Skills, knowledge and senior managers’ demonstrations of safety commitment.

Senior managers’ safety commitment is emphasised in the safety literature as a crucial influence on organisational safety. Yet there is little understanding of the characteristics that underpin their ability to engage in behaviours that demonstrate safety commitment. This study investigates the contribution of problem-solving, social competence and safety knowledge to such behaviours. Senior managers (N = 60) from European and North American air traffic management organisations participated in interviews consisting of open questions designed to trigger safety knowledge and descriptions of behaviours that demonstrate safety commitment as well as scenarios designed to trigger problem-solving and social competence. Reliable scores were generated through systematic scoring procedures involving two independent coders. The results indicated that problem-solving, namely the number of issues and information sources considered when understanding problems and generating ideas to solve a problem were positively related to demonstrations of safety commitment. The ability to perceive others was also found to correlate with safety commitment, whereas safety knowledge was not associated with behaviours that demonstrate safety commitment. It is proposed that training and guidance designed for senior managers should focus on their problem-solving abilities and perception of others in order to support them in demonstrating safety commitment

Technical summary

Human interference with the climate system is occurring. Climate change poses risks for human and natural systems. The assessment of impacts, adaptation, and vulnerability in the Working Group II contribution to the IPCC's Fifth Assessment Report (WGII AR5) evaluates how patterns of risks and potential benefits are shifting due to climate change and how risks can be reduced through mitigation and adaptation. It recognizes that risks of climate change will vary across regions and populations, through space and time, dependent on myriad factors including the extent of mitigation and adaptation

Strategies for monitoring and managing mass populations of toxic cyanobacteria in recreational waters:A multi-interdisciplinary approach

Mass populations of toxin-producing cyanobacteria commonly develop in fresh-, brackish- and marine waters and effective strategies for monitoring and managing cyanobacterial health risks are required to safeguard animal and human health. A multi-interdisciplinary study, including two UK freshwaters with a history of toxic cyanobacterial blooms, was undertaken to explore different approaches for the identification, monitoring and management of potentially-toxic cyanobacteria and their associated risks. The results demonstrate that (i) cyanobacterial bloom occurrence can be predicted at a local- and national-scale using process-based and statistical models; (ii) cyanobacterial concentration and distribution in waterbodies can be monitored using remote sensing, but minimum detection limits need to be evaluated; (iii) cyanotoxins may be transferred to spray-irrigated root crops; and (iv) attitudes and perceptions towards risks influence the public's preferences and willingness-to-pay for cyanobacterial health risk reductions in recreational waters