Barriers To Seeking And Obtaining Academic Accommodations In College Classrooms

This qualitative case study explored barriers to seeking and obtaining academic accommodations for college students with identified learning disabilities attending a regional university in a Midwestern state in the United States of America. A biological model of inclusive education for use in higher education, developed by Hewett, Douglas, McLinden, and Keil (2016), was used as a guiding framework for the study. Semi-structured interviews, guided by a framework presented by Galleta (2013), were used to understand better the accommodation experiences of college students with identified learning disabilities. Thematic analysis was used to analyze transcribed data. Five themes emerged from the interviews conducted with the five participants (i.e., Lisa, Natalie, Kim, Andrew, and Sam). Three of the students (i.e., Lisa, Natalie, and Sam) identified as first-generation college students. Three of the identified themes were explicitly associated with the learners’ specific academic needs and characteristics which affected their educational outcomes: (1) insufficient knowledge, (2) identity issues, and (3) lack of self-sufficiency. The learner is at the center of the inclusive higher education model. Two themes dealt with barriers at the microsystem level, which are interrelated systems that surround the learner and affect how the student learns: (4) desire to avoid adverse social reactions; and (5) negative experiences with faculty

Indoor AIr Quality

An indoor air quality study was conducted on a ‘net-zero energy’ school using a TSI Velocicalc Model 9555-p with probe model 982, passive radon monitors, visual inspection protocol, and an indoor environmental quality survey of school faculty and staff. Average indoor temperature, relative humidity, and carbon dioxide levels in several areas within the school were not within IAQ guidelines. Three rooms on the school’s grounds had radon levels exceeding the action level. Recommended solutions included installing return and supply air ducts in hallways and relative humidity and temperature monitors in classrooms with high-pitched ceilings

Trends in state and federal OSH enforcement

Background: OSHA evaluates State Occupational Safety & Health (OSH) enforcement annually through the Federal Annual Monitoring Evaluation (FAME) process. This process is used to determine whether Kentucky OSH (KY OSH) is meeting or exceeding OSHA performance. The FAME report for KY OSH based its evaluations on only 14.5% of the total number of cases in 2015 and did not test for statistical significance. Objective: Determine the statistical significance of the 2015 FAME report deficiencies in the KY OSH program. Method: The OSHA dataset consists of case detail for all inspections conducted from 1970 to present (updated daily). ANOVA (analysis of variance) regressions were performed to test the FAME trends for significance. The SAS 9.4 computer program was used for all statistical analysis. Results: The models are either quadratic or linear regression trends from 1970 to 2016. Total, health, and safety inspections decreased in federal OSHA and KY OSH. Federal and KY number of violations for all safety or construction inspections decreased. Federal and KY number of violations per health inspection decreased. Federal and KY lapse time for all health inspections decreased per year. There was a decrease in willful violations cited by KY, not federal. The adjusted R-squared values explained from 0.3% to 59% of the variance, model power estimates varied from 50% to \u3e99.9%, and the p-values ranged from \u3c0.014 to \u3c0.0001. Conclusion: Overall, this study did not concur with the FAME Report. Since the OSH Act, effective enforcement may have led to decreased un-programmed activity through increased compliance

It\u27s About Communities: the Commitment to Promoting a Culturally Competent Environmental Health Workforce.

Environmental health and public health are profoundly local. The Association of Environmental Health Academic Programs (AEHAP) firmly agrees and for this reason, it is important to have local environmental health experts who know the pulse of their communities. AEHAP believes in supporting the advanced scientific education of environmental health in these communities through people from these communities. Accordingly, AEHAP has sought to promote and support accredited environmental health programs among a diverse cross-section of the U.S. higher education landscape. AEHAP’s students are diverse in many ways, including socioeconomically, racially, ethnically, and culturally. The value of this approach enhances the overall education of both the students and the faculty, while better positioning students and alumni to serve their own communities where they are better equipped to aid in the development and implementation of local public health programs and responses. Summarizing the annual undergraduate and 3-year graduate program survey data provided by the National Environmental Health Science & Protection Accreditation Council (EHAC), racially and/or ethnically diverse students represent 37% and 48% of enrolled undergraduate and graduate students, respectively. For the 2017–2018 enrollment year, 39% of undergraduates were described as contributing to diversity. In addition, 56% of the student population from the undergraduate and graduate programs is female. Female students have been the majority since 2008. The demographics of EHAC-accredited program graduates are closely aligned with the current U.S. population; however, demographics will change as our nation becomes pluralistic. AEHAP and EHAC will continue to promote cultural competency of graduates and assist accredited environmental health programs in producing cohorts reflective of the needs of their local communities

The impact of job control on employee perception of management commitment to safety in an engineering, procurement and construction company

