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Ensuring the safety of learners is paramount in schools, particularly in workshops where hands-on learning takes place. Mechanical Technology teachers bear the responsibility for ensuring learners safe participation in activities, guided by specific safety management elements that dictate their duty of care and legal obligations. This paper presents findings from a comprehensive investigation conducted in 220 technical schools across South Africa, offering Mechanical Technology as a subject. Combining quantitative and qualitative methods, the investigation aimed to assess the frequency, severity, and management of accidents and injuries occurring in these workshops, while also examining the underlying reasons for such incidents. Results indicated that a significant number of accidents were attributed to unsafe behavior, including failure to wear or correctly use personal protective equipment. Furthermore, the study revealed a notable lack of awareness among participating teachers regarding injury reporting procedures and record-keeping practices. In response to these findings, it is recommended that Mechanical Technology teachers enhance their understanding of their legal obligations and responsibilities concerning learner safety. This entails strict adherence to safety policies and regulations to ensure a secure environment for all learners involved in workshop activities. Moreover, school governing bodies are urged to fulfill their legal mandate by developing and implementing effective safety policies for workshop environments. Such policies serve as crucial tools in reducing and preventing injuries, thereby mitigating legal liabilities for the department, teachers, and schools alike. [For the complete Volume 22 proceedings, see ED656158.]

This volume includes the following conference papers: "The Status and Direction of Workers' Compensation" (James R. Chelius); "The Minnesota Experience with Workers' Compensation Reform" (Steve Keefe); "The 1982 Changes in California" (Alan Tebb); "Two Rounds of Workers' Compensation Reform in Michigan" (H. Allan Hunt); "The Politics of Workers' Compensation Reform" (John H. Lewis); "Discussion of Papers on Recent State Reforms" (Michael Staten); "Interstate Variations in the Employers' Costs of Workers' Compensation with Particular Reference to Connecticut, New Jersey, and New York" (John F. Furton, Jr., and Alan B. Krueger); "Workers' Compensation Insurance Rates" (C. Arthur Williams, Jr.); "The Administration of Workers' Compensation" (Monroe Berkowitz); "Nominal Costs, Nominal Prices, and Nominal Profits" (John D. Worrall); "Federal Occupational Disease Legislation" (Donald Elisburg); "Issues in Asbestos Disease Compensation" (Donald L. Spatz); "Problems in Occupational Disease Compensation" (Leslie I. Boden); "On Efforts to Reform Workers' Compensation for Occupational Diseases" (Peter S. Barth); and "Accident Compensation as a Factor Influencing Managerial Perceptions and Behavior in New Zealand" (Barbara McIntosh). (MN)

The Factories Act of 2004, the Employee Compensation Act of 2010, the Minerals Oil Safety Regulation of 1999 and the Harmful Waste Act of 2004 are pieces of legislation that included provisions for the safety, health and welfare of Nigerian workers beyond the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999, and the Labour Act of 2004. This paper critically examined the extent to which these laws, with more emphases on the Factories Act of 2004 which made provisions for the safety, health and welfare of Nigerian workers and how the tenet of these laws has been enforced to reduce occurrence of accidents at workplace. This paper examined Part III of the Act, dealing with the training and guidance of naive workers, in that, no person shall be employed at any machine or in any process that is likely to cause injury, unless he has been trained by a more knowledgeable person about the dangers involved. Part III further states that factories shall provide a means of escape in case of fire, and all escape routes shall not be obstructed. Part IV addresses the welfare of persons employed, which includes the supply of clean drinking water, made available in containers, renewed daily, and suitable clean washing facilities. The findings showed that, in spite of the provisions in the Factories Act as well as other extant laws stipulating how workers safety, health and welfare is to be catered for, the rate of accidents at workplaces is increasing. Meanwhile, the examined laws will still require further review to include some of the observations and suggestions made in this work. Also, the major challenges found to be associated with the effectiveness of the Factories Act in ensuring safety, health and workers was perceived to be that the institutional agencies were not doing enough to regularly engage firms by enforcing corrective and punitive measures to erring firms. Therefore, the study recommends a special task force be setup to ensure daily compliance, the Ministry should be called to order for failure of exerting corrective measures when necessary. Finally, labour unions, human right organizations and other nongovernmental agencies should sensitize workers of their rights, privileges and protection stipulated by the law. [For the complete Volume 19 proceedings, see ED613922.]

It is essential to save lives during emergencies not only in hospitals but also in colleges and universities. Failure to identify risks and take prompt action during catastrophes and emergency situations could result in the loss of life and property for the campus community. This research aims to explore the feasibility of using data analytics to mitigate the risks associated with disasters and emergencies on campus. A prototype of an online reporting system was developed using cloud services to collect relevant data, analyze it, and present the information in an online dashboard for stakeholders to make informed decisions. The study shows that the use of dashboards has a high potential for effectively mitigating risks and identifying appropriate intervention strategies. This research contributes to the ongoing efforts to improve emergency response planning and management in higher education institutions and can be applied to other universities and large community groups to enhance their disaster and emergency response preparedness. [For the full proceedings, see ED654100.]

The proceedings of the fifth symposium on mountain and survival medicine include the program for the 4-day conference which was addressed by 21 guest lecturers from Canada, Nepal, and the United States. The proceedings include abstracts for and background information on the authors of 17 papers. It also includes the texts of 13 symposium papers: "Principles and Practice of First Aid," Dick Mitchell; "Legal Aspects of Mountaineering First Aid," Mike Green and Bill Rives; "Cardiovascular Adjustments of Physical Conditioning," Loring B. Rowell; "Expedition Travel and Your Health," Dr. Peter Steele; "Summary of Treatment of the Cold Injured Patient," Dr. William J. Mills, Jr.; "The Incidence and Importance of Acute Mountain Sickness," Peter Hackett; "Acute Mountain Sickness and High Altitude Cerebral Edema," Dr. Drummond Rennie; "HAPE - High Altitude Pulmonary Edema," Dr. Herbert Hultgren; "Heat Illness," Dr. Robert S. Mecklenburg; "Clothing and Equipment for Extreme Environments," Dr. Ralph F. Goldman; "Putting Survival Into Perspective," Robert Stoffel; "Survival Medicine," Gene Fear; and "Current Trends in Search and Rescue Missions," Patrick LaValla. The publication includes reprints of eight articles originally published in the 1975 Mountain Medicine Symposium proceedings. The articles deal with the care of accident victims, rescue, treatment of cold injuries, food and survival, search, heat survival, and heat syndromes. (SB)