Responding to a Public Health Objection to Vaccinating the Great Apes

Capps and Lederman, in a paper published in this journal in 2015, argued that, at the time, the dismal circumstances of the Ebola outbreak in West Africa was an opportunity to revisit public health responses to emergent infectious diseases. Using a One Health lens, they argued for an ecological perspective—one that looked to respond to zoonoses as an environmental as well as public health concern. Using Ebola virus disease as an example, they suggested shared immunity as a strategy to vaccinate both humans and great apes. Since then, vaccination as a conservation strategy in this case has been debated and at least one great ape vaccination trial has been proposed: some, however, are less convinced of the ethical arguments to pursue vaccinating wild animals. Using this opportunity, we review Capps and Lederman’s arguments and directly respond to the plausible objections to them.     

Improving construction site safety through leader-based verbal safety communication

Background

The construction industry is one of the most injury-prone industries, in which production is usually prioritized over safety in daily on-site communication. Workers have an informal and oral culture of risk, in which safety is rarely openly expressed. This paper tests the effect of increasing leader-based on-site verbal safety communication on the level of safety and safety climate at construction sites. Method: A pre-post intervention-control design with five construction work gangs is carried out. Foremen in two intervention groups are coached and given bi-weekly feedback about their daily verbal safety communications with their workers. Foremen-worker verbal safety exchanges (experience sampling method, n = 1,693 interviews), construction site safety level (correct vs. incorrect, n = 22,077 single observations), and safety climate (seven dimensions, n = 105 questionnaires) are measured over a period of up to 42 weeks. Results: Baseline measurements in the two intervention and three control groups reveal that foremen speak with their workers several times a day. Workers perceive safety as part of their verbal communication with their foremen in only 6-16% of exchanges, and the levels of safety at the sites range from 70-87% (correct observations). Measurements from baseline to follow-up in the two intervention groups reveal that safety communication between foremen and workers increases significantly in one of the groups (factor 7.1 increase), and a significant yet smaller increase is found when the two intervention groups are combined (factor 4.6). Significant increases in the level of safety are seen in both intervention groups (7% and 12% increases, respectively), particularly in regards to 'access ways' and 'railings and coverings' (39% and 84% increases, respectively). Increases in safety climate are seen in only one of the intervention groups with respect to their 'attention to safety.' No significant trend changes are seen in the three control groups on any of the three measures. Conclusions: Coaching construction site foremen to include safety in their daily verbal exchanges with workers has a significantly positive and lasting effect on the level of safety, which is a proximal estimate for work-related accidents. It is recommended that future studies include coaching and feedback at all organizational levels and for all involved parties in the construction process. Building client regulations could assign the task of coaching to the client appointed safety coordinators or a manager/supervisor, and studies should measure longitudinal effects of coaching by following foremen and their work gangs from site to site.     

Mercury exposure through diet in pregnant women and women of childbearing age

The study examined the stage of clean-up of the Port Lavaca bay sites in Texas, which were polluted during the early 1990's by effluent containing mercury (Hg) from a chloralkali plant. In addition to Hg intoxication through environmental contaminations, human exposure through dietary fish and other seafoods occurred. Bacteria converts inorganic Hg to alkyl organic compounds and subsequently the metal crosses the blood brain barrier thus exerting adverse effects on the fetal developing nervous system. In order to conduct a survey of dietary Hg exposure, blood was collected from pregnant women and those of childbearing age at routine clinic visits at each of three centers in South Texas cities (Galveston, Texas City, Port Lavaca/Victoria, TX). A questionnaire sought dietary and lifestyle information including consumption, sources of fish and other seafoods. A significant number of subjects (119 out of 175, 68%) ate fish caught locally. The blood Hg concentrations (µg?L^?1) range varied with the location of the study centers: City of Galveston 2.6–62; Texas City 2.8–111.8; and the Port Lavaca areas 3.02–126.7. The concentrations of blood Hg was directly proportional to the number of fish meals consumed for each species considered. Mean blood Hg concentrations for no fish meals per week were: Port Lavaca 4.5 (N?=?3), Galveston 4.3 (N?=?3), Texas City 3.5 (N?=?10). For >3 fish meals per week, the mean blood Hg concentrations were: Port Lavaca, 48.0 (N?=?53), Galveston 29.1 (N?=?35), Texas City, 36.1 (N?=?31). Data show that residues of Hg were still present in 1994 despite the clean-up efforts.     

