The health care of those who work in remote places associated with hostile environments is reviewed, concentrating on the offshore oil industry and Antarctic populations. An understanding of associated environmental hazards is essential for adequate health care and particular attention is paid to the hyperbaric environment and to environmental heat and cold. The basic medical problems in remote health care are evaluated in three related studies. The first examines 2,162 personnel who required medical evacuations from the offshore structures of four North Sea operating companies, the second with 5,894 presentations from offshore at the A&E department of Aberdeen Royal Infirmary, while the third examines 100 annual medical reports from British Antarctic Survey stations.

While workers in an urban environment typically enjoy full speed, always available, broadband access, those in rural and remote environments do not necessarily have the same level of service. The goal of this thesis is to investigate positive and negative rural and remote work experiences, looking for novel ways to leverage available strengths in mitigating productivity challenges. An exploratory qualitative study suggests increasing reliance on networked technology by participants, to accomplish work. Larger human networks are common, where members have diverse levels of network access. Search Connected, a prototype tool, looks to leverage this human network to mitigate challenges that might be experienced during work in remote locations, improving search productivity. A preliminary study evaluating the tool suggests that participants see value in the tool and further research be pursued to find a tipping point between added communication overhead and search speed improvement.

A poluição por poluentes orgânicos persistentes (POPs) é um tema de considerável importância com relação à conservação de aves marinhas e de seus habitats. A Reserva Biológica do Atol das Rocas (AR) e o Arquipélago de Trindade e Martin Vaz (AT) abrigam grandes populações de aves marinhas no Brasil. As ilhas oceânicas brasileiras podem ser consideradas áreas remotas e preservadas, devido a sua distância do continente. Entretanto, essas regiões também estão sujeitas à influência desses agentes antrópicos oriundos das regiões costeiras. No presente estudo amostras de fígado de seis espécies de aves marinhas do AR e do AT foram analisadas para presença de POPs (PCBs, pesticidas organoclorados e PBDEs) e para isótopos estáveis (13C e 15N). PCBs (3,37 a 189), DDTs (0,5 a 23,1), HCB (0,31 a 12,3) e HCHs (<0,31 a 7,60) foram os compostos predominantes (valores em ng g-1 em massa úmida). A análise de isótopos estáveis contribuiu para esclarecer a relação dos valores de concentração de POPs com os hábitos de forrageio, dieta, distribuição espacial e estágio de vida dos indivíduos em estudo. Correlações significativas entre &#948;15N e os poluentes sugere, em certo grau, uma considerável variação no perfil qualitativo dos PCBs associada ao nível trófico e ao efeito de transporte atmosférico como fonte de introdução desses contaminantes a esses organismos. Os dados de POPs e isótopos mostraram que aves que ocupam posições tróficas maiores tendiam a apresentar também maiores concentrações de contaminantes, assim como perfis qualitativos com predominância de contaminantes mais bioacumulativos. / Pollution persistent organic pollutants (POPs) is an issue of considerable importance with regard to the conservation of seabirds and their habitats. The Rocas Atoll Reserve (AR) and the Trindade e Martin Vaz Archipelago (AT) houses a large population of seabirds in Brazil. Brazilian oceanic islands could be considered as remote and preserved zones, due to its distance from the coast. However, this regions are subjected to the influence of these anthropogenic agents that arising from continental zones. In the present study, liver samples were collected from six seabird species from AR and AT and analysed for the presence of persistent organic pollutants (POPs: PCBs, organochlorine pesticides and PBDEs) and stable isotopes (13C and 15N). PCBs (3.37 to 189), DDTs (0.5 to 23.1), HCB (0.31 to 12.3) and HCHs (<0.31 to 7.60) were the predominant compounds (mean values in ng g-1 wet weight).The stable isotope analysis revealed the relationship of POP levels with foraging, diet, special distribution and living habits of the studied species. Significant correlations found between &#948;15N and POPs suggests, to some extent, that such considerable variation in qualitative PCB levels associated with the trophic level and to the long-range atmospheric transport. POPs level and stable isotope data showed that seabirds that occupy higher trophic positions trend to show the highest POPs levels, as well as, showed the predominance of the most bioaccumulative contaminants on the respective qualitative profiles.

