Psychological Approaches to OSH Research—An Evaluation of 20 Years of Psychological Research on Industrial Safety and Health in Germany

During the past 20 years of research in occupational safety and health (OSH), major contributions have been made by psychology in general, foremost German work and organizational psychology. This is the result of an empirical study with 216 scientific projects that were analyzed by content, and 32 interviews on OSH with experts on science, as well as in professional occupations and federations. Its sound methodological and theoretical approach has helped work and organizational psychology to embody itself as a driving force of OSH. The research focuses on the development of tools for job analysis, striving for the valid diagnosis of occupational hazards and mental load. Consequently, work and organizational psychology provides a solid foundation for deriving human and personality ameliorating organizational measures. Among the predominant means of intervention are training in coping with stress, behavioral training and modeling, health circles, and the arrangement of environments sensitive to occupational load. Major deficits in the field of research show up within evaluation and transfer as well as within quality control of the developed diagnostic and devices regarding intervention. Future scientific effort by means of application-orientated methods is vital to detect and overcome effectively a mounting mental load in the occupational world.     

Hearing Protectors: Topicality and Research Needs

Occupational noise specialists do not generally recommend hearing protection devices (HPDs) as a preferred solution to noise risk prevention. Nevertheless, these devices are widely used and are in fact often necessary. Selection of an HPD should take into account comfort and the capacity for perceiving external signals, when they are worn. Current European regulations require that HPD attenuation be considered, when comparing noise exposure to limit values. However, HPD attenuation is effectively unknown under real-world conditions. Some methods are designed to give approximate attenuation values and these provide results within a wide statistical range. Field measurement methods and current standards have been developed to deal with this situation. The specific characteristic of impulse noise requires establishment of dedicated criteria and tools for HPD selection and testing. This paper introduces a number of avenues for research, which could be of assistance in improving HPD selection, qualification and design.     

垫江县次级河流环境现状分析

垫江县次级河流部分水质指标不容乐观,以种植污染、养殖污染和生活污染为代表的农村面源污染日渐成为垫江河流污染的主要因素。改变垫江河流水质现状,必须尽量减少化肥农药施用,改变传统养殖模式,完善农村垃圾收运系统,加快建设农村废水治理设施。     

贵阳市生活垃圾处理现状与对策研究

贵阳市生活垃圾处理存在公众环保意识不强、垃圾处理方式单一、设施落后和资金不足等问题,可从加强宣传与垃圾处理技术研究、推进管理体制建设和制定法律法规等方面改善贵阳市生活垃圾处理现状,以全面落实各项政策,推进城市生活垃圾处理工作,促进城市可持续发展。     

Who are our informal recyclers? An inquiry to uncover crisis and potential in Victoria,Canada

What is considered garbage embodies a recoverable economic value, and environmental cost if not recycled. Throughout the world, the often marginalised and impoverished population earns a living through informal recycling. This is also true for Victoria, British Columbia, one of the most affluent cities in Canada. This paper discusses results of a participatory socio-economic survey involving informal recyclers in Victoria, BC to determine their livelihood determinants. The findings reveal that “binning” is an important survival strategy to generate income. A new waste-management model that considers the social and environmental context is needed. Inclusive public policies can respond to the livelihood concerns outlined in this paper by facilitating access to recyclable materials, devising occupational safety improvements and educating about alternative strategies for resource recovery. This model can contribute to the overall sustainability of the community by reducing the waste of resources and people, empowering marginalised populations and reducing the environmental impacts of natural resource use and waste disposal.     

