The effect of first aid training on Australian construction workers' occupational health and safety motivation and risk control behavior

METHOD: A 24-week experiment was conducted to assess how first aid training affects the motivation of small business construction industry employees in avoiding occupational injuries and illnesses and its effect on their occupational health and safety behavior. A simplified multiple baseline design across workplace settings was used to evaluate the effects of first aid training. Participants' motivation to control occupational safety and health risks was explored during in-depth interviews before and after receipt of first aid training. Objective measurement of occupational safety and health behavior was conducted by a researcher directly observing the workplace before and after participants received first aid training. RESULTS: The observations at participants' worksites suggested that, for the most part, the first aid training had a positive effect on the occupational safety and health behavior of participants. First aid training appeared to reduce participants' "self--other" bias, making them more aware that their own experience of occupational safety and health risks is not beyond their control but that their own behavior is an important factor in the avoidance of occupational injury and illness. First aid training also appeared to reduce participants' willingness to accept prevailing levels of occupational safety and health risk and increase the perceived probability that they would suffer a work-related injury or illness. Participants expressed greater concern about taking risks at work after receiving first aid training. IMPACT ON INDUSTRY: It appears that first aid training enhances participants' motivation to avoid occupational injuries and illnesses and improves their risk control behavior. The implications of this are that first aid training can have a positive preventive effect and could complement traditional occupational health and safety training programs. As such, there may be benefit in providing first aid training to all employees rather than limiting this training to a small number of designated "first aiders."     

The Context for Substitutes in CVM Studies: Some Empirical Observations

The purpose of this paper is to report results from a set of experiments that provide data to test the NOAA [13] Panel recommendation that subjects be reminded of budgetary substitutes when providing values. The results suggest that simply reminding subjects of alternative environmental goods does not affect the distribution of values for a specific good. Such values are affected, however, whenever subjects simultaneously value alternative goods.     

Natural factors and human modifications contributing to marsh loss in Louisiana's Mississippi River Deltaic Plain

Natural factors and human modifications contribute to the estimated annual loss of 10,200 ha of coastal land in the Mississippi River Deltaic Plain Region of south Louisiana. This paper combines information on regional geology and human-induced habitat alterations to evaluate the relative importance of human and natural factors to marsh loss. Data on marsh area and habitat type for 139 7.5-min quadrangles were calculated from maps based on aerial photographs from 1955/56 and 1978, and data on regional geology obtained from published maps were used to construct multivariate model relating initial marsh area, change in urban and agricultural area, change in canal and spoil area, canal area in 1978, depth of sediment overlying the Prairie terrace, and subdelta age to marsh loss. The model indicated that between 25.0% and 39.0% of the marsh loss that occurred during the 23-year period was related to canal and spoil construction, and between 9.5% and 12.7% was related to urban and agricultural development. These are minimal estimates of loss because they do not include many secondary effects (for example, canal orientation, saltwater intrusion, and eutrophication) that can also result in indirect loss. Depth of sediment, initial marsh area, delta lobe age by 1978 canal and spoil area interaction, and indirect effects not included in the model accounted for remaining marsh loss.     

Integrated Assessment of Abatement Strategies to Improve Air Quality in Urban Environments, the USIAM Model

Planning effective strategies to combat air pollution in amajor city such as London requires integration ofinformation on atmospheric concentrations and where theyexceed prescribed air quality standards, detailed data onemissions and potential measures to reduce them includingcosts, and a good understanding of the relativecontributions of different emission sources to pollutantconcentrations plus the remaining background. The UrbanScale Integrated Assessment Model (USIAM) is designed as atool to integrate such information, and to explore andassess a variety of potential strategies for improving airquality. It is based on the same principles as theAbatement Strategies Assessment Model (ASAM) that has beenused in the UN Economic Commission for Europe. To startwith the USIAM model is being developed with respect to theparticulate PM₁₀ only, and in particular the primaryparticulate contribution. The secondary particulate istreated as part of the background superimposed on theprimary particulate concentrations; this may need to betreated more specifically at a later stage, particularlywith respect to nitrate formation over the city. The USIAMmodel therefore sets out to examine a selection of severeepisode conditions as well as long-term annual averageconcentrations, and aims to find strategies that aresuccessful in eliminating exceedance of the prescribedtarget concentrations. By ranking different options forabatement of emissions, for example in terms of cost orease of implementation, the USIAM model can also select andprioritise different potential strategies.     

Integrated Protected Area Selection in Australian Biogeographic Regions

/ This paper reports on the development of abiogeographic-based protected area selection procedure (PASP) that addresseslimitations of current reserve selection methods such as inflexibility,restrictive criteria structures, and disregard of social criteria. We arguethat selection criteria are legitimately identified through the politicalprocess and can therefore have both social and biological content. PASPprovides a systematic, flexible and efficient procedure for identifying anetwork of protected areas that satisfies a given set of selection criteria.PASP has 11 steps divided into three main stages: compilation, selection, andvalidation. A selection algorithm is used into which criteria specific to thebiogeographic region under study can be incorporated. The procedure is ableto accommodate both nominal and ranking criteria and gives the analyst theopportunity to specify thresholds and targets for each criterion. Otherfeatures of PASP include the minimization of data collection effort,consideration of reserve design principles, and inclusion of a networkevaluation as a check to ensure that politically determined objectives havebeen met.KEY WORDS: Land use; Protected area networks; Selection algorithms     

Earthquake damage in Tricarico,Southern Italy

In this study, the damage caused to one small hilltop town by the southern Italian earthquake of November 1980 is considered in detail. Tricarico, although peripheral to the epicenter zone, was gravely damaged. The distribution of damaged properties within the historic center of the town is described and analyzed. The geological and socioeconomic factors contributing to the pattern of damage are discussed and the problems associated with reconstruction are considered.     

THE CHANGING DECISION RULES IN THE POLITICS OF WATER DEVELOPMENT1

A set of decision rules have governed the traditional politics of water development. This paper identifies these rules, describes their operation, and explains the logic behind their adoption. Personal interviews with a large number of decision makers are cited to substantiate and illustrate particular rules. There are five decision rules: local support, agreement, mutual accommodation, mutual noninterference, and fairness and equity. These guidelines are intended to insure support, lessen conflict, and protect the reputation of water development as a worthwhile federal investment. Since there are current indications that the traditional decision rules are no longer followed, the paper aims to identify why and how the rules are changing.     

Shunning the night to elude the hunter: diurnal fireflies and the “femmes fatales”

Summary. Lucidota atra, a diurnal firefly, shares possession of defensive steroids (lucibufagins or LBGs) with nocturnal fireflies of the genus Photinus. Photinus are protected against predators by their LBGs, but not against fireflies of the genus Photuris, the so-called firefly femmes fatales, which prey upon Photinus, thereby acquiring LBGs for their own defense. We propose that L. atra may have been prompted evolutionarily to become diurnal by the opportunity to avoid, thereby, being hunted by Photuris. Indeed, L. atra, if offered to Photuris, were eagerly devoured by the latter, which sequestered their LBG’s. In feeding on L. atra, Photuris may be driven by a gustatory affinity for LBGs. Persistent nocturnality might therefore have put L. atra at risk vis à vis Photuris. Diurnality freed the firefly from that risk, without compromising its defended status with respect to other predators. Possession of LBGs may in fact account for L. atra’s unacceptability to birds and spiders.