Self-reported wrist and finger symptoms associated with other physical/mental symptoms and use of computers/mobile phones

Recently, computer, mobile phone and Internet use has increased. This study aimed to determine the possible relation between self-reported wrist and finger symptoms (aches, pain or numbness) and using computers/mobile phones, and to analyze how the symptoms are specifically associated with utilizing desktop computers, portable computers or mini-computers and mobile phones. A questionnaire was sent to 15,000 working-age Finns (age 18–65). Via a questionnaire, 723 persons reported wrist and finger symptoms often or more with use. Over 80% use mobile phones daily and less than 30% use desktop computers or the Internet daily at leisure, e.g., over 89.8% quite often or often experienced pain, numbness or aches in the neck, and 61.3% had aches in the hips and the lower back. Only 33.7% connected their symptoms to computer use. In the future, the development of new devices and Internet services should incorporate the ergonomics of the hands and wrists.     

Physical symptoms in young adults and their use of different computers and mobile phones

This paper presents the use of new technical equipment by young adults (30 years old or younger), and the physical symptoms they have. The paper then analyses how the symptoms are associated with the use of computers and mobile phones, taking into account the background information. The study is based on a survey of 15 000 working-age (18-65) Finns. The responses (1563) covering young adults' physical symptoms were analysed. Altogether 53.3% of all young adults had pretty often or more frequently pain, numbness or aches in the neck and 32.2% had aches in the hip and lower back. Women experienced more pain, numbness or aches in the neck (65.0%) than men (34.5%). The use of different computers at leisure quite often had an association with some symptoms in different parts of the body. In addition, exhaustion at work had associations with some physical symptoms. In the future, it is essential to note ergonomic reasons and exhaustion at work when young adults experience pain, numbness or aches.     

Occupational risk identification using hand-held or laptop computers.

This paper describes the Work Environment Profile (WEP) program and its use in risk identification by computer. It is installed into a hand-held computer or a laptop to be used in risk identification during work site visits. A 5-category system is used to describe the identified risks in 7 groups, i.e., accidents, biological and physical hazards, ergonomic and psychosocial load, chemicals, and information technology hazards. Each group contains several qualifying factors. These 5 categories are colour-coded at this stage to aid with visualization. Risk identification produces visual summary images the interpretation of which is facilitated by colours. The WEP program is a tool for risk assessment which is easy to learn and to use both by experts and nonprofessionals. It is especially well adapted to be used both in small and in larger enterprises. Considerable time is saved as no paper notes are needed.     

Employee attitudes toward working with computers

This paper presents a theoretical analysis and empirical observations about the correlates of employees' attitudes toward working with computers. A measure of attitudes toward working with computers was developed and tested on a sample of 284 white collar employee from three manufacturing organizations. The expected structure of 'positive' attitudes and 'negative' attitudes (concerns) about working with computers was confirmed. Following a review of the related literature five hypotheses were proposed. Use of computers and job involvement were predicted to be positively related to attitudes toward computers. And levels of job involvement were expected to moderate the relationship between usage of computers on the job and attitudes toward computers. Both hypotheses were confirmed, although different dynamics were observed with positive attitudes than with concerns. It was found that employees who use a computer to support their work hold more positive attitudes than employees who report very limited use of the computer. And employees who are highly involved in their jobs, or committed to their organization typically reported lesser concern about working with computers than employees at a low level of job involvement. Moreover, a significant interaction was observed between job involvement and usage of computers in their relationship to attitudes toward working with computers. Further directions for research and theory development are suggested.     

Occupational back pain among schoolteachers in Jordan: estimated prevalence and factors associated with self-reported pain and work limitations

Purpose. To investigate the point prevalence of upper back pain and lower back pain in Jordanian schoolteachers and to estimate the work-related reported disability. Method. A cross-sectional survey was used to assess back pain in a convenience sample of teachers in Jordan. Crude and weighted prevalence estimates of self-reported spinal pain and limited productivity were described. Demographic and occupational factors associated with self-reported pain and limited productivity were identified by multinomial/logistic regression. Results. Crude rates differed by gender, geographic location, school funding and grade levels of teaching. Weighted estimates for self-reported pain were 46% for females and 36% for males. Pain with limitation was 55% for males and 49% for females. Pain without limitation was associated with female gender (odds ratio [OR]?=?5.26). Pain with limitations was associated with female gender (OR?=?2.92), teaching in public school (OR?=?2.06) and body mass index (OR?=?1.1). Among subjects with pain, limitations were associated with male gender (OR?=?2.34), teaching in public school (OR?=?3.18) and pain in both upper and lower back (OR?=?4.64). Conclusions. Pain and occupational limitations are highly prevalent in schoolteachers in Jordan.     

