Acknowledgements
While doing my research in the Work Science Laboratory of Oulu University, Finland, I
have picked my battle wisely and studied health, safety and ergonomic issues under the
supervision of some experts who have decades of experience on work-related issues. At
the time they passed along guidance and provided many valuable pieces of advice and
suggestions, making an outlandish prediction of my future as an active professional on
this subject, which is multidisciplinary. When I was accepted for doctoral studies (30th
August 1998), it was a great challenge to continue research on such a topic that has both
technical and medical aspects. In the beginning of my studies, I thought I could not
succeed in this battle due to various local constraints such as taking courses without
regular class attendance, applying for funding, travelling from Finland to Bangladesh,
and so on.
The industrial workplaces in Bangladesh are also vibrant in regard to non-compliance
of work regulations, and thus, allowing a researcher by the factory owners and labour
union in their factory premises is not easy. The factory owners are usually afraid about
workplace survey and investigation believing that the study would cause them penalty or
such action. Notwithstanding the difficulties encountered, I focused on technical and
medical ideas in setting up suitable protocol measurements and questionnaire designs
using local concepts for collecting work-related data and information. I think it is highly
desirable to bring forward such work-related issues in developing countries to “fill a
special need” for workplace improvement that is lacking in today’s scientific literature.
While this thesis could undertake this role by focusing on occupational health and
safety, I wonder whether a more appropriate way of making the workplace intervention or
ergonomic application might be the collaboration of all the parties concerned. As few
publications are as yet interdisciplinary, I still wonder and am afraid if the thesis is ready
for public defence. At any rate, I believe that this thesis will provide the current state of
some problems, with an identification and assessment of work-related risk factors—in
which further research is required to provide systematic insight to draw public attention
on the subject. I am therefore grateful to many persons who have contributed in different
ways to achieve this thesis in the final stage.
I need to acknowledge the valuable support, expert discussions and collaborations
from all of my supervisors and co-authors—who extended their individual expertise in the
writing of the scientific articles for possible publications in different journals. I also wish
to take this opportunity to thank all beleaguered anonymous reviewers of my articles for
linguistic revisions, suggestions and criticisms. I am greatly indebted to my colleagues
and many friends in Finland for their kind help, and relatives for their understanding and
patience that I have spent on this work for an unexpectedly long time.
With immense pleasure, I wish to express my warmest thanks to several foundations
(e.g., the Academy of Finland, Tauno Tönningin Foundation, Finnish Work Environments
Fund) for financial assistance, and remain ever grateful to all of workers who participated
in case studies, and to the management of the work organisations and factory owners for
their kind co-operation, and for data collection.