scholarly journals Containing the Spirits: Lessons learned from the Management of Australasian Herbarium Wet Collections.

2018 ◽  
Vol 2 ◽  
pp. e26200
Author(s):  
Bronwyn Collins ◽  
Frank Zich ◽  
Jo Palmer ◽  
Gill Brown ◽  
Karina Knight ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Best Practice ◽  
Health And Safety ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Worker Safety ◽  
Hazardous Substance ◽  
Climate Control ◽  
National Herbarium ◽  
South Wales ◽  
Work Health

Several herbaria in Australia and New Zealand have recently been required to implement changes to the way in which spirit (alcohol or wet) specimens are managed in their institutions in order to deal with various curatorial and staff health and safety challenges. We will present an overview of some of the key lessons learned from addressing issues such as mould, FAA (formalin-acetic acid and alcohol solution), inadequate housing and storage of our spirit specimens whilst also ensuring that best-practice curation standards are implemented along with appropriate work health and safety practices to protect staff. For example, the National Herbarium of New South Wales spirit collection was stored until 2017 in metal filing cabinets and open wooden shelving. Due to unstable air-conditioning resulting in high humidity and condensation, mould had formed on all of the bottles and on all wooden surfaces. The external surface of each bottle was cleaned with prior to removal from the dedicated spirit collection room, the wooden shelving was replaced with open metal shelving, and room cleaned and resealed prior to return of the collection. Monitoring of the environment and condition of the collection continues, and future actions include replacing the specimen vials, many of which have failing lids. The Western Australian Herbarium recently renovated its spirit storage area from specimens stored in boxes on fixed open shelving to individual bottles filed in metal drawers. Health and safety concerns for staff handling heavy boxes, often up ladders, combined with the inflexible and inefficient use of space on fixed shelving are now solved. Plenty of space is available for specimen expansion, and the ease of access to each specimen makes the collection simple to maintain. The next step for the collection is to protect it better by implementing climate control. FAA was used as a fixative and preservative for plant fruit, flowers and other parts pre-1992 at the Australian National Herbarium in Canberra and the Australian Tropical Herbarium in Cairns. In response to changes in the Hazardous Substance classification for Formaldehyde a program was developed that focused on worker safety during replacement of the solution in approximately 15,000 bottles by minimising exposure and managing the manual handling risks of the work, whilst also ensuring best-practice curatorial outcomes for the specimens. This is a presentation on behalf of the Managers of Australasian Herbarium Collections (MAHC), a network of herbarium Collection Managers in Australia and New Zealand.

scholarly journals Replacement of Formalin-Acetic Acid-Alcohol Solution (FAA) in Herbarium Spirit Collections

2018 ◽  
Vol 2 ◽  
pp. e26493
Author(s):  
Bronwyn Collins ◽  
Jo Palmer ◽  
Emma Toms ◽  
Frank Zich
Keyword(s):  
Best Practice ◽  
Inhalation Exposure ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Alcohol Solution ◽  
Worker Safety ◽  
Hazardous Substance ◽  
Sensory Irritation ◽  
National Herbarium ◽  
Manual Handling ◽  
Current Exposure

FAA was used as a fixative and preservative for plant fruit, flowers and other parts pre-1992 at the Australian National Herbarium in Canberra and the Australian Tropical Herbarium in Cairns. In total, approximately 15,000 bottles contained FAA solution. In 2012, the Hazardous Substance classification for formaldehyde was changed from Category 3 to Category 2 in accordance with the Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labelling of Chemicals (GHS) as it is now considered that it is probably carcinogenic in humans following inhalation exposure. The basis for lowering the current exposure standard was to provide protection against both sensory irritation and cancer. In response to these changes a FAA replacement program was developed that focused on worker safety during replacement by minimising exposure and managing the manual handling risks of the work, whilst also ensuring best-practice curatorial outcomes for the specimens. An overview of goals achieved and the lessons learned along the way will be discussed. We hope these may be useful to other collections managers planning formaldehyde replacement programs in their institutions.

scholarly journals Beyond accident: A model for the compensation of work-related harm in New Zealand

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Dawn Duncan
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Work Stress ◽  
Health And Safety ◽  
Health Problems ◽  
Labour Law ◽  
Work Related ◽  
Work Health ◽  
Legislative Reforms ◽  
Complex Relationships ◽  
Coverage Problems

