Health and social impacts of a flood disaster: responding to needs and implications for practice

Carlisle in northwest England suffered its worse floods for more than 180 years in 2005. A study, reported here, was undertaken to assess the health and social impacts of these floods via in‐depth, taped individual and focus‐group interviews with people whose homes had been flooded and with agency workers who helped them. Respondents spoke of physical health ailments, psychological stress, water health‐and‐safety issues related to the floods, and disputes with insurance and construction companies, which they felt had caused and exacerbated psychological health problems. Support workers also suffered from psychological stress. Furthermore, it was found that people had low expectations of a flood and were not prepared. The findings are presented in five sections covering flood risk awareness, water contamination issues, physical health, mental health, and impact on frontline support workers. The discussion focuses on the implications of the findings for policy and practice vis‐à‐vis psychological health provision, contamination issues, training and support for frontline support workers, matters relating to restoration, and preparation for flooding.     

Quantifying Preferences for the Natural World Using Monetary and Nonmonetary Assessments of Value

Given that funds for biodiversity conservation are limited, there is a need to understand people's preferences for its different components. To date, such preferences have largely been measured in monetary terms. However, how people value biodiversity may differ from economic theory, and there is little consensus over whether monetary metrics are always appropriate or the degree to which other methods offer alternative and complementary perspectives on value. We used a choice experiment to compare monetary amounts recreational visitors to urban green spaces were willing to pay for biodiversity enhancement (increases in species richness for birds, plants, and aquatic macroinvertebrates) with self‐reported psychological gains in well‐being derived from visiting the same sites. Willingness‐to‐pay (WTP) estimates were significant and positive, and respondents reported high gains in well‐being across 3 axes derived from environmental psychology theories (reflection, attachment, continuity with past). The 2 metrics were broadly congruent. Participants with above‐median self‐reported well‐being scores were willing to pay significantly higher amounts for enhancing species richness than those with below‐median scores, regardless of taxon. The socio‐economic and demographic background of participants played little role in determining either their well‐being or the probability of choosing a paying option within the choice experiment. Site‐level environmental characteristics were only somewhat related to WTP, but showed strong associations with self‐reported well‐being. Both approaches are likely to reflect a combination of the environmental properties of a site and unobserved individual preference heterogeneity for the natural world. Our results suggest that either metric will deliver mutually consistent results in an assessment of environmental preferences, although which approach is preferable depends on why one wishes to measure values for the natural world. Preferencias de Cuantificación para el Mundo Natural Usando Estudios de Valor Monetario y No Monetario.     

基于调节聚焦理论的生物农药推广有效性研究

化学农药在提高单位耕地面积农产品产量和效益的同时,由于过量施用、利用效率低下等污染了生态环境、危害农产品安全和损害消费者健康等问题,而具有低残留、低污染和环境友好性优势的生物农药逐渐得到公共部门和业界的重视。但生物农药能否得到大范围推广和施用,关键在于能否改变农户的农药施用行为和农药生产企业的积极参与。由于生物农药施用涉及农户的当前利益和长期利益、个人利益和社会利益等相关因素,使农户的农药施用决策具有突出的心理距离属性。本文引入调节聚焦理论,建立了心理距离与农户农药施用决策和心理动机的关系,实证研究生物农药推广对农户农药施用决策、支付愿意(WTP)、农药生产企业态度和再次施用意愿的影响。结论如下:1施用生物农药给农户带来的收益是长期的、全社会的和不确定的,而多数农户农药施用决策所考虑的利益是当前的、私人的。因此,二者在心理距离、调节聚焦以及利益追求方面是不匹配的,这揭示了当前生物农药推广过程中出现的"叫好不叫座"的原因;2农药生产企业能够从生物农药推广中获利。如果生物农药推广得当,将会提高农户对生物农药以及农药生产企业的积极评价,其对生物农药的愿意支付价格和再次施用意愿也会提升;3调节聚集信息诉求和心理距离的匹配,对农户生物农药施用决策存在显著影响。当预防(或促进)聚焦信息诉求与近(或远)心理距离匹配时,农户对生物农药信息诉求的认同度较高,施用意愿也更高。因此,要提高生物农药的推广效果,针对农户农药施用决策具有近心理距离的特点,公共部门及农药生产企业在推广生物农药时应该强化预防聚焦信息,而弱化促进聚焦信息;此外,生物农药推广过程中,公共部门及农药生产企业也可以通过宣传策略,延长农户农药施用决策时的心理距离与改善生态环境的促进聚焦目标相匹配,从而提高农户施用生物农药的积极性。     

