Arbeitszeit und neue Organisations- und Beschäftigungsformen : zum Spannungsverhältnis von Flexibilität und Autonomie (Working hours and new forms of organisation and employment: on the relationship of tension between flexibility and autonomy)

"In the course of the disintegration of traditional forms of organisation and employment, with lean production and lean management, with group work and forms of decentralized work as well as with the continuing erosion of the 'regular working day', flexible forms of work and working hours have become more significant again. There are high hopes of an employment-promoting effect as well as an improved competitive position for the businesses. In this matter one often loses sight of the consequences and side-effects that the modernisation of organisation and employment forms have for the work and task structures, industrial relations and in particular the workers. Here relationships between working hours and changed forms of organisation and employment are to be expounded and above all examined from the point of view of those affected. The mutual relationship between demands for flexibility and autonomy in the arrangement of working hours are the focus of attention here. To begin with, facets of the flexi-bilisation of working hours and developments associated with new forms of organisation and employment are presented. Taking as examples financial services, health services, information services and automobile production, variants of flexibilisation are explained and are analysed with a look at the area of tension between flexibility and autonomy. It becomes clear that the arrangement of working hours and measures aimed at changing organisation and employment forms come together in company flexibilisation. Furthermore it can be seen that an arrangement of working hours which is aimed at a high level of flexibility and is oriented towards autonomy does not go far enough in new forms of organisation and employment, for if it is separated from an arrangement of the contents of work, it holds risks for the necessary development of the worker's autonomy." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))Arbeitszeitflexibilität, Arbeitszeitgestaltung, Arbeitsorganisation - Strukturwandel, Beschäftigungsform - Flexibilität

Vernachlässigte Strategie

Wie kann der produktionsbezogene Güterverkehr umwelt- und stadtverträglicher gestaltet werden? In den Bereichen der Logistik und der Gewerbegebietsplanung liegen bislang noch ungenutzte Gestaltungsmöglichkeiten, die den Unternehmen und den Städten gleichermaßen Vorteile bieten können. Aus einer unternehmensorientierten Betrachtung lassen sich konzeptionelle Ansätze einer solchen Strategie ableiten

The Impact of Learning Demands, Work-Related Resources, and Job Stressors on Creative Performance and Health

We propose an integrated model of learning demands, work-related resources, and job stressors that incorporates core assumptions of work design in predicting processes of learning and performance as well as health impairment. The model was tested in a heterogeneous sample of 830 employees using structural equation modeling. Empirical results largely support theoretical assumptions. Learning demands and work-related resources were positively related to intrinsic motivation and creative performance. Job stressors and low work-related resources were predictive for health impairment. The suggested tripartite taxonomy reconciles inconsistent research findings on the impact of work characteristics. The model provides practical guidance for work analysis and design by clarifying relationships between established work characteristics, job performance, and worker health

La1-xSrxMnO3±δ as a nonstoichiometric model system for the catalysis of oxygen evolution reaction

The main issue of electrochemical water splitting is the search for suitable catalyst materials for the kinetically hindered oxygen evolution reaction (OER) at the anode. The state-of-art precious metal catalysts suffer from their high price and insufficient long term stability in the common electrolytes. Binary or multinary transition metal oxides in alkaline medium are an cost-efficient alternative, since they can achieve both lower overvoltages as well as better long-term stability than precious metal oxides. One of the best-studied materials for SOFC applications is the perovskite system La1-xSrxMnO3±δ (LSMO). Due to its general nonstoichiometry and the large variety of possible defect species it is a perfect model system for studying the influence of defect chemistry on the catalytic activity in OER. We have systematically investigated LSMO as a nonstoichiometric model catalyst system for OER in alkaline media. Nanocrystalline powders over the whole composition range have been prepared by a sol-gel based auto combustion method. XPS and XRD analysis verified the presence of pure phase materials with a continuous change of manganese oxidation state from Mn3+ to Mn4+. Measurements in an electrochemical RDE setup showed a clear trend in catalytic activity in OER with the highest values at medium La/Sr compositions. An equivalent trend could also be observed in the electrical conductivity of the powders, leading to the assumption of a higher polaron hopping probability at medium La/Sr compositions. Additional annealing of pristine powder samples in oxidizing and reducing atmospheres caused a further change in manganese oxidation state and ongoing electrochemical measurements should reveal whether the defined adjustment of the nonstoichiometry will lead to an improvement of catalytic activity compared to the untreated catalysts