A poluição por poluentes orgânicos persistentes (POPs) é um tema de considerável importância com relação à conservação de aves marinhas e de seus habitats. A Reserva Biológica do Atol das Rocas (AR) e o Arquipélago de Trindade e Martin Vaz (AT) abrigam grandes populações de aves marinhas no Brasil. As ilhas oceânicas brasileiras podem ser consideradas áreas remotas e preservadas, devido a sua distância do continente. Entretanto, essas regiões também estão sujeitas à influência desses agentes antrópicos oriundos das regiões costeiras. No presente estudo amostras de fígado de seis espécies de aves marinhas do AR e do AT foram analisadas para presença de POPs (PCBs, pesticidas organoclorados e PBDEs) e para isótopos estáveis (13C e 15N). PCBs (3,37 a 189), DDTs (0,5 a 23,1), HCB (0,31 a 12,3) e HCHs (<0,31 a 7,60) foram os compostos predominantes (valores em ng g-1 em massa úmida). A análise de isótopos estáveis contribuiu para esclarecer a relação dos valores de concentração de POPs com os hábitos de forrageio, dieta, distribuição espacial e estágio de vida dos indivíduos em estudo. Correlações significativas entre &#948;15N e os poluentes sugere, em certo grau, uma considerável variação no perfil qualitativo dos PCBs associada ao nível trófico e ao efeito de transporte atmosférico como fonte de introdução desses contaminantes a esses organismos. Os dados de POPs e isótopos mostraram que aves que ocupam posições tróficas maiores tendiam a apresentar também maiores concentrações de contaminantes, assim como perfis qualitativos com predominância de contaminantes mais bioacumulativos. / Pollution persistent organic pollutants (POPs) is an issue of considerable importance with regard to the conservation of seabirds and their habitats. The Rocas Atoll Reserve (AR) and the Trindade e Martin Vaz Archipelago (AT) houses a large population of seabirds in Brazil. Brazilian oceanic islands could be considered as remote and preserved zones, due to its distance from the coast. However, this regions are subjected to the influence of these anthropogenic agents that arising from continental zones. In the present study, liver samples were collected from six seabird species from AR and AT and analysed for the presence of persistent organic pollutants (POPs: PCBs, organochlorine pesticides and PBDEs) and stable isotopes (13C and 15N). PCBs (3.37 to 189), DDTs (0.5 to 23.1), HCB (0.31 to 12.3) and HCHs (<0.31 to 7.60) were the predominant compounds (mean values in ng g-1 wet weight).The stable isotope analysis revealed the relationship of POP levels with foraging, diet, special distribution and living habits of the studied species. Significant correlations found between &#948;15N and POPs suggests, to some extent, that such considerable variation in qualitative PCB levels associated with the trophic level and to the long-range atmospheric transport. POPs level and stable isotope data showed that seabirds that occupy higher trophic positions trend to show the highest POPs levels, as well as, showed the predominance of the most bioaccumulative contaminants on the respective qualitative profiles.

Covid-19 affected the world's population when the pandemic became a global problem at the start of 2020. The effects of the pandemic placed demands on various countries and their inhabitants. But also on organizations in sundries sectors. Globally, and specifically on the Swedish labor market, the effects of covid-19 have contributed to increased use of technology to enable continued work, elsewhere than physically on site. This has created opportunities but also challenges for managers to motivate subordinates and get them to work towards the organization's set goals. Self-leadership is thus a concept that is important to understand and handle in the current situation, as it can lead to increased motivation and performance of individuals. Previously published research points out how leaders can work to promote self-leadership. e.g. by adapting individuals' characteristics and commitment to the nature of the task. How self-leadership is promoted in the Swedish labor market, under digital conditions in remote work, is however still unclear. We know, from previously published research, that self-leadership, clear goals, motivation, and self-efficacy all have an influence on each other. They further serve as a prerequisite for organizational performance and goal fulfillment. But there is no answer as to how this can be promoted under current digital conditions. Swedish companies are moreover at the forefront when it comes to innovation development and the shift to digital resources, as a result of the pandemic. But there is no explanation for the connection between self-leadership and its new challenges with digital work, nor on the Swedish labor market. The intention of this study is therefore to fill the research gap with a qualitative and empirical study on Swedish medium and large-sized companies, where the effects of covid-19 proved to be extensive. The goal is moreover to answer the question and explain how Swedish medium-sized and large organizations manage self-leadership under presented conditions. This issue includes both leaders and employees, and the study groups have thus both been included in the study to create a holistic understanding of how self-leadership is handled in the above-mentioned contexts. The results, based on five employees, and four leaders in various sectors and organizations,  show that enabling recurring opportunities for social interactions, support and to convey a transparent culture with clear goals is necessary to manage self-leadership in remote environments. Having a thorough opportunity for support in the organization and creating opportunities for social interactions is something that this study has significantly contributed to the research. This is because these phenomena have not previously been presented of any particular importance, nor have they been promoted as necessary for the management of self-leadership in a remote context. In this study, however, it has been shown to be extremely necessary, from the point of view of both managers and employees. This, to enable self-leadership, increase motivation and self-efficacy in the Swedish labor market, which positively can affect individual- and organizational performance and goal fulfillment.