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The purpose of this paper is to obtain the mechanical behavior and damage mechanism of the coal and rock near the stope under the stress state and stress paths of the surrounding rock with the dynamic mining.

Through the three-axial compression test and the uniaxial compression test by meso experiment device, the mechanical behavior and fracture evolution process of coal and rock were studied, and the acoustic emission (AE) characteristics under uniaxial compression of the coal and rock were contrasted.

Under the three-axial compression, the strength of coal and rock enhance significantly by confining pressure. The volume of outburst coal shows obvious stages: compression is followed by expansion. The coal first appear to undergo compaction under vertical stress due to volume decrease, but with the development of micro- and macro-cracks, the specimens appeared to expand; under the uniaxial compression, through the comparison of stress–strain relationship and the crack propagation process, stress drop and fracture of coal have obvious correlation. The destruction of coal was gradual due to the slow and steady accumulation of internal damage. Due to the influence of the end effect, the specimens show the “conjugate double shear failure”. The failure process of the coal and rock and the characteristics of the AEs have a corresponding relationship: the failure causes a large number of AE events. Before the events peak, there was an initial stage, calm growth stage and explosive growth stage. There were some differences between the rock and coal in the characteristics of the AE.

These research studies are conducted to provide guidance on the basis of mine disaster prevention and control.

This paper aims to examine the interaction between formal and informal organisation of work inside the pit, with reference to the informal working or coping strategy of “making a plan” (planisa).

The research for this paper was ethnographic in nature and the participant observation was the main research technique used in the field.

The underground gold miners make a plan or engage in planisa to offset the production bottlenecks which affected their capacity to achieve their production targets and increase their bonus earnings. They “get on and get by” underground in order to cope with organisational constraints and management inefficiencies.

The paper highlights the limits of formal organisation of work and the significance of gold miners’ informal work strategy of making a plan (planisa) as an existing and alternative working practice that shapes their subjective orientation, agency and resilience to work structures and managerial strategies. Any strategy designed to improve the health, safety and productivity of underground miners must recognise, elaborate and systematically articulate the workplace culture of planisa as an existing work practice in the day‐to‐day running of the production process down the mine.

The purpose of this paper is to examine a unique sociotechnical system in its historical context to better understand and appreciate how a naturalistic organization enacted five key characteristics identified as critical to sociotechnical systems by theorists hundreds of years after the fact.

The paper presents an examination of the history and context of this unique method of organizing. The literature of sociotechnical systems was examined and five guiding principles are identified which provide the framework for this evaluation.

A sociotechnical system with naturalistic origins is identified, described, and discussed; providing fresh insights into the nature of sociotechnical systems and there enactment.

This is a unique case not previously identified in the literature of management and organizations. It should be of particular interest to scholars interested in sociotechnical systems.