Dangerous Environments Research Articles

Imperfect public choice

AbstractWe model imperfect governments with public choices that are sequential, myopic and not free of error. We first use this framework to explore governmental incremental budgeting. We argue that a model of bounded rationality is required to capture the empirical reality of incremental budgeting. We then provide a model that integrates bounds errors and systematic errors. We argue that the empirical evidence is that bounds errors and systematic errors are inextricably intertwined—some level of bounded rationality is required for systematic errors to emerge. We use this to explore political information lobbying. A testable hypothesis is that lobbyists will focus efforts on policy‐makers of low ability. We show that choosing leaders with high ability, that is Madison's wisdom to discern, is important, especially when policy decisions concern dangerous products (rifles) or dangerous environments (pandemics).

A facile optical sensor: Plastic optical fiber voids as a liquid level presence sensor

Optical sensors use light to detect or monitor different phenomena. Plastic optical fibers (POFs) have larger core diameters and are more flexible and easier to handle than glass optical fibers, making them perfect for many sensing applications. This paper introduces a facile POF sensor to monitor the liquid level and the liquid/gas presence in a specific container by introducing a void in the POF's path. Multiple readings were gathered over two days to verify the sensor's consistent performance. The findings demonstrated that, when exposed to air, the sensor exhibited an average reading of 2.15 V, while its average reading increased to 2.56 V when submerged in water. Such a sensing system can be beneficial in dangerous and explosive environments where electrical sensors or signals are risk factors.

Association Between Individual Differences in Dichotomous Thinking and Current and Childhood High-Crime Environments.

The way people perceive the things around them is closely related to living in a complex and challenging social environment. Dichotomous thinking (preference for dichotomy, dichotomous belief, and profit-and-loss thinking), which classifies things in a simple way, can be useful in dangerous and resource-limited environments. However, based on prior studies, people's manner of perceiving things may have developed as a response to the harshness of their childhood environment, and may not be related to their current environment. Therefore, we examined the relationship between individual differences in dichotomous thinking and high-crime environments as indicators of environmental harshness. We assessed dichotomous thinking in 41,284 Japanese residents using large-scale data from the Human Information Database FY19 compiled by NTT DATA Institute of Management Consulting, Inc. The fixed effects regression model showed that, after controlling for age, high-crime environment of the residents' childhood was associated with dichotomous thinking, with the exception of dichotomous belief. On the other hand, their current environment of crime was not associated. In sum, our research suggests that people's dichotomous thinking tendency may be a form of adaptation to the harshness of their childhood environment rather than their current one.

Assessment and Analysis of the Complexities in Sustainability of the Transport Projects Under CPEC: A Grounded Theory Approach

This study proposes a modern research framework for establishing a grounded theory perspective on regional development initiatives along the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). Grounded theory is a well-known research approach that uses comparative analysis to generate hypotheses from analyzed data. Thematic event analysis exposes the transitions between domains throughout CPEC project design and execution, including political, economic, social, technical, legal, and environmental elements. The Orange Line Metro Train (OLMT) project’s axial coding highlights contextual variables such as problematic agreements, circumvention of regulations, lack of preparation, public indignation, heritage demolition, tree cutting, and regional tensions. These elements, coupled with China-Pakistan relations, the CPEC framework, infrastructural conditions, and other considerations, impact top-down planning, bureaucratic difficulties, and mismanagement of government plans. Consequently, these techniques cause project delays, unsustainable subsidies, historical damage, and environmental implications, raising questions about accountability and political regime change. This chapter focuses on data collection by using the Grounded Theory Method. These ramifications go beyond the CPEC project, emphasizing the significance of consulting key parties and selecting projects based on scientific and technological criteria. Institutional strengthening, climate change policies, and a focus on sustainable development are all critical. Policy consequences include open and accountable resource allocation, enhanced planning and risk assessment, cost-cutting techniques, cultural heritage preservation, specialized courts, and investment in education and healthcare. It is also critical to strengthen democratic institutions and reduce the environmental dangers.