The use of supervisory practices as leverage to improve safety behavior: a cross-level intervention model

Introduction: The paper presents three intervention studies designed to modify supervisory monitoring and rewarding of subordinates' safety performance. Method: Line supervisors received weekly feedback concerning the frequency of their safety-oriented interactions with subordinates, and used this to self-monitor progress toward designated improvement goals. Managers higher up in the organizational hierarchy received the same information, coupled with synchronous data concerning the frequency of workers' safety behaviors, and highlighting co-variation of supervisory action and workers' behavior. Results: In all the companies involved, supervisory safety-oriented interaction increased significantly, resulting in significant changes in workers' safety behavior and safety climate scores. Continued improvement during the post-intervention period suggests the inclusion of workers' safety behavior as in-role supervisory responsibility. Applied and theoretical implications are discussed.     

Nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium uptake by wheat and their distribution in soil following successive, annual compost applications

The overall objective of the present study was to determine the loading limits of composts that should be applied annually to irrigated wheat. We conducted a container experiment in a greenhouse during four years. It included eight treatments: sewage sludge compost (SSC) and cattle manure compost (CMC), each applied annually to a sandy soil, at rates equivalent to 3, 6, and 12 kg m(-2), and two controls, one fertilized and one unfertilized. Total dry matter (DM), grain production, and the amount of N, P, and K taken up by plants increased with increasing compost rate. Nitrogen uptake by the plants of the fertilized control was much higher than by the plants of the highest compost rate. Phosphorus and K uptake by the plants amended with the highest compost rate was much higher than by the fertilized control plants. Inorganic N quantity in the soil increased with increasing compost rate and with successive applications. The net N mineralization during the first year of wheat growth was very low, less than 3.5% of the applied organic N under all compost application rates. The contribution of the organic N mineralization increased during the second and third years. Most of the N increase in the compost treatment was found in the upper layer of 0 to 15 cm, whereas in the fertilized treatment N accumulated from the surface to the bottom of the container, 0 to 55 cm. The successive application of high rates of composts resulted in P and K accumulation in the soil profile.     

The effect of workers' visibility on effectiveness of intervention programs: supervisory-based safety interventions

INTRODUCTION: This paper discusses an organizational change intervention program targeting safety behaviors and addresses important considerations concerning the planning of organizational change. Using layout of the plant as a proxy for ease of daily leader-member interaction, the effect of workers' visibility on the effectiveness of supervisory-based safety (SBS) interventions is examined. Through a reinforcement-learning framework, it is suggested that visibility can affect supervisors' incentive to interact with subordinates regarding safety-related issues. METHOD: Data were collected during SBS intervention studies in five manufacturing companies. RESULTS: Results suggest a reinforcement cycle model whereby increased visibility generates more frequent exchanges between supervisors and employees, resulting in improved safety behavior among employees. In turn, employees' safer behavior reinforces continued supervisory safety-related interaction. CONCLUSION AND IMPACT ON INDUSTRY: Visibility is an important moderator in supervisory based safety interventions, and can serve to increase workplace safety. Implications of these findings for safety are discussed.     

The effects of leadership dimensions,safety climate,and assigned priorities on minor injuries in work groups

This study is based on three premises: (a) Leadership style affects the level of concern for subordinate safety; (b) Concern for safety, operationalized with supervisory practices, provides the source for safety climate perceptions; and (c) Safety priority as assigned by higher superiors influences supervisory safety practice independently of leadership style. Assigned safety priority was expected to moderate the relationship between leadership style and injury rate in organizational subunits, with safety climate mediating this leadership–injury relationship due to its demonstrable effect on safety behavior. A within‐group split‐sample analysis of 42 work groups, coupled with prospective design, indicated that transformational and constructive leadership predicted injury rate, while corrective leadership provided indirect, conditional prediction. Leadership effects were moderated by assigned safety priorities and mediated by commensurate safety‐climate variables. The results suggest that transformational and transactional leadership provide complementary modes of (mediated and moderated) influence on safety behavior of group members. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The justice perspective of job stress

The study presents a new variable, role justice, pertaining to the perceived fairness of role senders reaction when the focal individual is under conflict, ambiguity, overload, or restricted latitude. The effect of this variable on symptoms of strain was explored, with the expectation of finding either additive or interactive effects vis-à-vis the above four role stressors. Using hierarchical multiple regression, the data supported the additive model which suggested that role injustice constitutes an additional source of stress. The study was conducted with a sample of hospital nurses, known to have significant levels of job stress. The results suggest that the role stress model ought to be expanded to include social appraisal constructs because of the social origin of the stressor variables it deals with.