Perceived organizational support and perceived safety climate from the perspective of safety professionals: Testing reciprocal causality using a cross-lagged panel design

Introduction: The objective of this study was to determine the reciprocal relationship between safety professionals perceived organizational support (POS) and perceived safety climate. Safety professionals are most effective when they perceive support from management and employees and they also attribute most of their success to support from the organization. Their work directly improves safety climate, and organizations with a high safety climate show a higher value for the safety professional. The causal direction of this relationship is, however, unclear. Method: Using a sample of 162 safety professionals, we conducted a cross-lagged panel study over one year to examine whether safety professionals’ POS improves their perceived safety climate and/or whether safety climate also increases POS over time. Data were collected at two points and, after testing for measurement invariance, a cross-lagged SEM was conducted to analyze the reciprocal relationship. Results: Our findings show that safety professionals’ POS was positively related to perceived safety climate over time. Perceived safety climate, however, did not contribute to safety professionals’ POS. Conclusions: This study significantly adds to the discussion about the factors influencing safety professionals’ successful inclusion in organizations, enabling them to perform their work and, thus, improve occupational safety. Practical Applications: Since safety climate increases in organizations in which safety professionals feel supported, this study points out the kind of support that contributes to improved organizational safety. Support for safety professionals may come in classical forms such as approval, pay, job enrichment, and information on or influence over organizational policies.     

Unfairness at work as a predictor of absenteeism

This study among 514 security guards examines the relationship between perceptions of unfairness at work and absenteeism during a one‐year follow‐up. On the basis of previous theoretical work and fragmented empirical evidence, it was hypothesized that distributive unfairness causes absence behavior in a direct or indirect way (through health complaints). Procedural unfairness was hypothesized to cause absence behavior through affective commitment or through health complaints. Results of a series of structural equation modelling analyses offer support for the mediating role of health complaints in the relationship between (distributive and procedural) unfairness at work and absenteeism. Moreover, our findings demonstrate that perceived unfairness contributes to explaining T2‐absenteeism over and above the impact of T1‐absenteeism and traditional work‐related stressors (i.e., work load and low job control). The theoretical and practical implications of these findings are discussed. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

基于协整和因果分析的我国安全生产宏观政策干预研究

为进一步分析我国安全生产政策的实施效果及存在问题,根据政策时效干预度量化模型,采用协检验、格兰杰因果检验和脉冲响应分析等计量方法对1978-2006年我国特别重大事故发生趋势与政策时效干预力度关系进行量化分析,得出特别重人事故的发生与政策时效干预力度问存在长期均衡关系,且在10%的显著水平下,特别重大事故的发生是政策时效干预力度加强的格兰杰原因.同时分析表明,目前我国安全生产政策干预表现出两大缺点:被动性和滞后性.因此,应逐步开展生产安全事故宏观预警与政策模拟等研究,为提高安全生产宏观政策干预的主动性和前瞻性提供技术支持.     

A meta‐analysis of the interrelationships between employee lateness,absenteeism, and turnover: Implications for models of withdrawal behavior

We meta‐analyzed the correlations between voluntary employee lateness, absenteeism, and turnover to (i) provide the most comprehensive estimates to date of the interrelationships between these withdrawal behaviors; (ii) test the viability of a withdrawal construct; and (iii) evaluate the evidence for competing models of the relationships between withdrawal behaviors (i.e., alternate forms, compensatory forms, independent forms, progression of withdrawal, and spillover model). Corrected correlations were .26 between lateness and absenteeism, .25 between absenteeism and turnover, and .01 between lateness and turnover. These correlations were even smaller in recent studies that had been carried out since the previous meta‐analyses of these relationships 15–20 years ago. The small‐to‐moderate intercorrelations are not supportive of a withdrawal construct that includes lateness, absenteeism, and turnover. These intercorrelations also rule out many of the competing models of the relationships between withdrawal behaviors, as many of the models assume all relationships will be positive, null, or negative. On the basis of path analyses using meta‐analytic data, the progression of withdrawal model garnered the most support. This suggests that lateness may moderately predict absenteeism and absenteeism may moderately predict turnover. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A test for electrical ignitions of flammable dust clouds

