dalam sektor-sektor utama negara seperti pembinaan, perladangan, perindustrian dan perkhidmatan. Pekerja asing atau buruh asing merupakan pekerja yang berasal dari negara luar yang datang bekerja di Malaysia bagi sesuatu tempoh tertentu, ianya juga dikenali sebagai buruh ekonomi. Hasil kajian, mendapati pekerja asing telah membawa manfaat dalam proses pembangunan negara Malaysia dalam pelbagai sektor namun begitu dengan jumlah mereka yang semakin meningkat dan mencecah jutaan orang telah mengganggu-gugat ekonomi dan masyarakat tempatan.Kata kunci: Pekerja asing, permintaan, ekonomi, PATI, jenayah, keselamatan.


2020 ◽  
Vol 16 (4) ◽  
pp. 600-612
Author(s):  
L.F. Nikulin ◽  
V.V. Velikorossov ◽  
S.A. Filin ◽  
A.B. Lanchakov

Subject. The article discusses how management transforms as artificial intelligence gets more important in governance, production and social life. Objectives. We identify and substantiate trends in management transformation as artificial intelligence evolves and gets more important in governance, production and social life. The article also provides our suggestions for management and training of managers dealing with artificial intelligence. Methods. The study employs methods of logic research, analysis and synthesis through the systems and creative approach, methodology of technological waves. Results. We analyzed the scope of management as is and found that threats and global challenges escalate due to the advent of artificial intelligence. We provide the rationale for recognizing the strategic culture as the self-organizing system of business process integration. We suggest and substantiate the concept of soft power with reference to strategic culture, which should be raised, inter alia, through the scientific school of conflict studies. We give our recommendations on how management and training of managers should be improved in dealing with artificial intelligence as it evolves. The novelty hereof is that we trace trends in management transformation as the role of artificial intelligence evolves and growth in governance, production and social life. Conclusions and Relevance. Generic solutions are not very effective for the Russian management practice during the transition to the sixth and seventh waves of innovation. Any programming product represents artificial intelligence, which simulates a personality very well, though unable to substitute a manager in motivating, governing and interacting with people.


Author(s):  
Pham Thi Le Hang

The development of ICTs has strongly influenced many different aspects of social life, including education and training. ICTs application and management of ICTs applications has become an indispensable trend and has a profound effect on improving the quality of education and training. The author has analyzed the current state of ICTs application management in teaching in lower secondary schools in rural, midland and mountainous areas from which 6 management solutions for applying information and communication technology in teaching in lower secondary schools in accordance with the school’s practice.


Author(s):  
Arti Awasthi

India has gradually evolved as knowledge based economy due to the abundance of capable, flexible and qualified human capital. With the constantly rising influence of globalization, India has immense opportunities to establish its distinctive position in the world. However, there is a need to further develop and empower the human capital to ensure the nations global competitiveness. Despite the empathetic stress laid on education and training in this country, there is still a shortage of skilled manpower to address the mounting needs and demands of the economy. Skill building can be viewed as an instrument to improve the effectiveness and contribution of labor to the overall production. It is as an important ingredient to push the production possibility frontier outward and to take growth rate of the economy to a higher trajectory. This paper focuses on skill development in Small and Medium Enterprise (SMEs) which contribute nearly 8 percent of the country's GDP, 45 percent of the manufacturing output and 40 percent of the exports. They provide the largest share of employment after agriculture. They are the nurseries for entrepreneurship and innovation. SMEs have been established in almost all-major sectors in the Indian industry. The main assets for any firm, especially small and medium sized enterprises are their human capital. This is even more important in the knowledge based economy, where intangible factors and services are of growing importance. The rapid obsolescence of knowledge is a key factor of the knowledge economy. However, we also know that for a small business it is very difficult to engage staff in education and training in order to update and upgrade their skills within continuous learning approach. Therefore there is a need to innovate new techniques and strategies of skill development to develop human capital in SME's.


Author(s):  
Bruna Rondinone ◽  
Antonio Valenti ◽  
Valeria Boccuni ◽  
Erika Cannone ◽  
Pierluca Dionisi ◽  
...  

