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The use of data analytics has seen widespread application in fields such as medicine and supply chain management, but their application in occupational safety has only recently become more common. The purpose of this scoping review was to summarize studies that employed analytics within establishments to reveal insights about work-related injuries or fatalities. Over 300 articles were reviewed to survey the objectives, scope and methods used in this emerging field. We conclude that the promise of analytics for providing actionable insights to address occupational safety concerns is still in its infancy. Our review shows that most articles were focused on method development and validation, including studies that tested novel methods or compared the utility of multiple methods. Many of the studies cited various challenges in overcoming barriers caused by inadequate or inefficient technical infrastructures and unsupportive data cultures that threaten the accuracy and quality of insights revealed by the analytics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The overarching goal of the present study was to determine whether a behavioral economic framework of demand analysis is applicable to texting while driving. To this end, we developed a novel hypothetical task in which participants receive a text message while driving, and they rated the likelihood of replying to a text message immediately versus waiting to reply until arriving at a destination when the fine for texting while driving ranged from $1 to $300. The scenario presented two delays to a destination (15 min and 60 min). For drivers who self-reported a higher frequency of texting while driving the demand for social interaction from texting was more intense and less elastic. Demand was also more intense and less elastic under the 60-min delay condition. The results of this proof-of-concept study suggest that behavioral economic demand analyses are potentially useful for understanding and predicting texting while driving. Keywords Texting while driving * Demand analysis * Distracted driving * Behavioral economics * College students, Various statistics indicate that distracted driving is a major public health issue. In 2015 in the United States, for example, 3,477 people were killed and 391,000 people were injured in [...]

Objective. Decisions to use a service dog for employment impacts more than just the workplace. It extends into housing, transportation, and public access. Findings from an exploratory study of the [...]

