Does employee safety influence customer satisfaction? Evidence from the electric utility industry

ProblemResearch on workplace safety has not examined implications for business performance outcomes such as customer satisfaction.MethodIn a U.S. electric utility company, we surveyed 821 employees in 20 work groups, and also had access to archival safety data and the results of a customer satisfaction survey (n = 341).ResultsIn geographically-based work units where there were more employee injuries (based on archival records), customers were less satisfied with the service they received. Safety climate, mediated by safety citizenship behaviors (SCBs), added to the predictive power of the group-level model, but these two constructs exerted their influence independently from actual injuries. In combination, two safety-related predictor paths (injuries and climate/SCB) explained 53% of the variance in customer satisfaction.DiscussionResults offer preliminary evidence that workplace safety influences customer satisfaction, suggesting that there are likely spillover effects between the safety environment and the service environment. Additional research will be needed to assess the specific mechanisms that convert employee injuries into palpable results for customers.Impact on IndustryBetter safety climate and reductions in employee injuries have the potential to offer payoffs in terms of what customers experience.     

Making sense of invulnerability at work—a qualitative study of police drivers

This paper reports a qualitative study of 54 police drivers who were interviewed about their views on police driver training, driving strategies and their accident involvement. Study of the transcribed interviews indicated that officers constructed narratives of themselves as being highly aware of hazards presented by other road users and they used a variety of discursive devices to minimise their own culpability and attribute risk elsewhere. Rather than maintaining a straightforward ‘illusion of invulnerability’ they were formulating a ‘topography of risk’ in which they were responding to hazards presented by suspects or other road users. Their meticulously detailed accounts of the circumstances surrounding accidents serve to place them as knowledgeable and impartial participants and create a sense of expertise and authority. Training initiatives could profitably seek to challenge this ‘topography of risk’ and sense of authority so that drivers more fully appreciate the hazard they may present to themselves and the public.     

Disappearance of dimethoate,methamidophos and pirimicarb in lettuce

Abstract

Foliar sprays of dimethoate at 150 or 300 g a.i./ha, methamidophos at 450 or 900 g a.i./ha and pirimicarb at 140 or 280 g a.i./ha were applied for control of the green peach aphid, Myzus pericae (Sulzer), and the lettuce aphid, Nasonovia ribisnigri (Mosley), about 2 weeks before the lettuce started heading, and again about 1 week from harvest. In lettuce, dimethoate partially oxidized to its oxon and pirimicarb converted to its methylamino‐ and/or formyl methylamino‐analogues. Most residues were present in the outer leaves which were exposed directly to the sprays; only traces of residues were detected in samples of the inner head leaves. Total residues disappeared rapidly. Pirimicarb was the least persistent and only traces of residues (<0.01 ppm) were detected in marketable heads. Concentrations of dimethoate, including the oxon and of methamidophos were well below their respective tolerances of 2 and 1 ppra respectively.     

Evaluation of give kids a boost: A school-based program to increase booster seat use among urban children in economically disadvantaged areas

Objective: This study evaluated the effectiveness of a series of 1-year multifaceted school-based programs aimed at increasing booster seat use among urban children 4–7 years of age in economically disadvantaged areas.

Methods: During 4 consecutive school years, 2011–2015, the Give Kids a Boost (GKB) program was implemented in a total of 8 schools with similar demographics in Dallas County. Observational surveys were conducted at project schools before project implementation (P₀), 1–4 weeks after the completion of project implementation (P₁), and 4–5 months later (P₂). Changes in booster seat use for the 3 time periods were compared for the 8 project and 14 comparison schools that received no intervention using a nonrandomized trial process.

The intervention included (1) train-the-trainer sessions with teachers and parents; (2) presentations about booster seat safety; (3) tailored communication to parents; (4) distribution of fact sheets/resources; (5) walk-around education; and (6) booster seat inspections.

The association between the GKB intervention and proper booster seat use was determined initially using univariate analysis. The association was also estimated using a generalized linear mixed model predicting a binomial outcome (booster seat use) for those aged 4 to 7 years, adjusted for child-level variables (age, sex, race/ethnicity) and car-level variables (vehicle type). The model incorporated the effects of clustering by site and by collection date to account for the possibility of repeated sampling.