Comparative analysis of data reduction techniques for questionnaire validation using self-reported driver behaviors

Introduction: Exploratory data reduction techniques, such as Factor Analysis (FA) and Principal Component Analysis (PCA), are widely used in questionnaire validation with ordinal data, such as Likert Scale data, even though both techniques are indicated to metric measures. In this context, this study presents an e-survey, conducted to obtain self-reported behaviors between Brazilian drivers (N = 1,354, 55.2% of males) and Portuguese drivers (N = 348, 46.6% of males) based on 20 items from the Driver Behavior Questionnaire (DBQ) on a five-point Likert Scale. This paper aimed to examine DBQ validation using FA and PCA compared to Categorical Principal Component Analysis (CATPCA) which is more indicative to use with Likert Scale data. Results: The results from all techniques confirmed the most replicated factor structure of DBQ, distinguishing behaviors as errors, ordinary violations, and aggressive violation. However, after Varimax rotation, CATPCA explained 11% more variance compared to FA and 2% more than PCA. We identified cross-loadings among the component of the techniques. An item changed its dimension in the CATPCA results but did not change the structural interpretability. Individual scores from dimension 1 of CATPCA were significantly different from FA and PCA. Individual scores from factor 1 of CATPCA were significantly different from FA and PCA. Practical applications: The CATPCA seems to be more advantageous in order to represent the original data and considering data constrains. In addition to finding an interpretable factorial structure, the representation of the original data is regarded as relevant since the factor scores could be used for crash prediction in future analyses.     

Working conditions,psychological/physical symptoms and occupational accidents. Bayesian network models

Each day thousands of workers suffer occupational accidents of varying degrees of severity. Accidents at work render workers incapable of carrying out their day to day activities, either temporarily or permanently, and they also have detrimental effects on family life, the company, and the general public. In order to reduce the occupational accident rate, it is necessary to determine the causes of those accidents. Although there are many different types of accidents, they generally stem from poor working conditions. The purpose of this study was to analyze the influence of working conditions on occupational accidents from data gathered in the VI National Survey of Working Conditions (VI NSWCs) in 2007. This survey utilized a random sample of the active population of Spain. The sample comprised 11,054 people (5917 males and 5137 females). In order to carry out the study, a probabilistic model was built using Bayesian networks. The model included the following variables: hygiene conditions, ergonomic conditions, job demands, physical symptoms, psychological symptoms, and occupational accidents. The study demonstrated that there were strong relationships between hygiene conditions and occupational accidents; it has been shown that poor hygienic conditions duplicate the probability of accident. Physical symptoms increased almost 50% due to poor ergonomic conditions. And finally, high job demands almost duplicated the psychological symptoms. The investigation also showed a high degree of interdependence between physical and psychological symptomatologies and the relationship between these and occupational accidents.     

大学生使用电脑及受其电磁辐射污染状况的调查

为了解目前高校内大学生拥有个人电脑的情况,以及大学生对其所产生电磁辐射污染的了解程度和受其危害程度,在南开大学本部选取有代表性的学生宿舍楼进行问卷调查.结果显示,大学生中个人电脑的普及率为45.7%,以电磁辐射强度相对大的阴极射线管(Cathod RayTube,CRT)显示器电脑为主,占64.9%;拥有个人电脑的大学生,平均每日使用电脑的时间长;学生使用电脑后出现不良症状(眼疼、头晕等)的比例高,为77.4%,女生对电磁辐射的敏感程度高于男生;随每日使用电脑时间的延长,出现不良症状的人数增加;大学生对电磁辐射的危害有所了解的人数比例为71.9%,但知道防护措施的仅为29.6%,使用防护屏的仅为5.4%.综合调查结果认为,大学生电脑普及率高,使用时间长,且对电脑电磁辐射无应有的防护,大多数大学生在一定程度上已经受到了电磁辐射的影响,大学生受电脑电磁辐射已经成为一个值得关注的新问题.     

