Coalitions: partnerships to promote agricultural health and safety

Throughout the 1990s, a variety of partnerships and community-based organizations have been formed with the primary mission to promote agricultural safety and health. These groups are altruistic, creative, energetic, and provide critical perspectives for improving the safety and health of the agricultural workforce at the local, regional, and national levels. These coalitions have been created as a result of philanthropic support, public funding, grassroots interest, and personal experiences with agricultural injuries andfatalities. They are playing important roles in collaborating with researchers and in reaching the individual agricultural communities. They have been instrumental in conducting needs assessments and are critical to the development and implementation of successful surveillance programs and interventions. Outreach and dissemination of research findings and other safety and health information to target audiences are strengths of these diverse coalitions. This article will focus on primarily community-based coalitions, providing an overview of the development, foci, membership activities, and contributions or impact of these groups during the 1990s and the challenges in maintaining and sustaining the coalitions. This information should be useful to those seeking to understand the activities of existing coalitions and identify potential partnerships for future activities.     

The impact of biotechnology on agricultural worker safety and health

Biotechnology applications such as the use and production of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) have been widely promoted, adopted, and employed by agricultural producers throughout the world. Yet, little research exists that examines the implications of agricultural biotechnology on the health and safety of workers involved in agricultural production and processing. Regulatory frameworks do exist to examine key issues related to food safety and environmental protection in GMO applications. However, based on the lack of research and regulatory oversight, it would appear that the potential impact on the safety and health of workers is of limited interest. This article examines some of the known worker health and safety implications related to the use and production of GMOs using the host, agent, and environment framework. The characteristics of employers, workers, inputs, production practices, and socio-economic environments in which future agricultural workers perform various tasks is likely to change based on the research summarized here.     

The theory of planned behavior: use and application in targeting agricultural safety and health interventions

Traditional farm safety programs rely mostly on iterations of knowledge-based components, typically lack local input into identification of issues and concerns, and are difficult to evaluate. Psychological models have been looked at as tools to address these problems. The Theory of Planned Behavior (ToPB) is a psychological model that has been used to understand behavioral beliefs and to provide a framework for using those beliefs as intervention targets. The fundamental characteristics of ToPB are reviewed. Examples of specifically stated behavioral questions are provided from ToPB application in field settings. Pertinent findings from an example study on personal protective equipment use and beliefs are summarized to illustrate advantages and disadvantages of using ToPB. ToPB can provide information useful in targeting interventions aimed at locally identified safety and health concerns. The use of beliefs identified using ToPB as intervention targets can increase the use of personal protective equipment beyond levels used prior to the intervention. And, ToPB has shown multiple correlations of 0.28 (up to 0.35 in other examples not reported) between intentions and self-reported behaviors, indicating that other contributory factors are present and need to be studied.     

Texas entry-year agriculture teachers' perceptions, practices, and preparation regarding safety and health in agricultural education

The purpose of this study was to gather benchmark data for the assessment of the knowledge, attitudes, and perceptions regarding agricultural safety issues and curricula held by Texas agricultural teachers with less than two full years of teaching experience (entry-year teachers). Seventy-four of 118 well-distributed teachers responded to this survey. Researchers concluded that more females were entering a traditionally male-dominated field. Overall, teachers addressed safety within units of instruction rather than as separate units. The most useful forms of new teaching resources that this group of teachers would like to see produced were safety videos and study guides, and class demonstration/simulation activities. There was a significant difference in rankings between teachers less than 26 years old and teachers more than 26 years old regarding the usefulness of transparencies as a new teaching resource (F = 5.00, p = 0.0268). Few teachers were currently CPR and first aid certified, even though most had received training and completed a general safety and/or health related course while in college. Teachers generally agreed philosophically with most practices and exhibited personal beliefs consistent with proper safety preparedness and practice in agricultural settings. However, many of these teachers failed to practice what was expected of safe tractor operators, such as wearing safety belts and allowing younger drivers to operate the equipment.     

江苏省环境质量与农业安全问题研究

本文通过对江苏省环境监测及农产品质量检验数据的综合分析研究,揭示近年来江苏省环境质量与农业安全问题,包括环境问题的重点、成因、发展趋势、环境-农业-人的作用关系及对农业安全的影响效应、环境对策与措施等。     

诊断型农业专家系统推理机制的设计与实现

本文在分析农业生产技术问题诊断、农业专家解决实际问题的过程和农业生产者对专家系统应用要求的基础上,设计了三种适用于农业领域问题的推理机制,并成功地在诊断型农业专家系统推理机开发集成中应用。     

一种新型知识表示在诊断型农业专家系统中的实现

本文通过对目前常用知识表示方法的分析和比较,针对农业知识的复杂性、推理的模糊性,提出了一套适于农业专家系统开发的知识表示方法——“复合知识树法”,以期为农业以及相关领域的诊断型专家系统开发提供参考。     

农业病虫害预测预报专家系统平台的开发

详细介绍了农业病虫害预测预报专家系统平台的设计与开发，包括系统的整体结构与功能设计、系统知识库的设计与知识组织模型、系统各功能模块的设计及系统的特点等。系统主要由专家知识库、系统推理机、预测预报模块、知识库管理模块、案例库管理模块和预测结果解释模块等构成，以数据库形式来存放有关的专家知识，共定义10个数据表，各表间形成了特定的关联关系，使得表中所包含的有关知识描述、特征临界值、生成的判别条件及发生等级间构成一种网状模型。系统采用了基于专家知识的前向型推理与基于案例的推理(Case-Based Reasoning, CBR)相结合的方式进行预测推理。各模块的用户界面采用“向导”或其它提示方式引导用户完成专家知识库的维护、用户数据输入、推理确认、病虫害预测预报结果显示、案例库管理(包括案例确认、补充信息及案例统计)及预测结果解释等操作。系统具有开放、自学习、易操作等特性，可广泛应用于农业、林业等病虫害预测预报专家系统的构建。     

