Sample records for safety response attributes

  1. Nurses' response to parents' 'speaking-up' efforts to ensure their hospitalized child's safety: an attribution theory perspective.

    PubMed

    Bsharat, Sondos; Drach-Zahavy, Anat

    2017-09-01

    To understand how attribution processes (control and stability), which the nurse attributes to parental involvement in maintaining child safety, determine the nurse's response to a safety alert. Participation of parents in maintaining their child's safety is shown to reduce the incidence of and risk of clinical errors. Unless nurses respond appropriately to parents' safety alerts, this potential source of support could diminish. A 2 (controllability: high vs. low) × 2 (consistency: high vs. low) factorial design. Data were collected during the period 2013-2014 in paediatric wards. Four variants of scenarios were created corresponding to the different combinations of these variables. A total of 126 nurses read a scenario and completed self-report questionnaires measuring their response to the parent's safety alert. Additional data were collected about the manipulation check, safety norms in the ward and demographic variables. Data were analysed using analysis of variance. Results showed a main effect of stability and a significant two-way interaction effect of stability and controllability, on a nurse's tendency to help the parent and fix the safety problem. Furthermore, safety norms were significantly related to nurses' response. These findings contribute to the understanding of antecedents that affect nurses' responses to parents' speaking-up initiatives: whether nurses will reject or heed the alert. Theoretical and practical implications for promoting parents' engagement in their safety are discussed. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  2. Occupational safety management: the role of causal attribution.

    PubMed

    Gyekye, Seth Ayim

    2010-12-01

    The paper addresses the causal attribution theory, an old and well-established theme in social psychology which denotes the everyday, commonsense explanations that people use to explain events and the world around them. The attribution paradigm is considered one of the most appropriate analytical tools for exploratory and descriptive studies in social psychology and organizational literature. It affords the possibility of describing accident processes as objectively as possible and with as much detail as possible. Causal explanations are vital to the formal analysis of workplace hazards and accidents, as they determine how organizations act to prevent accident recurrence. Accordingly, they are regarded as fundamental and prerequisite elements for safety management policies. The paper focuses primarily on the role of causal attributions in occupational and industrial accident analyses and implementation of safety interventions. It thus serves as a review of the contribution of attribution theory to occupational and industrial accidents. It comprises six sections. The first section presents an introduction to the classic attribution theories, and the second an account of the various ways in which the attribution paradigm has been applied in organizational settings. The third and fourth sections review the literature on causal attributions and demographic and organizational variables respectively. The sources of attributional biases in social psychology and how they manifest and are identified in the causal explanations for industrial and occupational accidents are treated in the fifth section. Finally, conclusion and recommendations are presented. The recommendations are particularly important for the reduction of workplace accidents and associated costs. The paper touches on the need for unbiased causal analyses, belief in the preventability of accidents, and the imperative role of management in occupational safety management.

  3. Attributing Responsibility for Child Maltreatment when Domestic Violence Is Present

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Landsman, Miriam J.; Hartley, Carolyn Copps

    2007-01-01

    Objective: The purpose of this study was to examine factors that influence how child welfare workers attribute responsibility for child maltreatment and child safety in cases involving domestic violence. Methods: The study used a factorial survey approach, combining elements of survey research with an experimental design. Case vignettes were…

  4. Attributions of Social Causality and Responsibility.

    DTIC Science & Technology

    The paper reviews relevant research on attributions of causality and attributions of responsibility . It is suggested that inconsistencies among...findings in the attribution literature may be due to discrepancies between the meaning of ’ responsibility ’ and ’causality’. Definitions for the two terms...opposed to responsibility attribution may serve to eliminate some of the problems in attribution research. (Author)

  5. Attributing Illness to Food

    PubMed Central

    Doyle, Michael P.; Morris, J. Glenn; Painter, John; Singh, Ruby; Tauxe, Robert V.; Taylor, Michael R.; Wong, Danilo M.A. Lo Fo

    2005-01-01

    Identification and prioritization of effective food safety interventions require an understanding of the relationship between food and pathogen from farm to consumption. Critical to this cause is food attribution, the capacity to attribute cases of foodborne disease to the food vehicle or other source responsible for illness. A wide variety of food attribution approaches and data are used around the world, including the analysis of outbreak data, case-control studies, microbial subtyping and source tracking methods, and expert judgment, among others. The Food Safety Research Consortium sponsored the Food Attribution Data Workshop in October 2003 to discuss the virtues and limitations of these approaches and to identify future options for collecting food attribution data in the United States. We summarize workshop discussions and identify challenges that affect progress in this critical component of a risk-based approach to improving food safety. PMID:16022770

  6. Industry Initiated Core Safety Attributes for Human Spaceflight for the 7th IAASS Conference

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Mango, Edward J.

    2014-01-01

    Now that the NASA Commercial Crew Program (CCP) is beginning its full certification contract for crew transportation to the International Space Station (ISS), is it time for industry to embrace a minimum set of core safety attributes? Those attributes can then be evolved into an industry-led set of basic safety standards and requirements. After 50 years of human space travel sponsored by governments, there are two basic conditions that now exist within the international space industry. The first, there is enough of a space-faring history to encourage the space industry to design, develop and operate human spaceflight systems without government contracts for anything other than services. Second, industry is capable of defining and enforcing a set of industry-based safety attributes and standards for human spaceflight to low-Earth orbit (LEO). This paper will explore both of these basic conditions with a focus on the safety attributes and standards. In the United States, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is now starting to dialogue with industry about the basic safety principles and attributes needed for potential future regulatory oversight. This process is not yet formalized and will take a number of years once approval is given to move forward. Therefore, throughout the next few years, it is an excellent time and opportunity for industry to collaborate together and develop the core set of attributes and standards. As industry engages and embraces a common set of safety attributes, then government agencies, like the FAA and NASA can use that industry-based product to strengthen their efforts on a safe commercial spaceflight foundation for the future. As the commercial space industry takes the lead role in establishing core safety attributes, and then enforcing those attributes, the entire planet can move away from governmental control of design and development and let industry expand safe and successful space operations in LEO. At that point the

  7. Defining attributes of patient safety through a concept analysis.

    PubMed

    Kim, Linda; Lyder, Courtney H; McNeese-Smith, Donna; Leach, Linda Searle; Needleman, Jack

    2015-11-01

    The aim of this study was to report an analysis of the concept of patient safety. Despite recent increase in the number of work being done to clarify the concept and standardize measurement of patient safety, there are still huge variations in how the term is conceptualized and how to measure patient safety data across various healthcare settings and in research. Concept analysis. A literature search was conducted through PubMed and Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature, Plus using the terms 'patient safety' in the title and 'concept analysis,' 'attributes' or 'definition' in the title and or abstract. All English language literature published between 2002-2014 were considered for the review. Walker and Avant's method guided this analysis. The defining attributes of patient safety include prevention of medical errors and avoidable adverse events, protection of patients from harm or injury and collaborative efforts by individual healthcare providers and a strong, well-integrated healthcare system. The application of Collaborative Alliance of Nursing Outcomes indicators as empirical referents would facilitate the measurement of patient safety. With the knowledge gained from this analysis, nurses may improve patient surveillance efforts that identify potential hazards before they become adverse events and have a stronger voice in health policy decision-making that influence implementation efforts aimed at promoting patient safety, worldwide. Further studies are needed on development of a conceptual model and framework that can aid with collection and measurement of standardized patient safety data. © 2015 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  8. Modeling retrospective attribution of responsibility to hazard-managing institutions: an example involving a food contamination incident.

    PubMed

    Johnson, Branden B; Hallman, William K; Cuite, Cara L

    2015-03-01

    Perceptions of institutions that manage hazards are important because they can affect how the public responds to hazard events. Antecedents of trust judgments have received far more attention than antecedents of attributions of responsibility for hazard events. We build upon a model of retrospective attribution of responsibility to individuals to examine these relationships regarding five classes of institutions that bear responsibility for food safety: producers (e.g., farmers), processors (e.g., packaging firms), watchdogs (e.g., government agencies), sellers (e.g., supermarkets), and preparers (e.g., restaurants). A nationally representative sample of 1,200 American adults completed an Internet-based survey in which a hypothetical scenario involving contamination of diverse foods with Salmonella served as the stimulus event. Perceived competence and good intentions of the institution moderately decreased attributions of responsibility. A stronger factor was whether an institution was deemed (potentially) aware of the contamination and free to act to prevent or mitigate it. Responsibility was rated higher the more aware and free the institution. This initial model for attributions of responsibility to impersonal institutions (as opposed to individual responsibility) merits further development. © 2014 Society for Risk Analysis.

  9. Qualitative analysis of MTEM response using instantaneous attributes

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Fayemi, Olalekan; Di, Qingyun

    2017-11-01

    This paper introduces new technique for qualitative analysis of multi-transient electromagnetic (MTEM) earth impulse response over complex geological structures. Instantaneous phase and frequency attributes were used in place of the conventional common offset section for improved qualitative interpretation of MTEM data by obtaining more detailed information from the earth impulse response. The instantaneous attributes were used to describe the lateral variation in subsurface resistivity and the visible geological structure with respect to given offsets. Instantaneous phase attribute was obtained by converting the impulse response into a complex form using the Hilbert transform. Conversely, the polynomial phase difference (PPD) estimator was favored over the center finite difference (CFD) approximation method in calculating the instantaneous frequency attribute because it is computationally efficient and has the ability to give a smooth variation of the instantaneous frequency over a common offset section. The observed results from the instantaneous attributes were in good agreement with both the subsurface model used and the apparent resistivity section obtained from the MTEM earth impulse response. Hence, this study confirms the capability of both instantaneous phase and frequency attributes as highly effective tools for MTEM qualitative analysis.

  10. Perceived Mental Illness and Diminished Responsibility: A Study of Attributions.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Sadava, Stan W.; And Others

    1980-01-01

    Examined the relationship between perceived mental illness and attribution of responsibility. Subjects evaluated data from various accident cases. Although greater mental illness was attributed to alcoholism and paranoid cases, greater responsibility was attributed to the alcoholic. Only in the normal case was greater responsibility related to…

  11. Attribution of Responsibility for Accidents Involving Blameworthy Acts.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    DeJoy, David M.; Klippel, Judith A.

    Considerable research has been directed at examining motivational bias in the attribution of responsibility for accidents. To assess the influence of unsafe actions on the attribution of responsibility for traffic accidents of varying severity, 96 college students read scenarios in which the level of unsafe driving behavior (none, drinking,…

  12. Patient safety education to change medical students' attitudes and sense of responsibility.

    PubMed

    Roh, Hyerin; Park, Seok Ju; Kim, Taekjoong

    2015-01-01

    This study examined changes in the perceptions and attitudes as well as the sense of individual and collective responsibility in medical students after they received patient safety education. A three-day patient safety curriculum was implemented for third-year medical students shortly before entering their clerkship. Before and after training, we administered a questionnaire, which was analysed quantitatively. Additionally, we asked students to answer questions about their expected behaviours in response to two case vignettes. Their answers were analysed qualitatively. There was improvement in students' concepts of patient safety after training. Before training, they showed good comprehension of the inevitability of error, but most students blamed individuals for errors and expressed a strong sense of individual responsibility. After training, students increasingly attributed errors to system dysfunction and reported more self-confidence in speaking up about colleagues' errors. However, due to the hierarchical culture, students still described difficulties communicating with senior doctors. Patient safety education effectively shifted students' attitudes towards systems-based thinking and increased their sense of collective responsibility. Strategies for improving superior-subordinate communication within a hierarchical culture should be added to the patient safety curriculum.

  13. Perception of risk and the attribution of responsibility for accidents.

    PubMed

    Rickard, Laura N

    2014-03-01

    Accidents, one often hears, "happen"; we accept, and even expect, that they will be part of daily life. But in situations in which injury or death result, judgments of responsibility become critical. How might our perceptions of risk influence the ways in which we allocate responsibility for an accident? Drawing from attribution and risk perception theory, this study investigates how perceived controllability and desirability of risk, in addition to perceived danger and recreational risk-taking, relate to attributions of responsibility for the cause of unintentional injury in a unique setting: U.S. national parks. Three parks, Mount Rainier, Olympic, and Delaware Water Gap, provide the setting for this survey-based study, which considers how park visitors (N = 447) attribute responsibility for the cause of a hypothetical visitor accident. Results suggest that respondents tended to make more internal (i.e., related to characteristics of the victim), rather than external (i.e., related to characteristics of the park, or park management) attributions. As respondents viewed park-related risk as controllable, they were more likely to attribute the cause of the accident to the victim. Moreover, among other significant variables, having experienced a similar accident predicted lower internal causal attribution. Opportunities for future research linking risk perception and attribution variables, as well as practical implications for the management of public outdoor settings, are presented. © 2013 Society for Risk Analysis.

  14. Feature Integration in the Mapping of Multi-Attribute Visual Stimuli to Responses

    PubMed Central

    Ishizaki, Takuya; Morita, Hiromi; Morita, Masahiko

    2015-01-01

    In the human visual system, different attributes of an object, such as shape and color, are separately processed in different modules and then integrated to elicit a specific response. In this process, different attributes are thought to be temporarily “bound” together by focusing attention on the object; however, how such binding contributes to stimulus-response mapping remains unclear. Here we report that learning and performance of stimulus-response tasks was more difficult when three attributes of the stimulus determined the correct response than when two attributes did. We also found that spatially separated presentations of attributes considerably complicated the task, although they did not markedly affect target detection. These results are consistent with a paired-attribute model in which bound feature pairs, rather than object representations, are associated with responses by learning. This suggests that attention does not bind three or more attributes into a unitary object representation, and long-term learning is required for their integration. PMID:25762010

  15. Acquiring Ownership and the Attribution of Responsibility

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Palamar, Max; Le, Doan T.; Friedman, Ori

    2012-01-01

    How is ownership established over non-owned things? We suggest that people may view ownership as a kind of credit given to agents responsible for making possession of a non-owned object possible. On this view, judgments about the establishment of ownership depend on attributions of responsibility. We report three experiments showing that people's…

  16. Attributions of responsibility and affective reactions to decision outcomes.

    PubMed

    Zeelenberg, M; van der Pligt, J; de Vries, N K

    2000-06-01

    Immediate affective reactions to outcomes are more intense following decisions to act than following decisions not to act. This finding holds for both positive and negative outcomes. We relate this "actor-effect" to attribution theory and argue that decision makers are seen as more responsible for outcomes when these are the result of a decision to act as compared to a decision not to act. Experiment 1 (N = 80) tests the main assumption underlying our reasoning and shows that affective reactions to decision outcomes are indeed more intense when the decision maker is seen as more responsible. Experiment 2 (N = 40) tests whether the actor effect can be predicted on the basis of differential attributions following action and inaction. Participants read vignettes in which active and passive actors obtained a positive or negative outcome. Action resulted in more intense affect than inaction, and positive outcomes resulted in more intense affect than negative outcomes. Experiment 2 further shows that responsibility attributions and affective reactions to outcomes are highly correlated; that is, more extreme affective reactions are associated with more internal attributions. We discuss the implications for research on post-decisional reactions.

  17. EPSRC Principles of Robotics: commentary on safety, robots as products, and responsibility

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Boddington, Paula

    2017-04-01

    The EPSRC Principles of Robotics refer to safety. How safety is understood is relative to how tasks are characterised and identified. But the exact task(s) a robot plays within a complex system of agency may be hard to identify. If robots are seen as products, it is nonetheless vital that the safety and other implications of their use in situ must also be considered carefully, and they must be fit for purpose. The Principles identify humans as responsible, rather than robots. We must thus understand how the replacement of human agency by robotic agency may impact upon attributions of responsibility. The Principles seek to fit into existing systems of law and ethics. But these may need development, and in certain context, attention to more local regulations is also needed. A distinction between ethical issues related to the design of robotics, and to their use, may be needed in the Principles.

  18. The relationship between safety climate and recent accidents: behavioral learning and cognitive attributions.

    PubMed

    Desai, Vinit M; Roberts, Karlene H; Ciavarelli, Anthony P

    2006-01-01

    The association between accidents and subsequent work unit safety perceptions was assessed to address cognitive and behavioral changes following accidents. Many studies attempt to predict accident rates using measures of work unit safety, but effects vary considerably. Conversely, this study examined whether recent accidents may be positively associated with work unit safety perceptions, as suggested by behavioral learning mechanisms (increases in safety investments following accidents) or cognitive mechanisms (defensive attributions regarding accident causality). Lagged squadron-level accident experience was correlated with work unit safety perceptions obtained through a 61-question safety climate survey administered to 6,361 individuals in U.S. Navy flight squadrons. Positive associations between minor or intermediately severe accidents and future safety climate scores were found, although no effect was found for major accidents. We suggest that accident history should be considered when examining work unit safety perceptions because recent accidents may be associated with higher safety climate scores. We did not find that this varies systematically with accident severity, and longitudinal research on additional samples is needed to further test this possibility. This research may be used to refine measurement of work unit safety and to examine impacts of accidents or safety violations on workers' cognitive processes and group behavioral changes.

  19. Effects of Manipulation on Attributions of Causation, Free Will, and Moral Responsibility.

    PubMed

    Murray, Dylan; Lombrozo, Tania

    2017-03-01

    If someone brings about an outcome without intending to, is she causally and morally responsible for it? What if she acts intentionally, but as the result of manipulation by another agent? Previous research has shown that an agent's mental states can affect attributions of causal and moral responsibility to that agent, but little is known about what effect one agent's mental states can have on attributions to another agent. In Experiment 1, we replicate findings that manipulation lowers attributions of responsibility to manipulated agents. Experiments 2-7 isolate which features of manipulation drive this effect, a crucial issue for both philosophical debates about free will and attributions of responsibility in situations involving social influence more generally. Our results suggest that "bypassing" a manipulated agent's mental states generates the greatest reduction in responsibility, and we explain our results in terms of the effects that one agent's mental states can have on the counterfactual relations between another agent and an outcome. Copyright © 2016 Cognitive Science Society, Inc.

  20. Assessing Consumer Emotional Responses in the Presence and Absence of Critical Quality Attributes: A Case Study with Chicken Eggs.

    PubMed

    Wardy, Wisdom; Sae-Eaw, Amporn; Sriwattana, Sujinda; No, Hong Kyoon; Prinyawiwatkul, Witoon

    2015-07-01

    Effects of attribute presence and absence on the emotional profile and consumer acceptability of products with varying qualities were assessed using eggs as an example. An online survey (n = 320) was used to evaluate emotional responses and acceptability to 5 types of egg quality attributes: intrinsic, aesthetic, extrinsic, expediency, and wholesome/safety, for both present and absent conditions. Attribute absence rather than presence evoked greater consumer discriminating emotions associated with eggs. Mean emotion intensity elicited by the presence of all quality attributes ranged from 1.67 (intrinsic; guilty) to 4.05 (wholesome; good) versus 2.01 (wholesome; satisfied) to 3.29 (wholesome; disgusted) when absent. Key positive emotions elicited by presence of attributes were active, calm, good, interested, happy, safe, and satisfied; while dominant negative emotions elicited by absence of attributes included disgusted and worried. Wholesome quality (constituted by egg freshness, "packing/best-before-date" and absence of visible cracks) exhibited the highest liking (7.65) and emotion intensities, while the emotional responses to both the presence and absence of intrinsic quality (constituted by nutrient-fortified egg, organic egg, and USDA-certified farm egg) were similar, reflecting their dynamic effects on emotions. Emotions and acceptability were more correlated for attribute absence than presence; and good, happy, and satisfied emotions were strongly related to egg acceptability (r ≥ 0.6). Egg product/packaging design can be oriented toward emphasizing wholesome and expedient attributes, since they enhance good, safe, and satisfied emotions, while minimizing disgust, worry, and boredom. The use of emotional responses and hedonic testing regarding attribute presence and absence would allow for improved selection of attributes critical to consumer acceptance of products. Assessing effects of attribute presence compared with absence on food-evoked emotions may

  1. Condom-associated erection problems: behavioural responses and attributions in young, heterosexual men

    PubMed Central

    Hill, Brandon J.; Sanders, Stephanie A.; Crosby, Richard A.; Ingelhart, Kara N.; Janssen, Erick

    2015-01-01

    Background Previous studies have associated men who experience condom-associated erection problems (CAEP) with incomplete condom use and/or foregoing using condoms altogether. However, how men respond to CAEP and what they attribute CAEP to, remains unclear. Understanding young men's CAEP responses and attributions could help improve sexually transmissible infections (STI)/HIV prevention programs and interventions. Methods Behavioural responses to, and attributions for, CAEP during application (CAEP-Application) and/or during penile-vaginal intercourse (CAEP-PVI) were reported using an online questionnaire by 295 young, heterosexual men (aged 18–24 years) who were recruited via social media websites and university Listservs across major cities in the Midwestern USA. Results Behavioural responses to CAEP-Application included receiving oral or manual stimulation, stimulating a partner, self-stimulation, foregoing condom use and applying the condom after starting intercourse. Attributions for CAEP-Application included: distraction, fit and feel problems, application taking too long and having consumed too much alcohol. Behavioural responses to CAEP-PVI included increasing the intensity of intercourse, removing the condom to receive oral or manual stimulation and removing condom and continuing intercourse. Attributions for CAEP-PVI included: lack of sensation, taking too long to orgasm, not being ‘turned on’ enough, fit and feel problems and partner-related factors. Conclusions Men who report CAEP respond with both STI/HIV risk-reducing and potentially risk-increasing behaviours (e.g. forgoing condom use). Men attribute their experiences to a wide range of individual- and partner-level factors. Addressing men's CAEP behavioural responses and attributions may increase the efficacious value of condom programs and STI/HIV prevention interventions – particularly among men who experience CAEP. PMID:26166025

  2. Role Constraints and Outcome Severity: Factors in Responsibility Attribution.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Clark, Nathan T.; Hren, Richard F.

    The attribution of responsibility literature may suffer from the lack of an appropriate conceptual basis. Although past research has demonstrated the usefulness of Heider's levels of responsibility framework, one facet of Heider's theory that has received little attention is the justification level. Occupational role constraints and severity of…

  3. The neural basis of responsibility attribution in decision-making.

    PubMed

    Li, Peng; Shen, Yue; Sui, Xue; Chen, Changming; Feng, Tingyong; Li, Hong; Holroyd, Clay

    2013-01-01

    Social responsibility links personal behavior with societal expectations and plays a key role in affecting an agent's emotional state following a decision. However, the neural basis of responsibility attribution remains unclear. In two previous event-related brain potential (ERP) studies we found that personal responsibility modulated outcome evaluation in gambling tasks. Here we conducted a functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) study to identify particular brain regions that mediate responsibility attribution. In a context involving team cooperation, participants completed a task with their teammates and on each trial received feedback about team success and individual success sequentially. We found that brain activity differed between conditions involving team success vs. team failure. Further, different brain regions were associated with reinforcement of behavior by social praise vs. monetary reward. Specifically, right temporoparietal junction (RTPJ) was associated with social pride whereas dorsal striatum and dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) were related to reinforcement of behaviors leading to personal gain. The present study provides evidence that the RTPJ is an important region for determining whether self-generated behaviors are deserving of praise in a social context.

  4. The Neural Basis of Responsibility Attribution in Decision-Making

    PubMed Central

    Li, Peng; Shen, Yue; Sui, Xue; Chen, Changming; Feng, Tingyong; Li, Hong; Holroyd, Clay

    2013-01-01

    Social responsibility links personal behavior with societal expectations and plays a key role in affecting an agent’s emotional state following a decision. However, the neural basis of responsibility attribution remains unclear. In two previous event-related brain potential (ERP) studies we found that personal responsibility modulated outcome evaluation in gambling tasks. Here we conducted a functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) study to identify particular brain regions that mediate responsibility attribution. In a context involving team cooperation, participants completed a task with their teammates and on each trial received feedback about team success and individual success sequentially. We found that brain activity differed between conditions involving team success vs. team failure. Further, different brain regions were associated with reinforcement of behavior by social praise vs. monetary reward. Specifically, right temporoparietal junction (RTPJ) was associated with social pride whereas dorsal striatum and dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) were related to reinforcement of behaviors leading to personal gain. The present study provides evidence that the RTPJ is an important region for determining whether self-generated behaviors are deserving of praise in a social context. PMID:24224053

  5. Desire or Disease? Framing Obesity to Influence Attributions of Responsibility and Policy Support.

    PubMed

    McGlynn, Joseph; McGlone, Matthew S

    2018-02-01

    The way we describe health threats affects perceptions of severity and preferred solutions to reduce risk. Most people agree obesity is a problem, but differ in how they attribute responsibility for development and decline of the disease. We explored effects of message framing on attributions of responsibility and support for public obesity policies using a 3 × 2 factorial design. Participants read one of six versions of a health message describing the negative effects of obesity. Message frames influenced respondent attributions and their support for policies to reduce obesity. Those who read a message that assigned agency to the disease (e.g., Obesity causes health problems) endorsed genetics as the cause to a greater degree than those who read a semantically equivalent message that instead assigned agency to people (e.g., Obese people develop health problems). In contrast, assigning agency to people rather than to the disease prompted higher attributions of individual responsibility and support for public policies. Explicit message frames that directly connected responsibility for obesity to either individual or societal factors had no effect on respondent perceptions. Findings suggest explicit arguments may be less effective in shifting perceptions of health threats than arguments embedded in agentic message frames. The results demonstrate specific message features that influence how people attribute responsibility for the onset and solution of obesity.

  6. Attributing the responsibility for ambulating patients: a qualitative study.

    PubMed

    Doherty-King, Barbara; Bowers, Barbara J

    2013-09-01

    Functional decline has been identified as a leading negative outcome of hospitalization for older person. Functional decline is defined as a loss in ability to perform activities of daily living including a loss of independent ambulation. In the hospital literature, a patient's loss in ability to independently ambulate during the hospital stay varies between 15 and 59%. Lack of ambulation and deconditioning effects of bed rest are one of the most predictable causes of loss of independent ambulation in hospitalized older persons. Nurses have been identified as the professional most capable of promoting walking independence in the hospital setting. However, nurses do not routinely walk patients. The purpose of this study was to explore the relationship between nurses' attributions of responsibility for ambulating hospitalized patients and their decisions about whether to ambulate. A descriptive, secondary analysis of data gathered for a parent study was conducted. Grounded dimensional analysis was used to analyze the data. Participants consisted of 25 registered nurses employed on medical or surgical units from two urban hospitals in the United States. Nurses fell into two groups: those who claimed ambulation of patients within their responsibility of practice and those who attributed the responsibility to another discipline. Nurses who claimed responsibility for ambulation focused on patient independence and psychosocial well-being. This resulted in actions related to collaborating with physical therapy, determining the appropriateness of activity orders, diminishing the risk and adjusting to resource availability. Nurses who attributed the responsibility deferred decisions about initiating ambulation to either physical therapy or medicine. This resulted in actions related to waiting, which involved, waiting for physical therapy clearance, physician orders, risks to decrease, and resources to improve before ambulating. Nurses who claimed responsibility for

  7. Mothers' and Fathers' Negative Responsibility Attributions and Perceptions of Children's Problem Behavior

    PubMed Central

    Nelson, Jackie A.; O'Brien, Marion; Calkins, Susan D.; Keane, Susan P.

    2013-01-01

    Parents' negative responsibility attributions about their child's misbehavior are related to a perception that the child has more behavior problems. The current study used a dyadic framework to explore how mothers' and fathers' attributions relate to their own perceptions and to their partner's perceptions of the child's externalizing problems. Participants included 102 couples interviewed when children were 7 years old. Results confirmed that mothers reported more externalizing behavior problems in their children than did fathers, and fathers of boys reported more child behavior problems than fathers of girls. Dyadic analyses suggested that parents' negative responsibility attributions of the child's behavior were associated with greater perceptions of child externalizing problems on behalf of parents and their partners. PMID:24348082

  8. [Organisational responsibility versus individual responsibility: safety culture? About the relationship between patient safety and medical malpractice law].

    PubMed

    Hart, Dieter

    2009-01-01

    The contribution is concerned with the correlations between risk information, patient safety, responsibility and liability, in particular in terms of liability law. These correlations have an impact on safety culture in healthcare, which can be evaluated positively if--in addition to good quality of medical care--as many sources of error as possible can be identified, analysed, and minimised or eliminated by corresponding measures (safety or risk management). Liability influences the conduct of individuals and enterprises; safety is (probably) also a function of liability; this should also apply to safety culture. The standard of safety culture does not only depend on individual liability for damages, but first of all on strict enterprise liability (system responsibility) and its preventive effects. Patient safety through quality and risk management is therefore also an organisational programme of considerable relevance in terms of liability law.

  9. Attributions of responsibility and recovery within a no-fault insurance compensation system.

    PubMed

    Thompson, Jason; Berk, Michael; O'Donnell, Meaghan; Stafford, Lesley; Nordfjaern, Trond

    2014-08-01

    Although a great deal of literature supports the negative relationship between postinjury health outcomes and compensation, it has not fully examined the relative influence of the diverse factors that underlie compensable status. In particular, this study sought to understand the relative influence that attributions of responsibility for accidents have on mental and physical health outcomes. Using a structural equation modeling approach, we assessed the strength of relationships between demographic and accident circumstance variables, and postinjury mental and physical health for 934 road-trauma survivors compensated under a single no-fault insurance system. Analysis of direct and indirect effects demonstrated that although a range of standard demographic and accident circumstance variables influenced health outcomes, by far the greatest effect was generated from perceptions of responsibility for the accident. People who reported lower levels of responsibility for their accident showed significantly poorer mental and physical health outcomes. Perceptions of responsibility for accidents are strongly associated with postaccident mental and physical health outcomes within compensable road trauma populations. Future studies should control for attributions of responsibility when assessing the effect of compensation, or any other variable, on health outcomes among injured populations. Mechanisms underlying the effect of attributions of responsibility on outcomes, particularly in relation to its association with self-blame, warrant further exploration.

  10. 14 CFR 417.7 - Public safety responsibility.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-01-01

    ... 14 Aeronautics and Space 4 2011-01-01 2011-01-01 false Public safety responsibility. 417.7 Section 417.7 Aeronautics and Space COMMERCIAL SPACE TRANSPORTATION, FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION... safety responsibility. A launch operator is responsible for ensuring the safe conduct of a licensed...

  11. 14 CFR 417.7 - Public safety responsibility.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-01-01

    ... 14 Aeronautics and Space 4 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Public safety responsibility. 417.7 Section 417.7 Aeronautics and Space COMMERCIAL SPACE TRANSPORTATION, FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION... safety responsibility. A launch operator is responsible for ensuring the safe conduct of a licensed...

  12. Assessing Sensitive Attributes Using the Randomized Response Technique: Evidence for the Importance of Response Symmetry

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ostapczuk, Martin; Moshagen, Morten; Zhao, Zengmei; Musch, Jochen

    2009-01-01

    Randomized response techniques (RRTs) aim to reduce social desirability bias in the assessment of sensitive attributes but differ regarding privacy protection. The less protection a design offers, the more likely respondents cheat by disobeying the instructions. In asymmetric RRT designs, respondents can play safe by giving a response that is…

  13. When contributions make a difference: explaining order effects in responsibility attribution.

    PubMed

    Gerstenberg, Tobias; Lagnado, David A

    2012-08-01

    In two experiments, we established an order effect in responsibility attributions. In line with Spellman (Journal of Experimental Psychology: General 126: 323-348, 1997), who proposed that a person's perceived causal contribution varies with the degree to which it changes the probability of the eventual outcome, Experiment 1 showed that in a team challenge in which the players contribute sequentially, the last player's blame or credit is attenuated if the team's result has already been determined prior to her acting. Experiment 2 illustrated that this attenuation effect does not overgeneralize to situations in which the experienced order of events does not map onto the objective order of events; the level of the last person's performance is only discounted if that person knew that the result was already determined. Furthermore, Experiment 1 demonstrated that responsibility attributions remain sensitive to differences in performance, even if the outcome is already determined. We suggest a theoretical extension of Spellman's model, according to which participants' responsibility attributions are determined not only by whether a contribution made a difference in the actual situation, but also by whether it would have made a difference had things turned out somewhat differently.

  14. Attributions of Responsibility for Obesity: Narrative Communication Reduces Reactive Counterarguing among Liberals

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Niederdeppe, Jeff; Shapiro, Michael A.; Porticella, Norman

    2011-01-01

    Informed by theory and research on attributions and narrative persuasion, we compared the effectiveness of narrative and nonnarrative messages in changing attributions of responsibility for causes and solutions related to obesity in the United States. We randomly assigned 500 adults to view one of three messages (narrative, evidence, and a hybrid…

  15. Terror management and attributions of blame to innocent victims: reconciling compassionate and defensive responses.

    PubMed

    Hirschberger, Gilad

    2006-11-01

    In this article, 4 studies test the hypothesis that reminders of personal death bias the normative attribution process and increase the motivation to blame severely injured, innocent victims. In Studies 1 and 2, primes of death led to greater attributions of blame to severely injured victims but did not significantly influence attributions of blame to either mildly injured victims or negatively portrayed others. In Study 3, primes of death led to greater attributions of blame to victims of circumstance but did not influence attributions of blame to victims who were explicitly responsible for their condition. In Study 4, innocent victims who were severely injured elicited more death-related cognitions than did victims who were responsible for their condition or who were only mildly injured. These findings indicate that the predictions of normative models of attribution may be moderated, and even overturned, when observers are reminded of their personal death such that defensive needs override rational inferential processes.

  16. Influences of Product Temperature on Emotional Responses to, and Sensory Attributes of, Coffee and Green Tea Beverages.

    PubMed

    Pramudya, Ragita C; Seo, Han-Seok

    2017-01-01

    Coffee and green tea are popular beverages consumed at both hot and cold temperatures. When people consume hot beverages concurrently with other activities, they may experience at different temperatures over the period of consumption. However, there has been limited research investigating the effects of product temperatures on emotional responses and sensory attributes of beverages. This study aimed to determine whether emotional responses to, and sensory attributes of, brewed coffee and green tea vary as a function of sample temperature. Using a check-all-that-apply (CATA) method, 157 participants (79 for coffee and 78 for green tea) were asked to evaluate either coffee or green tea samples served at cold (5°C), ambient (25°C), and hot (65°C) temperatures with respect to emotional responses and sensory attributes. The results showed that sample temperature could have significant influences on emotional responses to, and sensory attributes of, coffee and green tea samples. More specifically, 6 and 18 sensory attributes of coffee and green tea samples, respectively, significantly differed with sample temperature. Beverage samples evaluated at 65°C were characterized, regardless of activation/arousal level, by positive emotional responses terms and favorable sensory attributes. While beverages evaluated at 25°C were associated more with negative emotional responses with low activation/arousal, those evaluated at 5°C were more frequently characterized as having negative emotional responses with high activation/arousal. Sensory and emotional drivers of liking for both coffee and green tea differed both with sample temperature and gender. While both emotional responses and sensory attributes were identified as drivers of liking among females, only emotional responses were identified as drivers of liking among males. In conclusion, this study provides empirical evidence that both emotional responses to, and sensory attributes of, coffee and green tea beverages can

  17. Influences of Product Temperature on Emotional Responses to, and Sensory Attributes of, Coffee and Green Tea Beverages

    PubMed Central

    Pramudya, Ragita C.; Seo, Han-Seok

    2018-01-01

    Coffee and green tea are popular beverages consumed at both hot and cold temperatures. When people consume hot beverages concurrently with other activities, they may experience at different temperatures over the period of consumption. However, there has been limited research investigating the effects of product temperatures on emotional responses and sensory attributes of beverages. This study aimed to determine whether emotional responses to, and sensory attributes of, brewed coffee and green tea vary as a function of sample temperature. Using a check-all-that-apply (CATA) method, 157 participants (79 for coffee and 78 for green tea) were asked to evaluate either coffee or green tea samples served at cold (5°C), ambient (25°C), and hot (65°C) temperatures with respect to emotional responses and sensory attributes. The results showed that sample temperature could have significant influences on emotional responses to, and sensory attributes of, coffee and green tea samples. More specifically, 6 and 18 sensory attributes of coffee and green tea samples, respectively, significantly differed with sample temperature. Beverage samples evaluated at 65°C were characterized, regardless of activation/arousal level, by positive emotional responses terms and favorable sensory attributes. While beverages evaluated at 25°C were associated more with negative emotional responses with low activation/arousal, those evaluated at 5°C were more frequently characterized as having negative emotional responses with high activation/arousal. Sensory and emotional drivers of liking for both coffee and green tea differed both with sample temperature and gender. While both emotional responses and sensory attributes were identified as drivers of liking among females, only emotional responses were identified as drivers of liking among males. In conclusion, this study provides empirical evidence that both emotional responses to, and sensory attributes of, coffee and green tea beverages can

  18. Brain Responses Underlying Anthropomorphism, Agency, and Social Attribution in Autism Spectrum Disorder.

    PubMed

    Ammons, Carla J; Doss, Constance F; Bala, David; Kana, Rajesh K

    2018-01-01

    Theory of Mind (ToM), the ability to attribute mental states to oneself and others, is frequently impaired in Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and may result from altered activation of social brain regions. Conversely, Typically Developing (TD) individuals overextend ToM and show a strong tendency to anthropomorphize and interpret biological motion in the environment. Less is known about how the degree of anthropomorphism influences intentional attribution and engagement of the social brain in ASD. This fMRI study examines the extent of anthropomorphism, its role in social attribution, and the underlying neural responses in ASD and TD using a series of human stick figures and geometrical shapes. 14 ASD and 14 TD adults watched videos of stick figures and triangles interacting in random or socially meaningful ways while in an fMRI scanner. In addition, they completed out-of-scanner measures of ToM skill and real-world social deficits. Whole brain statistical analysis was performed for regression and within and between group comparisons of all conditions using SPM12's implementation of the general linear model. ToM network regions were activated in response to social movement and human-like characters in ASD and TD. In addition, greater ToM ability was associated with increased TPJ and MPFC activity while watching stick figures; whereas more severe social symptoms were associated with reduced right TPJ activation in response to social movement. These results suggest that degree of anthropomorphism does not differentially affect social attribution in ASD and highlights the importance of TPJ in ToM and social attribution.

  19. The response to challenging behaviour by care staff: emotional responses, attributions of cause and observations of practice.

    PubMed

    Bailey, B A; Hare, D J; Hatton, C; Limb, K

    2006-03-01

    Previous studies have attempted to apply Weiner's attributional model of helping behaviour to care staff who work with service users with intellectual disabilities and challenging behaviours by using studies based on vignettes. The aims of the current study were to investigate the application of Weiner's model to 'real' service users with intellectual disabilities and challenging behaviours and to observe the care staff's actual responses to challenging behaviours displayed by service users. Also, to compare care staff attributions, emotions, optimism, willingness to help and observed helping behaviours for self-injurious behaviours in comparison to other forms of challenging behaviours. A total of 27 care staff completed two sets of measures, one set regarding a self-injurious behaviour and the other regarding other forms of challenging behaviour. An additional 16 staff completed one set of measures. The measures focused on care staff attributions, emotions, optimism and willingness to help. Also, 16 of the care staff were observed interacting with the service users to collect data regarding their responses to challenging behaviours. For both self-injurious behaviours and other forms of challenging behaviour, associations were found between the care staff internal, stable and uncontrollable attribution scores and care staff negative emotion scores. However, no associations were found between the care staff levels of emotion, optimism and willingness to help. Some associations were found between the care staff levels of willingness to help and observed helping behaviours. There were significant differences between the care staff attribution scores with higher scores being obtained for uncontrollable and stable attributions for other forms of challenging behaviours. No significant differences were found between the care staff emotions, optimism, willingness to help and observed helping behaviours. The results did not provide support for Weiner's attributional model

  20. 14 CFR 431.71 - Public safety responsibility.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-01-01

    ... 14 Aeronautics and Space 4 2012-01-01 2012-01-01 false Public safety responsibility. 431.71 Section 431.71 Aeronautics and Space COMMERCIAL SPACE TRANSPORTATION, FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION... Requirements-Reusable Launch Vehicle Mission License Terms and Conditions § 431.71 Public safety responsibility...

  1. 14 CFR 431.71 - Public safety responsibility.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-01-01

    ... 14 Aeronautics and Space 4 2013-01-01 2013-01-01 false Public safety responsibility. 431.71 Section 431.71 Aeronautics and Space COMMERCIAL SPACE TRANSPORTATION, FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION... Requirements-Reusable Launch Vehicle Mission License Terms and Conditions § 431.71 Public safety responsibility...

  2. 14 CFR 431.71 - Public safety responsibility.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-01-01

    ... 14 Aeronautics and Space 4 2014-01-01 2014-01-01 false Public safety responsibility. 431.71 Section 431.71 Aeronautics and Space COMMERCIAL SPACE TRANSPORTATION, FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION... Requirements-Reusable Launch Vehicle Mission License Terms and Conditions § 431.71 Public safety responsibility...

  3. Brain Responses Underlying Anthropomorphism, Agency, and Social Attribution in Autism Spectrum Disorder

    PubMed Central

    Ammons, Carla J.; Doss, Constance F.; Bala, David; Kana, Rajesh K.