Results: In the 8 project schools, booster seat use for children 4–7 years of age increased an average of 20.9 percentage points between P₀ and P₁ (P₀ = 4.8%, P₁ = 25.7%; odds ratio [OR] = 6.9; 95% confidence interval [CI], 5.5, 8.7; P < .001) and remained at that level in the P₂ time period (P₂ = 25.7%; P < .001, for P₀ vs. P₂) in the univariate analysis. The 14 comparison schools had minimal change in booster seat use. The multivariable model showed that children at the project schools were significantly more likely to be properly restrained in a booster seat after the intervention (OR = 2.7; 95% CI, 2.2, 3.3) compared to the P₀ time period and compared to the comparison schools.

Conclusion: Despite study limitations, the GKB program was positively associated with an increase in proper booster seat use for children 4–7 years of age in school settings among diverse populations in economically disadvantaged areas. These increases persisted into the following school year in a majority of the project schools. The GKB model may be a replicable strategy to increase booster seat use among school-age children in similar urban settings.     

DYNAMICS OF SIMULATED EFFECTS OF IRRIGATION OVER DRYLAND FARMING IN SASKATCHEWAN1

ABSTRACT: Irrigation development in Saskatchewan was initiated as an instrument to bring forth regional stability through drought proofing and diversification in the agricultural sector. This development has been surrounded by controversies. Particularly, some critics questioning its economic value to the farmer. In this study, irrigation on a farm is compared as a growth alternative to the expansion of dryland farming. Under relatively conservative machine replacement policies, modest family withdrawals, government subsidized irrigation loans, and relatively favorable gross operating margins, irrigation can be a profitable undertaking in the South Saskatchewan River Basin.     

High concentrations of polybrominated diphenylethers (PBDEs) in breast adipose tissue of California women

We measured major PBDEs and PCBs in breast adipose tissues of California women participating in a breast cancer study in the late 1990s. Samples were analyzed using gas chromatography with electron impact ionization and tandem mass spectrometry detection. The congener profile observed was: BDE47>BDE99>BDE153>BDE100>BDE154 and PCB153>PCB180>PCB138>PCB118. Whereas high correlations were observed within each chemical class, very weak correlations appeared between classes, pointing to different exposure pathways. Weak negative associations were observed for PBDE congeners and age. Our PBDE data are among the highest reported, exceeding data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey and consistent with the high use of PBDEs in California. These data may be helpful in establishing a baseline for PBDE body burdens to gauge changes over time as a result of restrictions in the use of PBDE formulations.     

The selection of management strategies for controlling nematodes in cereals

Several genera and species of plant-parasitic nematodes cause losses in grain yield in cereals; some are of relatively minor importance (e.g. Anguina tritici (Steinbuch) Chitwood, the cause of “ear cockle” in wheat), while others such as the cereal cyst nematode (CCN) (Heterodera avenae Woll.) have a wide geographic distribution, infest extensive areas, and may cause losses valued at millions of dollars. Some of these nematodes are difficult to control because the measures that might be used are uneconomic to apply or are impractical. The control of CCN, however, can be achieved, and several successful strategies have been developed in parts of Europe and in Australia. The various measures available to Australian cereal growers include: crop rotation, resistant cultivars, manipulation of sowing dates, use of nematicides, and reduced cultivation. The selection of an appropriate management strategy for the control of CCN is influenced by factors such as: climate, cereal species grown, yield potential, rotations practised and the availability of alternative crops, pathotype present, farm size, availability of resistant cultivars, nematicides registered, and the availability of suitable equipment for their application.     

Prenatal diagnosis for dystrophia myotonica using the polymerase chain reaction

The polymerase chain reaction has been used to detect an abundant class of short repeat DNA families of the form (dC-dA)n.(dG-dT)n, known as microsatellites. These units are found throughout the human genome and have been characterized for several loci including APOC2 on chromosome 19ql2-ql3.2. The locus APOC2 is linked to the gene for dystrophia myotonica and a microsatellite within this locus was used to derive polymorphisms in a family to predict the inheritance of the disease. Chorionic villus sampling (CVS) was performed at 151/2 weeks' gestation. Following DNA extraction from the CVS material and parental blood samples, microsatellite analysis was carried out by the polymerase chain reaction.