Protection of workers’ mental health in Québec: Do general duty clauses allow labour inspectors to do their job?

Given that no specific provisions of the Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) Act explicitly deal with psychosocial risk factors, in Québec, occupational health and safety inspectors employed by the Commission de la santé et de la sécurité du travail (CSST) address psychosocial hazards under the Act’s general duty clause. This general duty clause and related provisions require that all employers eliminate hazards at source and protect the health of workers. More specifically, they are required to ensure that the organisation of work does not adversely affect the safety or health of the worker. Since 2004, Québec minimum standards legislation has also provided for the right of workers to an environment that is free from psychological harassment.Written from both a legal and public health perspective, this paper has two primary objectives: first, to better understand the potential and limits of the current legislative framework for the protection of the mental health of workers and second, to describe how scientific knowledge related to high risk situations for the mental health of workers might inform interventions by inspectors for the protection of workers’ mental health.     

The effect of intergroup comparison on willingness to perform sustainable behavior

The present research examines the effects of intergroup comparison on willingness to perform sustainable behavior. In Experiment 1, university students compared current students with past or future students, and then completed measures of willingness to perform sustainable behavior. Participants who compared to past students reported more willingness to perform sustainable behavior than those who compared to future students. In Experiment 2, university students again compared current students with past or future students and completed measures of sustainable beliefs and willingness to perform sustainable behavior. Participants who compared to past students reported more willingness to perform sustainable behavior than those who compared to future students. This effect was mediated by strengthened sustainable beliefs. The results show that intergroup comparison can be strategically employed to promote motivation to perform sustainable behavior.     

When is an invasive not an invasive? Macrofossil evidence of doubtful native plant species in the Galápagos Islands

The Galápagos Islands are globally renowned for their ecological value and as a world symbol of scientific discovery; however the native biodiversity of this unique region is currently under threat. One of the primary concerns is the detrimental impact of approximately 750 nonnative plants introduced over the last 500 years of human presence in the archipelago. In addition to these known introduced species, there are an additional 62 vascular plants classified as "doubtful natives," where native status remains unclear. To help address the questions of provenance regarding these doubtfully native species and their impact on highland ecosystems over the past 500-1000 years, we analyzed plant macrofossils in sedimentary records. Appropriate species classification (native or introduced) was determined using baseline data of species presence on the islands. We confirmed that six plants (Ageratum conyzoides, Solanum americanum, Ranunculus flagelliformis, Brickellia diffusa, Galium canescens, and Anthephora hermaphrodita) once considered doubtful natives or introduced are actually native to the Galápagos flora. These results have relevance not just for the Galápagos but also many other oceanic islands in demonstrating the application of palaeobotanical data to conserving and restoring native biodiversity.     

Mitochondrial DNA sequence variation in spiny lobsters: population expansion,panmixia, and divergence

To investigate population differentiation in a comparative and historical context, segments of the mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I gene and the control region were sequenced in Panulirus argus from nine sites along approximately 1,500 km of the Northern Caribbean Sea (n = 326) and analyzed with respect to available panulirid data. A mismatch analysis and Fu’s F _S test uncovered a signature of historical population expansion around the time of the Last Glacial Maximum. Significant population structure was not detected in the area. The data supported a hypothesis of panmixia resulting from ongoing larval transport by ocean currents and historical population expansion. Despite high intraspecific divergence levels at COI within Panulirus argus and several other Panulirus species, genetic species identification through DNA barcoding was feasible using either a modified distance threshold or a character-based approach.     

A model for intraguild predation dynamics between immature stages

Dynamical models usually assume that predation occurs between mature stages and/or between mature and immature stages. In this work a stage-structured discrete time model is developed for a system where intraguild predation takes place only in the course of immature stages of predator and its prey. Therefore, the proposed mathematical setup demands functional relations linking predation in immature life stages with survival and fecundity in mature stages. The behavior of the model is examined in order to investigate the interplay among predator attack rate, its satiation of prey consumption and the success of intraguild predator invasion.     

Lichen transplants as a suitable tool to identify mercury pollution from waste incinerators: a case study from NE Italy

A lichen transplant study aimed at investigating a strong increase in mercury concentrations in lichens was run in a territory of NE Italy where background values were very low only 8 years before. Thalli of the lichen Pseudevernia furfuracea collected in a pristine area were exposed for 1.5, 3 and 6 months at 31 sites selected according to the observed pattern of Hg concentrations, location of the suspected source (a new waste incinerator) and prevailing wind direction. Hg strongly increased at eight sites after 1.5 months, at 12 after 3 months and at 20 after 6 months. The highest values were always located SW and S of the incinerator, in good agreement with the prevailing night wind direction. It was concluded that, although the immediate risk for the population living close to the incinerator is low, long-term hazard due to Hg accumulation in the surrounding environment should be seriously taken into account.     

Home energy efficiency grants and advice: findings from the English Midlands

Research was conducted in Nottinghamshire, England to investigate public attitudes regarding home energy efficiency issues. Quantitative data were collected in the form of a postal survey, achieving over three hundred responses. Additionally, predominantly qualitative data were collected in semi-structured interviews in 15 homes. The issues investigated included the grant-funded energy efficiency measures installed by the public, the organisations providing grants, the means by which the recipients were referred to the organisations, and the public's preferences regarding energy efficiency advice. Findings were made about the local authority's success in encouraging the take-up of energy efficiency grants, about the public's preferences for the means by which advice should be provided, about trust relating to energy efficiency grants provided by gas and electricity suppliers, and about people's knowledge of the most effective energy efficiency measures. Additional findings were drawn about specific energy efficiency issues, including old heating systems and compact fluorescent light bulbs.