8, respectively) and

2±0.112, respectively) and CON group(0.538±0.132 and 0.323±0.107, respectively), P< 0.05. The level of PPARγ mRNA were lower in AMI (0.391±0.101) and UAP (0.396±0.093) groups than in SAP (0.555±0.152) and CON (0.625±0.223)groups, P<0.05. Conclusions The expr     

Ergonomics and Quality Management—Humans in Interaction With Technology,Work Environment,and Organization

Abstract

In many studies, ergonomics has been shown to influence human performance. The aim of this paper was to demonstrate imp ortan t ergonomics influences on quality in industrial production, from the perspective of interactions between humans, technology, organization, and work environment. A second aim was to elab orate on the implications of these findings for the development of quality management strategies. This paper shows that ergonomics problems in terms of adverse work environmental conditions, in appropriate design of technology, and an unsuitable org an izatio n are important causes of quality deficiencies. Problem solving aimed at improving ergonomics, quality, and productivity simultaneously is likely to obtain sup po rt from most of the interest parties of the company, and may also enhance participation. Ergonomics has the potential of becoming a driving force for the development of new quality management strategies.     

‘It's off to work we go!’ Person–environment fit and turnover intentions in managerial and administrative mining personnel

Purpose. Person–environment fit asserts that incompatibility between an employee and aspects of their work environment is more likely to lead to occupational stress. The aim of this study was to investigate the impact that varying levels of person–environment fit had on key criterion outcomes including work engagement, work-related wellbeing and turnover intentions in a unique sample of managerial and administrative mining personnel. Method. An online self-report survey was distributed to an Australian mining organization by the company’s Chief Executive Officer. Anonymous survey links were sent to staff, of which 118 participants responded. The survey consisted of previously validated measures. Results. Hierarchical multiple regression analyses revealed significant relationships between abilities–demand fit, needs–supply fit and work engagement. Additionally, work-related wellbeing was significantly associated with increased person–organization fit and needs–supply fit. However, only needs–supply fit had a significant negative relationship with turnover intentions. Needs–supply fit significantly predicted all criterion variables. Conclusions. This study found that personal need fulfilment through work-related activities had the most significant impact on work-related wellbeing and work engagement. Personal need fulfilment through work also produced the most significant negative relationship with turnover intentions.     

What is the relationship between self-reported aberrant driving behaviors,mindfulness, and self-reported crashes and infringements?

Objectives: This study investigated the relationship between self-reported aberrant driving behaviors, mindfulness, and self-reported crashes and infringements.

Methods: Three hundred and eighteen participants (M = 46.0 years, SD = 13.7 years; female: 81.8%) completed an online survey that assessed aberrant driving behaviors, mindfulness (including regular mindfulness meditation [MM]), and self-reported crashes and infringements during the past 2 years. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to examine the relationship between self-reported aberrant driving behaviors and mindfulness simultaneously, as well as with participants' age and estimated kilometers driven over the past year.

Results: The results of the SEM showed that mindfulness was negatively related to each self-reported aberrant driving behavior, with the strongest relationships being between mindfulness and driving-related lapses (?0.58) and errors (?0.46). Participants who practice MM had significantly fewer crashes in the past 2 years and reported significantly fewer driving-related violations and lapses compared to participants who did not practice MM (crashes: 9.3% vs. 18.8%, P < .05; violations: M = 6.66 [SD = 3.44] vs. M = 7.68 [SD = 4.53], P < .05; errors: M = 5.17 [SD = 3.44] vs. M = 6.19 [SD = 4.12], P < .05).

Conclusions: More research is needed to understand whether MM results in more mindful and attentive drivers or whether individuals who practice MM may have other traits or behaviors that are linked to improved safety.     

How certain can we really be that our boss is trustworthy,and does it matter? A metacognitive perspective on employee evaluations of supervisor trustworthiness

This research helps to integrate the metacognitive concept of evaluation certainty into the trust literature by demonstrating that certainty can amplify the effects of trustworthiness evaluations and stabilize trustworthiness evaluations over time. Across an experimental study (Study 1) and a multiwave survey of employees (Study 2), we show that trustworthiness evaluations exert a stronger influence on individuals' trust at higher levels of certainty and that trust transmits the multiplicative effects of trustworthiness evaluations and certainty on key indicators of employee risk-taking including reliance and disclosure behavior. Further, in Study 2, we show that certainty can help predict change in trustworthiness evaluations over time. Finally, in a two-wave field survey (Study 3), we examine factors that influence evaluation certainty and show that relational transparency and leader prototypicality (LP) have interactive effects on employees' certainty such that the influence of relational transparency on certainty will be more positive at higher levels of LP. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.     

Accidents, claiming, and regional subcultures: are medical errors and malpractice lawsuits related to social capital?

METHOD: This study examined states' performance on Patient Safety Indicators (PSIs), statistics on malpractice lawsuits, and analogous data on automobile accidents to identify state-level patterns in safety and claiming. RESULTS: Hospital safety varied in a pattern similar to highway safety on the state level, suggesting that cultural traits may play a greater role than differences in legal or other environmental factors. States performing well or poorly in hospital and driver safety tended to correspond with states grouped together in regional culture typologies developed by Elazar and Lieske. Traits of regional culture also are associated with variations in tort claiming. CONCLUSIONS: The paper offers a theory of social capital as an important factor affecting safety and tort claiming. Where the regional culture is one of high cohesion and trust, people may exercise a higher degree of caution and vigilance in their interaction with others, and feel less inclination to file lawsuits subsequent to accidents.     