Causal Analysis of Safety Risk Perception of Iranian Coal Mining Workers Using Fuzzy Delphi and DEMATEL

Underground coal mines, one of the most dangerous work environments, have experienced accidents and disasters. One of the main reasons for those unsafe events is the workers’ poor understanding of the hazards and risks of working in this work environment. Therefore, the present study aims to identify factors affecting the safety risk perception of underground coal mine workers in Iran and investigate their cause-and-effect relationships. By reviewing the literature, 40 variables were identified in five categories: individual, organizational, environmental, task, and external factors. The identified variables were ranked according to the expert group’s opinion in the form of a fuzzy Delphi study regarding their effects on risk perception. In the next step, 23 variables were selected to investigate the cause-and-effect relationships using the DEMATEL method. The study’s findings showed that organizational factors and some individual factors play a fundamental role in workers’ risk perception. The variables of safety culture, safety management style, and safety attitude had the most significant impact, and the variables of personal protective equipment and risk aversion had the smallest impact on workers’ risk perception. The present study’s findings can be used as a guideline to provide effective solutions for managers and workers in improving safety risk perception, subsequently reducing unsafe behaviors and increasing the safety status of underground coal mines.

Study pathological changes to evaluate efficient treatment of industrial dyes in wastewater

There is an increase in concern about the effects of environmental dangers on health related to toxic pollutants resulting from industrial activities, which are released into the aqueous environments in the whole world. Industrial dyes represent one of the major groups of toxic compounds used in different industries, including textile and leather. Releasing dyes into the water could cause vicious effects on the aqueous environment. This experiment aims to evaluate the efficiency of chemical treatment by Nano zero-valent iron (NZVI) of textile dye to investigate the histopathological effects in the liver, kidneys, and intestines of albino mice using histopathological diagnosis. Three groups of mice were exposed. The control group was given tap water, the second group was assigned untreated textile dye solution (acid red 315) at a concentration of (100)ppm, and the third group was given treated textile dye solution. Histopathological alterations were evaluated after 2 months from exposure. The results from treated dyes showed no histopathological changes. In contrast, untreated stains showed histopathological changes in all organs, represented by dilation of sinusoids and congestion of blood vessels and hydropic degeneration, necrosis and aggregation of inflammatory cells in the liver. In contrast, in the intestine, there is edema between mucosa and submucosa, degeneration and necrosis in the intestinal mucosa, atrophy in the muscular layer, and inflammatory cell aggregation in the submucosa and mucosa of the intestine. We conclude that the treatment of textile dye is sufficient and decreases its effect. Keywords: Histopathological alteration, Efficient evaluation, Textile dye acid red 315

Would the Conservative Aspect of Asian Culture Help People Bounce Back?: An Investigation into the Correlation Between Defensive Pessimism and Resilience

The rising interest in resilience as a desired mental health counselling outcome has prompted increased research into its predictors. In addition to genetic factors and excellent social ties, previous researchers argued that people's coping approach toward environmental dangers might be a significant element. Defensive pessimism, a prominent cognitive strategy among conservative civilizations such as Asian culture and persons with a propensity for mental illness, functions as a strategy that protects individuals from failure and misery by decreasing their expectations and anxiety. The author did qualitative research on Asian volunteers to examine the relationship between defensive pessimism and resilience. The results of this paper contradict the authors' hypothesis that adopting defensive pessimism would increase individuals' resilience. And the findings reveal a significant negative correlation between the two. Additionally, the significant linear regression indicated that defensive pessimism might be a weak negative predictor of resilience. The results may contribute to the early identification of harmful coping strategies in psychological assessment and help with treatment plan development in mental health counselling.

Demonstrating Autonomy for Complex Space Missions: A Europa Lander Mission Autonomy Prototype

There is a desire for robotic spacecraft to perform exploration in unknown, dynamic environments. The Europa Lander Mission Concept is one such mission that needs to deal with an extremely limited lifetime and energy supply, manage intermittent communications with long blackouts, face numerous environmental dangers, and ultimately take place too far from Earth to rely on human control. No missions to date have operated with the required level of autonomy and under the same level of communication constraints, uncertainty, and mission concept complexity as this mission. As a result, the viability of the autonomy must be demonstrated before it will be trusted with mission-critical planning. In this paper, we present an autonomous software prototype that can demonstrate and test the ability of different planners and executives to carry out complex, science-centric missions with limited interventions from humans. The prototype uses a hierarchical utility model that is used to maximize both the amount of expected science return as well as the number of mission objectives imposed by the ground. We demonstrate how this system handles some of the autonomous tasks expected of complex space missions such as decision making, in-situ data acquisition and analysis, data prioritization, resource management, and failure response handling in both simulation and on actual hardware. Through several scenario-based experiments we show how different planners and executives can meet the challenges of the Europa Lander Mission Concept. We also demonstrate that this system can be used in concert with a hardware prototype for autonomy field tests.

Rapid leaf xylem acclimation diminishes the chances of embolism in grapevines.

