Suchergebnisse

This paper considers the eighteenth-century 'voyages of discovery' to the Americas within the framework of colonial history and the development of modern scientific practice and method. It uses a feminist methodological approach toward concepts of natural knowledge and knowledge production. The essay looks specifically at knowledges of particular plants from the Caribbean and their properties, focusing on one plant still used for fertility throughout the region. I investigate the centrality of Caribbean natural knowledge to the development of differing historical perspectives on nature as well as the relationship between the development of European botanical sciences and natural knowledge in the Americas.

This article argues that Jamaica Kinkaid's short prose piece "Girl" (1978)—sometimes referred to as a poem, sometimes a short story—merits a rereading based on the politics of contraception and natural knowledge in the Caribbean. In sparse and delicate prose, Kincaid manages to reflect on the historical ability of women to be both creative and practical in managing the relationship between their bodies and the natural world. A central theme of the story is the often-overlooked disappearance of particular forms of knowledge in particular places. The story is also about how human knowledge can arise from necessity and can provide individuals and communities with both power and agency. One of the key lessons in the story links Kincaid's characters to the Caribbean practice of resisting gender norms and colonialism through the use of plant-based abortifacients.

Abstract

Objectives
Second-hand tobacco smoke (SHS) is a serious cause of ill-health, and concern around SHS exposure at work has driven legislation in public places. In Scotland, most workers are now protected from SHS at work. However, home care workers (HCWs) may still be exposed, as they enter private homes where smoking is unregulated. In this study, we aimed to understand the extent, duration and intensity of that exposure among HCWs in Lanarkshire, Scotland.


Methods
We surveyed HCWs in four organisations involved in providing care at home: a public healthcare agency (NHS Lanarkshire), two local government entities and a private healthcare company. We also conducted personal exposure monitoring (PEM) of exposure to airborne nicotine and SHS-related fine particulate matter (PM2.5) with 32 HCWs.


Results
The vast majority of HCWs surveyed reported being exposed to SHS at work (395/537, 74%), and 50% of those who reported exposure in the home indicated daily exposure. We conducted PEM over 82 home visits, with 21% (17) demonstrating PM2.5 concentrations in excess of the WHO's 2010 air quality guideline limit for 24 h exposure. Duration of exposure to SHS tended to be short and as a result all nicotine samples were below the limit of quantification.


Conclusions
Most HCWs are exposed to minimal levels of SHS at work. However, a minority may be exposed to concentrations which affect health. Policies to mitigate this exposure should be considered, such as the use of respiratory protective equipment, improved ventilation during visits, and interventions to reduce smoking in homes.

Second-hand tobacco smoke (SHS) is an avoidable and harmful exposure in the workplace but >25000 prison staff continue to be exposed on a daily basis in the UK and many more worldwide. SHS exposures in prisons are incompletely understood but may be considerable given the large proportion of smoking prisoners and limited ventilation. This study characterized the exposure of prison staff to SHS in all 15 prisons in Scotland using multiple methods. Exposure assessment strategies included 6-day area measurement of fine Particulate Matter (PM2.5) and airborne nicotine in each prison together with short (30-minute) measurements of PM2.5 covering a range of locations/activities. Pre- and post-shift saliva samples were also gathered from non-smoking staff and analysed for cotinine to estimate exposure. There was evidence of exposure to SHS in all prisons from the results of PM2.5 and nicotine measurements. The salivary cotinine results from a sub-sample of non-smoking workers indicated SHS exposures of similar magnitude to those provided by the 6-day area measurements of PM2.5. There was a high degree of exposure variability with some locations/activities involving exposure to SHS concentrations that were comparable to those measured in bars in Scotland prior to smoke-free legislation in 2006. The median shift exposure to SHS-PM2.5 was ~20 to 30 µg m−3 and is broadly similar to that experienced by someone living in a typical smoking home in Scotland. This is the most comprehensive assessment of prison workers' exposure to SHS in the world. The results are highly relevant to the development of smoke-free policies in prisons and should be considered when deciding on the best approach to provide prison staff with a safe and healthy working environment.

Objectives: Policy responses to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 led to behaviour changes in the UK's population, including a sudden shift towards working from home. These changes may have affected overall exposure to fine particulate matter (PM2.5), an air pollutant and source of health harm. We report the results of a simulation model of a representative sample of the UK's population, including workers and non-workers, to estimate PM2.5 exposure before and during the pandemic. Methods: PM2.5 exposure was simulated in April and August 2017–2020 for 10,000 individuals across the UK drawn from the 2011 nationwide census. These data were combined with data from the UK's ambient PM2.5 monitoring network, time use data and data on relevant personal behaviour before and during the first stage of the pandemic (such as changes in smoking and cooking). Results: The simulated exposures were significantly different between each year. Changes in ambient PM2.5 resulted in regional and temporal variation. People living in homes where someone smoked experienced higher exposure than those in smoke-free homes, with an increase of 4 µg/m3 in PM2.5 exposure in 2020. Conclusions: Changes in PM2.5 exposure were minimal for most individuals despite the simulated increases in cooking activity. Those living in smoking homes (estimated to be around 11% of the UK population) experienced increased exposure to PM2.5 during COVID lockdown measures and this is likely to have increased mortality and morbidity among this group. Government policy should address the risk of increased exposure to second-hand smoke in the event of future COVID-19-related restrictions.

Adoption of smoke-free measures has been one of the central elements of tobacco control activity over the past 30 years. The past decade has seen an increasing number of countries and proportion of the global population covered by smoke-free policies to some extent. Despite reductions in global smoking prevalence, population growth means that the number of non-smokers exposed to the harms caused by secondhand smoke remains high. Smoke-free policy measures have been shown to be useful in protecting non-smokers from secondhand smoke, and can additionally increase cessation and reduce smoking initiation. Policies tend to be aimed primarily at enclosed public or workplace settings with very few countries attempting to control exposure in private or semiprivate spaces such as homes and cars, and, as a result, children may be benefiting less from smoke-free measures than adults. Compliance with legislation also varies by country and there is a need for education and empowerment together with guidance and changing social norms to help deliver the full benefits that smoke-free spaces can bring. Restrictions and policies on use of electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) in smoke-free settings require more research to determine the benefits and implications of bystanders' exposure to secondhand e-cigarette aerosol, dual use and smoking cessation.