Characteristics of construction firms at risk for future workers' compensation claims using administrative data systems,Washington State

Introduction: Construction is high-hazard industry, and continually ranks among those with the highest workers' compensation (WC) claim rates in Washington State (WA). However, not all construction firms are at equal risk. We tested the ability to identify those construction firms most at risk for future claims using only administrative WC and unemployment insurance data. Methods: We collected information on construction firms with 10–50 average full time equivalent (FTE) employees from the WA unemployment insurance and WC data systems (n = 1228). Negative binomial regression was used to test the ability of firm characteristics measured during 2011–2013 to predict time-loss claim rates in the following year, 2014. Results: Claim rates in 2014 varied by construction industry groups, ranging from 0.7 (Land Subdivision) to 4.6 (Foundation, Structure, and Building Construction) claims per 100 FTE. Construction firms with higher average WC premium rates, a history of WC claims, increasing number of quarterly FTE, and lower average wage rates during 2011–2013 were predicted to have higher WC claim rates in 2014. Conclusions: We demonstrate the ability to leverage administrative data to identify construction firms predicted to have future WC claims. This study should be repeated to determine if these results are applicable to other high-hazard industries. Practical Applications: This study identified characteristics that may be used to further refine targeted outreach and prevention to construction firms at risk.     

Understanding crash potential associated with teen driving: Survey analysis using multivariate graphical method

Introduction: Teen crash involvement is usually higher than other age groups, and they are typically overrepresented in car crashes. To infer teen drivers' understanding of crash potentials (factors that are associated with crash occurrence), two sources of data are generally used: retrospective data and prospective data. Retrospective data sources contain historical crash data, which have limitations in determining teen drivers' knowledge of crash potentials. Prospective data sources, like surveys, have more potential to minimize the research gap. Prior studies have shown that teen drivers are more likely to be involved in crashes during their early driving years. Thus, there is a benefit in examining how teen drivers' understanding of crash potentials change during their transition through licensing stages (i.e., no licensure to unrestricted licensure). Method: This study used a large set of teen driver survey data (a dataset from approximately 88,000 respondents) of Texas teens to answer the research question. Researchers provided rankings of the crash potentials by gender and licensure stages using a multivariate graphical method named taxicab correspondence analysis (TCA). Results: The findings show that driving behavior and understanding of crash potentials differ among teens based upon various licensing stages. Practical applications: Findings from this study can help government authorities to refine policies of teen driver licensing and implement potential countermeasures for safety improvement.     

Determining the risk of driver-at-fault events associated with common distraction types using naturalistic driving data

Introduction: Studies thus far have focused on automobile accidents that involve driver distraction. However, it is hard to discern whether distraction played a role if fault designation is missing because an accident could be caused by an unexpected external event over which the driver has no control. This study seeks to determine the effect of distraction in driver-at-fault events. Method: Two generalized linear mixed models, one with at-fault safety critical events (SCE) and the other with all-cause SCEs as the outcomes, were developed to compare the odds associated with common distraction types using data from the SHRP2 naturalistic driving study. Results: Adjusting for environment and driver variation, 6 of 10 common distraction types significantly increased the risk of at-fault SCEs by 20-1330%. The three most hazardous sources of distraction were handling in-cabin objects (OR = 14.3), mobile device use (OR = 2.4), and external distraction (OR = 1.8). Mobile device use and external distraction were also among the most commonly occurring distraction types (10.1% and 11.0%, respectively). Conclusions: Focusing on at-fault events improves our understanding of the role of distraction in potentially avoidable automobile accidents. The in-cabin distraction that requires eye-hand coordination presents the most danger to drivers’ ability in maintaining fault-free, safe driving. Practical Applications: The high risk of at-fault SCEs associated with in-cabin distraction should motivate the smart design of the interior and in-vehicle information system that requires less visual attention and manual effort.     

