Gender and Remittances: Creating Gender-Responsive Local Development: The Case of Lesotho

The number of international migrants passed 200 million in 2008, more than double the figure in 1965. As the number of migrants continues to grow, the character of international migration has been transformed. South-South migration, as it is now commonly referred to, is acquiring ever-greater significance in contemporary migration configurations. South-South movements of international migrants are highly gendered. In particular, the feminization of international migration has meant that the absolute numbers and proportion of women migrants is increasingly rapidly. More and more women are also migrating for work in other countries in their own right. The gender dynamics behind this new trend in South-South migration have not been sufficiently examined. In spite of the rapid increase in the volume and diversity of knowledge on the migration-development nexus, issues on gender and especially the changing role of women, continue to be lacking. This study aims to contribute to the narrowing of this knowledge gap through an interlinked analysis of migration and development from a gendered perspective. It pays particular attention to the impact of remittances – financial, in-kind and social – on gendered development processes in countries of origin and amongst transnational households spanning the origin and destination countries. The study focuses on these dynamics in the context of Lesotho and the destination country of South Africa. Objectives The overall objective of the Project is to enhance gender-responsive local development by identifying and promoting options in the utilization of remittances for sustainable livelihoods and the building of social capital in poor rural and semi-urban communities. The strategic aims include: increasing awareness and improving access by women-headed, remittance-recipient households to productive resources while augmenting their assets and strengthening their capacities; providing relevant information and support to local and national governments to identify and formulate policies that will optimize the utilization of remittances for sustainable livelihoods and building social capital; and enhancing the capacities of key stakeholders to integrate gender into policies, programmes, projects and other initiatives linking remittances with sustainable livelihoods and building social capital. The Project has been implemented in six countries, which provide a global representation of UNDP’s regional bureaus: Albania, Dominican Republic, Lesotho, Morocco, Phillipines and Senegal. The Project’s main hypothesis is that the optimized use of remittances enhances gender-responsive local development. By analyzing the actual use of remittances, opportunities and weaknesses will be diagnosed, thus identifying possibilities for intervention as well as identifying capacity building needs for enhancing gender-responsive local development. The developmental impacts of remittances can be analyzed at the macro, meso and micro levels

A Management System to Develop Occupational Health & Safety in Ground Control Operations of Underground Mines

Falls of ground have historically been the main cause for fatalities in underground mines. Although recent advances in technology have reduced the number of such accidents, when failures occur they usually result in severe consequences. Risks of rock falls, use of heavy machinery and electrical apparatus, entry to confined spaces, working in noisy and dusty environments, and working on unstable platforms are some of the hazards in ground control operations. Managing these risks requires a management regime involving strict adherence to operational codes of practice and an enshrined culture of safety. These should be subsequently reinforced through active participation of management, systematic training, and stringent internal and third party auditing. Accident reports show that the major contributing factor in most rock fall accidents is the failure to adequately manage known risks due to the lack of a systematic process. OHSAS 18001 (Occupational Health and Safety Assessment Series) is an international occupational health and safety management standard specification to develop occupational health and safety at the workplace. This standard is intended to help mine operators control occupational health and safety risks. Addressing the requirements of OHSAS 18001 can be a complex and demanding task. A comprehensive guide for efficient and accurate implementation of this standard is provided in this paper. The discipline can be used to establish an accountable management system foreground control activities in underground coal mines. The paper also provides guidelines for preparing necessary documents, devising safety policies, procedures, performing risk assessment, and handling instructions. Finally, the paper concludes by providing a sound analytical basis in terms of the creation of a robust safety management system foreground control operations in underground mines. Full benefits of implementing an effective and systematic operational health and safety management system are illustrated. The procedure adopted and prescribed in this paper can be used in all underground coal mines where lack of appropriate ground control practices can create deficiencies in both safety and productivity

Advancing self-escape training : a needs analysis based on the National Academy of Sciences report "improving self-escape from underground coal mines."

"This report summarizes a needs analysis and actions taken by NIOSH based on the National Academy of Sciences recommendations specific to advancing self-escape training, with an emphasis on preparing rank-and-file mineworkers for self-escape. This report also provides the foundation for the practical guidance offered in its sister publication, the NIOSH Information Circular (IC) "Self-escape Core Competency Profile: Guidance for Improving Underground Coal Miners' Self-escape Competency" [NIOSH 2023], which offers an evidence-based self-escape competency framework derived from the results of this work." - NIOSHTIC-2NIOSHTIC no. 20067688Suggested citation: NIOSH [2023]. Advancing self-escape training: a needs analysis based on the National Academy of Sciences report, \u201cImproving Self-escape from Underground Coal Mines.\u201d By Hoebbel CL, Bellanca JL, Ryan ME, Brnich MJ. Pittsburgh PA: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, DHHS (NIOSH) Publication No. 2023-134, https://doi.org/10.26616/NIOSHPUB2023134

