Does safety climate moderate the influence of staffing adequacy and work conditions on nurse injuries?

PROBLEM: Hospital nurses have one of the highest work-related injury rates in the United States. Yet, approaches to improving employee safety have generally focused on attempts to modify individual behavior through enforced compliance with safety rules and mandatory participation in safety training. We examined a theoretical model that investigated the impact on nurse injuries (back injuries and needlesticks) of critical structural variables (staffing adequacy, work engagement, and work conditions) and further tested whether safety climate moderated these effects. METHOD: A longitudinal, non-experimental, organizational study, conducted in 281 medical-surgical units in 143 general acute care hospitals in the United States. RESULTS: Work engagement and work conditions were positively related to safety climate, but not directly to nurse back injuries or needlesticks. Safety climate moderated the relationship between work engagement and needlesticks, while safety climate moderated the effect of work conditions on both needlesticks and back injuries, although in unexpected ways. DISCUSSION AND IMPACT ON INDUSTRY: Our findings suggest that positive work engagement and work conditions contribute to enhanced safety climate and can reduce nurse injuries.     

The predictive validity of safety climate

PROBLEM: Safety professionals have increasingly turned their attention to social science for insight into the causation of industrial accidents. One social construct, safety climate, has been examined by several researchers [Cooper, M. D., & Phillips, R. A. (2004). Exploratory analysis of the safety climate and safety behavior relationship. Journal of Safety Research, 35(5), 497-512; Gillen, M., Baltz, D., Gassel, M., Kirsch, L., & Vacarro, D. (2002). Perceived safety climate, job Demands, and coworker support among union and nonunion injured construction workers. Journal of Safety Research, 33(1), 33-51; Neal, A., & Griffin, M. A. (2002). Safety climate and safety behaviour. Australian Journal of Management, 27, 66-76; Zohar, D. (2000). A group-level model of safety climate: Testing the effect of group climate on microaccidents in manufacturing jobs. Journal of Applied Psychology, 85(4), 587-596; Zohar, D., & Luria, G. (2005). A multilevel model of safety climate: Cross-level relationships between organization and group-level climates. Journal of Applied Psychology, 90(4), 616-628] who have documented its importance as a factor explaining the variation of safety-related outcomes (e.g., behavior, accidents). Researchers have developed instruments for measuring safety climate and have established some degree of psychometric reliability and validity. The problem, however, is that predictive validity has not been firmly established, which reduces the credibility of safety climate as a meaningful social construct. The research described in this article addresses this problem and provides additional support for safety climate as a viable construct and as a predictive indicator of safety-related outcomes. METHODS: This study used 292 employees at three locations of a heavy manufacturing organization to complete the 16 item Zohar Safety Climate Questionnaire (ZSCQ) [Zohar, D., & Luria, G. (2005). A multilevel model of safety climate: Cross-level relationships between organization and group-level climates. Journal of Applied Psychology, 90(4), 616-628]. In addition, safety behavior and accident experience data were collected for 5 months following the survey and were statistically analyzed (structural equation modeling, confirmatory factor analysis, exploratory factor analysis, etc.) to identify correlations, associations, internal consistency, and factorial structures. RESULTS: Results revealed that the ZSCQ: (a) was psychometrically reliable and valid, (b) served as an effective predictor of safety-related outcomes (behavior and accident experience), and (c) could be trimmed to an 11 item survey with little loss of explanatory power. IMPACT ON INDUSTRY: Practitioners and researchers can use the ZSCQ with reasonable certainty of the questionnaire's reliability and validity. This provides a solid foundation for the development of meaningful organizational interventions and/or continued research into social factors affecting industrial accident experience.     

1957-2007年新疆天山山区气候变化对径流的影响

利用天山山区1957-2007年的气温、降水量及径流数据,借助非参数检验、小波变换等方法分析了天山山区气温、降水量及年径流量的变化趋势及多时间尺度相关。结果表明:玛纳斯河与塔里木河源流区年径流量、气温与降水量均呈显著增加趋势;在年代际上,塔里木河源流区气温存在11、18和22 a的主周期,降水量存在10、20与22 a的主周期;玛纳斯河气温在10与22 a处存在明显周期,降水量在20与22 a处周期性明显;同时,两源流区气温和降水量皆存在3~6 a的年际周期变化;塔里木河年径流量、气温和降水量的突变点分别发生在1993、1993和1992年,而玛纳斯河分别在1995、1988与1996年发生显著性突变;两流域源流区年径流量与气候因子存在显著的多时间尺度相关关系。     

耐冷菌在低温下处理污水的研究进展

低温污水的生物处理一直是水处理领域的难点和热点,由于耐冷菌对温度的适应范围较宽,且在低温下仍然保持较高的代谢活性,因此在污水处理和污染环境生物修复领域中的应用逐渐受到重视。本文介绍了耐冷菌在环境中的分布、主要种类以及适冷机理,概述了耐冷菌在工业废水和生活污水处理中的主要研究进展。指出应进一步开发环境中耐冷菌菌种资源,揭示耐冷菌的冷适应特性和功能表达之间的关系,加强耐冷菌在水体修复与净化领域的理论和应用研究,从而为我国北方尤其是东北地区的水环境保护提供行之有效的新途径。     

基于“公地悲剧”和“反公地悲剧”解析气候变暖和低碳技术壁垒

化石燃料的大量使用所排放的温室气体使得全球气候日益变暖,低碳经济的提出成为了目前全球应对气候变暖的主要策略,而发展中国家在进行低碳技术引进时常常面临来自发达国家的知识产权贸易壁垒。本文从"公地悲剧"角度解析气候变暖的经济学根源,从"反公地悲剧"角度揭示低碳技术转让过程中发达国家以知识产权为借口制造技术壁垒的经济学缘由。     

