Improving construction site safety through leader-based verbal safety communication

Background

The construction industry is one of the most injury-prone industries, in which production is usually prioritized over safety in daily on-site communication. Workers have an informal and oral culture of risk, in which safety is rarely openly expressed. This paper tests the effect of increasing leader-based on-site verbal safety communication on the level of safety and safety climate at construction sites. Method: A pre-post intervention-control design with five construction work gangs is carried out. Foremen in two intervention groups are coached and given bi-weekly feedback about their daily verbal safety communications with their workers. Foremen-worker verbal safety exchanges (experience sampling method, n = 1,693 interviews), construction site safety level (correct vs. incorrect, n = 22,077 single observations), and safety climate (seven dimensions, n = 105 questionnaires) are measured over a period of up to 42 weeks. Results: Baseline measurements in the two intervention and three control groups reveal that foremen speak with their workers several times a day. Workers perceive safety as part of their verbal communication with their foremen in only 6-16% of exchanges, and the levels of safety at the sites range from 70-87% (correct observations). Measurements from baseline to follow-up in the two intervention groups reveal that safety communication between foremen and workers increases significantly in one of the groups (factor 7.1 increase), and a significant yet smaller increase is found when the two intervention groups are combined (factor 4.6). Significant increases in the level of safety are seen in both intervention groups (7% and 12% increases, respectively), particularly in regards to 'access ways' and 'railings and coverings' (39% and 84% increases, respectively). Increases in safety climate are seen in only one of the intervention groups with respect to their 'attention to safety.' No significant trend changes are seen in the three control groups on any of the three measures. Conclusions: Coaching construction site foremen to include safety in their daily verbal exchanges with workers has a significantly positive and lasting effect on the level of safety, which is a proximal estimate for work-related accidents. It is recommended that future studies include coaching and feedback at all organizational levels and for all involved parties in the construction process. Building client regulations could assign the task of coaching to the client appointed safety coordinators or a manager/supervisor, and studies should measure longitudinal effects of coaching by following foremen and their work gangs from site to site.     

海口市湿地保护修复经验

本文从海口湿地资源现状及特点、湿地面临威胁与问题、湿地保护修复经验等几个方面深入分析,总结了近年来海口市湿地保护修复工作的主要经验与启示,总结出"海口经验",即高位推动、顶层规划、示范带动、全民参与、合理利用,并对海口未来需要重点关注的内容提出了建议。在当今生态文明建设战略背景下,保护好人类发展的绿色基础设施——湿地,将产生巨大的生态、社会和经济效益。因此,将"海口经验"推向全国,并在全国形成示范作用,对落实湿地保护与合理利用的相关政策与制度、提高全民湿地保护意识、推动我国湿地保护管理进程具有重要意义。     

The interactive effects of conscientiousness,openness to experience,and political skill on job performance in complex jobs: The importance of context

Caveats concerning the ability of personality to predict job performance have been raised because of seemingly modest criterion‐related validity. The goal of the present research was to test whether narrowing the context via the type of job (i.e., jobs with complex task demands) and adding a social skill‐related moderator (i.e., political skill) would improve performance prediction. Further, along with political skill, the broad factor of personality demonstrated in prior research to have the strongest criterion validity (i.e., conscientiousness) was joined with a narrow construct closely related to openness to experience (i.e., learning approach) in a three‐way interactive prediction of supervisor‐rated task performance. With the employee–supervisor dyads among professionals, but not with the control group of non‐professional employees, task performance was predicted by the three‐way interaction, such that those high on all three received the highest performance ratings. Implications, strengths and limitations, and directions for future research are discussed. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

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就规划环评实施过程中普遍存在的问题提出了相应的解决方法,浅谈了对规划环境影响评价的认识及如何推进规划环境影响评价工作的体会。     

