Search Results (60)

The contribution of members of the agri-food system to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals is a key element in the global transition to sustainable development. The use of sustainable management systems supports the development of an integrated approach with a spirit of continuous improvement. Such organization is based on risk-management tools that are applied to multiple stakeholders, e.g., those responsible for product quality, occupational health and safety, and environmental impact, thus enabling better global performance. In this review, the term “ethical food systems” is used in our discussion of the concrete methods that can be used to endorse fairness and concern across the food chain. This comprises safeguarding equitable access to nutritious foods, defending animal welfare, assisting ecologically accountable production, and addressing social and labor justice within supply chains. Ethical factors also include transparency, cultural respect, and intergenerational responsibility. Consequently, the objective of this review is to address how these ethical values can be implemented within a One Health framework, predominantly by assimilating plant-based diets, developing governance tools, and resolving nutritional insecurity. Within the One Health framework, decoding ethical principles into practice necessitates a set of concrete interventions: (i) raising awareness of animal rights; (ii) distributing nutritional and environmental knowledge; (iii) endorsing plant-based food research, commercialization, and consumption; (iv) development of social inclusion and positive recognition of vegan/vegetarian identity. At the same time, it should be noted that this perspective represents only one side of the coin, as many populations continue to consume meat and rely on animal proteins for their nutritional value; thus, the role and benefits of meat and other animal-derived foods must also be recognized and discussed. This operational definition provides a foundation for asking how ethical perspectives can be applied. A case study from Africa shows the implementation of a sustainable and healthy future through the One Health approach. Full article

The rising rates of immigration have resulted in challenges to both physical and mental health, primarily stemming from the circumstances of social isolation experienced by individuals compelled to leave their homes. This study aims to identify the occupational needs and experiences of refugees and applicants for international protection in different studies. The search strategy was carried out in the PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus, LILACS, ScieLO, and Dialnet databases. The studies were selected without temporal restriction up to December 2024 and included populations aged 18 years and older. A total of 654 articles were identified, of which 26 met the inclusion criteria for analysis in this review. Of these, 18 were qualitative studies, while the remaining ones were meta-ethnography, scoping, narrative, or literature reviews, case studies, or quantitative studies. Occupational therapy adopts a holistic approach that seeks to address both occupational needs and rights. The included studies underscore the significance of occupational therapy interventions for refugee populations, highlighting and clarifying the occupational deprivations and unmet needs experienced by this group. Full article

Background: Workplace bullying, harassment and sexual abuse cause psychological harm, and can pose a significant threat to the success of an organization as well. This type of violence in the workplace, comprising negative actions and often abuse of power, can lead to trauma, anxiety, depression, PTSD and in severe cases, suicide. These acts impact workplace performance, negatively impact psychological safety and lead to high turnover and loss of productivity in an organization. Objectives: This narrative review outlines the key concepts of bullying, its impact on the individual, and the ways an organization can obstruct and manage it, using recent works (2018–2025) and some highlighted literature on trauma, power, and psychological safety. Methodology: Research conducted on leadership, safety climate, psychological safety and trauma-informed- as well as meta-analyses and relevant gray literature, journal articles, and other studies on bullying that A narrative synthesis of peer-reviewed and selected gray literature was conducted across PsycINFO, MEDLINE, Scopus, and Web of Science were integrated to this review. Results: Exposure to bullying was connected to anxiety, depression, burnout, post-traumatic stress disorders, cardiovascular problems, absenteeism, and turnover. Diminished psychological safety, as well as disordered leadership, increases the damaging effect. In contrast, ethical trauma-informed leadership and a strong psychosocial safety climate promote recovery and decrease the incidence of bullying. Conclusions: Recognizing workplace bullying, harassment, and sexual abuse as forms of violence—and as both occupational and public health hazards—underscores the urgency of prevention. Embedding psychological safety as a core organizational value at every level is essential to fostering healthier, more resilient workplaces. Full article

The rapid development of genomic science beyond its molecular roots to impact many aspects of clinical and rehabilitative practice presents an epistemic challenge and a pressing ethical obligation in its use in occupational therapy. By reviewing interdisciplinary literature at the intersections of genomics, bioethics, and occupational therapy, this review article seeks to unpack the ways genomic knowledge influences the understandings of health, participation, and justice within the profession. Using critical bioethical theory and socio-technical frameworks, the review discusses the movement from reductionist genetic frameworks to relational and systems-based approaches to health that consider epigenetic, environmental, and social determinants. Key themes that emerged include the promise of new understandings of personalized rehabilitation, the potential to exacerbate existing inequities, and effects on professional autonomy and ethical responsibility. The article does not advocate for or against the inclusion of genomic science in occupational therapy, but instead, advocates for reflexive, justice-oriented ethics of genomics, and concludes with a discussion of a translational bioethical framework to help support its responsible use in occupational therapy practice and policy. Full article