Objective: To compare otolaryngology residents' perceptions of safety climate with respect to duty hour compliance and self-perceived fatigue. Study Design: Cross-sectional study. Setting: Forty-one otolaryngology residencies distributed across the United States. Methods: A national sample of otolaryngology residents was surveyed electronically in 2019. The survey included demographic details, on-call descriptors, an 18-point Safety Climate Survey (SCS) modified to measure perceptions of program attitudes and practices around resident duty hour compliance, and the 33-point Chalder Fatigue Questionnaire (CFQ). Results: Of 397 surveyed residents, 205 (51.6%) responded. The mean modified SCS score was 11.29 out of 18 (95% CI, 10.76-11.81). Respondents were most likely to disagree with "Residents are told when they are at risk of working beyond ACGME [Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education] duty hour restrictions," where 100 (48.8%) disagreed or strongly disagreed. The mean CFQ score was 15.99 of 33 (95% CI, 15.17-16.81). As the modified SCS score improved, CFQ scores decreased, indicating an inverse relationship between duty hour safety climate and fatigue. Having a protected postcall day off and having the program director, chief resident, or senior resident decide that a resident should take a postcall day off were all associated with higher modified SCS scores. Conclusion: Otolaryngology residents perceived a safety climate that is suboptimal with regard to duty hour restriction issues. Additionally, an inverse relationship between fatigue and modified SCS scores suggests that fatigue among residents may be lower in programs where residents perceive that ACGME duty hour compliance is more important. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Violence against nurses and other healthcare workers is a significant and escalating concern, impeding the provision of safe and effective healthcare services. A majority of nurses experience some kind of violence, including physical and nonphysical assaults during their careers. The consequences of workplace violence extend beyond individual trauma, leading to increased burnout, turnover, and significant financial costs for healthcare systems. Training programs focused on workplace violence prevention (WVP) have become ubiquitous, with elements like situational threat assessment, de-escalation techniques, and physical skills. Studies show that experiential components, such as role play, enhance the effectiveness of these trainings. Virtual Reality (VR) offers a promising solution by providing immersive, interactive training environments that enhance decision-making, physical coordination, and team dynamics. In this article we discuss how VR simulations can replicate real-world settings, allowing healthcare workers to practice and master violence prevention and management skills in a controlled, safe environment. We also describe how VR is scalable and cost-effective, enabling widespread adoption within and across organizations with minimal logistical challenges. Integrating VR into WVP training programs could significantly improve training outcomes, reduce the need for physical and chemical restraints, and ultimately enhance the overall safety and quality of healthcare services [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The goal of this study was to determine whether cluster analysis could be used to identify distinct subgroups of text message users based on behavioral economic indices of demand for text messaging. Cluster analysis is an analytic technique that attempts to categorize cases based on similarities across selected variables. Participants completed a questionnaire about mobile phone usage and a hypothetical texting demand task in which they indicated their likelihood of paying an extra charge to continue to send text messages. A hierarchical cluster analysis was conducted on behavioral economic indices, such as demand intensity, demand elasticity, breakpoint, and the maximum expenditure. With the cluster analysis, we identified 3 subgroups of text message users. The groups were characterized by (a) high intensity and low elasticity, (b) high intensity and medium elasticity, and (c) low intensity and high elasticity. In a demonstration of convergent validity, there were statistically significant and conceptually meaningful differences across the subgroups in various measures of mobile phone use and text messaging. Cluster analysis is a useful tool for identifying and profiling distinct, practically meaningful groups based on behavioral indices and could provide a framework for targeting interventions more efficiently. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Texting while driving is a dangerous behavior. Drivers continue to engage in the behavior despite knowing its risks, and the factors responsible for the decision to text while driving are poorly understood. This study examined how the relationship of the sender to the driver, in addition to the delay to the destination, may affect the decision to text while driving with the use of a social- and delay-discounting paradigm. Methods: Ninety-four (N = 94) undergraduate students completed a hypothetical social- and delay-discounting task in which they rated their likelihood of replying to a text message immediately versus waiting to reply until arriving at a destination. The social distance of the sender and the delay to the destination were varied across trials. Results: For both social and delay discounting, the likelihood of replying and waiting, respectively, decreased as a function of social distance and delay to the destination. Participants were more likely to text while driving as the social distance of the sender decreased and the delay to the destination increased. Social discounting varied inversely as a function of delay to the destination: The shorter the delay to the destination, the greater the social discounting. Conclusion: The findings indicate that social distance of the sender is an important factor involved in the decision to text while driving. Participants were more likely to reply to a text while driving if the sender was less socially distant. When they were closer to their destination, they were less likely to reply to socially distant people than those closer to them. The roles that social consequences play in drivers' decision making to text while driving are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The primary purpose of the present study was to examine the effectiveness of threat appeals in influencing impulsive decision making associated with texting while driving. The participants in the treatment group were exposed to a threatening message about the danger of texting while driving, whereas those in the control group were exposed to a non-threatening message. Following the exposure to either message, the participants completed a delay-discounting task that assessed the degree of impulsive decision making in a hypothetical texting-while-driving scenario. A comparison between the groups revealed that the threat appeals reduced the degree of impulsive decision making associated with texting while driving. In addition, the threat appeals led to greater anticipated regret from texting while driving, less favorable attitudes toward texting while driving, and decreased intentions to text while driving in the future in the treatment group. These results suggest that video-based threat appeals are promising intervention strategies for the public health challenge of texting while driving. Implications from the behavioral economic perspective are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Therapy and visitation dogs are becoming more common on college campuses to provide comfort and support to students, but little attention has been given to the concerns of faculty and staff who share space with the dogs in their workplaces. The purpose of this study was to assess the perceptions of faculty and staff with regard to both the benefits and the hazards (e.g., dander, bites, fleas) and risks associated with the presence of visitation dogs in their workplaces. One hundred and thirty-eight employees who worked in buildings with resident visitation dogs completed an online survey about their perceptions of the hazards and risks of the dogs and the effects of dogs on the wellbeing of both students and employees. In general, employees perceived that the dogs presented minimal risks, and most employees believed that they can reduce stress and provide comfort to students on campus. There were a few employees, however, who reported that the dogs did not improve the work environment and conferred no benefits to the staff or students. The findings of the present survey support the mostly positive attitudes that people have for dogs in the workplace, but they also highlight a potential challenge: accommodating individuals who believe very strongly that dogs do not belong in work environments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A sample of 109 college students completed a survey to assess how frequently they send or read text messages while driving. In a novel discounting task with a hypothetical scenario in which participants receive a text message while driving, they rated the likelihood of replying to a text message immediately versus waiting to reply until arriving at a destination. The scenario presented several delays to a destination and probabilities of a motor vehicle crash. The likelihood of waiting to reply decreased as a function of both the delay until the destination and the probability of a motor vehicle crash. Self‐reported higher frequencies of texting while driving were associated with greater rates of both delay and probability discounting. The degree of delay discounting was altered as a function of the probability of a motor vehicle crash and vice versa. These results suggest that both delay and probability discounting are important underlying mechanisms of drivers' decision to text while driving. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An introduction is presented in which the editor discusses various reports within the issue on topics including process safety, work-related injuries and methods of behavior analysis.