Hospital doctors' workflow interruptions and activities: an observation study

BACKGROUND Interruptions of hospital doctors' workflow are a frequent stressor, eventually jeopardising quality of clinical performance. To enhance the safety of hospital doctors' work, it is necessary to analyse frequency and circumstances of workflow interruptions. AIM To quantify workflow interruptions among hospital doctors, identify frequent sources and relate sources to doctors' concurrent activities. METHODS Within a typical hospital, 32 participant observations of doctors' full work shifts were carried out. Time-motion information was collected on types of workflow interruption and doctors' activities and analysed with logit-linear analyses. RESULTS The frequency of workflow interruptions was high, especially on the intensive care unit and emergency ward. Telephones and bleepers were the most frequently recorded type of work interruption. The combined analysis of doctors' activities and concurrent workflow interruptions revealed that the likelihood of the occurrence of certain types of interruption depended on the tasks being carried out by the doctor. CONCLUSION The present method may be useful for quantifying and distinguishing sources of hospital doctors' workflow interruptions and useful in raising awareness of organisational circumstances

Unravelling Charge Carrier Mobility in d₀ ‐Metal‐based Spinels

Enabling high Mg ion mobility, spinel-type materials are promising candidates for cathode or solid electrolyte applications. To elucidate the factors governing the observed high mobility of multivalent ions, periodic DFT calculations of various charge carriers (A=Li, Na, K, Mg, Ca, Zn and Al) in the ASc₂S₄ and ASc₂Se₄ spinel compounds were performed, resulting in the identification of a Brønsted-Evans-Polanyi-type scaling relation for the migration barriers of the various charge carriers. Combining this scaling relation with the derivation of a descriptor, solely based on easily accessible observables, constitutes a conceptual framework to investigate ion mobility in d₀-metal-based spinel chalcogenides with significantly reduced computational effort. This approach was exemplarily verified for various d₀-metal-based spinel chalcogenide compounds AB₂X₄ (B=Sc, Y, Ga, In, Er and Tm; X=O, S and Se) and led to the identification of d₀-metal-based CaB₂O₄ spinels as promising compounds possibly enabling high Ca ion mobility

Aspects of precarious employment for work psychologists in Austria

Arbeitspsycholog_innen sind darin geschult, die in der Arbeitswelt zunehmenden psychischen Fehlbelastungen zu erkennen, zu bewerten und Maßnahmen für eine gesundheitsförderliche Arbeitsgestaltung abzuleiten. Gleichwohl sind die Rahmenbedingungen für die Tätigkeit als Arbeitspsycholog_in in Österreich unzureichend. Die vorliegende Studie untersucht die Frage, wie sich prekäre Beschäftigung bei Arbeitspsycholog_innen zeigt und welche Wirkungen sie entfaltet. An der Onlinestudie nahmen N = 122 Arbeitspsycholog_innen teil. Die Ergebnisse zeigen, dass die Wahrnehmung eines unsicheren und undefinierten Berufsbildes mit verstärktem Erleben von Rollenambiguität einherging und diese wiederum das psychische Wohlbefinden beeinträchtigte. Diese Ergebnisse verdeutlichen die Wichtigkeit eines klar definierten Berufsbildes für Arbeitspsycholog_innen. Es werden Ansätze aufgezeigt, wie prekäre Beschäftigungsverhältnisse von Arbeitspsycholog_innen in Österreich verbessert werden können.Psychological stressors are on the rise in today’s work systems. Work psychologists are trained to analyze and evaluate such stressors and to derive effective interventions to promote healthy working conditions. However, the general working conditions for work psychologists in Austria are deficient. The present study investigates how precarious employment manifests in work psychologists and identifies its impact on the individual level. N = 122 work psychologists participated in an online study. An insecure and undefined occupational profile was found to be associated with an increased experience of role ambiguity, which, in turn, impaired psychological well-being. These results highlight the importance of a clearly defined occupational profile for work psychologists. We discuss viable approaches to improve working conditions for work psychologists in Austria

Automated and rapid identification of multidrug resistant Escherichia coli against the lead drugs of acylureidopenicillins, cephalosporins, and fluoroquinolones using specific Raman marker bands

A Raman-based, strain-independent, semi-automated method is presented that allows the rapid (<3 hours) determination of antibiotic susceptibility of bacterial pathogens isolated from clinical samples. Applying a priori knowledge about the mode of action of the respective antibiotic, we identified characteristic Raman marker bands in the spectrum and calculated batch-wise weighted sum scores from standardized Raman intensity differences between spectra of antibiotic exposed and nonexposed samples of the same strains. The lead substances for three relevant antibiotic classes (fluoroquinolone ciprofloxacin, third-generation cephalosporin cefotaxime, ureidopenicillin piperacillin) against multidrug-resistant Gram-negative bacteria (MRGN) revealed a high sensitivity and specificity for the susceptibility testing of two Escherichia coli laboratory strains and 12 clinical isolates. The method benefits from the parallel incubation of control and treated samples, which reduces the variance due to alterations in cultivation conditions and the standardization of differences between batches leading to long-term comparability of Raman measurements. © 2020 The Authors. Journal of Biophotonics published by WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinhei