scholarly journals Applying the 3Rs: A Case Study on Evidence and Perceptions Relating to Rat Cage Height in the UK

Animals ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (12) ◽  
pp. 1104
Author(s):  
Hibba Mazhary ◽  
Penny Hawkins
Keyword(s):  
Animal Welfare ◽  
Animal Experiments ◽  
Health And Safety ◽  
Adult Rats ◽  
Laboratory Rats ◽  
Code Of Practice ◽  
Main Factors ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Welfare Changes

This article investigates the barriers to implementing higher caging in animal research establishments in the UK. The use of animals in research and testing in the UK is regulated by the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986, which sets out how animal experiments must be licensed and regulated. Within this, the Code of Practice currently allows laboratory rats to be housed in cages that are 20 cm high, even though adults can rear up to 30 cm. Most adult rats therefore cannot stand upright in ‘standard’ cages. We found that the main factors hindering the implementation of higher caging were classified into five different groups; health and safety, financial, animal welfare, scientific, and ‘human’. Suggestions to overcome these barriers are provided, as well as alternative animal welfare changes that can be put into place. We conclude that much of the desired evidence for moving to higher cages is already available, and therefore the focus should be on education and improving access to the existing evidence, in order to encourage facilities to work around existing financial and health and safety concerns.

scholarly journals The Role of the Three Rs in Improving the Planning and Reproducibility of Animal Experiments

Animals ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (11) ◽  
pp. 975 ◽  
Author(s):  
Smith ◽  
Lilley
Keyword(s):  
Animal Welfare ◽  
Animal Studies ◽  
Animal Experiments ◽  
Health And Safety ◽  
Reproducible Research ◽  
Scientific Quality ◽  
Physical And Mental Health ◽  
Quality Of Reporting ◽  
Culture Of Care

Training in the design of animal experiments focuses all too often on those aspects which can be approached mathematically, such as the number of animals needed to deliver a robust result, allocation of group size, and techniques such as randomization, blocking and statistical analysis. Important as they are, these are only a small part of the process of planning animal experiments. Additional key elements include refinements of housing, husbandry and procedures, health and safety, and attention at all stages to animal welfare. Advances in technology and laboratory animal science have led to improvements in care and husbandry, better provision of anesthetics and analgesics, refined methods of drug administration, greater competence in welfare assessment and application of humane endpoints. These improvements require continual dialogue between scientists, facility managers and technical staff, a practice that is a key feature of what has become known as the culture of care. This embodies a commitment to improving animal welfare, scientific quality, staff care and transparency for all stakeholders. Attention to both the physical and mental health of all those directly or indirectly involved in animal research is now an important part of the process of planning and conducting animal experiments. Efforts during the last 30 years to increase the internal and external validity of animal experiments have tended to concentrate on the production of guidelines to improve the quality of reporting animal experiments, rather than for planning them. Recently, comprehensive guidelines for planning animal studies have been published, to redress this imbalance. These will be described in this paper. Endorsement of this overarching influence of the Three R concept, by all the stakeholders, will not only reduce animal numbers and improve animal welfare, but also lead to more reliable and reproducible research which should improve translation of pre-clinical studies into tangible clinical benefit.

scholarly journals Red Sky at Night: digital archiving in England 2020

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Claire Tsang
Keyword(s):  
Planning Process ◽  
Storage Capacity ◽  
Interesting Case ◽  
Digital Data ◽  
Digital Archives ◽  
Digital Archiving ◽  
Main Factors ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Risk Loss

Across Europe, countries are at different stages of dealing with digital archaeological archives and how those archives are dealt with is affected by differences in statutory requirements, legal ownership of archives and infrastructure. In England, there is no single national repository for archaeological archives and there is no legal requirement to deposit either physical or digital archives with public bodies, and deposition rates for digital remain low. The archaeological sector remains aware of the implications of producing ever-growing quantities of born-digital data, which interested parties are attempting to address. The current framework and situation regarding digital archiving in England, therefore, offers an interesting case study for how digital archiving is dealt with through the application of professional standards, rather than legislative requirements. This article aims to summarise the current situation regarding digital archaeological archives in England. Across the UK there has been a great deal of work and focus on archaeological archives, driven by two main factors: archaeological archives are curated by a network of regional and local museums and currently resources are shrinking in terms of storage capacity and archaeological curators. Repositories for physical archives can therefore be ill-prepared for the curation of digital archaeological archives, which can risk loss of archaeological digital data, and in 2017 this was recognised within the UK government's Mendoza Review. This article describes the current work to resolve these issues - including strengthening the planning process, providing standards and guidance for data creators and repositories.

scholarly journals Managing production pressures through dangerous informality: a case study

2019 ◽  
Vol 26 (11) ◽  
pp. 2581-2596 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Oswald ◽  
Fred Sherratt ◽  
Simon Smith
Keyword(s):  
Construction Projects ◽  
Participant Observation ◽  
Health And Safety ◽  
Contributory Factor ◽  
Construction Sites ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Main Research ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Significant Production

Purpose It is well-known that significant production pressures exist on many construction projects and previous studies have suggested that this pressure is a contributory factor in safety incidents on sites. While research has established that production pressures exist, less is understood about the construction practices that occur when projects are under such pressures and their repercussion for safety. The paper aims to discuss this issue. Design/methodology/approach Through an ethnographic approach on a large construction project in the UK, these practices were explored and unpacked. The lead researcher was a member of the Health and Safety department, and undertook participant observation as a main research tool for three years. Findings It was found that informal, covert and dangerous “piecework” strategies were adopted at the site level in direct response to scheduling demands. Construction workers were incentivised through extra finance and rest periods to finish the work quickly, which, in turn, prioritised production over safety. Unreasonable production pressures remain an unresolved problem in the construction industry and are, perhaps consequentially, being informally managed on-site. Originality/value This study improves our understanding of the complexities involved in the unresolved demands between production and safety on construction sites, which marks a step towards addressing this substantial challenge that is deeply ingrained within the industry.

scholarly journals Scientific Progress and Animal Welfare: Conflicting Goals or Complementary Opportunities?