A simulation study was conducted to provide a more thorough account of measurement error associated with interval sampling methods. A computer program simulated the application of momentary time sampling, partial-interval recording, and whole-interval recording methods on target events randomly distributed across an observation period. The simulation yielded measures of error for multiple combinations of observation period, interval duration, event duration, and cumulative event duration. The simulations were conducted up to 100 times to yield measures of error variability. Although the present simulation confirmed some previously reported characteristics of interval sampling methods, it also revealed many new findings that pertain to each method's inherent strengths and weaknesses. The analysis and resulting error tables can help guide the selection of the most appropriate sampling method for observation-based behavioral assessments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Four rats responded under a choice reaction-time procedure. At the beginning of each trial, the rats were required to hold down a center lever for a variable duration, release it following a high- or low-pitched tone, and press either a left or right lever, conditionally on the tone. Correct choices were reinforced with a probability of .95 or .05 under blinking or static houselights, respectively. After performance stabilized, disruptive effects of free access to food pellets prior to sessions (prefeeding) and intraperitoneal injection of haloperidol were examined on multiple behavioral measures (i.e., the number of trials completed, percent of correct responses, and reaction time). Resistance to prefeeding depended on the probability of food delivery for the number of trials completed and reaction time. Resistance to haloperidol, on the other hand, was not systematically affected by the probability of food delivery for all dependent measures. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The article presents a study on behavior change among participants of a conventional ergonomics training program. It states that knowledge gains may result from conventional ergonomics training programs among participants, but not changes in behavior. It concludes the need for motivational interventions after training to achieve behavior change among participants and eventually avoid musculoskeletal disorders.

Welding generates complex metal aerosols, inhalation of which is linked to adverse health effects among welders. An important health concern of welding fume (WF) exposure is neurological dysfunction akin to Parkinson's disease (PD), thought to be mediated by manganese (Mn) in the fumes. Also, there is a proposition that welding might accelerate the onset of PD. Our recent findings link the presence of Mn in the WF with dopaminergic neurotoxicity seen in rats exposed to manual metal arc‐hard surfacing (MMA‐HS) or gas metal arc‐mild steel (GMA‐MS) fumes. To elucidate the molecular mechanisms further, we investigated the association of PD‐linked (Park) genes and mitochondrial function in causing dopaminergic abnormality. Repeated instillations of the two fumes at doses that mimic ~1 to 5 yr of worker exposure resulted in selective brain accumulation of Mn. This accumulation caused impairment of mitochondrial function and loss of ty‐rosine hydroxylase (TH) protein, indicative of dopa‐minergic injury. A fascinating finding was the altered expression of Parkin (Park2), Uchll (Park5), and Dj1 (Park7) proteins in dopaminergic brain areas. A similar regimen of manganese chloride (MnCl2) also caused extensive loss of striatal TH, mitochondrial electron transport components, and Park proteins. As mutations in PARK genes have been linked to early‐onset PD in humans, and because welding is implicated as a risk factor for parkinsonism, PARK genes might play a critical role in WF‐mediated dopaminergic dysfunction. Whether these molecular alterations culminate in neurobehavioral and neuro‐pathological deficits reminiscent of PD remains to be ascertained.—Sriram, K., Lin, G. X., Jefferson, A. M., Roberts, J. R., Wirth, O., Hayashi, Y., Krajnak, K. M., Soukup, J. M., Ghio, A. J., Reynolds, S. H., Castranova, V., Munson, A. E., Antonini, J. M. Mito‐chondrial dysfunction and loss of Parkinson's disease‐linked proteins contribute to neurotoxicity of manganese‐containing welding fumes. FASEB J. 24, 4989–5002 (2010). www.fasebj.org [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Presents an exercise model on the control and quantitation of voluntary weightlifting performance of rats. Conditioning of the rats; Measurement of the external force generated by the load cells; Automation of the apparatus and training procedures.

Examines the effects of baseline reversals on the stability of functional equivalence and stimulus equivalence. Establishment of functional stimulus classes; Application of computer-controlled speech-recognition therapy; Sensitivity of functional stimulus classes and stimulus equivalence to contingency reversals.

Illustrates the use of speech-recognition technology to establish functional stimulus classes in Morgantown, West Virginia. Demographic data of the respondents; Usage of computer-controlled speech-recognition software to record, analyze and reinforce vocal responses; Importance of recording vocal behavior during stimulus control procedures.