WalkSafe: a school-based pedestrian safety intervention program

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effectiveness of the WalkSafe program, an elementary school-based pedestrian safety program in a single high-risk district in Miami-Dade County. METHODS: Sixteen elementary schools were identified in a single high-risk district and enrolled in a one-year study. All schools implemented the WalkSafe program on the last week of January 2003. A pre, post, and three-month post testing of pedestrian safety knowledge was conducted. An observational component was also implemented at four schools that were randomly chosen. Engineering recommendations and law enforcement initiatives were also performed. RESULTS: A total of 6467 children from K-5th grade from 16 elementary schools participated in the program. Of these 5762 tests were collected over three different testing times. A significant difference (p-value < 0.001) was found between the pre and post testing conditions across all grade levels. There was no significant difference found between the post and three-month post testing conditions across all grade levels (p-value > 0.05). The observational data collected at four schools across the different testing times demonstrated a significant difference found between pre and post testing conditions for Group A (stop at the curb and look left, right, left) and also for Group B (midstreet crossing and darting out) (p-value < 0.05). There was no difference found between comparing the pre-test or post-test condition with the three-month post-test time. There were many environmental modifications that were recommended and actually performed. CONCLUSION: The WalkSafe program implemented in a single high-risk district was shown to improve the pedestrian safety knowledge of elementary school children. The observational data demonstrated improved crossing behaviors from pre-test to post-testing conditions. Future research will focus on sustaining the program in this district and expanding the program throughout our county.     

Surface‐ and deep‐level diversity in workgroups: examining the moderating effects of team orientation and team process on relationship conflict

The increased use of teams in organizations, coupled with an increasingly diverse workforce, strongly suggests that we should learn more about how team diversity affects functioning and performance. The purpose of this study was to explore the differential impact of surface‐level diversity (gender, ethnicity), deep‐level diversity (time urgency, extraversion), and two moderating variables (team orientation, team process) on relationship conflict over time. Hypotheses were tested by tracking 45 student project teams in a longitudinal design. Results revealed that team orientation and team process moderated the diversity–conflict link. Specifically, team orientation helped to neutralize the negative effects of surface‐level (gender) diversity on relationship conflict. In a similar manner, team processes worked to weaken the deleterious effects of deep‐level diversity (time urgency) on relationship conflict. In addition, relationship conflict resulted in lower perceived performance by team members. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The Iowa Graduated Driver Licensing program: effectiveness in reducing crashes of teenage drivers

PROBLEM: Graduated Driver Licensing (GDL) programs vary in the United States in terms of implementation and restrictions. The State of Iowa's GDL program is assessed for its effectiveness in reducing crashes among teenage drivers. METHOD: Time series analysis was used to evaluate police documented crashes involving 16-, 17-, and 18-year-old drivers over a 10 year period, with an intervention identified at the point of GDL implementation. RESULTS: After controlling for seasonal trends and auto-correlative effects, a significant reduction in the crash rate of and 16- and 17-year-old drivers was observed due to the GDL implementation. However, there were no significant reductions in crash rates for 18-year-old drivers. DISCUSSION: The analyses suggest that the Iowa GDL program is effective in reducing the crash rates of 16- and 17-year-old drivers but the effects do not sustain for 18-year-old drivers. IMPACT ON INDUSTRY: The results suggest that the program appears to be working, however further analysis is needed to determine what factors are preventing lasting effects for these teenage drivers.     

The Victorian legislative framework for testing drivers for impairment caused by drugs other than alcohol: an evaluation of the characteristics of drivers detected from 2000 to 2005

On December 1, 2000, new legislation came into force in Victoria, Australia, that involved a framework for the procedure to be followed by the police for the detection of drivers impaired by drugs other than alcohol. An integral part of the procedure is the use of performance tests known as the standardized field sobriety tests (SFSTs) and the analysis of blood samples for the presence of drugs other than alcohol. This paper outlines the new legislative framework and the drug impairment detection procedures currently in place in Victoria. This paper also evaluates the data collected using the framework for the first five years since implementation in Victoria.     

Does safety climate moderate the influence of staffing adequacy and work conditions on nurse injuries?

PROBLEM: Hospital nurses have one of the highest work-related injury rates in the United States. Yet, approaches to improving employee safety have generally focused on attempts to modify individual behavior through enforced compliance with safety rules and mandatory participation in safety training. We examined a theoretical model that investigated the impact on nurse injuries (back injuries and needlesticks) of critical structural variables (staffing adequacy, work engagement, and work conditions) and further tested whether safety climate moderated these effects. METHOD: A longitudinal, non-experimental, organizational study, conducted in 281 medical-surgical units in 143 general acute care hospitals in the United States. RESULTS: Work engagement and work conditions were positively related to safety climate, but not directly to nurse back injuries or needlesticks. Safety climate moderated the relationship between work engagement and needlesticks, while safety climate moderated the effect of work conditions on both needlesticks and back injuries, although in unexpected ways. DISCUSSION AND IMPACT ON INDUSTRY: Our findings suggest that positive work engagement and work conditions contribute to enhanced safety climate and can reduce nurse injuries.     

