Beyond demographic identities and motivation to learn: The effect of organizational identification on diversity training outcomes

There is a pressing need for better explanations of diversity training effectiveness so that organizations can administer training programs that facilitate positive intergroup interactions. In this paper, we consider the unique predictive effect of organizational identification on diversity training outcomes beyond the effects of the traditional predictors of demographic-based identities and motivation to learn across two samples of employees involved in diversity-related training at their employing organizations. Organizational identification predicted unique variance in voluntary participation in diversity training, diversity training-related knowledge application, motivation to transfer diversity training, and diversity training-related organizational citizenship behavior intentions. Research and practitioner implications are discussed based on our findings.     

How do children learn to cross the street? The process of pedestrian safety training

Objective: Pedestrian injuries are a leading cause of child death and may be reduced by training children to cross streets more safely. Such training is most effective when children receive repeated practice at the complex cognitive–perceptual task of judging moving traffic and selecting safe crossing gaps, but there is limited data on how much practice is required for children to reach adult levels of functioning. Using existing data, we examined how children's pedestrian skills changed over the course of 6 pedestrian safety training sessions, each composed of 45 crossings within a virtual pedestrian environment.

Methods: As part of a randomized controlled trial on pedestrian safety training, 59 children ages 7–8 crossed the street within a semi-immersive virtual pedestrian environment 270 times over a 3-week period (6 sessions of 45 crossings each). Feedback was provided after each crossing, and traffic speed and density were advanced as children's skill improved. Postintervention pedestrian behavior was assessed a week later in the virtual environment and compared to adult behavior with identical traffic patterns.

Results: Over the course of training, children entered traffic gaps more quickly and chose tighter gaps to cross within; their crossing efficiency appeared to increase. By the end of training, some aspects of children's pedestrian behavior was comparable to adult behavior but other aspects were not, indicating that the training was worthwhile but insufficient for most children to achieve adult levels of functioning.

Conclusions: Repeated practice in a simulated pedestrian environment helps children learn aspects of safe and efficient pedestrian behavior. Six twice-weekly training sessions of 45 crossings each were insufficient for children to reach adult pedestrian functioning, however, and future research should continue to study the trajectory and quantity of child pedestrian safety training needed for children to become competent pedestrians.     

A new look at the psychological contract during organizational socialization: The role of newcomers' obligations at entry

Previous studies have demonstrated that the psychological contract is largely shaped during socialization. This study adopts a complementary perspective and analyzes how the psychological contract at the start of employment shapes the subsequent socialization process. Drawing upon social exchange theory, we propose that newcomers with a higher sense of their personal obligations at entry will perceive orientation training as more useful and develop better relationships with their supervisors and peers, which in turn will facilitate their work adjustment. Results of a longitudinal survey on a sample of 144 recruits from a European Army show that newcomers with a higher initial sense of their employee obligations toward their employer report higher perceived training utility, higher leader–member exchange (LMX) with their instructors, and higher team–member exchange (TMX) with their platoon peers. Moreover, perceived training utility and LMX predict the fulfillment of employers' obligations; and training utility predicts the level of newcomers' employee obligations. Finally, training utility, LMX, and TMX predict some of three indicators of newcomers' adjustment, namely, role clarity (training utility and LMX), group integration (TMX), and organizational values understanding (training utility). These results highlight how newcomers' obligations at the start of employment contribute to the social exchange dynamic underlying organizational socialization. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Double-conscious professional self-expression of racial minority scientists-in-training

Double-consciousness pervades the workplace experiences of minority professionals. Prior research captures various manifestations of double-consciousness in the workplace, yet much of what we know comes from understanding the experiences of minority professionals in predominantly White workplaces. Inherent in conceptions of double-consciousness is the sense of twoness in one's self concept that arises from seeing oneself through the eyes of both the predominantly White profession and one's own racial community. In this study, we examine contrasts as well as commonalities in experiences of double-consciousness across different social contexts in the socialization of minority scientists-in-training. We draw from qualitative data collected from 64 individuals (including 39 underrepresented minority doctoral students, and 25 faculty, staff, and administrators) in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) doctoral programs in both predominantly White and historically Black institutions to examine and compare the factors across different contexts that influence how minority scientists-in-training are able to express their emerging professional identity. Our findings reveal how minority scientists-in-training experience twoness as both a struggle and a strength, and we develop an inductive model of how different socializations influence the double-conscious professional self-expressions of minority scientists in training.     

