Workaholism and mental health among Polish academic workers

The aim of this study was to examine the relationship between workaholism and mental health among 126 Polish academic workers. The participants' mean age was 45.9 years, 51.6% of them were women. The participants completed 2 questionnaires: the work addiction risk test and the general health questionnaire. Even though 66% of the subjects were classified in the group of moderate-to-high risk of workaholism, the overall state of mental health was categorized as average. The results revealed that workaholism was associated with poorer mental health. Employees with higher levels of workaholism had worse state of health, i.e., more somatic symptoms, higher levels of anxiety, insomnia, social dysfunction and symptoms of depression. Emotional arousal/perfectionism was the strongest predictor of the state of general health and was mostly responsible for harmful effects on mental health. However, the general effect of workaholism on health was not as strong as expected.     

Measuring coupling forces woodcutters exert on saws in real working conditions

Prolonged exposure to hand-arm vibration (HAV) generated by chainsaws can cause HAV syndrome, i.e., disorders in the upper extremities of forestry workers. Progress of HAV syndrome depends on the intensity of mechanical vibration transmitted throughout the body, which is directly proportional to coupling forces applied by the woodcutter to a vibrating tool. This study aimed to establish a method of measuring coupling forces exerted by chainsaw workers in real working conditions. Coupling forces exerted by workers with their right and left hands were measured with a hydro-electronic force meter. Wood hardness, the type of chainsaw and the kind of forest operation, i.e., felling, cross-cutting or limbing, were considered.     

A compilation of field surveys on gaseous elemental mercury (GEM) from contrasting environmental settings in Europe,South America,South Africa and China: separating fads from facts

Mercury is transported globally in the atmosphere mostly in gaseous elemental form (GEM, \( {\text{Hg}}_{\text{gas}}^{0} \) ), but still few worldwide studies taking into account different and contrasted environmental settings are available in a single publication. This work presents and discusses data from Argentina, Bolivia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, Chile, China, Croatia, Finland, Italy, Russia, South Africa, Spain, Slovenia and Venezuela. We classified the information in four groups: (1) mining districts where this contaminant poses or has posed a risk for human populations and/or ecosystems; (2) cities, where the concentration of atmospheric mercury could be higher than normal due to the burning of fossil fuels and industrial activities; (3) areas with natural emissions from volcanoes; and (4) pristine areas where no anthropogenic influence was apparent. All the surveys were performed using portable LUMEX RA-915 series atomic absorption spectrometers. The results for cities fall within a low GEM concentration range that rarely exceeds 30 ng m^?3, that is, 6.6 times lower than the restrictive ATSDR threshold (200 ng m^?3) for chronic exposure to this pollutant. We also observed this behavior in the former mercury mining districts, where few data were above 200 ng m^?3. We noted that high concentrations of GEM are localized phenomena that fade away in short distances. However, this does not imply that they do not pose a risk for those working in close proximity to the source. This is the case of the artisanal gold miners that heat the Au–Hg amalgam to vaporize mercury. In this respect, while GEM can be truly regarded as a hazard, because of possible physical–chemical transformations into other species, it is only under these localized conditions, implying exposure to high GEM concentrations, which it becomes a direct risk for humans.     

Modelling spatial patterns of correlations between concentrations of heavy metals in mosses and atmospheric deposition in 2010 across Europe

Background

This paper aims to investigate the correlations between the concentrations of nine heavy metals in moss and atmospheric deposition within ecological land classes covering Europe. Additionally, it is examined to what extent the statistical relations are affected by the land use around the moss sampling sites. Based on moss data collected in 2010/2011 throughout Europe and data on total atmospheric deposition modelled by two chemical transport models (EMEP MSC-E, LOTOS-EUROS), correlation coefficients between concentrations of heavy metals in moss and in modelled atmospheric deposition were specified for spatial subsamples defined by ecological land classes of Europe (ELCE) as a spatial reference system. Linear discriminant analysis (LDA) and logistic regression (LR) were then used to separate moss sampling sites regarding their contribution to the strength of correlation considering the areal percentage of urban, agricultural and forestry land use around the sampling location. After verification LDA models by LR, LDA models were used to transform spatial information on the land use to maps of potential correlation levels, applicable for future network planning in the European Moss Survey.

Results

Correlations between concentrations of heavy metals in moss and in modelled atmospheric deposition were found to be specific for elements and ELCE units. Land use around the sampling sites mainly influences the correlation level. Small radiuses around the sampling sites examined (5 km) are more relevant for Cd, Cu, Ni, and Zn, while the areal percentage of urban and agricultural land use within large radiuses (75–100 km) is more relevant for As, Cr, Hg, Pb, and V. Most valid LDA models pattern with error rates of <?40% were found for As, Cr, Cu, Hg, Pb, and V. Land use-dependent predictions of spatial patterns split up Europe into investigation areas revealing potentially high (=?above-average) or low (=?below-average) correlation coefficients.

Conclusions

LDA is an eligible method identifying and ranking boundary conditions of correlations between atmospheric deposition and respective concentrations of heavy metals in moss and related mapping considering the influence of the land use around moss sampling sites.

     

An examination of beliefs about older workers: Do stereotypes still exist?

This study examined individuals' beliefs about older workers. Of particular interest was the relationship between those beliefs and individuals' (a) interactions with older workers, (b) supervisory status, and (c) demographic variables. Findings indicated that although older workers hold more positive beliefs about older workers than younger workers hold, even younger workers tended to have generally positive beliefs. Chronological age was found to moderate two relationships. First, the number of younger workers' interactions with older workers significantly, positively affected younger workers' beliefs about older workers. Second, an examination of the interaction between supervisory status and age found that older supervisors hold more negative beliefs about older workers than younger supervisors.     

