The role and efficacy of management in influencing the implementation of an occupational health and safety policy : a case study of DaimlerChrysler South Africa East London
- Authors: Pringle, Jessica Samantha
- Date: 2007 , 2013-07-04
- Subjects: DaimlerChrysler , Automobile industry and trade -- South Africa -- East London -- Case studies , Industrial safety -- Law and legislation -- South Africa , Industrial hygiene -- Law and legislation -- South Africa , Industrial safety -- Management -- South Africa , Industrial hygiene -- Management -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSocSc
- Identifier: vital:3355 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1007589 , DaimlerChrysler , Automobile industry and trade -- South Africa -- East London -- Case studies , Industrial safety -- Law and legislation -- South Africa , Industrial hygiene -- Law and legislation -- South Africa , Industrial safety -- Management -- South Africa , Industrial hygiene -- Management -- South Africa
- Description: The existence of an occupational health and safety policy is believed to be evidence of management accepting their occupational health and safety role in terms of the Occupational Health and Safety Act. It is accepted that this results in management ensuring the provision of a safe workplace. Despite the emphasis in legislation (the Occupational Health and Safety Act) on the need for management to implement comprehensive occupational health and safety policies, there is a lack of research on the implementation and efficacy of occupational health and safety policies in the workplace. This study investigates the efficacy with which management carries out their occupational health and safety duties and responsibilities when implementing the provisions of an occupational health and safety policy in the workplace. A number of factors are essential to the efficient performance of management in this regard. These factors include managerial commitment, practices and strategies; communication practices and structures; training initiatives and information; the extent of employee and trade union involvement; and the infrastructure of the organisation. This research study is primarily qualitative in nature. Semi-structured interviews were the primary tool used by the researcher to collect the data. The case-study research method was employed to assist the researcher in collecting the data. The participants involved in the research were selected using the principles of strategic informant sampling and expert choice sampling. The participants consisted of a sample of management, employees and shop stewards. The research findings indicate that firstly, the presence of occupational health and safety policies, practices, strategies and systems in the workplace do not automatically result in reduced hazards, accidents or deaths in the workplace. Secondly, the participation schemes and the communication practices put in place by management are weak. The reason for their weakness is their ineffective implementation by management and use by employees and the trade union. Thirdly, management has a definite impact on the involvement, attitudes and actions of the employees and the trade union in occupational health and safety issues. Fourthly, there is an unequal partnership between management and employees as a result of the educational differences regarding occupational health and safety between them. The outcome is that management and employees are faced with numerous challenges in relation to occupational health and safety. Contributing to this challenge is a lack of sufficient resources allocated to training, resulting ultimately in the ineffective monitoring of occupational health and safety in the workplace. The existence of occupational health and safety structures and systems does not provide the essential evidence to suggest that their mere presence makes a difference to the workplace safety level. However, through more co-operation and participation by all the parties, these structures and systems have the potential to be effective. , KMBT_363 , Adobe Acrobat 9.54 Paper Capture Plug-in
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- Date Issued: 2007
An investigation into the neuroprotective properties of acyclovir
- Authors: Müller, Adrienne Carmel
- Date: 2006
- Subjects: Acyclovir -- Therapeutic use , Acyclovir -- Physiological effect , Nervous system -- Degeneration -- Treatment , Memory disorders -- Treatment , Quinolinic acid
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc
- Identifier: vital:3776 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1003254 , Acyclovir -- Therapeutic use , Acyclovir -- Physiological effect , Nervous system -- Degeneration -- Treatment , Memory disorders -- Treatment , Quinolinic acid
- Description: Accumulating evidence suggests that quinolinic acid has a role to play in disorders involving impairment of learning and memory. In the present study, the effect of the guanosine analogue antiherpetic, acyclovir, on quinolinic acid-induced spatial memory deficits was investigated, as well as some of the mechanisms which underlie this effect. Behavioural studies using a Morris water maze show that post-treatment of rats with acyclovir significantly improves spatial memory deficits induced by intrahippocampal injections of quinolinic acid. Histological analysis of the hippocampi show that the effect of acyclovir is related to its ability to alleviate quinolinic acid-induced necrotic cell death, through interference with some of the mechanisms of neurodegeneration. However, acyclovir is unable to alter a quinolinic acid-induced increase in glutamate release in the rat hippocampus, even though it alleviates quinolinic acid induced oxidative stress by scavenging the superoxide anion in vitro and in vivo in whole rat brain and hippocampus respectively. Due to the inverse relationship which exists between superoxide anion and glutathione levels, acyclovir also curtails the quinolinic acid-induced decrease in hippocampal glutathione levels. Acyclovir suppresses quinolinic acid-induced lipid peroxidation in vitro and in vivo, in whole rat brain and hippocampus respectively, through its alleviation of oxidative stress and possibly through the binding of iron (II) and / or iron (III), preventing the participation and redox recycling of iron (II) in the Fenton reaction, which quinolinic acid is thought to enhance by weak binding of ferrous ions. This argument is further strengthened by the ability of the drug to suppress iron (II)-induced lipid peroxidation in vitro directly. Inorganic studies including ultraviolet and visible spectroscopy, electrochemistry and the ferrozine assay show that acyclovir binds to iron (II) and iron (III) and that quinolinic acid forms an easily oxidisable association with iron (II). Acyclovir inhibits the endogenous biosynthesis of quinolinic acid by inhibiting the activity of liver tryptophan-2,3-dioxygenase, intestinal indoleamine-2,3-dioxygenase and rat liver 3-hydroxyanthranillic acid oxygenase in vitro and in vivo, possibly through competitive inhibition of haeme, scavenging of superoxide anion and binding of iron (II) respectively. An inverse relationship exists between tryptophan-2,3-dioxygenase activity and brain serotonin levels. Acyclovir administration in rats induces a rise in forebrain serotonin and 5-hydroxyindole acetic acid and reduces the turnover of forebrain serotonin to 5-hydroxyindole acetic acid. Furthermore, it shows that acyclovir does not alter forebrain norepinephrine levels. The results of the pineal indole metabolism study show that acyclovir increases 5-hydroxytryptophol, N-acetylserotonin and the neurohormone melatonin, but decreases 5-hydroxyindole acetic acid. The results of this study show that acyclovir has some neuroprotective properties which may make it useful in the alleviation of the anomalous neurobiology in neurodegenerative disorders.
