Leveraging assets: a case study of the sustainability initiative at the University of Minnesota,Morris

This article presents an overview of the sustainability initiative at the University of Minnesota, Morris, key components of which include a realistic goal of energy self-sufficiency by 2010, a new environmental studies curriculum, and various research and outreach projects. Many non-obvious institutional assets – such as lobbying networks in the state legislature, and geographic/demographic features that are more commonly thought of as liabilities – turned out to play critical roles in setting the initiative in motion. The initial physical assets have been leveraged into complementary opportunities for research, teaching, and institutional development in this direction.     

Impact of perceptual countermeasures on driving behavior at curves using driving simulator

Objective: The probability of crash occurrence on horizontal curves is 1.5 to 4 times higher than that on tangent sections. A majority of these crashes are associated with human errors. Therefore, human behavior in curves needs to be corrected.

Methodology: In this study, 2 different road marking treatments, optical circles and herringbone patterns, were used to influence driver behavior while entering a curve on a 2-lane rural road section. A driving simulator was used to perform the experiment. The simulated road sections are replicas of 2 real road sections in Flanders.

Results: Both treatments were found to reduce speed before entering the curve. However, speed reduction was more gradual when optical circles were used. A herringbone pattern had more influence on lateral position than optical circles by forcing drivers to maintain a safe distance from opposing traffic in the adjacent lane.

Conclusion: The study concluded that among other low-cost speed reduction methods, optical circles are effective tools to reduce speed and increase drivers’ attention. Moreover, a herringbone pattern can be used to reduce crashes on curves, mainly for head-on crashes where the main problem is inappropriate lateral position.     

Strategies of international cooperation in an international project: advantages and pitfalls.

The MEPS (musculoskeletal--eyestrain--psychosocial--stress) study involved an extensive degree of multidisciplinary and multicultural cooperation. The objective was to examine the effects of multiple ergonomic interventions on visual, musculoskeletal, postural, and psychosocial outcomes amongst operators of visual display terminals (VDTs). The inherent complexity of a comprehensive ergonomic investigation requires participation of researchers from a variety of disciplines, as well as comparisons among populations with different geographical and cultural backgrounds. The design and execution of the resulting research protocol presents a number of challenges. This paper discusses the advantages and pitfalls associated with multidisciplinary multinational cooperation. Advantages include the necessity for development of a common language and perspective providing a basis for future collaboration. Pitfalls include logistic and coordination difficulties associated with conducting standardized procedures in different locations, as well as the inherent potential for professional conflict. It is argued that such pitfalls ought to be understood and integrated into the project planning process.     

The effect of an ergonomic intervention on musculoskeletal, psychosocial and visual strain of VDT entry work: organization and methodology of the international study.

This special issue of the International Journal of Occupational Safety and Ergonomics (JOSE) reports the results from an extensive multinational and multidisciplinary collaborative investigation of the impacts on visual display terminal (VDT) work of musculoskeletal, visual, ergonomic, and psychosocial factors. For brevity, this effort has been referred to as the MEPS project (musculoskeletal--eyestrain--psychosocial--stress). This paper lays out the basic methodological structure of the study. The study was conducted in 4 countries utilizing VDT data entry workers as the primary subject population. A battery of objective and subject assessment measures, including muscle load, visual function, physical and visual strain, postural, ergonomic and psychosocial factors, were assessed at 3 different points in time. A pre-test was given prior to an ergonomic intervention. Two post-tests were given 1 month and 1 year after the ergonomic intervention.     

The effect of an ergonomic intervention on musculoskeletal, psychosocial and visual strain of VDT data entry work: the Norwegian part of the international study.

The Norwegian MEPS (musculoskeletal--visual--psychosocial--stress) study included 3 groups: data entry, data dialogue (female) and data dialogue (male). Before intervention, the data entry group reported significantly more symptoms and signs of musculoskeletal illness and had longer periods in front of the video display terminal (VDT) without a break. The ergonomic intervention consisted mainly of ergonomic information and training. After intervention, the data dialogue female group reported a significant reduction in shoulder pain in parallel with a reduction in trapezius load. Increasing the understanding in how to adjust the work stand and chair may have been contributing factors to reducing the pain level. There was a significant reduction in eye problems in all groups; the greatest reduction in eye symptoms was seen in the groups who had new optometric corrections.     

The art of measuring nothing: The paradox of measuring safety in a changing civil aviation industry using traditional safety metrics

Measuring safety as an outcome variable within the ultra-safe civil aviation industry during periods of deliberate organizational change is a difficult, and often fruitless, task. Anticipating eroding safety processes, based on measuring nothing happening over time, does not adequately capture the true state of an evolving safe system, and this is particularly relevant for leaders and managers in a civil aviation industry responsible for maintaining and improving ultra-safe performance while simultaneously managing demanding strategic business goals.In this paper, I will look at the difficulties of measuring safety as an outcome measure in high reliability organizations (HROs) using the traditional measures of incident and accident reporting during periods of deliberate organizational change inspired by the results from a 3 year longitudinal case study of the Norwegian Air Navigation Services provider – Avinor. I will first review the current safety literature relating to safety management systems (SMSs) used in the civil aviation industry. I will then propose a more holistic model that shifts the focus from the traditional safety monitoring mechanisms of risk analysis and trial and error learning, to the natural interactivity within socio-technical systems as found in high reliability organizations. And finally, I will present a summary of the empirical results of an alternate methodology for measuring perceived changes in safety at the operational level as leading indicators of evolving safety at the organizational level.     

The Influence of Place Attachment and Experience Use History on Perceived Depreciative Visitor Behavior and Crowding in an Urban National Park

Research on recreational place attachment suggests that place identity, or the emotional/symbolic ties people have to places, and place dependence, which describes a functional attachment to a specific place, influence the perception of social and environmental site conditions. Recent research, however, has found that place attachment is not always a predictor of such perceptions. This study investigated the influence of place attachment and experience use history on the perception of depreciative visitor behavior, recreation impacts and crowding in an urban national park. In 2006, 605 on-site visitors to the heavily-used Viennese part of the Danube Floodplains National Park were asked about past experience, place attachment, perceptions of depreciative visitor behavior, crowding, changes in visitor numbers during the past ten years, and recreation impacts on wildlife. Confirmatory factor analysis confirmed the two dimensions of place attachment. Linear regression analyses found that place identity and place dependence were related to some perceived depreciative visitor behaviors and visitor number changes but not to crowding, while experience use history additionally related to perceived crowding. Visitors with higher place attachment and past experience were more sensitive to social and environmental site conditions. Management implications of the findings are discussed.     

Optimizing the performance of phase-change materials in personal protective clothing systems.

Phase-change materials (PCM) can be used to reduce thermal stress and improve thermal comfort for workers wearing protective clothing. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of PCM in protective clothing used in simulated work situations. We hypothesized that it would be possible to optimize cooling performance with a design that focuses on careful positioning of PCM, minimizing total insulation and facilitating moisture transport. Thermal stress and thermal comfort were estimated through measurement of body heat production, body temperatures, sweat production, relative humidity in clothing and subjective ratings of thermal comfort, thermal sensitivity and perception of wetness. Experiments were carried out using 2 types of PCM, the crystalline dehydrate of sodium sulphate and microcapsules in fabrics. The results of 1 field and 2 laboratory experimental series were conclusive in that reduced thermal stress and improved thermal comfort were related to the amount and distribution of PCM, reduced sweat production and adequate transport of moisture.