Under most conditions tight stomatal regulation in grapevines (Vitis vinifera) avoids xylem embolism. The current study evaluated grapevine responses to challenging scenarios that might lead to leaf embolism and consequential leaf damage. We hypothesized that embolism would occur if the vines experienced low xylem water potential (Ψx) shortly after bud break or later in the season under a combination of extreme drought and heat. We subjected vines to two potentially dangerous environments: (i) withholding irrigation from a vineyard grown in a heatwave-prone environment, and (ii) subjecting potted vines to terminal drought 1 month after bud break. In the field experiment, a heatwave at the beginning of August resulted in leaf temperatures over 45 °C. However, effective stomatal response maintained the xylem water potential (Ψx) well above the embolism threshold, and no leaf desiccation was observed. In the pot experiment, leaves of well-watered vines in May were relatively vulnerable to embolism with 50% embolism (P50) at -1.8 MPa. However, when exposed to drought, these leaves acclimated their leaf P50 by 0.65 MPa in less than a week and before reaching embolism values. When dried to embolizing Ψx, the leaf damage proportion matched (percentage-wise) the leaf embolism level. Our findings indicate that embolism and leaf damage are usually avoided by the grapevines' efficient stomatal regulation and rapid acclimation of their xylem vulnerability.

Assessing safety through agent-based simulation for aircraft carrier flight decks

Aircraft carrier flight decks are dangerous work environments that require high degrees of coordination between humans in and around aircraft. It is impossible to run experiments in such settings to determine if new policies and rules could reduce the risk of injury. In order to explore possible safety improvement strategies in such settings where deaths still occur, an agent-based simulation environment was developed that allows for exploration of the impact of new procedures and technologies during aircraft launches. In this Optimal Manning Simulation (OMS), safety is measured through unexpected halo violations, where people inadvertently enter a bubble of high risk around an aircraft. An analysis with OMS demonstrated that safety-focused agent-based simulations could uncover not only where personnel face high risks but also when such risks could significantly increase. Thus, OMS can be used not only in a descriptive and predictive manner but also prescriptively to inform future policies.

Association between Socio-demographics of Nurses and their Knowledge about Hospital Waste Management in Tertiary Care Hospital Lahore

The management of healthcare waste is very important due to the possible environmental dangers and threats to public health. Additionally, the direct exposure and handling of waste can results in disastrous events. Therefore, health care professionals should handle it carefully because majority of professionals does not give it importance to follow all the steps of waste management. Objective: To assess association between socio- demographics of nurses and knowledge about hospital waste management in Tertiary Care Hospital Lahore. Methods: A quantitative correlational study design was used for this study. The setting of study was Mayo Hospital Lahore. The study was completed in 3-month after approval of Ethical Research Committee. Sample size of 110 cases was calculated with 95% confidence interval. Data were collected by using Self developed demographic form and Knowledge Scale. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 24.0. Results: The result showed that among 110, the most of the participants are the age group of 31-40 years. Out of 110, majority of the participants (93.6%) are married. The study findings revealed that about 80(86.5%) participants had poor knowledge about hospital waste management and only 30(13.5%) nurses had good knowledge. Additionally, there was a statistically significant relationship between nurses’ knowledge and their age, marital status, and qualification. Conclusions: It was concluded that majority of participants had poor knowledge regarding waste management. The knowledge of participants about waste management had statistically significant relationship with age, marital status, and qualification.

The Correlation Of Unsafe Action And Unsafe Condition On Work Accident Among Nurses At Dr Tadjuddin Chalid Hospital Makassar

Nurses working in hospital settings face a heightened susceptibility to work-related accidents, which primarily stem from two underlying factors: unsafe behaviour and hazardous conditions. Work accident data at Dr Tadjuddin Chalid, there are 12 reported cases of work accidents in 2021. The objective of this study was to establish the correlation between unsafe actions, unsafe conditions, and the frequency of work accidents among nurses at Dr Tadjuddin Chalid Makassar Hospital. The research methodology employed for this investigation was observational, adopting a cross-sectional approach. The targeted population encompassed 205 individuals, with a final sample size of 136 nurses being involved in this research endeavour. The sample is taken using a simple random sampling method. Respondent data collection using a questionnaire. Data analysis used the chi-square test to see the relationship between independent variables, namely unsafe actions (perceptions, work experience, work stress, work shifts and supervision) and unsafe conditions (work environment, tools/materials and dangerous unsafe environment) with the occurrence of work accidents. The findings indicated a notable correlation between unsafe behaviour and work accidents (p-value = 0.001), alongside a significant relationship between unsafe conditions and work accidents (p-value = 0.007). In summation, it can be concluded that both unsafe behaviour and unsafe conditions are connected to the incidence of work accidents at Dr. Tadjuddin Chalid Makassar Hospital. It is recommended that the hospital emphasizes enhancing the work environment's conditions and elevating the quality of training and supervision. These measures are essential for mitigating the prevalence of work accidents among nurses.

