In this era of multitasking, people who want to remain mentally fit and focused sometimes end up feeling fragmented and stressed out instead. The May 2010 issue of the Harvard Mental Health Letter offers simple techniques that you can try at home or at work to focus better and think more productively. Much of the advice is included in The Winner’s Brain: Eight Strategies Great Minds Use to Achieve Success (Da Capo Press), a new book from Harvard Health Publications written by psychologist Jeff Brown and neuroscientist Mark Fenske. Their techniques draw from the psychotherapy approaches of cognitive behavioral therapy and positive psychology.
The U.S. Department of Labor's Mine Safety and Health Administration announced the formation of a supplemental investigation group to augment the efforts of the agency’s accident investigation team to determine the cause of the explosion that occurred April 5 at the Upper Big Branch Mine in Raleigh County, W.Va., according to an agency press release. This investigation group will be led by former MSHA employee Robert Phillips, a 27-year veteran of the agency and, prior to his recent retirement, manager of the Coal Mine Safety and Health District Office in Vincennes, Ind.
Trust for America's Health (TFAH) in a press statement commends the recent launch of the National Physical Activity Plan, a comprehensive set of strategies, including policies, practices and initiatives, aimed at increasing physical activity at the population level.
President Obama has dispatched the secretaries of Commerce, Interior and Homeland Security, as well as the NOAA Administrator, to return to the Gulf Coast this week. Specific details on their travel will come from their departments and agencies, but collectively they will be inspecting the ongoing, coordinated response efforts to mitigate the impact of the spill on public health, the environment and the economy. They will meet with business owners to discuss potential economic impacts of this spill across the Gulf Coast region.
Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health Dr. David Michaels visited Louisiana with a team of experienced hazardous materials professionals leading an effort to ensure that oil spill cleanup workers receive necessary protections from the hazards of this work.
The British Petroleum (BP) oil spill off the Atlantic Coast has not dissuaded a majority of likely voters from supporting the Obama Administration's plans to allow for expansion of off-shore drilling in the Atlantic Ocean, however the same size majority also agrees with the Obama decision to suspend those plans pending an investigation of conditions that led to the current spill, according to the latest Zoby poll.
OSHA will use comments from a series of stakeholder meetings to help develop a proposed rule for Injury and Illness Prevention Programs, known as I2P2.
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lisa P. Jackson concluded her tour today of areas that could be impacted by the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, according to an EPA press release. The administrator joined President Obama at a briefing with National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Administrator Jane Lubchenco and Coast Guard Commandant Thad Allen and also held a conference call with New Orleans officials to discuss the importance of coordinating response efforts.
National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) Chairman Deborah A.P. Hersman was one of the featured guests for the first national "No Phone Zone Day," an initiative sponsored by Oprah Winfrey and Harpo Studios, according to an NTSB press release.
President Obama issued the following press statement regarding the death of two miners in an accident at the Dotiki Mine in western Kentucky late Wednesday: