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In the last few decades the cultivation of cactus pears represents an important element in the economy of subtropical regions with scarce water resources. The increasing market competition from other countries has forced Sicilian producers to modernise the packing houses where the fruit is processed. The study carried out has shown that the technology employed in the newest packing lines is of a high level and that a low level of human, material and energy resources are necessary; moreover, packing and despining need further innovations. Trials conducted with an instrumented sphere IS100 has permitted critical points on the packing lines to be identified and to identify materials on which the fruit impacts during the processing.

This chapter draws on recent literature in I/O psychology, management and sociology to posit a relationship between organizational structure and temporal structure and develops the construct of layered-task time. Layered-task time is similar to polychronic time (P-time) in the inclusion of simultaneous, multiple tasks but includes additional dimensions of fragmentation, contamination and constraint. The chapter links the development of this new time and its resultant time-sense to variation in the degree to which organizations are hierarchical and centralized and develops propositions about these relationships. The chapter contributes to the growing literature on workplace temporalities in the contemporary economy.

The purpose of this paper is to build a class model to confirm the authenticity of olives from Bi'r al Malluli, Tunisian region, in order to obtain the Designation of Origin (DO).

In total, ten orchards of Chemlali olive oil variety were chosen, in Sfax region, characterized by the same applied cultural techniques. Pomological characters of olives, fatty acids composition and organoleptic analysis of olive oil were conducted.

Results showed that the pomological characters were specific of the Chemlali variety: the olive weight ranged from 0.9 to 1.10 g in all studied orchards and the water content (WC) ranged from 41.45 to 57.68 per cent. All analysed oils showed good fatty acids balance. Chemlali olive oil contains high amounts of oleic acid and a smaller amount of linoleic acid. The oleic acid content ranged from 57.96 to 63.52 per cent according to the orchards. All oils having oleic acid higher than 55 per cent are categorized as extra virgin olive oil based on International Olive Oil Council (IOOC) Norma. Based on the organoleptic analysis, all the analysed oils were classified as an extra virgin olive oil. The principal component analysis applied separately on olive characters and fatty acids contents do not indicate any group's structure.

An objective approach based on pomologic, sensory and acidic composition analyses would be used to delimitate Protected Designation of Origin (PDOs) in olive oil from the Bi'r al Malluli area and better protect their markets.

This study aims to identify the effect of selected agro-industrial factors associated with the olive oil phenolic composition, total phenolic content (TPC), antioxidant capacity and oxidative stability index (OSI). The study also aims to assess the relationship between the quality indices and each of the individual phenol, TPC, antioxidant capacity and OSI.

Olive oil samples (n=108) were collected from Lebanese northern (Akkar and Zgharta-Koura) and southern (Hasbaya and Jezzine) regions, at three harvesting times (early, intermediate, late) and using different types of mills (traditional, sinolea, two- and three-phase decanters). The samples were analyzed using official standard methods.

The highest TPC, antioxidant capacity and OSI were obtained in early harvested olive oil, using two-phase decanters for TPC and three-phase decanters for antioxidant capacity and OSI. A prediction model, including the free acidity, K232, TPC, C18:2, C18:0, tyrosol and apigenin, was obtained; it allowed to predict very highly significantly the OSI (p < 0.001). Apigenin, tyrosol and C18:2 recorded the highest standardized coefficients (ß^+= 0.35) and thus had the highest influence on OSI. As per antioxidant capacity of olive oil, another very highly statistically significant prediction model was constructed (p < 0.001). It included only two predictors, oleacein and TPC, with the latter having the most influence (ß^+= 0.37).

The overall results highlighted the detrimental effects of agro-industrial factors on olive oil chemical composition, and this contributes significantly to improve olive oil’s quality and characteristics, which are important for the product economical and nutritional values.

This study aims to examine the psychological distress experienced by unemployed and furloughed hospitality workers during the COVID-19 crisis and further investigate how this distress affects their career change intentions.

Derived from a sample of 607 unemployed and furloughed hospitality workers during the COVID-19 pandemic, the data for this research are analyzed using structural equation modeling.

This study reveals that unemployed and furloughed hospitality workers are financially strained, depressed, socially isolated and panic-stricken due to the pandemic’s effects. These effects lead to impaired well-being and an increased intention to leave the hospitality industry. Female and younger employees are impacted to a greater extent, while furloughed workers received fewer impacts compared to their laid-off compatriots.

This study suggests that lockdown restrictions need to be implemented more deliberately, and the psychological well-being of the hospitality workforce deserves more immediate and continuing attention. It advises that hospitality businesses consider furloughs over layoffs when workforce reduction measures are necessary to combat the financial crisis.

