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This study provides novel evidence on the relative effectiveness of computer-assisted learning (CAL) software and traditional teaching. Based on a randomized controlled trial in Salvadoran primary schools, we evaluate three interventions that aim to improve learning outcomes in mathematics: (i) teacher-led classes, (ii) CAL classes monitored by a technical supervisor, and (iii) CAL classes instructed by a teacher. As all three interventions involve the same amount of additional mathematics lessons, we can directly compare the productivity of the three teaching methods. CAL lessons lead to larger improvements in students' mathematics skills than traditional teacher-centered classes. In addition, teachers add little to the effectiveness of learning software. Overall, our results highlight the value of CAL approaches in an environment with poorly qualified teachers.

Musculoskeletal pain and disorders frequently occur among milking parlor operatives on dairy farms, irrespective of the farm size and despite that the work is carried out in an upright position. The objective of this case study was to assess the effect of a new milking system, a physical ergonomic intervention, to reduce the prevalence of musculoskeletal pain and disorders among milking parlor operatives. The new milking system has a reduced cluster weight and single tube guidance and, consequently, abandons the positioning of the cluster underneath the udder, thus reducing the postural load. In a pre/post treatment study the parlor operatives of five farms were questioned, and parlor specifics were measured. The gap between visits was at least one year. There was no significant reduction in pain, but three-quarters of the workers experienced a workload reduction and would recommend the new system. The isolation of the effect of the ergonomic intervention was not possible, because all but one farm completely rebuilt their milking parlors, and several things were changed including work organizational aspects. The expected reduction in pain in the musculoskeletal system was noticed, but not statistically significant. Worker satisfaction and participation in decision making could be improved on the farms and might increase the effect of the intervention, especially because work satisfaction is correlated with the occurrence of pain in the musculoskeletal system.

Previous research on educational aspirations and educational decision-making has mostly focused on high-income countries and thus on a relatively homogeneous socio-economic context. However, educational decision-making may be sensitive to contextual factors such as economic deprivation, a dysfunctional welfare state or poor access to credit markets – characteristics shared by most low- and middle-income countries. To better understand how economically disadvantaged individuals in developing countries make their educational choices, we conducted a survey based on a random sample with high school students in the rural department Morazan in El Salvador, a lower middle-income country in Latin America. Our results show that regardless of the social background, almost all students aspire to pursue tertiary education, probably due to the high tertiary degree premium in earnings and the high social benefits. However, the lack of possibilities to finance their studies generally prevents the realisation of these aspirations for lower social background students. While in high-income countries, cost factors are not very important in the decision-making process, the burden of costs explains around 45 percent of the social background effect in El Salvador. Other factors such as academic confidence, expected future economic benefits, parental status maintenance wish, individual risk aversion and time discounting preferences play only a minor role.

Objective: This study was conducted with the aim of using 3D motion analysis system to reveal ergonomic exposures while apple hand picking. Material and Method: The study was carried out in the ergonomics laboratory located at ATB (Leibniz Institute for Agricultural Engineering and Bioeconomy Potsdam e.V.) in Germany with an artificial dwarf apple tree. Body postures, especially upper arm elevation, were determined by a 3D motion capture system. Evaluations were made according to ISO 11266 standard and RULA classification. Results: Average upper arm elevation changed between 27.86 0 and 33.60 0 . Time spent with elevated arm above 20 0 which is the base limit suggested by standards was found significant for entire experiments as 77% on average of the process time. It was estimated that 5 to 6 hours may be spend within 8 hours shift per day with elevated arms more than 20 0 . Conclusions: More detailed information was obtained in comparison to observational methods. This technique allows the determination of exact values of the arm positions depending on time intervals. It can also be used to determine other awkward postures such as trunk and head inclination and for any other work process.

Introduction Agriculture is one of the most hazardous industries in Europe, measured by work-related injuries, diseases, disabilities and deaths. Statistics and studies show great differences in national injury and occupational disease rates, as well as approaches and support for prevention of these adverse outcomes. This EU-COST action explores reasons why agriculture lags behind other sectors, and why some countries have been more successful than others in reducing agricultural injuries and diseases. Methods Evaluation of health and safety programmes and approaches on the national level identification of knowledge, attitudes, behaviors and priorities among farmers regarding safety, health and risk management identification of effective measures for training and integrating vulnerable populations (including refugees) into the agricultural workforce development of indicators for monitoring progress and evaluating the impact of interventions on occupational injuries and diseases in agriculture. Results Benchmarked and evidence-based recommendations will be developed to inform and guide national initiatives and efforts. Results will be disseminated to stakeholders and the agricultural community. Discussion This action is in progress; previous Cooperation in Science and Technology (COST) Actions, like Monitoring Occupational Diseases and tracing New and Emerging Risks in a Network (MODERNET) show that such multidisciplinary, international focused exchange programmes are effective to trigger awareness raising and preventive actions.