Fewer workers' compensation claims and lower claim costs if employers with high injury rates achieved the rates of their safer peers

Introduction: Employers engaged in similar business activities demonstrate a range of workers' compensation claim rates. Workplace injuries and illnesses could be prevented if employers with high claim rates achieved the claim rates of their safer peers. Methods: We used Washington workers' compensation claims data for years 2013–2015 to calculate rates of compensable claims (eligible for disability or time loss benefits, if unable to work four days after injury) and total accepted claims (compensable plus medical-aid only claims) for each employer. We estimated the number and cost of claims to occur if employers with high claim rates reduced them to the rates of employers at the 25th percentile, adjusted for insurance risk class, employer size, and injury type. To evaluate the impact of setting more or less ambitious goals, we also estimated reductions based on claim rates at the 10th and 50th percentiles. Results: Over 43% of claims and claim costs would be prevented if employers with higher claim rates lowered them to the 25th percentile using either total accepted or compensable claim rates as the benchmark outcome. The estimated claim cost savings from benchmarking to compensable claims was nearly as great as the estimate based on benchmarking to total accepted claims ($308.5 mil annually based on compensable claims vs. $332.4 mil based on total accepted claims). Restaurants and Taverns had the greatest number of potentially prevented compensable claims. Colleges and Universities and Wood Frame and Building Construction had the greatest potential reduction in compensable claim costs among larger and smaller employers, respectively. Conclusion: Substantial reductions in workers' compensation claims and costs are possible if employers achieve the injury rates experienced by their safer peers. Practical application: Evaluating the range of workplace injury rates among employers within industry groups identifies opportunities for injury prevention and offers another approach to resource allocation.     

Small-scale physical explosions in shock tubes in comparison with condensed high explosive detonations

A series of small-scale experiments involving physical explosions in a 1.6 l pressure vessel was carried out. Explosions were initiated by spontaneous rupture of an aluminium membrane on one side of the vessel at a pressure in the range 1–1.2 MPa. The pressure waves released were measured at different distances along two separate shock tubes, one 10 m long and 200 mm in diameter (closed at one end by the high pressure vessel) and the other 15 m long and 100 mm in diameter.TNT equivalency was used for predicting the blast wave characteristics after vessel rupture. TNT equivalency was used because equations for prediction of peak pressure and impulse of the blast wave in 1-D geometry after detonations of condensed explosives are known. Some experiments with an equivalent amount of real explosive were carried out for comparison with the theoretical and experimental data obtained. The applicability of the TNT equivalency method presented for calculations of maximum pressure and shock wave impulse generated after rupture of the pressure vessel in 1-D geometry is discussed.     

Severity of e-scooter rider injuries associated with trip characteristics

Introduction: E-scooter rider injuries have been growing, but little is known about how trip and incident characteristics contribute to their severity. Method: We enrolled 105 adults injured while riding e-scooters who presented to an emergency department in Washington, DC, during 2019. Enrolled participants completed an interview during the emergency department visit, and their charts were abstracted to document their injuries and treatment. Logistic regression examined the association of incident location and circumstances with the likelihood of sustaining an injury on the Abbreviated Injury Scale (AIS) ≥ 2, while controlling for rider characteristics. Results: The most common locations of e-scooter injuries in our study sample occurred on the sidewalk (58%) or road (23%). Accounting for other trip and rider attributes, e-scooter riders injured on the road were about twice as likely as those injured elsewhere to sustain AIS ≥ 2 injuries (RR, 1.96; 95% CI, 1.23–2.36) and those who rode at least weekly more often sustained AIS ≥ 2 injuries compared with less frequent riders (RR, 1.86; 95% CI, 1.11–2.32). Conclusions: Greater injury severity for riders injured on the road may reflect higher travel speeds. Practical applications: Injury severity associated with riding in the road is one factor that jurisdictions can consider when setting policy on where e-scooters should be encouraged to ride, but the risk of any crash or fall associated with facilities should also be examined. Although injuries are of lower severity on sidewalks, sharing sidewalks with slower moving pedestrians could potentially lead to more conflicts.     

Factors associated with driving under the influence of alcohol

Objective: This study examined the risk factors of driving under the influence of alcohol (DUI) among drivers of specific vehicle categories (DSC). On the basis of this research, the variables related to DUI and involvement in traffic crashes were defined. The analysis was conducted for car drivers, bicyclists, motorcyclists, bus drivers, and truck drivers.

Method: The research sample included drivers involved in traffic crashes on the territory of Serbia in 2016 (60,666). Two types of analyses were conducted in this study. Logistic regression established the correlation between DUI and DSC and the The Technique for Order of Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (Multi-criteria decision making) method was applied to consider the scoring and explore the potential for the prevalence of DUI on the basis of 2 data sets (DUI and non DUI).