Associations between driver training, determinants of risky driving behaviour and crash involvement

The core aim of the study is to examine associations between formal and informal practical driver training as well as driving experience on the one hand and young drivers’ safety attitudes, self-assessment of driving ability and self-reported driver behaviour on the other hand. An additional aim is to examine the associations between attitudes, self-assessment and behaviour on the one hand and crash involvement on the other hand. The results are based on a self-completion questionnaire survey conducted among a representative sample of Norwegian drivers aged 18–20 years (n = 1419). The results showed that there were small yet significant associations between driver training, on the one hand and traffic safety attitudes and risky driving behaviour on the other hand. The amount of formal driver training was negatively associated with the respondents’ evaluation of their driving skills; although the amount of lay instruction was positively associated with such self-evaluation. The results also showed that attitudes as well as self-assessment of driving ability were significantly associated with self-reported risk behaviour. This was especially true for attitudes related to rule violations. There was a strong association between crash involvement and exposure (measured as months holding a licence). Young novice drivers’ crash involvement seems stronger associated with driving skills (manifested as self-assessment of driving ability) than safety attitudes and self-reported driver behaviour. The consequences of the results for driver training and accident prevention are discussed.     

Differences in Eye and Hand Movements of Novice and Experienced Press Operators

Presses are very widely used in industrial and commercial companies and are often the source of serious accidents occurring during operation. Most of the accidents are due to inadequate training of novice operators. Continuous recordings of eye and hand movements of five novice operators and five experienced operators in press operation were made. Significant difference between novice and experienced operators was observed in eye fixation time, eye movement patterns, hand dwell time, and eye-hand coordination. Also, differences were observed in spatial distribution of eye fixations during the die-closing portion of a stroke. There were no significant differences between novice and experienced operators in the eye and the hand movement time. The results could be used as basic data to establish a guide determining the method and training period to train novice operators.     

Assembly operator training and process planning via virtual systems

In this paper, we present an integrated intuitive system for assembly operators training and assembly process planning by combining virtual reality with motion-tracking technologies. The developed conceptual prototype for assembly planning and training enables individuals to interact with a virtual environment in real time. It extends the new technologies of motion tracking and integrates them with virtual environment technologies to create real-time virtual work cell simulations in which assembly operators may be immersed with hands-on experiences. In addition to operators training, the experimental results to date are presented to demonstrate the potential contributions of human skills in achieving effective assembly planning including disassembly operations. It is expected that this approach will lead to environment-friendly and sustainable operations by conserving energy and cost that are first tested in a human-emerged virtual system.     

知识生产视角下应急管理学科建设的使命与路径

为厘清应急管理学科建设机制、推进应急管理学科良性发展,通过回顾学科建设历史,来分析应急管理学科建设面临的困境与肩负的使命,并提出相应的建设路径.研究表明:在知识生产模式转型视角下,应急管理学科建设面临知识生产者离散、知识创新度不足、知识转化率有限的三重困境,需要完成"朝向人才培养的应急管理知识直接再生产""朝向科学研究...     

植物激素对平菇菌丝生长及酶活性的影响

采用固体平板和液体摇瓶培养方法,研究了赤霉素、2,4-D、吲哚乙酸和萘乙酸4种激素对平菇-126菌丝生长及酶活性的影响。结果表明,吲哚乙酸虽然能提高发酵液胞外蛋白的含量和过氧化物酶活性,但对菌丝的生长起抑制作用,这与吲哚乙酸能引起平菇菌丝裂解和细胞膜渗漏有关;萘乙酸、低浓度2,4-D能促进菌丝的伸长;萘乙酸、赤霉素在低浓度下也能促进菌丝的分枝,对菌丝的生长整体上起促进作用。除吲哚乙酸外,其他3种激素对平菇菌丝生长影响都有两重性：低浓度下能促进菌丝的生长,浓度过高则会对菌丝生长产生毒害作用。     

美国应急管理专业研究生培养体系借鉴*

为满足应急体制建设进入新的发展阶段后我国对应急管理高级人才的迫切需求,加快培养高素质应急管理实践与应用型人才。以美国15所开设应急管理专业的高校的硕士（文理）、博士（文理）为样本,对美国应急教育现状和培养方案进行全面梳理,包括教育目标、课程设置、人才储备等。研究结果表明:美国应急管理专业研究生教育系统性强,注重应用性与专业性。对比我国应急管理学科现状,提出将研究生培养成为兼具跨学科背景、经过充分实践训练的高素质人才的建议。研究结果可为我国应急管理专业研究生培养提供科学参考。