Processing and Morphology Impacts on Mechanical Properties of Fungal Based Biopolymer Composites

Fungal based biopolymer matrix composites with lignocellulosic agricultural waste as the filler are a viable alternative for some applications of synthetic polymers. This research provides insight into the impact of the processing method and composition of agriwaste/fungal biopolymer composites on structure and mechanical properties. The impact of nutrition during inoculation and after a homogenization step on the three-point bend flexural modulus and strength was determined. Increasing supplemental nutrition at inoculation had little effect on the overall composite strength or modulus; however, increasing carbohydrate loading after a homogenization step increased flexural stress at yield and bulk flexural modulus. The contiguity of the network formed was notably higher in the latter scenario, suggesting that the increase in modulus and strength of the final composite after homogenization was the result of contiguous hyphal network formation, which improves the integrity of the matrix and the ability to transfer load to the filler particles.     

A case study for a cost-benefit-based,stepwise optimization of thermo-chemical WAS pre-treatment for anaerobic digestion

Waste-activated sludge (WAS) may be considered a resource generated by wastewater treatment plants and used for biogas-generation but it requires pre-treatment (PT) for enhanced biogas-yields and reduced WAS disposal costs. To date, a number of studies on the optimization of such PT focused on improved biogas yields but neglected inferred energy and resource consumption. Here, we aimed to identify the most promising thermo-chemical PT-strategy in terms of net energy output and cost-efficiency by optimizing PT temperature and the amount and sort of the alkaline reagent used. We compared methane-potentials and disposal costs of untreated and treated WAS and conducted an annual cost-benefit calculation. We defined 70 °C and 0.04 M NaOH as ideal PT-conditions being both, low-energy demanding and efficient. Applying these conditions, enhanced biogas-yields and improved dewaterability led to reduced electricity and disposal costs of 22 and 27%, respectively, resulting in savings of approx. 28% of the yearly WAS-related expenditures of a wastewater treatment plant. Despite multiple benefits in running costs, the implementation of WAS-PT was not recommendable in the presented case study due to high investment costs.

     

Effects of pH and microbial composition on odour in food waste composting

A major problem for composting plants is odour emission. Slow decomposition during prolonged low-pH conditions is a frequent process problem in food waste composting. The aim was to investigate correlations between low pH, odour and microbial composition during food waste composting. Samples from laboratory composting experiments and two large scale composting plants were analysed for odour by olfactometry, as well as physico-chemical and microbial composition. There was large variation in odour, and samples clustered in two groups, one with low odour and high pH (above 6.5), the other with high odour and low pH (below 6.0). The low-odour samples were significantly drier, had lower nitrate and TVOC concentrations and no detectable organic acids. Samples of both groups were dominated by Bacillales or Actinobacteria, organisms which are often indicative of well-functioning composting processes, but the high-odour group DNA sequences were similar to those of anaerobic or facultatively anaerobic species, not to typical thermophilic composting species. High-odour samples also contained Lactobacteria and Clostridia, known to produce odorous substances. A proposed odour reduction strategy is to rapidly overcome the low pH phase, through high initial aeration rates and the use of additives such as recycled compost.     

Building institutions based on information disclosure: lessons from GRI's sustainability reporting

Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) is the best-known framework for voluntary reporting of environmental and social performance by business worldwide. Using extensive empirical data, including interviews and documentary analysis, we examine GRI's organizational field and conclude that since its modest beginnings in 1999 GRI has been by several measures a successful institutionalization project. But the institutional logic of this new entity, as an instrument for corporate sustainability management, leaves out one of the central elements of the initial vision for GRI: as a mobilizing agent for many societal actors. This emergent logic reflects GRI's dominant constituency – large global companies and financial institutions and international business management consultancies – and not the less active civil society organizations and organized labor. We attribute these developments to factors such as building GRI within the existing institutional structures; the highly inclusive multistakeholder process; and the underdeveloped base of information users. From the institutional theory perspective, this case shows how the process of institutionalization is deeply affected by initial strategies of the founders, and how it reproduces existing power relations. From the governance perspective, this case leads us to question the power of commodified information to mobilize civil society and to strengthen governance based on partnerships.