Commensality and Individual Eating: Mediating Social Relationships during Work Breaks

Based on an analysis of eating during work hours, this article looks at the issue of maintaining informal social relations. Various forms of the gathering together of individuals are important in the maintenance of social relations. Very often, casual or leisure-time gatherings, whether they are to mark an important event or celebration, or are just a coffee or lunch break during work hours, involve eating or drinking. However, colleagues and co-workers do not always eat at the same time, especially regarding day-to-day eating during work hours. In this paper, the focus is on the relative importance of eating alone or eating in a group when researching the maintenance of informal relations. The first objective of this research is to clarify the social aspects in research on eating and to survey the scientific literature on commensality and eating alone. Second the paper looks at how eating in a group as opposed to individual eating are expressed as part of the daily eating routine with ones co-workers. By going through these objectives, the question is raised – how would ways of maintaining informal relations change if there an ever greater number of co-workers decided to eat alone?

Effect of Unmeasured Time Hours on Occupational Noise Exposure Assessment in the Shipbuilding Process in Korea

Occupational noise is known to be one of the most hazardous risk factors, frequently exceeding the exposure limit thus causing hearing loss and other health outcomes among many field workers in various industries and workplaces. This study aims to characterize the levels of occupational noise exposure during the daily working hours and break periods (sampling preparation and lunch break), identify work-related characteristics affecting the noise exposure levels when including or excluding the break periods and finally determine the most effective approach for occupational noise exposure assessment by using the Korean and U.S. OSHA’s guidelines. A total of 1575 workers employed by a large shipbuilding company participated in this study, and the historical exposure datasets of noise dosimeters, collected from 2016 to 2018, were classified by characteristics. A threshold level (TL) for the noise dosimeter was set as a value of 80 dBA during the break periods, including the preparation time for sampling instruments and one hour for the lunch break. The shipbuilding workers were exposed to high levels of occupational noise during the break periods, especially for those working in heating, grinding, and power processes in the painting-related departments. Out of 1575 samples, most cases were related to the preparation time (N = 1432, 90.9%) and lunch break (N = 1359, 86.9%). During the break time, the levels of noise exposure were measured depending on task-specific characteristics. When including the break time, the noise levels increased by approximately 1 dBA during the break, combining 0.8 dBA in the lunch hours and 0.2 dBA for the preparation of the sampling instrument. When excluding the break time, the levels of noise exposure collected using a Korean Occupational Safety and Health Administration (KOSHA) guide tended to be underestimated compared to those using the U.S. OSHA method. When including the break times, the proportion of noise exposure levels exceeding the compliance exposure limit declined from 37.9% to 34.5%, indicating that the break times might affect the decrease in the noise exposure levels. Taken together, shipbuilding workers could possibly be exposed to much greater amounts of noise exposure during break times in the shipbuilding processes, and the noise exposure levels in the department of painting were high. Therefore, it is recommended that industrial hygienists collect exposure monitoring data of occupational noise one hour after their job tasks begin and then consecutively monitor the noise exposure levels for at least 6 h including the break periods for each day.

A Lunch Break Time and Its Impact on Employees Health, Performance and Stress on Work

Employees’ health, performance, and stress problem have become a major issue in today’s workplace globally. These problems are linked to various factors. In this study, we contributed the rationality of having a one-hour lunch break at the workplace. Drawing on extant literature, we developed a theoretical model in this study. The results showed a positive impact on employees’ health, performance and reduced stress at work if the favorable one-hour lunch break is practiced. The study also gives support to prevent absenteeism, improve job satisfaction, and employees' positive attitude towards work.

Postprandial Somnolence and its awareness among the Medical Undergraduate Students: A crosssectional study

Introduction: Postprandial somnolence or commonly referred to as food coma is generally experienced after the ingestion of afternoon meals. The performance of an individual gets affected after the ingestion of a heavy meal and this is more pertinent in a college setup where students have to attend a lecture right after the meal. The objective of this study was to assess the awareness of medical students about the factors responsible for postprandial somnolence, to identify the methods used to counteract it and to ascertain lecturers’ perception on responsiveness and participation of the students in a post lunch lecture. Methods: Total 330 students (first year to third year MBBS students) aged between 18-21 years and 40 lecturers teaching first and second year MBBS students were involved in this study. Two separate questionnaires (Part A: students’ perception, and B: lecturers’ perception) were prepared, peer-reviewed, validated and administered to the respective participants. All the responses were compiled and expressed in frequency percentage. Statistical analysis was performed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences, version 15.0 for a level of statistical significance of 5%. Pearson correlation was used to get the association between the variables. Results: About 55.75% students were aware about the role of serotonin and melatonin in drowsiness but 45.75% students did not know that food rich in tryptophan relaxes the brain and results in sleepiness. Students agree that heaviness of their meal might cause drowsiness and indigestion or bloating, which can also result in lethargy and can affect their performance. Majority of the lecturers opined that students disturb the harmony of the class and are less responsive and participative in post lunch break lectures. Conclusion: Thus, the present study provided scope for conducting awareness talks regarding the strategies to counteract postprandial somnolence among medical students which can help improve their concentration during post-lunch lectures. Bangladesh Journal of Medical Science Vol.20(4) 2021 p.826-832