    2018-01-01

    Background: Theory of Mind (ToM), the ability to attribute mental states to oneself and others, is frequently impaired in Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and may result from altered activation of social brain regions. Conversely, Typically Developing (TD) individuals overextend ToM and show a strong tendency to anthropomorphize and interpret biological motion in the environment. Less is known about how the degree of anthropomorphism influences intentional attribution and engagement of the social brain in ASD. Objective: This fMRI study examines the extent of anthropomorphism, its role in social attribution, and the underlying neural responses in ASD and TD using a series of human stick figures and geometrical shapes. Methods: 14 ASD and 14 TD adults watched videos of stick figures and triangles interacting in random or socially meaningful ways while in an fMRI scanner. In addition, they completed out-of-scanner measures of ToM skill and real-world social deficits. Whole brain statistical analysis was performed for regression and within and between group comparisons of all conditions using SPM12’s implementation of the general linear model. Results: ToM network regions were activated in response to social movement and human-like characters in ASD and TD. In addition, greater ToM ability was associated with increased TPJ and MPFC activity while watching stick figures; whereas more severe social symptoms were associated with reduced right TPJ activation in response to social movement. Conclusion: These results suggest that degree of anthropomorphism does not differentially affect social attribution in ASD and highlights the importance of TPJ in ToM and social attribution. PMID:29682095

  4. Using Assessment to Develop Social Responsibility as a Graduate Attribute in Teacher Education

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Howells, Kerry; Fitzallen, Noleine; Adams, Christine

    2016-01-01

    Australian higher education institutions have struggled to develop clear strategies for developing and assessing graduate attributes within their specific disciplinary contexts. Using the example of the graduate attribute of social responsibility, this paper explores the outcomes of using assessment tasks to raise the awareness of development of…

  5. Causal attribution and psychobiological response to competition in young men.

    PubMed

    Salvador, Alicia; Costa, Raquel; Hidalgo, Vanesa; González-Bono, Esperanza

    2017-06-01

    A contribution to a special issue on Hormones and Human Competition. Psychoneuroendocrine effects of competition have been widely accepted as a clear example of the relationship between androgens and aggressive/dominant behavior in humans. However, results about the effects of competitive outcomes are quite heterogeneous, suggesting that personal and contextual factors play a moderating role in this relationship. To further explore these dimensions, we aimed to examine (i) the effect of competition and its outcome on the psychobiological response to a laboratory competition in young men, and (ii) the moderating role of some cognitive dimensions such as causal attributions. To do so, we compared the responses of 56 healthy young men faced with two competitive tasks with different instructions. Twenty-eight men carried out a task whose instructions led subjects to think the outcome was due to their personal performance ("merit" task), whereas 28 other men faced a task whose outcome was attributable to luck ("chance" task). In both cases, outcome was manipulated by the experimenter. Salivary steroid hormones (testosterone and cortisol), cardiovascular variables (heart rate and blood pressure), and emotional state (mood and anxiety) were measured at different moments before, during and after both tasks. Our results did not support the "winner-loser effect" because no significant differences were found in the responses of winners and losers. However, significantly higher values on the testosterone and cardiovascular variables, along with slight decreases in positive mood, were associated with the merit-based competition, but not the chance-based condition. In addition, an exploratory factorial analysis grouped the response components into two patterns traditionally related to more active or more passive behaviors. Thus, our results suggest that the perception of contributing to the outcome is relevant in the psychobiological response to competition in men. Overall, our

  6. Final Technical Report on Quantifying Dependability Attributes of Software Based Safety Critical Instrumentation and Control Systems in Nuclear Power Plants

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Smidts, Carol; Huang, Funqun; Li, Boyuan

    With the current transition from analog to digital instrumentation and control systems in nuclear power plants, the number and variety of software-based systems have significantly increased. The sophisticated nature and increasing complexity of software raises trust in these systems as a significant challenge. The trust placed in a software system is typically termed software dependability. Software dependability analysis faces uncommon challenges since software systems’ characteristics differ from those of hardware systems. The lack of systematic science-based methods for quantifying the dependability attributes in software-based instrumentation as well as control systems in safety critical applications has proved itself to be amore » significant inhibitor to the expanded use of modern digital technology in the nuclear industry. Dependability refers to the ability of a system to deliver a service that can be trusted. Dependability is commonly considered as a general concept that encompasses different attributes, e.g., reliability, safety, security, availability and maintainability. Dependability research has progressed significantly over the last few decades. For example, various assessment models and/or design approaches have been proposed for software reliability, software availability and software maintainability. Advances have also been made to integrate multiple dependability attributes, e.g., integrating security with other dependability attributes, measuring availability and maintainability, modeling reliability and availability, quantifying reliability and security, exploring the dependencies between security and safety and developing integrated analysis models. However, there is still a lack of understanding of the dependencies between various dependability attributes as a whole and of how such dependencies are formed. To address the need for quantification and give a more objective basis to the review process -- therefore reducing regulatory

  7. Motor vehicle attributes : status report

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    1985-03-01

    The Transportation Systems Center (TSC) was requested by the National Highway : Traffic Safety Administration's (NHTSA) Office of Vehicle Research to compile : and computerize a data base of vehicle safety attributes for automobiles and : trucks. The...

  8. A multi-agent safety response model in the construction industry.

    PubMed

    Meliá, José L

    2015-01-01

    The construction industry is one of the sectors with the highest accident rates and the most serious accidents. A multi-agent safety response approach allows a useful diagnostic tool in order to understand factors affecting risk and accidents. The special features of the construction sector can influence the relationships among safety responses along the model of safety influences. The purpose of this paper is to test a model explaining risk and work-related accidents in the construction industry as a result of the safety responses of the organization, the supervisors, the co-workers and the worker. 374 construction employees belonging to 64 small Spanish construction companies working for two main companies participated in the study. Safety responses were measured using a 45-item Likert-type questionnaire. The structure of the measure was analyzed using factor analysis and the model of effects was tested using a structural equation model. Factor analysis clearly identifies the multi-agent safety dimensions hypothesized. The proposed safety response model of work-related accidents, involving construction specific results, showed a good fit. The multi-agent safety response approach to safety climate is a useful framework for the assessment of organizational and behavioral risks in construction.

  9. Children’s positive dispositional attributes, parents’ empathic responses, and children’s responses to painful pediatric oncology treatment procedures

    PubMed Central

    Harper, Felicity W. K.; Penner, Louis A.; Peterson, Amy; Albrecht, Terrance L.; Taub, Jeffrey

    2012-01-01

    Pain/distress during pediatric cancer treatments has substantial psychosocial consequences for children and families. We examined relationships between children’s positive dispositional attributes, parents’ empathic responses, and children’s pain/distress responses to treatment procedures. Participants were 41 pediatric cancer patients and parents. Several weeks before treatment, parents rated children’s resilience and positive dimensions of temperament. Parents’ pre-treatment empathic affective responses to their children were assessed. Children’s pain/distress during treatments was rated by multiple independent raters. Children’s resilience was significantly and positively associated with parents’ empathic affective responses and negatively associated with children’s pain/distress. Children’s adaptability and attention focusing also showed positive relationships (p<.10) with parents’ empathic responses. Parents’ empathic responses mediated effects of children’s resilience on children’s pain/distress. Children’s positive dispositional attributes influence their pain/distress during cancer treatments; however, these effects may be mediated by parents’ empathic responses. These relationships provide critical understanding of the influence of parent-child relationships on coping with treatment. PMID:22963185

  10. Attributing Agency to Automated Systems: Reflections on Human-Robot Collaborations and Responsibility-Loci.

    PubMed

    Nyholm, Sven

    2017-07-18

    Many ethicists writing about automated systems (e.g. self-driving cars and autonomous weapons systems) attribute agency to these systems. Not only that; they seemingly attribute an autonomous or independent form of agency to these machines. This leads some ethicists to worry about responsibility-gaps and retribution-gaps in cases where automated systems harm or kill human beings. In this paper, I consider what sorts of agency it makes sense to attribute to most current forms of automated systems, in particular automated cars and military robots. I argue that whereas it indeed makes sense to attribute different forms of fairly sophisticated agency to these machines, we ought not to regard them as acting on their own, independently of any human beings. Rather, the right way to understand the agency exercised by these machines is in terms of human-robot collaborations, where the humans involved initiate, supervise, and manage the agency of their robotic collaborators. This means, I argue, that there is much less room for justified worries about responsibility-gaps and retribution-gaps than many ethicists think.

  11. Attributions of blame and responsibility in sexual harassment: reexamining a psychological model.

    PubMed

    Klein, Kristen M; Apple, Kevin J; Kahn, Arnold S

    2011-04-01

    Kelley's (Nebr Symp Motiv 15:192-238, 1967) attribution theory can inform sexual harassment research by identifying how observers use consensus, consistency, and distinctiveness information in determining whether a target or perpetrator is responsible for a sexual harassment situation. In this study, Kelley's theory is applied to a scenario in which a male perpetrator sexually harasses a female target in a university setting. Results from 314 predominantly female college students indicate that consistency and consensus information significantly affect participants' judgments of blame and responsibility for the situation. The authors discuss the importance of the reference groups used to derive consensus and distinctiveness information, and reintroduce Kelley's attribution theory as a means of understanding observers' perceptions of sexual harassment.

  12. Primary health care attributes and responses to intimate partner violence in Spain.

    PubMed

    Goicolea, Isabel; Mosquera, Paola; Briones-Vozmediano, Erica; Otero-García, Laura; García-Quinto, Marta; Vives-Cases, Carmen

    This study provides an overview of the perceptions of primary care professionals on how the current primary health care (PHC) attributes in Spain could influence health-related responses to intimate partner violence (IPV). A qualitative study was conducted using semi-structured interviews with 160 health professionals working in 16 PHC centres in Spain. Data were analysed using a qualitative content analysis. Four categories emerged from the interview analysis: those committed to the PHC approach, but with difficulties implementing it; community work relying on voluntarism; multidisciplinary team work or professionals who work together?; and continuity of care hindered by heavy work load. Participants felt that person-centred care as well as other attributes of the PHC approach facilitated detecting IPV and a better response to the problem. However, they also pointed out that the current management of the health system (workload, weak supervision and little feedback, misdistribution of human and material resources, etc.) does not facilitate the sustainability of such an approach. There is a gap between the theoretical attributes of PHC and the "reality" of how these attributes are managed in everyday work, and how this influences IPV care. Copyright © 2017 SESPAS. Publicado por Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved.

  13. 14 CFR 437.81 - Public safety responsibility.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-01-01

    ... 14 Aeronautics and Space 4 2011-01-01 2011-01-01 false Public safety responsibility. 437.81 Section 437.81 Aeronautics and Space COMMERCIAL SPACE TRANSPORTATION, FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION... an experimental permit is safe, and must protect public health and safety and the safety of property. ...

  14. 14 CFR 437.81 - Public safety responsibility.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-01-01

    ... 14 Aeronautics and Space 4 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Public safety responsibility. 437.81 Section 437.81 Aeronautics and Space COMMERCIAL SPACE TRANSPORTATION, FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION... an experimental permit is safe, and must protect public health and safety and the safety of property. ...

  15. Definition and measurement of rider-intrinsic physical attributes influencing all-terrain vehicle safety.

    PubMed

    Mattei, Tobias A; Bond, Brandon J; Hafner, John W; Morris, Martin J; Travis, Jennifer; Hannah, Greg; Webster, Jim; Lin, Julian J

    2011-11-01

    All-terrain vehicle (ATV) usage has grown tremendously over the years, reaching 9.5 million vehicles in use in 2007. Accompanying this growth has been a concomitant increase in rider morbidity (including traumatic brain and spine injuries) and death, especially in children. The purpose of this study was to define and measure, through field testing, those physical attributes intrinsic to riders, such as height, weight, and wingspan, which may have implications for ATV riders' safety. Three field tests (J-hook, brake, and bump) were developed and performed to allow direct measurement of the lateral, longitudinal, and vertical dynamics in 5 riders of varying heights, weights, and wingspans. Two ATVs, a utility and a sport model, were tested for further comparisons. Data were acquired using a comprehensive data acquisition system attached to the ATVs. Assignment of individual rider/ATV test safety ratings and a rider/ATV Total Safety Rating were made from the results of these field tests. The J-hook test results demonstrated that larger rider wingspans positively influence ATV rider safety and mitigate against lateral instability. From the brake test it was determined that a 10-in (25.4-cm) longitudinal displacement, such as that experienced during a sharp deceleration, for a rider of any height or weight, breached the level of defined safety. As rider weight increased, displacement decreased. The bump test provided evidence that increased rider weight also mitigates against vertical displacement. Individuals with light weights and small wingspans, such as those in the pediatric population, are under considerable risk of injury when operating an ATV due to lateral, longitudinal, and vertical operational instability.

  16. Children's Moral Emotion Attribution in the Happy Victimizer Task: The Role of Response Format.

    PubMed

    Gummerum, Michaela; López-Pérez, Belén; Ambrona, Tamara; Rodríguez-Cano, Sonia; Dellaria, Giulia; Smith, Gary; Wilson, Ellie

    2016-01-01

    Previous research in the happy victimizer tradition indicated that preschool and early elementary school children attribute positive emotions to the violator of a moral norm, whereas older children attribute negative (moral) emotions. Cognitive and motivational processes have been suggested to underlie this developmental shift. The current research investigated whether making the happy victimizer task less cognitively demanding by providing children with alternative response formats would increase their attribution of moral emotions and moral motivation. In Study 1, 93 British children aged 4-7 years old responded to the happy victimizer questions either in a normal condition (where they spontaneously pointed with a finger), a wait condition (where they had to wait before giving their answers), or an arrow condition (where they had to point with a paper arrow). In Study 2, 40 Spanish children aged 4 years old responded to the happy victimizer task either in a normal or a wait condition. In both studies, participants' attribution of moral emotions and moral motivation was significantly higher in the conditions with alternative response formats (wait, arrow) than in the normal condition. The role of cognitive abilities for emotion attribution in the happy victimizer task is discussed.

  17. Attribution of Responsibility and Valence of Success and Failure in Relation to Initial Confidence and Task Performance

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Feather, N. T.

    1969-01-01

    Deals with the hypothesis that initial self-confidence and actual task performance determine whether the subject will attribute responsibility to himself or to luck. The data support the hypothesis and reveal distinct differences between males and female subjects in self-confidence and attribution of responsibility. Tables, graphs, and…

  18. Responsibility Attribution for Violence against Women: A Study of Chinese Public Service Professionals

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Tang, Catherine So-kum; Pun, Shuk Han; Cheung, Fanny Mui-ching

    2002-01-01

    This study examined how Chinese public service professionals attributed responsibility to victims and perpetrators of violence against women (VAW). A total of 2,308 Chinese public service professionals in Hong Kong completed questionnaires on attitudes toward women, VAW-related perceptions, and assignment of responsibility to actors in written VAW…

  19. Attributing Responsibility, Sexist Attitudes, Perceived Social Support, and Self-Esteem in Aggressors Convicted for Gender-Based Violence.

    PubMed

    Guerrero-Molina, Mónica; Moreno-Manso, Juan Manuel; Guerrero-Barona, Eloísa; Cruz-Márquez, Beatriz

    2017-06-01

    This work analyzes how the assumption of responsibility by aggressors convicted for gender-based violence is related to sexist attitudes, self-esteem and perceived functional social support. Similarly, the predictive capacity of these variables is studied with respect to the aggressors' minimization of the harm done and a lack of attributing responsibility to themselves. The participants in the research were males condemned to prison sentences for crimes related with gender-based violence in Spain. The instruments applied were the Attribution of Responsibility and Minimization of Harm Scale, the Ambivalent Sexism Inventory (ASI), the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSE), the Functional Social Support Questionnaire (FSSQ), and the Social Desirability Scale (SDS). The study concludes that sexist attitudes are related with a greater lack of attribution of responsibility, as well as with a greater tendency to minimize the harm done by the aggression. In addition, the aggressors with low self-esteem use self-defense as a strategy to justify the violence. Similarly, the presence of an adequate social support network for the aggressor increases the attribution of responsibility on the part of those convicted for gender-based violence.

  20. Academic Expectations, Attributed Responsibility, and Teachers' Reinforcement Behavior: A Comment on Cooper and Baron, with Some Additional Data.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Meyer, Wulf-Uwe

    1979-01-01

    Cooper and Baron's conclusions (EJ 174 719) that teachers' performance expectations were more potent predictors of their reinforcement behavior in class than were their attributions of responsibility is criticized on the basis of methodological flaws in the study. Evidence associations between teachers' attributions of responsibility and their…

  1. The association between attributions of responsibility for motor vehicle accidents and patient satisfaction: a study within a no-fault injury compensation system.

    PubMed

    Thompson, Jason; Berk, Michael; O'Donnell, Meaghan; Stafford, Lesley; Nordfjaern, Trond

    2015-05-01

    This study set out to test the relationship between attributions of responsibility for motor vehicle accidents and satisfaction with personal injury compensation systems. The study analysed survey data from 1394 people injured in a motor vehicle accident who were compensated under a no-fault personal injury compensation system. Patients' ratings of satisfaction with the compensation system across five domains (resolves your issues, keeps you up-to-date, treats you as an individual, cares about you, and overall satisfaction) were analysed alongside patient attributions of responsibility for their accident (not responsible, partly responsible, totally responsible). Postaccident physical and mental health status, age, gender, and duration of compensation claim were controlled for in the analysis. A multivariate analysis of covariance indicated attributions of responsibility for accidents were significantly associated with levels of patient satisfaction across all five domains under study (F (10, 2084) = 3.7, p<0.001, η(2)  =0.02). Despite access to virtually indistinguishable services, patients who attributed responsibility for their accidents to others were significantly less satisfied with the injury compensation system than those who attributed responsibility to themselves. Satisfaction with no-fault motor vehicle injury compensation services are associated with patients' attributions of responsibility for their accident. Compensation systems and other rehabilitation services monitoring patient satisfaction should adjust for attributions of responsibility when assessing levels of patient satisfaction between time periods, services, or injured populations. Differences in levels of patient satisfaction observed between compensation or rehabilitation populations may reflect differences in attributions of responsibility for accidents rather than objective service quality. © The Author(s) 2014.

  2. 14 CFR 431.71 - Public safety responsibility.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-01-01

    ... 14 Aeronautics and Space 4 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Public safety responsibility. 431.71 Section 431.71 Aeronautics and Space COMMERCIAL SPACE TRANSPORTATION, FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION.... (a) A licensee is responsible for ensuring the safe conduct of an RLV mission and for protecting...

  3. 14 CFR 431.71 - Public safety responsibility.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-01-01

    ... 14 Aeronautics and Space 4 2011-01-01 2011-01-01 false Public safety responsibility. 431.71 Section 431.71 Aeronautics and Space COMMERCIAL SPACE TRANSPORTATION, FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION.... (a) A licensee is responsible for ensuring the safe conduct of an RLV mission and for protecting...

  4. Revised fire safety system cuts emergency response time.

    PubMed

    Keir, D C

    1979-03-01

    As Margaret R. Pardee Memorial Hospital, Hendersonville, NC. expanded, fire safety plans had to be reevaluated. With each new addition, fire safety responsibilities for hospital personnel multiplied and overlapped. Confusion resulted, and a revised, simplified, and coordinated fire safety system was devised. Seventeen false alarms within one year, caused by a faulty sprinkler system, gave hospital personnel ample opportunity to test the system and iron out unexpected problems.

  5. Integrated Response Time Evaluation Methodology for the Nuclear Safety Instrumentation System

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Lee, Chang Jae; Yun, Jae Hee

    2017-06-01

    Safety analysis for a nuclear power plant establishes not only an analytical limit (AL) in terms of a measured or calculated variable but also an analytical response time (ART) required to complete protective action after the AL is reached. If the two constraints are met, the safety limit selected to maintain the integrity of physical barriers used for preventing uncontrolled radioactivity release will not be exceeded during anticipated operational occurrences and postulated accidents. Setpoint determination methodologies have actively been developed to ensure that the protective action is initiated before the process conditions reach the AL. However, regarding the ART for a nuclear safety instrumentation system, an integrated evaluation methodology considering the whole design process has not been systematically studied. In order to assure the safety of nuclear power plants, this paper proposes a systematic and integrated response time evaluation methodology that covers safety analyses, system designs, response time analyses, and response time tests. This methodology is applied to safety instrumentation systems for the advanced power reactor 1400 and the optimized power reactor 1000 nuclear power plants in South Korea. The quantitative evaluation results are provided herein. The evaluation results using the proposed methodology demonstrate that the nuclear safety instrumentation systems fully satisfy corresponding requirements of the ART.

  6. How Attributional Ambiguity Shapes Physiological and Emotional Responses to Social Rejection and Acceptance

    PubMed Central

    Mendes, Wendy Berry; McCoy, Shannon; Major, Brenda; Blascovich, Jim

    2008-01-01

    The authors examined White and Black participants’ emotional, physiological, and behavioral responses to same-race or different-race evaluators, following rejecting social feedback or accepting social feedback. As expected, in ingroup interactions, the authors observed deleterious responses to social rejection and benign responses to social acceptance. Deleterious responses included cardiovascular (CV) reactivity consistent with threat states and poorer performance, whereas benign responses included CV reactivity consistent with challenge states and better performance. In intergroup interactions, however, a more complex pattern of responses emerged. Social rejection from different-race evaluators engendered more anger and activational responses, regardless of participants’ race. In contrast, social acceptance produced an asymmetrical race pattern—White participants responded more positively than did Black participants. The latter appeared vigilant and exhibited threat responses. Discussion centers on implications for attributional ambiguity theory and potential pathways from discrimination to health outcomes. PMID:18211177

  7. Neuroimaging Impaired Response Inhibition and Salience Attribution in Human Drug Addiction: A Systematic Review.

    PubMed

    Zilverstand, Anna; Huang, Anna S; Alia-Klein, Nelly; Goldstein, Rita Z

    2018-06-06

    The impaired response inhibition and salience attribution (iRISA) model proposes that impaired response inhibition and salience attribution underlie drug seeking and taking. To update this model, we systematically reviewed 105 task-related neuroimaging studies (n > 15/group) published since 2010. Results demonstrate specific impairments within six large-scale brain networks (reward, habit, salience, executive, memory, and self-directed networks) during drug cue exposure, decision making, inhibitory control, and social-emotional processing. Addicted individuals demonstrated increased recruitment of these networks during drug-related processing but a blunted response during non-drug-related processing, with the same networks also being implicated during resting state. Associations with real-life drug use, relapse, therapeutic interventions, and the relevance to initiation of drug use during adolescence support the clinical relevance of the results. Whereas the salience and executive networks showed impairments throughout the addiction cycle, the reward network was dysregulated at later stages of abuse. Effects were similar in alcohol, cannabis, and stimulant addiction. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  8. Parents' and Children's Beliefs about Peer Victimization: Attributions, Coping Responses, and Child Adjustment

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Harper, Bridgette D.

    2012-01-01

    This study examined how parents' and children's beliefs about peer victimization are related to children's adjustment. A mediational model was proposed that addressed how adjustment is predicted by degree of victimization, as well as causal attributions of and coping responses to victimization. The participants were 100 fifth- or sixth-grade…

  9. 76 FR 42686 - DOE Response to Recommendation 2011-1 of the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board, Safety...

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2011-07-19

    ... DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY DOE Response to Recommendation 2011-1 of the Defense Nuclear Facilities... Nuclear Facilities Safety Board, Office of Health, Safety and Security, U.S. Department of Energy, 1000... Department of Energy (DOE) acknowledges receipt of Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board (Board...

  10. Who regulates food? Australians' perceptions of responsibility for food safety.

    PubMed

    Henderson, Julie; Coveney, John; Ward, Paul

    2010-01-01

    Food scares have diminished trust in public institutions to guarantee food safety. Food governance after the food scare era is concerned with institutional independence and transparency leading to a hybrid of public and private sector management and to mechanisms for consumer involvement in food governance. This paper explores Australian consumers' perceptions of who is, and should be responsible for food safety. Forty-seven participants were interviewed as part of a larger study on trust in the food system. Participants associate food governance with government, industry, and the individual. While few participants can name the national food regulator, there is a strong belief that the government is responsible for regulating the quality and safety of food. Participants are wary of the role of the food industry in food safety, believing that profit motives will undermine effective food regulation. Personal responsibility for food safety practices was also identified. While there are fewer mechanisms for consumer involvement and transparency built into the food governance system, Australian consumers display considerable trust in government to protect food safety. There is little evidence of the politicisation of food, reflecting a level of trust in the Australian food governance system that may arise from a lack of exposure to major food scares.

  11. Analysis respons to the implementation of nuclear installations safety culture using AHP-TOPSIS

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Situmorang, J.; Kuntoro, I.; Santoso, S.; Subekti, M.; Sunaryo, G. R.

    2018-02-01

    An analysis of responses to the implementation of nuclear installations safety culture has been done using AHP (Analitic Hierarchy Process) - TOPSIS (Technique for Order of Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution). Safety culture is considered as collective commitments of the decision-making level, management level, and individual level. Thus each level will provide a subjective perspective as an alternative approach to implementation. Furthermore safety culture is considered by the statement of five characteristics which in more detail form consist of 37 attributes, and therefore can be expressed as multi-attribute state. Those characteristics and or attributes will be a criterion and its value is difficult to determine. Those criteria of course, will determine and strongly influence the implementation of the corresponding safety culture. To determine the pattern and magnitude of the influence is done by using a TOPSIS that is based on decision matrix approach and is composed of alternatives and criteria. The weight of each criterion is determined by AHP technique. The data used are data collected through questionnaires at the workshop on safety and health in 2015. .Reliability test of data gives Cronbah Alpha value of 95.5% which according to the criteria is stated reliable. Validity test using bivariate correlation analysis technique between each attribute give Pearson correlation for all attribute is significant at level 0,01. Using confirmatory factor analysis gives Kaise-Meyer-Olkin of sampling Adequacy (KMO) is 0.719 and it is greater than the acceptance criterion 0.5 as well as the 0.000 significance level much smaller than 0.05 and stated that further analysis could be performed. As a result of the analysis it is found that responses from the level of decision maker (second echelon) dominate the best order preference rank to be the best solution in strengthening the nuclear installation safety culture, except for the first characteristics, safety is a

  12. Food safety - the roles and responsibilities of different sectors

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Karabasil, N.; Bošković, T.; Dimitrijević, M.; Vasilev, D.; Đorđević, V.; Lakićević, B.; Teodorović, V.

    2017-09-01

    Serbia is a relatively small country but with a long tradition in food production, especially meat and meat products. Serbia, as part of its open negotiation process as a candidate country with the European Union (EU), started to harmonise its legislation with the EU, and has published a set of laws and regulations relating to the hygiene of food production and food safety, the official control of production and the welfare of animals. Therefore, the food safety system in Serbia is based on principles established in the EU. There is a need for cooperation of different sectors (government, food business operators and consumers) in the management of food safety, and every sector has its role and responsibility. This paper aims to provide analytical support for the process of upgrading safety and quality in Serbia’s food sector and explains the roles and responsibilities of different sectors in the food chain.

  13. Perceptions of similarity and responsibility attributions to an acquaintance sexual assault victim.

    PubMed

    Amacker, Amanda M; Littleton, Heather L

    2013-11-01

    Individuals view similar rape victims as less responsible for the rape than victims perceived as dissimilar. However, it is unclear if individuals hold victims they perceive as similar less responsible for the assault, or if individuals view themselves as more similar to victims they do not view as responsible for the assault. The current study, therefore, examined the temporal relationship between these constructs. A total of 167 college women listened to a date narrative that ended in sexual assault, consensual sex, or no sexual activity (these last two served as controls). Results supported that participants viewed themselves as less similar to the woman in the narrative when the date ended in sexual assault. Only similarity ratings made following learning that the woman was sexually assaulted predicted responsibility attributions suggesting that viewing a victim as responsible for the assault results in decreased perceptions of similarity toward her. Implications and suggestions for future research are discussed.

  14. Teacher response to learning disability: a test of attributional principles.

    PubMed

    Clark, M D

    1997-01-01

    Attribution research has identified student ability and effort expended as causes of achievement outcomes that result in differing teacher affect, evaluative feedback, and expectation of future performance. Ninety-seven elementary-school general education teachers (84 women and 13 men) rated their responses to the test failures of hypothetical boys with and without learning disabilities. In most cases, greater reward and less punishment, less anger and more pity, and higher expectations of future failure followed the negative outcomes of the boys with learning disabilities, when compared with their nondisabled ability and effort matches, indicating that learning disability acts as a cause of achievement outcomes in the same way as ability and effort. This pattern of teacher affect and response can send negative messages that are often interpreted as low-ability cues, thus affecting students' self-esteem, sense of competence as learners, and motivation to achieve.

  15. Customers' attributional judgments towards complaint handling in airline service: a confirmatory study based on attribution theory.

    PubMed

    Chiou, Wen-Bin

    2007-06-01

    Besides flight safety, complaint handling plays a crucial role in airline service. Based upon Kelley's attribution theory, in the present study customers' attributions were examined under different conditions of complaint handling by the airlines. There were 531 passengers (216 women; ages 21 to 63 years, M = 41.5, SD = 11.1) with experiences of customer complaints who were recruited while awaiting boarding. Participants received one hypothetical scenario of three attributional conditions about complaint handling and then reported their attributional judgments. The findings indicated that the passengers were most likely to attribute the company's complaint handling to unconditional compliance when the airline company reacted to customer complaints under low distinctiveness, high consistency, and when consensus among the airlines was low. On the other hand, most passengers attributed the company's complaint handling to conditional compliance under the conditions in which distinctiveness, consistency, and consensus were all high. The results provide further insights into how different policies of complaint management affect customers' attributions. Future directions and managerial implications are also discussed.

  16. What Women Think: Cancer Causal Attributions in a Diverse Sample of Women

    PubMed Central

    Rodríguez, Vivian M.; Gyure, Maria E.; Corona, Rosalie; Bodurtha, Joann N.; Bowen, Deborah J.; Quillin, John M.

    2014-01-01

    Women hold diverse beliefs about cancer etiology, potentially affecting their use of cancer preventive behaviors. To date, research has greatly focused on the causal attributions cancer patients and survivors hold about cancer, and studies have been conducted primarily with White participants. Less is known about causal attributions held by women with and without a family history of cancer from a diverse community sample. This study sought to identify cancer causal attributions of women with and without a family history of cancer, and explore its relation to socio-cultural factors. Diverse women (60% African-American) recruited at an urban, safety-net women's health clinic (N=471) reported factors they believed cause cancer. Responses were coded into nine attributions and analyzed using chi-squares and logistic regressions. Lifestyle-choices (63%), genetics/heredity (34%), and environmental-exposures (19%) were the top causal attributions identified. Women without a family history of cancer were more likely to identify genetics/heredity as an attribution for cancer than women with a history of cancer in their families. Women who identified as White, who had a higher educational attainment, and had commercial insurance were more likely to report genetics/heredity as a causal attribution for cancer. These findings suggest that socio-cultural factors may play a role in the causal attributions individuals make about cancer, which can, in turn, inform cancer awareness and prevention messages. PMID:25398057

  17. A Social-Attributional Analysis of Alcohol Response

    PubMed Central

    Fairbairn, Catharine E.; Sayette, Michael A.

    2014-01-01

    Conventional wisdom and survey data indicate that alcohol is a social lubricant and is consumed for its social effects. In contrast, the experimental literature examining alcohol’s effects within a social context reveals that alcohol does not consistently enhance social-emotional experience. We identify a methodological factor that might explain inconsistent alcohol-administration findings, distinguishing between studies featuring unscripted interactions among naïve participants (k = 18) and those featuring scripted social interactions with individuals identified as study confederates (k = 18). While 89% of naïve-participant studies find positive effects of alcohol on mood (d = 0.5), only 11% of confederate studies find evidence of significant alcohol-related mood enhancement (d = −0.01). The naïve-participant versus confederate distinction remains robust after controlling for various moderators including stress manipulations, gender, group size, anxiety outcome measure, and within-group consistency of beverage assignment. Based on the findings of our review, we propose a multidimensional, social-attributional framework for understanding alcohol-related reward. Borrowing organizing principles from attribution theory, the social-attributional approach predicts that alcohol will enhance mood when negative outcomes are perceived to be unstable and/or self-relevant. Our framework proposes that alcohol’s effects within a social context are largely explained by its tendency to free individuals from preoccupation with social rejection, allowing them to access social rewards. The social-attributional approach represents a novel framework for integrating distinct, well-validated concepts derived from several theories of alcohol’s effects. It further presents promising lines of inquiry for future research examining the role of social factors in alcohol reward and addiction susceptibility. PMID:25180806

  18. Safety, Efficacy, and Exposure-Response of Voriconazole in Pediatric Patients With Invasive Aspergillosis, Invasive Candidiasis or Esophageal Candidiasis.

    PubMed

    Martin, Judith M; Macias-Parra, Mercedes; Mudry, Peter; Conte, Umberto; Yan, Jean L; Liu, Ping; Capparella, M Rita; Aram, Jalal A

    2017-01-01

    Data on safety and efficacy of voriconazole for invasive aspergillosis (IA) and invasive candidiasis/esophageal candidiasis (IC/EC) in pediatric patients are limited. Patients aged 2-<18 years with IA and IC/EC were enrolled in 2 prospective open-label, non-comparative studies of voriconazole. Patients followed dosing regimens based on age, weight and indication, with adjustments permitted. Treatment duration was 6-12 weeks for IA patients, ≥14 days after last positive Candida culture for IC patients and ≥7 days after signs/symptoms resolution for EC patients. Primary analysis for both the studies was safety and tolerability of voriconazole. Secondary end points included global response success at week 6 and end of treatment (EOT), all-causality mortality and time to death. Voriconazole exposure-response relationship was explored. Of 53 voriconazole-treated pediatric patients (31 IA; 22 IC/EC), 14 had proven/probable IA, 7 had confirmed IC and 10 had confirmed EC. Treatment-related hepatic and visual adverse events, respectively, were reported in 22.6% and 16.1% of IA patients, and 22.7% and 27.3% of IC/EC patients. All-causality mortality in IA patients was 14.3% at week 6; no deaths were attributed to voriconazole. No deaths were reported for IC/EC patients. Global response success rate was 64.3% (week 6 and EOT) in IA patients and 76.5% (EOT) in IC/EC patients. There was no association between voriconazole exposure and efficacy; however, a slight positive association between voriconazole exposure and hepatic adverse events was established. Safety and efficacy outcomes in pediatric patients with IA and IC/EC were consistent with previous findings in adult patients.

  19. Responsibility for the Violation of Ecological Safety Requirements

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Selivanovskaya, J. I.; Gilmutdinova, I.

    2018-01-01

    The article deals with the problems of responsibility for the violation of ecological safety requirements from the point of view of sustainable development of the state. Such types of responsibility as property, disciplinary, financial, administrative and criminal responsibility in the area are analysed. Suggestions on the improvement of legislation are put forward. Among other things it is suggested to introduce criminal sanctions against legal bodies (enterprises) for ecological crimes with punishments in the form of fines, suspension or discontinuation of activities.

  20. Defining Desirable Central Nervous System Drug Space through the Alignment of Molecular Properties, in Vitro ADME, and Safety Attributes

    PubMed Central

    2010-01-01

    As part of our effort to increase survival of drug candidates and to move our medicinal chemistry design to higher probability space for success in the Neuroscience therapeutic area, we embarked on a detailed study of the property space for a collection of central nervous system (CNS) molecules. We carried out a thorough analysis of properties for 119 marketed CNS drugs and a set of 108 Pfizer CNS candidates. In particular, we focused on understanding the relationships between physicochemical properties, in vitro ADME (absorption, distribution, metabolism, and elimination) attributes, primary pharmacology binding efficiencies, and in vitro safety data for these two sets of compounds. This scholarship provides guidance for the design of CNS molecules in a property space with increased probability of success and may lead to the identification of druglike candidates with favorable safety profiles that can successfully test hypotheses in the clinic. PMID:22778836

  1. Quality Attribute Techniques Framework

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Chiam, Yin Kia; Zhu, Liming; Staples, Mark

    The quality of software is achieved during its development. Development teams use various techniques to investigate, evaluate and control potential quality problems in their systems. These “Quality Attribute Techniques” target specific product qualities such as safety or security. This paper proposes a framework to capture important characteristics of these techniques. The framework is intended to support process tailoring, by facilitating the selection of techniques for inclusion into process models that target specific product qualities. We use risk management as a theory to accommodate techniques for many product qualities and lifecycle phases. Safety techniques have motivated the framework, and safety and performance techniques have been used to evaluate the framework. The evaluation demonstrates the ability of quality risk management to cover the development lifecycle and to accommodate two different product qualities. We identify advantages and limitations of the framework, and discuss future research on the framework.

  2. Family caregivers' attributions about care-recipient behaviour: does caregiver relationship satisfaction mediate the attribution-distress relationship?

    PubMed

    Hui, Siu-Kuen Azor; Elliott, Timothy R; Martin, Roy; Uswatte, Gitendra

    2011-09-01

    The relations of caregiver attributions about care-recipient's problem behaviour to caregiving relationship satisfaction and caregiver distress were examined. This is a cross sectional study. Seventy-five family caregivers of individuals diagnosed with various disabling health conditions were recruited and interviewed. Caregiver attributions (internality, intentionality, responsibility, and controllability), caregiving relationship satisfaction, and caregiver distress variables were measured. Structural equation techniques tested an a priori model of the latent constructs of caregiver attributions and caregiver relationship satisfaction to caregiver distress. Maladaptive caregiver attributions (i.e., more trait, higher intentionality, higher responsibility, and higher controllability) about care-recipients' problem behaviours predicted lower caregiving relationship satisfaction, which in turn was predictive of higher caregiver distress. Unexpectedly, caregiver attributions were not directly related to caregiver distress. However, attributions had an indirect effect on distress through relationship satisfaction. Younger caregivers experienced higher caregiver distress. Caregivers' explanations about care-recipient's problem behaviour are indicative of their satisfaction in the relationship with the care recipient, and poor caregiving relationship satisfaction is predictive of caregiver distress. Caregiver attributions and relationship quality may be considered in interventions with family caregivers. ©2010 The British Psychological Society.

  3. Attributions to Failure: The Effects of Effort, Ability, and Learning Strategy Use on Perceptions of Future Goals and Emotional Responses.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Holschuh, Jodi Patrick; Nist, Sherrie L.; Olejnik, Stephen

    2001-01-01

    Examines college students' attributions to failure in an introductory biology course. Determines how males and females viewed the attributions of ability, effort, and learning strategy use. Concludes that collectively, results indicate differences in patterns of responses between future goal and emotional items. Notes the importance for…

  4. Safety incentive and penalty provisions in Indian construction projects and their impact on safety performance.

    PubMed

    Hasan, Abid; Jha, Kumar Neeraj

    2013-01-01

    Safety incentive and penalty (I/P) provisions in construction contracts are one of the most common forms of I/P. Contradictory opinions on the effectiveness of these provisions have been expressed in the literature. Statistics on safety provisions were collected from 32 construction projects, which include both types of contracts - those with safety I/P provisions and those without them. Although inclusion of safety I/P provisions in contracts helps in improving the overall safety performance in construction projects, further scope for improvement still exists. Literature review and structured personal interviews, coupled with a survey based on preliminary questionnaire, revealed that successful formulation and implementation of such provisions are dependent on 25 attributes which need the attention of both clients and contractors. A questionnaire-based survey was conducted to evaluate these attributes. The six factors extracted by carrying out factor analysis are: incentive distribution method, proper labour training, special attention to risky situations, role of safety committee and sub-contractors, specialised works and safety equipments, and right form of I/P. If taken care of, these attributes have the potential to improve the safety performance in construction projects. The results would be useful to clients and contractors in implementing the safety I/P provisions and thereby improving safety performance.

  5. Attributing Asymmetric Productivity Responses to Internal Ecosystem Dynamics and External Drivers Using Probabilistic Models

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Parolari, A.; Goulden, M.