This study adds to the current literature by examining the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic from the employee perspective. New insights are offered on the psychological toll of workforce reduction strategies during the financial fallout and how these distressing experiences affect career change intention.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the predispositional hypothesis related to the “rescue personality” and the mental health of firefighter recruits.

This study compared responses to a written set of personality and mental health measures between firefighter recruits and non-rescue comparison participants – individually matched based on age, gender, ethnicity, and marital status. Data analysis involved statistical one-way between subjects analyses of variance complemented with epidemiological paired odds ratio calculations.

The results indicated that firefighter recruits self-reported as less open to experience, less neurotic, and less Type A. They also self-reported as less likely to report somatization, hostility, and posttraumatic stress symptomatology than comparison participants. Recruits were higher in extraversion and conscientiousness, but indicated no differences in perceptions of risk or sensation-seeking behaviour.

The present study contributes to the literature on firefighter recruits and provides some initial data regarding personality of those attracted to the fire services, as well as information about the mental health of firefighters prior to service. Mitchell’s “rescue personality” was partly supported and evidence was provided suggesting that new recruits have strong self-perceived mental health.

The purpose is to report on the mental health response to the Grenfell incident within the London Fire Brigade (LFB).

The LFB implemented screening for the symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) at 28 days, 3 months and 6 months for all personnel directly involved in the incident.

The prevalence of PTSD within frontline personnel was 13.4% at 28 days, falling to 7.6% at 6 months. The LFB's internal Counselling and Wellbeing Service offered treatment to those scoring above the cut-off for PTSD along with accepting self-referral and referrals from line managers and occupational health. There were 139 referrals within the 12-month period following the incident.

The outcomes for those who engaged in treatment are broadly in line with other studies evaluating post-disaster interventions. Issues for consideration within national guidelines are discussed.

The screen and treat approach adopted by LFB was shown to be a feasible approach to use within such a scenario.

The current study reports on a screen and treat approach to one of the largest single incidents in the UK in recent years.

This preliminary investigation aims to examine the psychological impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on patients and staff within a high secure service.

To discern the connection between COVID-19-related distress and multiple factors, the study involved 31 patients and 34 staff who completed assessments evaluating coping strategies, resilience, emotional reactivity, ward atmosphere and work-related aspects.

Results demonstrated that around a third of staff (31.2%) experienced COVID-19-related distress levels that met the clinical cut-off for possible post-traumatic stress disorder. Emotional reactivity, staff shortages, secondary traumatic stress and coping strategies were all positively correlated with COVID-19-related-distress. Resilience was negatively associated with distress, thus acting as a potential mitigating factor. In comparison, the prevalence of distress among patients was low (3.2%).

The authors postulate that increased staff burdens during the pandemic may have led to long-term distress, while their efforts to maintain minimal service disruption potentially shielded patients from psychological impacts, possibly lead to staff “problem-focused coping burnout”. This highlights the need for in-depth research on the enduring impacts of pandemics, focusing on mechanisms that intensify or alleviate distress. Future studies should focus on identifying effective coping strategies for crisis situations, such as staff shortages, and strategies for post-crisis staff support.

The authors postulate that the added burdens on staff during the pandemic might have contributed to their distress. Nonetheless, staff might have inadvertently safeguarded patients from the pandemic’s psychological ramifications by providing a “service of little disruption”, potentially leading to “problem-focused coping burnout”. These findings underscore the imperative for further research capturing the enduring impacts of pandemics, particularly scrutinising factors that illuminate the mechanisms through which distress is either intensified or alleviated across different groups. An avenue worth exploring is identifying effective coping styles for pandemics.

The purpose of this paper is to assess food safety knowledge, choice behavior and health hazard concerns of ethnic Goan pork sausage consumers through various consumer food safety indices and also to evaluate socio-demographic influences on various consumer food safety indices.

Primary data in the form of 210 questionnaire responses were collected from Goan pork sausage consumers. Based on the responses, seven various consumer food safety indices were derived. The cumulative score of all the indices were normalized (0–1). The association between socio-demographic variables and consumer indices were evaluated using linear regression analysis, Pearson's correlation matrix, principal component analysis (PCA) and correspondence analysis (CA).

The results of the analysis indicate that the consumption of Goan pork sausages is most prevalent amongst younger people with high education having higher income. A majority of consumers have high score for the four consumer indices. The results of correlation analysis, regression analysis, PCA and CA revealed a significant association of consumer indices with socio-demographic variables.

The results of this study will provide a way forward for the evaluation of existing overall food safety concerns in the target population and in the future would be used for the promotion of good handling practices and health of Goan pork sausage consumers.