The Atex Directive specifically includes the explosion hazards arising from the presence of flammable dusts. The European standards body CENELEC proposed a research project to develop tests for assessing the ignition hazard due to electrical apparatus used in hazardous dusty environments. This paper describes the work done on developing a test for electrical spark ignitions of explosive dust atmospheres. A prototype apparatus incorporating the dust explosibility vertical tube and the STA break flash apparatus has been developed. Tests using three dusts showed sulphur dust had ignition characteristics close to those of gas Group B, while other dusts were much less easily ignitable than methane. Round robin tests using a duplicate apparatus and the proposed test method produced results very close to those obtained using the original apparatus.     

Effects of an absenteeism feedback intervention on employee absence behavior†

The purpose of this study was to test the effects of an Absenteeism Feedback Intervention (AFI) on employee absenteeism. Three hundred and seventy‐one employees working in 14 experimental and 13 control groups in a medium sized hospital participated in the study. Employees working in the experimental groups received absenteeism feedback at three time periods that provided them with information about their own number of absent days and episodes (sequential days counted as a single absence episode) as well as the average of their work and occupational group. Comparisons of absent days and episodes between the AFI and control groups indicate some support for the effectiveness of the intervention. In particular, there was a reduction in absent days and episodes for employees with higher than average absenteeism during the previous year but who were not extreme offenders. The research and practical implications of the AFI for reducing employee absenteeism are discussed. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Individual and group determinants of employee absenteeism: Test of a causal model

This study examined whether an employee's level of absenteeism was affected by age, organizational tenure, perceptions of interactional justice, affective and continuance commitment, and the perceived absence norm in the employees' work unit or department. One hundred and sixty-six nursing and food services employees in a mid-size chronic care hospital provided attitudinal and perceptual data on an employee survey. Absence data (absence frequency and total days absent) were collected during the 12-month period immediately following an employee survey. Hypothesized relations between the various individual- and group-level factors and employee absenteeism were specified in a structural model and tested using LISREL 7 (Joreskog and Sorbom, 1989). General support was found for the study hypotheses.     

A test of value congruence effects

This study investigated value congruence effects on organizational commitment and job satisfaction. We used the competing values framework to measure values, and response‐surface methodology employing polynomial regression equations to investigate congruence effects. Our sample, 1,358 hospital employees, made judgments about their personal preferences for the four competing value sets—internal process, open systems, rational goal, and human relations. They also rated how much the same values were operating in the organization. We predicted that organizational commitment and job satisfaction would be maximized when a ‘match’ or ‘congruence’ occurred between the two component value measures. We evaluated congruence effects using the following criteria: (1) the proportion of variance explained by the overall equation was significant; (2) the quadratic and interaction terms were significant individually and as a set, and their signs were in the right direction; (3) the implied constraints were valid; and (4) no higher‐order terms beyond those indicated by the model were significant. The results indicated that although quadratic and interaction components were present in all eight models, they were weak in their support for congruence. The study's findings suggested that congruence effects were relatively unimportant compared to main effects in explaining variance in organizational commitment and job satisfaction, at least in the large organization we investigated in this study. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Organizational commitment,turnover and absenteeism: An examination of direct and interaction effects

A three component model of organizational commitment was used to study job withdrawal intentions, turnover and absenteeism. Affective commitment emerged as the most consistent predictor of these outcome variables and was the only view of commitment related to turnover and to absenteeism. In contrast, normative commitment was related only to withdrawal intentions while no direct effects for continuance commitment were observed. Continuance commitment, however, interacted with affective commitment in predicting job withdrawal intentions and absenteeism. The form of the interaction was such that high sunk costs tempered relationships between affective commitment and the relevant outcome variables.     