    2017-12-01

    A major challenge to interpreting asymmetric changes in ecosystem productivity is the attribution of these changes to external climate forcing or to internal ecophysiological processes that respond to these drivers (e.g., photosynthesis response to drying soil). For example, positive asymmetry in productivity can result from either positive skewness in the distribution of annual rainfall amount or from negative curvature in the productivity response to annual rainfall. To analyze the relative influences of climate and ecosystem dynamics on both positive and negative asymmetry in multi-year ANPP experiments, we use a multi-scale coupled ecosystem water-carbon model to interpret field experimental results that span gradients of rainfall skewness and ANPP response curvature. The model integrates rainfall variability, soil moisture dynamics, and net carbon assimilation from the daily to inter-annual scales. From the underlying physical basis of the model, we compute the joint probability distribution of the minimum and maximum ANPP for an annual ANPP experiment of N years. The distribution is used to estimate the likelihood that either positive or negative asymmetry will be observed in an experiment, given the annual rainfall distribution and the ANPP response curve. We estimate the total asymmetry as the mode of this joint distribution and the relative contribution attributable to rainfall skewness as the mode for a linear ANPP response curve. Applied to data from several long-term ANPP experiments, we find that there is a wide range of observed ANPP asymmetry (positive and negative) and a spectrum of contributions from internal and external factors. We identify the soil water holding capacity relative to the mean rain event depth as a critical ecosystem characteristic that controls the non-linearity of the ANPP response and positive curvature at high rainfall. Further, the seasonal distribution of rainfall is shown to control the presence or absence of negative

  6. The role of contraceptive attributes in women's contraceptive decision making.

    PubMed

    Madden, Tessa; Secura, Gina M; Nease, Robert F; Politi, Mary C; Peipert, Jeffrey F

    2015-07-01

    Contraceptive methods have differing attributes. Women's preferences for these attributes may influence contraceptive decision making. Our objective was to identify women's contraceptive preferences among women initiating a new contraceptive method. We conducted a cross-sectional, self-administered survey of women's contraceptive preferences at the time of enrollment into the Contraceptive CHOICE Project. Participants were asked to rank the importance of 15 contraceptive attributes on a 3-point scale (1 = not at all important, 2 = somewhat important, and 3 = very important) and then to rank the 3 attributes that were the most important when choosing a contraceptive method. The survey also contained questions about prior contraceptive experience and barriers to contraceptive use. Information about demographic and reproductive characteristics was collected through the CHOICE Project baseline survey. There were 2590 women who completed the survey. Our sample was racially and socioeconomically diverse. Method attributes with the highest importance score (mean score [SD]) were effectiveness (2.97 [0.18]), safety (2.96 [0.22]), affordability (2.61 [0.61]), whether the method is long lasting (2.58 [0.61]), and whether the method is "forgettable" (2.54 [0.66]). The attributes most likely to be ranked by respondents among the top 3 attributes included effectiveness (84.2%), safety (67.8%), and side effects of the method (44.6%). Multiple contraceptive attributes influence decision making and no single attribute drives most women's decisions. Tailoring communication and helping women make complex tradeoffs between attributes can better support their contraceptive decisions and may assist them in making value-consistent choices. This process could improve continuation and satisfaction. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  7. Nature of Blame in Patient Safety Incident Reports: Mixed Methods Analysis of a National Database.

    PubMed

    Cooper, Jennifer; Edwards, Adrian; Williams, Huw; Sheikh, Aziz; Parry, Gareth; Hibbert, Peter; Butlin, Amy; Donaldson, Liam; Carson-Stevens, Andrew

    2017-09-01

    A culture of blame and fear of retribution are recognized barriers to reporting patient safety incidents. The extent of blame attribution in safety incident reports, which may reflect the underlying safety culture of health care systems, is unknown. This study set out to explore the nature of blame in family practice safety incident reports. We characterized a random sample of family practice patient safety incident reports from the England and Wales National Reporting and Learning System. Reports were analyzed according to prespecified classification systems to describe the incident type, contributory factors, outcomes, and severity of harm. We developed a taxonomy of blame attribution, and we then used descriptive statistical analyses to identify the proportions of blame types and to explore associations between incident characteristics and one type of blame. Health care professionals making family practice incident reports attributed blame to a person in 45% of cases (n = 975 of 2,148; 95% CI, 43%-47%). In 36% of cases, those who reported the incidents attributed fault to another person, whereas 2% of those reporting acknowledged personal responsibility. Blame was commonly associated with incidents where a complaint was anticipated. The high frequency of blame in these safety, incident reports may reflect a health care culture that leads to blame and retribution, rather than to identifying areas for learning and improvement, and a failure to appreciate the contribution of system factors in others' behavior. Successful improvement in patient safety through the analysis of incident reports is unlikely without achieving a blame-free culture. © 2017 Annals of Family Medicine, Inc.

  8. Nature of Blame in Patient Safety Incident Reports: Mixed Methods Analysis of a National Database

    PubMed Central

    Cooper, Jennifer; Edwards, Adrian; Williams, Huw; Sheikh, Aziz; Parry, Gareth; Hibbert, Peter; Butlin, Amy; Donaldson, Liam; Carson-Stevens, Andrew

    2017-01-01

    PURPOSE A culture of blame and fear of retribution are recognized barriers to reporting patient safety incidents. The extent of blame attribution in safety incident reports, which may reflect the underlying safety culture of health care systems, is unknown. This study set out to explore the nature of blame in family practice safety incident reports. METHODS We characterized a random sample of family practice patient safety incident reports from the England and Wales National Reporting and Learning System. Reports were analyzed according to prespecified classification systems to describe the incident type, contributory factors, outcomes, and severity of harm. We developed a taxonomy of blame attribution, and we then used descriptive statistical analyses to identify the proportions of blame types and to explore associations between incident characteristics and one type of blame. RESULTS Health care professionals making family practice incident reports attributed blame to a person in 45% of cases (n = 975 of 2,148; 95% CI, 43%–47%). In 36% of cases, those who reported the incidents attributed fault to another person, whereas 2% of those reporting acknowledged personal responsibility. Blame was commonly associated with incidents where a complaint was anticipated. CONCLUSIONS The high frequency of blame in these safety, incident reports may reflect a health care culture that leads to blame and retribution, rather than to identifying areas for learning and improvement, and a failure to appreciate the contribution of system factors in others’ behavior. Successful improvement in patient safety through the analysis of incident reports is unlikely without achieving a blame-free culture. PMID:28893816

  9. Factors influencing patient safety in Sweden: perceptions of patient safety officers in the county councils

    PubMed Central

    2013-01-01

    Background National, regional and local activities to improve patient safety in Sweden have increased over the last decade. There are high ambitions for improved patient safety in Sweden. This study surveyed health care professionals who held key positions in their county council’s patient safety work to investigate their perceptions of the conditions for this work, factors they believe have been most important in reaching the current level of patient safety and factors they believe would be most important for achieving improved patient safety in the future. Methods The study population consisted of 218 health care professionals holding strategic positions in patient safety work in Swedish county councils. Using a questionnaire, the following topics were analysed in this study: profession/occupation; number of years involved in a designated task on patient safety issues; knowledge/overview of the county council’s patient safety work; ability to influence this work; conditions for this work; and the importance of various factors for current and future levels of patient safety. Results The response rate to the questionnaire was 79%. The conditions that had the highest number of responses in complete agreement were “patients’ involvement is important for patient safety” and “patient safety work has good support from the county council’s management”. Factors that were considered most important for achieving the current level of patient safety were root cause and risk analyses, incident reporting and the Swedish Patient Safety Law. An organizational culture that encourages reporting and avoids blame was considered most important for improved patient safety in the future, closely followed by improved communication between health care practitioners and patients. Conclusion Health care professionals with important positions in the Swedish county councils’ patient safety work believe that conditions for this work are somewhat constrained. They attribute

  10. Design and Testing of the Safety Agenda Mobile App for Managing Health Care Managers’ Patient Safety Responsibilities

    PubMed Central

    Carrillo, Irene; Fernandez, Cesar; Vicente, Maria Asuncion; Guilabert, Mercedes

    2016-01-01

    Background Adverse events are a reality in clinical practice. Reducing the prevalence of preventable adverse events by stemming their causes requires health managers’ engagement. Objective The objective of our study was to develop an app for mobile phones and tablets that would provide managers with an overview of their responsibilities in matters of patient safety and would help them manage interventions that are expected to be carried out throughout the year. Methods The Safety Agenda Mobile App (SAMA) was designed based on standardized regulations and reviews of studies about health managers’ roles in patient safety. A total of 7 managers used a beta version of SAMA for 2 months and then they assessed and proposed improvements in its design. Their experience permitted redesigning SAMA, improving functions and navigation. A total of 74 Spanish health managers tried out the revised version of SAMA. After 4 months, their assessment was requested in a voluntary and anonymous manner. Results SAMA is an iOS app that includes 37 predefined tasks that are the responsibility of health managers. Health managers can adapt these tasks to their schedule, add new ones, and share them with their team. SAMA menus are structured in 4 main areas: information, registry, task list, and settings. Of the 74 users who tested SAMA, 64 (86%) users provided a positive assessment of SAMA characteristics and utility. Over an 11-month period, 238 users downloaded SAMA. This mobile app has obtained the AppSaludable (HealthyApp) Quality Seal. Conclusions SAMA includes a set of activities that are expected to be carried out by health managers in matters of patient safety and contributes toward improving the awareness of their responsibilities in matters of safety. PMID:27932315

  11. 14 CFR 91.1021 - Internal safety reporting and incident/accident response.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-01-01

    .../accident response. 91.1021 Section 91.1021 Aeronautics and Space FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION (CONTINUED) AIR TRAFFIC AND GENERAL OPERATING RULES GENERAL OPERATING AND FLIGHT... incident/accident response. (a) Each program manager must establish an internal anonymous safety reporting...

  12. 14 CFR 91.1021 - Internal safety reporting and incident/accident response.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-01-01

    .../accident response. 91.1021 Section 91.1021 Aeronautics and Space FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION... incident/accident response. (a) Each program manager must establish an internal anonymous safety reporting.... (b) Each program manager must establish procedures to respond to an aviation incident/accident. ...

  13. Longitudinal psychometric attributes, responsiveness, and importance of change: An approach using the SCOPA-Psychosocial questionnaire.

    PubMed

    Martínez-Martin, Pablo; Carod-Artal, Francisco Javier; da Silveira Ribeiro, Luciola; Ziomkowski, Sofia; Vargas, Antonio Pedro; Kummer, Wladimir; Mesquita, Hudson Mourão

    2008-08-15

    The objective of this study was to illustrate the analysis of longitudinal validity, responsiveness, and importance of change, using the SCOPA-Psychosocial Questionnaire (SCOPA-PS) as a source of empirical data. Sixty-seven patients with PD in Hoehn and Yahr (HY) stage 2 were followed up for 1 year and assessed by means of the Schwab and England Scale, Unified PD Rating Scale (UPDRS), Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), PDQ-39, and SCOPA-PS. A range of methods was applied to enable each of the target attributes to be analyzed from different conceptual stances. The SCOPA-PS displayed satisfactory acceptability (no floor or ceiling effect), internal consistency (alpha = 0.80-0.84), convergent validity (r(S) = 0.70-0.82 with PDQ-39), and precision (SEM = 8.80), both at baseline and at the end of follow-up. The threshold value for significant change ranged from 17.25 (1.96 SEM) to 24.39 (Smallest real difference and Reliable change index). Threshold values for a clinically meaningful change were 0.73-1.26 (effect size, standardized response mean, responsiveness statistic). Change in SCOPA-PS scores correlated strongly with change in total UPDRS, HADS, and PDQ-39 scores, and reliably detected 70% of cases that worsened according to the PDQ-39. The minimally important change (MIC) for "minimally impaired" patients as per the PDQ39 was 8.30-9.10 points. Indices such as 1.96 SEM, effect size, and correlation with the change in other measures provide useful information about different concepts of responsiveness. The MIC should be determined for each specific setting, using distribution- and anchor-based methods. The SCOPA-PS showed satisfactory longitudinal attributes and responsiveness in stage-2 Brazilian patients with PD across 1 year of follow-up. (c) 2008 Movement Disorder Society.

  14. Occupational Safety and Health System for Workers Engaged in Emergency Response Operations in the USA.

    PubMed

    Toyoda, Hiroyuki; Kubo, Tatsuhiko; Mori, Koji

    2016-12-03

    To study the occupational safety and health systems used for emergency response workers in the USA, we performed interviews with related federal agencies and conducted research on related studies. We visited the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) in the USA and performed interviews with their managers on the agencies' roles in the national emergency response system. We also obtained information prepared for our visit from the USA's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). In addition, we conducted research on related studies and information on the website of the agencies. We found that the USA had an established emergency response system based on their National Incident Management System (NIMS). This enabled several organizations to respond to emergencies cooperatively using a National Response Framework (NRF) that clarifies the roles and cooperative functions of each federal agency. The core system in NIMS was the Incident Command System (ICS), within which a Safety Officer was positioned as one of the command staff supporting the commander. All ICS staff were required to complete a training program specific to their position; in addition, the Safety Officer was required to have experience. The All-Hazards model was commonly used in the emergency response system. We found that FEMA coordinated support functions, and OSHA and NIOSH, which had specific functions to protect workers, worked cooperatively under NRF. These agencies employed certified industrial hygienists that play a professional role in safety and health. NIOSH recently executed support activities during disasters and other emergencies. The USA's emergency response system is characterized by functions that protect the lives and health of emergency response workers. Trained and experienced human resources support system effectiveness. The findings provided valuable information that could be used to improve the

  15. Benevolent sexist ideology attributed to an abusive partner decreases women's active coping responses to acts of sexual violence.

    PubMed

    Durán, Mercedes; Moya, Miguel; Megías, Jesús L

    2014-05-01

    This article describes three studies in which we explored the influence of the sexist ideology attributed to the perpetrator on women's responses to hypothetical acts of sexual assault perpetrated by male intimate partners. In Study 1 (n = 83), college women read three sexual assault scenarios in the context of an intimate relationship. The male partner's sexist ideology (benevolent, hostile, or control) was manipulated within participants. Women showed less active responses when the partner had been described as a benevolent sexist man. This effect was replicated in Study 2 (n = 103), which showed a relationship between women's less active responses and the belief that benevolent sexist men are very attracted to and interested in their partners. Study 3 (n = 130) demonstrated experimentally that women's responses are less active when they are exposed to information that indicates that the perpetrator is both high in benevolent sexism and highly attracted to his victim than when the latter information is not provided. Results suggest that sexist ideology and particularly benevolent sexism-attributed to the perpetrator in this case-is highly important in women's reactions to acts of sexual violence perpetrated by male intimate partners.

  16. Who deserves health care? The effects of causal attributions and group cues on public attitudes about responsibility for health care costs.

    PubMed

    Gollust, Sarah E; Lynch, Julia

    2011-12-01

    This research investigates the impact of cues about ascriptive group characteristics (race, class, gender) and the causes of ill health (health behaviors, inborn biological traits, social systemic factors) on beliefs about who deserves society's help in paying for the costs of medical treatment. Drawing on data from three original vignette experiments embedded in a nationally representative survey of American adults, we find that respondents are reluctant to blame or deny societal support in response to explicit cues about racial attributes--but equally explicit cues about the causal impact of individual behaviors on health have large effects on expressed attitudes. Across all three experiments, a focus on individual behavioral causes of illness is associated with increased support for individual responsibility for health care costs and lower support for government-financed health insurance. Beliefs about social groups and causal attributions are, however, tightly intertwined. We find that when groups suffering ill health are defined in racial, class, or gender terms, Americans differ in their attribution of health disparities to individual behaviors versus biological or systemic factors. Because causal attributions also affect health policy opinions, varying patterns of causal attribution may reinforce group stereotypes and undermine support for universal access to health care.

  17. A Multi-Session Attribution Modification Program for Children with Aggressive Behaviour: Changes in Attributions, Emotional Reaction Estimates, and Self-Reported Aggression.

    PubMed

    Vassilopoulos, Stephanos P; Brouzos, Andreas; Andreou, Eleni

    2015-09-01

    Research suggests that aggressive children are prone to over-attribute hostile intentions to peers. The current study investigated whether this attributional style can be altered using a Cognitive Bias Modification of Interpretations (CBM-I) procedure. A sample of 10-12-year-olds selected for displaying aggressive behaviours was trained over three sessions to endorse benign rather than hostile attributions in response to ambiguous social scenarios. Compared to a test-retest control group (n = 18), children receiving CBM-I (n = 16) were less likely to endorse hostile attributions and more likely to endorse benign attributions in response to a new set of ambiguous social situations. Furthermore, aggressive behaviour scores reduced more in the trained group than in the untrained controls. Children who received attribution training also reported less perceived anger and showed a trend to report more self-control than those in the control group. Implications of these findings are discussed.

  18. Impact of Extended Education/Training in Positive Behaviour Support on Staff Knowledge, Causal Attributions and Emotional Responses

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    McGill, Peter; Bradshaw, Jill; Hughes, Andrea

    2007-01-01

    Background: This study sought to gather information about the impact of extended training in positive behaviour support on staff knowledge, causal attributions and emotional responses. Methods: Students completed questionnaires at the beginning, middle and end of a University Diploma course to measure changes in their knowledge of challenging…

  19. Mental models of safety: do managers and employees see eye to eye?

    PubMed

    Prussia, Gregory E; Brown, Karen A; Willis, P Geoff

    2003-01-01

    Disagreements between managers and employees about the causes of accidents and unsafe work behaviors can lead to serious workplace conflicts and distract organizations from the important work of establishing positive safety climate and reducing the incidence of accidents. In this study, the authors examine a model for predicting safe work behaviors and establish the model's consistency across managers and employees in a steel plant setting. Using the model previously described by Brown, Willis, and Prussia (2000), the authors found that when variables influencing safety are considered within a framework of safe work behaviors, managers and employees share a similar mental model. The study then contrasts employees' and managers' specific attributional perceptions. Findings from these more fine-grained analyses suggest the two groups differ in several respects about individual constructs. Most notable were contrasts in attributions based on their perceptions of safety climate. When perceived climate is poor, managers believe employees are responsible and employees believe managers are responsible for workplace safety. However, as perceived safety climate improves, managers and employees converge in their perceptions of who is responsible for safety. It can be concluded from this study that in a highly interdependent work environment, such as a steel mill, where high system reliability is essential and members possess substantial experience working together, managers and employees will share general mental models about the factors that contribute to unsafe behaviors, and, ultimately, to workplace accidents. It is possible that organizations not as tightly coupled as steel mills can use such organizations as benchmarks, seeking ways to create a shared understanding of factors that contribute to a safe work environment. Part of this improvement effort should focus on advancing organizational safety climate. As climate improves, managers and employees are likely to agree

  20. Security Implications of Physical Design Attributes in the Emergency Department.

    PubMed

    Pati, Debajyoti; Pati, Sipra; Harvey, Thomas E

    2016-07-01

    Security, a subset of safety, is equally important in the efficient delivery of patient care. The emergency department (ED) is susceptible to violence creating concerns for the safety and security of patients, staff, and visitors and for the safe and efficient delivery of care. Although there is an implicit and growing recognition of the role of the physical environment, interventions typically have been at the microlevel. The objective of this study was to identify physical design attributes that potentially influence safety and efficiency of ED operations. An exploratory, qualitative research design was adopted to examine the efficiency and safety correlates of ED physical design attributes. The study comprised a multimeasure approach involving multidisciplinary gaming, semistructured interviews, and touring interviews of frontline staff in four EDs at three hospital systems across three states. Five macro physical design attributes (issues that need to be addressed at the design stage and expensive to rectify once built) emerged from the data as factors substantially associated with security issues. They are design issues pertaining to (a) the entry zone, (b) traffic management, (c) patient room clustering, (d) centralization versus decentralization, and (e) provisions for special populations. Data from this study suggest that ED security concerns are generally associated with three sources: (a) gang-related violence, (b) dissatisfied patients, and (c) behavioral health patients. Study data show that physical design has an important role in addressing the above-mentioned concerns. Implications for ED design are outlined in the article. © The Author(s) 2016.

  1. The agrarian myth and policy responses to farm safety.

    PubMed

    Kelsey, T W

    1994-07-01

    Agriculture's status as one of the nation's most hazardous occupations has been an impetus for a reexamination of the federal role in agricultural safety and for various proposals to make farming safer. During the 1970s congressional debate and farm group testimony that led to agriculture's current exemption from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration's enforcement efforts, regulation foes made use of the "Agrarian Myth." The myth portrays farmers as the bedrock of democracy, suffering so that society may prosper and living a natural life away from the artificiality and evils of cities. Despite the inaccuracy of its images, the myth is a potent symbol in American culture, and its influence could arise again in current policy debates. This paper examines specific issues that may be obscured by the myth but that must be addressed in any agricultural safety policy debate. It then recommends that responses to agricultural safety be carefully considered and that value judgements about what the issues are, who would benefit, and who would bear the costs be explicitly discussed during debate.

  2. Multiple attribute decision making model and application to food safety risk evaluation.

    PubMed

    Ma, Lihua; Chen, Hong; Yan, Huizhe; Yang, Lifeng; Wu, Lifeng

    2017-01-01

    Decision making for supermarket food purchase decisions are characterized by network relationships. This paper analyzed factors that influence supermarket food selection and proposes a supplier evaluation index system based on the whole process of food production. The author established the intuitive interval value fuzzy set evaluation model based on characteristics of the network relationship among decision makers, and validated for a multiple attribute decision making case study. Thus, the proposed model provides a reliable, accurate method for multiple attribute decision making.

  3. Space safety and rescue 1979-1981: Worldwide disaster response, rescue and safety employing space-borne systems

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Brown, J. W. (Editor)

    1983-01-01

    Selected papers from the 1979, 1980, and 1981 IAA symposia on space safety and rescue and on worldwide disaster response, safety, and rescue employing spaceborne systems are presented. Available papers published elsewhere and those presented at the 1976, 1977, and 1978 symposia are presented in abstract form. Subjects discussed include man-made space debris, nuclear-waste disposal in space, space-station safety design, psychological training, the introduction of female crewmembers, analysis of the November 23, 1980 earthquake as a design basis for satellite emergency communication, disaster warning using the GOES satellite, and satellite communications for disaster relief operations. Three reviews of the application of space technology to emergency and disaster relief and prevention, given at other symposia in 1981, are presented in an appendix. No individual items are abstracted in this volume

  4. The contribution of timbre attributes to musical tension.

    PubMed

    Farbood, Morwaread M; Price, Khen C

    2017-01-01

    Timbre is an auditory feature that has received relatively little attention in empirical work examining musical tension. In order to address this gap, an experiment was conducted to explore the contribution of several specific timbre attributes-inharmonicity, roughness, spectral centroid, spectral deviation, and spectral flatness-to the perception of tension. Listeners compared pairs of sounds representing low and high degrees of each attribute and indicated which sound was more tense. Although the response profiles showed that the high states corresponded with increased tension for all attributes, further analysis revealed that some attributes were strongly correlated with others. When qualitative factors, attribute correlations, and listener responses were all taken into account, there was fairly strong evidence that higher degrees of roughness, inharmonicity, and spectral flatness elicited higher tension. On the other hand, evidence that higher spectral centroid and spectral deviation corresponded to increases in tension was ambiguous.

  5. Temporal trends in mammal responses to fire reveals the complex effects of fire regime attributes.

    PubMed

    Lindenmayer, David B; Blanchard, Wade; MacGregor, Christopher; Barton, Philip; Banks, Sam C; Crane, Mason; Michael, Damian; Okada, Sachiko; Berry, Laurence; Florance, Daniel; Gill, Malcolm

    2016-03-01

    Fire is a major ecological process in many ecosystems worldwide. We sought to identify which attributes of fire regimes affect temporal change in the presence and abundance of Australian native mammals. Our detailed study was underpinned by time series data on 11 mammal species at 97 long-term sites in southeastern Australia between 2003 and 2013. We explored how temporal aspects of fire regimes influenced the presence and conditional abundance of species. The key fire regime components examined were: (1) severity of a major fire in 2003, (2) interval between the last major fire (2003) and the fire prior to that, and (3) number of past fires. Our long-term data set enabled quantification of the interactions between survey year and each fire regime variable: an ecological relationship missing from temporally restricted studies. We found no evidence of any appreciable departures from the assumption of independence of the sites. Multiple aspects of fire regimes influenced temporal variation in the presence and abundance of mammals. The best models indicated that six of the 11 species responded to two or more fire regime variables, with two species influenced by all three fire regime attributes. Almost all species responded to time since fire, either as an interaction with survey year or as a main effect. Fire severity or its interaction with survey year was important for most terrestrial rodents. The number of fires at a site was significant for terrestrial rodents and several other species. Our findings contain evidence of the effects on native mammals of heterogeneity in fire regimes. Temporal response patterns of mammal species were influenced by multiple fire regime attributes, often in conjunction with survey year. This underscores the critical importance of long-term studies of biota that are coupled with data sets characterized by carefully documented fire history, severity, and frequency. Long-term studies are essential to predict animal responses to fires and

  6. Railway safety climate: a study on organizational development.

    PubMed

    Cheng, Yung-Hsiang

    2017-09-07

    The safety climate of an organization is considered a leading indicator of potential risk for railway organizations. This study adopts the perceptual measurement-individual attribute approach to investigate the safety climate of a railway organization. The railway safety climate attributes are evaluated from the perspective of railway system staff. We identify four safety climate dimensions from exploratory factor analysis, namely safety communication, safety training, safety management and subjectively evaluated safety performance. Analytical results indicate that the safety climate differs at vertical and horizontal organizational levels. This study contributes to the literature by providing empirical evidence of the multilevel safety climate in a railway organization, presents possible causes of the differences under various cultural contexts and differentiates between safety climate scales for diverse workgroups within the railway organization. This information can be used to improve the safety sustainability of railway organizations and to conduct safety supervisions for the government.

  7. The agrarian myth and policy responses to farm safety.

    PubMed Central

    Kelsey, T W

    1994-01-01

    Agriculture's status as one of the nation's most hazardous occupations has been an impetus for a reexamination of the federal role in agricultural safety and for various proposals to make farming safer. During the 1970s congressional debate and farm group testimony that led to agriculture's current exemption from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration's enforcement efforts, regulation foes made use of the "Agrarian Myth." The myth portrays farmers as the bedrock of democracy, suffering so that society may prosper and living a natural life away from the artificiality and evils of cities. Despite the inaccuracy of its images, the myth is a potent symbol in American culture, and its influence could arise again in current policy debates. This paper examines specific issues that may be obscured by the myth but that must be addressed in any agricultural safety policy debate. It then recommends that responses to agricultural safety be carefully considered and that value judgements about what the issues are, who would benefit, and who would bear the costs be explicitly discussed during debate. Images p1172-a p1173-a p1174-a PMID:8017549

  8. Thermal-Responsive Polymers for Enhancing Safety of Electrochemical Storage Devices.

    PubMed

    Yang, Hui; Leow, Wan Ru; Chen, Xiaodong

    2018-03-01

    Thermal runway constitutes the most pressing safety issue in lithium-ion batteries and supercapacitors of large-scale and high-power density due to risks of fire or explosion. However, traditional strategies for averting thermal runaway do not enable the charging-discharging rate to change according to temperature or the original performance to resume when the device is cooled to room temperature. To efficiently control thermal runaway, thermal-responsive polymers provide a feasible and reversible strategy due to their ability to sense and subsequently act according to a predetermined sequence when triggered by heat. Herein, recent research progress on the use of thermal-responsive polymers to enhance the thermal safety of electrochemical storage devices is reviewed. First, a brief discussion is provided on the methods of preventing thermal runaway in electrochemical storage devices. Subsequently, a short review is provided on the different types of thermal-responsive polymers that can efficiently avoid thermal runaway, such as phase change polymers, polymers with sol-gel transitions, and polymers with positive temperature coefficients. The results represent the important development of thermal-responsive polymers toward the prevention of thermal runaway in next-generation smart electrochemical storage devices. © 2018 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  9. Perceptions of personal safety among older Australians.

    PubMed

    Quine, Susan; Morrell, Stephen

    2008-06-01

    There is public perception, partly attributable to the media, that older people are disproportionately the victims of crime and are greatly concerned for their personal safety. To identify at a population level older people's perceptions of their personal safety in their home and separately in their neighbourhood, and the predictors of feeling safe in each setting. Logistic regression analysis of responses from randomly selected older Australians (65+ years) living independently in the community (n= 8881) to a cross-sectional telephone general health survey. The vast majority of respondents, although higher in men, reported feeling safe in their home (96%) and neighbourhood (92%) 'all' or 'most' of the time. Feeling safe did not decline with age. Significant predictors of feeling safe 'all' the time were identified and some gender differences were noted. The perception that older people are greatly concerned with their personal safety is not supported by these findings.

  10. Resident perspectives on duty hour limits and attributes of their learning environment.

    PubMed

    Philibert, Ingrid

    2014-01-01

    Residents are stakeholders in the debate surrounding duty hour restrictions, yet few studies have assessed their perspective on their programs' efforts to comply with them. This paper explores learners' perceptions of the attributes of their programs in relation to duty hour compliance, and looks for evidence whether residents view duty hour limits as important to patient safety. A grounded-theory framework was used to analyze learners' comments about programs' compliance with US duty hour limits. Data were collected by ACGME in 2011, using resident consensus lists of program strengths and opportunities for improvement generated prior to accreditation site visits. The data set for this analysis encompasses 112 core and 69 subspecialty programs where these lists mentioned duty hours. The analysis compared programs where residents viewed duty hour compliance as a strength, and programs where it was identified as an opportunity for improvement. Programs in the first group were characterized by clinical efficiency, responsiveness to problems, and a collegial environment that contributed to residents' ability to meet clinical and learning goals within the restrictions. These attributes were lacking in the second group, and residents also commented on onerous duty hour reporting. Learners did not associate duty hour compliance with patient safety, and the few comments in this area centred almost exclusively on the presence or absence of supervision when junior residents first assumed clinical duties. The findings have practical implications for programs that wish to enhance their learning and patient care environment, and suggest areas for future research.

  11. Parental Health Attributions of Childhood Health and Illness: Development of the Pediatric Cultural Health Attributions Questionnaire (Pedi-CHAQ).

    PubMed

    Vaughn, Lisa M; McLinden, Daniel J; Shellmer, Diana; Baker, Raymond C

    2011-01-01

    The causes attributed to childhood health and illness across cultures (cultural health attributions) are key factors that are now more frequently identified as affecting the health outcomes of children. Research suggests that the causes attributed to an event such as illness are thought to affect subsequent motivation, emotional response, decision making, and behavior. To date, there is no measure of health attributions appropriate for use with parents of pediatric patients. Using the Many-Facets approach to Rasch analysis, this study assesses the psychometrics of a newly developed instrument, the Pediatric Health Attributions Questionnaire (Pedi-CHAQ), a measure designed to assess the cultural health attributions of parents in diverse communities. Results suggest acceptable Rasch model statistics of fit and reliability for the Pedi-CHAQ. A shortened version of the questionnaire was developed as a result of this study and next steps are discussed.

  12. Responsibility attribution of HIV infection and coping among injection drug users in Malaysia.

    PubMed

    Chou, Chih-Chin; Chronister, Julie; Chou, Chih-Hung; Tan, Sooyin; Macewicz, Thomas

    2013-01-01

    This study explored responsibility attribution (RA) of HIV/AIDS infection (i.e., how an individual perceives the cause of their HIV/AIDS infection) and its relationship to coping styles among injection drug users (IDUs) with HIV/AIDS. In addition, this study investigated whether self-esteem, social support, and religiosity mediate the relationship between RA and coping styles of IDUs with HIV/AIDS. Participants were 201 adult IDUs with HIV/AIDS participating in the National Drug Rehabilitation Center in Malaysia. Five measures were used to assess the above constructs. Cluster analysis, analysis of variance, and mediation analyses were conducted. Results of this study indicated that IDUs with HIV/AIDS in Malaysia can be classified into four homogenous attribution groups: external, fatalistic, internal, and indeterminate. Mediator analyses revealed that combination of self-esteem, social support, and religiosity mediate the relationship between RA and coping behaviors. Clinicians working with IDUs with HIV/AIDS need to address the role of RA, self-esteem, religiosity, and social support as these psychosocial constructs are linked to coping with HIV/AIDS. Future researchers should investigate whether enhancing self-esteem, social support, and religiosity can promote active problem-solving coping and reduce the use of avoidance coping behaviors.

  13. Hospital collaboration with public safety organizations on bioterrorism response.

    PubMed

    Niska, Richard W

    2008-01-01

    To identify hospital characteristics that predict collaboration with public safety organizations on bioterrorism response plans and mass casualty drills. The 2003 and 2004 Bioterrorism and Mass Casualty Supplements to the National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey examined collaboration with emergency medical services (EMS), hazardous materials teams (HAZMAT), fire departments, and law enforcement. The sample included 112 geographic primary sampling units and 1,110 hospitals. Data were weighted by inverse selection probability, to yield nationally representative estimates. Characteristics included residency and medical school affiliation, bed capacity, ownership, urbanicity and Joint Commission accreditation. The response rate was 84.6%. Chi-square analysis was performed with alpha set at p < 0.05. Logistic regression modeling yielded odds ratios with 95% confidence intervals. During a bioterrorism incident, 68.9% of hospitals would contact EMS, 68.7% percent law enforcement, 61.6% fire departments, 58.1% HAZMAT, and 42.8% all four. About 74.2% had staged mass casualty drills with EMS, 70.4% with fire departments, 67.4% with law enforcement, 43.3% with HAZMAT, and 37.0% with all four. Predictors of drilling with some or all of these public safety organizations included larger bed capacity, nonprofit and proprietary ownership, and JCAHO accreditation. Medical school affiliation was a negative predictor of drilling with EMS. The majority of hospitals involve public safety organizations in their emergency plans or drills. Bed capacity was most predictive of drilling with these organizations. Medical school affiliation was the only characteristic negatively associated with drilling.

  14. A Silent Safety Program

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Goodin, James Ronald

    2006-01-01

    NASA's Columbia Accident Investigation Board (CAIB) referred 8 times to the NASA "Silent Safety Program." This term, "Silent Safety Program" was not an original observation but first appeared in the Rogers Commission's Investigation of the Challenger Mishap. The CAIB on page 183 of its report in the paragraph titled 'Encouraging Minority Opinion,' stated "The Naval Reactor Program encourages minority opinions and "bad news." Leaders continually emphasize that when no minority opinions are present, the responsibility for a thorough and critical examination falls to management. . . Board interviews revealed that it is difficult for minority and dissenting opinions to percolate up through the agency's hierarchy. . ." The first question and perhaps the only question is - what is a silent safety program? Well, a silent safety program may be the same as the dog that didn't bark in Sherlock Holmes' "Adventure of the Silver Blaze" because system safety should behave as a devil's advocate for the program barking on every occasion to insure a critical review inclusion. This paper evaluates the NASA safety program and provides suggestions to prevent the recurrence of the silent safety program alluded to in the Challenger Mishap Investigation. Specifically targeted in the CAM report, "The checks and balances the safety system was meant to provide were not working." A silent system safety program is not unique to NASA but could emerge in any and every organization. Principles developed by Irving Janis in his book, Groupthink, listed criteria used to evaluate an organization's cultural attributes that allows a silent safety program to evolve. If evidence validates Jams's criteria, then Jams's recommendations for preventing groupthink can also be used to improve a critical evaluation and thus prevent the development of a silent safety program.

  15. Real-time hostile attribution measurement and aggression in children.

    PubMed

    Yaros, Anna; Lochman, John E; Rosenbaum, Jill; Jimenez-Camargo, Luis Alberto

    2014-01-01

    Hostile attributions are an important predictor of aggression in children, but few studies have measured hostile attributions as they occur in real-time. The current study uses an interactive video racing game to measure hostile attributions while children played against a presumed peer. A sample of 75 children, ages 10-13, used nonverbal and verbal procedures to respond to ambiguous provocation by their opponent. Hostile attributions were significantly positively related to parent-rated reactive aggression, when controlling for proactive aggression. Hostile attributions using a nonverbal response procedure were negatively related to proactive aggression, when controlling for reactive aggression. Results suggest hostile attributions in real-time occur quickly and simultaneously with social interaction, which differs from the deliberative, controlled appraisals measured with vignette-based instruments. The relation between real-time hostile attributions and reactive aggression could be accounted for by the impulsive response style that is characteristic of reactive aggression, whereas children exhibiting proactive aggression may be more deliberate and intentional in their responding, resulting in a negative relation with real-time hostile attributions. These findings can be used both to identify children at risk for aggression and to enhance preventive interventions. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  16. The relationship between sense of coherence and attribution of responsibility for problems and their solutions, and cessation of substance abuse over time.

    PubMed

    Feigin, Rena; Sapir, Yaffa

    2005-03-01

    The present study deals with personal and psychological characteristics of addicts coping with abstinence from drugs in various stages of recovery. The study focuses primarily on two personal variables: attribution of responsibility for the problem and its solution, and the sense of coherence. Additional factors that were examined in the study are demographic variables, which include those related to drug addiction. The sample included 128 short-term abstinent patients in the early stages of recovery after detoxification, and 40 long-term abstinent former addicts, who have abstained from the use of drugs for two to eight years. The results indicate a higher level of sense of coherence among the long-term abstinent subjects relating to their inner resources. On the other hand, much similarity was found between the groups in relation to the attribution of responsibility variable. In both groups, the majority reports that they attribute responsibility for the solution of the problem to themselves. The findings underscored the significant link between personality variables and coping with the processes of recovery, while an analysis of demographic and addiction variables did not show a significant distinction between the group of long-term abstinent subjects and the short-term abstinent subjects.

  17. Use of roadway attributes in hot spot identification and analysis.

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    2015-10-01

    This research focuses on the addition of roadway attributes in the selection and analysis of hot spots. This : is in conjunction with the framework for highway safety mitigation in Utah with its six primary steps: network : screening, diagnosis...

  18. Characteristics attributed to complementary foods by caregivers in four countries of Latin America and the Caribbean.

    PubMed

    Dutta, Tanushree; Sywulka, Sara M; Frongillo, Edward A; Lutter, Chessa K

    2006-12-01

    Attributes that caregivers assign to complementary foods have been primarily described in the context of illness, but attributes assigned to foods in everyday circumstances must be understood to effectively promote good complementary feeding. This study aimed to understand how mothers judge complementary foods to be appropriate by cross-cultural examination of food perceptions in four different Latin American and Caribbean countries. We used semistructured interviews to assess attributes that mothers ascribed to a list of key foods, both home-made and manufactured, and reasons for feeding or not feeding them. We elicited attributes from 79 caregivers with children 6 to 24 months of age from two urban and perirban sites each in Brazil, Jamaica, Mexico, and Panama. Textual analysis based on six home foods common to the four countries and manufactured foods resulted in six attribute categories, five of which could be positive or negative (Nutrient Content, Effects on Child, Child's Response, Availability and Accessibility, and Other Food Attributes); one (Food Quality and Safety) was only negative. Analysis of attributes of home foods (chicken, eggs, beans, carrots, bananas or plantains, and oranges) revealed many beliefs that were common within and across countries, whereas analysis of the attributes of manufactured foods revealed that these foods were less known. The consistency of the attribute categories across countries and across home and manufactured foods suggests their relevance to planning programs to improve complementary feeding in Latin America and the Caribbean and possibly other developing countries. These results can be used programmatically to assess the need for and the focus of food education programs, and to indicate which countries will be more receptive to certain foods as a means of improving complementary feeding.

  19. Technology, attributions, and emotions in post-secondary education: An application of Weiner's attribution theory to academic computing problems.

    PubMed

    Maymon, Rebecca; Hall, Nathan C; Goetz, Thomas; Chiarella, Andrew; Rahimi, Sonia

    2018-01-01

    As technology becomes increasingly integrated with education, research on the relationships between students' computing-related emotions and motivation following technological difficulties is critical to improving learning experiences. Following from Weiner's (2010) attribution theory of achievement motivation, the present research examined relationships between causal attributions and emotions concerning academic computing difficulties in two studies. Study samples consisted of North American university students enrolled in both traditional and online universities (total N = 559) who responded to either hypothetical scenarios or experimental manipulations involving technological challenges experienced in academic settings. Findings from Study 1 showed stable and external attributions to be emotionally maladaptive (more helplessness, boredom, guilt), particularly in response to unexpected computing problems. Additionally, Study 2 found stable attributions for unexpected problems to predict more anxiety for traditional students, with both external and personally controllable attributions for minor problems proving emotionally beneficial for students in online degree programs (more hope, less anxiety). Overall, hypothesized negative effects of stable attributions were observed across both studies, with mixed results for personally controllable attributions and unanticipated emotional benefits of external attributions for academic computing problems warranting further study.

  20. THE ETHICS OF OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH AND SAFETY IN TURKEY: RESPONSIBILITY AND CONSENT TO RISK.

    PubMed

    Artvinli, Fatih

    2016-06-01

    Work-related diseases, injuries, risks and deaths are the issues that have been recently gaining importance especially in developing countries. The ethical dimensions of occupational health and safety have remained as relatively understudied areas. Concepts such as responsibility, consent, autonomy, paternalism, choice, and certain values or justifications that are used in medical ethics and bioethics are also applicable to occupational health and safety. This article examines the ethical issues of responsibility and consent to occupational risk. It will first define the concepts of consent and risk, and then different views on responsibility and consent to risk will be discussed. The article will also examine the responsibility of the society and government regarding these concepts.