<p>This thesis examines the compensation of work-related injuries and illnesses under the Accident Compensation Act 2001 (ACA). It proposes a set of legislative reforms to enable fairer and more equitable access to compensation for workers and improvements to work health and safety. This thesis approaches the development of a model for reform as an endeavour within labour law (rather than welfare or insurance law) and adopts a labour law theoretical framework for analysis.  This thesis argues that the current coverage problems are a product of the scheme’s unique political history, and starts by outlining the historical origins of the scheme and the political compromises, theoretical tensions, and ideological shifts that have led to the current ACA. It also examines the challenges posed by changes in the nature of work, the workforce, and the ways workers are engaged to perform work. This thesis focusses on the cover of chronic work-related health problems, and, in particular, the complex relationships of causation in work-stress related depression, cardiovascular disease and musculoskeletal conditions. While particular attention is paid to the complexities associated with work-stress-related illness the model proposed is intended to improve the cover of, and data collection on, all work-related health problems in New Zealand.  This thesis proposes a new Act to replace the ACA, with a new structure, new purpose section and definitions, new cover test, and the creation of a new work-health review panel. The reform proposal is intended to achieve fairer coverage of work-related health problems, and contribute to improvements in work health and safety in New Zealand, ensuring compensation, treatment and rehabilitation is available to the increasing numbers of workers affected, and making those conditions more visible within the workplace injury and illness statistics.</p>

scholarly journals 50 years on from the Woodhouse Report

2019 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Dawn Duncan
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Health And Safety ◽  
Working Environment ◽  
Accident Compensation ◽  
Working People ◽  
Worker Health And Safety ◽  
Work Health ◽  
Cover Inequalities ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Work And Health

It has been 50 years since the Woodhouse Report was published, resulting in the creation of the first ACC scheme for New Zealand. Work and the working environment have changed a great deal in this time, as have scientific understandings of the relationship between work and health. The Accident Compensation Act 2001, as it stands, is struggling to provide fair and equitable compensation to New Zealand workers, with significant gaps in cover, inequalities in the treatment of different occupations and a detrimental flow-on effect for worker health and safety. This article outlines some of the key areas of legal reform required to ensure that the ACC scheme can meet the needs of New Zealand working people in the future and help improve work health and safety.

scholarly journals Beyond accident: A model for the compensation of work-related harm in New Zealand

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Dawn Duncan
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Work Stress ◽  
Health And Safety ◽  
Health Problems ◽  
Labour Law ◽  
Work Related ◽  
Work Health ◽  
Legislative Reforms ◽  
Complex Relationships ◽  
Coverage Problems

<p>This thesis examines the compensation of work-related injuries and illnesses under the Accident Compensation Act 2001 (ACA). It proposes a set of legislative reforms to enable fairer and more equitable access to compensation for workers and improvements to work health and safety. This thesis approaches the development of a model for reform as an endeavour within labour law (rather than welfare or insurance law) and adopts a labour law theoretical framework for analysis.  This thesis argues that the current coverage problems are a product of the scheme’s unique political history, and starts by outlining the historical origins of the scheme and the political compromises, theoretical tensions, and ideological shifts that have led to the current ACA. It also examines the challenges posed by changes in the nature of work, the workforce, and the ways workers are engaged to perform work. This thesis focusses on the cover of chronic work-related health problems, and, in particular, the complex relationships of causation in work-stress related depression, cardiovascular disease and musculoskeletal conditions. While particular attention is paid to the complexities associated with work-stress-related illness the model proposed is intended to improve the cover of, and data collection on, all work-related health problems in New Zealand.  This thesis proposes a new Act to replace the ACA, with a new structure, new purpose section and definitions, new cover test, and the creation of a new work-health review panel. The reform proposal is intended to achieve fairer coverage of work-related health problems, and contribute to improvements in work health and safety in New Zealand, ensuring compensation, treatment and rehabilitation is available to the increasing numbers of workers affected, and making those conditions more visible within the workplace injury and illness statistics.</p>

scholarly journals Expanding Core Capability in Digitisation by Sharing of Resources:  the CSIRO Collections Program for Digitisation of Collection Specimens

2018 ◽  
Vol 2 ◽  
pp. e27246
Author(s):  
Nicole Fisher ◽  
Emma Toms
Keyword(s):  
Health And Safety ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Fine Motor ◽  
Grand Challenge ◽  
Natural History Museums ◽  
Educational Materials ◽  
History Museums ◽  
Work Health ◽  
Hand Coordination ◽  
The Impact