How to make climate change research relevant for Indigenous communities in Torres Strait,Australia

Several Torres Strait communities have significant infrastructure and sacred sites located only a few metres above sea level. As a consequence, these areas are vulnerable to erosion due to the projected increase in storm surge intensity caused by climate change. Common sense suggests that Islanders would welcome new scientific research about how climate change might affect them, in order to understand the significance of these impacts and the timeframes involved. However, one leader has taken a seemingly counterintuitive stance, and has refused to let new climate research occur. We explore why this position was taken, and the implications of this decision for ongoing scientific research. In order to carry out this analysis, we provide a contextual background by assessing Islanders' recent experience with scientific researchers, and the response of policy-makers to it. We find that despite a clearly documented problem with “top-down” decision-making, this process remains. In this instance, we find that there is a systemic lack of collaboration with Islanders to allow them to prioritise their concerns, and a lack of adequate resources to allow them to build their resilience to climate impacts. We conclude that only through a genuine collaborative approach to climate adaptation can activities be properly developed, prioritised and undertaken.     

Sustainability: through cross-cultural community garden activities

ABSTRACT

Indigenous people, international students, immigrants, and refugee families are particularly vulnerable populations that experience a lack of sustainability for various reasons, including lack of belonging and networks, low income, mental stress, and discrimination. Following a relational participatory action research (PAR) process, this study explores the concept of sustainability among First Nations, visible minorities, and non-visible minorities through cross-cultural activities, such as dance and music, children’s art activities, anti-racist workshops, traditional story-sharing, land-based learning, and cross-cultural food sharing in a community garden setting. This paper argues that cross-cultural activities among First Nations, visible and non-visible minorities in a community garden can create positive change in an urban environment by empowering communities through cross-cultural bridging. Throughout the last six years of my participation in various cross-cultural activities, I have learned that empowerment through cross-cultural activities adheres to particular forms of agency: interspecies communication, community building, and learning about decolonisation and reconciliation. This study provides valuable insights for educators whose goals include incorporating land-based learning as well as creating a sense of belonging among cross-cultural communities, ultimately leading to community sustainability.     

Up-to-date Investigation Report on Rural Migrant Workers in China

One year has passed since the Advice on Solving the Problems of Rural Migrant Workers by the State Council was put into practice. The status for rural migrant workers has been improved effectively. Especially, their wages have been increased notably, the problem of default on wage payments has been alleviated, and the services offered to them by governments have been improved. However, some essential problems, such as low income and bad living conditions, have not been changed ultimately. Their strong wishes to become legal urban residents are still far from being realized. Therefore, we should carry out the current policies, make further institutional innovations, increase relevant investments, gradually eliminate institutional barricades, and fund shortage problems that prevent rural migrant workers from becoming legal urban residents, and solve the problems of rural migrant workers thoroughly.     

湖北省水患防治对策研究

湖北省的洪涝灾害受全球尺度和流域尺度的多种因素的影响。全球尺度因素是指全球性的气候异常，流域尺度因素是指不利的自然条件和人类对自然环境与自然资源的不合理开发利用等方面。现阶段所采用的治水对策，即生态措施和工程措施，存在明显的局限性，不能彻底根治水患。通过系统分析湖北省水患原因和治水对策，提出以洪涝灾害承灾区的受因人口和受因财产的总数定量地表示洪涝灾害灾情的指标，该指标与灾情的对应关系明确且简明易得，为治水对策提供了更合理的依据。在此基础上，论述了“提高洪涝灾害承灾区的城市化水平、鼓励抗洪新技术和新机制的开发利用以及加强溃堤后的应对策略研究”等治水对策的必要性、合理性和可行性。     

高原湿地剑湖湖滨带功能作用的定量研究

采用野外采样与室内分析的方法，从水质和底泥两个方面定量研究剑湖湖滨带的功能作用。结果表明，湖滨带在水质净化和拦截泥沙等方面效果显著，特别是对水中总氮与总磷的平均去除率分别高达66．28％和45．73％，其拦截作用表现为：迎水面的泥层厚度是背水面的1．5倍；底泥的各项指标（除pH值），湖滨带背水面均比迎水面高，速效磷和全氮的增加量最为明显，其含量分别是迎水面的3．30和2．61倍，这主要与湖滨植物带大量吸收入湖矿质营养用于自身生长，其残体在背水面沉积有关，从另一角度体现了湖滨带的吸附、净化功能。因此，要重视并保护湖滨带，从而使其功能得到有效发挥。