Checks and balances: a business-oriented lens on disaster management and warnings.

Small businesses are critical to community recovery from disasters. However, factors that affect outcomes (such as planning, information needs, and responses to warnings) are understudied. To address the research record's focus on policy that favours disaster mitigation rather than response, this project applied a two-phased, mixed-method approach. The first study comprised interviews with businesses to elucidate disaster planning approaches, knowledge and information needs, and current warning system adequacy. It revealed opportunities to build knowledge and add business-specific content to agency-issued warnings. The second study used an online survey to examine how disaster knowledge, planning, and experience are related to existing bushfire warnings and those modified with business-relevant content. The findings show that planning is associated with experience and knowledge but not with business-related protective action intentions. Modified messages were perceived as more effective and resulted in greater action intentions among those with bushfire experience. In sum, the paper highlights implications for small business-oriented disaster risk communication.

Simple sequence repeats in Helicobacter canadensis and their role in phase variable expression and C-terminal sequence switching.

BACKGROUND: Helicobacter canadensis is an emerging human pathogen and zoonotic agent. The genome of H. canadensis was sequenced previously and determined to contain 29 annotated coding regions associated with homopolymeric tracts. RESULTS: Twenty-one of the repeat-associated coding regions were determined to be potentially transcriptionally or translationally phase variable. In each case the homopolymeric tract was within the predicted promoter region or at the 5' end of the coding region, respectively. However, eight coding sequences were identified with simple sequence repeats toward the 3' end of the open reading frame. In these cases, the repeat tract would be too far into the coding region to be mediating translational phase variation. All of the 29 coding region-associated homopolymeric tracts display variability in tract length in the sequencing read data. CONCLUSIONS: Twenty-nine coding regions have been identified in the genome sequence of Helicobacter canadensis strain NCTC13241 that show variations in homopolymeric tract length in the bacterial population, indicative of phase variation. Five of these are potentially associated with promoter regions, which would lead to transcriptional phase variation. Translational phase variation usually switches expression of a gene ON and OFF due to the repeat region being located sufficiently close to the initiation codon for the resulting frame-shift to lead to a premature termination codon and stop the translation of the protein. Sixteen of the 29 coding regions have homopolymeric tracts characteristic of translational phase variation. For eight coding sequences with repeats located later in the reading frame, changes in the repeat tract length would alter the protein sequence at the C-terminus but not stop the expression of the protein. This mechanism of C-terminal phase variation has implications for stochastic switching of protein sequence in bacterial species that already undergo transcriptional and translational phase variation.

Gaming Your Way to Health: A Systematic Review of Exergaming Programs to Increase Health and Exercise Behaviors in Adults.

OBJECTIVE: Adults who are not engaged by traditional exercise methods require a strategy to achieve and maintain sufficient physical activity for health benefits. Exergames, or active videogames, may motivate some adults to engage in physical activity. This review explored the use of exergaming to promote physical activity behaviors and health in adults. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A systematic literature review of the use of exergaming was conducted. The review included experimental studies with a nonclinical adult population, which measured changes in physical activity behaviors and changes in anthropometric healthy weight indicators. RESULTS: From an initial search that yielded 1644 results, nine articles were found to satisfy the predetermined inclusion criteria and were included in this review. Exergaming provided a novel method for increasing or substituting physical activity in the short term. Although low participation was not associated with anthropometric changes, significant healthy anthropometric changes were associated with moderate to high exergaming participation. CONCLUSIONS: Exergaming may be employed as an effective exercise behavior change strategy in the short term and may have positive health benefits if recommendations are made regarding intensity and duration of play for optimal health outcomes. However, additional research is required to evaluate the effectiveness of exergaming as a long-term health promotion strategy.

Australian fly-in, fly-out operations: Impacts on communities, safety, workers and their families.

BACKGROUND: Australia's mineral, resource and infrastructure sectors continues to expand as operations in rural and remote locations increasingly rely on fly-in, fly-out or drive-in, drive-out workforces in order to become economically competitive. The issues in effectively managing these workforces are becoming more apparent with reported high amounts of turnover and concerns for safety and performance. The issues presented include a range of physical, mental, psychosocial, safety and community challenges. OBJECTIVES: This review aims to consolidate a range of research conducted to communicate potential challenges for industry in relation to a wide variety of issues when engaging and using FIFO/DIDO workforces which includes compressed working schedule design (work schedules), working hours, fatigue, safety performance, employee wellbeing, turnover, psychosocial relationships and community concerns. METHODS: A comprehensive literature review was performed using EBSCOhost, PubMed and google scholar, with a focus on FIFO or DIDO workforces engaged within the resources sector. Search terms were kept broad in order to capture all national and international research conducted and included: "fly-in, fly-out" "FIFO" "DIDO" "drive-in, drive-out" "mining". There was no date restriction included in the search. RESULTS: Many of the studies were focused on sleep quality, fatigue and the influence of lowered safety performance while at work, presenting an increased risk for health and safety. These issues may be exacerbated for the FIFO workforce when linked to additional research surrounding the extended periods of absence from families influencing workers personal relationships, psychological wellbeing, job satisfaction and the reported high amounts of turnover within the industry. Taken together, this presents a unique implication for the management and continued use of FIFO workforces when considering balancing safety and performance with economic viability of production and operations. CONCLUSIONS: The issues of long working hours, fatigue, turnover and job satisfaction are not new to the management of workers. However, FIFO workforces appear to be at an increased risk physically and mentally due to a culmination of other influences, such as extended and frequent periods of absence from friends and families which contribute to feelings of isolation and lowered psychological wellbeing. FIFO workers and their families, engage in a unique lifestyle, rarely are other workers subjected to long hours and compressed work weeks while separated or isolated from their families for extended periods of time. Recently, FIFO interest has shifted to understanding the influences on employee engagement, satisfaction, retention and safety. Considering the management of FIFO workforces from a holistic perspective incorporating all of the issues impacting on these workers may assist to ensure the challenges associated with FIFO employment are understood, addressed and communicated to workers and their families is crucial for safety and health.