Children and the Sphere standard on mental and social aspects of health

Most of the world's children live in resource-poor countries where people are at a relatively high risk of exposure to catastrophic situations arising from conflict and natural disasters.(6) Given the potential social, psychological and psychiatric consequences of exposure to disaster, mental health and psychosocial support programmes are increasingly part of humanitarian aid. A minimum standard on mental and social aspects of health is included in the recently revised Humanitarian Charter and Minimum Standards in Disaster Response (Sphere Handbook) (Sphere Project, 2004). Most recommendations for mental health and psychosocial interventions in guidance documents are based on expert opinion rather than research. Consequently, interventions are being implemented without full understanding of their potential benefit or harm. This paper offers a child-focused review of the evidence for each of the interventions described as indicators for the Sphere standard on mental and social aspects of health. It suggests some, but limited, support for each of them. However, the evidence base needs substantial strengthening.     

Preferred surface microscopic geometric features on floors as potential interventions for slip and fall accidents on liquid contaminated surfaces

PROBLEM: Surface roughness affects friction, so selection of floor surfaces with certain roughness characteristics could potentially reduce slip and fall accidents. This article summarizes the preferred surface microscopic geometric features that could increase friction on surfaces covered with liquid contaminants. METHOD: Three types of surface features, represented by the average of the maximum height above the mean line in each cut-off length (R(pm)), the arithmetical average of surface slope (Delta(a)), and the kernel roughness depth (R(k)), are identified as preferred surface microscopic geometric features for a higher friction. The proper settings on the profilometers (instruments used to measure surface roughness) for optimizing these surface parameters are specified. The friction mechanisms involved reveal why these features are more desirable. RESULTS: Although surface roughness is important in determining slipperiness, there is still insufficient information to establish a safety criterion based on roughness; however, the method presented in this paper can readily provide a relative comparison. IMPACT ON INDUSTRY: The summary presented will help safety professionals properly select new floor surfaces or assess existing floors to reduce slip and fall accidents.     

Uncovering local perspectives on humanitarian assistance and its outcomes

This paper draws on a study of Angolan refugees in Zambia to suggest ways that the perspectives and interests of the local population can be included in the assessment of relief interventions. Taking an actor-oriented approach, the paper suggests stepping back from the categorisation of the situation as an emergency and particular groups of people as the beneficiaries. Such categories are imposed from outside and may not reflect local people's outlook on the situation. In the case of Angolans in Zambia, the category of refugees had dissolved in the border villages to the extent that it was practically impossible to distinguish between refugees and hosts. This was in contrast to the official settlements where people were marked out as refugees and the label was maintained and reproduced over many years. Investigating outcomes in the border villagers in terms of refugees and the refugee problem would have been futile. The paper calls for evaluations of humanitarian assistance in complex emergencies to look beyond the 'beneficiaries' and to investigate the wider context of 'normality'. Neglecting the life and world of local people will make it impossible to understand the process by which external interventions are mediated at the local level to give particular outcomes, and valuable lessons which could help alleviate suffering will be lost.     

Towards Rio + 10 – Trend of Environmentalism and Implications for Sustainable Livelihoods in the 21st Century, The Context of Southern African Region

Since the Rio conference, many countries and organisations, including the environmental movement, bilateral and multilateral institutions have endeavoured to carry out activities related to the implementation of Agenda 21. These have mostly been done with or without other outcomes of the conference. Several environmental management and sustainable development agenda have been pursued to halt the continually degrading environment. Other programmes have concentrated on outburst of economic development at the expense of the environment and the worsening poverty especially in the South. This paper therefore seeks to examine a paradigmatic shift in environmentalism, emphasising the link between agenda 21 and sustainable livelihoods. It seems though the history of the environmental movement has been forgotten after the Rio conference by the whole world. This might probably be due to complacency with the results of the UNCED conference. However, it is now obvious that clear objectives to implement the results of UNCED are almost lacking with little or no proper supervision, and further threatening the existence of mankind. The environmental movement and associated milestones have had significant impacts on the current status of the global commons. Regionally in most of southern Africa, livelihood issues are in the forefront of efforts to sustain environmental resources, and minimising proximate causes of global environmental change.     

Making a significant difference with burnout interventions: Researcher and practitioner collaboration

Burnout research over the past 30 years has yielded both knowledge and tools to apply to interventions at unit and organizational levels. Examples of innovative partnerships between researchers and practitioners point to the importance of multi‐level approaches in generating relevant and effective solutions to the burnout problem. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

How can process safety and a risk management approach guide pandemic risk management?

The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) brought the world to a halt in March 2020. Various prediction and risk management approaches are being explored worldwide for decision making. This work adopts an advanced mechanistic model and utilizes tools for process safety to propose a framework for risk management for the current pandemic. A parameter tweaking and an artificial neural network-based parameter learning model have been developed for effective forecasting of the dynamic risk. Monte Carlo simulation was used to capture the randomness of the model parameters. A comparative analysis of the proposed methodologies has been carried out by using the susceptible, exposed, infected, quarantined, recovered, deceased (SEIQRD) model. A SEIQRD model was developed for four distinct locations: Italy, Germany, Ontario, and British Columbia. The learning-based approach resulted in better outcomes among the models tested in the present study. The layer of protection analysis is a useful framework to analyze the effect of different safety measures. This framework is used in this work to study the effect of non-pharmaceutical interventions on pandemic risk. The risk profiles suggest that a stage-wise releasing scenario is the most suitable approach with negligible resurgence. The case study provides valuable insights to practitioners in both the health sector and the process industries to implement advanced strategies for risk assessment and management. Both sectors can benefit from each other by using the mathematical models and the management tools used in each, and, more importantly, the lessons learned from crises.     