Literature examining the relationship between job control and safety climate dimensions, such as management commitment to safety is not common. There is potential for job control to mediate the relationship between safety climate and safety outcomes. Therefore, further examination is required to determine if job control alters an employee\u27s perception of management commitment to safety. As injury severity and injury frequencies often vary between business sectors, relationships between job control and safety performance outcomes may also vary (NIOSH, 2012). Specifically, there is a need for more research examining the relationship in the construction industry. METHOD: A 38-item survey was utilized in this cross-sectional study to assess the relationship between self-reported job control and two variables (management commitment to safety and general safety climate). Demographic variables were examined to determine if they modified employee\u27s perception of management commitment to safety in an engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) company. Management Commitment to Safety, Job Control and General Safety Climate Scores were calculated for each participant. Linear regression was conducted to analyze the relationship between the Job Control score (JCS) and both Management Commitment to Safety (MCS) and General Safety Climate (GSCS) scores. Analysis of Variance was used to measure difference in mean MCS and GSCS among different categorical groups of six demographic variables: (1) age, (2) education level, (3) region of origin, (4) job position, (5) years worked in construction industry and (6) years worked with the EPC company. Logistic regression was used to analyze the relationship between high job control and two variables (high management commitment to safety and high general safety climate). RESULTS: A total of 754 (77%) surveys were completed by 981 invited participants. Mean Management Commitment to Safety score for all participants was 0.79 (SD=0.13) out of a possible 1.00. Mean Job Control score for all participants was 0.70 (SD=0.14). Mean General Safety Climate score for all participants was 0.81 (SD=0.14), which is considered high. Linear regression results indicated a statistically significant association between participant-reported job control and management commitment to safety scores (F = 1067.52, critical value =3.84 at p=0.05). Additionally, linear regression results indicated a statistically significant association between participant-reported job control and general safety climate scores (F =818.89, critical value =3.84 at p=0.05). A statistically significant difference in mean categorical Management Commitment to Safety and General Safety Climate scores was found for job position. Participants reporting high job control were 11.3 (C.I. 6.5 to 19.6, p\u3c0.01) times more likely to report high perception of management commitment to safety scores and 16.3 (C.I. 7.5 to 35.5, p\u3c0.01) times more likely to report high general safety climate scores. Chi-square results showed a statistically significant relationship between high job control and both high management commitment to safety and high general safety climate. CONCLUSION: This study illustrates the need to further examine the relationship between self-reported job control and both perception of management commitment to safety and safety climate. In this study, high job control was positively associated with high perception of management commitment to safety and general safety climate scores. Thus, employee perception of management commitment to safety and general safety climate increases as perceived job control increases. Job position influenced an employee\u27s perception of management commitment to safety and safety climate. Personal demographics were not important in understanding employee perception of management commitment to safety and general safety climate. No significant difference in mean MCS or mean GSCS was identified between categories of the following variables: age, region of origin, education level, years worked in the construction industry, and years worked with the EPC Company

North American Engineering, Procurement, Fabrication and Construction Worker Safety Climate Perception Affected by Job Position

Understanding and implementing the results of Safety Climate surveys can assist in decreasing occupational injuries and illnesses. The following article presents findings of a cross-sectional study that assessed the relationship between safety climate perceptions and job position among engineering, procurement, fabrication and construction (EPFC) employees using a 15-item survey. Descriptive statistics (means and frequencies) and an ANACOVA (analysis of covariance) were performed on a saturated model. The study had a 62% response rate. Results indicate a statistically significant in mean safety climate scores between job position among EPFC employees when controlling for years in industry and location type (i.e., construction versus fabrication) [F (9, 603) = 5.28, p < 0.0001, adjusted R-square = 0.07]. Employee perception of safety climate differed based on the employee’s job position (i.e., laborer, foreman, etc.). Project management reported the highest safety climate scores (0.91), followed by supervisors (0.86), technical support employees and foremen (0.84) and laborers (0.81)

Investigating Airborne Particulate Matter for Anti-Microbial Resistance

Background: Our research examines occupational exposures to antimicrobial resistant bacteria found in airborne agricultural particulate matter in central Kentucky. Currently there is a lack of existing studies examining our topic in central Kentucky. The issue of anti-microbial resistance, particularly among gram negative enteric bacteria, in agricultural settings has been documented in literature and continues to be a growing public health concern. Among the Enterobacteriaceae family, the presence of extended spectrum beta-lactamase (ESBL) producing and carbapenem resistant (CR) bacteria are especially concerning due to the impact they have on healthcare worldwide. Methods: To sample potential airborne enteric bacteria, we employed a novel approached by constructing and strategically placing adhesive air strips in a stockyard in Madison county. Each of the air strips yielded two samples, totaling sixteen for analysis. Each sample was placed in enteric enrichment broth after collection and incubated for 24 hours. Samples that turned yellow, due to fermentation, were subsequently inoculated on ESBL and CRE screening media. We transferred colonies that grew on both plates from each sample onto MacConkey and sheep blood agar to use for further testing with the API identification system and antimicrobial susceptibility by disk diffusion method. Results: We recovered eight of the ten placed air strips following 48-hours of environmental exposure for a total of sixteen samples. Seven of the sixteen enteric enrichment broth tubes turned yellow, indicative of enteric bacteria. Of the seven positive tubes, five isolates grew on ESBL and CRE screening media, with only one isolate displaying pigmentation indicative of a resistant organism. The resistant organism was identified as E. coli, and the production of extended spectrum beta-lactamases was confirmed with the disk diffusion and Etest methods. The other four were identified as presumptive Pseudomonas or other non-fermenting species. Conclusions: We were able to isolate resistant enteric bacteria from particulate matter in an agricultural setting using our novel sampling approach. This finding alone cannot determine agricultural worker exposure to inhalable particles; this is why we advise future research which can differentiate between airborne particulate size

Pesticide Contamination of Urban Beehives

Humans have used honey as a food source for more than 8,000 years. Honey has been used in numerous ancient cultures as a remedy for many illnesses. Local and specialty honeys are trending as a natural and nutritional product making it immensely popular in U.S. markets as a healthy alternative free from side effects that plague synthetic chemical sweeteners and medicines. During foraging honey bees can bring many pollutants into the hive with pesticide contaminants and residues in honey becoming a growing concern. Urban beehives are subject to increased pesticide use from businesses and homeowners. Urban produced honey and beeswax were collected and tested via GC/LC/MS methods for pyrethroid pesticide used in urban mosquito abatement, organochlorine pesticides, and heavy metals. Results showed no detectable levels of pyrethroid pesticides, but did indicate that organochlorines pesticides and lead are still persistent in our environment