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- Date Issued: 2006
The effects of whole body immersion in cold water upon subsequent terrestrial aerobic performance : a study in hypothermia
- Authors: Manley, Elizabeth
- Date: 1998 , 2013-09-04
- Subjects: Hypothermia , Cold -- Physiological effect , Temperature -- Physiological effect , Aerobic exercises , Cryobiology
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:5143 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1007458 , Hypothermia , Cold -- Physiological effect , Temperature -- Physiological effect , Aerobic exercises , Cryobiology
- Description: This study examined the extent to which physiological and psychological concomitants of aerobic terrestrial performance were affected by body cooling of varying degrees induced by cold water immersion (CWI). Thirteen male and 13 female subjects underwent three randomly assigned 30 min treadmill runs: a control run without prior manipulation of the subjects' thermal status and the same exercise after "central" (core temperature 1°C below pre-immersion) and "peripheral" cooling (skin heat loss 100kcal.m⁻².h⁻¹). During treadmill runs core temperature was measured, together with chest, leg, arm and hand temperatures, from which mean skin temperature (T [subscript]s[subscript]k) and mean body temperature (T[subscript]b) were calculated. Heart rate, oxygen consumption (VO₂,), carbon dioxide production (VCO₂), minute ventilation (V₂ (BTPS)), breathing frequency (f), cadence and ratings of perceived exertion (RPE) and thermal sensation (PTS) were also measured. Both central and peripheral cooling resulted in significantly reduced T[subscript]r[subscript]e (males : control 37.9±0. 3°C; central cooling : 36.8±0.5°C; peripheral cooling: 37.5±0.4°C; females: control: 37.9±0.4°C; central cooling: 37.2±0.5; p<0.05) during subsequent treadmill running, except following peripheral cooling for females (37.9±0.3°C) . For males and females T[subscript]s[subscript]k was lower following peripheral cooling than control values and lowest after central cooling (males: control: 30.0±1.3°C; central cooling: 36.8±0.5°C; peripheral cooling: 37.5±0.4°C; females: control: 30.5±1.2°C; central cooling: 25.9±1.8°C; peripheral cooling: 26.9±1.9°C; p<0.05). Female subjects experienced significantly higher T[subscript]r[subscript]e than males following central and peripheral cooling and a lower T[subscript]s[subscript]k following central cooling. Females experienced less of an increase in heart rate than males during exercise following central and peripheral cooling (control: l57.7±23.7b.min⁻¹; central cooling: 143.5±20.5b.min⁻¹; peripheral cooling 151.7±16.7b.min⁻¹; p<0 .05). Male responses were the same following central cooling but higher for peripheral cooling than control values (control: 139.1±7.3b.min⁻¹; central cooling 134.7±17.5b.min⁻¹; peripheral cooling: 145.0±16.4b.min⁻¹; p<0.05). These data indicate a depression in cardiovascular function for females following peripheral cooling that was not apparent for males. The VO₂ was not different between tests for males; only peripheral cooling resulted in a raised VO₂ of 28.6±3 .3ml.kg⁻¹.min⁻¹ (p<0 .05) for females compared to 27.6±2.6ml.kg⁻¹.min⁻¹ (control). A biphasic response was evident for VO₂ VCO₂ and V[subscript]B (BTPS). For both sexes overall RPE was lower for peripheral cooling (males: 9.4±1.9; females: 8.7±1.3; p<0 .05) than for control and central cooling. Central RPE was only changed for females following peripheral cooling. Changes in cadence and step length together with the effect of low skin and leg temperatures resulted in higher local RPE for females after central cooling (9.6±1.2; p<0.05) than control (9.4±1.9) and peripheral cooling (8.9±1.2 ). Males and females rated the same ambient temperature during the same exercise lower after peripheral cooling (males: 4.6±1.5; females : 5.3±1.3) than control values and lower still after central cooling (males: 3. 8±1.8; females: 2 .7±l. 5) In this study T[subscript]s[subscript]k was the primary determinant of PTS after precooling. , KMBT_363 , Adobe Acrobat 9.54 Paper Capture Plug-in
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- Date Issued: 1998