Optimization of test interval for ageing equipment: A multi-objective genetic algorithm approach

Reducing the unavailability of safety systems at nuclear power plants, by utilizing the probabilistic safety assessment (PSA) methodology, is one of the prime goals in the nuclear industry. In that sense, optimization of test and maintenance activities, which are defined within the technical specifications, represents quite popular and interesting domain. Obtaining optimal test and maintenance schedule is of great significance for improving system availability and performance as well as plant availability in general.On the other side, equipment aging has gradually become a major concern in the nuclear industry since the number of safety systems components, that are approaching their wear-out stage, is rising fast. Nuclear power plants life management programs, considering safety components aging, are being developed and employed. The immense uncertainty associated to the available component aging rates databases poses significant difficulties in the process of incorporation and quantification of the aging effect within the PSA and, subsequently, in the decision-making process.In this paper, an approach for optimization of surveillance test interval of standby equipment with highly uncertain aging parameters, based on genetic algorithm technique and PSA, is presented. A standard standby safety system in nuclear power plant is selected as a case study. A Monte Carlo simulation-based approach is used to assess uncertainty propagation on system level. Optimal test interval is derived on the basis of minimal system unavailability and minimal impact of components aging parameters uncertainty. The results obtained in this application indicate the fact that risk-informed surveillance requirements differ from existing ones in technical specifications as well as show the importance of considering aging data uncertainties in component aging modeling.     

A medium scale test method for assessing the fire hazard of flammable solid materials

The medium scale test method currently operated by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) as a means of assessing the fire hazard of flammable solids is described. The technique has been applied to a range of materials and the results, although specific to the apparatus, have proved useful in ranking relative fire performance     

The reciprocal nature of trust: a longitudinal study of interacting teams

This research develops and investigates the concept of reciprocal trust between interacting teams. Reciprocal trust is defined as the trust that results when a party observes the actions of another and reconsiders one's trust‐related attitudes and subsequent behaviors based on those observations. Twenty‐four teams of systems analysis and design students were involved in a 6‐week controlled field study focused on the development of an information systems project. Each team was responsible for both developing a system (development role) and for supervising the development of a system by another team (management role). Risk‐taking actions exhibited by one team in an interacting pair were found to predict the other team's trustworthiness perceptions and subsequent trust. The level of trust formed in turn predicted the team's subsequent risk‐taking behaviors with respect to the other team. This pattern of reciprocal trust repeated itself as the teams continued to interact over the duration of the project, thus supporting our model of reciprocal trust. Findings also indicate that trust and trust formation can occur at the team level. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A test and refinement of the equity sensitivity construct

This paper reports results from two studies that test a refinement of the equity sensitivity construct first in an experimental setting and second in a field setting. Results from Study 1 show that benevolents express tolerance for both overreward and underreward relative to entitleds and equity sensitives and that benevolents report relatively high levels of satisfaction regardless of reward condition. Study 1 results also show that manipulation of outcomes produce a more dramatic effect on satisfaction than does manipulation of inputs. Results from Study 2 reveal significantly different exchange ideologies for benevolents and entitleds and show that entitleds place more importance on pay whereas benevolents place more importance on the work itself. For both benevolents and entitleds, there is a positive correlation between assessments of distributive justice and job satisfaction. Implication of the findings both for equity theory research and the practice of management are discussed.     

A closed pressure vessel test (CPVT) screen for explosive properties of energetic organic compounds

Results of a round-robin test on a mini-autoclave are reported and previously proposed criteria reviewed. Criteria based upon the results for three standard materials are now put forward. These standards-based criteria, in contrast to numerical criteria, theoretically allow any laboratory to utilize the data accumulated to date, irrespective of the equipment used. The practical requirement is that adequate discrimination can be achieved. Data to assess this are given.     