2001 ◽  
Vol 29 (3) ◽  
pp. 209-210
Author(s):  
Nancy Rothwell
Keyword(s):  
Animal Welfare ◽  
Guest Editorial ◽  
Animal Experiments ◽  
Scientific Progress ◽  
Animal Science ◽  
Perceived Need ◽  
Science Group ◽  
The One ◽  
The Uk ◽  
University Of Manchester

In view of the recent controversy regarding the perceived need by scientists for animal experiments on the one hand, and the concerns expressed by animal-welfare groups on the other, ATLA has commissioned this guest editorial by Professor Nancy Rothwell, Professor of Physiology, University of Manchester, and Chairman of the UK Life Sciences Animal Science Group.

scholarly journals Classification of audiograms in the prevention of noise-induced hearing loss: A clinical perspective

2020 ◽  
Vol 67 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Zumbi Musiba
Keyword(s):  
Hearing Loss ◽  
Literature Review ◽  
Health And Safety ◽  
Hearing Protection ◽  
Noise Induced Hearing Loss ◽  
Mining Company ◽  
Engineering Controls ◽  
The Uk

Background: Noise induced hearing loss (NIHL) is a major contributor to disabling hearing loss. Engineering controls are superior to hearing protection devices (HPDs) in prevention of occupational noise induced hearing loss (ONIHL), although the latter are more commonly used. Effective use of audiometry requires quick categorization of audiograms. The UK Health and Safety Executive (UKHSE) scheme for the categorization of audiograms is a tool that accomplishes this.Objectives: The objective of this paper is to provide an overview of the classification of audiograms and build a case for the preferential use of the UKHSE’s scheme to achieve this.Method: The author provides a literature review of methods of classification for audiograms and uses a case study in a Tanzanian mining company to demonstrate how the UKHSE scheme was successfully used to enhance the existing hearing protection program.Results: The literature review identified several methods of classification based on a variation of threshold shifts from baseline. The difference was in the frequency and level of threshold shift used to determine hearing loss, and the recommended course of action once hearing loss is detected. The UKHSE scheme is simple and provides guidance on steps to be taken thereafter. This was demonstrated in a case study among miners in a mining company in Tanzania.Conclusion: The UKHSE audiogram classification scheme has the advantage of providing a straightforward, easy to determine classification that allows for intervention appropriate to the findings.

A benefits analysis of partnering: A case study of a community primary school

2005 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 69-79 ◽  
Author(s):  
M Emsley
Keyword(s):  
Primary School ◽  
Health And Safety ◽  
Team Working ◽  
Best Value ◽  
Borough Council ◽  
Working Together ◽  
Fit For Purpose ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Specific Project

Partnering, which involves all members of the project team working together to improve performance through agreeing mutual objectives, is a construct; on procurement strategy encouraged by the UK Government, as it believed that such a strategy will provide best value, which is an aspect especially critical for public clients. Partnering may be strategic or applied to a specific project only. A regionally based main contractor (MC) constructed the Community Primary School (CPS) for a Metropolitan Borough Council (MBC) using a project partnering arrangement; such an arrangement was also in place between the main contractor and its key sub‐contractors. The overall conclusion, derived from the analysis of a case study carried out on the project, is that the CPS project has been a very successful project. Broadly, it was completed ahead of schedule, an achievement which undoubtedly would not have been possible without the use of partnering which allowed an overlap of the design and construction activities, there was a slight overspend above budget, the health and safety of people involved in its construction was not compromised and the finished product is of a high quality, fit for purpose.

Policy interventions in health and safety: What works and when--Evidence from the UK

2013 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Hollis ◽  
Stavroula Leka ◽  
Aditya Jain ◽  
Nicholas J. A. Andreou ◽  
Gerard Zwetsloot
Keyword(s):  
Health And Safety ◽  
Policy Interventions ◽  
What Works ◽  
The Uk

Occupational health and safety: a comment on Mullen

1970 ◽  
Vol 16 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
D. W. Farlow
Keyword(s):  
Occupational Health ◽  
Health And Safety ◽  
Occupational Health And Safety ◽  
Code Of Practice ◽  
Safety Committees ◽  
Interpretation Of Results

The paper by Elizabeth A. Mullen (1990) contains a number of assumptions and assertions that cannot be allowed to pass unchallenged. In addition, the survey itself seems to be based on an inappropriate sample with the particular interpretation of results creating a potentially false impression. The debate concerning the Code of Practice for Health and Safety Representatives and Health and Safety Committees has often been plagued with confusion and misunderstanding and, regrettably, Mullen's paper continues these problems.

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