  1. Evolutionary Influences on Attribution and Affect

    PubMed Central

    Brown, Jennie; Trafimow, David

    2017-01-01

    Evolutionary theory was applied to Reeder and Brewer's schematic theory and Trafimow's affect theory to extend this area of research with five new predictions involving affect and ability attributions, comparing morality and ability attributions, gender differences, and reaction times for affect and attribution ratings. The design included a 2 (Trait Dimension Type: HR, PR) × 2 (Behavior Type: morality, ability) × 2 (Valence: positive, negative) × 2 (Replication: original, replication) × 2 (Sex: female or male actor) × 2 (Gender: female or male participant) × 2 (Order: attribution portion first, affect portion first) mixed design. All factors were within participants except the order and participant gender. Participants were presented with 32 different scenarios in which an actor engaged in a concrete behavior after which they made attributions and rated their affect in response to the behavior. Reaction times were measured during attribution and affect ratings. In general, the findings from the experiment supported the new predictions. Affect was related to attributions for both morality and ability related behaviors. Morality related behaviors received more extreme attribution and affect ratings than ability related behaviors. Female actors received stronger attribution and affect ratings for diagnostic morality behaviors compared to male actors. Male and female actors received similar attribution and affect ratings for diagnostic ability behaviors. Diagnostic behaviors were associated with lower reaction times than non-diagnostic behaviors. These findings demonstrate the utility of evolutionary theory in creating new hypotheses and empirical findings in the domain of attribution. PMID:29312092

  2. Evolutionary Influences on Attribution and Affect.

    PubMed

    Brown, Jennie; Trafimow, David

    2017-01-01

    Evolutionary theory was applied to Reeder and Brewer's schematic theory and Trafimow's affect theory to extend this area of research with five new predictions involving affect and ability attributions, comparing morality and ability attributions, gender differences, and reaction times for affect and attribution ratings. The design included a 2 (Trait Dimension Type: HR, PR) × 2 (Behavior Type: morality, ability) × 2 (Valence: positive, negative) × 2 (Replication: original, replication) × 2 (Sex: female or male actor) × 2 (Gender: female or male participant) × 2 (Order: attribution portion first, affect portion first) mixed design. All factors were within participants except the order and participant gender. Participants were presented with 32 different scenarios in which an actor engaged in a concrete behavior after which they made attributions and rated their affect in response to the behavior. Reaction times were measured during attribution and affect ratings. In general, the findings from the experiment supported the new predictions. Affect was related to attributions for both morality and ability related behaviors. Morality related behaviors received more extreme attribution and affect ratings than ability related behaviors. Female actors received stronger attribution and affect ratings for diagnostic morality behaviors compared to male actors. Male and female actors received similar attribution and affect ratings for diagnostic ability behaviors. Diagnostic behaviors were associated with lower reaction times than non-diagnostic behaviors. These findings demonstrate the utility of evolutionary theory in creating new hypotheses and empirical findings in the domain of attribution.

  3. Comparison of sensory, physiological, personality, and cultural attributes in regular spicy food users and non-users.

    PubMed

    Ludy, Mary-Jon; Mattes, Richard D

    2012-02-01

    Some individuals savor spicy foods, while others avoid them. Reasons underlying this range of hedonic responses are unknown. The purpose of this study was to explore the basis for individual differences in preference for spicy foods. Regular spicy food users (n=13) and non-users (n=12) were characterized for selected sensory, physiological, personality, and cultural attributes. Individual differences between users and non-users were primarily related to sensory and cultural attributes (i.e., a higher proportion of users reported consuming spicy foods since childhood and users rated spicy foods as more palatable and were better able to discriminate this burn than non-users). Users and non-users exhibited comparable responsiveness to noxious pressure pain, oral tactile sensitivity, and auditory sensitivity, varying only in responsiveness to oral thermal heat (i.e., users were more sensitive to increases than non-users). Studied personality traits did not vary between users and non-users. These findings suggest that prior experience, rather than physiological adaptation or personality differences, may best predict preference for spicy foods. These findings are of public health interest, given that spicy food consumption is reported to confer weight management and food safety benefits. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  4. Validity of parent's self-reported responses to home safety questions.

    PubMed

    Osborne, Jodie M; Shibl, Rania; Cameron, Cate M; Kendrick, Denise; Lyons, Ronan A; Spinks, Anneliese B; Sipe, Neil; McClure, Roderick J

    2016-09-01

    The aim of the study was to describe the validity of parent's self-reported responses to questions on home safety practices for children of 2-4 years. A cross-sectional validation study compared parent's self-administered responses to items in the Home Injury Prevention Survey with home observations undertaken by trained researchers. The relationship between the questionnaire and observation results was assessed using percentage agreement, sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value and intraclass correlation coefficients. Percentage agreements ranged from 44% to 100% with 40 of the total 45 items scoring higher than 70%. Sensitivities ranged from 0% to 100%, with 27 items scoring at least 70%. Specificities also ranged from 0% to 100%, with 33 items scoring at least 70%. As such, the study identified a series of self-administered home safety questions that have sensitivities, specificities and predictive values sufficiently high to allow the information to be useful in research and injury prevention practice.

  5. A terrorism response plan for hospital security and safety officers.

    PubMed

    White, Donald E

    2002-01-01

    Security and Safety managers in today's healthcare facilities need to factor terrorism response into their emergency management plans, separate from the customary disaster plans and the comparatively recent security plans. Terrorism incidents will likely be security occurrences that use a weapon of mass destruction to magnify the incidents into disasters. Facility Y2K Plans can provide an excellent framework for the detailed contingency planning needed for terrorism response by healthcare facilities. Tabbed binder notebooks, with bulleted procedures and contact points for each functional section, can provide security and safety officers with at-a-glance instructions for quick 24/7 implementation. Each functional section should focus upon what activities or severity levels trigger activation of the backup processes. Network with your countywide, regional, and/or state organizations to learn what your peers are doing. Comprehensively inventory your state, local, and commercial resources so that you have alternate providers readily available 24/7 to assist your facility upon disasters.

  6. Attributions for parents' behavior by boys with and without attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder.

    PubMed

    Colalillo, Sara; Williamson, David; Johnston, Charlotte

    2014-12-01

    Attributions for parents' behavior were examined in a sample of boys with and without Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). Sixty-six boys (mean age = 9.75 years) rated attributions for their mothers' and their fathers' behavior, across positive and negative scenarios, and along four attribution dimensions (parent ability, parent effort, task difficulty, and child responsibility). Three-way interactions emerged among child ADHD status, parent gender, and attribution type, and among scenario valence, parent gender, and attribution type. All children rated attributions higher in the positive scenarios, and attributions of child responsibility higher for fathers than mothers. Children rated task-related attributions higher for mothers in negative scenarios, but higher for fathers in positive scenarios. Boys with ADHD rated child responsibility attributions higher than controls, across all scenarios. Results highlight important differences in children's perceptions of their parents' behavior that may have implications for understanding parent-child relationships in families of children with and without ADHD.

  7. Public Response to a Near-Miss Nuclear Accident Scenario Varying in Causal Attributions and Outcome Uncertainty.

    PubMed

    Cui, Jinshu; Rosoff, Heather; John, Richard S

    2018-05-01

    Many studies have investigated public reactions to nuclear accidents. However, few studies focused on more common events when a serious accident could have happened but did not. This study evaluated public response (emotional, cognitive, and behavioral) over three phases of a near-miss nuclear accident. Simulating a loss-of-coolant accident (LOCA) scenario, we manipulated (1) attribution for the initial cause of the incident (software failure vs. cyber terrorist attack vs. earthquake), (2) attribution for halting the incident (fail-safe system design vs. an intervention by an individual expert vs. a chance coincidence), and (3) level of uncertainty (certain vs. uncertain) about risk of a future radiation leak after the LOCA is halted. A total of 773 respondents were sampled using a 3 × 3 × 2 between-subjects design. Results from both MANCOVA and structural equation modeling (SEM) indicate that respondents experienced more negative affect, perceived more risk, and expressed more avoidance behavioral intention when the near-miss event was initiated by an external attributed source (e.g., earthquake) compared to an internally attributed source (e.g., software failure). Similarly, respondents also indicated greater negative affect, perceived risk, and avoidance behavioral intentions when the future impact of the near-miss incident on people and the environment remained uncertain. Results from SEM analyses also suggested that negative affect predicted risk perception, and both predicted avoidance behavior. Affect, risk perception, and avoidance behavior demonstrated high stability (i.e., reliability) from one phase to the next. © 2017 Society for Risk Analysis.

  8. 78 FR 9902 - DOE Response to Recommendation 2012-2 of the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board, Hanford...

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2013-02-12

    ... DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY DOE Response to Recommendation 2012-2 of the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board, Hanford Tank Farms Flammable Gas Safety Strategy; Correction AGENCY: Department of Energy... Facilities Safety Board, Hanford Tank Farms Flammable Gas Safety Strategy. This document corrects an error in...

  9. Overcoming Language and Literacy Barriers in Safety and Health Training of Agricultural Workers

    PubMed Central

    Arcury, Thomas A.; Estrada, Jorge M.; Quandt, Sara A.

    2010-01-01

    The workforce in all areas of United States agriculture and forestry is becoming increasingly diverse in language, culture, and education. Many agricultural workers are immigrants who have limited English language skills and limited educational attainment. Providing safety and health training to this large, diverse, dispersed, and often transient population of workers is challenging. This review, prepared for the 2010 Agricultural Safety and Health Council of America/National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health conference, “Be Safe, Be Profitable: Protecting Workers in Agriculture,” is divided into five sections. First, we describe the occupational and demographic characteristics of agricultural workers in the US to highlight their safety and health training needs. Second, we summarize current research on the social and cultural attributes of agricultural workers and agricultural employers that affect the provision of safety and health training. Worker and employer attributes include language, literacy, financial limitations, work beliefs, and health beliefs. Third, we review current initiatives addressing safety and health training for agricultural workers that consider worker language and literacy. These initiatives are limited to a few specific topics (e.g., pesticides, heat stress); they do not provide general programs of safety training that would help establish a culture of workplace safety. However, several innovative approaches to health and safety training are being implemented, including the use of community-based participatory approaches and lay health promoter programs. Fourth, the limited industry response for safety training with this linguistically diverse and educationally limited workforce is summarized. Finally, gaps in knowledge and practice are summarized and recommendations to develop educationally, culturally, and linguistically appropriate safety and health training are presented. PMID:20665309

  10. Egalitarianism, Safety, and Virtue in Education: A Response to Callan

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Turcotte-Summers, Jonathan

    2016-01-01

    In this article, Turcotte-Summers responds to Eamonn Callan's essay "Education in Safe and Unsafe Spaces" (2016) with three main counterarguments. First, the correct response to the systemic oppressions faced by our students is not a more liberal but a more liberatory and radical education. Second, dignity safety is not a useful…

  11. Occupational safety and health criteria for responsible development of nanotechnology

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Schulte, P. A.; Geraci, C. L.; Murashov, V.; Kuempel, E. D.; Zumwalde, R. D.; Castranova, V.; Hoover, M. D.; Hodson, L.; Martinez, K. F.

    2014-01-01

    Organizations around the world have called for the responsible development of nanotechnology. The goals of this approach are to emphasize the importance of considering and controlling the potential adverse impacts of nanotechnology in order to develop its capabilities and benefits. A primary area of concern is the potential adverse impact on workers, since they are the first people in society who are exposed to the potential hazards of nanotechnology. Occupational safety and health criteria for defining what constitutes responsible development of nanotechnology are needed. This article presents five criterion actions that should be practiced by decision-makers at the business and societal levels—if nanotechnology is to be developed responsibly. These include (1) anticipate, identify, and track potentially hazardous nanomaterials in the workplace; (2) assess workers' exposures to nanomaterials; (3) assess and communicate hazards and risks to workers; (4) manage occupational safety and health risks; and (5) foster the safe development of nanotechnology and realization of its societal and commercial benefits. All these criteria are necessary for responsible development to occur. Since it is early in the commercialization of nanotechnology, there are still many unknowns and concerns about nanomaterials. Therefore, it is prudent to treat them as potentially hazardous until sufficient toxicology, and exposure data are gathered for nanomaterial-specific hazard and risk assessments. In this emergent period, it is necessary to be clear about the extent of uncertainty and the need for prudent actions.

  12. The relationship between attributional style and destructive responses to job dissatisfaction: an exploratory study of internal migrant workers in China

    PubMed Central

    Kwan, Siu-On; Wong, Fu-Keung Daniel

    2014-01-01

    This study examines the relationship between attributional style and destructive responses to job dissatisfaction among internal migrant workers in mainland China. Contrary to previous studies conducted in the West, we found that internality of bad events was negatively related to destructive responses to job dissatisfaction. Stability and globality were positively related to destructive responses to job dissatisfaction. We suggest that the concept of interdependent self-construal may explain the unique positive meaning of internality of bad events among Chinese migrant workers. The practical significance of the findings is discussed. PMID:25750811

  13. Safety, Clinical Response, and Microbiome Findings Following Fecal Microbiota Transplant in Children With Inflammatory Bowel Disease.

    PubMed

    Goyal, Alka; Yeh, Andrew; Bush, Brian R; Firek, Brian A; Siebold, Leah M; Rogers, Matthew Brian; Kufen, Adam D; Morowitz, Michael J

    2018-01-18

    The role of fecal microbiota transplant (FMT) in the treatment of pediatric inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is unknown. The aims of this study were to assess safety, clinical response, and gut microbiome alterations in children with Crohn's disease (CD), ulcerative colitis (UC), or indeterminate colitis (IC). In this open-label, single-center prospective trial, patients with IBD refractory to medical therapy underwent a single FMT by upper and lower endoscopy. Adverse events, clinical response, gut microbiome, and biomarkers were assessed at baseline, 1 week, 1 month, and 6 months following FMT. Twenty-one subjects were analyzed, with a median age of 12 years, of whom 57% and 28% demonstrated clinical response at 1 and 6 months post-FMT, respectively. Two CD patients were in remission at 6 months. Adverse events attributable to FMT were mild to moderate and self-limited. Patients prior to FMT showed decreased species diversity and significant microbiome compositional differences characterized by increased Enterobacteriaceae, Enterococcus, Haemophilus, and Fusobacterium compared with donors and demonstrated increased species diversity at 30 days post-FMT. At 6 months, these changes shifted toward baseline. Clinical responders had a higher relative abundance of Fusobacterium and a lower diversity at baseline, as well as a greater shift toward donor-like microbiome after FMT compared with nonresponders. A single FMT is relatively safe and can result in a short-term response in young patients with active IBD. Responders possessed increased Fusobacterium prior to FMT and demonstrated more significant microbiome changes compared with nonresponders after FMT. Microbiome characteristics may help in predicting response. © 2018 Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation of America. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com

  14. The Attributional Responses of Young Female Athletes after Winning, Tying, and Losing.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Scanlan, Tara K.; Passer, Michael W.

    1980-01-01

    This study examined the attributions of female athletes for their personal and their team's performance after winning, tying, and losing a competitive soccer game. Players' attributions were made to the internal factors of ability and effort and to the external factors of opponent difficulty and luck. (Authors/CJ)

  15. An importance-performance analysis of hospital information system attributes: A nurses' perspective.

    PubMed

    Cohen, Jason F; Coleman, Emma; Kangethe, Matheri J

    2016-02-01

    Health workers have numerous concerns about hospital IS (HIS) usage. Addressing these concerns requires understanding the system attributes most important to their satisfaction and productivity. Following a recent HIS implementation, our objective was to identify priorities for managerial intervention based on user evaluations of the performance of the HIS attributes as well as the relative importance of these attributes to user satisfaction and productivity outcomes. We collected data along a set of attributes representing system quality, data quality, information quality, and service quality from 154 nurse users. Their quantitative responses were analysed using the partial least squares approach followed by an importance-performance analysis. Qualitative responses were analysed using thematic analysis to triangulate and supplement the quantitative findings. Two system quality attributes (responsiveness and ease of learning), one information quality attribute (detail), one service quality attribute (sufficient support), and three data quality attributes (records complete, accurate and never missing) were identified as high priorities for intervention. Our application of importance-performance analysis is unique in HIS evaluation and we have illustrated its utility for identifying those system attributes for which underperformance is not acceptable to users and therefore should be high priorities for intervention. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  16. Interplay between Marital Attributions and Conflict Behavior in Predicting Depressive Symptoms

    PubMed Central

    Ellison, Jenna K.; Kouros, Chrystyna D.; Papp, Lauren M.; Cummings, E. Mark

    2015-01-01

    Marital attributions--i.e., causal inferences and explanations spouses make about their partners’ behavior--have been implicated as predictors of relationship functioning. Extending previous work, we examined marital attributions as a moderator of the link between marital conflict and depressive symptoms one year later. Participants were 284 couples who reported on marital attributions and depressive symptoms. Couples also engaged in a videotaped marital conflict interaction, which was later coded for specific conflict behaviors. The results showed that husbands’ and wives’ marital attributions about their partner moderated relations between marital conflict behavior and later depressive symptoms, controlling for global marital sentiments. For husbands, positive behavior and affect during marital conflict predicted a decrease in depressive symptoms, but only for husbands’ who made low levels of responsibility and causal attributions about their wives. Wives’ causal attributions about their partner also moderated relations between positive behavior and affect during marital conflict and husbands’ later depressive symptoms. Reflecting an unexpected finding, negative behavior and affect during marital conflict predicted increases in wives’ depressive symptoms, but only for wives who made low levels of responsibility attributions about their partner. The findings suggest that, for husbands, low levels of negative marital attributions for spouses may be protective, strengthening the positive effect of constructive conflict behaviors for their mental health, whereas for wives low levels of responsibility attributions about their spouse may be a risk factor, exacerbating the negative effect of negative marital conflict behaviors on their later depressive symptoms. PMID:26751758

  17. An item-response theory approach to safety climate measurement: The Liberty Mutual Safety Climate Short Scales.

    PubMed

    Huang, Yueng-Hsiang; Lee, Jin; Chen, Zhuo; Perry, MacKenna; Cheung, Janelle H; Wang, Mo

    2017-06-01

    Zohar and Luria's (2005) safety climate (SC) scale, measuring organization- and group- level SC each with 16 items, is widely used in research and practice. To improve the utility of the SC scale, we shortened the original full-length SC scales. Item response theory (IRT) analysis was conducted using a sample of 29,179 frontline workers from various industries. Based on graded response models, we shortened the original scales in two ways: (1) selecting items with above-average discriminating ability (i.e. offering more than 6.25% of the original total scale information), resulting in 8-item organization-level and 11-item group-level SC scales; and (2) selecting the most informative items that together retain at least 30% of original scale information, resulting in 4-item organization-level and 4-item group-level SC scales. All four shortened scales had acceptable reliability (≥0.89) and high correlations (≥0.95) with the original scale scores. The shortened scales will be valuable for academic research and practical survey implementation in improving occupational safety. Copyright © 2017 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

  18. Technology, attributions, and emotions in post-secondary education: An application of Weiner’s attribution theory to academic computing problems

    PubMed Central

    Hall, Nathan C.; Goetz, Thomas; Chiarella, Andrew; Rahimi, Sonia

    2018-01-01

    As technology becomes increasingly integrated with education, research on the relationships between students’ computing-related emotions and motivation following technological difficulties is critical to improving learning experiences. Following from Weiner’s (2010) attribution theory of achievement motivation, the present research examined relationships between causal attributions and emotions concerning academic computing difficulties in two studies. Study samples consisted of North American university students enrolled in both traditional and online universities (total N = 559) who responded to either hypothetical scenarios or experimental manipulations involving technological challenges experienced in academic settings. Findings from Study 1 showed stable and external attributions to be emotionally maladaptive (more helplessness, boredom, guilt), particularly in response to unexpected computing problems. Additionally, Study 2 found stable attributions for unexpected problems to predict more anxiety for traditional students, with both external and personally controllable attributions for minor problems proving emotionally beneficial for students in online degree programs (more hope, less anxiety). Overall, hypothesized negative effects of stable attributions were observed across both studies, with mixed results for personally controllable attributions and unanticipated emotional benefits of external attributions for academic computing problems warranting further study. PMID:29529039

  19. 78 FR 4404 - DOE Response to Recommendation 2012-2 of the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board, Hanford...

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2013-01-22

    ... DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY DOE Response to Recommendation 2012-2 of the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board, Hanford Tank Farms Flammable Gas Safety Strategy AGENCY: Department of Energy. ACTION: Notice. SUMMARY: On September 28, 2012 the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board submitted...

  20. Categorizing moving objects into film genres: the effect of animacy attribution, emotional response, and the deviation from non-fiction.

    PubMed

    Visch, Valentijn T; Tan, Ed S

    2009-02-01

    The reported study follows the footsteps of Heider, and Simmel (1944) [Heider, F., & Simmel, M. (1944). An experimental study of apparent behavior. American Journal of Psychology, 57, 243-249] and Michotte (1946/1963) [Michotte, A. (1963). The perception of causality (T.R. Miles & E. Miles, Trans.). London: Methuen (Original work published 1946)] who demonstrated the role of object movement in attributions of life-likeness to figures. It goes one step further in studying the categorization of film scenes as to genre as a function of object movements. In an animated film scene portraying a chase, movements of the chasing object were systematically varied as to parameters: velocity, efficiency, fluency, detail, and deformation. The object movements were categorized by viewers into genres: non-fiction, comedy, drama, and action. Besides this categorization, viewers rated their animacy attribution and emotional response. Results showed that non-expert viewers were consistent in categorizing the genres according to object movement parameters. The size of its deviation from the unmanipulated movement scene determined the assignment of any target scene to one of the fiction genres: small and moderate deviations resulted in categorization as drama and action, and large deviations as comedy. The results suggest that genre classification is achieved by, at least, three distinct cognitive processes: (a) animacy attribution, which influences the fiction versus non-fiction classification; (b) emotional responses, which influences the classification of a specific fiction genre; and (c) the amount of deviation from reality, at least with regard to movements.

  1. Summary and evaluation of responses received on the alcohol safety interlock system

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    1971-05-01

    This report summarizes and evaluates devices and suggestions provided by respondents to the DOT Prospectus entitled "Some Considerations Related to the Development of an Alcohol Safety Interlock System (ASIS)". The responses are categorized into: (1)...

  2. Safety intelligence: an exploration of senior managers' characteristics.

    PubMed

    Fruhen, L S; Mearns, K J; Flin, R; Kirwan, B

    2014-07-01

    Senior managers can have a strong influence on organisational safety. But little is known about which of their personal attributes support their impact on safety. In this paper, we introduce the concept of 'safety intelligence' as related to senior managers' ability to develop and enact safety policies and explore possible characteristics related to it in two studies. Study 1 (N = 76) involved direct reports to chief executive officers (CEOs) of European air traffic management (ATM) organisations, who completed a short questionnaire asking about characteristics and behaviours that are ideal for a CEO's influence on safety. Study 2 involved senior ATM managers (N = 9) in various positions in interviews concerning their day-to-day work on safety. Both studies indicated six attributes of senior managers as relevant for their safety intelligence, particularly, social competence and safety knowledge, followed by motivation, problem-solving, personality and interpersonal leadership skills. These results have recently been applied in guidance for safety management practices in a White Paper published by EUROCONTROL. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd and The Ergonomics Society. All rights reserved.

  3. Interplay between marital attributions and conflict behavior in predicting depressive symptoms.

    PubMed

    Ellison, Jenna K; Kouros, Chrystyna D; Papp, Lauren M; Cummings, E Mark

    2016-03-01

    Marital attributions-that is, causal inferences and explanations spouses make about their partners' behavior-have been implicated as predictors of relationship functioning. Extending previous work, we examined marital attributions as a moderator of the link between marital conflict and depressive symptoms 1 year later. Participants were 284 couples who reported on marital attributions and depressive symptoms. Couples also engaged in a videotaped marital conflict interaction, which was later coded for specific conflict behaviors. The results showed that husbands' and wives' marital attributions about their partner moderated relations between marital conflict behavior and later depressive symptoms, controlling for global marital sentiments. For husbands, positive behavior and affect during marital conflict predicted a decrease in depressive symptoms, but only for husbands' who made low levels of responsibility and causal attributions about their wives. Wives' causal attributions about their partner also moderated relations between positive behavior and affect during marital conflict and husbands' later depressive symptoms. Reflecting an unexpected finding, negative behavior and affect during marital conflict predicted increases in wives' depressive symptoms, but only for wives who made low levels of responsibility attributions about their partner. The findings suggest that, for husbands, low levels of negative marital attributions for spouses may be protective, strengthening the positive effect of constructive conflict behaviors for their mental health, whereas for wives low levels of responsibility attributions about their spouse may be a risk factor, exacerbating the negative effect of negative marital conflict behaviors on their later depressive symptoms. (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved).

  4. 77 FR 43583 - DOE Response to Recommendation 2012-1 of the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board, Savannah...

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2012-07-25

    ... DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY DOE Response to Recommendation 2012-1 of the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board, Savannah River Site Building 235-F Safety AGENCY: Department of Energy. ACTION: Notice. SUMMARY: On May 8, 2012, the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board submitted Recommendation 2012-1...

  5. Parallel Coding of First- and Second-Order Stimulus Attributes by Midbrain Electrosensory Neurons

    PubMed Central

    McGillivray, Patrick; Vonderschen, Katrin; Fortune, Eric S.; Chacron, Maurice J.

    2015-01-01

    Natural stimuli often have time-varying first-order (i.e., mean) and second-order (i.e., variance) attributes that each carry critical information for perception and can vary independently over orders of magnitude. Experiments have shown that sensory systems continuously adapt their responses based on changes in each of these attributes. This adaptation creates ambiguity in the neural code as multiple stimuli may elicit the same neural response. While parallel processing of first- and second-order attributes by separate neural pathways is sufficient to remove this ambiguity, the existence of such pathways and the neural circuits that mediate their emergence have not been uncovered to date. We recorded the responses of midbrain electrosensory neurons in the weakly electric fish Apteronotus leptorhynchus to stimuli with first- and second-order attributes that varied independently in time. We found three distinct groups of midbrain neurons: the first group responded to both first- and second-order attributes, the second group responded selectively to first-order attributes, and the last group responded selectively to second-order attributes. In contrast, all afferent hindbrain neurons responded to both first- and second-order attributes. Using computational analyses, we show how inputs from a heterogeneous population of ON- and OFF-type afferent neurons are combined to give rise to response selectivity to either first- or second-order stimulus attributes in midbrain neurons. Our study thus uncovers, for the first time, generic and widely applicable mechanisms by which parallel processing of first- and second-order stimulus attributes emerges in the brain. PMID:22514313

  6. Responses of women and men to traffic safety messages : a qualitative report

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    1994-02-01

    More information about receptivity to traffic safety communications is needed to develop effective media campaigns for women. This project sought to obtain such information through (1) a review of literature on gender differences in response to traff...

  7. Consumer attitudes towards vegetable attributes: potential buyers of pesticide-free vegetables in Accra and Kumasi, Ghana.

    PubMed

    Probst, Lorenz; Aigelsperger, Lisa; Hauser, Michael

    2010-01-01

    Considering the inappropriate use of synthetic pesticides on vegetables in West Africa, the rationale behind this research was to assess the extent to which consumers can function as demanders of risk reduced vegetables and hence act as innovators towards vegetable safety. Using the cases of Kumasi and Accra in Ghana, the study examined possible consumer responses to product certification that communicates freedom from pesticides (e.g., organic certification). Generally, search attributes such as the fresh and healthy appearance of a vegetable were found to be central to consumer choice. While consumers stress the importance of health value, they are mostly unaware of agro-chemical risks related to vegetable consumption.

  8. Plasticity of Fear and Safety Neurons of the Amygdala in Response to Fear Extinction

    PubMed Central

    Sangha, Susan

    2015-01-01

    Fear inhibition learning induces plasticity and remodeling of circuits within the amygdala. Most studies examine these changes in nondiscriminative fear conditioning paradigms. Using a discriminative fear, safety, and reward conditioning task, Sangha et al. (2013) have previously reported several neural microcircuits within the basal amygdala (BA) which discriminate among these cues, including a subpopulation of neurons responding selectively to a safety cue and not a fear cue. Here, the hypothesis that these “safety” neurons isolated during discriminative conditioning are biased to become fear cue responsive as a result of extinction, when fear behavior diminishes, was tested. Although 41% of “safety” neurons became fear cue responsive as a result of extinction, the data revealed that there was no bias for these neurons to become preferentially responsive during fear extinction compared to the other identified subgroups. In addition to the plasticity seen in the “safety” neurons, 44% of neurons unresponsive to either the fear cue or safety cue during discriminative conditioning became fear cue responsive during extinction. Together these emergent responses to the fear cue as a result of extinction support the hypothesis that new learning underlies extinction. In contrast, 47% of neurons responsive to the fear cue during discriminative conditioning became unresponsive to the fear cue during extinction. These findings are consistent with a suppression of neural responding mediated by inhibitory learning, or, potentially, by direct unlearning. Together, the data support extinction as an active process involving both gains and losses of responses to the fear cue and suggests the final output of the integrated BA circuit in influencing fear behavior is a balance of excitation and inhibition, and perhaps reversal of learning-induced changes. PMID:26733838

  9. Improving food safety within the dairy chain: an application of conjoint analysis.

    PubMed

    Valeeva, N I; Meuwissen, M P M; Lansink, A G J M Oude; Huirne, R B M

    2005-04-01

    This study determined the relative importance of attributes of food safety improvement in the production chain of fluid pasteurized milk. The chain was divided into 4 blocks: "feed" (compound feed production and its transport), "farm" (dairy farm), "dairy processing" (transport and processing of raw milk, delivery of pasteurized milk), and "consumer" (retailer/catering establishment and pasteurized milk consumption). The concept of food safety improvement focused on 2 main groups of hazards: chemical (antibiotics and dioxin) and microbiological (Salmonella, Escherichia coli, Mycobacterium paratuberculosis, and Staphylococcus aureus). Adaptive conjoint analysis was used to investigate food safety experts' perceptions of the attributes' importance. Preference data from individual experts (n = 24) on 101 attributes along the chain were collected in a computer-interactive mode. Experts perceived the attributes from the "feed" and "farm" blocks as being more vital for controlling the chemical hazards; whereas the attributes from the "farm" and "dairy processing" were considered more vital for controlling the microbiological hazards. For the chemical hazards, "identification of treated cows" and "quality assurance system of compound feed manufacturers" were considered the most important attributes. For the microbiological hazards, these were "manure supply source" and "action in salmonellosis and M. paratuberculosis cases". The rather high importance of attributes relating to quality assurance and traceability systems of the chain participants indicates that participants look for food safety assurance from the preceding participants. This information has substantial decision-making implications for private businesses along the chain and for the government regarding the food safety improvement of fluid pasteurized milk.

  10. Attributions of Mental Illness: An Ethnically Diverse Community Perspective.

    PubMed

    Bignall, Whitney J Raglin; Jacquez, Farrah; Vaughn, Lisa M

    2015-07-01

    Although the prevalence of mental illness is similar across ethnic groups, a large disparity exists in the utilization of services. Mental health attributions, causal beliefs regarding the etiology of mental illness, may contribute to this disparity. To understand mental health attributions across diverse ethnic backgrounds, we conducted focus groups with African American (n = 8; 24 %), Asian American (n = 6; 18 %), Latino/Hispanic (n = 9; 26 %), and White (n = 11; 32 %) participants. We solicited attributions about 19 mental health disorders, each representing major sub-categories of the DSM-IV. Using a grounded theory approach, participant responses were categorized into 12 themes: Biological, Normalization, Personal Characteristic, Personal Choice, Just World, Spiritual, Family, Social Other, Environment, Trauma, Stress, and Diagnosis. Results indicate that ethnic minorities are more likely than Whites to mention spirituality and normalization causes. Understanding ethnic minority mental health attributions is critical to promote treatment-seeking behaviors and inform culturally responsive community-based mental health services.

  11. Sex, college major, and attribution of responsibility in empathic responding to persons with HIV infection.

    PubMed

    Bécares, Laia; Turner, Castellano

    2004-10-01

    This investigation studied the influence of sex, college major, and attributed responsibility on college students' empathic responding towards persons infected with HIV. We hypothesized that (1) women would score higher on empathy than men; (2) nursing and psychology majors would score higher on empathy than business and computer science majors; and (3) participants would score higher on empathy towards a target who contracted HIV through blood transfusion (presented as a Nonresponsible target) rather than through unprotected sex (presented as a Responsible target). Two hundred and fifty-eight undergraduate students (110 male, 148 female) attending a large urban university in the northeast filled out an anonymous demographic questionnaire, the Interpersonal Reactivity Index of Davis (1983), and an Empathy Reaction Scale that was developed by the authors. Results indicated a higher mean Empathy Reaction score from nursing and psychology students as compared to business and computer science students. There was no difference in Empathy Reaction scores between men and women. A higher Empathy Reaction score was found among participants who had read a diary from the target portrayed as Nonresponsible, as opposed to those who read a diary from the target portrayed as Responsible.

  12. Responding to Vaccine Safety Signals during Pandemic Influenza: A Modeling Study

    PubMed Central

    Maro, Judith C.; Fryback, Dennis G.; Lieu, Tracy A.; Lee, Grace M.; Martin, David B.

    2014-01-01

    Background Managing emerging vaccine safety signals during an influenza pandemic is challenging. Federal regulators must balance vaccine risks against benefits while maintaining public confidence in the public health system. Methods We developed a multi-criteria decision analysis model to explore regulatory decision-making in the context of emerging vaccine safety signals during a pandemic. We simulated vaccine safety surveillance system capabilities and used an age-structured compartmental model to develop potential pandemic scenarios. We used an expert-derived multi-attribute utility function to evaluate potential regulatory responses by combining four outcome measures into a single measure of interest: 1) expected vaccination benefit from averted influenza; 2) expected vaccination risk from vaccine-associated febrile seizures; 3) expected vaccination risk from vaccine-associated Guillain-Barre Syndrome; and 4) expected change in vaccine-seeking behavior in future influenza seasons. Results Over multiple scenarios, risk communication, with or without suspension of vaccination of high-risk persons, were the consistently preferred regulatory responses over no action or general suspension when safety signals were detected during a pandemic influenza. On average, the expert panel valued near-term vaccine-related outcomes relative to long-term projected outcomes by 3∶1. However, when decision-makers had minimal ability to influence near-term outcomes, the response was selected primarily by projected impacts on future vaccine-seeking behavior. Conclusions The selected regulatory response depends on how quickly a vaccine safety signal is identified relative to the peak of the pandemic and the initiation of vaccination. Our analysis suggested two areas for future investment: efforts to improve the size and timeliness of the surveillance system and behavioral research to understand changes in vaccine-seeking behavior. PMID:25536228

  13. Technical attributes, health attribute, consumer attributes and their roles in adoption intention of healthcare wearable technology.

    PubMed

    Zhang, Min; Luo, Meifen; Nie, Rui; Zhang, Yan

    2017-12-01

    This paper aims to explore factors influencing the healthcare wearable technology adoption intention from perspectives of technical attributes (perceived convenience, perceived irreplaceability, perceived credibility and perceived usefulness), health attribute (health belief) and consumer attributes (consumer innovativeness, conspicuous consumption, informational reference group influence and gender difference). By integrating technology acceptance model, health belief model, snob effect and conformity and reference group theory, hypotheses and research model are proposed. The empirical investigation (N=436) collects research data through questionnaire. Results show that the adoption intention of healthcare wearable technology is influenced by technical attributes, health attribute and consumer attributes simultaneously. For technical attributes, perceived convenience and perceived credibility both positively affect perceived usefulness, and perceived usefulness influences adoption intention. The relation between perceived irreplaceability and perceived usefulness is only supported by males. For health attribute, health belief affects perceived usefulness for females. For consumer attributes, conspicuous consumption and informational reference group influence can significantly moderate the relation between perceived usefulness and adoption intention and the relation between consumer innovativeness and adoption intention respectively. What's more, consumer innovativeness significantly affects adoption intention for males. This paper aims to discuss technical attributes, health attribute and consumer attributes and their roles in the adoption intention of healthcare wearable technology. Findings may provide enlightenment to differentiate product developing and marketing strategies and provide some implications for clinical medicine. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  14. Comparison of preferences of healthcare professionals and MS patients for attributes of disease-modifying drugs: A best-worst scaling.

    PubMed

    Kremer, Ingrid E H; Evers, Silvia M A A; Jongen, Peter J; Hiligsmann, Mickaël

    2018-02-01

    The choice between disease-modifying drugs (DMDs) for the treatment of multiple sclerosis (MS) becomes more often a shared decision between the patient and the neurologist and MS nurse. This study aimed to assess which DMD attributes are most important for the healthcare professionals in selecting a DMD for a patient. Subsequently, within this perspective, the neurologists' and nurses' perspectives were compared. Lastly, the healthcare professionals' perspective was compared with the patients' perspective to detect any differences that may need attention in the communication about DMDs. A best-worst scaling (BWS) was conducted among 27 neurologists and 33 MS nurses treating patients with MS to determine the importance of 27 DMD attributes. These attributes were identified through three focus groups with MS patients in a previous study (N=19). Relative importance scores (RISs) were estimated for each attribute. Multivariable linear regression analyses were used to compare the different perspectives. According to the neurologists and nurses, safety of the DMD was the most important DMD attribute in the treatment decision, closely followed by effect on disability progression, quality of life and relapse rate. Patients with MS agreed with the importance of the last three attributes, but valued safety significantly lower (b=-2.59, P<.001). This study suggests that, overall, neurologists and nurses regard the same DMD attributes as important as MS patients with the notable exception of safety. This study provides valuable information for the development of interventions to support shared decision making and highlights which attributes of DMDs may need additional attention. © 2017 The Authors Health Expectations Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  15. Spontaneous mentalizing predicts the fundamental attribution error.

    PubMed

    Moran, Joseph M; Jolly, Eshin; Mitchell, Jason P

    2014-03-01

    When explaining the reasons for others' behavior, perceivers often overemphasize underlying dispositions and personality traits over the power of the situation, a tendency known as the fundamental attribution error. One possibility is that this bias results from the spontaneous processing of others' mental states, such as their momentary feelings or more enduring personality characteristics. Here, we use fMRI to test this hypothesis. Participants read a series of stories that described a target's ambiguous behavior in response to a specific social situation and later judged whether that act was attributable to the target's internal dispositions or to external situational factors. Neural regions consistently associated with mental state inference-especially, the medial pFC-strongly predicted whether participants later made dispositional attributions. These results suggest that the spontaneous engagement of mentalizing may underlie the biased tendency to attribute behavior to dispositional over situational forces.

  16. Attitude towards littering as a mediator of the relationship between personality attributes and responsible environmental behavior

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Ojedokun, Oluyinka, E-mail: yinkaoje2004@yahoo.com

    Highlights: > Independently, altruism and locus of control contributed significantly toward attitude towards littering. > Altruism and locus of control jointly contributed significantly to attitude towards littering. > The results further show a significant joint influence of altruism and locus of control on REB. > The independent contributions reveal that altruism and locus of control contribute significantly to REB. > Attitude towards littering mediates the relationship between locus of control and REB. - Abstract: The study tested whether attitude towards littering mediates the relationship between personality attributes (altruism and locus of control) and responsible environmental behavior (REB) among some residentsmore » of Ibadan metropolis, Nigeria. Using multistage sampling technique, measures of each construct were administered to 1360 participants. Results reveal significant independent and joint influence of personality attributes on attitude towards littering and responsible environmental behavior, respectively. Attitude towards littering also mediates the relationship between personality characteristics and REB. These findings imply that individuals who possess certain desirable personality characteristics and who have unfavorable attitude towards littering have more tendencies to engage in pro-environmental behavior. Therefore, stakeholders who have waste management as their priority should incorporate this information when guidelines for public education and litter prevention programs are being developed. It is suggested that psychologists should be involved in designing of litter prevention strategies. This will ensure the inclusion of behavioral issues in such strategies. An integrated approach to litter prevention that combines empowerment, cognitive, social, and technical solutions is recommended as the most effective tool of tackling the litter problem among residents of Ibadan metropolis.« less

  17. Impact of Pilot Delay and Non-Responsiveness on the Safety Performance of Airborne Separation

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Consiglio, Maria; Hoadley, Sherwood; Wing, David; Baxley, Brian; Allen, Bonnie Danette

    2008-01-01

    Assessing the safety effects of prediction errors and uncertainty on automationsupported functions in the Next Generation Air Transportation System concept of operations is of foremost importance, particularly safety critical functions such as separation that involve human decision-making. Both ground-based and airborne, the automation of separation functions must be designed to account for, and mitigate the impact of, information uncertainty and varying human response. This paper describes an experiment that addresses the potential impact of operator delay when interacting with separation support systems. In this study, we evaluated an airborne separation capability operated by a simulated pilot. The experimental runs are part of the Safety Performance of Airborne Separation (SPAS) experiment suite that examines the safety implications of prediction errors and system uncertainties on airborne separation assistance systems. Pilot actions required by the airborne separation automation to resolve traffic conflicts were delayed within a wide range, varying from five to 240 seconds while a percentage of randomly selected pilots were programmed to completely miss the conflict alerts and therefore take no action. Results indicate that the strategicAirborne Separation Assistance System (ASAS) functions exercised in the experiment can sustain pilot response delays of up to 90 seconds and more, depending on the traffic density. However, when pilots or operators fail to respond to conflict alerts the safety effects are substantial, particularly at higher traffic densities.

  18. Attributes of Spirituality Described by Survivors of Sexual Violence

    PubMed Central

    Knapik, Gregory P.; Martsolf, Donna S.; Draucker, Claire B.; Strickland, Karen D.