A virtual test system representing the distribution of pedestrian impact configurations for future vehicle front-end optimization

Objectives: The purpose of this study is to define a computationally efficient virtual test system (VTS) to assess the aggressivity of vehicle front-end designs to pedestrians considering the distribution of pedestrian impact configurations for future vehicle front-end optimization. The VTS should represent real-world impact configurations in terms of the distribution of vehicle impact speeds, pedestrian walking speeds, pedestrian gait, and pedestrian height. The distribution of injuries as a function of body region, vehicle impact speed, and pedestrian size produced using this VTS should match the distribution of injuries observed in the accident data. The VTS should have the predictive ability to distinguish the aggressivity of different vehicle front-end designs to pedestrians.

Methods: The proposed VTS includes 2 parts: a simulation test sample (STS) and an injury weighting system (IWS). The STS was defined based on MADYMO multibody vehicle to pedestrian impact simulations accounting for the range of vehicle impact speeds, pedestrian heights, pedestrian gait, and walking speed to represent real world impact configurations using the Pedestrian Crash Data Study (PCDS) and anthropometric data. In total 1,300 impact configurations were accounted for in the STS. Three vehicle shapes were then tested using the STS. The IWS was developed to weight the predicted injuries in the STS using the estimated proportion of each impact configuration in the PCDS accident data. A weighted injury number (WIN) was defined as the resulting output of the VTS. The WIN is the weighted number of average Abbreviated Injury Scale (AIS) 2+ injuries recorded per impact simulation in the STS. Then the predictive capability of the VTS was evaluated by comparing the distributions of AIS 2+ injuries to different pedestrian body regions and heights, as well as vehicle types and impact speeds, with that from the PCDS database. Further, a parametric analysis was performed with the VTS to assess the sensitivity of the injury predictions to changes in vehicle shape (type) and stiffness to establish the potential for using the VTS for future vehicle front-end optimization.

Results: An STS of 1,300 multibody simulations and an IWS based on the distribution of impact speed, pedestrian height, gait stance, and walking speed is broadly capable of predicting the distribution of pedestrian injuries observed in the PCDS database when the same vehicle type distribution as the accident data is employed. The sensitivity study shows significant variations in the WIN when either vehicle type or stiffness is altered.

Conclusions: Injury predictions derived from the VTS give a good representation of the distribution of injuries observed in the PCDS and distinguishing ability on the aggressivity of vehicle front-end designs to pedestrians. The VTS can be considered as an effective approach for assessing pedestrian safety performance of vehicle front-end designs at the generalized level. However, the absolute injury number is substantially underpredicted by the VTS, and this needs further development.     

A new and more reliable test for the propensity of coals and carbons to spontaneous heating

The current oven-heating test for the propensity of such materials as coals and carbons to spontaneous heating has been shown to be fundamentally flawed. In this paper, a new test is proposed which uses the same experimental set-up as the existing one but is much more soundly based, and leads to more reliable predictions.     

基于新内点测试与Grid-SCAN的铀尾矿库监测定位算法

面向铀尾矿库放射性核素污染WSN监测中,由于监测环境制约,针对该条件下节点密度低、带状分布网络连通性差等问题,为保证一定定位精度,提出一种新的定位算法。新内点测试利用RSSI值与海伦公式判断是否在三角形内外,无需未知节点周围其他节点信息,并采用Grid-SCAN寻找概率模型选取点,使该算法满足低密度条件的定位并减少其计算量。约束范围内计算网格内各点RSSI值的概率,并以最大概率坐标为定位结果。经过仿真,新算法较APIT算法在定位精度上提高了55%~69%。     

基于因果模糊聚类法预测覆岩裂隙带高度研究

为了研究不同采高、煤层倾角、岩石抗压强度、岩层结构、采空区斜长、埋深等因素影响下采空区覆岩裂隙带高度发育规律,对收集的实测数据进行因果模糊聚类分类、分析,对各个类别,代入裂隙带高度接近均值的实测数据运算,获得各个因素对裂隙带高度影响合适的权重,进而建立对应的特征模糊集,并构造对应的三角模糊数,最终建立模糊预测模型。通过案例分析对模糊预测模型进行了验证,结果表明其误差范围为0.83-2.70m,满足工程应用的精度需求。