Results: The study results showed that driver error and male drivers were the 2 most significant risk factors for DUI, with the highest scores and potential for prevalence. The nonuse of restraint systems, driver experience, and driver age are the factors with a significant prediction of involvement in an accident and an insignificant prediction of DUI.

Conclusions: Following the development of the logistic prediction models for DUI drivers, testing of the model was conducted for 3 control driver groups: Car, motorcycle, and bicycle. The prediction model with a probability greater than 50% showed that 77% of car drivers were under the influence of alcohol. Similarly, the prediction percentage for motorcyclists and bicyclists amounted to 71 and 67%, respectively. The recommendation of the study is that drivers whose DUI probability is above 50% should be potentially suspected of DUI. The results of this study can help to understand the problem of DUI among specific driver categories and detect DUI drivers, with the aim of creating successful traffic safety policy.     

Factors associated with fatal accident involvement among California drivers

The primary objectives of this study were to examine characteristics of drivers involved in fatal accidents and to determine if those drivers could be distinguished from California's general driving population on the basis of prior driving record. A sample of drivers involved in 1970–1971 fatal accidents was analyzed and compared to a sample of drivers from the general driving population during the same time period. Drivers who had been drinking prior to the accident, who were considered at-fault for the accident, or whose accident occurred at night were found to have worse prior driving records than other fatal accident-involved drivers. The results also indicated that, as a whole, drivers involved in fatal accidents had worse violation and/or accident records, as well as different demographic and license characteristics than drivers in the general population. The classification functions derived to predict fatal accidents, however, did not differ greatly from regression equations that have been constructed to predict total accidents. It was therefore concluded that prediction systems keyed to total accidents will, to a large extent, also identify high-risk fatal accident drivers.     

Analysis of hazard areas associated with high-pressure natural-gas pipelines

The rupture of a high-pressure natural-gas pipeline can lead to outcomes that can pose a significant threat to people and property in the immediate vicinity of the failure location. The dominant hazards are thermal radiation from sustained fire and collapse of buildings from explosion inside or in a partially confined area enclosed by buildings. A simplified equation has been developed that relates the diameter, the operating pressure and the length of pipeline to the size of the affected area in the event of a full-bore rupture. The equation is based on release rate, gas jet and heat flux from fire to estimate the hazard area. Hazard area is directly proportional to the operating pressure raised to a half power, and to the pipeline diameter raised to five-fourths power, but inversely proportional to the pipeline length raised to a quarter power. The simplified equation will be a useful tool for safety management of high-pressur natural-gas pipelines.     

Evaluation of driver performance with a prototype cyber physical mid-block crossing advanced warning system

Introduction: Using connected vehicle technologies, pedestrian to vehicle (P2V) communication applications can be installed on smart devices allowing pedestrians to communicate with drivers by broadcasting discrete safety messages, received by drivers in-vehicle, as an alternative to expensive fixed-location physical safety infrastructure. Method: This study consists of designing, developing, and deploying an entirely cyber-physical P2V communication system within the cellular vehicle to everything (C-V2X) environment at a mid-block crosswalk to analyze drivers’ reactions to in-vehicle advanced warning messages, the impacts of the advanced warning messages on driver awareness, and drivers’ acceptance of this technology. Results: In testing human subjects with, and without, advanced warning messages upon approaching a mid-block crosswalk, driver reaction, acceptance, speed, eye tracking data, and demographic data were collected. Through an odds ratio comparison, it was found that drivers were at least 2.44 times more likely to stop for the pedestrian with the warning than without during the day, and at least 1.79 times more likely during the night. Furthermore, through binary logistic regression analysis, it was found that driver age, time of the day, and the presence of the advanced warning message all had strong, significant impacts with a confidence value of at least 98% (p < 0.02) on the rate at which drivers stopped for the pedestrian. Conclusions: The results from this study indicate that the advanced warning message sent within the C-V2X had a strong, positive impact on driver behavior and understanding of pedestrian intent. Practical Applications: Pedestrian crashes and fatality rates at mid-block crossings continue to increase over the years. Connected vehicle technology utilizing smart devices can be used as a means for communications between pedestrians and drivers to deliver safety messages. State and local city planners should consider geofencing designated mid-block crossings at which this technology operates to increase pedestrian safety and driver awareness.