Putting People on the Map through an Approach That Integrates Social Data in Conservation Planning

Conservation planning is integral to strategic and effective operations of conservation organizations. Drawing upon biological sciences, conservation planning has historically made limited use of social data. We offer an approach for integrating data on social well‐being into conservation planning that captures and places into context the spatial patterns and trends in human needs and capacities. This hierarchical approach provides a nested framework for characterizing and mapping data on social well‐being in 5 domains: economic well‐being, health, political empowerment, education, and culture. These 5 domains each have multiple attributes; each attribute may be characterized by one or more indicators. Through existing or novel data that display spatial and temporal heterogeneity in social well‐being, conservation scientists, planners, and decision makers may measure, benchmark, map, and integrate these data within conservation planning processes. Selecting indicators and integrating these data into conservation planning is an iterative, participatory process tailored to the local context and planning goals. Social well‐being data complement biophysical and threat‐oriented social data within conservation planning processes to inform decisions regarding where and how to conserve biodiversity, provide a structure for exploring socioecological relationships, and to foster adaptive management. Building upon existing conservation planning methods and insights from multiple disciplines, this approach to putting people on the map can readily merge with current planning practices to facilitate more rigorous decision making. Poner a la Gente en el Mapa por Medio de una Estrategia que Integra Información Social en la Planeación de la Conservación     

基于驾驶适宜性检测的沙漠公路驾驶员生理、心理特性研究

采用驾驶适宜性检测仪器,在塔克拉玛干沙漠公路沿线进行驾驶员心理、生理特性的现场测试。结果表明,沙漠公路特殊的环境条件,使得驾驶员表现出有别于一般绿洲公路的心理和行为特性,其主要表现在:驾驶员动体视力较静体视力的平均降幅为44.75%,最高竟达到93%;速度估计和复杂反应时间均小于全国平均;复杂反应错误次数和处置判断错误次数均高于绿洲公路。灰色关联分析表明,沙漠公路驾驶员的年龄、驾龄、驾车时间以及气温与驾驶员的各项生理、心理特性指标都具有较强的相关性,关联度最高达到0.837,其中驾车时间对各项指标的影响最大。     

Occupational injury and psychological distress among U.S. workers: The National Health Interview Survey, 2004–2016

Introduction: Injuries at work may negatively influence mental health due to lost or reduced working hours and financial burden of treatment. Our objective was to investigate, in U.S. workers (a) the prevalence of serious psychological distress (SPD) by injury status (occupational, non-occupational, and no injury) and injury characteristics, and (b) the association between injury status and SPD. Methods: Self-reported injuries within the previous three months were collected annually for 225,331 U.S. workers in the National Health Interview Survey (2004–2016). Psychological distress during the past 30 days was assessed using the Kessler 6 (K6) questions with Likert-type scale (0–4, total score range: 0–24). SPD was defined as K6 ≥ 13. Prevalence ratios (PR) from fitted logistic regression models were used to assess relationships between injury and SPD after controlling for covariates. Results: The prevalence of SPD was 4.74%, 3.58%, and 1.56% in workers reporting occupational injury (OI), non-occupational injury (NOI), and no injury, respectively. Workers with head and neck injury had the highest prevalence of SPD (Prevalence: OI = 7.71%, NOI = 6.17%), followed by workers with scrape/bruise/burn/bite (6.32% for those with OI). Workers reporting OI were two times more likely to have SPD compared to those without injury (PR = 2.19, 95%CI: 1.62–2.96). However, there was no significant difference in SPD between workers with OI and workers with NOI (PR = 0.98, 95%CI: 0.65–1.48). Conclusion: The prevalence of SPD varied by injury status with the highest being among workers reporting OI. We found that the workers reporting OI were significantly more likely to have SPD than those without injury, but not more than those with NOI. Practical Applications: Mental health management programs by employers are necessary for workers who are injured in the workplace.     