    2011-01-01

    This study focuses on what aspects of attributes of spirituality as defined by Martsolf and Mickley (1998) are most salient for female and male survivors of sexual violence. Content analysis of secondary narrative data, provided by 50 participants in a study of women’s and men’s responses to sexual violence, was coded to the five attributes of spirituality as defined by Martsolf and Mickley. The attribute aspects of connecting with others in spiritual ways and with God/higher power were particularly significant. The attribute of transcendence was found less important, and the attributes of value, becoming, and meaning were not found important. The Martsolf and Mickley framework helped organize narrative data for a content analysis of spirituality in survivors of sexual violence. PMID:21850278

  19. Responsibility for quality improvement and patient safety: hospital board and medical staff leadership challenges.

    PubMed

    Goeschel, Christine A; Wachter, Robert M; Pronovost, Peter J

    2010-07-01

    Concern about the quality and safety of health care persists, 10 years after the 1999 Institute of Medicine report To Err is Human. Despite growing awareness of quality and safety risks, and significant efforts to improve, progress is difficult to measure. Hospital leaders, including boards and medical staffs, are accountable to improve care, yet they often address this duty independently. Shared responsibility for quality and patient safety improvement presents unique challenges and unprecedented opportunities for boards and medical staffs. To capitalize on the pressure to improve, both groups may benefit from a better understanding of their synergistic potential. Boards should be educated about the quality of care provided in their institutions and about the challenges of valid measurement and accurate reporting. Boards strengthen their quality oversight capacity by recruiting physicians for vacant board seats. Medical staff members strengthen their role as hospital leaders when they understand the unique duties of the governing board. A quality improvement strategy rooted in synergistic efforts by the board and the medical staff may offer the greatest potential for safer care. Such a mutually advantageous approach requires a clear appreciation of roles and responsibilities and respect for differences. In this article, we review these responsibilities, describe opportunities for boards and medical staffs to collaborate as leaders, and offer recommendations for how boards and medical staff members can address the challenges of shared responsibility for quality of care.

  20. Parents' Attributions for Negative and Positive Child Behavior in Relation to Parenting and Child Problems.

    PubMed

    Park, Joanne L; Johnston, Charlotte; Colalillo, Sara; Williamson, David

    2016-04-12

    Previous research has stressed the importance of parents' attributions and parenting for child problems. Based on social cognitive models, studies have focused on the interrelations among parents' child-responsibility attributions for negative behavior, harsh parenting, and child problems. Little is known about the extent to which child-responsibility attributions for positive behavior and other types of parenting play a role in these models. The purpose of this study was to examine whether parents' child-responsibility attributions for positive and negative child behaviors are related to child problems, and whether these relations are mediated by harsh, lax, and positive parenting. Mothers' and fathers' attributions and parenting were examined separately. A community sample of 148 couples and their 9- to 12-year-old child (50% boys) participated in the study. Mothers and children participated by completing questionnaires and a laboratory interaction task. Fathers participated by completing the same questionnaires as mothers. Harsh parenting was the only parenting variable that uniquely mediated the relations between more child-responsibility attributions for (a) negative child behaviors and child problems for both parents and (b) the inverse relation between attributions for positive child behaviors and child problems for fathers. Findings confirm the importance of harsh parenting and demonstrate the importance of parents' attributions for positive child behaviors in relation to decreasing harsh parenting and child problems. Clinically, it may be useful not only to reduce child-responsibility attributions for negative behaviors but also to increase the extent to which parents give their child credit for positive behaviors.

  1. Attributes of Spirituality Described by Survivors of Sexual Violence

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Knapik, Gregory P.; Martsolf, Donna S.; Draucker, Claire B.; Strickland, Karen D.

    2010-01-01

    This study focuses on what aspects of attributes of spirituality as defined by Martsolf and Mickley (1998) are most salient for female and male survivors of sexual violence. Content analysis of secondary narrative data, provided by 50 participants in a study of women's and men's responses to sexual violence, was coded to the five attributes of…

  2. The default response to uncertainty and the importance of perceived safety in anxiety and stress: An evolution-theoretical perspective.

    PubMed

    Brosschot, Jos F; Verkuil, Bart; Thayer, Julian F

    2016-06-01

    From a combined neurobiological and evolution-theoretical perspective, the stress response is a subcortically subserved response to uncertainty that is not 'generated' but 'default': the stress response is 'always there' but as long as safety is perceived, the stress response is under tonic prefrontal inhibition, reflected by high vagally mediated heart rate variability. Uncertainty of safety leads to disinhibiting the default stress response, even in the absence of threat. Due to the stress response's survival value, this 'erring on the side of caution' is passed to us via our genes. Thus, intolerance of uncertainty is not acquired during the life cycle, but is a given property of all living organisms, only to be alleviated in situations of which the safety is learned. When the latter is deficient, generalized unsafety ensues, which underlies chronic anxiety and stress and their somatic health risks, as well as other highly prevalent conditions carrying such risks, including loneliness, obesity, aerobic unfitness and old age. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  3. Instructor Responses to Poor Student Communication Performance: An Attributional Interpretation.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Fiechtner, Susan Brown; Krayer, Karl J.

    A study was conducted (1) to investigate factors that influence an instructor's choice of behavior when confronted with incidents of students' poor communication performance, and (2) to demonstrate how attribution theory can be used as a vehicle for describing and understanding the causes of instructor reactions or behaviors. The study sought to…

  4. Quality and safety attributes of afghan raisins before and after processing

    PubMed Central

    McCoy, Stacy; Chang, Jun Won; McNamara, Kevin T; Oliver, Haley F; Deering, Amanda J

    2015-01-01

    Raisins are an important export commodity for Afghanistan; however, Afghan packers are unable to export to markets seeking high-quality products due to limited knowledge regarding their quality and safety. To evaluate this, Afghan raisin samples from pre-, semi-, and postprocessed raisins were obtained from a raisin packer in Kabul, Afghanistan. The raisins were analyzed and compared to U.S. standards for processed raisins. The samples tested did not meet U.S. industry standards for embedded sand and pieces of stem, total soluble solids, and titratable acidity. The Afghan raisins did meet or exceed U.S. Grade A standard for the number of cap-stems, percent damaged, crystallization levels, moisture content, and color. Following processing, the number of total aerobic bacteria, yeasts, molds, and total coliforms were within the acceptable limits. Although quality issues are present in the Afghan raisins, the process used to clean the raisins is suitable to maintain food safety standards. PMID:25650241

  5. 75 FR 17604 - Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards; Roof Crush Resistance

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2010-04-07

    ... Safety Analysis & Forensic Engineering, LLC (SAFE) brought to our attention errors in the preamble that incorrectly attributed to it the comments of another organization, Safety Analysis, Inc. Both of these... Safety Analysis, Inc. SAFE noted that there is no affiliation between SAFE and Safety Analysis, Inc. and...

  6. Within-Teacher Variation of Causal Attributions of Low Achieving Students

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Jager, Lieke; Denessen, Eddie

    2015-01-01

    In teacher research, causal attributions of low achievement have been proven to be predictive of teachers' efforts to provide optimal learning contexts for all students. In most studies, however, attributions have been studied as a between-teacher variable rather than a within-teacher variable assuming that teachers' responses to low achievement…

  7. Aggressive and prosocial children's emotion attributions and moral reasoning.

    PubMed

    Malti, Tina; Gasser, Luciano; Buchmann, Marlis

    2009-01-01

    Aggressive and prosocial children's emotion attributions and moral reasoning were investigated. Participants were 235 kindergarten children (M=6.2 years) and 136 elementary-school children (M=7.6 years) who were selected as aggressive or prosocial based on (kindergarten) teacher ratings. The children were asked to evaluate hypothetical rule violations, attribute emotions they would feel in the role of the victimizer, and justify their responses. Compared with younger prosocial children, younger aggressive children attributed fewer negative emotions and were more likely to provide sanction-oriented justifications when evaluating rule violations negatively. Furthermore, age-, gender- and context-effects in moral development occurred. The context-effects included both effects of transgression type (i.e., prosocial morality vs. fairness) on emotion attributions and moral reasoning and the effects of the context of moral evaluation and emotion attribution on moral reasoning. Findings are discussed in terms of the role of emotion attributions and moral reasoning as antecedents of children's aggressive and prosocial behavior. Copyright 2008 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

  8. Tofacitinib 5 mg Twice Daily in Patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis and Inadequate Response to Disease-Modifying Antirheumatic Drugs: A Comprehensive Review of Phase 3 Efficacy and Safety.

    PubMed

    Bird, Paul; Bensen, William; El-Zorkany, Bassel; Kaine, Jeffrey; Manapat-Reyes, Bernadette Heizel; Pascual-Ramos, Virginia; Witcombe, David; Soma, Koshika; Zhang, Richard; Thirunavukkarasu, Krishan

    2018-05-24

    Tofacitinib is an oral Janus kinase inhibitor for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). We performed a comprehensive review of phase 3 studies of tofacitinib 5 mg twice daily (BID) (approved dose in many countries) in patients with moderate to severe RA and inadequate response to prior disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs. A search of PubMed and ClinicalTrials.gov identified 5 studies: ORAL Solo (NCT00814307), ORAL Sync (NCT00856544), ORAL Standard (included adalimumab 40 mg once every 2 weeks; NCT00853385), ORAL Scan (NCT00847613), and ORAL Step (NCT00960440). Efficacy and safety data for tofacitinib 5 mg BID, placebo, and adalimumab were analyzed. Across the 5 studies, 1216 patients received tofacitinib 5 mg BID, 681 received placebo, and 204 received adalimumab. At month 3, tofacitinib demonstrated significantly higher 20%, 50%, and 70% improvement in American College of Rheumatology response criteria (ACR20, ACR50, and ACR70, respectively) response rates, greater improvement in Health Assessment Questionnaire-Disability Index, and a higher proportion of Disease Activity Score-defined remission than placebo. Frequencies of adverse events (AEs), serious AEs, and discontinuations due to AEs were similar for tofacitinib and placebo at month 3; serious infection events were more frequent for tofacitinib. In ORAL Standard, although not powered for formal comparisons, tofacitinib and adalimumab had numerically similar efficacy and AEs; serious AEs and serious infection events were more frequent with tofacitinib. Tofacitinib 5 mg BID reduced RA signs and symptoms and improved physical function versus placebo in patients with inadequate response to prior disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs. Tofacitinib 5 mg BID had a consistent, manageable safety profile across studies, with no new safety signals identified.This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives License 4.0 (CCBY-NC-ND), where

  9. Attributions of Responsibility and Blame for Procrastination Behavior.

    PubMed

    Rahimi, Sonia; Hall, Nathan C; Pychyl, Timothy A

    2016-01-01

    The present study examined the relationship between procrastination, delay, blameworthiness, and moral responsibility. Undergraduate students (N = 240) were provided two scenarios in which the reason for inaction (procrastination, delay), the target (self, other), and the outcome (positive, negative) were manipulated, and students were asked to rate the moral responsibility and blameworthiness of the agent. Results indicated that individuals who procrastinated were seen as more morally responsible and blameworthy than those who experienced delay. More specifically, after a negative outcome, procrastination was associated with more moral responsibility, whereas delay was associated with less moral responsibility. After a positive outcome, individuals perceived procrastination as deserving of less moral responsibility, and delays as associated with more moral responsibility. Finally, a three-way interaction showed that participants rated procrastination that resulted in failure as deserving of responsibility when engaged in by others as opposed to oneself.

  10. Understanding men's attributions of why they ejaculate before desired: an internet study.

    PubMed

    Rowland, David L; Neal, Cody J

    2014-10-01

    Recent developments in the study of men's sexual response have raised significant issues related to the definition and diagnosis of premature ejaculation (PE). We wanted to understand men's perceived reasons for "ejaculating before they wanted," whether they selected attributions from the same broad category when allowed to endorse multiple reasons, and whether younger and older cohorts differed in their attributions. A subsample of 376 men who indicated that they "ejaculated before they wanted" was drawn from a larger pool of 1,249 men participating in an online survey on men's sexual health. This subsample responded to a number of items regarding their ejaculatory patterns, including two questions listing 10 possible self-reported attributions/reasons for their quick ejaculation--one item allowed respondents to endorse multiple reasons, the other limited the response to the most important reason. The primary outcome measure was men's attributions for ejaculating before desired, with choices from 10 possible pretested reasons. In addition, concordance across attributions was determined, that is, if a man responded to one category, was he also likely to select another category? Men who met the ejaculatory latency criterion for PE were generally no different from those who did not. Overall, when required to select the most important attribution, most men identified a specific issue with "lack of self-efficacy" (lack of control or aroused too quickly). Few respondents identified erection loss, partner issues, or medical/medication concerns as the reason--and these patterns were independent of age. Concordance was high across self-efficacy attributions but low across other attributions. Most men who complain of ejaculating before desired attribute this response to problems with self-efficacy. Only a small percent of men identified other possible reasons for their quick ejaculation. Such findings have implications for both the diagnostic process and definitional

  11. Attributions of Responsibility and Blame for Procrastination Behavior

    PubMed Central

    Rahimi, Sonia; Hall, Nathan C.; Pychyl, Timothy A.

    2016-01-01

    The present study examined the relationship between procrastination, delay, blameworthiness, and moral responsibility. Undergraduate students (N = 240) were provided two scenarios in which the reason for inaction (procrastination, delay), the target (self, other), and the outcome (positive, negative) were manipulated, and students were asked to rate the moral responsibility and blameworthiness of the agent. Results indicated that individuals who procrastinated were seen as more morally responsible and blameworthy than those who experienced delay. More specifically, after a negative outcome, procrastination was associated with more moral responsibility, whereas delay was associated with less moral responsibility. After a positive outcome, individuals perceived procrastination as deserving of less moral responsibility, and delays as associated with more moral responsibility. Finally, a three-way interaction showed that participants rated procrastination that resulted in failure as deserving of responsibility when engaged in by others as opposed to oneself. PMID:27547197

  12. Cognitive Diagnostic Attribute-Level Discrimination Indices

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Henson, Robert; Roussos, Louis; Douglas, Jeff; He, Xuming

    2008-01-01

    Cognitive diagnostic models (CDMs) model the probability of correctly answering an item as a function of an examinee's attribute mastery pattern. Because estimation of the mastery pattern involves more than a continuous measure of ability, reliability concepts introduced by classical test theory and item response theory do not apply. The cognitive…

  13. The impact of health and safety committees. A study based on survey, interview, and Occupational Safety and Health Administration data.

    PubMed

    Boden, L I; Hall, J A; Levenstein, C; Punnett, L

    1984-11-01

    In a study conducted to determine if the existence of a joint labor-management health and safety committee (HSC) was correlated with either the number of Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) complaints or hazardousness, as measured by OSHA serious citations, virtually no effect could be detected in a sample of 127 Massachusetts manufacturing firms. At a sample of 13 firms, interviews of HSC members were conducted. Committee attributes and perceptions about committee effectiveness were compared with the number of OSHA complaints and serious citations. There were fewer complaints and fewer serious citations at firms with HSCs that were perceived as effective. Results of the study suggest that the objective attributes of the committee may be less important to its success than the commitment of management and labor to solving workplace safety problems.

  14. The Safety Pharmacology Society salary survey.

    PubMed

    Pugsley, Michael K; Authier, Simon; Brabham, Tiffini; Soloviev, Maxim; Markgraf, Carrie G; Correll, Krystle; Traebert, Martin; Greiter-Wilke, Andrea; Valentin, Jean-Pierre; Vargas, Hugo; Botchway, Alfred; Leishman, Derek J; Curtis, Michael J

    2017-11-01

    Safety pharmacology is a growing discipline with scientists broadly distributed across international geographical regions. This electronic salary survey is the first to be distributed amongst the entire Safety Pharmacology Society (SPS) membership. An electronic survey was sent to all members of the Society. Categorical survey questions assessed membership employment types, annual incomes, and professional certifications, along with other associated career attributes. This survey was distributed to the SPS membership that is comprised of safety pharmacologists, toxicologists and pharmacologists working globally in the pharmaceutical industry, at contract research organizations (CRO), regulatory agencies, and academia or within the technology provider industry. The survey was open for responses from December 2015 to March 2016. The survey response rate was 28% (129/453). North America (68%) was the region with the largest number of respondents followed by Europe (28%). A preponderance of respondents (77%) had 12years of industry experience or more. 52% of responders earned annually between $40,000 and $120,000. As expected, salary was generally positively correlated with the number of years of experience in the industry or the educational background but there was no correlation between salary and the number of employee's directly supervised. The median salary was higher for male vs female respondents, but so was median age, indicative of no gender 'salary gap'. Our 2016 SPS salary survey results showcased significant diversity regarding factors that can influence salary compensation within this discipline. These data provided insights into the complex global job market trends. They also revealed the level of scientific specialization embedded within the organization, presently uniquely positioned to support the dynamic career paths of current and future safety pharmacologists. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  15. Hostile attributional bias and aggressive behavior in global context.

    PubMed

    Dodge, Kenneth A; Malone, Patrick S; Lansford, Jennifer E; Sorbring, Emma; Skinner, Ann T; Tapanya, Sombat; Tirado, Liliana Maria Uribe; Zelli, Arnaldo; Alampay, Liane Peña; Al-Hassan, Suha M; Bacchini, Dario; Bombi, Anna Silvia; Bornstein, Marc H; Chang, Lei; Deater-Deckard, Kirby; Di Giunta, Laura; Oburu, Paul; Pastorelli, Concetta

    2015-07-28

    We tested a model that children's tendency to attribute hostile intent to others in response to provocation is a key psychological process that statistically accounts for individual differences in reactive aggressive behavior and that this mechanism contributes to global group differences in children's chronic aggressive behavior problems. Participants were 1,299 children (mean age at year 1 = 8.3 y; 51% girls) from 12 diverse ecological-context groups in nine countries worldwide, followed across 4 y. In year 3, each child was presented with each of 10 hypothetical vignettes depicting an ambiguous provocation toward the child and was asked to attribute the likely intent of the provocateur (coded as benign or hostile) and to predict his or her own behavioral response (coded as nonaggression or reactive aggression). Mothers and children independently rated the child's chronic aggressive behavior problems in years 2, 3, and 4. In every ecological group, in those situations in which a child attributed hostile intent to a peer, that child was more likely to report that he or she would respond with reactive aggression than in situations when that same child attributed benign intent. Across children, hostile attributional bias scores predicted higher mother- and child-rated chronic aggressive behavior problems, even controlling for prior aggression. Ecological group differences in the tendency for children to attribute hostile intent statistically accounted for a significant portion of group differences in chronic aggressive behavior problems. The findings suggest a psychological mechanism for group differences in aggressive behavior and point to potential interventions to reduce aggressive behavior.

  16. Mental disease-related emergency admissions attributable to hot temperatures.

    PubMed

    Lee, Suji; Lee, Hwanhee; Myung, Woojae; Kim, E Jin; Kim, Ho

    2018-03-01

    The association between high temperature and mental disease has been the focus of several studies worldwide. However, no studies have focused on the mental disease burden attributable to hot temperature. Here, we aim to quantify the risk attributed to hot temperatures based on the exposure-lag-response relationship between temperature and mental diseases. From data on daily temperature and emergency admissions (EA) for mental diseases collected from 6 major cities (Seoul, Incheon, Daejeon, Daegu, Busan, and Gwangju in South Korea) over a period of 11years (2003-2013), we estimated temperature-disease associations using a distributed lag non-linear model, and we pooled the data by city through multivariate meta-analysis. Cumulative relative risk and attributable risks were calculated for extreme hot temperatures, defined as the 99th percentile relative to the 50th percentile of temperatures. The strongest association between mental disease and high temperature was seen within a period of 0-4days of high temperature exposure. Our results reveal that 14.6% of EA for mental disease were due to extreme hot temperatures, and the elderly were more susceptible (19.1%). Specific mental diseases, including anxiety, dementia, schizophrenia, and depression, also showed significant risk attributed to hot temperatures. Of all EA for anxiety, 31.6% were attributed to extremely hot temperatures. High temperature was responsible for an attributable risk for mental disease, and the burden was higher in the elderly. This finding has important implications for designing appropriate public health policies to minimize the impact of high temperature on mental health. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  17. Hostile attributional bias and aggressive behavior in global context

    PubMed Central

    Dodge, Kenneth A.; Malone, Patrick S.; Lansford, Jennifer E.; Sorbring, Emma; Skinner, Ann T.; Tapanya, Sombat; Tirado, Liliana Maria Uribe; Zelli, Arnaldo; Alampay, Liane Peña; Al-Hassan, Suha M.; Bacchini, Dario; Bombi, Anna Silvia; Bornstein, Marc H.; Chang, Lei; Deater-Deckard, Kirby; Di Giunta, Laura; Oburu, Paul; Pastorelli, Concetta

    2015-01-01

    We tested a model that children’s tendency to attribute hostile intent to others in response to provocation is a key psychological process that statistically accounts for individual differences in reactive aggressive behavior and that this mechanism contributes to global group differences in children’s chronic aggressive behavior problems. Participants were 1,299 children (mean age at year 1 = 8.3 y; 51% girls) from 12 diverse ecological-context groups in nine countries worldwide, followed across 4 y. In year 3, each child was presented with each of 10 hypothetical vignettes depicting an ambiguous provocation toward the child and was asked to attribute the likely intent of the provocateur (coded as benign or hostile) and to predict his or her own behavioral response (coded as nonaggression or reactive aggression). Mothers and children independently rated the child’s chronic aggressive behavior problems in years 2, 3, and 4. In every ecological group, in those situations in which a child attributed hostile intent to a peer, that child was more likely to report that he or she would respond with reactive aggression than in situations when that same child attributed benign intent. Across children, hostile attributional bias scores predicted higher mother- and child-rated chronic aggressive behavior problems, even controlling for prior aggression. Ecological group differences in the tendency for children to attribute hostile intent statistically accounted for a significant portion of group differences in chronic aggressive behavior problems. The findings suggest a psychological mechanism for group differences in aggressive behavior and point to potential interventions to reduce aggressive behavior. PMID:26170281

  18. Review of the OSHA-NIOSH Response to the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill: Protecting the Health and Safety of Cleanup Workers.

    PubMed

    Michaels, David; Howard, John

    2012-07-18

    The fire and explosion of the Deepwater Horizon oil rig resulted in an enormous oil spill that threatened large distances of coastline. The overall response was led by the United States Coast Guard and involved the oil company BP, federal agencies, and state and local governments of five states. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health focused extensive resources on ensuring that BP and its contractors provided safe working conditions for thousands of workers involved in the response. Federal personnel visited worksites daily, identifying hazards and means of abatement; assessed training programs to ensure that workers were adequately trained in languages they could understand; monitored chemical exposures and determined that the proper personal protective equipment was deployed; insisted on implementation of a heat mitigation program; rostered thousands of workers; and conducted extensive outreach in communities impacted by the spill. Advance planning, immediate deployment, and collaboration across agencies helped ensure that the response operations resulted in no worker fatalities, and relatively few injuries and illnesses. For future responses, improvements should be made in how safety and health information, as well as the process behind safety and health decisions, are communicated to the public. Michaels D, Howard J. Review of the OSHA-NIOSH Response to the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill: Protecting the Health and Safety of Cleanup Workers. PLoS Currents Disasters. 2012 Jul 18.

  19. Attributions, affect, and behavior in abuse-risk mothers: a laboratory study.

    PubMed

    Dadds, Mark R; Mullins, Miranda J; McAllister, Ross A; Atkinson, Erin

    2003-01-01

    There were two main aims: first, to assess parental attributions about child behavior in abuse-risk and nonclinic parents. Second, to assess how attributions predict affective and behavioral reactions to child behavior. Internal-external attributions relating to the causes of child behavior were compared across mothers at-risk of child abuse (n = 40) and mothers who reported no significant parental or child conduct or behavior problems (n = 20). Mothers' attributions about the causes of the behavior of their own child and an unfamiliar child were recorded in response to the presentation of videotaped excerpts of the behavior. Results highlighted that compared with nonclinic mothers, abuse-risk mothers had a tendency to attribute positive child behavior to more external causes and negative child behavior to more internal causes. Differences were also found between parental cognitions about clearly positive, clearly naughty, and ambiguous child behavior. In the abuse-risk group, positive child behavior predicted coercive parenting when it elicited angry feelings in the mother; ambiguous and naughty child behavior led to coercive parenting through valence ratings of "deviant" and attributions of "internality." Analyses within the abuse-risk group showed that parental attributions are predictive of parental coerciveness for unfamiliar behavior. As behavior becomes more familiar, ratings of its valence and the affect it elicits override attributional activity. Parental attributions about the causes of child behavior differ according to the valence and familiarity of that behavior, and discriminate between parents at risk for child abuse. Further, attributions are predictive of the affective and behavioral responses the parent makes to the child's behavior for ambiguous or unfamiliar behavior. Evidence was found for the validity of using videotaped stimuli of the behavior of known and unknown children as a method of assessing parental attributions. Copyright 2002

  20. Improving Performance of the System Safety Function at Marshall Space Flight Center

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Kiessling, Ed; Tippett, Donald D.; Shivers, Herb

    2004-01-01

    The Columbia Accident Investigation Board (CAIB) determined that organizational and management issues were significant contributors to the loss of Space Shuttle Columbia. In addition, the CAIB observed similarities between the organizational and management climate that preceded the Challenger accident and the climate that preceded the Columbia accident. To prevent recurrence of adverse organizational and management climates, effective implementation of the system safety function is suggested. Attributes of an effective system safety program are presented. The Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) system safety program is analyzed using the attributes. Conclusions and recommendations for improving the MSFC system safety program are offered in this case study.

  1. A Generalized Measurement Model to Quantify Health: The Multi-Attribute Preference Response Model

    PubMed Central

    Krabbe, Paul F. M.

    2013-01-01

    After 40 years of deriving metric values for health status or health-related quality of life, the effective quantification of subjective health outcomes is still a challenge. Here, two of the best measurement tools, the discrete choice and the Rasch model, are combined to create a new model for deriving health values. First, existing techniques to value health states are briefly discussed followed by a reflection on the recent revival of interest in patients’ experience with regard to their possible role in health measurement. Subsequently, three basic principles for valid health measurement are reviewed, namely unidimensionality, interval level, and invariance. In the main section, the basic operation of measurement is then discussed in the framework of probabilistic discrete choice analysis (random utility model) and the psychometric Rasch model. It is then shown how combining the main features of these two models yields an integrated measurement model, called the multi-attribute preference response (MAPR) model, which is introduced here. This new model transforms subjective individual rank data into a metric scale using responses from patients who have experienced certain health states. Its measurement mechanism largely prevents biases such as adaptation and coping. Several extensions of the MAPR model are presented. The MAPR model can be applied to a wide range of research problems. If extended with the self-selection of relevant health domains for the individual patient, this model will be more valid than existing valuation techniques. PMID:24278141

  2. Televised relational and physical aggression and children's hostile intent attributions.

    PubMed

    Martins, Nicole

    2013-12-01

    An experiment was conducted with 150 children (mean age=10.1years) in third to fifth grades to test whether exposure to different forms of aggression in the media affected hostile attributional biases in response to different forms of provocation scenarios. Children were randomly assigned to watch a clip containing physical aggression, relational aggression, or no aggression. After exposure, children were asked to respond to a series of written provocation scenarios where a character caused some form of harm (instrumental or relational) to a target person, but the intent of the provocateur was ambiguous. Results revealed that exposure to relationally aggressive portrayals resulted in a hostile attributional bias in response to relational scenarios, whereas exposure to portrayals of physical aggression was associated with a hostile attributional bias in response to instrumental scenarios. Moreover, these biases were shown to be specific to the exposure condition (physical or relational) and not simply associated with exposure to aggression in general. The findings are discussed in terms of the general aggression model and children's social information processing. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  3. Attributable causes of colorectal cancer in China.

    PubMed

    Gu, Meng-Jia; Huang, Qiu-Chi; Bao, Cheng-Zhen; Li, Ying-Jun; Li, Xiao-Qin; Ye, Ding; Ye, Zhen-Hua; Chen, Kun; Wang, Jian-Bing

    2018-01-05

    Colorectal cancer is the 4th common cancer in China. Most colorectal cancers are due to modifiable lifestyle factors, but few studies have provided a systematic evidence-based assessment of the burden of colorectal cancer incidence and mortality attributable to the known risk factors in China. We estimated the population attributable faction (PAF) for each selected risk factor in China, based on the prevalence of exposure around 2000 and relative risks from cohort studies and meta-analyses. Among 245,000 new cases and 139,000 deaths of colorectal cancer in China in 2012, we found that 115,578 incident cases and 63,102 deaths of colorectal cancer were attributable to smoking, alcohol drinking, overweight and obesity, physical inactivity and dietary factors. Low vegetable intake was the main risk factor for colorectal cancer with a PAF of 17.9%. Physical inactivity was responsible for 8.9% of colorectal cancer incidence and mortality. The remaining factors, including high red and processed meat intake, low fruit intake, alcohol drinking, overweight/obesity and smoking, accounted for 8.6%, 6.4%, 5.4%, 5.3% and 4.9% of colorectal cancer, respectively. Overall, 45.5% of colorectal cancer incidence and mortality were attributable to the joint effects of these seven risk factors. Tobacco smoking, alcohol drinking, overweight or obesity, physical inactivity, low vegetable intake, low fruit intake, and high red and processed meat intake were responsible for nearly 46% of colorectal cancer incidence and mortality in China in 2012. Our findings could provide a basis for developing guidelines of colorectal cancer prevention and control in China.

  4. Vulnerability, safety and response of nuclear power plants to the hydroclimatic hazards

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    János Katona, Tamás; Vilimi, András

    2016-04-01

    practice demonstrated that the NPPs could safely withstand the meteorological extremes (Katrina hurricane, 2005). However the floods at some sites cause significant safety issues. Design of NPPs and their response to extreme hydroclimatic events depends on the features of particular hazards, e.g., predictability, possibility and time available for the protective actions, potential for causing cliff-edge effects and the possible combinations of events. The uncertainty of the prediction of extreme values for the design and safety assessment is a fundamental issue. In the paper the consequences of hydroclimatic extremes are analysed for nuclear power plants. The possibility of operational response to extremes is presented. The safety margins are assessed with respect to the effects caused by hydroclimatic extremes. The direct actions (e.g. wind) and the indirect consequences (e.g. changing of ground water level) are also considered. Methods for accounting the uncertainties of the characterisation of low probability hazards are also considered. The preparedness to severe hydroclimatic conditions / events and actions for mitigation and management are presented and discussed. The considerations in the paper are illustrated by the case of the Paks Nuclear Power Plant, Hungary.

  5. An Attributional Analysis of Stigma Associated with Sexually Transmitted Diseases and Its Relationship with Communication Efficacy

    PubMed Central

    Yoo, Jina H.; Jang, Suahn

    2012-01-01

    People typically attribute more responsibility to those individuals who are infected with sexually transmitted diseases (STD) than other diseases. This study tested how different routes (i.e., sexually transmitted or foodborne) of transmission have an impact on individuals’ general perception on stigma/shame and the attributions of responsibility, when controlling for symptoms/conditions of the hypothetical virus infection. Two hundreds and ninety eight college students were recruited for the study. As predicted, people who were attributed with control over contracting the virus (i.e., sexually transmitted route) were likely to be assigned a greater level of personal responsibility and were more likely to receive blame from others than people who were attributed relatively less control over contracting the virus (i.e., foodborne). The relationship between the attribution of responsibility and communication efficacy was also assessed. The results supported our prediction that there was a significant association between the attribution of responsibility and communication efficacy, in that the perceived controllability of the situation, perceived responsibility for the situation, and blame were all significantly correlated with communication efficacy in a negative direction. Practical applications by evaluating the effectiveness of the actual Merck’s Gardasil advertisement were discussed that the Gardasil advertisement appears to reduce the perceived shame and stigma associated with the sexually transmitted nature of the virus by not revealing the true nature of the virus upfront. PMID:22980337

  6. Behavioral Emergency Response Team: Implementation Improves Patient Safety, Staff Safety, and Staff Collaboration.

    PubMed

    Zicko, Cdr Jennifer M; Schroeder, Lcdr Rebecca A; Byers, Cdr William S; Taylor, Lt Adam M; Spence, Cdr Dennis L

    2017-10-01

    Staff members working on our nonmental health (non-MH) units (i.e., medical-surgical [MS] units) were not educated in recognizing or deescalating behavioral emergencies. Published evidence suggests a behavioral emergency response team (BERT) composed of MH experts who assist with deescalating behavioral emergencies may be beneficial in these situations. Therefore, we sought to implement a BERT on the inpatient non-MH units at our military treatment facility. The objectives of this evidence-based practice process improvement project were to determine how implementation of a BERT affects staff and patient safety and to examine nursing staffs' level of knowledge, confidence, and support in caring for psychiatric patients and patients exhibiting behavioral emergencies. A BERT was piloted on one MS unit for 5 months and expanded to two additional units for 3 months. Pre- and postimplementation staff surveys were conducted, and the number of staff assaults and injuries, restraint usage, and security intervention were compared. The BERT responded to 17 behavioral emergencies. The number of assaults decreased from 10 (pre) to 1 (post); security intervention decreased from 14 to 1; and restraint use decreased from 8 to 1. MS staffs' level of BERT knowledge and rating of support between MH staff and their staff significantly increased. Both MS and MH nurses rated the BERT as supportive and effective. A BERT can assist with deescalating behavioral emergencies, and improve staff collaboration and patient and staff safety. © 2017 Sigma Theta Tau International.

  7. Vehicle track interaction safety standards

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    2014-04-02

    Vehicle/Track Interaction (VTI) Safety Standards aim to : reduce the risk of derailments and other accidents attributable : to the dynamic interaction between moving vehicles and the : track over which they operate. On March 13, 2013, the Federal : R...

  8. Attributions or Retributions: Student Ratings and the Perceived Causes of Performance.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Theall, Michael; And Others

    The nature and extent of variations in student attributions about performance in their courses were studied, and the relationships between the attributions and responses on certain items of a student ratings questionnaire were determined. Causal or predictive relationships among these variables were also investigated. Data were collected using:…

  9. Personal Responsibility versus God's Will: Religious and Non-religious Attributions for the Death of a Friend.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Park, Crystal L.; Cohen, Lawrence H.

    Attributions, attempts to link an event with its causes, enable people to understand and react to their surroundings. Because attributions are directly related to understanding events, and because this understanding influences how individuals then deal with events, attributions play a vital role in the coping process. To explore the nature of…

  10. Lung Cancer Attributable to Indoor Radon Exposure in France: Impact of the Risk Models and Uncertainty Analysis

    PubMed Central

    Catelinois, Olivier; Rogel, Agnès; Laurier, Dominique; Billon, Solenne; Hemon, Denis; Verger, Pierre; Tirmarche, Margot

    2006-01-01

    Objective The inhalation of radon, a well-established human carcinogen, is the principal—and omnipresent—source of radioactivity exposure for the general population of most countries. Scientists have thus sought to assess the lung cancer risk associated with indoor radon. Our aim here is to assess this risk in France, using all available epidemiologic results and performing an uncertainty analysis. Methods We examined the exposure–response relations derived from cohorts of miners and from joint analyses of residential case-control studies and considered the interaction between radon and tobacco. The exposure data come from measurement campaigns conducted since the beginning of the 1980s by the Institute for Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety and the Directorate-General of Health in France. We quantified the uncertainties associated with risk coefficients and exposures and calculated their impact on risk estimates. Results The estimated number of lung cancer deaths attributable to indoor radon exposure ranges from 543 [90% uncertainty interval (UI), 75–1,097] to 3,108 (90% UI, 2,996–3,221), depending on the model considered. This calculation suggests that from 2.2% (90% UI, 0.3–4.4) to 12.4% (90% UI, 11.9–12.8) of these deaths in France may be attributable to indoor radon. Discussion In this original work we used different exposure–response relations from several epidemiologic studies and found that regardless of the relation chosen, the number of lung cancer deaths attributable to indoor radon appears relatively stable. Smokers can reduce their risk not only by reducing their indoor radon concentration but also by giving up smoking. PMID:16966089

  11. Review of the OSHA-NIOSH Response to the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill: Protecting the Health and Safety of Cleanup Workers

    PubMed Central

    Michaels, David; Howard, John

    2012-01-01

    Introduction: The fire and explosion of the Deepwater Horizon oil rig resulted in an enormous oil spill that threatened large distances of coastline. The overall response was led by the United States Coast Guard and involved the oil company BP, federal agencies, and state and local governments of five states. Methods: The Occupational Safety and Health Administration and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health focused extensive resources on ensuring that BP and its contractors provided safe working conditions for thousands of workers involved in the response. Federal personnel visited worksites daily, identifying hazards and means of abatement; assessed training programs to ensure that workers were adequately trained in languages they could understand; monitored chemical exposures and determined that the proper personal protective equipment was deployed; insisted on implementation of a heat mitigation program; rostered thousands of workers; and conducted extensive outreach in communities impacted by the spill. Results: Advance planning, immediate deployment, and collaboration across agencies helped ensure that the response operations resulted in no worker fatalities, and relatively few injuries and illnesses. Conclusions: For future responses, improvements should be made in how safety and health information, as well as the process behind safety and health decisions, are communicated to the public. Citation: Michaels D, Howard J. Review of the OSHA-NIOSH Response to the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill: Protecting the Health and Safety of Cleanup Workers. PLoS Currents Disasters. 2012 Jul 18 PMID:24678440

  12. A neuroimaging investigation of attribute framing and individual differences

    PubMed Central

    Murch, Kevin B.

    2014-01-01

    Functional magnetic resonance imaging was used to evaluate the neural basis of framing effects. We tested the reflexive and reflective systems model of social cognition as it relates to framing. We also examined the relationships among frame susceptibility, intelligence and personality measures. Participants evaluated whether personal attributes applied to themselves from multiple perspectives and in positive and negative frames. Participants rated whether each statement was descriptive or not and endorsed positive frames more than negative frames. Individual differences on frame decisions enabled us to form high and low frame susceptibility groups. Endorsement of frame-consistent attributes was associated with personality factors, cognitive reflection and intelligence. Reflexive brain regions were associated with positive frames while reflective areas were associated with negative frames. Region of Interest analyses showed that frame-inconsistent responses were associated with increased activation within reflective cognitive control regions including the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (PFC), dorsomedial PFC and left ventrolateral PFC. Frame-consistent responses were associated with increased activation in the right orbitofrontal cortex. These results demonstrate that individual differences in frame susceptibility influence personal attribute evaluations. Overall, this study clarifies the neural correlates of the reflective and reflexive systems of social cognition as applied to decisions about social attributions. PMID:23988759

  13. Westinghouse Small Modular Reactor passive safety system response to postulated events

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Smith, M. C.; Wright, R. F.

    2012-07-01

    The Westinghouse Small Modular Reactor (SMR) is an 800 MWt (>225 MWe) integral pressurized water reactor. This paper is part of a series of four describing the design and safety features of the Westinghouse SMR. This paper focuses in particular upon the passive safety features and the safety system response of the Westinghouse SMR. The Westinghouse SMR design incorporates many features to minimize the effects of, and in some cases eliminates the possibility of postulated accidents. The small size of the reactor and the low power density limits the potential consequences of an accident relative to a large plant. Themore » integral design eliminates large loop piping, which significantly reduces the flow area of postulated loss of coolant accidents (LOCAs). The Westinghouse SMR containment is a high-pressure, compact design that normally operates at a partial vacuum. This facilitates heat removal from the containment during LOCA events. The containment is submerged in water which also aides the heat removal and provides an additional radionuclide filter. The Westinghouse SMR safety system design is passive, is based largely on the passive safety systems used in the AP1000{sup R} reactor, and provides mitigation of all design basis accidents without the need for AC electrical power for a period of seven days. Frequent faults, such as reactivity insertion events and loss of power events, are protected by first shutting down the nuclear reaction by inserting control rods, then providing cold, borated water through a passive, buoyancy-driven flow. Decay heat removal is provided using a layered approach that includes the passive removal of heat by the steam drum and independent passive heat removal system that transfers heat from the primary system to the environment. Less frequent faults such as loss of coolant accidents are mitigated by passive injection of a large quantity of water that is readily available inside containment. An automatic depressurization system is

  14. Summary of Federal Aviation Administration Responses to National Transportation Safety Board Safety Recommendations

    DTIC Science & Technology

    1980-05-01

    Langhorne M. Bond Administrator Federal Aviation Administration ) SAFETY RECOMMENDATICN(S) Washington, D. C. 20591, A-79-73 and -74... Langhorne M. Bond -2- Therefore, the National Transportation Safety Board recommends that the Federal Aviation Administration: Prescribe an appropriate method...TRANSPORTATION SAFETY BOARD WASHINGTON, D.C. ISSUED: October 17,.1979 i ----------- ----------------------- Forwarded to: Honorable Langhorne M. Bond

  15. Product Engineering Class in the Software Safety Risk Taxonomy for Building Safety-Critical Systems

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Hill, Janice; Victor, Daniel

    2008-01-01

    When software safety requirements are imposed on legacy safety-critical systems, retrospective safety cases need to be formulated as part of recertifying the systems for further use and risks must be documented and managed to give confidence for reusing the systems. The SEJ Software Development Risk Taxonomy [4] focuses on general software development issues. It does not, however, cover all the safety risks. The Software Safety Risk Taxonomy [8] was developed which provides a construct for eliciting and categorizing software safety risks in a straightforward manner. In this paper, we present extended work on the taxonomy for safety that incorporates the additional issues inherent in the development and maintenance of safety-critical systems with software. An instrument called a Software Safety Risk Taxonomy Based Questionnaire (TBQ) is generated containing questions addressing each safety attribute in the Software Safety Risk Taxonomy. Software safety risks are surfaced using the new TBQ and then analyzed. In this paper we give the definitions for the specialized Product Engineering Class within the Software Safety Risk Taxonomy. At the end of the paper, we present the tool known as the 'Legacy Systems Risk Database Tool' that is used to collect and analyze the data required to show traceability to a particular safety standard

  16. Telemedicine to promote patient safety: Use of phone-based interactive voice response system (IVRS) to reduce adverse safety events in predialysis CKD

    PubMed Central

    Weiner, Shoshana; Fink, Jeffery C.