The aim of this study is to map the coverage of occupational safety and health (OSH) rules and provisions and their enforcement at a country level worldwide. Members’ participation in the International Commission on Occupational Health (ICOH) activities was also investigated. We used a questionnaire-based survey to collect data. An online questionnaire was administered from February 14 to March 18, 2018 to all ICOH members for the triennium 2015 to 2017 (n = 1929). We received 384 completed questionnaires from 79 countries, with a 20% response rate. To synthesize information about the coverage of OSH rules and provisions and their level of enforcement, a synthetic coverage index was calculated and combined with country, gross domestic product (GDP) per capita and the human development index (HDI). We used multiple correspondence analysis (MCA) to analyze the members’ participation in ICOH activities. More than 90.0% of the sample declared that in their own country there is a set of rules and provisions regulating OSH in the workplace, and training procedures and tools to improve workers’ awareness. However, these rules and training procedures are mainly “partially” enforced and utilized (39.0% and 45.4%). There was no statistically significant association between country and GDP per capita and the synthetic coverage index, whilst controlling for HDI. The level of engagement in ICOH activities is higher in senior members (aged 65 years or older), coming from high-income countries, having held a position within ICOH, with a higher level of education and a researcher position. An integrated and multidisciplinary approach, which includes research, education and training, is needed to address OSH issues and their impact both at global and country level.


2020 ◽  
Vol 13 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aisan Ghaemian ◽  
Mahdi Ghomi ◽  
Miles Wrightman ◽  
Colm Ellis-Nee

Abstract The present study aimed to explore patients’ experience with an Improving Access to Psychological Therapies (IAPT) service, and to investigate the reasons for discontinuing their treatment. A qualitative approach was adopted using thematic analysis of semi-structured interviews carried out with 818 patients attending for treatment in Talking Change from November 2015 to January 2019, retrospectively. The five main themes that emerged from the study were: ‘Felt better’, ‘Issues with group settings’, ‘Therapeutic alliance breakdown’, ‘Miscommunication’ and ‘Impracticalities’. The qualitative study uncovered a wide range of reasons for people who had dropped out from their treatment. The findings mainly emphasised general dissatisfaction and inconvenient appointments. However, improvement in symptoms of depression and anxiety was also identified as a key factor among patients who discontinued their treatment. This recovery is known as ‘progress withdrawal’ in which patients withdraw from treatment early due to good therapeutic progress. We present clinical and procedural implications arising from these themes. Key learning aims (1) To explore what can cause discontinuation of therapy. (2) To obtain the experience of people who have received treatment and dropped out from Talking Change Psychological Therapy services. (3) To explore whether people recovered as part of the treatment withdrawal and what may have helped towards that recovery.


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 524
Author(s):  
Vendula Laciok ◽  
Katerina Sikorova ◽  
Bruno Fabiano ◽  
Ales Bernatik

Industry and related work and workplaces are constantly changing as a result of the implementation of new technologies, substances and work processes, changes in the composition of the workforce and the labor market, and new forms of employment and work organization. The implementation of new technologies represents certain ambivalence. Next to the positive impact on workers’ health, new risks and challenges can arise in the area of process and occupational safety and health of people at work. On these bases, it follows the need for predicting and handling the new risks, in order to ensure safe and healthy workplaces in the future. The aim of most forecasting studies is not only to identify new emerging risks, but also to foresee changes that could affect occupational safety and health. However, a number of questions still require proper investigation, i.e., “What impact do new emerging risks have on tertiary education in the area of Safety engineering? Has tertiary education already reacted to progress in science and research and does it have these innovations in its syllabus? How are tertiary graduates prepared for the real world of new technologies?” This paper represents a first attempt in the literature to provide answers to the raised questions, by a survey approach involving academics, Health Safety and Environment (HSE) industrial experts and university students in the Czech Republic. Even if statistical evaluation is limited to a single Country and to a small sample size, the obtained results allow suggesting practical recommendations that can contribute to ensuring new challenges in the area of education by addressing relevant culture issues needed to support new workplace realities according to the newly defined Safety 4.0.


2013 ◽  
Vol 61 (3) ◽  
pp. 103-115
Author(s):  
Barbara J. Burgel ◽  
Debra Novak ◽  
Candace M. Burns ◽  
Annette Byrd ◽  
Holly Carpenter ◽  
...  

In response to the Institute of Medicine (2011) report Occupational Health Nurses and Respiratory Protection: Improving Education and Training, a nationwide survey was conducted in May 2012 to assess occupational health nurses' educational preparation, roles, responsibilities, and training needs in respiratory protection. More than 2,000 occupational health nurses responded; 83% perceived themselves as competent, proficient, or expert in respiratory protection, reporting moderate comfort with 12 respiratory program elements. If occupational health nurses had primary responsibility for the respiratory protection program, they were more likely to perceive higher competence and more comfort in respiratory protection, after controlling for occupational health nursing experience, highest education, occupational health nursing certification, industry sector, Association of Occupational Health Professionals in Healthcare membership, taking a National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health spirometry course in the prior 5 years, and perceiving a positive safety culture at work. These survey results document high perceived competence and comfort in respiratory protection. These findings support the development of targeted educational programs and interprofessional competencies for respiratory protection.


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