OPERATIONALIZATION OF CONCEPT IN QUARRY BUSINESS AND HEALTH FACTORS

Cheap Labour-This refers to a situation where the workers are given remunerations that are not commensurate with their labour input. In most cases such payments in privately owned enterprises are lower than what prevails in most  public establishments because such workers do not have bargaining power.


Chronic Diseases- These are health problems associated with occupational activities especially with mining and more specifically quarry mining. The major occupational diseases /morbidity are silicosis, musculoskeletal injuries, pneumoconiosis, chronic obstructive lung diseases, asbestosis, noise induced hearing loss. Other diseases that are associated with mining include; serious respiratory problems; tuberculosis, leukemia, arthritis, as well as reproductive problems.

Education- It means an organized and sustained instruction, designed to communicate a combination of knowledge, skills and understanding, valuable for all life action. Education is an instrument for effecting social, economic, political, scientific and technological advancement as well as improving the well-being of women.

Informal Sector- This refers to working areas without the rigid work time schedule since the business is usually privately owned. There is usually no strong authority structure and specified time/hour of work as the owner (s) can decide at any time they want the work to be done; whether day or night.

Lack of professional skill:  Professional skill is a formalized training and development which is regarded as a foundation for success at every organization. So here,  these women in quarry mines of the developing nations have no core professional skills necessary to function effectively. They are involved in any manual job activities that exist in the mine. They lack professional training, a certificate program and customized professional  skills that can make them be in demand for better wages. And because they do not possess the professional skills to function, they are manipulated and exploited by the mine owners.

Long Hours – This refers to a situation where there are no fixed work time schedule and the workers could be compelled to work beyond the normal working hours as in informal organized work situations. In Nigeria in the formal sectors, there are specific work period like 8.00am -4.00pm and as also obtainable in most public establishments. But here, the long  hours refers to the irregular work timing in the unorganized small-scale quarry mines, where the women quarry workers work beyond the formal  8 hours. As identified by the International Labour Organization ( 2007 ), most of these women and others who work in the small-scale quarry mines work in most cases from 10 through 14 hours or more , and most times work during the night. This means that there is no regulated and defined hours of work.

Low socio-economic status: The reference being reflected here is the economic and social position of the rural women quarry workers in relation to their income, education etc. Majority of these women are poor, because they receive low income , that further reduce their economic stability. Because of their low economic status, they are often subjected to physical and sexual exploitation by the contractors, co-workers and other local men. It also lead to poor working and living conditions, ill health, poor treatment, poor access to medication. Women low socio-economic status is reflected in their holding the lowest, unhealthiest , and most risky jobs, in their being unable to organize and collectively bargain in their having no prospect for advancement.

Mining – Mining broadly refers to the excavation of valuable mineral materials from the earth’s crust and includes minerals of organic origin such as coal and petroleum. Most substances that we get from the earth we obtain by mining. Mining provides iron for making airplanes, automobiles, and refrigerators. Mines also supply salt for food, gold, silver and diamond for jewelry, stone for buildings, phosphate for fertilizer; and gravel for highways.

Occupational  illness: This refers to the health problems attached to ones engagement to an occupation. In this case, it is the health hazards that are associated with women’s participation in the small-scale quarry mining, especially as there are no safe measures in the developing nations where most of these mines are located. 

Patriarchal Industry- This is a situation where the unorganized mining sites are owned and dominated by men, giving power and importance to them and thereby creating undue privileges for the men. The patriarchal nature of the small-scale quarry mining in the rural areas of the developing nations with the involvement  of the rural poor women show that they can only appear there as daily labourers.  Srivastava ( 2005) observed in India and other parts of the developing areas, that men own and run 90 percent of the mining activities as majority of the rural women have low economic opportunities to operate such activities.

Quarrying – Quarry is squared stones, hence quarrying was initially applied to the mining of dimension (Cut) stone. More recently quarrying has been used to refer to the mining of several types of non-metallic rock from shallow to open-pit mines.

All three types of rocks are quarried – Igneous, metamorphic, and sedimentary. The most common igneous rock is granite; several sedimentary rocks are quarried; marble, quartzite, and slate are common metamorphic types. The two products of quarrying are dimension stone and crushed stone. A quarry is a type of open –pit mine from which rock or minerals are extracted. Quarries are generally used for extracting building materials, such as dimension stones, construction  aggregate ,riprap, sand, and gravel.

Sexual Exploitation of Women: Where women are placed in a situation or position where they are taken advantage of sexually because of their inability to resist the contact, or are placed in a position where they become dependent on the perpetrator. The creating avenues for this act to be carried out include economic injustices, disparities of wealth within and beyond the cites. Women especially in poverty dominated areas like Nigeria have less access to power, material wealth, and protection and so have used sex (in prostitution and various other domains) as the ‘bartering chip’ to gain access. And because these women in the mine pit currently have no other option, they give in to the demands of the men in charge sexually.

Unfavorable working condition: This is concerned with the harsh realities that the women quarry workers, especially in the developing nations face. Here, these women are faced with heavy workload and at the same time have a very low social support to help stabilize their well-being in these areas. Equally at the mines, their working condition involve potential hazards to their health and safety, involving possible physical risk most times. In the case of quarry mines, it involves , heat, painful and tiring position, serious risk of injury, chronic illness and atimes death. They also work long hours , inhale harmful dust etc.

Unorganized sector:  This is the informal sector which in most cases is privately owned, unincorporated enterprises, which in this case is the privately owned small-scale quarry mines that have no formalized order of work activity. And in the case of the developing areas, when this kind of work exists, are allowed to operate without checks and proper regulations from the authorities or other bodies. Also in this unorganized quarry mines there is no regular system of data availability.

Well-being-This refers to a contented state of being happy, healthy and prosperous. A state in which the quality of life of women quarry miners are measured in a broader; social, physical and economic effects  quarry mining has on their health. Another important aspect of well-being includes the utilization of the resources available to satisfy the wants of the daily life of these women.
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