Towards a model of safety climate measurement.

In this study, a survey instrument was developed to measure safety climate. A review of the scientific literature as well as consultation with an expert panel was used to determine the survey's dimensions. Next, the survey was administered, first as a pilot study (n = 15) and then as a full scale study (n = 229), to employees of the City of Cincinnati Department of Public Works. The psychometric integrity of the survey was assessed according to validity, reliability and utility criteria. Results are presented and discussed.     

Changes in maternal investment with climate moderate social behaviour in a facultatively social bee

Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology - Scents play an important role in the life of most terrestrial mammals and may transmit valuable information about conspecifics. Olfaction was long considered...     

AN ASSESSMENT OF WATER UTILITY INFORMATION SYSTEMS AND THEIR USE OF COMPUTERS1

To provide an overview of water utility information systems and the extent of computer use, a direct mail survey of all water utilities serving populations of 2,000 or more in the tri-state area - Ohio, Indiana, and Kentucky - was conducted. The following was determined: 1) utility profile information, e.g., public/private ownership, age, number of accounts, etc.; 2) an assessment of the degree of computerization presently in place to perform various functions; and 3) an assessment of any plans that the utilities may have for future computerization. To analyze the data, an index of computerization was defined as the number of departments or major activity areas of each utility that presently have some computerization. The relationship between the degree of computerization (measured by this index) and a utility's profile in terms of population served, annual revenue generated, and the number of customer accounts is discussed for each state in the survey. Discriminant analysis revealed strong significant differences between utilities that plan to use computers and those that do not. The differences were identified by the authors. Survey results revealed a rather limited use of computers in the tri-state area. Enormous potential exists in small and medium sized utilities for computerization to improve operational efficiency.