Industrial Relations (IDRL) 308
Occupational Health and Safety (Revision 2)
Revision 2 closed, replaced by current version.
Delivery Mode:Individualized study or grouped study.
Credits:3
Area of Study:Applied Studies (Business and Administrative Studies). This course can also be used as Social Science by credential students only.
Prerequisite:None.
Centre:Centre for Work and Community Studies
IDRL 308 is not available for challenge.
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Overview
IDRL 308 examines issues of life and death on the job within their political and economic context. An extensive base of scientific and technical knowledge has been built up in the occupational health and safety field. However, conflicts often persist among practitioners and scholars on even the most basic questions. This is partly because the conflict between workers and managers (or between labour and capital, if you will), which is inherent in the field of industrial relations, is superimposed on the inevitable scientific disagreements. Some of these disagreements are legitimate, viewed on their own terms. Others involve the attempt to use scientific argument as a cloak for policy decisions about the value that should be attached to preserving life and health on the job.
The course is intended to provide necessary background on health and safety issues both for students of industrial relations from an academic perspective, and for those people who are, or plan to be, actively involved in the occupational health and safety field whether as managers, as representatives of the workforce, or as health and law enforcement professionals.
Outline
Unit 1: Occupational Health and Safety: An Orientation
Unit 2: Occupational Health and Safety: The Interplay of Law, Politics, and Economics
Unit 3: Occupational Health and Safety: The Interplay of Science, Politics, and Economics
Unit 4: Legal and Institutional Structures: The Politics of Implementation and Enforcement
Unit 5: Globalization and Future Occupational Health and Safety
Evaluation
To receive credit in IDRL 308, you must achieve a composite course grade of at least a “D” (50 percent) and a grade of at least 50 percent on each course assignment. If students receive a grade of less than 50 percent on an assignment, they may revise and resubmit the assignment. The weighting of the composite course grade is as follows:
| Assignment 1 | Assignment 2 | Assignment 3 | Assignment 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20% | 20% | 30% | 30% | 100% |
To learn more about assignments and examinations, please refer to Athabasca University's online Calendar.
Course Materials
Booklets
Alberta. Occupational Health and Safety Act. Revised Statutes of Alberta 2000. Chapter O-2. Edmonton: Alberta's Queen's Printer, 2002.
Ontario. Occupational Health and Safety Amendment Act, 2001. Toronto: Ministry of Labour, 2001.
Other Materials
The course materials also include a study guide, student manual, reading file, and the Digital Reading Room, an interactive online reading room that offers a digital solution for course readings and supplementary materials.
Athabasca University reserves the right to amend course outlines occasionally and without notice. Courses offered by other delivery methods may vary from their individualized-study counterparts.
Opened in Revision 2, June 26/02.
View previous syllabus
Last updated by SAS 03/24/2014 10:10:31
