Safety climate in Finnish- and Swedish-speaking companies.

The aim of this study was to compare assessments made by Finnish- and Swedish-speaking workers in Finland about the safety climate in their companies, because an earlier study showed that the accident frequency of Swedish-speaking workers was one third lower than that of Finnish-speaking workers. 148 Finnish-speaking and 138 Swedish-speaking workers from 14 small and medium-sized companies participated in this study. They filled out a Finnish safety climate questionnaire, the reliability of which was above the acceptable level. There were no differences between the language groups in the total variables of safety climate and safety action. Based on the differences in single items, we interpreted that Swedish-speaking workers stressed collective safety more, whereas Finnish-speaking workers put more emphasis on their personal responsibility for safety.     

Using Multicriteria Methods in Environmental Planning and Management

In environmental planning and decision processes several alternatives are analyzed in terms of multiple noncommensurate criteria, and many different stakeholders with conflicting preferences are involved. Based on our experience in real-life applications, we discuss how multicriteria decision aid (MCDA) methods can be used successfully in such processes. MCDA methods support these processes by providing a framework for collecting, storing, and processing all relevant information, thus making the decision process traceable and transparent. It is therefore possible to understand and explain why, under several conflicting preferences, a particular decision was made. The MCDA framework also makes the requirements for new information explicit, thus supporting the allocation of resources for the process.     

Do fixed-term workers have a higher injury rate?

One of the most remarkable changes in the labour markets of industrialised countries has been the increase of fixed-term employment. Naturally, the ways in which this development impacts on the quality of working life has awoken increasing scientific discussion. The aim of this paper is to examine these connections from the perspective of occupational injury. The majority of research literature in this field has shown that fixed-term workers have a risk of occupational injury that is several times higher than permanent workers.The analysis presented here is based on three large independent statistical data sets. In the Work and Health Study 10.9% of fixed-term and 10.0% of permanent workers experienced occupational injury during the previous 12 months. In The Victim Survey of Finland 5.4% of fixed-term and 6.5% of permanent workers were injured at work. In The Quality of Working Life Survey 3% of fixed-term and 5% of permanent workers were involved in occupational injury. These three data sets showed unanimously that fixed-term workers did not have a higher occupational injury rate than permanent workers. The most important explanatory factor was that in Finland fixed-term contracts are concentrated in public services such as education and health care with a predominance of female workers. Still, the connection remained after adjusting the basic background variables of age, socio-economic status and industry.     

Effects of three years’ increase in density of the geometrid Epirrita autumnata on the change in metabolome of mountain birch trees (Betula pubescens ssp. czerepanovii)

The principal objective of the study was to characterize effects of increasing density of the autumnal moth, Epirrita autumnata (Lepidoptera, Geometridae), for 3 successive years on the change in metabolome of mountain birch trees (Betula pubescens ssp. czerepanovii). During the three study years (2000–2002), the larval density varied from low to very high (outbreak) density. Samples of leaves were collected from the same 12 trees at the same phenological stage of the trees each year. The leaves were collected from undamaged trees in the first year, from trees slightly damaged by larvae in the second year, and from trees heavily damaged by larvae in the third year. Metabolome analysis showed that the increase in density of E. autumnata larvae and degree of damage of birch trees caused multiple biochemical changes in the leaves, including increased concentrations of phenolic compounds (proanthocyanidins and hydrolysable tannins) and reduced concentrations of nutritive metabolites (monosaccharides, amino acids and some organic acids). These changes reduced the quality of leaves as food for larvae and, probably, were associated with induced chemical resistance of the birches to herbivorous insects. Additionally, the concentration of α-tocopherol was significantly higher in both slightly and heavily damaged trees. Mechanisms of changes in the metabolism of phenolic compounds and carbohydrates, and the role of α-tocopherol in their regulation are discussed.     