The interdependence of work and family roles

The circumstances of the lack of attention to the interdependence of family functions and external employment in the research to date are considered. Major problems and barriers to progress are noted. One problem is the conceptual-theoretical barrier of viewing work as masculine and family responsibility as feminine. A second problem is a differential focus in the research to date in which either the family is studied with inadequate attention given to work, or the work setting is studied with insufficient consideration of family responsibilities. Research strategies are reviewed and discussed, including the need to identify combinations of types of occupations and family situations. Five work-family groups are identified. One of the five groups, single parent is used to illustrate policies pertaining to the interdependence of work and family roles. The relevance of research on role interdependence for both governmental policy and organizational policy is considered in a discussion of the effects of policy on effective integration of work and family roles.     

Chick-a-dee call syntax,social context,and season affect vocal responses of Carolina chickadees (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Poecile carolinensis</Emphasis>)

Chick-a-dee calls in many chickadee (Poecile) species are common vocal signals used in a diversity of social contacts. The calls consist of four notes, A, B, C, and D, which follow simple rules of syntax (note ordering and composition) to generate many unique call types. We used field playbacks with Carolina chickadees, P. carolinensis, to ask whether violations of a syntactical rule affected their vocal responses. We show that chickadee responses to typical calls (e.g. AAAACCCC and CCCCDDDD) differ from responses to atypical calls (e.g. CACACACA and DCDCDCDC) depending on playback note composition, season, and social context (presence of heterospecifics). In the fall/winter, playbacks of typical calls with A and C notes elicited the greatest number of A and B notes in chick-a-dee call responses and typical calls with D notes elicited the greatest number of C notes, when in the presence of heterospecifics. In contrast, the corresponding atypical calls did not elicit similar responses. This suggests communicative significance is lost in calls that violate a rule of syntax in the fall/winter. In the spring, neither chickadee feebeefeebay song rate nor chick-a-dee calls responses differed by playback type. We suggest that call syntax is less salient for mated pairs in the spring than it is for fall/winter flocks that rely more on conspecific communication for foraging success and flock cohesion. This study represents the first experimental evidence that chickadees attend to both note composition and ordering in chick-a-dee calls.Communicated by W.A. Searcy     

234U and 238U isotopes in water and sediments of the southern Baltic

The aim of this work was to determine the concentration of 234U and 238U and calculate the values of the 234U/238U activity ratio in waters and sediments from the various regions of the southern Baltic Sea: Gdańsk Deep, S?upsk Narrow and Bornholm Deep. The concentration of uranium in analysed sediments from southern Baltic increase with core depth to what probably is connected with diffusion from sediments to water through interstitial water, where uranium concentration is much higher than in bottom water. The highest concentrations of uranium were observed in sediments of S?upsk Narrow (0.66-7.11 mg kg(-1) d.w.) and S?upsk Bank (0.61-6.93 mg kg(-1) d.w.), the lowest in sediments from Bornholm Deep (0.54-3.77 mg kg(-1) d.w.). The 234U/238U activity ratio results indicated that the sedimentation of terrigenic material and Vistula River transport are the general sources of uranium in the southern Baltic sediments. The value of 234U/238U activity ratio in sediments from reduction areas from southern Baltic (Gdańsk Deep and Bornholm Deep) indicated that reduction process of U(VI) to U(IV) and removing of anthropogenic uranium from seawater to sediments constitutes a small part only in Gdańsk Deep.     

Strategies of international cooperation in an international project: advantages and pitfalls.

The MEPS (musculoskeletal--eyestrain--psychosocial--stress) study involved an extensive degree of multidisciplinary and multicultural cooperation. The objective was to examine the effects of multiple ergonomic interventions on visual, musculoskeletal, postural, and psychosocial outcomes amongst operators of visual display terminals (VDTs). The inherent complexity of a comprehensive ergonomic investigation requires participation of researchers from a variety of disciplines, as well as comparisons among populations with different geographical and cultural backgrounds. The design and execution of the resulting research protocol presents a number of challenges. This paper discusses the advantages and pitfalls associated with multidisciplinary multinational cooperation. Advantages include the necessity for development of a common language and perspective providing a basis for future collaboration. Pitfalls include logistic and coordination difficulties associated with conducting standardized procedures in different locations, as well as the inherent potential for professional conflict. It is argued that such pitfalls ought to be understood and integrated into the project planning process.     

The effect of an ergonomic intervention on musculoskeletal, psychosocial and visual strain of VDT entry work: organization and methodology of the international study.

This special issue of the International Journal of Occupational Safety and Ergonomics (JOSE) reports the results from an extensive multinational and multidisciplinary collaborative investigation of the impacts on visual display terminal (VDT) work of musculoskeletal, visual, ergonomic, and psychosocial factors. For brevity, this effort has been referred to as the MEPS project (musculoskeletal--eyestrain--psychosocial--stress). This paper lays out the basic methodological structure of the study. The study was conducted in 4 countries utilizing VDT data entry workers as the primary subject population. A battery of objective and subject assessment measures, including muscle load, visual function, physical and visual strain, postural, ergonomic and psychosocial factors, were assessed at 3 different points in time. A pre-test was given prior to an ergonomic intervention. Two post-tests were given 1 month and 1 year after the ergonomic intervention.