    2017-01-01

    Chronic kidney disease (CKD) patients have several features conferring upon them a high risk of adverse safety events, which are defined as incidents with unintended harm related to processes of care or medications. These characteristics include impaired renal function, polypharmacy, and frequent health system encounters. The consequences of such events in CKD can include new or prolonged hospitalization, accelerated renal function loss, acute kidney injury, end-stage renal disease and death. Health information technology administered via telemedicine presents opportunities for CKD patients to remotely communicate safety-related findings to providers for the purpose of improving their care. However, many CKD patients have limitations which hinder their use of telemedicine and access to the broad capabilities of health information technology. In this review we summarize previous assessments of the pre-dialysis CKD populations’ proficiency in using telemedicine modalities and describe the use of interactive voice-response system (IVRS) to gauge the safety phenotype of the CKD patient. We discuss the potential for expanded IVRS use in CKD to address the safety threats inherent to this population. PMID:28224940

  17. A Common Approach for the Certifying of International Space Station (ISS) Basic Hardware for Ground Safety

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Kirkpatrick, Paul D.; Trinchero, Jean-Pierre

    2005-01-01

    In order to support the International Space Station, as well as any future long term human missions, vast amounts of logistical-type hardware is required to be processed through the various launch sites. This category consists of such hardware as spare parts, replacement items, and upgraded hardware. The category also includes samples for experiments and consumables. One attribute that all these items have is they are generally non-hazardous, at least to ground personnel. Even though the items are non-hazardous, launch site ground safety has a responsibility for the protection of personnel, the flight hardware, and launch site resources. In order to fulfill this responsibility, the safety organization must have knowledge of the hardware and its operations. Conversely, the hardware providers are entitled to a process that is commensurate with the hazard. Additionally, a common system should be in place that is flexible enough to account for the requirements at all launch sites, so that, the hardware provider need only complete one process for ground safety regardless of the launch site.

  18. Influence of brand personality-marker attributes on purchasing intention: the role of emotionality.

    PubMed

    Guido, Gianluigi; Peluso, Alessandro M; Provenzano, Mariarosaria

    2010-06-01

    Marketing researchers employ the Five-Factor Model to describe branded products using attributes of human personality. "Marker attributes" used to elicit these brand personality attributes may be related to consumers' intention to purchase. Two connected studies, carried out on two samples of 91 and 557 participants, respectively, indicated that brand personality-marker attributes predict intention to purchase, but only to the extent that such attributes are "vivid" and, in particular, when they elicit emotional responses (i.e., when they are emotionally interesting). These findings have several implications for people involved in developing strategies for advertising.

  19. Changes in Free Symptom Attributions in Hypochondriasis after Cognitive Therapy and Exposure Therapy.

    PubMed

    Schwind, Julia; Neng, Julia M B; Weck, Florian

    2016-09-01

    Cognitive-behavioural therapy can change dysfunctional symptom attributions in patients with hypochondriasis. Past research has used forced-choice answer formats, such as questionnaires, to assess these misattributions; however, with this approach, idiosyncratic attributions cannot be assessed. Free associations are an important complement to existing approaches that assess symptom attributions. With this study, we contribute to the current literature by using an open-response instrument to investigate changes in freely associated attributions after exposure therapy (ET) and cognitive therapy (CT) compared with a wait list (WL). The current study is a re-examination of a formerly published randomized controlled trial (Weck, Neng, Richtberg, Jakob and Stangier, 2015) that investigated the effectiveness of CT and ET. Seventy-three patients with hypochondriasis were randomly assigned to CT, ET or a WL, and completed a 12-week treatment (or waiting period). Before and after the treatment or waiting period, patients completed an Attribution task in which they had to spontaneously attribute nine common bodily sensations to possible causes in an open-response format. Compared with the WL, both CT and ET reduced the frequency of somatic attributions regarding severe diseases (CT: Hedges's g = 1.12; ET: Hedges's g = 1.03) and increased the frequency of normalizing attributions (CT: Hedges's g = 1.17; ET: Hedges's g = 1.24). Only CT changed the attributions regarding moderate diseases (Hedges's g = 0.69). Changes in somatic attributions regarding mild diseases and psychological attributions were not observed. Both CT and ET are effective for treating freely associated misattributions in patients with hypochondriasis. This study supplements research that used a forced-choice assessment.

  20. Neural correlates of depressive realism – An fMRI study on causal attribution in depression

    PubMed Central

    Seidel, Eva-Maria; Satterthwaite, Theodore D.; Eickhoff, Simon B.; Schneider, Frank; Gur, Ruben C.; Wolf, Daniel H.; Habel, Ute; Derntl, Birgit

    2013-01-01

    Background Biased causal attribution is a critical factor in the cognitive model of depression. Whereas depressed patients interpret events negatively, healthy people show a self-serving bias (internal attribution of positive events and external attribution of negative events). Methods Using fMRI, depressed patients (n=15) and healthy controls (n=15) were confronted with positive and negative social events and made causal attributions (internal vs. external). Functional data were analyzed using a mixed effects model. Results Behaviourally, controls showed a self-serving bias, whereas patients demonstrated a balanced attributional pattern. Analysis of functional data revealed a significant group difference in a fronto-temporal network. Higher activation of this network was associated with non self-serving attributions in controls but self-serving attributions in patients. Applying a psycho-physiological interaction analysis, we observed reduced coupling between a dorsomedial PFC seed region and limbic areas during self-serving attributions in patients compared to controls. Limitations Results of the PPI analysis are preliminary given the liberal statistical threshold. Conclusions The association of the behaviourally less frequent attributional pattern with activation in a fronto-temporal network suggests that non self-serving responses may produce a self-related response conflict in controls, while self-serving responses produce this conflict in patients. Moreover, attribution-modulated coupling between the dorsomedial PFC and limbic regions was weaker in patients than controls. This preliminary finding suggests that depression may be associated with disturbances in fronto-limbic coupling during attributional decisions. Our results implicate that treatment of major depression may benefit from approaches that facilitate reinterpretation of emotional events in a more positive, more self-serving way. PMID:22377511

  1. Attribution Traits Versus Situations: The Cross-Situational Consistency of Attributions.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Barke, Charles R.

    While attributions have traditionally been viewed as social cognition variables, some researchers have proposed that individual differences exist in attributional patterns and that these patterns are differentially related to and predictive of various behaviors. A study was conducted to examine the question of attribution style as a trait-like…

  2. A system to improve medication safety in the setting of acute kidney injury: initial provider response.

    PubMed

    McCoy, Allison B; McCoy, Allison Beck; Peterson, Josh F; Gadd, Cynthia S; Gadd, Cindy; Danciu, Ioana; Waitman, Lemuel R

    2008-11-06

    Clinical decision support systems can decrease common errors related to inappropriate or excessive dosing for nephrotoxic or renally cleared drugs. We developed a comprehensive medication safety intervention with varying levels of workflow intrusiveness within computerized provider order entry to continuously monitor for and alert providers about early-onset acute kidney injury. Initial provider response to the interventions shows potential success in improving medication safety and suggests future enhancements to increase effectiveness.

  3. Attributional, Perceptual, and Affective Responses to Depressed and Nondepressed Marital Partners.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Sacco, William P.; And Others

    1993-01-01

    Husbands of wives with (n=22) or without (n=23) history of depressive disorder indicated their attributions about and affective reactions to real and hypothetical positive and negative events occurring to their wives, rated their wives on personality traits, and reported their own marital satisfaction. Depressed wives were rated more negatively on…

  4. A Software Safety Risk Taxonomy for Use in Retrospective Safety Cases

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Hill, Janice L.

    2007-01-01

    Safety standards contain technical and process-oriented safely requirements. The best time to include these requirements is early in the development lifecycle of the system. When software safety requirements are levied on a legacy system after the fact, a retrospective safety case will need to be constructed for the software in the system. This can be a difficult task because there may be few to no art facts available to show compliance to the software safely requirements. The risks associated with not meeting safely requirements in a legacy safely-critical computer system must be addressed to give confidence for reuse. This paper introduces a proposal for a software safely risk taxonomy for legacy safely-critical computer systems, by specializing the Software Engineering Institute's 'Software Development Risk Taxonomy' with safely elements and attributes.

  5. Improving the Accuracy of Attribute Extraction using the Relatedness between Attribute Values

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Bollegala, Danushka; Tani, Naoki; Ishizuka, Mitsuru

    Extracting attribute-values related to entities from web texts is an important step in numerous web related tasks such as information retrieval, information extraction, and entity disambiguation (namesake disambiguation). For example, for a search query that contains a personal name, we can not only return documents that contain that personal name, but if we have attribute-values such as the organization for which that person works, we can also suggest documents that contain information related to that organization, thereby improving the user's search experience. Despite numerous potential applications of attribute extraction, it remains a challenging task due to the inherent noise in web data -- often a single web page contains multiple entities and attributes. We propose a graph-based approach to select the correct attribute-values from a set of candidate attribute-values extracted for a particular entity. First, we build an undirected weighted graph in which, attribute-values are represented by nodes, and the edge that connects two nodes in the graph represents the degree of relatedness between the corresponding attribute-values. Next, we find the maximum spanning tree of this graph that connects exactly one attribute-value for each attribute-type. The proposed method outperforms previously proposed attribute extraction methods on a dataset that contains 5000 web pages.

  6. Biological Response Modifiers in Rheumatoid Arthritis: Systematic Review and Meta-analysis of Safety

    PubMed Central

    Tank, Nitishkumar D.; Karelia, Bharti N.; Vegada, Bhavisha N.

    2017-01-01

    Objective: To analyze available evidence on the safety of different biological response modifiers which are used for a treatment of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Materials and Methods: We searched systematically for randomized controlled clinical trials on treatment of RA with different biological response modifiers, followed by a systematic review with meta-analysis. Trials were searched from MEDLINE and Cochrane Library databases. The following safety parameters reported in the selected trials were analyzed: number of patients suffering any adverse event (AE), withdrawal due to AEs, serious AE (SAEs), infections, serious infections, infusion reactions, injection site reactions, malignancies, and overall mortality. Undesired effects were estimated using combined relative risks (RR) and number needed to harm (NNH). Heterogeneity was evaluated by Cochrane's Q and I2 statistics. Results: According to inclusion criteria, a total of 43 trials (20,504 patients) were included in this study. A total number of AEs were found more with abatacept (RR: 1.05, NNH: 21.93). Withdrawal due to AEs was found with all biologicals, highest with anakinra (RR: 3.48, NNH: 15.70). Patients receiving newer tumor necrosis factor-alpha inhibitors, golimumab, were more likely to develop SAEs (RR: 2.44, NNH: 12.72) and infection (RR: 1.25, NNH: 10.09), and in certolizumab, serious infections (RR: 2.95, NNH: 37.31) were found more. Infusion reaction develops more with rituximab (RR: 1.52, NNH: 8.47). Etanercept showed the highest risk to develop infusion site reaction (RR: 5.33, NNH: 4.65). Biologicals showed no difference to their control counterparts in malignancy and mortality risk. Conclusion: This meta-analysis helps to clarify some frequently encountered and unanswered safety questions of different biological response modifiers, a new class of drugs, in the clinical care of RA patients. PMID:29081616

  7. Automatic Ability Attribution after Failure: A Dual Process View of Achievement Attribution

    PubMed Central

    Sakaki, Michiko; Murayama, Kou

    2013-01-01

    Causal attribution has been one of the most influential frameworks in the literature of achievement motivation, but previous studies considered achievement attribution as relatively deliberate and effortful processes. In the current study, we tested the hypothesis that people automatically attribute their achievement failure to their ability, but reduce the ability attribution in a controlled manner. To address this hypothesis, we measured participants’ causal attribution belief for their task failure either under the cognitive load (load condition) or with full attention (no-load condition). Across two studies, participants attributed task performance to their ability more in the load than in the no-load condition. The increased ability attribution under cognitive load further affected intrinsic motivation. These results indicate that cognitive resources available after feedback play crucial roles in determining causal attribution belief, as well as achievement motivations. PMID:23667576

  8. Automatic ability attribution after failure: a dual process view of achievement attribution.

    PubMed

    Sakaki, Michiko; Murayama, Kou

    2013-01-01

    Causal attribution has been one of the most influential frameworks in the literature of achievement motivation, but previous studies considered achievement attribution as relatively deliberate and effortful processes. In the current study, we tested the hypothesis that people automatically attribute their achievement failure to their ability, but reduce the ability attribution in a controlled manner. To address this hypothesis, we measured participants' causal attribution belief for their task failure either under the cognitive load (load condition) or with full attention (no-load condition). Across two studies, participants attributed task performance to their ability more in the load than in the no-load condition. The increased ability attribution under cognitive load further affected intrinsic motivation. These results indicate that cognitive resources available after feedback play crucial roles in determining causal attribution belief, as well as achievement motivations.

  9. A neuroimaging investigation of attribute framing and individual differences.

    PubMed

    Murch, Kevin B; Krawczyk, Daniel C

    2014-10-01

    Functional magnetic resonance imaging was used to evaluate the neural basis of framing effects. We tested the reflexive and reflective systems model of social cognition as it relates to framing. We also examined the relationships among frame susceptibility, intelligence and personality measures. Participants evaluated whether personal attributes applied to themselves from multiple perspectives and in positive and negative frames. Participants rated whether each statement was descriptive or not and endorsed positive frames more than negative frames. Individual differences on frame decisions enabled us to form high and low frame susceptibility groups. Endorsement of frame-consistent attributes was associated with personality factors, cognitive reflection and intelligence. Reflexive brain regions were associated with positive frames while reflective areas were associated with negative frames. Region of Interest analyses showed that frame-inconsistent responses were associated with increased activation within reflective cognitive control regions including the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (PFC), dorsomedial PFC and left ventrolateral PFC. Frame-consistent responses were associated with increased activation in the right orbitofrontal cortex. These results demonstrate that individual differences in frame susceptibility influence personal attribute evaluations. Overall, this study clarifies the neural correlates of the reflective and reflexive systems of social cognition as applied to decisions about social attributions. © The Author (2013). Published by Oxford University Press. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  10. 75 FR 2833 - Safety Zones; Hydroplane Races Within the Captain of the Port Puget Sound Area of Responsibility

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2010-01-19

    ...-AA00 Safety Zones; Hydroplane Races Within the Captain of the Port Puget Sound Area of Responsibility... establish permanent safety zones for Hydroplane Races to take place on various dates on the waters of Dyes... enforcement, this rule would limit the movement of non-participating vessels within the established race areas...

  11. The attribution of animacy and agency in frontotemporal dementia versus Alzheimer's disease.

    PubMed

    Fong, Sylvia S; Paholpak, Pongsatorn; Daianu, Madelaine; Deutsch, Mariel B; Riedel, Brandalyn C; Carr, Andrew R; Jimenez, Elvira E; Mather, Michelle M; Thompson, Paul M; Mendez, Mario F

    2017-07-01

    Impaired attribution of animacy (state of living or being sentient) and of agency (capability of intrinsically-driven action) may underlie social behavior disturbances in behavioral variant frontotemporal dementia (bvFTD). We presented the Heider and Simmel film of moving geometric shapes to 11 bvFTD patients, 11 Alzheimer's disease (AD) patients, and 12 healthy controls (HCs) and rated their recorded verbal responses for animacy attribution and agency attribution. All participants had skin conductance (SC) continuously recorded while viewing the film, and all dementia participants underwent magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) for regions of interest. The bvFTD patients, but not the AD patients, were impaired in animacy attribution, compared to the HCs. In contrast, both bvFTD and AD groups were impaired in agency attribution, compared to the HCs, and only the HCs had increasing SC responsiveness during viewing of the film. On MRI analysis of cortical thicknesses, animacy scores significantly correlated across groups with the right pars orbitalis and opercularis; agency scores with the left inferior and superior parietal cortices and the supramarginal gyrus; and both scores with the left cingulate isthmus involved in visuospatial context. These findings suggest that bvFTD is specifically associated with impaired animacy attribution from right inferior frontal atrophy. In contrast, both dementias may have impaired agency attribution from left parietal cortical atrophy and absent SC increases during the film, a sympathetic indicator of attribution of a social "story" to the moving shapes. These findings clarify disease-related changes in social attribution and corroborate the neuroanatomical origins of animacy and agency. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  12. “Causes” Of Pesticide Safety Behavior Change in Latino Farmworker Families

    PubMed Central

    Grzywacz, Joseph G.; Arcury, Thomas A.; Talton, Jennifer W.; D’Agostino, Ralph B.; Trejo, Grisel; Mirabelli, Maria C.; Quandt, Sara A.

    2014-01-01

    Objective To identify the source of behavior change resulting from a health education intervention focused on pesticide safety. Methods Data were from the La Familia Sana demonstration project, a promotora-delivered pesticide safety education intervention conducted with immigrant Latinos (N = 610). Results The La Familia Sana program produced changes in 3 sets of pesticide safety behaviors. Changes in the conceptual targets of the intervention and promotora attributes explained 0.45–6% and 0.5–3% of the changes in pesticide-related behavior, respectively. Discussion The conceptual targets of the La Familia Sana program explained the greatest amount of change in pesticide-related behavior. Promotora attributes also contributed to intervention success PMID:23985226

  13. Safety: Preventive Medicine.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kotula, John R.; Digenakis, Anthony

    1985-01-01

    Underscores the need for community colleges to practice safety within the institutions and to instruct students in workplace safety procedures and requirements. Reviews Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA) regulations and their impact on industry and education. Looks at the legal responsibilities of colleges for safety. (DMM)

  14. International study of perceived neighbourhood environmental attributes and Body Mass Index: IPEN Adult study in 12 countries.

    PubMed

    De Bourdeaudhuij, Ilse; Van Dyck, Delfien; Salvo, Deborah; Davey, Rachel; Reis, Rodrigo S; Schofield, Grant; Sarmiento, Olga L; Mitas, Josef; Christiansen, Lars Breum; MacFarlane, Duncan; Sugiyama, Takemi; Aguinaga-Ontoso, Ines; Owen, Neville; Conway, Terry L; Sallis, James F; Cerin, Ester

    2015-05-16

    Ecological models of health behaviour are an important conceptual framework to address the multiple correlates of obesity. Several single-country studies previously examined the relationship between the built environment and obesity in adults, but results are very diverse. An important reason for these mixed results is the limited variability in built environments in these single-country studies. Therefore, the aim of this study was to examine associations between perceived neighbourhood built environmental attributes and BMI/weight status in a multi-country study including 12 environmentally and culturally diverse countries. A multi-site cross-sectional study was conducted in 17 cities (study sites) across 12 countries (Australia, Belgium, Brazil, China, Colombia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Mexico, New Zealand, Spain, the UK and USA). Participants (n = 14222, 18-66 years) self-reported perceived neighbourhood environmental attributes. Height and weight were self-reported in eight countries, and measured in person in four countries. Three environmental attributes were associated with BMI or weight status in pooled data from 12 countries. Safety from traffic was the most robust correlate, suggesting that creating safe routes for walking/cycling by reducing the speed and volume of traffic might have a positive impact upon weight status/BMI across various geographical locations. Close proximity to several local destinations was associated with BMI across all countries, suggesting compact neighbourhoods with more places to walk related to lower BMI. Safety from crime showed a curvilinear relationship with BMI, with especially poor crime safety being related to higher BMI. Environmental interventions involving these three attributes appear to have international relevance and focusing on these might have implications for tackling overweight/obesity.

  15. Actors, observers, and causal attributions of homelessness: Differences in attribution for the causes of homelessness among domiciled and homeless people in Madrid (Spain).

    PubMed

    Vázquez, José Juan; Panadero, Sonia; Zúñiga, Claudia

    2017-01-01

    The study analyzes the differences in causal attributions of homelessness and attributions of responsibility among the members of 3 groups: homeless group, consisting of a representative sample of homeless people in Madrid, Spain (n = 188); domiciled service-users group, consisting of people at risk of homelessness (n = 164); and domiciled nonservice-users group, consisting of people at no imminent risk of homelessness (n = 180). The domiciled service-users group and domiciled nonservice-users group were matched to the homeless group or sex, age, and nationality. The article also analyzes homeless people's causal attributions as regards their own situation. The results show that compared with the domiciled nonservice-users group, a higher percentage of members of the homeless group and domiciled service-users group attributed homelessness to individualistic causes and they blamed homeless people for their situation to a greater extent. The results also show that there was no "actor-observer bias" in causal attributions for homelessness in Madrid. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

  16. Exposed to events that never happen: Generalized unsafety, the default stress response, and prolonged autonomic activity.

    PubMed

    Brosschot, Jos F; Verkuil, Bart; Thayer, Julian F

    2017-03-01

    Based on neurobiological and evolutionary arguments, the generalized unsafety theory of stress (GUTS) hypothesizes that the stress response is a default response, and that chronic stress responses are caused by generalized unsafety (GU), independent of stressors or their cognitive representation. Three highly prevalent conditions are particularly vulnerable to becoming 'compromised' in terms of GU, and carry considerable health risks: Thus, GUTS critically revises and expands stress theory, by focusing on safety instead of threat, and by including risk factors that have hitherto not been attributed to stress. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  17. Improved safety culture and labor-management relations attributed to changing at-risk behavior process at Union Pacific.

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    2009-09-01

    Changing At-Risk Behavior (CAB) is a safety process that is being conducted at Union Pacifics San Antonio Service Unit (SASU) with the aim of improving road and yard safety. CAB is an example of a proactive safety risk-reduction method called Clea...

  18. Searchable attribute-based encryption scheme with attribute revocation in cloud storage.

    PubMed

    Wang, Shangping; Zhao, Duqiao; Zhang, Yaling

    2017-01-01

    Attribute based encryption (ABE) is a good way to achieve flexible and secure access control to data, and attribute revocation is the extension of the attribute-based encryption, and the keyword search is an indispensable part for cloud storage. The combination of both has an important application in the cloud storage. In this paper, we construct a searchable attribute-based encryption scheme with attribute revocation in cloud storage, the keyword search in our scheme is attribute based with access control, when the search succeeds, the cloud server returns the corresponding cipher text to user and the user can decrypt the cipher text definitely. Besides, our scheme supports multiple keywords search, which makes the scheme more practical. Under the assumption of decisional bilinear Diffie-Hellman exponent (q-BDHE) and decisional Diffie-Hellman (DDH) in the selective security model, we prove that our scheme is secure.

  19. Quality and strength of patient safety climate on medical-surgical units.

    PubMed

    Hughes, Linda C; Chang, Yunkyung; Mark, Barbara A

    2009-01-01

    Describing the safety climate in hospitals is an important first step in creating work environments where safety is a priority. Yet, little is known about the patient safety climate on medical-surgical units. Study purposes were to describe quality and strength of the patient safety climate on medical-surgical units and explore hospital and unit characteristics associated with this climate. Data came from a larger organizational study to investigate hospital and unit characteristics associated with organizational, nurse, and patient outcomes. The sample for this study was 3,689 RNs on 286 medical-surgical units in 146 hospitals. Nursing workgroup and managerial commitment to safety were the two most strongly positive attributes of the patient safety climate. However, issues surrounding the balance between job duties and safety compliance and nurses' reluctance to reveal errors continue to be problematic. Nurses in Magnet hospitals were more likely to communicate about errors and participate in error-related problem solving. Nurses on smaller units and units with lower work complexity reported greater safety compliance and were more likely to communicate about and reveal errors. Nurses on smaller units also reported greater commitment to patient safety and participation in error-related problem solving. Nursing workgroup commitment to safety is a valuable resource that can be leveraged to promote a sense of personal responsibility for and shared ownership of patient safety. Managers can capitalize on this commitment by promoting a work environment in which control over nursing practice and active participation in unit decisions are encouraged and by developing channels of communication that increase staff nurse involvement in identifying patient safety issues, prioritizing unit-level safety goals, and resolving day-to-day operational problems the have the potential to jeopardize patient safety.

  20. High visibility safety apparel and nighttime conspicuity of pedestrians in work zones.

    PubMed

    Sayer, James R; Mefford, Mary Lynn

    2004-01-01

    Every year numerous occupational fatalities result from pedestrians being struck by motor vehicles intruding into work zones. Attributes of retroreflective personal safety garments on pedestrian conspicuity at night were assessed in a field study. Using instrumented vehicles on a closed track, participants drove through simulated work zones attempting to detect pedestrians located in the work zones. Configuration of the retroreflective trim, trim color, placement in the work zone, and driver age significantly affected pedestrian conspicuity. Intensity and the amount of retroreflective trim did not. Personal safety garments incorporating retroreflective trim significantly improve pedestrian conspicuity in work zones. The results emphasize the importance of retroreflective trim on personal safety garments, particularly if the trim is located on garment sleeves. We examine the design attributes that contribute to making a personal safety garment conspicuous. The results have implications regarding preferred garment designs, industry standards, and service life of personal safety garments.

  1. Field studies of safety security rescue technologies through training and response activities

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Murphy, Robin R.; Stover, Sam

    2006-05-01

    This paper describes the field-oriented philosophy of the Institute for Safety Security Rescue Technology (iSSRT) and summarizes the activities and lessons learned during calendar year 2005 of its two centers: the Center for Robot-Assisted Search and Rescue and the NSF Safety Security Rescue industry/university cooperative research center. In 2005, iSSRT participated in four responses (La Conchita, CA, Mudslides, Hurricane Dennis, Hurricane Katrina, Hurricane Wilma) and conducted three field experiments (NJTF-1, Camp Hurricane, Richmond, MO). The lessons learned covered mobility, operator control units, wireless communications, and general reliability. The work has collectively identified six emerging issues for future work. Based on these studies, a 10-hour, 1 continuing education unit credit course on rescue robotics has been created and is available. Rescue robots and sensors are available for loan upon request.

  2. Attributions of Responsibility in a Child Sexual Abuse (CSA) Vignette among Respondents with CSA Histories: The Role of Abuse Similarity to a Hypothetical Victim

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Harding, Hilary G.; Zinzow, Heidi M.; Burns, Erin E.; Jackson, Joan L.

    2010-01-01

    Previous research suggests that similarity to a victim may influence attributions of responsibility in hypothetical child sexual abuse scenarios. One aspect of similarity receiving mixed support in the literature is respondent child sexual abuse history. Using a sample of 1,345 college women, the present study examined child sexual abuse history,…

  3. Workplace Safety Manual

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    2002-04-10

    N.C. Department of Transportation's workplace safety manual for online viewing. : The government of North Carolina feels that all employees are responsible for safety : on the job. This manual describes and sets out the operation of safety program : ...

  4. 75 FR 36773 - Pipeline Safety: Updating Facility Response Plans in Light of the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2010-06-28

    .... PHMSA-2010-0175] Pipeline Safety: Updating Facility Response Plans in Light of the Deepwater Horizon Oil... 194. In light of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, which has resulted in the... Systems. Subject: Updating Facility Response Plans in Light of the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill. Advisory...

  5. Water Safety and Lead Regulation: Physicians' Community Health Responsibilities.

    PubMed

    Jennings, Bruce; Duncan, Leslie Lyons

    2017-10-01

    This article reviews the regulation of lead in drinking water, highlighting its epidemiological, engineering, and ethical aspects with a focus on the Flint water crisis. We first discuss water quality policy and its implementation with a focus on lead contamination of water, primarily from pipe systems between a water treatment facility and a tap. We then discuss physicians' roles and ethical responsibilities regarding safe drinking water using a human rights framework. We argue that physicians can play an important role in safeguarding drinking water in their communities by being vigilant, honoring the community's trust in them, and warning, educating, and empowering patients and broader communities so as to protect tap water safety and public health. © 2017 American Medical Association. All Rights Reserved.

  6. Attributional processes in the learned helplessness paradigm: behavioral effects of global attributions.

    PubMed

    Mikulincer, M

    1986-12-01

    Following the learned helplessness paradigm, I assessed in this study the effects of global and specific attributions for failure on the generalization of performance deficits in a dissimilar situation. Helplessness training consisted of experience with noncontingent failures on four cognitive discrimination problems attributed to either global or specific causes. Experiment 1 found that performance in a dissimilar situation was impaired following exposure to globally attributed failure. Experiment 2 examined the behavioral effects of the interaction between stable and global attributions of failure. Exposure to unsolvable problems resulted in reduced performance in a dissimilar situation only when failure was attributed to global and stable causes. Finally, Experiment 3 found that learned helplessness deficits were a product of the interaction of global and internal attribution. Performance deficits following unsolvable problems were recorded when failure was attributed to global and internal causes. Results were discussed in terms of the reformulated learned helplessness model.

  7. Cognitive processes and conflict in close relationships: an attribution-efficacy model.

    PubMed

    Fincham, F D; Bradbury, T N

    1987-12-01

    A recently proposed model of cognitive processes underlying conflict in close relationships (Doherty, 1978, 1981a, 1981b) is revised and tested in two studies. Central to the original model are the causal attributions made for conflict and the perceived efficacy or ability to resolve conflict. The model is revised to incorporate judgments of responsibility and to provide a closer link to self-efficacy theory. The first study examines attributions and efficacy expectations in mother-child relationships. As anticipated, only weak evidence was obtained for predictions retained from the original model, high-lighting the relationship-specific nature of cognitive processes for conflict in families. A second study examines husband-wife relationships and provides evidence for the usefulness of an attribution-efficacy model for marital conflict. The attributional component of the model received greater support than that pertaining to efficacy expectations. In both studies, support was obtained for the proposal that the relation between conflict dimensions (e.g., blame) and causal dimensions is mediated by judgments of responsibility. The significance of the revisions to Doherty's model for understanding conflict in close relationships is discussed, and several avenues for further research are outlined.

  8. Extending Attribution Theory: Considering Students' Perceived Control of the Attribution Process

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Fishman, Evan J.; Husman, Jenefer

    2017-01-01

    Research in attribution theory has shown that students' causal thinking profoundly affects their learning and motivational outcomes. Very few studies, however, have explored how students' attribution-related beliefs influence the causal thought process. The present study used the perceived control of the attribution process (PCAP) model to examine…

  9. Changing US Attributes After CS-US Pairings Changes CS-Attribute-Assessments: Evidence for CS-US Associations in Attribute Conditioning.

    PubMed

    Förderer, Sabine; Unkelbach, Christian

    2016-03-01

    Attribute Conditioning (AC) refers to people's changed assessments of stimuli's (CSs) attributes due to repeated pairing with stimuli (USs) possessing these attributes; for example, when an athletic person (US) is paired with a neutral person (CS), the neutral person is judged to be more athletic after the pairing. We hypothesize that this AC effect is due to CSs' associations with USs rather than direct associations with attributes. Three experiments test this hypothesis by changing US attributes after CS-US pairings. Experiments 1 and 2 conditioned athleticism by pairing neutral men (CSs) with athletic and non-athletic USs. Post-conditioning, USs' athleticism was reversed, which systematically influenced participants' assessment of CS athleticism. Experiment 3 conditioned athleticism and changed USs' musicality after CS-US pairings. This post-conditioning change affected musicality assessments of CSs but did not influence athleticism-assessments. The results indicate that AC effects are based on an associative CS-US-attribute structure. © 2016 by the Society for Personality and Social Psychology, Inc.

  10. Secondary headaches attributed to arterial hypertension

    PubMed Central

    Assarzadegan, Farhad; Hesami, Omid; Aryani, Omid; Mansouri, Behnam; Beladi moghadam, Nahid

    2013-01-01

    Mild (140 to 159/90 to 99 mmHg) or moderate (160 to 179/100 to 109 mmHg) chronic arterial hypertension does not appear to cause headache. Whether moderate hypertension predisposes patients to headache at all remains controversial, but there is little evidence that it does. Ambulatory blood pressure monitoring in patients with mild and moderate hypertension has shown no convincing relationship between blood pressure fluctuations over a 24-hour period and presence or absence of headache. However, headaches are associated to various disorders that lead to abrupt, severe, and paroxysmal elevations in blood pressure. In this paper, the secondary headaches attributed to acute crises of hypertension and the criteria for diagnosing each of them have been reviewed. These are headaches attributed to pheochromocytoma, hypertensive crisis without encephalopathy, hypertensive encephalopathy, pre-eclampsia, eclampsia, and acute pressure response to exogenous agents. PMID:24250915

  11. Secure Data Access Control for Fog Computing Based on Multi-Authority Attribute-Based Signcryption with Computation Outsourcing and Attribute Revocation.

    PubMed

    Xu, Qian; Tan, Chengxiang; Fan, Zhijie; Zhu, Wenye; Xiao, Ya; Cheng, Fujia

    2018-05-17

    Nowadays, fog computing provides computation, storage, and application services to end users in the Internet of Things. One of the major concerns in fog computing systems is how fine-grained access control can be imposed. As a logical combination of attribute-based encryption and attribute-based signature, Attribute-based Signcryption (ABSC) can provide confidentiality and anonymous authentication for sensitive data and is more efficient than traditional "encrypt-then-sign" or "sign-then-encrypt" strategy. Thus, ABSC is suitable for fine-grained access control in a semi-trusted cloud environment and is gaining more and more attention recently. However, in many existing ABSC systems, the computation cost required for the end users in signcryption and designcryption is linear with the complexity of signing and encryption access policy. Moreover, only a single authority that is responsible for attribute management and key generation exists in the previous proposed ABSC schemes, whereas in reality, mostly, different authorities monitor different attributes of the user. In this paper, we propose OMDAC-ABSC, a novel data access control scheme based on Ciphertext-Policy ABSC, to provide data confidentiality, fine-grained control, and anonymous authentication in a multi-authority fog computing system. The signcryption and designcryption overhead for the user is significantly reduced by outsourcing the undesirable computation operations to fog nodes. The proposed scheme is proven to be secure in the standard model and can provide attribute revocation and public verifiability. The security analysis, asymptotic complexity comparison, and implementation results indicate that our construction can balance the security goals with practical efficiency in computation.

  12. Secure Data Access Control for Fog Computing Based on Multi-Authority Attribute-Based Signcryption with Computation Outsourcing and Attribute Revocation

    PubMed Central

    Xu, Qian; Tan, Chengxiang; Fan, Zhijie; Zhu, Wenye; Xiao, Ya; Cheng, Fujia

    2018-01-01

    Nowadays, fog computing provides computation, storage, and application services to end users in the Internet of Things. One of the major concerns in fog computing systems is how fine-grained access control can be imposed. As a logical combination of attribute-based encryption and attribute-based signature, Attribute-based Signcryption (ABSC) can provide confidentiality and anonymous authentication for sensitive data and is more efficient than traditional “encrypt-then-sign” or “sign-then-encrypt” strategy. Thus, ABSC is suitable for fine-grained access control in a semi-trusted cloud environment and is gaining more and more attention recently. However, in many existing ABSC systems, the computation cost required for the end users in signcryption and designcryption is linear with the complexity of signing and encryption access policy. Moreover, only a single authority that is responsible for attribute management and key generation exists in the previous proposed ABSC schemes, whereas in reality, mostly, different authorities monitor different attributes of the user. In this paper, we propose OMDAC-ABSC, a novel data access control scheme based on Ciphertext-Policy ABSC, to provide data confidentiality, fine-grained control, and anonymous authentication in a multi-authority fog computing system. The signcryption and designcryption overhead for the user is significantly reduced by outsourcing the undesirable computation operations to fog nodes. The proposed scheme is proven to be secure in the standard model and can provide attribute revocation and public verifiability. The security analysis, asymptotic complexity comparison, and implementation results indicate that our construction can balance the security goals with practical efficiency in computation. PMID:29772840

  13. Maintenance of safety behaviors via response-produced stimuli.

    PubMed

    Angelakis, Ioannis; Austin, Jennifer L

    2015-11-01

    Animal studies suggest that safety behaviors may be maintained by internally or externally produced safety signals, which function as positive reinforcers. We designed two experiments to test this phenomenon with humans. Participants played a computerized game in which they could earn or lose treasures by clicking on a map. In baseline, losses could be postponed by pressing a pedal that also produced a blue bar at the bottom of the screen. During test conditions, no losses were programmed, and pedal presses turned the bar from yellow to blue (Test 1) or blue to yellow (Test 2). In Experiment 2, new participants were exposed to the same conditions but were given information about the safety of the test environment. In both experiments, participants engaged in high rates of pedal pressing when presses were followed by blue bars, suggesting the bar functioned as a safety signal. We discuss how these findings may relate to safety behaviors commonly observed in certain mental health disorders. © The Author(s) 2015.

  14. Sun safety in construction: a U.K. intervention study.

    PubMed

    Houdmont, J; Madgwick, P; Randall, R

    2016-01-01

    Interventions to promote sun safety in the U.K. construction sector are warranted given the high incidence of skin cancer attributable to sun exposure relative to other occupational groups. To evaluate change in sun safety knowledge and practices among construction workers in response to an educational intervention. A baseline questionnaire was administered, followed by a bespoke sector-specific DVD-based intervention. At 12-month follow-up, participants completed a further questionnaire. Analyses were conducted on a sample of 120 workers (intervention group, n = 70; comparison group, n = 50). At follow-up, the proportion of intervention group participants that reported correct sun safety knowledge was not significantly greater than at baseline. However, the intervention group demonstrated significant positive change on 9 out of 10 behavioural measures, the greatest change being use of a shade/cover when working in the sun followed by regularly checking skin for moles or unusual changes. Exposure to this intervention was linked to some specific positive changes in construction workers' self-reported sun safety practices. These findings highlight the potential for educational interventions to contribute to tackling skin cancer in the UK construction sector. The findings support the development of bespoke educational interventions for other high-risk outdoor worker groups. © The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society of Occupational Medicine. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  15. Definition, willingness-to-pay, and ranking of quality attributes of U.S. pork as defined by importers in Asia and Mexico.

    PubMed

    Murphy, R G L; Howard, S T; Woerner, D R; Pendell, D L; Dixon, C L; Desimone, T L; Green, M D; Igo, J L; Tatum, J D; Belk, K E

    2015-01-01

    A survey was conducted from November 2009 to April 2010 to determine how importers of pork define 7 predetermined quality categories (food safety, customer service, eating quality, product specification, packaging, visual characteristics, and production history) and to estimate willingness-to-pay (WTP) and establish best-worst (B/W) scaling (rank) for the 7 quality categories. Interviews were conducted in Hong Kong/China (n = 83), Japan (n = 48), Mexico (n = 70) and Russia (n = 54) with importers of U.S. pork or those who had purchased U.S. pork from distributors in the last 3 yr. Interviews used dynamic routing software and were structured such that economic factors for purchase were addressed first, allowing all responses to focus on quality. Questions about WTP and B/W were asked and then each respondent was asked to define what each quality category meant to them. Generalized linear mixed models were used to analyze frequency data. Over 70% of interviewees in Hong Kong/China, Japan, and Mexico responded that purchase price was influential in deciding whether or not to purchase imported pork. This number was lower in Russia, where respondents stated tariff rates were also important, indicating market access was a larger issue in Russia. Food safety was the most important quality category (price was not included as a part of quality) for imported pork followed by specifications. Respondents indicated some form of government inspection was how they defined food safety, whereas product size, weight, and subcutaneous fat were all included in the definition of specifications. Interviewees were more likely to pay premiums for customer service and less likely to pay premiums for packaging (P < 0.05). The premiums that were willing to be paid for guarantees of quality for imported pork variety meats were numerically lower than for whole muscle cuts or processed products. A guarantee associated with food safety of processed pork products was found to be the quality

  16. Microbial Contamination Level Profiles Attributed to Contamination of Beef Carcasses, Personnel, and Equipment: Case of Small and Medium Enterprise Slaughterhouses.

    PubMed

    Wambui, Joseph; Lamuka, Peter; Karuri, Edward; Matofari, Joseph; Njage, Patrick Murigu Kamau

    2018-04-01

    The microbial contamination level profiles (MCLPs) attributed to contamination of beef carcasses, personnel, and equipment in five Kenyan small and medium enterprise slaughterhouses were determined. Aerobic plate counts, Enterobacteriaceae, Staphylococcus, and Salmonella were used to determine contamination at four different slaughter stages, namely, dehiding, evisceration, splitting, and dispatch. Microbiological criteria of the four microorganisms were used to score contamination levels (CLs) as poor (0), poor to average (1), average (2), or good (3). MCLPs were further assigned to carcasses, personnel, and equipment at each stage by summing up the CL scores. The CL score attributed to aerobic plate count contamination was 2 or 3 for carcasses but 0 for personnel and equipment in almost all slaughterhouses. A score of 0 on carcasses was mostly attributed to Enterobacteriaceae at evisceration and to Salmonella at dehiding and evisceration. In addition, a score of 0 was mostly attributed to Staphylococcus contamination of personnel at dehiding. A score of 3 was attributed mostly to Enterobacteriaceae on hands at splitting, whereas a score of 2 was mostly attributed to the clothes at dehiding and evisceration. A CL score of 3 was mostly attributed to Enterobacteriaceae and Salmonella contamination of equipment at dehiding and splitting, respectively. Although CLs attributed to contamination of carcasses, personnel, and equipment ranged from 0 to 3, the maximum MCLP score of 9 was only attained in carcasses from two slaughterhouses at dehiding and from one slaughterhouse at dispatch. There is, therefore, a lot of room for small and medium enterprise slaughterhouses to improve their food safety objectives by improving food safety management systems at the points characterized by low CL scores.