Antecedents and consequences of collective psychological ownership: The validation of a conceptual model

We investigate team member feelings of collective psychological ownership (CPO) over teamwork products, the psychological paths that lead to it, and its impact on team workers' evaluations of team effectiveness, turnover intentions, and intentions to champion teamwork products. We focus on the teamwork product as an important target of ownership feelings, building on theories of self-extension, psychological ownership, and team emergent states. In Study 1, we validate measures for three ownership activating experiences (OAE) that have been proposed as paths to CPO (control over, intimate knowledge regarding, and investment in the teamwork product) using two samples of individual team workers (n = 210 and n = 140). In Study 2 (n = 183) and Study 3 (n = 200), we use surveys and a multiwave design to show that team workers' feelings of CPO mediate the relationship between investment in and intimate knowledge regarding the product and team effectiveness evaluations, team turnover intentions, and intentions to champion the work product. In Study 4 (n = 48 teams), CPO was predicted by the ownership activating experiences, at the team level. This research additionally highlights the benefits to organizations of creating conditions for the emergence of employee feelings of shared ownership over teamwork products.     

Effect of Subjective and Objective Workload on Asthenopia at VDU Workplaces

An ergophthalmological tool has been developed to investigate effects of subjective and objective workload on work-related visual complaints (asthenopia). In field studies on different visual display unit (VDU) workplaces effects of objective and subjective workload, work intensity, and work breaks (5-9 min/hour) could be found. It could be shown that during the first hours of VDU work, asthenopic complaints have the tendency to follow effective workload. With increasing working time the effect of a general and visual fatigue overlaps other reported visual complaints in the majority of cases.     

地铁人员疏散心理行为调查及相关性研究

为研究地铁人员疏散心理行为特征,选择某地铁A号线上客流量较大的B站,采用问卷调查法对该站内出行的乘客随机进行调查,运用卡方检验对问卷调查统计结果进行相关性分析,并对其显著相关因素进行深入分析.结果表明:地铁人员疏散心理行为特征与性别、文化程度、安全知识、是否携带行李因素显著相关;绝大部分乘客心理素质较好;在地铁突发事件时,女性不如男性理智,文化程度低的人员更容易产生恐慌心理,接受过专门安全教育的乘客更能够选择正确的安全出口,携带行李乘客更容易产生恐惧心理.     

Psychological consequences among adults following the 1999 earthquake in Athens, Greece

One year after the 7 September 1999 earthquake in Athens, Greece, we investigated the psychological consequences among 305 individuals (71 per cent female) residing in the settlements of Ano Liosia Municipality. Adaptability was difficult (63 per cent) due to limited space (50 per cent). Insecurity feelings were predictive of difficult adaptability (chi2= 29.8, p<0.0001) and were common (63 per cent) among married subjects, independent of age (chi2= 5.0, odds ratio (OR): 0.49, 95 per cent confidence interval (CI): 0.26-0.90). Eighty per cent expressed stress feelings, mainly nervousness/tension (60 per cent). Adaptability (chi2= 5.3, OR: 0.5, 95 per cent CI: 0.27-0.9), age (chi2= 6.5, OR: 1.03, 95 per cent CI: 1.01-1.06), and female gender (chi2= 4.7, OR: 0.48, 95 per cent CI: 0.25-0.90) were independent predictors of stress feelings. The majority (55 percent) developed sleep disorders, chiefly insomnia (60 percent). Adaptability problems were the only predictor of sleep disorders (chi2= 6.4, OR: 0.5, 95 per cent CI: 0.33-0.87). Psychiatric medication use increased after the earthquake.