Occupational therapy (OT) advocates for rehabilitation and social reintegration within prison systems, yet its integration must consider the ethical and institutional constraints of incarceration. This paper critically examines the Spanish penitentiary system to explore the tensions between the punitive logic of imprisonment and the rehabilitative values of OT. The aim is to assess whether the current institutional structure enables socio-health professionals—particularly occupational therapists—to act coherently with their humanistic and ethical principles. A detailed documentary review was conducted using the Triangular Method of Ontologically Grounded Personalism (Sgreccia), which integrates biological/situational, anthropological, and ethical dimensions. Legislative documents, institutional reports, and academic literature were systematically analyzed to identify ethical challenges affecting professional practice within Spanish prisons. Findings reveal a paradoxical reality: Spain maintains one of the lowest crime rates in the EU yet exhibits a high incarceration rate, reflecting a punitive penal culture. The prison population, mostly adult males convicted of property and public health offenses, experiences significant occupational deprivation, mental illness, and social vulnerability. Ethical dilemmas include dual loyalty, loss of autonomy, and institutional priorities that undermine person-centered rehabilitation. The study underscores profound ethical tensions limiting OT practice in prisons. Addressing these challenges requires institutional and professional transformation toward more participatory and dignity-centered correctional models. Future research should incorporate empirical and qualitative approaches to design ethical frameworks that promote occupational justice and sustainable reintegration. Full article

Compliance with occupational safety and health (OSH) standards and safe employee behaviour largely depend on the level of management’s commitment to respecting occupational safety and health laws and regulations. A safe work environment is one that is consistent with the idea of sustainability and supports the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), including in particular: SDG3 Good health and well-being, SDG8 Decent work and economic growth. and SDG16 Peace and justice. The purpose of this article is to provide an employee assessment of mine leaders commitment to creating safe working conditions as one element in shaping an OSH culture. The analysis is based on the results of a survey conducted in 21 rock quarries in Poland, which collected 444 questionnaires completed by employees at various organizational levels—from workers, managers, administrative and engineering employees. The questionnaire included basic socio-demographic characteristics and statements concerning the level of involvement of mine management in workers compliance with safety and health rules and regulations. The results of the survey indicate that in the analysed rock mines, the leaders fulfil their duties in accordance with OSH rules and regulations and organise the work of all employees at a high level of safety. Despite this, many survey participants do not see managers responding to unsafe behaviour by employees. Respondents indicate that the existence of OSH regulations and their enforcement by leaders is necessary to maintain a high level of safety in mines. This study has helped to characterise the state of rock mining in the context of creating a safety culture and can provide important information in the search for solutions to increase safety levels in Polish rock mining making it more sustainable. Full article

The two-decade-long occupation of East Timor by Indonesia has long been the focus of debate within genocide studies, with scholars on one side arguing for its recognition as “genocide” and, on the other, insisting on its exclusion from acknowledgment as such due to its inability to satisfy certain legal criteria. Our article revisits this conflict and the surrounding debate in order to stake out a larger claim about the logic of the legal form in contemporary global order. Following a growing critical scholarship in genocide studies, we argue that the concept of genocide itself entrenches harmful understandings of global order and contributes to structures which encourage the mass violence it nominally aims to identify and prevent. Far from being singular, it further represents fundamental limitations regarding the legal form as a mechanism of justice and resistance. To support this claim, we use the failure of various justice and reconciliation mechanisms to prosecute genocide in East Timor to illustrate the ways in which a legal system predicated on imperialism shapes both the behavior of a newly minted domestic elite and the larger project of state sovereignty itself. Full article

This study explores legitimising beliefs about intimate partner violence (IPV) among Portuguese forensic cases. Using the ECVC scale, data from 45 assessed individuals revealed that IPV offenders—particularly men, those with lower education levels, and certain occupational groups—endorse beliefs that justify, minimise, or excuse violence. The most prevalent were trivialising minor violence and protecting family privacy. These findings align with the literature on the influence of patriarchal norms and social inequalities in sustaining IPV. These results highlight the importance of addressing underlying gender ideologies in prevention and intervention efforts, especially in forensic and justice-related psychological practice. Full article

