Workaholism in engineers: Prevalence and associated factors.

INTRODUCTION: Workaholism is an emerging form of behavioural addiction encountered in the workplace. The present study aims to assess the prevalence and the associated factors of this phenomenon in engineers. METHODS: A cross sectional survey was conducted for two months by means of an online questionnaire of engineers practising in Tunisia. The evaluation of workaholism was based on the WART questionnaire (Work Addiction Risk Test). RESULTS: A total of 107 engineers have answered the questionnaire. The mean age of participants was 29.2±4.4 years. Computer engineers represented 32.7% of our sample. Most of engineers worked more than 8hours per day (45.8%) and less than 6 days per week (63.6%). A high risk of workaholism was noted in 42.1% of cases. Statistical analysis showed that workaholism was not associated with socio-demographic characteristics. However, it was associated with smoking cigarettes, psychotropic drug consumption and poly-addiction and inversely associated with the presence of a leisure activity. With regard to occupational factors, workaholism was associated with agronomic engineering, working more than 8hours per day, working the whole week and a job satisfaction score under 5/10. CONCLUSION: Workaholism interested a significant proportion of this sample, and several professional factors could increase the likelihood of adopting this behaviour. The intervention of occupational doctors seems important in order to raise awareness about this form of addiction and to identify its early signs among employees.

Management of esophageal atresia and early predictive factors of mortality and morbidity in a developing country.

The aim of this study is to investigate management and outcome in esophageal atresia (EA) and to identify early predictive factors of morbidity and mortality in a developing country. Charts of neonates with repaired EA from 2007 to 2016 were reviewed. Patients' characteristics, operative details, and postoperative outcomes were collected. Statistical analyses were performed to identify predictors of complicated evolution. Forty-two cases were collected. There were 14 girls and 28 boys. Only one patient had antenatal diagnosis (2.3%). The mean gestational age was 38 weeks. Nine patients (21.4%) weighed less than 2.5 kg. Seventeen (40.4%) patients had associated malformations most commonly cardiac (9/17). Thirteen patients had delayed diagnosis (30.9%). Thirty-nine (92.8%) patients underwent primary esophageal anastomosis. Overall survival was 76.2%. Nineteen patients (57% of survivals) had complicated evolution before the age of one year and 15 patients (46.8% of survivals) developed complications after the age of one year. Perinatal variables associated with mortality were prematurity (p = 0.004, OR = 5.4, IC95% = [1.13-25.80]), low birth weight (p = 0.023, OR = 7, IC95% = [1.38-35.47]), cardiac malformations (p = 0.006, OR = 10.5, IC95% = [2.03-54.27]) and delayed diagnosis (p = 0.005, OR = 10.11, IC95% = [2.005-50.980]). Variables associated with short-term and middle-term complications were duration of intubation (p = 0.019, OR = 0.118, IC95% = [0.019-0.713]) and the presence of short-term complications (p = 0.016, OR = 7.33, IC95% = [1.467-36.664]) respectively. These factors may be used to identify patients who will benefit from more intensive follow-up program.

Layers of protection analysis in the framework of possibility theory.

An important issue faced by risk analysts is how to deal with uncertainties associated with accident scenarios. In industry, one often uses single values derived from historical data or literature to estimate events probability or their frequency. However, both dynamic environments of systems and the need to consider rare component failures may make unrealistic this kind of data. In this paper, uncertainty encountered in Layers Of Protection Analysis (LOPA) is considered in the framework of possibility theory. Data provided by reliability databases and/or experts judgments are represented by fuzzy quantities (possibilities). The fuzzy outcome frequency is calculated by extended multiplication using α-cuts method. The fuzzy outcome is compared to a scenario risk tolerance criteria and the required reduction is obtained by resolving a possibilistic decision-making problem under necessity constraint. In order to validate the proposed model, a case study concerning the protection layers of an operational heater is carried out.