  17. Semantic attributes are encoded in human electrocorticographic signals during visual object recognition.

    PubMed

    Rupp, Kyle; Roos, Matthew; Milsap, Griffin; Caceres, Carlos; Ratto, Christopher; Chevillet, Mark; Crone, Nathan E; Wolmetz, Michael

    2017-03-01

    Non-invasive neuroimaging studies have shown that semantic category and attribute information are encoded in neural population activity. Electrocorticography (ECoG) offers several advantages over non-invasive approaches, but the degree to which semantic attribute information is encoded in ECoG responses is not known. We recorded ECoG while patients named objects from 12 semantic categories and then trained high-dimensional encoding models to map semantic attributes to spectral-temporal features of the task-related neural responses. Using these semantic attribute encoding models, untrained objects were decoded with accuracies comparable to whole-brain functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI), and we observed that high-gamma activity (70-110Hz) at basal occipitotemporal electrodes was associated with specific semantic dimensions (manmade-animate, canonically large-small, and places-tools). Individual patient results were in close agreement with reports from other imaging modalities on the time course and functional organization of semantic processing along the ventral visual pathway during object recognition. The semantic attribute encoding model approach is critical for decoding objects absent from a training set, as well as for studying complex semantic encodings without artificially restricting stimuli to a small number of semantic categories. Copyright © 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  18. [Patient safety culture based on a non-punitive response to error and freedom of expression of healthcare professionals].

    PubMed

    Mahjoub, Mohamed; Bouafia, Nabiha; Cheikh, Asma Ben; Ezzi, Olfa; Njah, Mansour

    2016-11-25

    This study provided an overview of healthcare professionals’ perception of patient safety based on analysis of the concept of freedom of expression and non-punitive response in order to identify and correct errors in our health system. This concept is a cornerstone of the patient safety culture among healthcare professionals and plays a central role in the quality improvement strategy..

  19. Attributions of Stability, Control and Responsibility: How Parents of Children with Intellectual Disabilities View their Child's Problematic Behaviour and Its Causes.

    PubMed

    Jacobs, Myrthe; Woolfson, Lisa Marks; Hunter, Simon C

    2016-01-01

    Children with intellectual disabilities have high rates of behaviour problems. This study explored parents' causal beliefs and attributions for general problematic child behaviour in children with different aetiologies of intellectual disabilities. Ten parents of children with intellectual disabilities participated in interviews about their child's problematic behaviour. Thematic analysis using NVivo revealed that parents viewed their child's problematic behaviour not only as caused by the child's intellectual disabilities but also by other causes unrelated to the intellectual disabilities, as well as by aspects of the social environmental context. Some causes were viewed as stable and uncontrollable and others as unstable and controllable. In addition, parents showed a strong sense of responsibility for child behaviour. Parents of children with intellectual disabilities do not solely interpret their child's problematic behaviour through the intellectual disabilities but incorporate the environment and causes and attributions that are not related to the intellectual disabilities, which may help to promote more effective parenting. © 2015 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  20. A mediation model linking dispatcher leadership and work ownership with safety climate as predictors of truck driver safety performance.

    PubMed

    Zohar, Dov; Huang, Yueng-hsiang; Lee, Jin; Robertson, Michelle

    2014-01-01

    The study was designed to test the effect of safety climate on safety behavior among lone employees whose work environment promotes individual rather than consensual or shared climate perceptions. The paper presents a mediation path model linking psychological (individual-level) safety climate antecedents and consequences as predictors of driving safety of long-haul truck drivers. Climate antecedents included dispatcher (distant) leadership and driver work ownership, two contextual attributes of lone work, whereas its proximal consequence included driving safety. Using a prospective design, safety outcomes, consisting of hard-braking frequency (i.e. traffic near-miss events) were collected six months after survey completion, using GPS-based truck deceleration data. Results supported the hypothesized model, indicating that distant leadership style and work ownership promote psychological safety climate perceptions, with subsequent prediction of hard-braking events mediated by driving safety. Theoretical and practical implications for studying safety climate among lone workers in general and professional drivers in particular are discussed. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  1. Spouse Criticism/Hostility Toward Partners with Chronic Pain: The Role of Spouse Attributions for Patient Control over Pain Behaviors.

    PubMed

    Burns, John W; Gerhart, James; Post, Kristina M; Smith, David A; Porter, Laura S; Buvanendran, Asokumar; Fras, Anne Marie; Keefe, Francis J

    2018-06-01

    Spouse attributions regarding displays of pain behaviors by their partners with chronic pain may account for subsequent increases in spouse critical/hostile responses toward their partners. People with chronic low back pain (n = 105) and their pain-free spouses (n = 105) completed electronic diary measures five times per day for 14 consecutive days. Key items assessed spouse observations of patient pain behavior, attributions regarding these behaviors, and spouse critical/hostile responses toward patients. Results were: a) spouse observations of patient pain behavior at Time 1 predicted high levels of spouse critical/hostile responses toward the patient at Time 2; b) "internal" attributions (e.g., the patient was attempting to influence spouse's feelings) at Time 1 predicted high levels of spouse critical/hostile responses toward the patient at Time 2; c) internal attributions mediated links between spouse observed pain behaviors at Time 1 and levels of spouse critical/hostile responses at Time 2. Spouse observations of patient pain behavior was also related to an "external" attribution (i.e., patient pain behavior was due to pain condition), but this attribution was not a significant mediator. A vital factor linking spouse scrutiny to spouse critical/hostile responses may be the spouse's ascribed reasons for the patient's grimacing, bracing, complaining, and so forth. Results indicate that spouse internal and negative attributions for pain behaviors of their partners with chronic pain may influence subsequent spouse critical/hostile reactions to them. Findings suggest that replacing spouse internal and negative attributions with external, compassionate and accepting explanations may be useful therapeutic targets for couples coping with chronic pain. Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier Inc.

  2. Evaluation of the Benefits Attributable to Automotive Lighweight Materials Program Research and Development Projects

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Das, S.

    The purpose of this project is to identify and test methods appropriate for estimating the benefits attributable to research and development (R and D) projects funded by the Automotive Lightweight Materials (ALM) Program of the Office of Advanced Automotive Technologies (OAAT) of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). The program focuses on the development and validation of advanced lightweight materials technologies to significantly reduce automotive vehicle body and chassis weight without compromising other attributes such as safety, performance, recyclability, and cost. The work supports the goals of the Partnership for a New Generation of Vehicles (PNGV). Up to thirty percentmore » of the improvement required to meet the PNGV goal of tripling vehicle fuel economy and much of its cost, safety, and recyclability goal depend on the lightweight materials. Funded projects range from basic materials science research to applied research in production environments. Collaborators on these projects include national laboratories, universities, and private sector firms, such as leading automobile manufacturers and their suppliers.« less

  3. DISPELLING MYTHS AND MISCONCEPTIONS TO IMPLEMENT A SAFETY CULTURE

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Potts, T. Todd; Smith, Ken; Hylko, James M.

    2003-02-27

    Industrial accidents are typically reported in terms of technological malfunctions, ignoring the human element in accident causation. However, over two-thirds of all accidents are attributable to human and organizational factors (e.g., planning, written procedures, job factors, training, communication, and teamwork), thereby affecting risk perception, behavior and attitudes. This paper reviews the development of WESKEM, LLC's Environmental, Safety, and Health (ES&H) Program that addresses human and organizational factors from a top-down, bottom-up approach. This approach is derived from the Department of Energy's Integrated Safety Management System. As a result, dispelling common myths and misconceptions about safety, while empowering employees to ''STOPmore » work'' if necessary, have contributed to reducing an unusually high number of vehicle, ergonomic and slip/trip/fall incidents successfully. Furthermore, the safety culture that has developed within WESKEM, LLC's workforce consists of three common characteristics: (1) all employees hold safety as a value; (2) each individual feels responsible for the safety of their co-workers as well as themselves; and (3) each individual is willing and able to ''go beyond the call of duty'' on behalf of the safety of others. WESKEM, LLC as a company, upholds the safety culture and continues to enhance its existing ES&H program by incorporating employee feedback and lessons learned collected from other high-stress industries, thereby protecting its most vital resource - the employees. The success of this program is evident by reduced accident and injury rates, as well as the number of safe work hours accrued while performing hands-on field activities. WESKEM, LLC (Paducah + Oak Ridge) achieved over 800,000 safe work hours through August 2002. WESKEM-Paducah has achieved over 665,000 safe work hours without a recordable injury or lost workday case since it started operations on February 28, 2000.« less

  4. Aviation safety : FAA and DOD response to similar safety concerns

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    2002-01-01

    Report to the Honorable Norman Y. Mineta, Secretary of Transportation, and the Honorable Donald H. Rumsfeld, Secretary of Defense. : Safety of aircraft is a paramount concern in both civilian and military aviation. The Federal Aviation Administration...

  5. Multi-Attribute Sequential Search

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Bearden, J. Neil; Connolly, Terry

    2007-01-01

    This article describes empirical and theoretical results from two multi-attribute sequential search tasks. In both tasks, the DM sequentially encounters options described by two attributes and must pay to learn the values of the attributes. In the "continuous" version of the task the DM learns the precise numerical value of an attribute when she…

  6. Wheeled mobility device transportation safety in fixed route and demand-responsive public transit vehicles within the United States.

    PubMed

    Frost, Karen L; van Roosmalen, Linda; Bertocci, Gina; Cross, Douglas J

    2012-01-01

    An overview of the current status of wheelchair transportation safety in fixed route and demand-responsive, non-rail, public transportation vehicles within the US is presented. A description of each mode of transportation is provided, followed by a discussion of the primary issues affecting safety, accessibility, and usability. Technologies such as lifts, ramps, securement systems, and occupant restraint systems, along with regulations and voluntary industry standards have been implemented with the intent of improving safety and accessibility for individuals who travel while seated in their wheeled mobility device (e.g., wheelchair or scooter). However, across both fixed route and demand-responsive transit systems a myriad of factors such as nonuse and misuse of safety systems, oversized wheeled mobility devices, vehicle space constraints, and inadequate vehicle operator training may place wheeled mobility device (WhMD) users at risk of injury even under non-impact driving conditions. Since WhMD-related incidents also often occur during the boarding and alighting process, the frequency of these events, along with factors associated with these events are described for each transit mode. Recommendations for improving WhMD transportation are discussed given the current state of

  7. Attribute And-Or Grammar for Joint Parsing of Human Pose, Parts and Attributes.

    PubMed

    Park, Seyoung; Nie, Xiaohan; Zhu, Song-Chun

    2017-07-25

    This paper presents an attribute and-or grammar (A-AOG) model for jointly inferring human body pose and human attributes in a parse graph with attributes augmented to nodes in the hierarchical representation. In contrast to other popular methods in the current literature that train separate classifiers for poses and individual attributes, our method explicitly represents the decomposition and articulation of body parts, and account for the correlations between poses and attributes. The A-AOG model is an amalgamation of three traditional grammar formulations: (i)Phrase structure grammar representing the hierarchical decomposition of the human body from whole to parts; (ii)Dependency grammar modeling the geometric articulation by a kinematic graph of the body pose; and (iii)Attribute grammar accounting for the compatibility relations between different parts in the hierarchy so that their appearances follow a consistent style. The parse graph outputs human detection, pose estimation, and attribute prediction simultaneously, which are intuitive and interpretable. We conduct experiments on two tasks on two datasets, and experimental results demonstrate the advantage of joint modeling in comparison with computing poses and attributes independently. Furthermore, our model obtains better performance over existing methods for both pose estimation and attribute prediction tasks.

  8. Social workers' attributions towards individuals with dual diagnosis of intellectual disability and mental illness.

    PubMed

    Araten-Bergman, T; Werner, S

    2017-02-01

    The present study aimed to explore the applicability of the attribution model to social workers' attributions towards clients with dual diagnosis of intellectual disability and psychiatric illness. Specifically, the study examined the relations between social workers' attribution of responsibility, causality, stereotypes of dangerousness, their emotional reactions and behavioural reactions towards clients with dual diagnosis. Social workers (N = 279) completed questionnaires measuring attributions of responsibility, causation and dangerousness, and reported on their emotional and behavioural reactions to clients diagnosed with DD. Most social workers reported high levels of helping behaviours. The strongest predictor of discriminatory behaviours was the stereotype of dangerousness. Social workers who reported feeling less anger and more pity towards clients with DD tended to report higher levels of helping behaviour. But contrary to attribution theory, fear and anger did not predict discriminatory behaviours. The results are discussed in relation to the core values of social work and to professional identity. © 2016 MENCAP and International Association of the Scientific Study of Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  9. Numbering questionnaires had no impact on the response rate and only a slight influence on the response content of a patient safety culture survey: a randomized trial.

    PubMed

    Kundig, François; Staines, Anthony; Kinge, Thompson; Perneger, Thomas V

    2011-11-01

    In self-completed surveys, anonymous questionnaires are sometimes numbered so as to avoid sending reminders to initial nonrespondents. This number may be perceived as a threat to confidentiality by some respondents, which may reduce the response rate, or cause social desirability bias. In this study, we evaluated whether using nonnumbered vs. numbered questionnaires influenced the response rate and the response content. During a patient safety culture survey, we randomized participants into two groups: one received an anonymous nonnumbered questionnaire and the other a numbered questionnaire. We compared the survey response rates and distributions of the responses for the 42-questionnaire items across the two groups. Response rates were similar in the two groups (nonnumbered, 75.2%; numbered, 72.8%; difference, 2.4%; P=0.28). Five of the 42 questions had statistically significant differences in distributions, but these differences were small. Unexpectedly, in all five instances, the patient safety culture ratings were more favorable in the nonnumbered group. Numbering of mailed questionnaires had no impact on the response rate. Numbering influenced significantly the response content of several items, but these differences were small and ran against the hypothesis of social desirability bias. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  10. Consumer Preferences for Hearing Aid Attributes

    PubMed Central

    Lataille, Angela T.; Buttorff, Christine; White, Sharon; Niparko, John K.

    2012-01-01

    Low utilization of hearing aids has drawn increased attention to the study of consumer preferences using both simple ratings (e.g., Likert scale) and conjoint analyses, but these two approaches often produce inconsistent results. The study aims to directly compare Likert scales and conjoint analysis in identifying important attributes associated with hearing aids among those with hearing loss. Seven attributes of hearing aids were identified through qualitative research: performance in quiet settings, comfort, feedback, frequency of battery replacement, purchase price, water and sweat resistance, and performance in noisy settings. The preferences of 75 outpatients with hearing loss were measured with both a 5-point Likert scale and with 8 paired-comparison conjoint tasks (the latter being analyzed using OLS [ordinary least squares] and logistic regression). Results were compared by examining implied willingness-to-pay and Pearson’s Rho. A total of 56 respondents (75%) provided complete responses. Two thirds of respondents were male, most had sensorineural hearing loss, and most were older than 50; 44% of respondents had never used a hearing aid. Both methods identified improved performance in noisy settings as the most valued attribute. Respondents were twice as likely to buy a hearing aid with better functionality in noisy environments (p < .001), and willingness to pay for this attribute ranged from US$2674 on the Likert to US$9000 in the conjoint analysis. The authors find a high level of concordance between the methods—a result that is in stark contrast with previous research. The authors conclude that their result stems from constraining the levels on the Likert scale. PMID:22514094

  11. 10 CFR 851.20 - Management responsibilities and worker rights and responsibilities.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-01-01

    ... responsibilities. 851.20 Section 851.20 Energy DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY WORKER SAFETY AND HEALTH PROGRAM Specific...) Management responsibilities. Contractors are responsible for the safety and health of their workforce and... objectives for the worker safety and health program; (2) Use qualified worker safety and health staff (e.g...

  12. Velocity, safety, or both? How do balance and strength of goal conflicts affect drivers' behaviour, feelings and physiological responses?

    PubMed

    Schmidt-Daffy, Martin; Brandenburg, Stefan; Beliavski, Alina

    2013-06-01

    Motivational models of driving behaviour agree that choice of speed is modulated by drivers' goals. Whilst it is accepted that some goals favour fast driving and others favour safe driving, little is known about the interplay of these conflicting goals. In the present study, two aspects of this interplay are investigated: the balance of conflict and the strength of conflict. Thirty-two participants completed several simulated driving runs in which fast driving was rewarded with a monetary gain if the end of the track was reached. However, unpredictably, some runs ended with the appearance of a deer. In these runs, fast driving was punished with a monetary loss. The ratio between the magnitudes of gains and losses varied in order to manipulate the balance of conflict. The absolute magnitudes of both gains and losses altered the strength of conflict. Participants drove slower, reported an increase in anxiety-related feelings, and showed indications of physiological arousal if there was more money at stake. In contrast, only marginal effects of varying the ratio between gains and losses were observed. Results confirm that the strength of a safety-velocity conflict is an important determinant of drivers' behaviour, feelings, and physiological responses. The lack of evidence for the balance of conflict playing a role suggests that in each condition, participants subjectively weighted the loss higher than the gain (loss aversion). It is concluded that the interplay of the subjective values that drivers attribute to objective incentives for fast and safe driving is a promising field for future research. Incorporating this knowledge into motivational theories of driving behaviour might improve their contribution to the design of adequate road safety measures. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  13. Scientific Uncertainties in Climate Change Detection and Attribution Studies

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Santer, B. D.

    2017-12-01

    It has been claimed that the treatment and discussion of key uncertainties in climate science is "confined to hushed sidebar conversations at scientific conferences". This claim is demonstrably incorrect. Climate change detection and attribution studies routinely consider key uncertainties in observational climate data, as well as uncertainties in model-based estimates of natural variability and the "fingerprints" in response to different external forcings. The goal is to determine whether such uncertainties preclude robust identification of a human-caused climate change fingerprint. It is also routine to investigate the impact of applying different fingerprint identification strategies, and to assess how detection and attribution results are impacted by differences in the ability of current models to capture important aspects of present-day climate. The exploration of the uncertainties mentioned above will be illustrated using examples from detection and attribution studies with atmospheric temperature and moisture.

  14. SAFETY, SECURITY, HYGIENE AND PRIVACY IN MIGRANT FARMWORKER HOUSING

    PubMed Central

    Arcury, Thomas A.; Weir, Maria M.; Summers, Phillip; Chen, Haiying; Bailey, Melissa; Wiggins, Melinda F.; Bischoff, Werner E.; Quandt, Sara A.

    2013-01-01

    Safety, security, hygiene, and privacy in migrant farmworker housing have not previously been documented, yet these attributes are important for farmworker quality of life and dignity. This analysis describes the safety, security, hygiene, and privacy of migrant farmworker housing and delineates camp characteristics that are associated with these attributes, using data collected in 183 eastern North Carolina migrant farmworker camps in 2010. Migrant farmworker housing is deficient. For example, 73.8 percent of housing had structural damage and 52.7 percent had indoor temperatures that were not safe. Farmworkers in 83.5 percent of the housing reported that they did not feel they or their possessions were secure. Bathing or toileting privacy was absent in 46.2 percent of the housing. Camps with residents having H-2A visas or North Carolina Department of Labor certificates of inspection posted had better safety, security, and hygiene. Regulations addressing the quality of migrant farmworker housing are needed. PMID:22776578

  15. Rights, responsibilities and (re)presentation: Using drawings to convey health and safety messages among immigrant workers.

    PubMed

    McKillop, Chris; Parsons, Janet A; Brown, Janet; Scott, Susan; Holness, D Linn

    2016-09-27

    Immigrant workers who are new to Canada are considered a vulnerable population under the Ontario Ministry of Labour Prevention Strategy for workplace safety. Posters outlining workplace safety rights and responsibilities may not be understandable to new immigrants. To explore visual approaches to making health and safety messages more understandable to new immigrants. This pilot study used arts-based qualitative research methods. Key messages from the Ministry of Labour Health & Safety at Work poster were (re)represented as images by an artist. Recent immigrants engaged in individual interviews and then took part in a focus group, in order to elicit their experiences of health and safety practices, their understanding and feedback concerning the Ministry poster, and the images created. An image-rich version of the poster was developed. The combination of drawings and minimal text was preferred and considered helpful by participants. Barriers to health and safety and work challenges for new immigrants were highlighted. Visual analysis yielded new versions of the poster, as well as a pictorial representation of the research process and study findings. The study demonstrates the value of using image-rich posters with immigrant workers, and the effectiveness of using arts-based methods within the research process.

  16. Silence That Can Be Dangerous: A Vignette Study to Assess Healthcare Professionals’ Likelihood of Speaking up about Safety Concerns

    PubMed Central

    Schwappach, David L. B.; Gehring, Katrin

    2014-01-01

    Purpose To investigate the likelihood of speaking up about patient safety in oncology and to clarify the effect of clinical and situational context factors on the likelihood of voicing concerns. Patients and Methods 1013 nurses and doctors in oncology rated four clinical vignettes describing coworkers’ errors and rule violations in a self-administered factorial survey (65% response rate). Multiple regression analysis was used to model the likelihood of speaking up as outcome of vignette attributes, responder’s evaluations of the situation and personal characteristics. Results Respondents reported a high likelihood of speaking up about patient safety but the variation between and within types of errors and rule violations was substantial. Staff without managerial function provided significantly higher levels of decision difficulty and discomfort to speak up. Based on the information presented in the vignettes, 74%−96% would speak up towards a supervisor failing to check a prescription, 45%−81% would point a coworker to a missed hand disinfection, 82%−94% would speak up towards nurses who violate a safety rule in medication preparation, and 59%−92% would question a doctor violating a safety rule in lumbar puncture. Several vignette attributes predicted the likelihood of speaking up. Perceived potential harm, anticipated discomfort, and decision difficulty were significant predictors of the likelihood of speaking up. Conclusions Clinicians’ willingness to speak up about patient safety is considerably affected by contextual factors. Physicians and nurses without managerial function report substantial discomfort with speaking up. Oncology departments should provide staff with clear guidance and trainings on when and how to voice safety concerns. PMID:25116338

  17. Prefrontal Norepinephrine Determines Attribution of “High” Motivational Salience

    PubMed Central

    Ventura, Rossella; Latagliata, Emanuele Claudio; Morrone, Cristina; La Mela, Immacolata; Puglisi-Allegra, Stefano

    2008-01-01

    Intense motivational salience attribution is considered to have a major role in the development of different psychopathologies. Numerous brain areas are involved in “normal” motivational salience attribution processes; however, it is not clear whether common or different neural mechanisms also underlie intense motivational salience attribution. To elucidate this a brain area and a neural system had to be envisaged that were involved only in motivational salience attribution to highly salient stimuli. Using intracerebral microdialysis, we found that natural stimuli induced an increase in norepinephrine release in the medial prefrontal cortex of mice proportional to their salience, and that selective prefrontal norepinephrine depletion abolished the increase of norepinephrine release in the medial prefrontal cortex induced by exposure to appetitive (palatable food) or aversive (light) stimuli independently of salience. However, selective norepinephrine depletion in the medial prefrontal cortex impaired the place conditioning induced exclusively by highly salient stimuli, thus indicating that prefrontal noradrenergic transmission determines approach or avoidance responses to both reward- and aversion-related natural stimuli only when the salience of the unconditioned natural stimulus is high enough to induce sustained norepinephrine outflow. This affirms that prefrontal noradrenergic transmission determines motivational salience attribution selectively when intense motivational salience is processed, as in conditions that characterize psychopathological outcomes. PMID:18725944

  18. Safety on Campus: Whose Responsibility?

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Cloud, Robert C.

    This paper is part of a collection of 54 papers from the 48th annual conference of the Education Law Association held in November 2002. It addresses postsecondary campus safety. It discusses the changes in the concept of in loco parentis on college campuses; the Crime Awareness and Campus Security Act of 1990; and legal principles applicable to…

  19. Recognizing Job Safety Hazards. Module SH-09. Safety and Health.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Center for Occupational Research and Development, Inc., Waco, TX.

    This student module on recognizing job safety hazards is one of 50 modules concerned with job safety and health. This module details employee and employer responsibilities in correcting and monitoring safety hazards. Following the introduction, 10 objectives (each keyed to a page in the text) the student is expected to accomplish are listed (e.g.,…

  20. MICROBIOLOGICAL SAFETY BIBLIOGRAPHY

    DTIC Science & Technology

    More than a thousand articles on biological safety in infectious disease laboratories are listed for the use of supervisors responsible for the safety of laboratory personnel. An author index is included.

  1. 14 CFR 1274.934 - Safety.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-01-01

    ... 14 Aeronautics and Space 5 2011-01-01 2010-01-01 true Safety. 1274.934 Section 1274.934... FIRMS Other Provisions and Special Conditions § 1274.934 Safety. Safety July 2002 NASA's safety priority... shall act responsibly in matters of safety and shall take all reasonable safety measures in performing...

  2. 14 CFR 1274.934 - Safety.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-01-01

    ... 14 Aeronautics and Space 5 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Safety. 1274.934 Section 1274.934... FIRMS Other Provisions and Special Conditions § 1274.934 Safety. Safety July 2002 NASA's safety priority... shall act responsibly in matters of safety and shall take all reasonable safety measures in performing...

  3. Better Science Through Safety.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Gerlovich, Jack A.; Downs, Gary E.

    Following a brief description of the major components found effective in school safety programs (safety management, education, and services) and data on school accidents in Iowa, this book addresses various aspects of safety related to science instruction, emphasizing that responsibility for safety must be shared by both teacher and students.…

  4. Transformation of the Urban Health Care Safety Net: The Devolution of a Public Responsibility.

    PubMed

    Kulesher, Robert

    2015-01-01

    Reduced spending in both federal and state programs and the closure of public hospitals have serious consequences for the health of urban dwellers, especially the poor and uninsured. Through a combination of economic factors, many municipalities have formed public-private partnerships and launched community initiatives to preserve some of the elements of the health care safety net. What once was a responsibility of municipal governments, the provision of health care to poor and uninsured populations, is now posing challenges for private-sector providers. This article identifies several factors that have contributed to the incremental demise of the publicly funded urban health care safety net and how local entities and the federal government are responding to the care of the poor and uninsured.

  5. Worldwide incidence of hepatocellular carcinoma cases attributable to major risk factors.

    PubMed

    Baecker, Aileen; Liu, Xing; La Vecchia, Carlo; Zhang, Zuo-Feng

    2018-05-01

    To facilitate regionally specific liver cancer prevention and control, this study estimates the fraction of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) cases attributable to five major liver cancer risk factors by geographic region. Prevalence estimates of major HCC risk factors, including chronic infection with hepatitis B and hepatitis C, alcohol drinking, tobacco smoking, obesity, and diabetes, were extracted for each country from the literature, along with recent incidence and risk estimate data, to calculate regionally specific population attributable fractions. Overall, 44% of HCC cases worldwide were attributable to chronic hepatitis B infection, with the majority of cases occurring in Asia. Hepatitis C was responsible for 21% of cases. Lifestyle risk factors such as alcohol drinking and obesity were responsible for a larger percentage of cases in North America and Western, Central, and Eastern Europe. In addition, strong sex disparities were observed when looking at lifestyle risk factors, particularly tobacco smoking, in Asia and Africa. Prominent risk factors for HCC vary depending on the region. Our findings provide useful data for developing regionally specific guidelines for liver cancer prevention and control worldwide.

  6. Process value of care safety: women's willingness to pay for perinatal services.

    PubMed

    Anezaki, Hisataka; Hashimoto, Hideki

    2017-08-01

    To evaluate the process value of care safety from the patient's view in perinatal services. Cross-sectional survey. Fifty two sites of mandated public neonatal health checkup in 6 urban cities in West Japan. Mothers who attended neonatal health checkups for their babies in 2011 (n = 1316, response rate = 27.4%). Willingness to pay (WTP) for physician-attended care compared with midwife care as the process-related value of care safety. WTP was estimated using conjoint analysis based on the participants' choice over possible alternatives that were randomly assigned from among eight scenarios considering attributes such as professional attendance, amenities, painless delivery, caesarean section rate, travel time and price. The WTP for physician-attended care over midwife care was estimated 1283 USD. Women who had experienced complications in prior deliveries had a 1.5 times larger WTP. We empirically evaluated the process value for safety practice in perinatal care that was larger than a previously reported accounting-based value. Our results indicate that measurement of process value from the patient's view is informative for the evaluation of safety care, and that it is sensitive to individual risk perception for the care process. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press in association with the International Society for Quality in Health Care.

  7. 40 CFR 300.150 - Worker health and safety.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-07-01

    ... 40 Protection of Environment 28 2014-07-01 2014-07-01 false Worker health and safety. 300.150... PLAN Responsibility and Organization for Response § 300.150 Worker health and safety. (a) Response actions under the NCP will comply with the provisions for response action worker safety and health in 29...

  8. 40 CFR 300.150 - Worker health and safety.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-07-01

    ... 40 Protection of Environment 27 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Worker health and safety. 300.150... PLAN Responsibility and Organization for Response § 300.150 Worker health and safety. (a) Response actions under the NCP will comply with the provisions for response action worker safety and health in 29...

  9. 40 CFR 300.150 - Worker health and safety.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-07-01

    ... 40 Protection of Environment 28 2011-07-01 2011-07-01 false Worker health and safety. 300.150... PLAN Responsibility and Organization for Response § 300.150 Worker health and safety. (a) Response actions under the NCP will comply with the provisions for response action worker safety and health in 29...

  10. 40 CFR 300.150 - Worker health and safety.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-07-01

    ... 40 Protection of Environment 29 2012-07-01 2012-07-01 false Worker health and safety. 300.150... PLAN Responsibility and Organization for Response § 300.150 Worker health and safety. (a) Response actions under the NCP will comply with the provisions for response action worker safety and health in 29...

  11. 40 CFR 300.150 - Worker health and safety.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-07-01

    ... 40 Protection of Environment 29 2013-07-01 2013-07-01 false Worker health and safety. 300.150... PLAN Responsibility and Organization for Response § 300.150 Worker health and safety. (a) Response actions under the NCP will comply with the provisions for response action worker safety and health in 29...

  12. Food safety in the 21st century.

    PubMed

    Fung, Fred; Wang, Huei-Shyong; Menon, Suresh

    2018-04-01

    Food is essential to life, hence food safety is a basic human right. Billons of people in the world are at risk of unsafe food. Many millions become sick while hundreds of thousand die yearly. The food chain starts from farm to fork/plate while challenges include microbial, chemical, personal and environmental hygiene. Historically, documented human tragedies and economic disasters due to consuming contaminated food occurred as a result of intentional or unintentional personal conduct and governmental failure to safeguard food quality and safety. While earlier incidents were mainly chemical contaminants, more recent outbreaks have been due to microbial agents. The Disability Adjusted Life Years (DALYs) attributed to these agents are most devastating to children younger than 5 years of age, the elderly and the sick. To ensure food safety and to prevent unnecessary foodborne illnesses, rapid and accurate detection of pathogenic agents is essential. Culture-based tests are being substituted by faster and sensitive culture independent diagnostics including antigen-based assays and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) panels. Innovative technology such as Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) coupled with nanoparticles can detect multiple target microbial pathogens' DNA or proteins using nucleic acids, antibodies and other biomarkers assays analysis. The food producers, distributors, handlers and vendors bear primary responsibility while consumers must remain vigilant and literate. Government agencies must enforce food safety laws to safeguard public and individual health. Medical providers must remain passionate to prevent foodborne illnesses and may consider treating diseases with safe diet therapy under proper medical supervision. The intimate collaboration between all the stakeholders will ultimately ensure food safety in the 21st century. Copyright © 2018 Chang Gung University. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  13. Impact of Active Control on Passive Safety Response Characteristics of Sodium-cooled Fast Reactors: I - Theoretical background

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Passerini, Stefano; Ponciroli, Roberto; Vilim, Richard B.

    Here, the interaction of the active control system with passive safety behavior is investigated for sodium-cooled fast reactors. A claim often made of advanced reactors is that they are passively safe against unprotected upset events. In practice, such upset events are not analyzed in the context of the plant control system, but rather the analyses are performed without considering the normally programmed response of the control system (open-loop approach). This represents an oversimplification of the safety case. The issue of passive safety override arises since the control system commands actuators whose motions have safety consequences. Depending on the upset involvingmore » the control system ( operator error, active control system failure, or inadvertent control system override), an actuator does not necessarily go in the same direction as needed for safety. So neglecting to account for control system action during an unprotected upset is nonconservative from a safety standpoint. It is important then, during the design of the plant, to consider the potential for the control system to work against the inherent and safe regulating effects of purposefully engineered temperature feedbacks.« less

  14. Impact of Active Control on Passive Safety Response Characteristics of Sodium-cooled Fast Reactors: I - Theoretical background

    DOE PAGES

    Passerini, Stefano; Ponciroli, Roberto; Vilim, Richard B.

    2017-06-21

    Here, the interaction of the active control system with passive safety behavior is investigated for sodium-cooled fast reactors. A claim often made of advanced reactors is that they are passively safe against unprotected upset events. In practice, such upset events are not analyzed in the context of the plant control system, but rather the analyses are performed without considering the normally programmed response of the control system (open-loop approach). This represents an oversimplification of the safety case. The issue of passive safety override arises since the control system commands actuators whose motions have safety consequences. Depending on the upset involvingmore » the control system ( operator error, active control system failure, or inadvertent control system override), an actuator does not necessarily go in the same direction as needed for safety. So neglecting to account for control system action during an unprotected upset is nonconservative from a safety standpoint. It is important then, during the design of the plant, to consider the potential for the control system to work against the inherent and safe regulating effects of purposefully engineered temperature feedbacks.« less

  15. The three Rs of fire safety, emergency action, and fire prevention planning: promoting safety at the worksite.

    PubMed

    Thompson, Marcella R

    2003-04-01

    Fire safety is of paramount importance for everyone. In many workplaces, the occupational health nurse's scope of practice encompasses safety related activities. Included within this role is the responsibility for fire safety, emergency action, and fire prevention planning. The Three Rs of fire safety, emergency action, and fire prevention plans are rules, responsibilities, and resources. Myriad building and fire safety codes, regulations, and standards exist with which an employer must comply. An employer's responsibility for installing, testing, inspecting, and maintaining fire safety related equipment is extensive. Emergency action and fire prevention planning begins with conducting a detailed physical survey and preparing site maps. It includes making key policy decisions, writing procedures, and training employees in those procedures by practicing and executing site drills. The best resources available for emergency planning are the local fire department and the property insurer. Planning ahead means an efficient emergency response if disaster strikes. It saves lives, limits property damage, and preserves the environment.

  16. A keyword searchable attribute-based encryption scheme with attribute update for cloud storage.

    PubMed

    Wang, Shangping; Ye, Jian; Zhang, Yaling

    2018-01-01

    Ciphertext-policy attribute-based encryption (CP-ABE) scheme is a new type of data encryption primitive, which is very suitable for data cloud storage for its fine-grained access control. Keyword-based searchable encryption scheme enables users to quickly find interesting data stored in the cloud server without revealing any information of the searched keywords. In this work, we provide a keyword searchable attribute-based encryption scheme with attribute update for cloud storage, which is a combination of attribute-based encryption scheme and keyword searchable encryption scheme. The new scheme supports the user's attribute update, especially in our new scheme when a user's attribute need to be updated, only the user's secret key related with the attribute need to be updated, while other user's secret key and the ciphertexts related with this attribute need not to be updated with the help of the cloud server. In addition, we outsource the operation with high computation cost to cloud server to reduce the user's computational burden. Moreover, our scheme is proven to be semantic security against chosen ciphertext-policy and chosen plaintext attack in the general bilinear group model. And our scheme is also proven to be semantic security against chosen keyword attack under bilinear Diffie-Hellman (BDH) assumption.

  17. A keyword searchable attribute-based encryption scheme with attribute update for cloud storage

    PubMed Central

    Wang, Shangping; Zhang, Yaling

    2018-01-01

    Ciphertext-policy attribute-based encryption (CP-ABE) scheme is a new type of data encryption primitive, which is very suitable for data cloud storage for its fine-grained access control. Keyword-based searchable encryption scheme enables users to quickly find interesting data stored in the cloud server without revealing any information of the searched keywords. In this work, we provide a keyword searchable attribute-based encryption scheme with attribute update for cloud storage, which is a combination of attribute-based encryption scheme and keyword searchable encryption scheme. The new scheme supports the user's attribute update, especially in our new scheme when a user's attribute need to be updated, only the user's secret key related with the attribute need to be updated, while other user's secret key and the ciphertexts related with this attribute need not to be updated with the help of the cloud server. In addition, we outsource the operation with high computation cost to cloud server to reduce the user's computational burden. Moreover, our scheme is proven to be semantic security against chosen ciphertext-policy and chosen plaintext attack in the general bilinear group model. And our scheme is also proven to be semantic security against chosen keyword attack under bilinear Diffie-Hellman (BDH) assumption. PMID:29795577

  18. Constraints to microbial food safety policy: opinions from stakeholder groups along the farm to fork continuum.

    PubMed

    Sargeant, J M; Ramsingh, B; Wilkins, A; Travis, R G; Gavrus, D; Snelgrove, J W

    2007-01-01

    This exploratory qualitative study was conducted to identify constraints to microbial food safety policy in Canada and the USA from the perspective of stakeholder groups along the farm to fork continuum. Thirty-seven stakeholders participated in interviews or a focus group where semi-structured questions were used to facilitate discussion about constraints to policy development and implementation. An emergent grounded theory approach was used to determine themes and concepts that arose from the data (versus fitting the data to a hypothesis or a priori classification). Despite the plurality of stakeholders and the range of content expertise, participant perceptions emerged into five common themes, although, there were often disagreements as to the positive or negative attributes of specific concepts. The five themes included challenges related to measurement and objectives of microbial food safety policy goals, challenges arising from lack of knowledge, or problems with communication of knowledge coupled with current practices, beliefs and traditions; the complexity of the food system and the plurality of stakeholders; the economics of producing safe food and the limited resources to address the problem; and, issues related to decision-making and policy, including ownership of the problem and inappropriate inputs to the decision-making process. Responsibilities for food safety and for food policy failure were attributed to all stakeholders along the farm to fork continuum. While challenges regarding the biology of food safety were identified as constraints, a broader range of policy inputs encompassing social, economic and political considerations were also highlighted as critical to the development and implementation of effective food safety policy. Strategies to address these other inputs may require new, transdisciplinary approaches as an adjunct to the traditional science-based risk assessment model.

  19. Valuation, Categories and Attributes

    PubMed Central

    Galperin, Inna; Sorenson, Olav

    2014-01-01

    Existing research on categories has only examined indirectly the value associated with being a member of a category relative to the value of the set of attributes that determine membership in that category. This study uses survey data to analyze consumers' preferences for the "organic” label versus for the attributes underlying that label. We found that consumers generally preferred products with the category label to those with the attributes required for the organic label but without the label. We also found that the value accorded to the organic label increased with the number of attributes that an individual associated with the category. Category membership nevertheless still had greater value than even that of the sum of the attributes associated with it. PMID:25111831

  20. Prediction of the cause, effects, and prevention of drug-nutrient interactions using attributes and attribute values.

    PubMed

    Roe, D A

    1985-01-01

    Drug-nutrient interactions and their adverse outcomes have previously been identified by observation, investigation, and literature reports. Knowing the attributes of the drugs, availability of knowledge base management systems for microcomputer use can facilitate prediction of the mechanism and the effects of drug-nutrient interactions. Examples used to illustrate this approach are prediction of lactose intolerance in drug-induced malabsorption, and prediction of the mechanism responsible for drug-induced flush reactions. In the future we see that there may be many opportunities to use this system further in the investigation of complex drug-nutrient interactions.

  1. Attributional style and depressive symptoms in a male prison sample.

    PubMed

    O'Sullivan, Danny J; O'Sullivan, Maura E; O'Connell, Brendan D; O'Reilly, Ken; Sarma, Kiran M

    2018-01-01

    The reformulated learned helplessness model proposes that people who tend to make internal, stable, and global attributions in response to uncontrollable aversive events are more likely to develop depression. The present study sought to investigate the nature of the relationship between attributional style and depression in a male prison sample. One hundred and one adult male prisoners from four medium security prisons in Ireland completed the Attributional Style Questionnaire and measures of depression (BDI-II) and anxiety (BAI). Severity of self-reported depressive symptoms in the present sample was comparable to other prison and clinical samples, but higher than community samples. Participants were more severely affected by depressive symptoms than anxiety. The original attributional dimensions (i.e. internal, stable, and global) predicted a significant amount of variance in depression, but the model was not significant after controlling for anxiety. A subsequent regression model, comprising attributional dimensions for both negative events and positive events including a measure of 'uncontrollability', accounted for 35% of the variance in depression and the model retained significance while controlling for anxiety. An attributional model of depression may be relevant to the prison population and could provide a valid insight into the development and treatment of depressive symptoms in prisoners. The findings are interpreted in relation to previous research and implications for theory, clinical practice, and rehabilitation are discussed.

