Modern Loveok

1. The name ‘Alaska’ is derived from an Aleutian word alaxsxaq which means the “object toward which the action of the sea is directed.”2. Alaska is the largest state of all the states of United States and is one-fifth of the entire land area of the US.3. On July 7, 1958, the U.

S. Congress declared Alaska as the 49th state. 4. The total area of Alaska is as twice as Texas. 5. The capital of Alaska, Juneau, can be accessed only by sea or by air6.

Alaska was discovered by a Danish explorer, Vitus Bering in 1741. 7. In 1784 Gregor Shelekhov, a fur trader established the first settlement on Three Saints Bay on Alaska’s Kodiak Island.8. It was sold by Russian in 7.2 million dollars but Russian rulers regretted later when gold deposits were found in Alaska.

9. The distance between the extreme points of Russia and Alaska does not exceed 3.5 km!10. Alaska has more than three million lakes, about three thousand rivers, one hundred thousand glaciers and about seventy active volcanoes.11. Alaska is the most popular state for flying in the U.

S.12. One third of Alaska is in the Arctic Circle. It’s very cold in Alaska.13. The lowest temperature was recorded -62.2 degree Celsius in 1971.14.

In one of the cities in Alaska, the mayor for more than fifteen years was a cat.15. In spite of the fact that bears are allowed to hunt, it is forbidden to wake sleeping bears in order to photograph them.

16. The flag of Alaska was drawn by a thirteen-year-old boy who took part in the competition for the best state flag and he won.17. Golden stars on the blue flag of Alaska represent the constellation of the Big Dipper and the North Star, which enters the constellation of the Little Ursa. 18. Earthquake is very common in Alaska. The second strongest in the history of the earthquake occurred here, in 1964.

19. The 1964 earthquake was so powerful it was even heard in Africa. 20.

The highest tsunami in the world was recorded in 1958 in Alaska, when the glacier hit the lake, causing a wave more than half a kilometer in height.21. Alaska is considered the richest state of the United States.22. The population of Alaska speaks 22 different languages.23. Alaska has the lowest population density in comparison to all the other states.

24. Alaska has a pizza restaurant that delivers pizza on airplane. 25. There is a variety of frogs in Alaska that freezes in winter, the heartbeat stops, and the frog doesn’t breathe. But as soon as spring arrives frog return to the normal condition. 26. In Alaska, there is only one railroad that connects the cities of Seward and Fairbanks.

But it’s special: a passenger can take a train from anywhere. All you have to do is show white scarf or handkerchief. 27. The coast of Alaska goes to three different water bodies – the Arctic Ocean, the Atlantic Ocean and the Bering Sea.28. Alaska has about a fifth of all US oil reserves.29.

There are 20 highest peaks in the United States and 17 are in Alaska.30. In 1897 during the Klondike Gold Rush, potatoes were so highly valued for their vitamin C content, that miners traded gold for them.31. Interior Alaska is known for its many natural geothermal hot springs.32. Alaska has no plants poisonous to the touch such as poison ivy or poison oak which are found in all other states.33.

Pribilof Island is home to about 1 million seals.34. English and 20 other indigenous languages are official language of Alaska. 35.

Alaska has more coastline than the other 49 states combined.36. Because of their long summer days, Alaska is capable of producing some unusually oversized produce. Some notable specimens that have been harvested in recent years include a 35-pound broccoli, a 65-pound cantaloupe, and a 138-pound cabbage.37. Tongass National forest, Alaska is the largest forest of US.38.

There are 107 men for every 100 women in Alaska, the highest male-to-female ratio in the United States.39. Many hotels in Alaska offer Northern Lights wake-up calls upon request.40. The Northern Lights can be seen 243 days a year in Fairbanks.41. The largest salmon caught in Alaska was on the Kenai River. It weighed in at 97.

5 lbs.42. Barrow, Alaska has the longest and shortest day. When the sun rises on May 10th, it doesn’t set for nearly 3 months. When it sets on November 18th, residents don’t see the sun for nearly 2 months.43.

It is illegal to whisper in someone’s ear while they are moose hunting in Alaska.44. Dog mushing is the state sport of Alaska45. Most of America’s salmon, crab, halibut, and herring come from Alaska.46. The Trans-Alaska Pipeline transports up to 88,000 barrels of oil per hour on an 800-mile journey to Valdez.

47. In year 2001, a drunken man fired at an oil pipeline, he has to pay 17 million dollars fine and received 16 years of jail. 48. Three groups of natives lived in Alaska: Eskimos, Aleuts, and Indians.

49. Animals such as reindeer and moose are the property of the state.50. If any accident happens then citizens are required to report this to the state authorities. Special services then take the animal, and its meat is distributed to poor families.

