Causes of accidents on construction sites: the case of a large construction contractor in Great Britain

In the construction industry in Great Britain, it is estimated that workplace accidents and work-related ill-health cost society £3 billion – this is equivalent to 4% of the construction industry revenue of about £75 billion. Thus, the need to study, understand and effectively manage health and safety (H&S) on construction sites cannot be overemphasised. This paper presents an analysis of accident data recorded by a large construction contractor in Great Britain. The data cover a period of 36 months from April 2004 to March 2007. Pareto analysis was used to determine the relative importance of the causes of accidents on the basis of number of workdays lost. Differences between the four sectors (highways, infrastructure, rail and utilities) in which the company operates were investigated. The case study suggests that the main causes of accidents on construction sites relate to individual attitudes towards H&S. Ability and willingness to implement safe approaches to working and an awareness of their own and others’ H&S can contribute to safe performances. It is suggested that the company could increase awareness of H&S issues among the workforce. This should be done on a regular basis through effective training, briefing and debriefing

'Otherwise it would be nothing but cruises': Exploring the subjective benefits of working beyond 65

The age at which statutory and private pensions are being paid is increasing in many countries so more people will need to work into their late 60s and beyond. Currently, relatively little is known about the meanings of work for people who actively choose to work into their later life. This qualitative study examined the subjective benefits of continuing in a paid job or self-employment beyond the age of 65 in the UK. Thirty one participants were interviewed, aged 65-91 years (median age 71), with 11 females and 20 males. Fourteen were working full-time; seventeen part-time. Interview transcripts were subject to thematic analysis. Although financial reward was acknowledged (more so by the female participants and the males who had young second families), there was more elaboration of the role of work in maintaining health, and enabling continuing personal development. Work was framed as increasing personal control over later life, lifestyle choices and active participation in wider society, an antithesis to ‘cruising’.The Institution of Occupational Safety and Health (UK)

Splanchnic metabolism of nutrients and hormones in steers fed alfalfa under conditions of increased absorption of ammonia and L-arginine supply across the portal-drained viscera

Effects of increased ammonia and/or arginine absorption on net splanchnic (portal-drained viscera [PDV] plus liver) metabolism of nonnitrogenous nutrients and hormones in cattle were examined. Six Hereford × Angus steers (501 ± 1 kg BW) prepared with vascular catheters for measurements of net flux across the splanchnic bed were fed a 75% alfalfa:25% (as-fed basis) corn and soybean meal diet (0.523 MJ of ME/[kg BW0.75.d]) every 2 h without (27.0 g of N/kg of DM) and with 20 g of urea/kg of DM (35.7 g of N/kg of DM) in a split-plot design. Net flux measurements were made immediately before and after a 72-h mesenteric vein infusion of L-arginine (15 mmol/h). There were no treatment effects onPDVor hepaticO2 consumption. Dietary urea had no effect on splanchnic metabolism of glucose or L-lactate, but arginine infusion decreased net hepatic removal of L-lactate when urea was fed (P < 0.01). Net PDV appearance of n-butyrate was increased by arginine infusion (P < 0.07), and both dietary urea (P < 0.09) and arginine infusion (P < 0.05) increased net hepatic removal of n-butyrate. Dietary urea also increased total splanchnic acetate output (P < 0.06), tended to increase arterial glucagon concentration (P < 0.11), and decreased arterial ST concentration (P < 0.03). Arginine infusion increased arterial concentration (P < 0.07) and net PDV release (P < 0.10) and tended to increase hepatic removal (P < 0.11) of insulin, as well as arterial concentration (P < 0.01) and total splanchnic output (P < 0.01) of glucagon. Despite changes in splanchnic N metabolism, increased ammonia and arginine absorption had little measurable effect on splanchnic metabolism of glucose and other nonnitrogenous components of splanchnic energy metabolism

One way forward: non-traditional accounting disclosures in the 21st century

Recent empirical studies (Deegan and Rankin, 1999; Deegan et al., 2000) have indicated that although many corporations have begun to respond to perceived demand for environmental disclosures in published accounts, their perspective of organisational legitimacy is a narrow view, in which information is targeted towards specific stakeholders and not to the general public. This paper considers a range of models (variously called guidelines, standards and charters) which have been put forward by different organisations to aid the development of social and environmental disclosures. In all cases verification and attestation are part of the proposed regimen. The question which the papers attempts to answer is whether any one of the models would be capable of rapid adoption as part of an expanded GAAP, should the professional accounting bodies think that this is desirable. The outcome of our deliberations is cautious support for the use of EMAS and ISO 14000 as the basis for a modified GAAP plus the further development of the GRI 2000 guidelines into a set of standards covering both social and environmental reporting

Angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy of band tails in lightly doped cuprates

We amend ab initio strongly-correlated band structures by taking into account the band-tailing phenomenon in doped charge-transfer Mott-Hubbard insulators. We show that the photoemission from band tails accounts for sharp "quasi-particle" peaks, rapid loss of their intensities in some directions of the Brillouin zone ("Fermi-arcs") and high-energy "waterfall" anomalies as a consequence of matrix-element effects of disorder-localised states in the charge-transfer gap of doped cuprates.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure

Extended early childhood intervention and school achievement: Age 13 findings from the Chicago longitudinal study

We evaluated the effects of participation in an extended program of compensatory education for a large sample of inner-city black children up to the seventh grade. The intervention is the Chicago Child-Parent Center and Expansion Program. Groups included 426 children who participated in the program from preschool to grades 2 or 3 and 133 school-stable children whose participation ceased in kindergarten. After taking into account initial differences in both the level and the growth rate of achievement, frequency of school mobility after the program, and sample selection bias, program participation for two or three years after preschool and kindergarten is positively associated with reading and math achievement in grade 7 and negatively associated with cumulative grade retention four years after the end of the program. Study findings provide rare longitudinal evidence from an established program concerning the effects of extending compensatory education into the primary grades.

Hydrogen-fueled engine

A hydrogen-oxygen fueled internal combustion engine is described, which utilizes an inert gas, such as argon, as a working fluid to increase the efficiency of the engine, eliminate pollution, and facilitate operation of a closed cycle energy system. In a system where sunlight or other intermittent energy source is available to separate hydrogen and oxygen from water, the oxygen and inert gas are taken into a diesel engine into which hydrogen is injected and ignited. The exhaust is cooled so that it contains only water and the inert gas. The inert gas in the exhaust is returned to the engine for use with fresh oxygen, while the water in the exhaust is returned to the intermittent energy source for reconversion to hydrogen and oxygen