The parameter of the Sick Building Syndrome: A systematic literature review.

Sick Building Syndrome (SBS) is a collection of symptoms assumed to be related to spending time in a certain building, most typically a workplace, but no specific cause has been identified. The need to measure and assess various types of parameters of SBS is crucial and it is important to explore what parameter has been used in the previous studies of SBS. Therefore, this study aims to systematically review the parameter that has been used to monitor the SBS. This study was conducted using the PRISMA Statement and the search was conducted using two scientific databases which were Scopus and Web of Science. After a thorough and tight process, a total of 55 articles have been finalized and selected for thematic analysis. Two themes have been identified which were a) Indoor Environmental Quality (IEQ) and b) Occupant. This study also found that the spatial distribution pattern revealed that the Sick Building Syndrome research was spread over 26 nations, with the majority of articles originating from the United States and China. In terms of context, the majority of the selected publications employed the survey approach to investigate SBS parameters. Aside from that, the most researched form of building is the business building. This study has found that it would be more impactful for the SBS study if researchers could incorporate both indoor environmental quality and occupant factors into a study, resulting in more holistic conclusions.

The influence of hazard control and prevention toward safety behaviors and safety outcomes in coal-fired power plants using PLS-SEM.

INTRODUCTION: The electrical utility industry, which plays a vital role in sustaining other sectors, contributes to high occupational accident rates in the utility industries. The high accident rate shows that there has been insufficient effort made to control unsafe actions and conditions in the workplace. This study aims to examine the influence of hazard control and prevention as leading indicators of safety behaviors and outcomes in coal-fired power plants in Malaysia. METHODS: This quantitative research was conducted by distributing survey questionnaires randomly to five coal-fired power plants in Peninsular Malaysia. A total of 340 respondents were involved in this research. Partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) analysis was performed using SmartPLS to validate and examine the relationship of the proposed model. RESULTS: The results validate the construct of hazard control and prevention consisting of planning, action, managing, and verifying, while the safety outcomes construct consists of occupational accidents, fatal accidents, near misses, and lost time injuries. The results indicate that hazard control and prevention significantly relate to safety compliance, safety participation, safety motivation, and safety knowledge. Moreover, safety outcomes were influenced negatively by hazard control and prevention through safety compliance. CONCLUSION: The model provides a better understanding of the influence of hazard control and prevention on safety behavior and outcomes. PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS: The model can be used as guidance for practitioners and researchers in planning and implementing hazard control and prevention to improve health and safety in the workplace.

Systematic Literature Review on Indicators Use in Safety Management Practices among Utility Industries.

BACKGROUND: Workers in utility industries are exposed to occupational accidents due to inadequate safety management systems. Accordingly, it is necessary to characterize and compare the available literature on indicators used in safety management practices in the utility industries. METHODS: The systematic literature review was based on the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analysis statement. This study considered 25 related studies from Web of Science and Scopus databases. RESULTS: Further review of these articles resulted in three mains performance indicators; namely, driven leading indicators, observant leading indicators, and lagging indicators consisting of 15 sub-indicators. CONCLUSIONS: Future studies should consider researching a more comprehensive range of utility industries, measuring subjective and objective indicators, integrating risk management into safety management practices, and validating the influence of leading indicators on safety outcomes. Further, researchers recommend including accidents, fatalities, lost time injuries, and near misses in safety outcomes.

A bibliometric review on the inter-connection between climate change and rice farming.

Rice is an important cereal and a staple food in many countries in the world. Climate change is a significant challenge that affects paddy production and threatens food security. However, research and development in this area continue to work to ensure the supply of rice fulfils the demands of the population. The study aims to analyse the transformation of international research power in trends in climate change that threaten food security (rice) worldwide. This study evaluates existing publications, especially research works from the period 1970 to 2020. The Web of Science database and the VOSviewer software were used together to generate a systematic analysis. A total of 1181 publications on climate change and paddy production were identified, written by 2249 authors from 56 countries. The highest number of publications was from China with 240 publications with 4609 citations, followed by India, with 225 publications and 2070 citations. Yield and adaptation are the most frequently used keywords that reflect this field's current significant research direction. Besides that, developing countries have received greater attention from researchers to focus on science, agriculture, climatology, and agriculture engineering as their domains. Therefore, socio-economic aspects should also be highlighted to raise awareness of the dangers of climate change and improve the farmers' economy by increasing paddy production. Attention was given by all countries globally, especially by researchers and stakeholders who need to plan holistic policies and strategies to encourage sustainable rice production and at the same time reduce the impact of climate change worldwide.

The determinant factors for macroinvertebrate assemblages in a recreational river in Negeri Sembilan, Malaysia.

The determinant factors for macroinvertebrate assemblages in river ecosystems are varied and are unique and specific to the type of macroinvertebrate family. This study aims to assess the determinant factors for macroinvertebrate assemblages in a recreational river. The study was conducted on the Ulu Bendul River, Negeri Sembilan, Malaysia. A total of ten sampling stations were selected. The research methodology included (1) water quality measurement, (2) habitat characterization, and (3) macroinvertebrate identification and distribution analysis. The statistical analysis used in this study was canonical correspondence analysis (CCA) to represent the relationship between the environmental factors and macroinvertebrate assemblages in the recreational river. This study found that most of the families of macroinvertebrates were very dependent on the temperature, DO, NH3-N, type of riverbed, etc. All of these factors are important for the survival of the particular type of macroinvertebrate, plus they are also important for selecting egg-laying areas and providing suitable conditions for the larvae to grow. This study advises that improved landscape design for watershed management be implemented in order to enhance water quality and physical habitats, and hence the protection and recovery of the macroinvertebrate biodiversity.