The iron and steel industries globally have a high prevalence of occupational injuries, which need to be reduced. Obtaining safety climate information from workers assists in understanding the safety status at the workplace. This study aimed to assess the safety climate in the iron and steel industries and its association with occupational injuries. A cross-sectional study was conducted in four iron and steel industrial sites in Tanzania. Three hundred and twenty-one workers from the production lines and 50 managers/supervisors participated. The data were collected by interviews using the Kiswahili version of the Nordic Safety Climate Questionnaire (NOSACQ-50) and the modified International Labor Organization (ILO) manual on methods for occupational injuries. The managers/supervisors scored higher than the workers in five of the NOSACQ-50 dimensions. Most workers with low scores on safety climate had experienced occupational injuries. Analyses of the workers who had been injured at work showed that the dimensions ‘management safety priority and ability’, and ‘management safety justice’ were significant predictors of occupational injuries in the iron and steel industries, when adjusting for working years and working hours per day. This indicates that safety climate is a predictor of occupational injuries, and it is important to improve the safety priorities and commitments among the employees. Full article

Emotional labor, particularly in frontline service roles, has traditionally been examined through the lens of performance strategies, such as surface or deep acting. However, emerging research suggests that employees’ subjective interpretations of emotionally demanding situations—especially attributions of responsibility and perceived fairness—play a critical role in shaping their well-being. This study adopts a qualitative phenomenological approach to explore how frontline employees engage in meaning-making regarding the emotional labor demands during customer interaction. Drawing on six group semi-structured interviews, we conducted a thematic analysis to investigate ho<w workers attribute responsibility for emotion regulation demands and how these attributions relate to perceptions of distributive justice and emotional exhaustion. Results indicate that employees differentiate between emotional labor demands based on who they perceive as responsible for the triggering event—whether the client or themselves. Attributions of responsibility for these demands, especially when placed on clients, were associated with a stronger sense of distributive injustice and heightened emotional exhaustion. The evidence extend current emotional labor models by highlighting the centrality of meaning-making processes in employee experience and suggest that responsibility attribution and fairness appraisals are critical mechanisms through which emotional labor impacts occupational well-being. Implications for theory and workplace practices in service contexts are discussed. Full article

The excessive occupation of ecological space (ES) due to city expansion and construction can reduce a variety of natural values and socioeconomic benefits, which would also bring challenges associated with ecological rights and justice between urban areas (with economic impetus) and rural areas (with rich ecological endowments). A more sustainable development mode is required to shift population–industry–land (PIL) allocation from urban-led commensalism (ULC) to PIL interaction by urban–rural mutualism (URM). Thus, an urban–rural integration six-step symbiotic framework (UISS) was built to reflect how the change in urban–rural integration symbiotic mode (the ULC to URM transformation process) can ameliorate socioeconomic inequity in ecological space (IES). Moreover, the two-way fixed-effects model and heterogeneity analysis are used to discuss how the improvement of urban–rural integration symbiotic development level (URI) ameliorates the IES under socioeconomic development to reduce the unfairness, differences between regions, and mismatch of gravity centers from the perspective of spatiotemporal and dynamic changes under various symbiotic environments. The comprehensive multi-perspective analysis of IES based on the symbiotic framework (MEU) was applied to reflect the effect of dynamic PIL interaction changes from ULC mode to URM mode on IES in Yunnan Province, China. The results can be obtained as follows: (1) The URI including symbiotic units of PIL shows a steady rise in growth, with a maximum growth rate of 22.89%, which indicates that the URI has changed from the urban-led commensalism development mode to the urban–rural mutualism development mode. (2) The IES in temporal unfairness has been steadily alleviated, but the spatial differences remain obvious due to the unique symbiotic environment. The dynamic changes in the distance of the gravity centers between ES and PO-IN reflect an increasing mismatch in some regions (e.g., Kunming), while decreasing in others (e.g., Qujing). (3) URI generates a significant symbiotic effect on IES to reduce unfairness, differences, and mismatch, especially through the integration of industrial and population symbiotic units. The heterogeneity analysis shows that a good symbiotic environment, including business environment, industrial structure, transportation conditions, and government size, is conducive to ameliorating IES through the environmental adaptability of symbiotic units. All the results can provide a scientific reference for regional sustainable planning and management under mutualistic population–industry–land interaction between urban and rural areas. Full article