Previous European studies have shown a high prevalence of musculoskeletal discomfort (MSD) among milking parlor operatives, affecting at least 70% of the staff. The aim of the project was to find correlations between workplace design and prevalence of MSD. For this a data collection was carried out questioning the parlor operatives using a modified Nordic Questionnaire. On farm parlor specifics and bovimetrics of milked cows of a randomly-selected shift were measured. After that data was combined to compare the workplace design and the occurrence of MSD. The results showed that 94% of the female and 71% of the male workers suffered from MSD. The work place analysis revealed that women regularly worked above shoulder level and had to tort and bend more often than men because of the gender specific anthropometrics and the workplace design. The survey took into consideration that not only milking is considered strenuous but other farm tasks as well. The results also demonstrated that there is a need to take action to improve modern milking parlors. The existing helping devices are not sufficient to reduce the workload; reorganizing the work tasks, work schedule and the work place design is suggested.

Dairy farming is an ancient occupation. Traditionally, cows have been manually milked while tethered in stalls or stanchions. In the latter half of the 20th century as machine milking emerged, the parlor milking system has become more popular, especially among larger dairy farms. The transition from manual milking to automatic milking systems as well as the transition from stanchion to parlor milking systems involved a dramatic change in milking tasks. These transitions have resulted in changing patterns of occupational exposure to risk factors for work-related musculoskeletal disorders among dairy workers. However, aspects of the milking task such as sanitization of teats, stripping milk from teats, and attachment and detachment of milking equipment have remained relatively the same. Work-related musculoskeletal symptoms have been reported in the low back, shoulders, hands/wrists, and knees. Research that has measured exposures to risk factors for work-related musculoskeletal disorders among dairy farm workers has been limited, especially when using ergonomic tools to directly measure exposure, such as electrogoniometry or electromyography. Self-reported exposure measures have been most commonly used. The interventions that have been tested to reduce exposure to risk factors for work-related musculoskeletal disorders include assisted lift-hold devices, use of lighter-weight equipment, adjustable flooring, and use of rubber mats. However, research evaluating potential solutions to reduce dairy farm worker exposure to risk factors for musculoskeletal disorders is scarce. Future research efforts should further characterize hazards while simultaneously testing viable solutions that fit within the business model of the dairy farm industry.

The global dairy industry is composed of a multitude of countries with unique production practices and consumer markets. The global average number of cows per farm is about 1-2 cows; however, as a farm business model transitions from sustenance to market production, the average herd size, and subsequent labor force increases. Dairy production is unique as an agricultural commodity because milk is produced daily, for 365 days per year. With the introduction of new technology such as the milking parlor, the global industry trend is one of increasing farm sizes. The farm sizes are the largest in the United States; however, the European Union produces the most milk compared with other global producers. Dairy production is essential for economic development and sustainable communities in rural areas. However, the required capital investment and availability of local markets and labor are continued challenges. Due to farm expansion, international producers are faced with new challenges related to assuring food safety and a safe working environment for their workforce. These challenges exist in addition to the cultural and language barriers related to an increasing dependence on immigrant labor in many regions of the world. Continued success of the global dairy industry is vital. Therefore, research should continue to address the identification of occupational risk factors associated with injuries and illnesses, as well as develop cost-effective interventions and practices that lead to the minimization or elimination of these injuries and illnesses on a global scale, among our valuable population of dairy producers and workers.

