The WorkPlace distributed processing environment

Real time control problems require robust, high performance solutions. Distributed computing can offer high performance through parallelism and robustness through redundancy. Unfortunately, implementing distributed systems with these characteristics places a significant burden on the applications programmers. Goddard Code 522 has developed WorkPlace to alleviate this burden. WorkPlace is a small, portable, embeddable network interface which automates message routing, failure detection, and re-configuration in response to failures in distributed systems. This paper describes the design and use of WorkPlace, and its application in the construction of a distributed blackboard system

Charting collective knowledge: Technology-enhanced professional learning

The workplace is an environment where powerful, deep and effective learning takes place through non-formal workplace learning, as well as through formal training and education. This article describes a mechanism to enhance learning at work by capitalising on collective knowledge within an organisation. Two scenarios are presented illustrating how individual and group learning and performance may be improved. These scenarios are based on empirical data of knowledge work practices within a multinational organization

Officer-Involved Domestic Violence: The Mediating Factors

Domestic and family violence has been a critical issue in contemporary society. Efforts have been made in researching the causes, effects, and mediating factors of domestic violence in relation to the workplace. Studies demonstrate that a relationship between conflict crossing over from the work to the home environment exist. Additional studies demonstrate that domestic violence does affect the workplace; however, there is little to no scientific data on the reverse relationship. The reverse relationship regards whether the workplace affects the occurrence of domestic violence. This research paper will dive into this topic, and on the lack of data available. Supporting data will illustrate that factors from the workplace do affect the likelihood of domestic and/or family violence occurring in police families. Not considering or viewing police family violence as an effect of workplace factors is shortsighted, and it demonstrates the need for education on this topic. With new data, comes new policies and implications that are reconfigurations of the existing policies. There is a need to bring this subject to light, and in view of the law enforcement community

Evaluation of the Workplace Environment in the UK, and the Impact on Users’ Levels of Stimulation

The purpose of this study is to evaluate a number of recently completed workplaces in the UK. The first aim is to assess the impact of various aspects of the workplace environment on users’ levels of stimulation. The body of previous research undertaken into the workplace environment, identified the aspects to be investigated. Samples of employees from the sixteen businesses were surveyed to determine their perceptions of the workplaces. The results were entered into a regression analysis, and the most significant predictors of perceived stimulation identified. The data also revealed a dramatic reduction in staff arousal levels from mornings to afternoons. Thus, there is a second aim to determine whether changes to significant aspects of the workplace environment during the day can counteract the reduction in users’ stimulation. Two further workplaces were studied to enable changes to be made over a 12-week period. A sample of employees completed questionnaires, and semi-structured interviews revealed the reasons behind the results. It was found that provision of artwork, personal control of temperature and ventilation and regular breaks were the most significant contributions to increasing stimulation after lunch; while user choice of layout, and design and décor of workspaces and break areas, were the most significant aspects at design stage

Impact of stressors on the performance of employees

It is important to recognize workplace stress because workplace stressors badly affect people’s mental as well as physiological health. Some of the reasons of stress at workplace could be the inability to meet out the demands of the job, relationship with colleagues and to control subordinate staff. After starting one’s career the key stressors are related to work, environment and people. Stress is the reaction of body due to interaction with any stimulus in the environment. This study focuses on how workplace stressors effect the motivation of an employee and what it outcomes in term of employee performance. In this study, there are several variables relating to employee performance, motivation and job stresses, whose types of measurement are interval and simultaneously investigated the several variables through structural equation modeling (SEM). The result shows that role conflict, role ambiguity and performance pressure has positively effect the employee motivation and it leads to positively affect employee performance. This study indicates and highlights the intensity of those factors that are involved to create a stress environment in the organization. So this study is policy oriented to maintain a required level of stress in the organization.Stress Management, Motivation, Employee Performance

Thinking About LGBT Diversity in the Workplace

[Excerpt] Today, according to a May 13, 2011 report by the PEW Research Center, “a majority of Americans, 58%, now say that homosexuality should be accepted, rather than discouraged by society.” There are many reasons for this more inclusive shift in attitudes. Inclusion of sexual orientation, and increasingly gender identity, in workplace inclusion initiatives and diversity awareness dialogue is likely one. The workplace, driven by the pragmatic need for improved productivity, talent recruitment, and retention of a motivated workforce, has become a powerful environment for social change and learning

Occupational ergonomics in space

Ergonomics is often defined simply as the study of work. Related or synonymous terms include human factors, human engineering, engineering psychology, and others. Occupational ergonomics is a term that has been proposed to describe the study of the working environment, including the physical consequences resulting from having an improperly designed workplace. The routine space working environment presents some problems not found in the typical Earthbound workplace. These include radiation, intravehicular contamination/pollution, temperature extremes, impact with other objects, limited psychosocial relationships, sensory deprivation, and reduced gravity. These are important workplace considerations, and may affect astronauts either directly at work or at some point during their life as a result of their work under these conditions. Some of the major issues associated with each of these hazards are presented

Health and safety in hospitality

Health and safety involves rules and regulations at the workplace. It is important at workplaces to protect employers and employees from accidents and injuries. The aim of this research project is to identify health and safety issues at motels, identify possible causes of those problems, provide some potential solutions to solve those problems, and suggest ways to develop a safe work environment. Observation was used as a primary research method. Results show that staff are not following the health and safety rules properly and managers do not inspect or observe properly. Common hazards in motels are slips, trips and falls, forceful exertions, and musculoskeletal disorders. Lack of health and safety education and training prior to commencement of work, carelessness, ignorance, lack of inspections, are some of the reasons for workplace accidents. Both managers and workers are responsible for keeping the workplace safe and healthy. Recommendations include frequent and timely inspections at the workplace, verbal warnings to workers, a health and safety meeting prior to starting work, and meeting to remind them every day, as well as motivating and rewarding employees to encourage them to develop a safe working culture

The use of an e-learning constructivist solution in workplace learning

We wished to investigate whether an e-learning approach which uses constructivist principles can be successfully applied to train employees in a highly specialised skill thought to require expert individuals and extensive prolonged training. The approach involved the development of an e-learning package which included simulations and interactivity, then experimental testing in a case study workplace environment with the collection of both quantitative and qualitative data to assess the effectiveness of the package. Our study shows that this e-learning strategy improved the skills of the inexperienced operator significantly. We therefore propose that such programmes could be used as a work based training aid and used as a model system for the training of employees in complex skilled tasks in the workplace. This research demonstrates that the e-learning can be applied outside the traditional learning environment to train unskilled employees to undertake complex practical tasks which traditionally would involve prohibitively expensive instruction. This work also illustrates that simulations and interactivity are powerful tools in the design of successful e-learning packages in preparing learners for real world practical situations. Finally this study shows that workplace learners can be better served by elearning environments rather than conventional training as they allow asynchronous learning and private study which are valued by employees who have other demands on their time and are more comfortable receiving tuition privately Relevance to industry: E-learning using constructivist principles, and incorporating simulations and interactivity can be used successfully in the training of highly specialised and skilled tasks required in the modern workplace