In this document, we provide the methodological background for the Safety atWork project. This document combines several project deliverables as defined inthe overall project plan: validation techniques and methods (D5.1.1), performanceindicators for safety at work (D5.1.2), personal protection equipment methods(D2.1.2), situational awareness methods (D3.1.2), and persuasive technology methods(D4.1.2).
MULTIFILE
The World Hunt: An Environmental History of the Commodification of Animals is written by John F. Richards, a ‘pioneer in environmental history’ as J. R. McNeill calls him in his introduction to the volume. This introduction explains how this unique yet not always easily accessible text exploring the environmental and socio-economic dimensions of commercial exploitation of non-humans came into being, and how it can be seen in the contexts of the history of human relationships to the environment and of contemporary ethics. The World Hunt is an unusual volume in that it blends environmental history, the dispassionate narrative of facts, with a voice that is at times full of hurt, as it expresses genuine concern for the voiceless victims of hunters’ increasingly global pursuits. The volume is essentially an extract from the meticulously researched and finely detailed history of hunting, fishing and whaling presented in Richards’ exhaustive The Unending Frontier. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2014.09.025 https://www.linkedin.com/in/helenkopnina/
MULTIFILE
Characteristics of the physical childcare environment are associated with children’s sedentary behavior (SB) and physical activity (PA) levels. This study examines whether these associations are moderated by child characteristics. A total of 152 1- to 3-year-old children from 22 Dutch childcare centers participated in the study. Trained research assistants observed the physical childcare environment, using the Environment and Policy Assessment Observation (EPAO) protocol. Child characteristics (age, gender, temperament and weight status) were assessed using parental questionnaires. Child SB and PA was assessed using Actigraph GT3X+ accelerometers. Linear regression analyses including interaction terms were used to examine moderation of associations between the childcare environment and child SB and PA. Natural elements and portable outdoor equipment were associated with less SB and more PA. In addition, older children, boys and heavier children were less sedentary and more active, while more use of childcare and an anxious temperament were associated with more SB. There were various interactions between environmental factors and child characteristics. Specific physical elements (e.g., natural elements) were especially beneficial for vulnerable children (i.e., anxious, overactive, depressive/withdrawn, overweight). The current study shows the importance of the physical childcare environment in lowering SB and promoting PA in very young children in general, and vulnerable children specifically. Moderation by child characteristics shows the urgency of shaping childcare centers that promote PA in all children, increasing equity in PA promotion in childcare.