Milking cows is one of the major labor inputs on dairy farms. Modern parlors allow upright working positions, but pain and disorders among parlor workers are still very prevalent. The platform height in the parlors is important for the body posture of the workers. Based on a large set of data containing parlor-specific measures, anthropometrics, and bovimetrics, a simulation of 2 recommendations published in the literature was carried out. This article presents and discusses the results of 2 formulas for determining the appropriate pit depth. The shoulder and body height of the worker and the distance between the udder and the floor influence the adjustment of the pit depth. If work at shoulder level is favored, autotandem parlors offer the most suitable pit depths, whereas side-by-side parlors are too deep in all cases. Due to the variation in anthropometrics and bovimetrics, a good parlor design can reduce the extent of unfavorable body postures, but more technical measures are necessary to completely eliminate them. Actions that reduce the workload and the prevalence of musculoskeletal pain and disorders should be considered.

Large-herd dairy operations utilize parlor milking systems that reduce the physical workload in comparison to tethering systems. Nevertheless, the number of musculoskeletal disorders among workers on dairy farms is not decreasing. In response, a study was carried out to measure the workload focusing on the impact of working height and weight of the milking unit. In this article a new quarter individual milking unit without claw and using single-tube guidance is compared with a light (1.4 kg) conventional unit. A significant reduction of muscular load as well as the reduction of process time was measured using the quarter individual system. Body posture was also recorded using video-based motion analysis. Based on these results, the new system is expected to significantly improve the work place in modern milking parlors by reducing extreme postures as well as the physical and static musculoskeletal load.

International studies have shown that musculoskeletal symptoms (MSS) and disorders (MSD) are common among dairy farm milkers. Although dairy production is diverse, it has so far not been possible to explain the high risk by production parameters. Two national studies carried out under similar conditions were the incentive to merge the data and increase the sample size. The Standardized Nordic Questionnaire was used to assess MSS prevalence among 92 Swedish and 116 German male and female milkers. Eighty-four percent and 85% of the Swedish and German milkers reported MSS in at least one body part. Highest prevalence was reported in the lower back, shoulder, and neck. Females showed a significantly higher risk of MSS. Apart from that, small significant influence of MSS was found for other risk factors. These findings indicate that technical and organizational modifications of the work place design in milking parlors are needed.

Agriculture is among the most hazardous sectors for workers globally, and dairy farming has been associated with a high risk of injury among workers in several countries. The purpose of this paper is to provide an update on what is known about modern dairy farms and related injuries and fatalities in different regions of the world. As in other sectors of agriculture, fatalities appear to be associated with heavy equipment usage, whereas injuries occur at higher rates with animal production, specifically cattle and milk production. Dairy farming is associated with higher rates of injury as compared with other industrial sectors, but a lack of work-related injury reporting continues to be an issue in several countries. Worker fatality associated with heavy equipment use is not a new observation (e.g., tractors); however, manure-handling systems, livestock handling, and quad bike operation continue to be associated with worker injuries and fatalities on modern farms. Opportunities exist for improvement of safety-related equipment to reduce injury and fatality risk during worker interactions with large animals and farm equipment.

The incidence of work-related musculoskeletal disorders among milking parlor operatives has increased while milking parlors were getting bigger. At the same time parlor design was improved regarding the physical load as well as body postures. In contrast to former studies on workload in parlor milking this project was designed and performed as an experimental study in a laboratory setting including 6 female subjects. Motion analysis and psycho-physiological analysis (EMG, heart rate, subjective perceived strain index) were carried out. Intra-individual comparisons were made for the different settings using general linear models for repeated measurements. The effects of working height and weight of milking unit during parlor milking were investigated regarding the impact on muscular load and body posture. The results showed that the optimal working height for attaching the cluster is having the teats at shoulder level of the parlor operative. Another important workload reduction was achieved by reducing the weight of the milking cluster. The named discomfort, localized fatigue and the body posture analysis provide evidence that the changes in modern milking parlors due to mechanization still bear the risk of overburden for the worker.

Work design traditionally focuses on machine capacities, and often neglects the role of people within the production processes. In order to successfully deploy and manage human resources during industrial processing operations (such as horticultural postharvest), adequate knowledge of process times is crucial. These often vary owing to external and internal factors. The internal factors depend on the individual capability and willingness of the worker and cannot be accurately forecasted. Nevertheless, in the present study, it was possible to extract indicators from recorded motion tracks to quantify and assist in improving human performance potential. Actual performance rates showed strong variations in the hourly capacities of two workers, underlying the same factual prerequisites in a re-enacted simple and highly repetitive postharvest operation. Several indicators describing the subjects' performance were defined and compared, including the quantification of motivation, efficiency, precision or coordination.