A scoping review of the moral distress of military nurses in crisis military deployment.

"Crisis military deployment" was defined as a situation in which military personnel are suddenly ordered to duty to support an operation away from their home station and in a potentially dangerous environment. As a result of complex changes in the global political and economic landscape, military nurses are assuming an increasing number of crisis military deployment tasks. Moral distress has been widely studied among civilian nurses. However, little is known about the moral distress military nurses experience during military deployments in crisis. This review discussed the current state of research on the phenomenon, unique factors, specific sources, and measurement tools. The scope of the study was defined using a framework developed by Arksey and O'Malley. Following English databases were searched: PubMed, CINAHL, Cochrane Library, Web of Science, and Embase, using MeSH terms and free word combinations; furthermore, Chinese databases: CNKI and CBMDisc, were explored using thematic terms from inception until January 20, 2023. Data were selected and defined by the inclusion and exclusion criteria and independently screened by two researchers. The scoping review adhered to sound scientific practice and respected authorship and reference sources. Finally, 21 articles were included in the review. The moral distress of military nurses in crisis military deployments had unique and specific sources and reported positive aspects. The deployment environment and nature of the mission, responsibilities and obligations of military nurses, and the limited rights of patients were unique factors. Specific sources included third-party intervention, military triage, resource allocation, futile care, care of the enemy, and return to the battlefield. Military nurses in deployment reported positive aspects. They grow in their inner strength, build deep friendships and gain a greater sense of professional value. It is important to understand the unique factors and specific sources of moral distress faced by military nurses in crisis military deployments and to identify the positive aspects. This research will help prepare military nurses for future deployments in advance by providing useful information to mitigate and eliminate moral distress.

Psychosocial Safety and Health Hazards and Their Impacts on Offshore Oil and Gas Workers

The offshore oil and gas working environment is an inherently dangerous one, with risks posed to physical safety on a daily basis. One neglected field of research is the added psychosocial stressors present in this environment. This research examined the experiences of offshore oil and gas workers through one-on-one online interviews which were recorded and transcribed. Transcripts were analyzed through the qualitative software NVivo, which generated themes and patterns for the responses given to questions that were developed through a focus group. The results of the analysis showed that multiple psychosocial stressors are present in this population, such as fear of speaking up, unsatisfactory company-provided facilities, work–life interference, work status, micromanaging, gender harassment and bullying. In addition, interviews identified that production and time pressures, along with fatigue, can influence accidents and mistakes. Climate factors also cause discomfort. However, these are managed according to best practices by organizations. Due to the timing of the study, COVID-19 was a significant stressor for some, but not all, employees. In conclusion, offshore oil and gas workers face multiple stressors in a dangerous environment that may lead to devastating consequences.

Behavioral thermoregulation by reptile embryos promotes hatching success and synchronization

Reptile embryos can move inside eggs to seek optimal thermal conditions, falsifying the traditional assumption that embryos are simply passive occupants within their eggs. However, the adaptive significance of this thermoregulatory behavior remains a contentious topic. Here we demonstrate that behavioral thermoregulation by turtle embryos shortened incubation periods which may reduce the duration of exposure to dangerous environments, decreased egg mortality imposed by lethally high temperatures, and synchronized hatching which reduces predation risk. Our study provides empirical evidence that behavioral thermoregulation by turtle embryos is adaptive.

Investigation of the factors forming the attitude of construction workers to unsafe behavior in work

Relevance. The high injury rate of construction industry workers has been a constant problem for many years. The most common direct cause of injury to workers is their own unsafe behavior when performing work. Identification of personal factors that form the attitude of a person to unsafe behavior is the beginning of effective implementation of safety programs in construction projects and taking measures to prevent traumatic situations. The purpose of the study: to study the installation on unsafe behavior of construction workers. Private tasks: to study the personal attitude and perception of occupational hazards of employees of organiza-tions in the construction industry; to investigate the levels of severity of the three main components of a person's pre-disposition to unsafe activities: cognitive, affective and behavioral.Methodology. The study was carried out by anonymous questionnaire using specially designed question-naires. The questions focus on identifying the characteristics of the attitude to hazards and the behavior of employ-ees that can directly affect occupational safety and cause injuries.Results. According to the responses of employees, high-quality material was obtained to identify and systema-tize the factors that determine their unsafe behavior in the industrial environment.Conclusion. The results obtained objectively indicate that the ideas about the danger of the production envi-ronment do not correspond to reality and are factors of unsafe behavior of workers. The formed attitude does not al-low the subject to make adequate decisions and control his activities. In the personnel management system of the organization, it is necessary to develop training programs in the aspect of occupational safety, the implementation of which in the training process will contribute to the formation of an attitude to the safe behavior of employees and the reduction of dangerous incidents ending in injuries.