Part I : <Emphasis Type="Italic">a priori</Emphasis> study of erosion and deposition with large eddy simulation of turbulent flow over multiple 2D sandy Gaussian hills

The micro-scale prediction of sand trapping or take-off over hilly terrains is a crucial issue in semi-arid regions for soil depletion. In this context, large eddy simulations around one or several hills are performed in order to provide statistical parameters to characterize the flow at micro-scales and provide data for mesoscale modelling. We focus on the determination of recirculation zones since they play an important role in solid particle erosion or entrapment. A new wall modeling adapted from Huang et al. (J Turbul 17:1–24, 2016) for rough boundary layers is found to improve the prediction of the recirculation zone length downstream of an isolated hill and is used for all the numerical cases presented here. A geometrical parameterization of the recirculation zones is proposed. When the recirculation region is assumed to have an ellipsoidal shape, the total surface of the recirculation can be obtained from this new parameterization and easily extrapolated to more general dune configurations. Numerical results are compared with experiments performed in our laboratory (Simoëns et al. in Procedia IUTAM 17:110–118, 2015) and good agreement is achieved. We explore general aerodynamic cases deduced from the urban canopy scheme of Oke (Energy Build 11:103–113, 1988). In this scheme the momentum and mass exchange between the upper layer and the space between hills is sorted according to the streamwise hill spacing within three basic cases of skimming, wake or isolated flow. The study of the recirculation zones, the mean velocity and Reynolds stress profiles around an isolated or two consecutive hills with different distances shows that the double hill configuration with 3H separation behaves as much as a whole to the upcoming flow. The vortex formed between the crests does not strongly affect the overall evolution of the outer flow. By an a priori prediction of the preferential zones of erosion and accumulation of fictive particles, it is shown that isolated dunes present more deposition and less erosion than two-hill configurations. The results presented in this study will be discussed in the presence of Lagrangian transport of sand particles above 2D Gaussian hills in future work.     

Safety Climate in Finnish- and Swedish-Speaking Companies

The aim of this study was to compare assessments made by Finnish- and Swedish-speaking workers in Finland about the safety climate in their companies, because an earlier study showed that the accident frequency of Swedish-speaking workers was one third lower than that of Finnish-speaking workers. 148 Finnish-speaking and 138 Swedish-speaking workers from 14 small and medium-sized companies participated in this study. They filled out a Finnish safety climate questionnaire, the reliability of which was above the acceptable level. There were no differences between the language groups in the total variables of safety climate and safety action. Based on the differences in single items, we interpreted that Swedish-speaking workers stressed collective safety more, whereas Finnish-speaking workers put more emphasis on their personal responsibility for safety.     

Occupational Accidents of Finnish-and Swedish-Speaking Workers in Finland: A Mental Model View

This article is based on 2 studies. The aim of the first study was to examine the differences in occupational accident frequency between the 2 main language groups in Finland. Based on 3 independent statistical data sets, it was shown that Swedish-speaking workers had about 40% fewer occupational accidents than Finnish-speaking workers. The aim of the second study was to confirm the difference at company level. A field study in the province of Vaasa with 14 small and medium-sized manufacturing companies revealed that the accident frequency of Swedish-speaking workers was 21% lower than that of Finnish-speaking workers.     

Ecologically neglected tannins and their biologically relevant activity: chemical structures of plant ellagitannins reveal their in vitro oxidative activity at high pH

Summary.  Chemical structures of 27 ellagitannins were systemically compared in respect of their in vitro oxidative activity at high pH found e.g. in lepidopteran insects. The analysis revealed over six-fold differences in the oxidative activities of individual ellagitannins which could be explained by the chemical divergences of the ellagitannins. These findings allowed the formulation of a simple equation that can be used to estimate the oxidative activities of other ellagitannins with known structures. The results suggest that, in future studies of plant-herbivore interactions, ellagitannins should be (1) taken into account as possible oxidative stress -based defences of plants against herbivores, (2) chemically characterized from the study plants, and (3) quantified individually, not as chemically ill-defined group. These actions together with the utilization of the created equation would allow the clarification of the role of ellagitannins in plant-herbivore interactions as natural pro-oxidants.