Disaster preparedness of registered nurses in a central hospital in Johannesburg

A research report submitted to the Faculty of Health Sciences,University of the Witwatersrand,Johannesburg in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Nursing Johannesburg, 2017Background: Approximately 250 million people per year are affected by disasters (manmade or natural). In South Africa, the types of disasters that occur commonly are road accidents, manmade fires, explosions, storms, river floods and wild fires. The challenges faced in dealing with the complexity of disasters requires each nurse to have a knowledge base and minimum set of skills to enable them to plan for and respond to a disaster in a timely and appropriate manner. Purpose: To ascertain whether registered nurses, practicing in medical and surgical wards in a central hospital in Johannesburg are prepared for disasters. Design: A quantitative, descriptive, exploratory survey study design was used in this study. Method: The study was conducted in a central hospital in Johannesburg. A survey questionnaire, developed by Fung et al. (2008) and modified for the South African setting, was used for this study. The population for this study was 192 registered nurses, working in the medical and surgical wards of a central hospital in Johannesburg. A total sample of 192 participants was used. The data was analysed using descriptive statistics, ordinal logistic regression and summative content analysis. Statistical assistance was sought from a statistician. Results: Four major findings emerged from the data. The data revealed the majority of the nurses(52.45%: n=75)had not previously participated in disaster activities and had limited disaster training and education. Previous participation in disaster activity had influenced nurse’s disaster preparedness, however nurses perceived themselves generally prepared. Conclusion statement: even though nurses have indicated the need and interest in attending educational courses on disaster, the majority have not attended them. Disaster drills have also been found to be an important exercise to assist the nurses in disaster preparedness. Therefore hospitals are urged to be consistent with their disaster drills and regularly update their disaster management protocols. Clinical significance: An understanding of how prepared registered nurses perceive themselves to be, to respond to a disaster, would help assist in identifying the weaknesses and strengths in disaster preparedness in medical and surgical wards.MT201

NIOSH Mining Program: Evidence Package for 2008-2018

This document contains materials to demonstrate the relevance and impact of the Mining Program\u2019s work in the areas of disaster preparedness and response, ground control, and respirable hazards

System Dynamical Simulation of Risk Perception for Enterprise Decision-Maker in Communication of Chemical Incident Risks

PresentationSystem Dynamical Simulation of Risk Perception for Enterprise Decision-Maker in Communication of Chemical Incident Risk

Aerospace Medicine and Biology: A continuing bibliography with indexes (supplement 272)

This bibliography lists 360 reports, articles, and other documents introduced into the NASA scientific and technical information system in May 1985

Review of the occupational health and safety of Britain’s ethnic minorities

This report sets out an evidence-based review on work-related health and safety issues relating to black and minority ethnic groups. Data included available statistical materials and a systematic review of published research and practice-based reports. UK South Asians are generally under-represented within the most hazardous occupational groups. They have lower accident rates overall, while Black Caribbean workers rates are similar to the general population; Bangladeshi and Chinese workers report lowest workplace injury rates UK South Asian people exhibit higher levels of limiting long-term illness (LLI) and self reported poor health than the general population while Black Africans and Chinese report lower levels. Ethnic minority workers with LLI are more likely than whites to withdraw from the workforce, or to experience lower wage rates. Some of these findings conflict with evidence of differentials from USA, Europe and Australasia, but there is a dearth of effective primary research or reliable monitoring data from UK sources. There remains a need to improve monitoring and data collection relating to black and ethnic minority populations and migrant workers. Suggestions are made relating to workshops on occupational health promotion programmes for ethnic minorities, and ethnic minority health and safety 'Beacon' sites

Risk Assessment as a Tool for Mobile Plant Operators for Sustainable Development: Lessons from the Western Australian Mining Industry

Mobile plant is used extensively not only in the Western Australian (WA) Mining Industry but internationally as well. The use of mobile plant has inherently high risk and every year is associated with a significant number of workplace fatalities and injuries. Prior to this research being conducted there was no specific data published related to mobile plants incidents and fatalities for the Western Australian mining industries. The aim of this research was to improve the safety performance of mobile plant operators in the Western Australia (WA) mining industry by identifying the causes of mobile plant incidents reported to Resources Safety between 1/1/2007 and 31/3/2020

TB STIGMA – MEASUREMENT GUIDANCE

TB is the most deadly infectious disease in the world, and stigma continues to play a significant role in worsening the epidemic. Stigma and discrimination not only stop people from seeking care but also make it more difficult for those on treatment to continue, both of which make the disease more difficult to treat in the long-term and mean those infected are more likely to transmit the disease to those around them. TB Stigma – Measurement Guidance is a manual to help generate enough information about stigma issues to design and monitor and evaluate efforts to reduce TB stigma. It can help in planning TB stigma baseline measurements and monitoring trends to capture the outcomes of TB stigma reduction efforts. This manual is designed for health workers, professional or management staff, people who advocate for those with TB, and all who need to understand and respond to TB stigma