Particle swarm optimization based artificial neural network (PSO-ANN) model for effective k-barrier count intrusion detection system in WSN

Wireless Sensor Networks (WSN) offers an extensive array of possibilities and finds application to nearly every wake of human lifetime. Two of the methods are intrusion detection and monitoring in dangerous environments. Generally, WSN are extremely vulnerable to various kinds of network attacks, lifespan of whole network is reduced by interfering with data transmission and communication operations. A novel approach, provides accurate measurement of several obstacles to achieve rapid identification and avoidance of disruptions. In order to more accurately estimate k-barrier number for efficient intrusion detection and prevention, a Particle Swarm Optimization based Artificial Neural Network (PSO-ANN) is developed. The region's size, sensor's detecting field, area where sensor transmits its signals, several sensors constitute the four important features utilized for learning and evaluating PSO-ANN model. The extraction of the different attributes is achieved with the help of simulation through Monte Carlo. It has been inferred from the research that the approach is accurate in predicting number of invasions, correlation coefficient, root mean square error, accuracy, precision are achieved to be excellent in contrast to the remaining approaches.

ASSESSMENT OF THE ADEQUACY OF COMPUTER SIMULATION OF THE ELECTROMAGNETIC ENVIRONMENT USING FREE SOFTWARE

Computer simulation of the electromagnetic environment makes it possible to determine the sources of the electromagnetic field and radiation at the object under study, accelerates the process of determining the degree of danger of the electromagnetic environment, forms pictures of the distribution in space of the components of the electromagnetic field and creates maps of the permissible time of human stay. Free software (openEMS, MEEP) significantly simplifies the solution of these tasks. The article considers the issues of assessing the adequacy of computer models of the distribution of electromagnetic field components formed using these modeling packages. The results of experimental measurements and computer simulation of the electric field at frequencies of 50 Hz, 30 kHz, 3 MHz, 30 MHz and 50 MHz are presented. The results of measurements and computer simulation of the electromagnetic field at frequencies of 800 MHz, 25 Khz and 40 GHz are presented. The adequacy of modeling the components of the electromagnetic field using openEMS and MEEP, sufficient for practical application, has been confirmed.

Challenges and applications of digital technology in the mineral industry

The mining industry's value chain is gradually changing in order to manage current assets more effectively and boost production. The nature of mining has not changed much over the years, despite the industry's ups and downs. Rethinking how the mining industry functions is necessary for a breakthrough in efficiency and performance. In light of the significant obstacles that digital transformation must overcome to be successfully implemented in dangerous mine environments, an overview of the significance of digital transformation in the mineral industry with a focus on improved safety, productivity, environmental sustainability, and reduced mining accidents is reviewed. The application of digital technology indicates that technological innovations have improved the productivity of mines because processes are optimized and human error is reduced. This paper has demonstrated that there is a concrete history of technological and digital advancements that, whether on purpose or not, correlate with elements of the 4th industrial revolution and have been effectively applied in discrete domains within the mineral industry. A gap between what can still be done and how it should be done to ensure a sustainable supply of minerals is also revealed by these developments. Overall, this paper identifies various improvement that has taken place over the years in the mining industry that assisted to reduce hazards and risks in working areas due to technological advancement.

The end of victory: prevailing in the nuclear age

America’s use of atomic weapons against Japan in 1945 helped to facilitate a quick end to World War II. But the split between former allies the United States and the Soviet Union led to a Cold War which featured a relentless competition for military superiority. Although it took Russia four years to catch the U.S. in atomic weapons, the gap was shortened to two years when it came to nuclear. The dangerous military environment in the early 1950s required the U.S. to be able to predict the Soviet Union’s response in nuclear terms. This task largely fell to a secret group with the National Security Council referred to as the Net Evaluation Subcommittee (NESC). Over the dozen years of its existence from 1953 to 1965 which the present book traces, the NESC’s annual reports furnished American officials with invaluable information and contributed significantly to nuclear weapons strategy during parts of three presidential administrations.