Animal care workers in sheltering, rescue, and management are exposed to occupational stressors which negatively impact health. While the negative mental health impacts have been previously documented in this population, physical health, and its contributing factors, have not. This study investigated how job demands, job resources, and organisational justice relate to mental and physical health, and how they subsequently affect turnover intentions. Of the 285 participants, aged 19 to 94 years, who completed the online anonymous questionnaire, below average mental and physical health was reported. Mental health, but not physical health, was inversely related to intentions to leave. After controlling for age, hierarchical multiple regressions showed high emotional demands and direct euthanasia exposure significantly predicted poorer mental and physical health, while high levels of social support predicted better mental and physical health. No additional variance in either health domain was accounted for by organisational justice. It was concluded that both physical and mental health may be negatively impacted in those who work in shelter, rescue, and management environments which could lead to high turnover and poor outcomes for individuals and organisations. Monitoring through ongoing health records to enable early intervention and accommodations should be considered to promote the health of these workers. Full article

Leisure participation is a fundamental human and occupational right throughout life for working people, particularly in adulthood. A total of 28 working adults representing diverse regions of Turkey, from middle-class backgrounds, aged between 25 and 50, and without any known health conditions, were interviewed to gain insights into their leisure participation during the period September 2021–May 2022. The acquired data were analysed using the interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) approach. The analysis identified six main themes and twenty-two subthemes: the meaning of leisure, recovery from work, facilitators and barriers, well-being, occupational injustice, and flow of life. Participants distinguished between “free time” and “leisure time”, defining the latter as purposeful engagement in enjoyable, meaningful activities. This study emphasises the dynamic interplay of factors influencing leisure participation among Turkish working adults, including working conditions, financial resources, social support systems, and opportunities for participation, with some effects of COVID-19 pandemic. One can shift from well-being to a lack of well-being, and this can result in occupational injustices that may arise in the flow of life, as unsupportive consequences of participation limitations among working adults. By acknowledging and enhancing leisure as a crucial aspect of well-being, this research underscores the importance of promoting resilience and holistic health among working individuals. Full article

Experiences of occupational participation of adults with Intellectual Disabilities (IDs) were explored through the lens of the Model of Occupational Justice (MOJ) and Critical Theory in order to shape and develop an occupation-centered model of quality of life (QoL). This qualitative study involved thirteen adults with IDs (N = 13). A semi-structured interview, constructed based on MOJ and Critical Theory principles, was administered to explore perspectives on QoL, as well as injustices regarding occupational participation. The interviews were analyzed using QSR NVivo8 and followed a content analysis methodology. A preliminary model of Occupational Quality of Life (O-QoL), with an everyday occupations core component, has been formed. The model includes three core O-QoL domains: (i) social well-being, (ii) emotional–physical well-being, and (iii) material adequacy. Key indicators of O-QoL were identified as leisure and social activities, while socioenvironmental factors such as occupational deprivation were noted as aggravating. Specific occupations, including leisure activities, physical exercise/sports, art, video games, and vocational training, were found to be beneficial for O-QoL. Moreover, the importance of promoting and supporting the rights of people with IDs for employment, independent living, and sexual expression was highlighted. The model of O-QoL (version 1) could be a valuable alternative conceptual framework of QoL in the field of IDs; however, further research is needed to validate and refine the model. Full article

Research interprets antisocial and illegal behavior among juveniles as an expression of needs, as a conscious action, or as an adherence to family, cultural, and social contexts. Professionals and researchers interested in the topic could benefit from reflections and insights on relapse prevention among justice-involved juveniles (JIJs). In light of these considerations, we investigated the criminal conduct of JIJs, identifying their background, individual characteristics, and the educational and rehabilitative programs of the 17 Italian youth detention centers from a sample of 234 JIJs (214 males and 20 females, 14–25 years old). The sample completed the following questionnaires: the high-risk situation checklist, deviant behavior questionnaire (DBQ), and the neighborhood perception questionnaire (NPQ). The study aims to provide a general overview of the justice-involved adolescents and young adults in Italian youth detention centers, focusing on perpetrator profiles, family systems and the quality of life in the Italian youth detention centers. To achieve our goals, we investigated their occupations and education, the perceived quality of life in their neighborhoods, the use of drugs, and the tendency to commit illegal or antisocial behaviors before incarceration. The study also explored the awareness related to the personal perception of the risk factors in relapse, with the aim of stimulating reflections on behavior and crime-related cognitions to promote relapse prevention. We discuss the main findings and future implications. Full article