1961-2012 年西藏极端降水事件的变化

利用18 个气象站点1961-2012 年逐日降水量资料,计算了10 个极端降水指数,采用滑动平均、线性回归、Mann-Kendall 非参数检验和Morlet 小波分析等方法,分析了西藏极端降水事件的变化规律。结果表明：西藏近52 a 连续干旱日数（CDD）呈显著减少趋势,最大5 d 降水量也趋于减少但不显著,大雨日数和强降水量的线性趋势不明显,其他6 个极端降水指数都表现为增加趋势且不显著。与全球、青藏高原及其周边地区比较,西藏CDD和连续湿日的变幅明显偏大,最大1 日降水量、强降水量和极强降水量的变幅明显偏小。除CDD外,极端降水指数的变化趋势与海拔高度呈显著的二次曲线关系,仅有中雨日数的变化趋势与经度呈显著的正相关。在近52 a 的时间尺度上各项极端降水指数都存在3～4 a 显著周期,多数指数也存在12a、15 a 和16 a 的周期。在时间转折上,CDD的突变点时间较早,从1974 年开始;中雨日数、连续湿日和年总降水量的突变点发生在20 世纪80 年代末。从空间分布来看,那曲地区西部是极端降水指数变化最为显著的区域,雅鲁藏布江中游大部的多数极端降水指标趋于下降,而山南地区南部、林芝地区东南部的降水极值和降水强度都在增加。     

Dissipation of four forest-use herbicides at high latitudes

Background, aim, and scope  Large-scale deforestation is occurring in subarctic North America following clearing by salvage logging or insect attack. Numerous shrubs, herbs, and deciduous tree species tend to dominate areas on which stands of white spruce have grown. In the absence of economically advantageous mechanical methods, several herbicides have value in efforts to reforest by planting white spruce. Glyphosate, imazapyr, triclopyr, and hexazinone are all capable of selectively removing many competing species, but there is concern about whether they would degrade naturally or persist owing to the frigid climate. Materials and methods  We established test plots with all four herbicides in upland and river bottom sites at 65°N and 58°N latitudes. The northern site has extremely cold winters, with soils that freeze to a depth of 1–2 m, and precipitation of 275 mm/year. The southern site has heavy rain and snowfall, amounting to 2,250 mm/year evenly distributed. Soil seldom freezes deeply. On each test plot, one of the four herbicides was applied at twice the normal operational use rate to facilitate detection. They were applied at the normal timing, with hexazinone, imazapyr, and triclopyr applied in June and glyphosate applied in fall. Soils were sampled immediately after treatment and those samples used as references for dissipation data gathered over the next 11–14 months from soil 0- to 15- and 15- to 45-cm depths. Results  Dissipation rates did not follow first-order rates because freezing conditions slowed most microbial activity. All products dissipated to close to or below detection limits within the time of the study. Dissipation from vegetation was substantially more rapid and depended on the nature of the plants treated as well as the product used. While soil residues dissipated more slowly than in temperate regions, they did display consistent dissipation patterns during above-freezing conditions and also the influence of microbial activity. Mobility was very limited with all products but hexazinone. Discussion  These products dissipate during summer in high latitudes much as they would in temperate climates. Winter changes are small, but are not unlike some changes reported elsewhere under freezing conditions. Unlike many other studies, soil water did not influence dissipation heavily, but the high latitude and semi-arid climate also did not create severely droughty soils. Residues in plants were much higher than those in soils, but denatured the vegetation quickly, leading to unsuitability for forage in any case. Conclusions  Low toxicity of these products and their metabolites combined with consistent dissipation and low mobility suggest that toxic hazard of their use at high latitudes need not be a matter of serious concern to humans, terrestrial wildlife, or aquatic systems. They are safe for use in management and rehabilitation of boreal forests when used properly. Recommendations and perspectives  Dissipation at rates approaching those in warmer climates offer a hypothesis that microflora native to high latitudes may be adapted to destruction of such molecules at lower temperatures than may be indicated by experiments with microflora adapted to warmer climates. Residues pose no observable risk to wildlife or humans in the area of use when products are applied properly. Electronic supplementary material  The online version of this article (doi:) contains supplementary material, which is available for authorized users.     

柚园间种作物及施用不同有机肥对土壤与柚果的影响

柚树间种短期经济作物在提高柚园经济效益的同时,还可提高土壤的有机质和N、P、K养分质量分数,改善柚园小区气候,增加有机肥来源。间种物残余体作为绿肥,可显著地提高柚果产量和质量。     

生态恢复过程中的种群遗传学考虑

生态恢复是生态科学的最终实验,从种群角度看,恢复的目标是使种群（尤其是优势种或建群种）到具有生长、繁殖和适应进化变化的能力。要达到这个目标,种群遗传学知识必不可少。遗传变异是物种适应变化环境的基础,而局部适应则是种群适应局部环境遗传分化的结果,它们在生态恢复中起着重要的作用。分析了生态恢复过程中影响种群遗传变异因素,主要有取样误差和小种群效应（主要是瓶颈或建立者事件及其以后的近交和漂变等）,在进行     

影响上海地区热带气旋频数的预测水平评估

在文献「１」研究的基础上,探讨了热带气旋频数预测水平的评估方法,定义了三个更适合于评估每年热带气旋预测性能的参数,对影响上海地区热带气旋频数的预测水平进行了评估,并与“九五”攻关前的业务预测性进行了比较。