Additional Definitions Flashcards
Acute (or short-term) fatigue
Fatigue caused by failure to get adequate sleep in the period before a work shift.
There are four types of stressors
Acute stressors
Episodic (or daily) stressors
Chronic stressors
Catastrophic stressors
Acute stressors
One of the 4 types of stressors
Time-specific events of high-intensity, short duration and infrequent occurrence, such as a performance review, a car accident or unexpected encounter.
Acute toxicity
The immediate harm caused by exposure to a chemical substance
Bacteria
Microscopic organisms that live in soil, water, organic matter, or the bodies of plants and animals.
Bullying
Repeated actions or verbal comments that lead to mental harm, isolation, or humiliation of a worker (or group), often with the intent to wield power over them.
Capitalist social formation
The structure of capitalist societies created by the interaction of economic and social systems.
Carpal tunnel syndrome
A cumulative trauma disorder caused by repeated compression of the median nerve in the wrist and resulting in pain as well as loss of coordination, sensation, and circulation.
Chronic fatigue syndrome
An ongoing, severe feeling of tiredness not relieved by sleep.
Compressed work week
An arrangement wherein workers work longer each day to reduce the number of days per week (or month) that they are required to work.
Cumulative trauma disorder
An injury that develops due to repeatedly exposing a part of the body to damage, such as carpal tunnel syndrome.
Disability insurance
Private insurance benefits providing wage-loss replacement for workers who require a longer period of time away from work than can be accommodated under sick leave provisions and that is required for reasons other than a work-related injury.
Dose
The amount of a chemical that enters the body.
Employment standards
An act that sets out minimum terms and conditions of employment for a jurisdiction, such as maximum hours of work and required rest breaks. Sometimes called labour standards.
Epidemiologist
Scientists who study the patterns and causes of illness and disease in the population.
Etiology
The cause of an injury of illness.
Extended work hours
Hour of work beyond 8 or 12 in a single day.
Externalize
Transfer costs to another actor or enterprise.
While there certainly are costs associated with workplace injury, employers can externalize many of these costs—pass them off—onto workers, their families, and taxpayers.
False positive
Concluding that a difference or relationship exists when it does not.
Scientists tend to be particularly concerned with false positives because of their potential consequences. For example, saying a drug is effective at treating a disease when it actually is not can harm patients by subjecting them to an ineffective course of treatment.
False negative
Concluding that no difference or relationship exists when it does.
False negatives can also have real-life consequences as they may lead to inaction on health threats. The potentially harmful consequences of false positives means scientists are prone to being very conservative in their conclusions.
Fatality benefits
Benefits paid by a workers’ compensation board to the dependents of a worker who has died. These can include funeral costs and wage-loss benefits.
Only once an injury/death has been found to be compensable
Heat stroke
A health effect caused by a body becoming too hot.
Human rights legislation
An act prohibiting discrimination on the basis of protected grounds (e.g., disability, age, gender, race).
Hypothermia
A health effect caused by a body becoming too cold.
Idiopathic
Arising from an unknown cause.
Index case
The first case that indicates the outbreak of a disease.
Premiums
The amount paid by an employer for workers’ compensation coverage.
Investigation kit
A collection of materials, including a process, forms, and recording equipment designed to assist in an incident investigation.
Job sharing
An arrangement wherein two workers share a single position, each working some portion of the otherwise full-time job.
Wellness initiative
Latency period
The time between exposure and the development of symptoms from that exposure.
Learning
The process of acquiring knowledge and skills that can lead to behavioural change.
Is an important outcome of training. Our behaviours are often shaped by our assumptions about the world. OHS training is no different: we each have a theory (albeit perhaps incomplete and poorly articulated) about how “best” to teach others
Legitimacy
Credibility of political actors or a political system that depends upon the actors or system being seen to serve the public good and therefore warranting continued support.
Lethal concentration
The amount of a substance in the air or water required to cause death.
Local toxicity
Reaction to a toxic substance reaction at the point of contact.
Material safety data sheets (MSDSs)
Information about hazardous material handling that employers must provide under the Workplace Hazardous Materials Information System.
Near miss
An event that could have, but did not, lead to harm to workers.
Prima facie
A fact or circumstance accepted as correct until proved otherwise.
Production process
The steps required to complete work.
Prosecute
Court proceedings regarding the violation of a law.
Regulation
A rule made by a federal, provincial, or territorial cabinet, cabinet minister, or other public body under the authority of an act and having the force of law.
Regulation
A rule made by a federal, provincial, or territorial cabinet, cabinet minister, or other public body under the authority of an act and having the force of law.
Rem
A standard measure of radiation.
Statistically significant
A result unlikely to have occurred by random chance.
Temperature homeostasis
Maintaining a core body temperature at about 37 degrees Celsius.