Educational Materials Share Fair at SPNHC 2018 Given the high number of specimens present around the world in natural history museums, digitisation, or the transformation of specimens from the physical to digital, has become the collections community’s grand challenge. A team made up of volunteers and casual staff are human resources for the digitisation of Australia’s largest biological collections, over 15 million specimens held at CSIRO. An image-based digitisation program at the Australian National Insect Collection (ANIC), and a similar imaging project at the Australian National Herbarium (ANH) are transforming the way we engage with volunteers &amp; recruit staff in collections digitisation. Providing insights on the CSIRO specimen digitisation program, we will share resources and materials that can easily be adapted to your next collections digitisation program. In 2018, we found that diversity and flexibility in roles assigned to personnel rather than assigning rigid and specific roles to individuals, was more successful for our collections digitisation volunteers and staff. Also, we introduced dexterity games which help develop fine motor skills and hand coordination while breaking up the monotony of the role. We also integrated materials aimed at educating the volunteers and staff about digitisation and curation and the impact of digitising collections. All of these improvements to the digitisation program are building a sense of determination amongst the dedicated volunteers and staff and curation levels are growing, leading to the increase and maintenance of collection integrity. Build scale and value by integrating these new lessons learned, procedures, manuals, training documentation, workflows and work health and safety into your next digitisation project.

Framing Law Stories: Work Health and Safety and the Self-employed Person’s Wellbeing

Legalities ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 231-258
Author(s):  
Emma Babbage
Keyword(s):  
New South ◽  
New South Wales ◽  
Health And Safety ◽  
The Self ◽  
Psychological Wellbeing ◽  
Reasonable Care ◽  
Contemporary World ◽  
South Wales ◽  
Work Health ◽  
Northern Rivers

The question of whether law can, or cannot, touch the territory of the wellbeing of workers is steadfastly rising to the surface of the contemporary world of work. This begs exploration of whether current law provides ways to workers’ wellbeing. This article explores whether the self-duties that the self-employed person owes herself under sub-sections 19(5) and 28(a) of the Work Health and Safety Act 2011(NSW) (‘WHSA’) touch her wellbeing at work. The WHSA is the state’s adoption of the Model Work Health and Safety Act. In adopting the methodology of legal narratology ( Olson 2014 ), this article unframes grand narratives of law and wellbeing and renders a collection of micro narratives which emerged from the law stories told by seven self-employed persons juxtaposed with the story the WHSA tells of itself. The research has been conducted in the Northern Rivers region of New South Wales. The article draws upon four law stories which frame the interpretations that: (1) the self-employed person must ensure, and take reasonable care for, his or her own physical and psychological wellbeing and safety, while wellbeing unlimited from that definition lies in law’s lacunae; (2) the self-employed person must ensure the provision of adequate facilities for her wellbeing at work and the maintenance of those facilities, while an intentional by-product of discharging health and safety duties is wellbeing beyond liability; (3) the self-employed person may, or may not, promote wellbeing in discharging her self-duties ( Tooma 2020 ); and (4) a desire for law in the self’s wellbeing appeals to law beyond the WHSA. The article ultimately invites the reader’s own interpretations of the ineffable, sometimes called wellbeing.

scholarly journals Organizational Justice and Workplace Bullying: Lessons Learned from Externally Referred Complaints and Investigations

Societies ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 143
Author(s):  
Annabelle M. Neall ◽  
Yiqiong Li ◽  
Michelle R. Tuckey
Keyword(s):  
Organizational Justice ◽  
Workplace Bullying ◽  
Real Life ◽  
Health And Safety ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Key Factors ◽  
Organisational Justice ◽  
Work Health ◽  
Investigation Process ◽  
The Way