农业可持续发展的生态安全研究

农业可持续发展的生态安全是指农业赖以发展的自然资源、生态环境处于不受威胁、无危险的健康、平衡状态,具有战略性、整体性、区域性、层次性、动态性和阶段性等特点。研究提出生态安全评价4项基本原则及其指标体系。并以浙江省嘉兴市为例研究提出生态安全评价方法。     

呼叫中心与专家系统耦合的农业知识获取方法

为了满足全国各地农民借助于农村普及率高的电话获取农业知识的需求,该文综合利用呼叫中心平台和专家系统开发技术,设计了一种呼叫中心与专家系统耦合的农业知识获取方法.该方法采用呼叫中心的数据库触发器技术与专家系统的事件监听器技术相结合的方案,实现了呼叫中心的IVR流程对专家系统知识库的自动调用,而无需为呼叫中心重新设计推理算...     

重庆市农业生态安全综合评价

采用层次分析法研究建立了重庆市农业生态安全综合评价指标体系,并利用数学模型计算出重庆市1998年和2 0 0 0年农业生态不安全度。简析了重庆市农业生态安全存在的主要问题,并提出其发展对策     

基于农产品供应链的质量安全可追溯系统

为加强农产品质量安全管理,保证消费者身体健康,从农产品供应链的角度出发,提出基于农产品供应链的质量安全可追溯系统的设计方案。在危害分析和关键控制点(hazard analysis and critical control point,HACCP)管理体系的指导下,利用二维码技术、数据库技术、网络信息技术进行系统的构建和开发,实现了农产品在整个供应链上从种植、采收、加工到销售的全程跟踪和溯源,有效地加强了对农产品质量安全的监管,保证消费者最终知情权。目前,该系统在江苏江阴地区实际测试效果良好,验证了方案的可行性和有效性。     

Worker health and safety in concentrated animal feeding operations

A trend in consolidating livestock and poultry operations into concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs) potentially increases farm worker exposure to the hazards associated with high animal density conditions. The two main contributors of documented injury (fatal and non-fatal) are related to accidents with machinery and animals. Tractor rollovers are the leading accident in the area of farming machinery issues; kicks, bites, and workers being pinned between animals and fixed objects are non-machinery issues typically caused by inadequate precautions taken in the vicinity of livestock. These types of accidents are well documented; however, recommended safety strategies continue to be studied to reduce the risks and numbers of injuries associated with both machines and animals. Unlike accidents involving machinery and animals, air emission exposure and potential health effects from CAFOs are not well documented. CAFOs have the potential to show higher gaseous and particulate matter emissions compared to smaller farms. Pollutants like hydrogen sulfide, ammonia, volatile organic compounds, particulate matter, and endotoxin are emitted on CAFOs and can potentially affect worker health. These specific air emissions, their sources, and some of their harmful capabilities have been identified, and regulations have been implemented to create improved work environments on CAFOs. Despite such precautions, farm workers continue to report respiratory health symptoms related to their work environment. Air pollutant exposure and its health effects on farm workers require focused research to arrive at improved safety strategies that include mitigation techniques and protective gear to minimize adverse effects of working in CAFOs.     

农业病害测报系统群决策的动态专家支持度方法

在农业病害测报系统中,经常用到专家群决策方法,并用专家支持度来反映专家个体决策对于群体决策结果的影响力,提高了群决策结果的合理性,但应用系统中往往采用静态专家支持度,专家个体的决策意见可能会因为环境不同而有较大的随机性,导致决策结果错误。该文提出了动态专家支持度的方法,建立农业测报系统多专家群决策模型,采用动态权值计算方法来动态调整系统内专家的支持度。既充分体现专家经验,也在一定程度内解决了专家意见的随机性导致的问题,不仅提高了群决策的科学性,也使农业病害测报系统群决策获得较高的决策可靠性,该方法已经在实际应用项目中使用。     

农业绿色发展系统研究思路与定量方法

农业绿色发展研究是融合多学科知识,以食物系统为研究对象,重点剖析系统内不同单元间关联和互馈关系,进而阐明粮食安全、国民健康、资源节约、环境保护等目标的协调机制,探索全产业链技术途径,并致力于协同实现农业"绿色"和"发展"的科学。传统研究方法往往忽视对农业绿色发展的系统思考和定量分析,无法统筹农业绿色发展的各环节和协调多类目标的实现。在本研究中,我们首先基于系统研究的思路,明确了"土壤-作物生产-畜牧业生产-食品加工-家庭消费—环境"整个食物系统是农业绿色发展系统研究边界;其次,结合农业绿色发展全链条和多尺度特性,提出并论述了"自上而下"和"自下而上"的定量研究思路;随后,以上述两方面研究思考为基础,构建了由1个核心模型[食物系统养分流动模型(NUFER)]、3个定量分析模块(水、大气和土地利用分析模块)和1个指标关联模块[耦合驱动力-压力-状态-影响-响应概念框架(DPSIR)、可持续发展指标体系(SDGs)和星球边界理论框架(PBs)]组成的农业绿色发展系统分析耦合模型(NUFER-AGD);最后,梳理了农业绿色发展定量研究的案例。案例研究通过多指标关联分析和指标评价,协同国家农业绿色发展的总体目标;在流域尺度以绿色环境与资源阈值为约束,定量设计农业绿色发展系统解决方案;系统分析全产业链农业绿色发展的技术实现路径。该研究不仅能为农业绿色发展理论和应用研究提供系统思路和定量方法,还可为国家农业绿色发展战略提供科学支撑。