The missing link? Implications of internal,external, and relational attribution combinations for leader–member exchange,relationship work,self‐work,and conflict

Attributions are causal explanations made by individuals in response to important, novel, and/or unexpected events. Numerous attribution theories have examined how people use information to make attributions and how attributions impact an individual's subsequent emotions and outcomes. However, this research has only recently considered the implications of dyadic‐level attributions (i.e., relational attributions), particularly in the context of leader–follower relationships in organizations. Therefore, the purpose of this theoretical paper is threefold. First, we integrate research on attributional biases into the research on relational attributions. Second, we integrate and extend attribution theory to consider the implications of convergent and divergent internal, external‐person, external‐situational, and relational attributions for leader–member exchange (LMX) quality, relationship work, self‐work, and conflict. Third, we make the implicit ranking of attribution combinations and the resultant levels of relationship work explicit. In doing so, we contribute to attribution theory and research by proposing how attribution combinations produce positive and negative outcomes that are both intrapersonal and interpersonal. Further, we contribute to the LMX literature by explicating how leader–follower attribution combinations influence relationship quality.     

Synergism of Ergonomics,Safety, and Quality—A Behavioral Cybernetic Analysis

Abstract

This report extends a control systems or cybernetic model of behavior to the behavior of groups of many individuals—organizations and institutions—operating together with technology as complex sociotechnical (ST) systems. The premise is that the level of quality in performance of a complex ST system is predicated upon the degree to which its organizational design incorporates elements of a closed-loop behavioral control system: control goals and objectives, sensory receptors, sensory feedback, learning and memory, effectors, and sensory feedback control. From a control systems perspective, ergonomics is essential to effective organizational self-regulation. If working conditions are poorly designed, work performance and safety and quality outcomes cannot be closely controlled. Conversely, as shown by field evidence, good design promotes synergism between ergonomics, safety, and quality as a closed-loop consequence of effective employee and organizational self-control of system performance, safety, and quality.     

Taxi driver speeding: Who,when, where and how? A comparative study between Shanghai and New York City

Objective: The 3 objectives of this study are to (1) identify the driving style characteristics of taxi drivers in Shanghai and New York City (NYC) using taxi Global Positioning System (GPS) data and make a comparative analysis; (2) explore the influence of different driving style characteristics on the frequency of speeding (who and how?) and (3) explore the influence of driving style characteristics, road attributes, and environmental factors on the speeding rate (when, where, and how?)

Methods: This study proposes a driver–road–environment identification (DREI) method to investigate the determinant factors of taxi speeding violations. Driving style characteristics, together with road and environment variables, were obtained based on the GPS data and auxiliary spatiotemporal data in Shanghai and NYC.

Results: The daily working hours of taxi drivers in Shanghai (18.6 h) was far more than in NYC (8.5 h). The average occupancy speed of taxi drivers in Shanghai (21.3 km/h) was similar to that of NYC (20.3 km/h). Speeders in both cities had shorter working hours and longer daily driving distance than other taxi drivers, though their daily income was similar. Speeding drivers routinely took long-distance trips (>10 km) and preferred relatively faster routes. Length of segments (1.0–1.5 km) and good traffic condition were associated with high speeding rates, whereas central business district area and secondary road were associated with low speeding rates. Moreover, many speeding violations were identified between 4:00 a.m. and 7:00 a.m. in both Shanghai and NYC and the worst period was between 5:00 a.m. and 6:00 a.m. in both cities.

Conclusions: Characteristics of drivers, road attributes, and environment variables should be considered together when studying driver speeding behavior. Findings of this study may assist in stipulating relevant laws and regulations such as stricter offense monitoring in the early morning, long segment supervision, shift rule regulation, and working hour restriction to mitigate the risk of potential crashes.     

The Relationship Between Workers’ Safety Culture and Accidents,Near Accidents and Health Problems

One of the dimensions treated as part of a company’s safety culture or climate is workers’ attitudes towards risk and safety. In the present study these personal aspects are defined as workers’ safety culture, which is understood as a way of acting focused on life and taking care of one’s health. A questionnaire on safety culture was filled out by 200 employees of a metallurgical enterprise. Factor analysis was used to determine empirical scales of the questionnaire, whereas variance analysis was used to test hypotheses. The results confirmed the hypotheses that people who experienced accidents, dangerous situations, and—to a lesser extent—health problems had a lower level of safety culture. Nevertheless not all of the scales determined during factor analysis turned out to be significant as far as all kinds of those undesirable situations are concerned. Proposals for future studies are formulated in the conclusion.     

Characteristics of crashes and injuries among 14 and 15 year old drivers,by rurality

Purpose: Motor-vehicle crashes continue to be the leading cause of death for teenagers in the United States. The United States has some of the youngest legal driving ages worldwide. The objective of this study was to determine rates and factors associated with injury crashes among 14- and 15-year-old drivers and how these varied by rurality. Methods: Data for this cross-sectional study of 14- and 15-year-old drivers were obtained from the Iowa Department of Transportation from 2001 to 2013. Crash and injury crash rates were calculated by rurality. The relationship between crash and driver factors and injury was assessed using logistic regression. Findings: Teen drivers, aged 14 and 15 years, had a statewide crash rate of 8 per 1,000 drivers from 2001 to 2013. The majority of crashes occurred in urban areas (51%), followed by in town (29%), remote rural areas (13%), and suburban areas (7%). Crash and injury crash rates increased as level of rurality increased. The odds of an injury crash increased more than 10-fold with the presence of multiple other teens as passengers, compared to no passengers (OR = 10.7, 95% CI: 7.1–16.2). Conclusions: Although 14- and 15-year-old drivers in Iowa have either limited unsupervised (school permits) or supervised only driving restrictions, they are overrepresented in terms of crashes and injury crashes. Rural roads and multiple teen passengers are particularly problematic in terms of injury outcomes. Practical applications: Results from this study support passenger restrictions and teen driving interventions designed with a rural focus.