A methodology for assessment of long-term exposure to whole-body vibrations in vehicle drivers to propose preventive safety measures

Introduction: The appearance of musculoskeletal disorders (MDs) in professional drivers due to exposition to whole-body vibration (WBV) makes it relevant to assess this exposure. The European Directive 2002/44/EC has two methods to evaluate exposure to WBV (defined in ISO2631-1:2008). These methods evaluate the exposure associated with an 8-hour working day; however, MDs due to WBV could also be caused by accumulated exposure to vibrations over long term, and hence, the methods defined in the European directive may be limited in their ability to ensure the safety of workers exposed to WBV throughout their years of employment. Method: A detailed comparison and discussion of methods defined in the European Directive and the ISO2631-5:2018 was used as a starting point of the main results of this paper. On this basis, a new methodology for the management and organization of preventive measures is proposed to consider the assessment of ISO2631-5:2018 standard and the full working life of workers. Experimental data to assess exposure to WBV in heavy equipment vehicle (HEV) drivers under different road surface conditions and range of velocities were considered to illustrate the process of the proposed methodology. Results: The methods defined in the standards provide different assessments leading to a different possible consideration of safe operations when the risks associated with them may actually be high. The proposed methodology can be used with the aim of ensuring safety of workers throughout their working lives and providing an easy implementation of the calculations of ISO2631-5:2018 standard. Conclusions: A procedure to assess the health risk probability to which the HEV worker is exposed in terms of the exposure years and a different range of operational vehicle speeds is proposed and exemplified with a study case. Practical applications: This study provides a practical tool for the management of WBV exposure related to work-tasks in HEV drivers. Safety managers should consider the global exposition to WBV throughout their working life, and this research provides an easy tool to accomplish it.     

Using hydrochemical signatures to characterize the long-period evolution of groundwater information in the Dagu River Basin,China

• The long-period groundwater evolution was identified by hydrochemical signatures. • The dominant processes in the groundwater evolution were verified. • Groundwater quality in the coastal areas was susceptible to deterioration due to SI. • Groundwater contamination arose from fertilizer, livestock manure & domestic sewage. The evolution of hydrochemical compositions influenced by long-period interactions between groundwater and the geo-environment is a fundamental issue for exploring groundwater quality and vulnerability. This study systematically investigated the hydrochemical processes and anthropogenic interference occurring in the river basin by bivariate plots, Gibbs diagrams, saturation index, and the major ions ratios. Apparent changes in groundwater hydrochemistry have been observed in the study area, illustrating the origins of major ions are affected by various internal and external factors. Results highlighted that TDS varied from freshwater to brackish water, ranging between 187.90 and 2294.81 mg/L. Ca²⁺ and HCO₃⁻ are the dominant ions in the studied samples. The results gained by Gibbs diagrams, bivariate plots, saturation index, and the major ions ratios demonstrated that minerals dissolution/precipitation, cation exchange, and human inputs play crucial roles in the unconfined aquifers. Moreover, the overuse of nitrogen fertilizer, livestock manure, and industrial/domestic sewage led to nitrate and nitrite contamination and brought significant challenges to the surrounding hydrogeo-environment. The present study could make an unambiguous identification of natural processes and anthropogenic interventions influencing groundwater hydrochemistry’s long-period evolution and create a preliminary strategy for groundwater resources management.     

Development of an indirect-cost calculation model suitable for workplace use

Introduction: Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) stakeholders rarely factor the cost of workplace accidents into prevention spending decisions. The lack of consideration of this key information is related to the fact that the scientific literature has failed to provide OHS stakeholders with a cost-calculation tool that is both sufficiently accurate and does not require a data-collection stage ill-suited to the time constraints of workplace decision-makers. Method: This study reviews the recent literature to identify key elements that should foster the use of indirect-cost calculation methods by decision makers. Results: A “local” approach currently appears to be the best method for calculating indirect costs of workplace incidents or accidents in comparison to “bottom-up” or “top-down” approach. This paper discusses four criteria that this type of approach must satisfy to be compatible with the time constraints and accuracy demands of OHS stakeholders in organizations. In addition, four bases for the development of a new indirect cost estimation model are presented and discussed. Impact on industry: this study provides bases and criteria to help the development of indirect-cost calculation models better suited to workplace use than those currently available.     

Water Resource Potential in Northern India: Constraints and Analyses of Price and Non-Price Solutions

The paper examines the linkages between water depletion, continuous population growth and economic development viewed primarily as agricultural development. This is done within a framework of a dynamic simulation model of ecological-economic type over extended periods of time. It is found that intensive agriculture, driven by an increase in the cropping intensity as a result of increase in area under paddy crop, has led to an increased gap between the demand for and supply of water resources, in particular subsurface resources. The consequent fall in water table may lead to constraints in the use of water. This has strong inequity implications in the resource use as well as threats to future of agricultural development in the region. It is revealed that a mix of interventions based on price solutions, non-price solutions and institutional set up are decisive in bringing a sustainable development and use of resource. The paper concludes with emphasising the role of state/government in achieving the desired goal.