Workplace bullying is a serious psychosocial risk which, when poorly managed, results in detrimental outcomes for individuals, organizations, and society. Some of the most common strategies for addressing bullying within the workplace centre on attempts to document and contextualise the bullying situation—that is, the internal complaint and investigation process. Scholarly inquiries of these investigative mechanisms, however, are limited, and most have neglected the influence of organisational justice as an underpinning mechanism in explaining complainant dissatisfaction. Using evidence from 280 real-life cases of workplace bullying lodged with a peak work, health, and safety agency, we identify how organizational justice manifests in externally referred cases of workplace bullying. Specifically, we match complainant evaluations of the internal complaint and investigation handling process to domains of organisational justice, thereby ascertaining potential threats to efforts to effectively manage and prevent bullying in the workplace. Four types of justice—distributive, procedural, interpersonal, and informational—were identified within the cases. Specifically, in cases of workplace bullying where distributive justice is not upheld (usually by virtue of unsubstantiated claims), the way in which information is gathered and decisions are made (procedural), the way in which the parties are treated (interpersonal), and the timeliness and validity of explanations provided (informational) are all cited by complainants as key factors in their decision to escalate the complaint to an external investigative body. These results signal the need for timely, clear, and compassionate investigative processes that validate complainants’ experiences and serve as a tool for rebuilding trust and repairing damaged relationships in the workplace.

AN INVESTIGATION INTO CRANE AND SCAFFOLD SAFETY IN CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY

2018 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Swapan Saha ◽  
Ben Cauchi ◽  
Grahame Douglas
Keyword(s):  
New South ◽  
Health And Safety ◽  
Limiting Factors ◽  
Construction Sites ◽  
South Wales ◽  
Work Health ◽  
Serious Injury ◽  
Safety Investments ◽  
Safety Procedures

The aim of this study is to determine whether construction sites involving cranes and scaffold in Australian large construction sites have been in compliance with the existing Work Health and Safety (WHS) requirements. The research comprises three case studies which investigated the causes of crane and scaffold safety incidents that occurred in New South Wales. The results of the case study on a number of separate sites in Sydney, NSW have shown that without stringent safety procedures in place to abide by the WHS Act and Regulations, major accidents can occur and can cause serious injury and could cause potential fatalities while working with cranes and scaffold. Results also found that a number of limiting factors including communication skill, regular maintenance, safety checks, safety culture and safety investments could contribute to the severity of the incidents.

scholarly journals Invisible Consequences: The Health Hazards of "Women's Work" in New Zealand

2019 ◽  
Vol 50 (2) ◽  
pp. 341
Author(s):  
Dawn Duncan
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Health And Safety ◽  
Women's Work ◽  
Health Hazards ◽  
Workers Compensation ◽  
Employment Relations ◽  
Women’S Work ◽  
Accident Compensation ◽  
Work Health ◽  
The Law

Gordon Anderson has written extensively on the changes in New Zealand's labour laws that have occurred since the late 1960s, and the consequences of these changes for workers. This period saw the narrowing and individualising of work health and safety, the separation of health and safety from other areas of employment relations and the workers' compensation functions of the Accident Compensation Corporation (ACC) scheme. This article explores one of the largely invisible consequences of these shifts, arguing that gaps have emerged between these areas of law, and these gaps fall disproportionately over the types of work that women typically perform. This article outlines the current gaps in the law and identifies the areas in need of reform.

Collective Conviction

2015 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anne Eyre ◽  
Pam Dix
Keyword(s):  
Safety Culture ◽  
Best Practice ◽  
Health And Safety ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Emergency Planning ◽  
Personal Stories ◽  
Corporate Memory ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
The Media ◽  
To Come

This book tells the story of Disaster Action, a small charity founded in 1991 by survivors and bereaved people from the disasters of the late 1980s, including Zeebrugge, King's Cross, Clapham, Lockerbie, Hillsborough and the Marchioness. The aims were to create a health and safety culture in which disasters were less likely to occur and to support others affected by similar events. The founders could not have anticipated the degree to which they would influence emergency planning and management and the way people are treated after disasters. Aware of the value of lessons learned over 22 years, the trustees felt that this corporate memory should be captured. The book encapsulates that memory, so that it can be called upon by survivors, the bereaved, governments and others for years to come. The book sets out the chronology of Disaster Action's history, with first-person accounts and case studies of disasters interweaved with chapters on the needs and rights of individuals, the treatment of bereaved and survivors, inquests and inquiries, the law, the media, memorials and commemorations, and the importance of corporate memory. Additionally, it contains guidance notes for survivors and bereaved on dealing with a disaster, and best practice guidance for responders and the media. This book is essential reading for those in a wide range of disciplines with an interest in planning for, responding to, reporting on and dealing with the aftermath of disaster. And importantly, people affected by disaster should find solace and support in the personal stories of others.

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