Introduction

It’s a sunny Wednesday morning, and I want to get lots of work done today—I want this book finished before Christmas. On the other hand, I also want to find time for a proper lunch break so I can do some exercise: I’m putting on weight and I’d prefer to reverse that trend sooner rather than later. Sadly, I put these thoughts to the back of mind as I notice that my youngest son has just been sick on the bed, and I want to get that cleaned up right away....

Intraday analysis of regulation change in microstructure: evidence from an emerging market

PurposeThis study investigates the impact of simultaneously replacing both midday single-price call auction and lunch break with multi-price continuous trading on intraday volatility–volume patterns as well as the intraday volatility–volume nexus.Design/methodology/approachThe analysis utilises 150 m tick-by-tick transaction data related to 333 stocks traded on Borsa Istanbul Equity Market covering a period of 2 months prior to and following the change. In addition to graphic comparisons, the study uses difference in mean tests, panel-fixed generalized least squares (GLS), panel-random GLS and random-effects linear models with AR(1) disturbance regression estimations.FindingsThe results show that intraday volatility and trading volume form an inverse J-shape and are positively correlated. It is observed that the implementation of the regulation change decreased intraday volatility and increased trading volume. Additionally, the results indicate a negative volatility–liquidity and a positive volume–liquidity relationship, supporting the mixture of distribution hypothesis.Research limitations/implicationsEnhanced market efficiency provides greater opportunity for investment and risk management. Investors can benefit from the findings on the intraday volatility–volume nexus, which is an indicator of informed trading, and regulatory authorities can use volume to oversight volatility.Originality/valueThis very rare regulation change of the simultaneous replacement of the lunch break and midday call auction with continuous trading is investigated in the context of intraday volume and volatility. This study also expands upon some important findings on the volume–volatility nexus for the Turkish Stock Market.

Food Ordering System in College Canteens Designed Using Python

This document provides an observational solution to the daily observed problem that are faced by multiple students all over India and so did we face in our college. Usually, the average time period for Breakfast and Lunch break are 15 and 40 mins respectively. Due to huge campus infrastructure the department has placed multiple canteens for better reach for students, but increasing number of students in department like Engineering, Medical Architecture, Law, Fashion Designing has hampered the Time Management of Canteens and students meaning the time allotted to students isn’t enough to carry along for the Day and in reciprocating in causing multiple health issues in growing students, In order to bring rest to this un-managed problem we decided to create an app that would solve this problem at the user end as well at the management end saving time and manage scheduling food orders with limited man resource in respective time slot allotted to the students.

Using Mindfulness to Reduce Anxiety and Depression of Patients With Fever Undergoing Screening in an Isolation Ward During the COVID-19 Outbreak

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) continues to spread globally. This infectious disease affects people not only physically but also psychologically. Therefore, an effective psychological intervention program needs to be developed to improve the psychological condition of patients screened for fever during this period. This study aimed to investigate the effect of a brief mindfulness intervention on patients with suspected fever in a screening isolation ward awaiting results of the COVID-19 test. The Faces Scale and the Emotional Thermometer Tool were used to investigate 51 patients who were randomly divided into an intervention group and a control group. All patients completed self-rating questionnaires online at the time they entered the isolation ward and before they were informed of the results. The intervention group listened to the mindfulness audios through hospital broadcasts in the isolation ward before their lunch break and while they slept. Compared with the control group, the intervention group’s life satisfaction score increased (F = 4.02, p = 0.051) and the emotional thermometer score decreased (F = 8.89, p = 0.005). The anxiety scores (F = 9.63, p = 0.003) and the needing help scores decreased significantly (F = 4.95, p = 0.031). Distress (F = 1.41, p = 0.241), depression (F = 1.93, p = 0.171), and anger (F = 3.14, p = 0.083) also decreased, but did not reach significance. Brief mindfulness interventions can alleviate negative emotions and improve the life satisfaction of patients in the isolation ward who were screened for COVID-19 during the waiting period.