Suchergebnisse

AbstractObjectivesOccupational exposures in population-based case–control studies are increasingly being assessed using decision rules that link participants' responses to occupational questionnaires to exposure estimates. We used a hierarchical process that incorporated decision rules and job-by-job expert review to assign occupational benzene exposure estimates in a US population-based case–control study of non-Hodgkin lymphoma.MethodsWe conducted a literature review to identify scenarios in which occupational benzene exposure has occurred, which we grouped into 12 categories of benzene exposure sources. For each source category, we then developed decision rules for assessing probability (ordinal scale based on the likelihood of exposure > 0.02 ppm), frequency (proportion of work time exposed), and intensity of exposure (in ppm). The rules used the participants' occupational history responses and, for a subset of jobs, responses to job- and industry-specific modules. For probability and frequency, we used a hierarchical assignment procedure that prioritized subject-specific module information when available. Next, we derived job-group medians from the module responses to assign estimates to jobs with only occupational history responses. Last, we used job-by-job expert review to assign estimates when job-group medians were not available or when the decision rules identified possible heterogeneous or rare exposure scenarios. For intensity, we developed separate estimates for each benzene source category that were based on published measurement data whenever possible. Frequency and intensity annual source-specific estimates were assigned only for those jobs assigned ≥75% probability of exposure. Annual source-specific concentrations (intensity × frequency) were summed to obtain a total annual benzene concentration for each job.ResultsOf the 8827 jobs reported by participants, 8% required expert review for one or more source categories. Overall, 287 (3.3%) jobs were assigned ≥75% probability of exposure from any benzene source category. The source categories most commonly assigned ≥75% probability of exposure were gasoline and degreasing. The median total annual benzene concentration among jobs assigned ≥75% probability was 0.11 ppm (interquartile range: 0.06–0.55). The highest source-specific median annual concentrations were observed for ink and printing (2.3 and 1.2 ppm, respectively).ConclusionsThe applied framework captures some subject-specific variability in work tasks, provides transparency to the exposure decision process, and facilitates future sensitivity analyses. The developed decision rules can be used as a starting point by other researchers to assess occupational benzene exposure in future population-based studies.

INTERGOVERNMENTAL RELATIONS IN WEST GERMAN COOPERATIVE FEDERALISM HAVE OFTEN BEEN CRITICIZED AS INEFFICIENT AND INFLEXIBLE. THE ABOLITION OF JOINT POLICYMAKING AND THE PROMOTION OF DECENTRALIZATION HAVE BEEN RECOMMENDED IN ORDER TO REDUCE INTERDEPENDENCIES BETWEEN GOVERNMENTS AND TO AVOID OVERLOADING CENTRAL POLICYMAKING. SUCH PROPOSALS HAVE USUALLY BEEN PUT FORWARD WITHOUT CONSIDERING THE GOVERNMENTAL COMPLEXITY THAT IMPEDES LARGE-SCALE REFORMS. HOWEVER, A DETAILED ANALYSIS OF FEDERALISM, FOCUSING ON PROCESSES RATHER THAN STRUCTURES AND ON DIFFERENT POLICIES RATHER THAN AGGREGATIONS, REVEALS THAT INTERGOVERNMENTAL RELATIONS IN THE 1980S ARE NOT THE SAME AS THOSE IN THE 1960S OR EARLY 1970S. THE INHERENT DYNAMICS OF INTERGOVERNMENTAL RELATIONS HAVE PRODUCED MANY CHANGES. THESE CHANGES HAVE CONTRIBUTED TO THE OVERALL STABILITY OF WEST GERMAN FEDERALISM BECAUSE THEY HAVE REFLECTED FLEXIBLE ADAPTATIONS OF RELATIONS AMONG FEDERAL, LAND, AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS TO NEW SOCIOECONOMIC, SOCIOCULTURAL, AND ECOLOGICAL CHALLENGES. HENCE, EVENTS OF THE 1980S PROVIDE AN OCCASION FOR REASSESSING COOPERATIVE FEDERALISM.

Stellung und Selbstverständnis der Frau haben sich in den vergangenen Jahrzehnten stark geändert und sind noch immer in Bewegung. Ihr Ziel, eine partnerschaftliche Bewältigung gesellschaftlicher und familiärer Aufgaben, hat diese Entwicklung aber noch lange nicht erreicht. Die Ausbildungschancen und die beruflichen Möglichkeiten der Mädchen haben sich denen der Jungen angeglichen, trotzdem ist die Stellung der Frauen in der Berufswelt deutlich schlechter. Die Autorin geht den Gründen dieses Ungleichgewichts nach und befaßt sich mit den biologischen Funktionen, der Sozialisation und der gesellschaftlichen Rollenverteilung sowie mit den soziokulturellen Entwicklungseinflüssen auf das Rollenverhalten. Widerstände gegen Veränderungen des Frauenbildes gibt es auf allen Ebenen, gesellschaftlichen wie individuellen, bei Männern und bei Frauen. Die Emanzipation der Frau erfordert daher die Ausbildung neuer Selbstbilder und eines neuen Rollenverhaltens für beide Geschlechter. (KA)

Abstract
Passive or diffusion samplers have become standard tools for exposure and compliance testing despite their limited accuracy of 25-30%. Passive samplers have several advantages over active/pumped samplers, notably ease of use, low cost and inherent explosion safety. EN 838 advises their use for personal sampling at up to 4 m/s, but with a minimum of 0.1 m/s. Considerable underestimations were found in a set of passive sampler results compared to pumped samplers for BTEX. A literature review of laboratory and field studies was performed to investigate theoretical explanations for the discrepancies found. Based on results published in journals an underestimation of concentration by passive samplers is not uncommon, although usually the difference is within an acceptable range. Temperature and relative humidity have known, quantifiable effects, which are fairly small. High wind speed theoretically causes increased, not decreased, uptake due to smaller diffusion distances. This effect was confirmed experimentally, both in wind tunnels and in field studies, according to literature. Real-time monitoring in company operations shows that personal exposure in outdoor scenarios often fluctuates strongly with short peaks over periods of seconds rather than minutes. Theoretically this may influence uptake by diffusion samplers depending on their design and some researchers do report that passive samplers work less well under such conditions. Further research into passive sampler performance in fast fluctuating conditions as found in the field appears necessary.