发达国家城市环境治理的若干经验

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红色旅游对游客国家认同的影响

红色旅游作为传承红色基因、加强爱国主义教育、增强国家认同的有效载体,具有鲜明的政治功能。以认知评价情绪评价理论和积极情绪拓展—建构理论为基础,构建红色旅游国家认同影响模型并提出相应假设,运用偏最小二乘法结构方程模型（PLS-SEM）进行了实证检验。结果显示：构建的红色旅游国家认同影响模型具有良好的解释力和预测力,模型具有交叉效度,整体模型的GOF值高于良好适配度的标准值;红色旅游通过红色旅游情感对游客国家认同有正向促进作用;历史认同对国家认同的影响不明显,其他假设均成立。该研究为相关模型构建提供了思路,成果可为强化红色旅游的国家认同研究、拓展红色旅游理论内涵与教育功能、促进红色旅游高质量发展提供理论依据。     

建德市国家生态示范区建设成效及其成功经验

建德市生态示范区创建工作是以"2066"工程推进、大力建设绿色食品基地和农村三大面源污染治理为主要特点,取得了生态环境明显好转、经济和环境协调发展的建设成效.其结合当地实际的农村面源治理模式等主要成功经验值得推广.     

日本的环境保护经验及启示

日本政府高度重视环境保护,在环保机构设置、环境立法、治理公害、防治污染、废弃物综合利用、环境科学技术研发、环境宣传教育培训以及建立循环性社会体系等方面积累了丰富的经验,值得我们学习研究和借鉴。     

Prior encounters with the opposite sex affect male and female mating behavior in a wolf spider (Araneae,Lycosidae)

Mate availability can vary widely in nature depending upon population density and sex ratio and can affect the ability of individuals to be selective in mate choice. We tested the effects of prior encounters with the opposite sex (i.e., exposure to the opposite sex either with or without mating) on subsequent mating behavior in two experiments that manipulated mate availability for both males and females in the wolf spider, Hogna helluo. The probability of mating in the experimental trial depended upon whether the prior encounter involved mating or not, and males and females responded in opposite directions. Exposure without mating resulted in a higher subsequent frequency of mating for females and a lower subsequent frequency of mating for males, while prior mating experience resulted in a lower frequency of female remating and a higher frequency of male remating. Prior exposure without mating did not affect female aggression. However, mated females engaged in precopulatory cannibalism more frequently than virgins. Mated males escaped postcopulatory cannibalism more frequently than virgins. Our results show that males respond to exposure without mating in the expected manner. However, prior mating (1 week earlier) had unexpected effects on males, which may be due to mated males being of higher quality. There were little or no effects of the size of the prior exposure individual or mate on subsequent mating behaviors. Further research is needed to determine why different species use different degrees of prior information in mate choice.     

An evaluation of a shared experience group for women and their support persons following prenatal diagnosis and termination for a fetal abnormality

Objectives Support after fetal diagnosis of abnormality (SAFDA), is a facilitated shared experience group for women and their partners or support person, in Victoria, Australia, who have had a pregnancy termination for a fetal abnormality. The objective of this study was to evaluate the SAFDA-facilitated group. Methods A questionnaire-based study was undertaken between 2001 and 2005 to evaluate SAFDA. A deidentified self-completed questionnaire was given to participants at the end of each group and included questions relating to the referring professional, participants' prior expectations of the group, helpfulness of participation, preferred group format, length, and venue. In addition, there was also opportunity for participants to make general comments on their experiences of participating in SAFDA. Results A total of 85 participants (100% response) completed the questionnaire. Seventy-one participants (84%) considered it ‘very helpful’ to participate in the group. Seventy-eight participants (92%) considered that a shared-experience group was the most beneficial format. Comments written by participants affirmed that the present format of SAFDA was a highly valued opportunity to listen to and share experiences in a confidential small group. Conclusion SAFDA is a beneficial forum for women and their partners or support person to share their experiences after having had a pregnancy termination for a fetal abnormality. Further, SAFDA provides information and insights for health professionals who are considering how best to support women. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.