51. In Alaska, there is 1 bear for every 21 people.52. In 1865, the Western Union Telegraph expedition, led by William Dall, surveyed the interior of Alaska for the first time, revealing its vast land and resources53. Alaska is one of the few states that do not depend on production.

The largest branches of private entrepreneurial activity are fishing and the seafood industry.54. The economy of Alaska is maintained on the extraction of oil, gas, copper, gold, zinc, iron, reindeer, tourism and fishing.55. In 1913, women in Alaska were granted the right to vote—six years ahead of the 19th Amendment56.

The Red Dog zinc mine in northwest Alaska is the world’s largest zinc producer.57. The Adak National Forest in the Aleutian Islands, Alaska, is the smallest National Forest in America, with only 33 trees58. A company in Alaska has developed a powdered beer for backpacking59. There is a mile-long zip line in Hoonah, Alaska, that starts 1,300ft above sea level and reaches speeds of up to 60mph60.

Alaska’s largest lake, Lake Iliamna, is roughly the size of Connecticut.

1.0 INTRODUCTION Occupational stress is a growing problem in present-day organizations, it is a frequent problem crossways over the occupations and it influences directly on the job performance.

The problem of occupational stress is particularly relevant for developing countries and regions undergoing enormous economic and social changes (Leka and Jain, 2010). It does not have emotional impact on work life only, but has far reaching impact on worker’s family life as well. Job stress is a chronic disease that caused negatively affects an individual’s performance. Job stress is directly related to performance. The higher the rate of job stress, the lower the job motivates a worker to performance it. On the other hand, work is inevitable in today’s life and it forms the focal point of almost all human life (Kortum, 2014).

The performance of employees, as well as managers, determines to a large extent, the quality of employee as expressed by Hellriegel and Slocum (2007) that low job motivation can result in costly turnover, tardiness, absenteeism and even poor mental health. This is further argued by Kreisman (2002) that the most valuable and volatile asset of any organisation is a well-motivated and a stable workforce is competent, dedicated and productive. It is expressed by Lawler (2003) that in the twenty-first century, treating people right is not an option but a necessity.

The main purpose of this study is to analyse the phenomenon of occupational stress and employee motivation in the mining industry of Zimbabwe having a deeper look into Ayrshire Mine in the year 2017. This study is worthy pursuing because occupational stress is an area which is being overlooked by many organization especially mining, yet it has a great negative impact to employee motivation. The present study addresses the specific relation of the two variables of job related stress and motivation since these constructs have not been comprehensively explored in the mining sector of Zimbabwe.

This also would be informative to enhance performance on the part of employees. This is also related to the improving of job satisfaction and job performance by reducing occupational stress.1.

1 BACKGROUND Occupational stress has been defined by Cox et al (2003) as the response people may have when presented with work demands and pressures that are not matched to their knowledge and abilities and which challenge their ability to cope. Stress is frequently considered as the most common disease of the modern age. It is a pattern of negative physiological states and psychological responses that occur in an individual. When stressed, individuals feels that their well-¬being is threatened and at the same time unable to handle it (Lazarus and Folkman, 1984; Hill, 2001). Occupational stress has its umbilical cord in the middle of the 19th Century where Friedrich Engels first described in detail the physical and psychological health problems suffered by workers in many trades (Barling and Griffiths, 2011). With time through the cross insemination of ideas from continent to continent, occupational stress became widely recognized especially in the developed nations.

Several theories have been brought forward by many scholars in an effort to try and explain how stress rises or how it results in attrition of motivation among employees. A job demand-control model by Karasek (1979), states that products of stress such as strain emanate from the consequences of high job demand, low social support and low autonomy. The job characteristics framework, another theory by Hackman and Oldham, (1980) state that employee motivation depends on job characteristics such as skill variety, task identity, task significance, autonomy, and feedback. The theory states that motivation and job satisfaction depend on the fit between the employee’s abilities or needs and the job and the organizational characteristics.

Lazarus and Folkman (1984) introduced the transactional theory of psychological stress and coping. One of the most prominent theories in the field of stress (Babatunde, 2013). This theory suggests that an imbalance of greater environmental demands than resources to cope with these demands produces strain. These are some of the well-known models which have gained dominance over years in guiding stress research and practice despite their variance in popularity and empirical support.

Rapidly changing global scene is increasing the pressure of workforce to perform maximum output and enhance competitiveness. Indeed, to perform better to their job, there is a requirement for workers to perform multiple tasks in the workplace to keep abreast of changing technologies (Cascio, 1995; Quick, 1997). The ultimate results of this pressure have been found to one of the important factors influencing job stress in their work (Cahn et al., 2000).

A study in UK indicated that the majority of the workers were unhappy with the current culture where they were required to work extended hours and cope with large workloads while simultaneously meeting production targets and deadlines (Townley, 2000).