Participants (80 men, 80 women) read hypothetical date rape scenarios, wherein the perpetrator's socioeconomic status (bus driver versus doctor) and the victim's level of resistance (verbal versus verbal and physical) were varied, and made judgments about who was at fault and what the consequences should be. In general, men assigned more blame to the victim and less blame to the perpetrator than did women. However, men assigned more blame to the bus driver than to the doctor. Women, on the other hand, assigned more blame to the victim who was raped by the bus driver than to the victim who was raped by the doctor. The results also indicated that participants recommended harsher punishments for the perpetrator when the victim resisted verbally than when she resisted verbally and physically. Future research on the role of the perpetrator's, the victim's, and the participants' socioeconomic status in judgments about date rape is suggested.

Diving practices of a group of indigenous people living on Thailand's west coast were investigated. Village chiefs were first interviewed using a questionnaire. Three hundred and forty-two active divers were then interviewed by health care workers using a second questionnaire. Field observation was used to further develop information and confirm diving practices. Divers in 6 villages, whose basic means of making a living is from diving for marine products such as fish and shellfish, have diving patterns that put them at substantial risk of decompression illness. Breathing air from a primitive compressor through approximately 100 m of air hose, these divers have long bottom times coupled with short surface intervals. Forty-six point two percent of the divers indicated that they would not make a stop during ascent from a long deep dive (40 m for 30 min). When comparing their previous day of diving to the U.S. Navy Standard Air Decompression Table (U.S. Navy, 1993), 72.1% exceeded the no-decompression limits set by the tables. Diving patterns point to a need for more in-depth research into the diving patterns of this indigenous group. Future research should include the use of dive logging devices to record depths and times. There is also a need to provide divers with information and training to reinforce positive practices and strengthen knowledge of the risks associated with their current diving practices.

The International Labour Organization (ILO) has developed a workplace intervention known as SOLVE, aimed at reducing the incidence of psychosocial problems related to job stress, workplace violence, tobacco use, drug and alcohol abuse, and HIV/AIDS. Although this ILO intervention is widely implemented, this article reports the first attempt to empirically assess its effectiveness. Using pre- and posttests of knowledge related to the course content gathered from 268 individuals in 7 countries who attended 1 of 15 SOLVE courses, analyses show that participant learning significantly improved as a function of attending the training. Knowledge gains were consistent regardless of course attended, language used to deliver the training program, and country in which the training took place. Implications of the SOLVE program are discussed, and future steps for further intervention development and assessment are recommended.

This study explored perceptions, experiences and opportunities for the occupational safety and health professional (OSHP) as a result of COVID-19. Using qualitative methods, interviews took place with OSHPs in two organisations to understand how their role developed during the pandemic. Additionally, seven focus groups were organised and met virtually, using the Zoom platform, each addressing a different topic identified by the researchers. Participants (n = 45) from 10 different countries were distributed among the focus groups. Topics were separated into four themes: impact on the workplace; the psychosocial dynamic; medical and health issues and occupational safety and health (OSH) issues. Results were subsequently divided into seven action categories and compared with the findings from the organisational interviews. Comparison pointed to an expanded role for the OSHP including business continuity, resilience and wellbeing in addition to assessing and controlling risks emerging during the pandemic. There is also the need for a means to adequately disseminate trustworthy information. Results indicated that there was no single ‘average’ role of the OSHP, demonstrating essential contributions as a member of the management team. Results also stressed that the pandemic carried three health-related co-morbidities, stress, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and burnout. Directions for future research included: the education of the OSHP to support a move away from compliance towards risk management; determining how mental health issues in organisations should be managed; expanded roles for OSHPs within business; and implications for professional bodies, membership institutions and academia in supporting the above-mentioned emerging roles.

The Urak Lawoi are indigenous fishermen on Thailand's west coast. The population includes an estimated 400 divers who dive using surface-supplied compressed air. In a cross-sectional survey conducted among the 6 major communities of Urak Lawoi, questionnaire-based interviews were administered to active divers, ex-divers, and families or colleagues of divers who had died in the previous 5 years. Six deaths resulting from diving-related accidents were identified, indicating a diving-related mortality rate of approximately 300 per 100,000 person-years, while in the same 5-year period 11 divers had been disabled owing to diving-related events, indicating a diving-related disabling event rate of approximately 550 per 100,000 person-years. Among 342 active divers interviewed, one third reported having suffered from decompression illness, although based on reported current symptoms over 50% were classified as suffering from recurring non-disabling decompression illness. Physical examination conducted on a subset of 98 active divers revealed the presence of spinal injury (clonus, raised muscle tone, and heightened reflexes) and of joint damage (pain in one or more joint, crepitus, or restricted movement) in 24 and 30% respectively. Improved primary prevention and medical treatment are needed to reduce mortality and morbidity among this population.