  2. Attributional style and depressive symptoms in a male prison sample

    PubMed Central

    O’Sullivan, Danny J.; O’Sullivan, Maura E.; O’Connell, Brendan D.; O’Reilly, Ken; Sarma, Kiran M.

    2018-01-01

    The reformulated learned helplessness model proposes that people who tend to make internal, stable, and global attributions in response to uncontrollable aversive events are more likely to develop depression. The present study sought to investigate the nature of the relationship between attributional style and depression in a male prison sample. One hundred and one adult male prisoners from four medium security prisons in Ireland completed the Attributional Style Questionnaire and measures of depression (BDI-II) and anxiety (BAI). Severity of self-reported depressive symptoms in the present sample was comparable to other prison and clinical samples, but higher than community samples. Participants were more severely affected by depressive symptoms than anxiety. The original attributional dimensions (i.e. internal, stable, and global) predicted a significant amount of variance in depression, but the model was not significant after controlling for anxiety. A subsequent regression model, comprising attributional dimensions for both negative events and positive events including a measure of ‘uncontrollability’, accounted for 35% of the variance in depression and the model retained significance while controlling for anxiety. An attributional model of depression may be relevant to the prison population and could provide a valid insight into the development and treatment of depressive symptoms in prisoners. The findings are interpreted in relation to previous research and implications for theory, clinical practice, and rehabilitation are discussed. PMID:29444084

  3. Attribution and Eating Disorders: An Investigation of the Attribution Styles of College Women.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Forsyth, John P.; And Others

    Current research on eating disorders places considerable emphasis upon cognitive components of those disorders. The possibility of a specific eating disorder attributional style is suggested by attributional analyses of clinical depression. This study was conducted to examine attributional style and eating disorders among 55 college women who…

  4. Safety Action; Traffic and Pedestrian Safety. A Guide for Teachers in the Elementary Schools.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Department of Transportation, Washington, DC.

    GRADES OR AGES: Elementary, grades 1-6. SUBJECT MATTER: Safety action, traffic and pedestrian safety. ORGANIZATION AND PHYSICAL APPEARANCE: After introductory material explaining the philosophy of the guide, the elementary school child, characteristics of children as related to safety, and the responsibility of the safety team, the guide has…

  5. 14 CFR 1260.37 - Safety.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-01-01

    ... 14 Aeronautics and Space 5 2011-01-01 2010-01-01 true Safety. 1260.37 Section 1260.37 Aeronautics... Provisions § 1260.37 Safety. Safety October 2000 (a) The Recipient shall act responsibly in matters of safety and shall take all reasonable safety measures in performing under this grant or cooperative agreement...

  6. 14 CFR 1260.37 - Safety.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-01-01

    ... 14 Aeronautics and Space 5 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Safety. 1260.37 Section 1260.37 Aeronautics... Provisions § 1260.37 Safety. Safety October 2000 (a) The Recipient shall act responsibly in matters of safety and shall take all reasonable safety measures in performing under this grant or cooperative agreement...

  7. Exploring Attribution Theory and Bias

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Robinson, Jessica A.

    2017-01-01

    Courses: This activity can be used in a wide range of classes, including interpersonal communication, introduction to communication, and small group communication. Objectives: After completing this activity, students should be able to: (1) define attribution theory, personality attribution, situational attribution, and attribution bias; (2)…

  8. Performance Requirements for Emergency Responder Interoperable and Compatible Electronic Safety Equipment

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Greenberg, Paul S.

    2012-01-01

    Firefighters and other emergency response personnel are presented with an increasing array of technologies to improve their health and safety. This includes real-time bidirectional communication, navigation and positional information, data on physiological and metabolic functions, as well as data on their surrounding environment. The emerging challenge is to integrate these elements into a practical system, addressing such features as power, data transfer, and inter-element coordination and communication. In many respects, NASA has addressed these aspects in the context of Extra Vehicular Activity (EVA). The EVA environment shares many common attributes with that of emergency response scenarios. A similar situation exists in terms of the need for interoperability among the various system sub-elements. A brief overview is presented on the similarities and differences in these two applications, as well as the technical approach adopted by NASA in terms of system design philosophy.

  9. Administrative Attribution Theory.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Frasher, James M.; Frasher, Ramona S.

    1981-01-01

    Hypothesizes that the growing body of empirical data concerning attribution theory offers insight into the administrative process. To stimulate research to test this hypothesis, presents previous relevant research and a theory entitled Administrative Attribution Theory. Research questions applying the theory to educational administration are…

  10. Safety Systems

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Halligan, Tom

    2009-01-01

    Colleges across the country are rising to the task by implementing safety programs, response strategies, and technologies intended to create a secure environment for teachers and students. Whether it is preparing and responding to a natural disaster, health emergency, or act of violence, more schools are making campus safety a top priority. At…

  11. 49 CFR 240.309 - Railroad oversight responsibilities.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-10-01

    ... reported train accidents attributed to poor safety performance by locomotive engineers; (3) The number and... and analysis concerning the administration of its program for responding to detected instances of poor... analysis shall involve: (1) The number and nature of the instances of detected poor safety conduct...

  12. Sizing Up a Superstorm: Exploring the Role of Recalled Experience and Attribution of Responsibility in Judgments of Future Hurricane Risk.

    PubMed

    Rickard, Laura N; Yang, Z Janet; Schuldt, Jonathon P; Eosco, Gina M; Scherer, Clifford W; Daziano, Ricardo A

    2017-12-01

    Research suggests that hurricane-related risk perception is a critical predictor of behavioral response, such as evacuation. Less is known, however, about the precursors of these subjective risk judgments, especially when time has elapsed from a focal event. Drawing broadly from the risk communication, social psychology, and natural hazards literature, and specifically from concepts adapted from the risk information seeking and processing model and the protective action decision model, we examine how individuals' distant recollections, including attribution of responsibility for the effects of a storm, attitude toward relevant information, and past hurricane experience, relate to risk judgment for a future, similar event. The present study reports on a survey involving U.S. residents in Connecticut, New Jersey, and New York (n = 619) impacted by Hurricane Sandy. While some results confirm past findings, such as that hurricane experience increases risk judgment, others suggest additional complexity, such as how various types of experience (e.g., having evacuated vs. having experienced losses) may heighten or attenuate individual-level judgments of responsibility. We suggest avenues for future research, as well as implications for federal agencies involved in severe weather/natural hazard forecasting and communication with public audiences. © 2017 Society for Risk Analysis.

  13. Multiplicative mixing of object identity and image attributes in single inferior temporal neurons.

    PubMed

    Ratan Murty, N Apurva; Arun, S P

    2018-04-03

    Object recognition is challenging because the same object can produce vastly different images, mixing signals related to its identity with signals due to its image attributes, such as size, position, rotation, etc. Previous studies have shown that both signals are present in high-level visual areas, but precisely how they are combined has remained unclear. One possibility is that neurons might encode identity and attribute signals multiplicatively so that each can be efficiently decoded without interference from the other. Here, we show that, in high-level visual cortex, responses of single neurons can be explained better as a product rather than a sum of tuning for object identity and tuning for image attributes. This subtle effect in single neurons produced substantially better population decoding of object identity and image attributes in the neural population as a whole. This property was absent both in low-level vision models and in deep neural networks. It was also unique to invariances: when tested with two-part objects, neural responses were explained better as a sum than as a product of part tuning. Taken together, our results indicate that signals requiring separate decoding, such as object identity and image attributes, are combined multiplicatively in IT neurons, whereas signals that require integration (such as parts in an object) are combined additively. Copyright © 2018 the Author(s). Published by PNAS.

  14. A new statistical approach to climate change detection and attribution

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ribes, Aurélien; Zwiers, Francis W.; Azaïs, Jean-Marc; Naveau, Philippe

    2017-01-01

    We propose here a new statistical approach to climate change detection and attribution that is based on additive decomposition and simple hypothesis testing. Most current statistical methods for detection and attribution rely on linear regression models where the observations are regressed onto expected response patterns to different external forcings. These methods do not use physical information provided by climate models regarding the expected response magnitudes to constrain the estimated responses to the forcings. Climate modelling uncertainty is difficult to take into account with regression based methods and is almost never treated explicitly. As an alternative to this approach, our statistical model is only based on the additivity assumption; the proposed method does not regress observations onto expected response patterns. We introduce estimation and testing procedures based on likelihood maximization, and show that climate modelling uncertainty can easily be accounted for. Some discussion is provided on how to practically estimate the climate modelling uncertainty based on an ensemble of opportunity. Our approach is based on the " models are statistically indistinguishable from the truth" paradigm, where the difference between any given model and the truth has the same distribution as the difference between any pair of models, but other choices might also be considered. The properties of this approach are illustrated and discussed based on synthetic data. Lastly, the method is applied to the linear trend in global mean temperature over the period 1951-2010. Consistent with the last IPCC assessment report, we find that most of the observed warming over this period (+0.65 K) is attributable to anthropogenic forcings (+0.67 ± 0.12 K, 90 % confidence range), with a very limited contribution from natural forcings (-0.01± 0.02 K).

  15. Circuit board accident--organizational dimension hidden by prescribed safety.

    PubMed

    de Almeida, Ildeberto Muniz; Buoso, Eduardo; do Amaral Dias, Maria Dionísia; Vilela, Rodolfo Andrade Gouveia

    2012-01-01

    This study analyzes an accident in which two maintenance workers suffered severe burns while replacing a circuit breaker panel in a steel mill, following model of analysis and prevention of accidents (MAPA) developed with the objective of enlarging the perimeter of interventions and contributing to deconstruction of blame attribution practices. The study was based on materials produced by a health service team in an in-depth analysis of the accident. The analysis shows that decisions related to system modernization were taken without considering their implications in maintenance scheduling and creating conflicts of priorities and of interests between production and safety; and also reveals that the lack of a systemic perspective in safety management was its principal failure. To explain the accident as merely non-fulfillment of idealized formal safety rules feeds practices of blame attribution supported by alibi norms and inhibits possible prevention. In contrast, accident analyses undertaken in worker health surveillance services show potential to reveal origins of these events incubated in the history of the system ignored in practices guided by the traditional paradigm.

  16. Deriving meaning from others’ emotions: attribution, appraisal, and the use of emotions as social information

    PubMed Central

    van Doorn, Evert A.; van Kleef, Gerben A.; van der Pligt, Joop

    2015-01-01

    Emotional expressions constitute a rich source of information. Integrating theorizing on attribution, appraisal processes, and the use of emotions as social information, we examined how emotional expressions influence attributions of agency and responsibility under conditions of ambiguity. Three vignette studies involving different scenarios indicate that participants used information about others’ emotional expressions to make sense of ambiguous social situations. Expressions of regret fueled inferences that the expresser was responsible for an adverse situation, whereas expressions of anger fueled inferences that someone else was responsible. Also, expressions of anger were interpreted as a sign of injustice, and expressions of disappointment increased prosocial intentions (i.e., to help the expresser). The results show that emotional expressions can help people understand ambiguous social situations by informing attributions that correspond with each emotion’s associated appraisal structures. The findings advance understanding of the ways in which emotional expressions help individuals understand and coordinate social life. PMID:26284001

  17. Industrial responses to constrained OSHA regulation. Occupational Safety and Health Administration.

    PubMed

    Pedersen, D H

    2000-01-01

    As part of the effort to reduce the size and economic impact of the federal establishment, congressional conservatives are proposing legislation to restrict the regulatory activity of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). These proposals push OSHA toward a purely consultative role, at a corresponding cost in direct regulatory capability. The Clinton administration's reinvention of government initiative is also moving OSHA toward a consultative role based on a strategy of cooperative compliance or industry self-regulation with a strong coercive foundation. Since both camps appear to agree that self-regulation can assure a safe and healthy workplace, the remaining debate concerns the extent to which coercive regulation is still needed. National survey data on the industrial provision of occupational safety and health services in the manufacturing sector were used to measure changes in industrial safety and health activity between 1972-74 and 1981-83. In conjunction with data on OSHA command-and-control regulatory activity from 1972 to 1979, these data permitted an examination of the relationship between command-and-control regulatory activities and changes in industrial behavior that could be regarded as a form of self-regulation. This analysis showed that coercive regulation by OSHA in the 1970s was significantly related to industry self-regulation efforts, although the relationship varied by industrial facility employment size and type of regulatory coercion. These results indicate that coercive regulation should be retained as an industrial incentive in any self-regulation policy paradigm. The results also provide evidence that OSHA regulatory policy should be based on anticipated differences in industrial response to various coercive measures.

  18. An Agent-Based Intervention to Assist Drivers Under Stereotype Threat: Effects of In-Vehicle Agents' Attributional Error Feedback.

    PubMed

    Joo, Yeon Kyoung; Lee-Won, Roselyn J

    2016-10-01

    For members of a group negatively stereotyped in a domain, making mistakes can aggravate the influence of stereotype threat because negative stereotypes often blame target individuals and attribute the outcome to their lack of ability. Virtual agents offering real-time error feedback may influence performance under stereotype threat by shaping the performers' attributional perception of errors they commit. We explored this possibility with female drivers, considering the prevalence of the "women-are-bad-drivers" stereotype. Specifically, we investigated how in-vehicle voice agents offering error feedback based on responsibility attribution (internal vs. external) and outcome attribution (ability vs. effort) influence female drivers' performance under stereotype threat. In addressing this question, we conducted an experiment in a virtual driving simulation environment that provided moment-to-moment error feedback messages. Participants performed a challenging driving task and made mistakes preprogrammed to occur. Results showed that the agent's error feedback with outcome attribution moderated the stereotype threat effect on driving performance. Participants under stereotype threat had a smaller number of collisions when the errors were attributed to effort than to ability. In addition, outcome attribution feedback moderated the effect of responsibility attribution on driving performance. Implications of these findings are discussed.

  19. 14 CFR 417.109 - Ground safety.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-01-01

    ... 14 Aeronautics and Space 4 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Ground safety. 417.109 Section 417.109... TRANSPORTATION LICENSING LAUNCH SAFETY Launch Safety Responsibilities § 417.109 Ground safety. (a) Ground safety... 417.115(c), and subpart E of this part provide launch operator ground safety requirements. ...

  20. 14 CFR 417.109 - Ground safety.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-01-01

    ... 14 Aeronautics and Space 4 2011-01-01 2011-01-01 false Ground safety. 417.109 Section 417.109... TRANSPORTATION LICENSING LAUNCH SAFETY Launch Safety Responsibilities § 417.109 Ground safety. (a) Ground safety... 417.115(c), and subpart E of this part provide launch operator ground safety requirements. ...

  1. Attributional Effects in Interpersonal Settings.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Anderson, Craig A.

    Research has shown that attributing failure to lack of ability leads to lower motivation than does attributing the failure to lack of effort. An attributional model of motivation and performance following failure was tested with college students (N=63), who were preselected on the basis of their attributional styles for interpersonal failures, as…

  2. Changes in the taste and textural attributes of apples in response to climate change

    PubMed Central

    Sugiura, Toshihiko; Ogawa, Hidekazu; Fukuda, Noriaki; Moriguchi, Takaya

    2013-01-01

    The effects of climate change on the taste and textural attributes of foods remain largely unknown, despite much public interest. On the basis of 30–40 years of records, we provide evidence that the taste and textural attributes of apples have changed as a result of recent global warming. Decreases in both acid concentration, fruit firmness and watercore development were observed regardless of the maturity index used for harvest date (e.g., calendar date, number of days after full bloom, peel colour and starch concentration), whereas in some cases the soluble-solids concentration increased; all such changes may have resulted from earlier blooming and higher temperatures during the maturation period. These results suggest that the qualities of apples in the market are undergoing long-term changes. PMID:23948740

  3. From the school of nursing quality and safety officer: nursing students' use of safety reporting tools and their perception of safety issues in clinical settings.

    PubMed

    Cooper, Elizabeth

    2013-01-01

    Improved patient safety and quality are priority goals for nurses and schools of nursing. This article describes the innovative new role of quality and safety officer (QSO) developed by one university in response to the Quality and Safety Education for Nurses challenge to increase quality and safety education for prelicensure nursing students. The article also describes the results of a study conducted by the QSO, obtaining information from prelicensure nursing students about the use of safety tools and identifying the students' perceptions of safety issues, communication, and safety reporting in the clinical setting. Responses of 145 prelicensure nursing students suggest that it is difficult to get all errors and near-miss events reported. Barriers for nursing students are similar to the barriers nurses and physicians identify in reporting errors and near-miss events. The survey reveals that safety for the patient is the primary concern of the student nurse. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  4. Safety management vs. picking leaves.

    PubMed

    Wright, D

    1991-09-01

    A safety program will generally have as its base a comprehensive written document made available for everyone in the organization. The document should indicate a positive commitment to safety by management. It should not be a "how to" guide, but rather a broad outline to establish responsibilities, goals, and methods. The safety manager is appointed in writing and answers to the highest level of management. As opposed to a "doer," the safety manager acts as a director and administrator of the safety program. This is accomplished through the advisory capacity of the safety program for solicited and unsolicited problems. The focus of the safety manager is on the system and how it contributes to safety problems, rather than individual problems. Management has the ultimate responsibility for safety. Their efforts should reflect a proactive attitude to correct problems in the system. In order to identify areas of interest, technically competent input from the safety manager should be required. The support of the safety program by top management determines the success of the program. Without a clear and firm commitment by the organization, safety will receive no more than lip service from the employees. The benefits of a proactive approach will be realized in the organization's ability to manage safety issues, rather than reacting to them.

  5. The Attitude of Construction Workers toward the Implementation of Occupational Health and Safety (OHS)

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Widaningsih, L.; Susanti, I.; Chandra, T.

    2018-02-01

    Construction industry refers to one of the industries dealing with high accident rate. Besides its outdoor workplace involving many workers who usually work manually, the workers’ work culture and less awareness of occupational health and safety (OHS) are attributed to the high accident rate. This study explores some construction workers who are involved in some construction projects in big cities such as Bandung and Jakarta. The questionnaire-given to the construction workers focusing on stone construction, wood construction, and finishing session-reveals that the construction workers knowledge and understanding of nine Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) aspects reach above 50%. However, does not appear to reflect their knowledge and understanding of Occupational Health and Safety (OHS). The results of Focus Group Discussion (FGD) and an in-depth interview show that the fallacious implementation of Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) is attributed to their traditional “work culture”.

  6. Radiation safety standards and their application: international policies and current issues.

    PubMed

    González, Abel J

    2004-09-01

    This paper briefly describes the current policies of the United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation and the International Commission on Radiological Protection and how these policies are converted into international radiation safety standards by the International Atomic Energy Agency, which is the only global organization-within the United Nations family of international agencies-with a statutory mandate not only to establish such standards but also to provide for their application. It also summarizes the current status of the established corpus of such international standards, and of it foreseeable evolution, as well as of legally binding undertakings by countries around the world that are linked to these standards. Moreover, this paper also reviews some major current global issues related to the application of international standards, including the following: strengthening of national infrastructures for radiation safety, including technical cooperation programs for assisting developing countries; occupational radiation safety challenges, including the protection of pregnant workers and their unborn children, dealing with working environments with high natural radiation levels, and occupational attributability of health effects (probability of occupational causation); restricting discharges of radioactive substances into the environment: reviewing current international policies vis-a-vis the growing concern on the radiation protection of the "environment;" radiological protection of patients undergoing radiodiagnostic and radiotherapeutic procedures: the current International Action Plan; safety and security of radiation sources: post-11 September developments; preparedness and response to radiation emergencies: enhancing the international network; safe transport of radioactive materials: new apprehensions; safety of radioactive waste management: concerns and connections with radiation protection; and radioactive residues remaining

  7. Developing attributes and attribute-levels for a discrete choice experiment on micro health insurance in rural Malawi

    PubMed Central

    2014-01-01

    Background Discrete choice experiments (DCEs) are attribute-driven experimental techniques used to elicit stakeholders’ preferences to support the design and implementation of policy interventions. The validity of a DCE, therefore, depends on the appropriate specification of the attributes and their levels. There have been recent calls for greater rigor in implementing and reporting on the processes of developing attributes and attribute-levels for discrete choice experiments (DCEs). This paper responds to such calls by carefully reporting a systematic process of developing micro health insurance attributes and attribute-levels for the design of a DCE in rural Malawi. Methods Conceptual attributes and attribute-levels were initially derived from a literature review which informed the design of qualitative data collection tools to identify context specific attributes and attribute-levels. Qualitative data was collected in August-September 2012 from 12 focus group discussions with community residents and 8 in-depth interviews with health workers. All participants were selected according to stratified purposive sampling. The material was tape-recorded, fully transcribed, and coded by three researchers to identify context-specific attributes and attribute-levels. Expert opinion was used to scale down the attributes and levels. A pilot study confirmed the appropriateness of the selected attributes and levels for a DCE. Results First, a consensus, emerging from an individual level analysis of the qualitative transcripts, identified 10 candidate attributes. Levels were assigned to all attributes based on data from transcripts and knowledge of the Malawian context, derived from literature. Second, through further discussions with experts, four attributes were discarded based on multiple criteria. The 6 remaining attributes were: premium level, unit of enrollment, management structure, health service benefit package, transportation coverage and copayment levels. A final

  8. Developing attributes and attribute-levels for a discrete choice experiment on micro health insurance in rural Malawi.

    PubMed

    Abiiro, Gilbert Abotisem; Leppert, Gerald; Mbera, Grace Bongololo; Robyn, Paul J; De Allegri, Manuela

    2014-05-22

    Discrete choice experiments (DCEs) are attribute-driven experimental techniques used to elicit stakeholders' preferences to support the design and implementation of policy interventions. The validity of a DCE, therefore, depends on the appropriate specification of the attributes and their levels. There have been recent calls for greater rigor in implementing and reporting on the processes of developing attributes and attribute-levels for discrete choice experiments (DCEs). This paper responds to such calls by carefully reporting a systematic process of developing micro health insurance attributes and attribute-levels for the design of a DCE in rural Malawi. Conceptual attributes and attribute-levels were initially derived from a literature review which informed the design of qualitative data collection tools to identify context specific attributes and attribute-levels. Qualitative data was collected in August-September 2012 from 12 focus group discussions with community residents and 8 in-depth interviews with health workers. All participants were selected according to stratified purposive sampling. The material was tape-recorded, fully transcribed, and coded by three researchers to identify context-specific attributes and attribute-levels. Expert opinion was used to scale down the attributes and levels. A pilot study confirmed the appropriateness of the selected attributes and levels for a DCE. First, a consensus, emerging from an individual level analysis of the qualitative transcripts, identified 10 candidate attributes. Levels were assigned to all attributes based on data from transcripts and knowledge of the Malawian context, derived from literature. Second, through further discussions with experts, four attributes were discarded based on multiple criteria. The 6 remaining attributes were: premium level, unit of enrollment, management structure, health service benefit package, transportation coverage and copayment levels. A final step of revision and piloting

  9. Investigation of criticality safety control infraction data at a nuclear facility

    DOE PAGES

    Cournoyer, Michael E.; Merhege, James F.; Costa, David A.; ...

    2014-10-27

    Chemical and metallurgical operations involving plutonium and other nuclear materials account for most activities performed at the LANL's Plutonium Facility (PF-4). The presence of large quantities of fissile materials in numerous forms at PF-4 makes it necessary to maintain an active criticality safety program. The LANL Nuclear Criticality Safety (NCS) Program provides guidance to enable efficient operations while ensuring prevention of criticality accidents in the handling, storing, processing and transportation of fissionable material at PF-4. In order to achieve and sustain lower criticality safety control infraction (CSCI) rates, PF-4 operations are continuously improved, through the use of Lean Manufacturing andmore » Six Sigma (LSS) business practices. Employing LSS, statistically significant variations (trends) can be identified in PF-4 CSCI reports. In this study, trends have been identified in the NCS Program using the NCS Database. An output metric has been developed that measures ADPSM Management progress toward meeting its NCS objectives and goals. Using a Pareto Chart, the primary CSCI attributes have been determined in order of those requiring the most management support. Data generated from analysis of CSCI data help identify and reduce number of corresponding attributes. In-field monitoring of CSCI's contribute to an organization's scientific and technological excellence by providing information that can be used to improve criticality safety operation safety. This increases technical knowledge and augments operational safety.« less

  10. Nearest neighbor imputation of species-level, plot-scale forest structure attributes from LiDAR data

    Treesearch

    Andrew T. Hudak; Nicholas L. Crookston; Jeffrey S. Evans; David E. Hall; Michael J. Falkowski

    2008-01-01

    Meaningful relationships between forest structure attributes measured in representative field plots on the ground and remotely sensed data measured comprehensively across the same forested landscape facilitate the production of maps of forest attributes such as basal area (BA) and tree density (TD). Because imputation methods can efficiently predict multiple response...

  11. 14 CFR 417.103 - Safety organization.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-01-01

    ... 14 Aeronautics and Space 4 2011-01-01 2011-01-01 false Safety organization. 417.103 Section 417... OF TRANSPORTATION LICENSING LAUNCH SAFETY Launch Safety Responsibilities § 417.103 Safety organization. (a) A launch operator must maintain and document a safety organization. A launch operator must...

  12. Attributions of cancer 'alarm' symptoms in a community sample.

    PubMed

    Whitaker, Katriina L; Scott, Suzanne E; Winstanley, Kelly; Macleod, Una; Wardle, Jane

    2014-01-01

    Attribution of early cancer symptoms to a non-serious cause may lead to longer diagnostic intervals. We investigated attributions of potential cancer 'alarm' and non-alarm symptoms experienced in everyday life in a community sample of adults, without mention of a cancer context. A questionnaire was mailed to 4858 adults (≥50 years old, no cancer diagnosis) through primary care, asking about symptom experiences in the past 3 months. The word cancer was not mentioned. Target 'alarm' symptoms, publicised by Cancer Research UK, were embedded in a longer symptom list. For each symptom experienced, respondents were asked for their attribution ('what do you think caused it'), concern about seriousness ('not at all' to 'extremely'), and help-seeking ('did you contact a doctor about it': Yes/No). The response rate was 35% (n = 1724). Over half the respondents (915/1724; 53%) had experienced an 'alarm' symptom, and 20 (2%) cited cancer as a possible cause. Cancer attributions were highest for 'unexplained lump'; 7% (6/87). Cancer attributions were lowest for 'unexplained weight loss' (0/47). A higher proportion (375/1638; 23%) were concerned their symptom might be 'serious', ranging from 12% (13/112) for change in a mole to 41% (100/247) for unexplained pain. Just over half had contacted their doctor about their symptom (59%), although this varied by symptom. Alarm symptoms were appraised as more serious than non-alarm symptoms, and were more likely to trigger help-seeking. Consistent with retrospective reports from cancer patients, 'alarm' symptoms experienced in daily life were rarely attributed to cancer. These results have implications for understanding how people appraise and act on symptoms that could be early warning signs of cancer.

  13. Limiting Conditions of the "Physical Attractiveness Stereotype": Attributions about Divorce.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Brigham, John C.

    1980-01-01

    Subjects, reading a profile of a couple filing for divorce, made attributions about responsibility, financial settlement, future behavior, and personality traits. Reasons for divorce, physical attractiveness of husband and wife, and sex of subject were varied. Attractiveness strongly influenced personality ratings. Reason for divorce was related…

  14. Continent-scale global change attribution in European birds - combining annual and decadal time scales.

    PubMed

    Jørgensen, Peter Søgaard; Böhning-Gaese, Katrin; Thorup, Kasper; Tøttrup, Anders P; Chylarecki, Przemysław; Jiguet, Frédéric; Lehikoinen, Aleksi; Noble, David G; Reif, Jiri; Schmid, Hans; van Turnhout, Chris; Burfield, Ian J; Foppen, Ruud; Voříšek, Petr; van Strien, Arco; Gregory, Richard D; Rahbek, Carsten

    2016-02-01

    Species attributes are commonly used to infer impacts of environmental change on multiyear species trends, e.g. decadal changes in population size. However, by themselves attributes are of limited value in global change attribution since they do not measure the changing environment. A broader foundation for attributing species responses to global change may be achieved by complementing an attributes-based approach by one estimating the relationship between repeated measures of organismal and environmental changes over short time scales. To assess the benefit of this multiscale perspective, we investigate the recent impact of multiple environmental changes on European farmland birds, here focusing on climate change and land use change. We analyze more than 800 time series from 18 countries spanning the past two decades. Analysis of long-term population growth rates documents simultaneous responses that can be attributed to both climate change and land-use change, including long-term increases in populations of hot-dwelling species and declines in long-distance migrants and farmland specialists. In contrast, analysis of annual growth rates yield novel insights into the potential mechanisms driving long-term climate induced change. In particular, we find that birds are affected by winter, spring, and summer conditions depending on the distinct breeding phenology that corresponds to their migratory strategy. Birds in general benefit from higher temperatures or higher primary productivity early on or in the peak of the breeding season with the largest effect sizes observed in cooler parts of species' climatic ranges. Our results document the potential of combining time scales and integrating both species attributes and environmental variables for global change attribution. We suggest such an approach will be of general use when high-resolution time series are available in large-scale biodiversity surveys. © 2015 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  15. Exploring relationships between hospital patient safety culture and Consumer Reports safety scores.

    PubMed

    Smith, Scott Alan; Yount, Naomi; Sorra, Joann

    2017-02-16

    A number of private and public companies calculate and publish proprietary hospital patient safety scores based on publicly available quality measures initially reported by the U.S. federal government. This study examines whether patient safety culture perceptions of U.S. hospital staff in a large national survey are related to publicly reported patient safety ratings of hospitals. The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality Hospital Survey on Patient Safety Culture (Hospital SOPS) assesses provider and staff perceptions of hospital patient safety culture. Consumer Reports (CR), a U.S. based non-profit organization, calculates and shares with its subscribers a Hospital Safety Score calculated annually from patient experience survey data and outcomes data gathered from federal databases. Linking data collected during similar time periods, we analyzed relationships between staff perceptions of patient safety culture composites and the CR Hospital Safety Score and its five components using multiple multivariate linear regressions. We analyzed data from 164 hospitals, with patient safety culture survey responses from 140,316 providers and staff, with an average of 856 completed surveys per hospital and an average response rate per hospital of 56%. Higher overall Hospital SOPS composite average scores were significantly associated with higher overall CR Hospital Safety Scores (β = 0.24, p < 0.05). For 10 of the 12 Hospital SOPS composites, higher patient safety culture scores were associated with higher CR patient experience scores on communication about medications and discharge. This study found a relationship between hospital staff perceptions of patient safety culture and the Consumer Reports Hospital Safety Score, which is a composite of patient experience and outcomes data from federal databases. As hospital managers allocate resources to improve patient safety culture within their organizations, their efforts may also indirectly improve consumer

  16. Quick Response codes for surgical safety: a prospective pilot study.

    PubMed

    Dixon, Jennifer L; Smythe, William Roy; Momsen, Lara S; Jupiter, Daniel; Papaconstantinou, Harry T

    2013-09-01

    Surgical safety programs have been shown to reduce patient harm; however, there is variable compliance. The purpose of this study is to determine if innovative technology such as Quick Response (QR) codes can facilitate surgical safety initiatives. We prospectively evaluated the use of QR codes during the surgical time-out for 40 operations. Feasibility and accuracy were assessed. Perceptions of the current time-out process and the QR code application were evaluated through surveys using a 5-point Likert scale and binomial yes or no questions. At baseline (n = 53), survey results from the surgical team agreed or strongly agreed that the current time-out process was efficient (64%), easy to use (77%), and provided clear information (89%). However, 65% of surgeons felt that process improvements were needed. Thirty-seven of 40 (92.5%) QR codes scanned successfully, of which 100% were accurate. Three scan failures resulted from excessive curvature or wrinkling of the QR code label on the body. Follow-up survey results (n = 33) showed that the surgical team agreed or strongly agreed that the QR program was clearer (70%), easier to use (57%), and more accurate (84%). Seventy-four percent preferred the QR system to the current time-out process. QR codes accurately transmit patient information during the time-out procedure and are preferred to the current process by surgical team members. The novel application of this technology may improve compliance, accuracy, and outcomes. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  17. [Concept analysis of a participatory approach to occupational safety and health].

    PubMed

    Yoshikawa, Etsuko

    2013-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to analyze a participatory approach to occupational safety and health, and to examine the possibility of applying the concept to the practice and research of occupational safety and health. According to Rodger's method, descriptive data concerning antecedents, attributes and consequences were qualitatively analyzed. A total of 39 articles were selected for analysis. Attributes with a participatory approach were: "active involvement of both workers and employers", "focusing on action-oriented low-cost and multiple area improvements based on good practices", "the process of emphasis on consensus building", and "utilization of a local network". Antecedents of the participatory approach were classified as: "existing risks at the workplace", "difficulty of occupational safety and health activities", "characteristics of the workplace and workers", and "needs for the workplace". The derived consequences were: "promoting occupational safety and health activities", "emphasis of self-management", "creation of safety and healthy workplace", and "contributing to promotion of quality of life and productivity". A participatory approach in occupational safety and health is defined as, the process of emphasis on consensus building to promote occupational safety and health activities with emphasis on self-management, which focuses on action-oriented low-cost and multiple area improvements based on good practices with active involvement of both workers and employers through utilization of local networks. We recommend that the role of the occupational health professional be clarified and an evaluation framework be established for the participatory approach to promote occupational safety and health activities by involving both workers and employers.

  18. Towards Measurement of Confidence in Safety Cases

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Denney, Ewen; Paim Ganesh J.; Habli, Ibrahim

    2011-01-01

    Arguments in safety cases are predominantly qualitative. This is partly attributed to the lack of sufficient design and operational data necessary to measure the achievement of high-dependability targets, particularly for safety-critical functions implemented in software. The subjective nature of many forms of evidence, such as expert judgment and process maturity, also contributes to the overwhelming dependence on qualitative arguments. However, where data for quantitative measurements is systematically collected, quantitative arguments provide far more benefits over qualitative arguments, in assessing confidence in the safety case. In this paper, we propose a basis for developing and evaluating integrated qualitative and quantitative safety arguments based on the Goal Structuring Notation (GSN) and Bayesian Networks (BN). The approach we propose identifies structures within GSN-based arguments where uncertainties can be quantified. BN are then used to provide a means to reason about confidence in a probabilistic way. We illustrate our approach using a fragment of a safety case for an unmanned aerial system and conclude with some preliminary observations

  19. Can attribution theory explain carers' propensity to help men with intellectual disabilities who display inappropriate sexual behaviour?

    PubMed

    Willner, P; Smith, M

    2008-01-01

    This study examined the responses of care managers and direct care staff to vignettes of inappropriate sexual behaviour by a man with an intellectual disability. The aim was to test the theory that helping behaviour is determined by emotional responses (positive and negative emotional reactions, and optimism), which in turn are determined by causal attributions (respectively: controllability and stability of the incident depicted in the vignette). The vignettes varied in response topography and the age of the victim. Regression analysis was used to examine the relationships between causal attributions, emotional responses, and willingness to invest extra time and effort in the service user's care. No support was found for the pathway: low controllability --> increased sympathy and/or decreased negative emotions --> increased helping. However, strong support was found for the pathway: low stability --> high optimism --> increased helping, particularly in direct care staff. High levels of sympathy were also associated with increased helping, the effect again being mediated by feelings of optimism. The data provide support for one (but not the other) strand of attribution theory as applied to inappropriate sexual behaviour. The discussion considers the discrepancy between the present data and the far less encouraging literature on attribution theory as applied to challenging behaviour.

  20. Analysis of dynamical response of air blast loaded safety device

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Tropkin, S. N.; Tlyasheva, R. R.; Bayazitov, M. I.; Kuzeev, I. R.

    2018-03-01

    Equipment of many oil and gas processing plants in the Russian Federation is considerably worn-out. This causes the decrease of reliability and durability of equipment and rises the accident rate. An air explosion is the one of the most dangerous cases for plants in oil and gas industry, usually caused by uncontrolled emission and inflammation of oil products. Air explosion can lead to significant danger for life and health of plant staff, so it necessitates safety device usage. A new type of a safety device is designed. Numerical simulation is necessary to analyse design parameters and performance of the safety device, subjected to air blast loading. Coupled fluid-structure interaction analysis is performed to determine strength of the protective device and its performance. The coupled Euler-Lagrange method, allowable in Abaqus by SIMULIA, is selected as the most appropriate analysis tool to study blast wave interaction with the safety device. Absorption factors of blast wave are evaluated for the safety device. This factors allow one to assess efficiency of the safety device, and its main structural component – dampener. Usage of CEL allowed one to model fast and accurately the dampener behaviour, and to develop the parametric model to determine safety device sizes.

  1. Evaluation of an attributive measurement system in the automotive industry

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Simion, C.

    2016-08-01

    Measurement System Analysis (MSA) is a critical component for any quality improvement process. MSA is defined as an experimental and mathematical method of determining how much the variation within the measurement process contributes to overall process variability and it falls into two categories: attribute and variable. Most problematic measurement system issues come from measuring attribute data, which are usually the result of human judgment (visual inspection). Because attributive measurement systems are often used in some manufacturing processes, their assessment is important to obtain the confidence in the inspection process, to see where are the problems in order to eliminate them and to guide the process improvement. It was the aim of this paper to address such a issue presenting a case study made in a local company from the Sibiu region supplying products for the automotive industry, specifically the bag (a technical textile component, i.e. the fabric) for the airbag module. Because defects are inherent in every manufacturing process and in the field of airbag systems a minor defect can influence their performance and lives depend on the safety feature, there is a stringent visual inspection required on the defects of the bag material. The purpose of this attribute MSA was: to determine if all inspectors use the same criteria to determine “pass” from “fail” product (i.e. the fabric); to assess company inspection standards against customer's requirements; to determine how well inspectors are conforming to themselves; to identify how inspectors are conforming to a “known master,” which includes: how often operators ship defective product, how often operators dispose of acceptable product; to discover areas where training is required, procedures must be developed and standards are not available. The results were analyzed using MINITAB software with its module called Attribute Agreement Analysis. The conclusion was that the inspection process must

  2. Exposure-response evaluations of venetoclax efficacy and safety in patients with non-Hodgkin lymphoma.

    PubMed

    Parikh, Apurvasena; Gopalakrishnan, Sathej; Freise, Kevin J; Verdugo, Maria E; Menon, Rajeev M; Mensing, Sven; Salem, Ahmed Hamed

    2018-04-01

    Exposure-response analyses were performed for a venetoclax monotherapy study in 106 patients with varying subtypes of non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) (NCT01328626). Logistic regression, time-to-event, and progression-free survival (PFS) analyses were used to evaluate the relationship between venetoclax exposure, NHL subtype and response, PFS, or occurrence of serious adverse events. Trends for small increases in the probability of response with increasing venetoclax exposures were identified, and became more evident when assessed by NHL subtype. Trends in exposure-PFS were shown for the mantle cell lymphoma (MCL) subtype, but not other subtypes. There was no increase in the probability of experiencing a serious adverse event with increasing exposure. Overall, the results indicate that venetoclax doses of 800-1200 mg as a single agent may be appropriate to maximize efficacy in MCL, follicular lymphoma, and diffuse large B-cell lymphoma subtypes with no expected negative impact on safety.

  3. Radiation Safety Aspects of Nanotechnology

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Hoover, Mark; Myers, David; Cash, Leigh Jackson

    This Report is intended primarily for operational health physicists, radiation safety officers, and internal dosimetrists who are responsible for establishing and implementing radiation safety programs involving radioactive nanomaterials. It should also provide useful information for workers, managers and regulators who are either working directly with or have other responsibilities related to work with radioactive nanomaterials.

  4. Patient Safety Culture Assessment in Oman

    PubMed Central

    Al-Mandhari, Ahmed; Al-Zakwani, Ibrahim; Al-Kindi, Moosa; Tawilah, Jihane; Dorvlo, Atsu S.S.; Al-Adawi, Samir

    2014-01-01

    Objective To illustrate the patient safety culture in Oman as gleaned via 12 indices of patient safety culture derived from the Hospital Survey on Patient Safety Culture (HSPSC) and to compare the average positive response rates in patient safety culture between Oman and the USA, Taiwan, and Lebanon. Methods This was a cross-sectional research study employed to gauge the performance of HSPSC safety indices among health workers representing five secondary and tertiary care hospitals in the northern region of Oman. The participants (n=398) represented different professional designations of hospital staff. Analyses were performed using univariate statistics. Results The overall average positive response rate for the 12 patient safety culture dimensions of the HSPSC survey in Oman was 58%. The indices from HSPSC that were endorsed the highest included ‘organizational learning and continuous improvement’ while conversely, ‘non-punitive response to errors’ was ranked the least. There were no significant differences in average positive response rates between Oman and the United States (58% vs. 61%; p=0.666), Taiwan (58% vs. 64%; p=0.386), and Lebanon (58% vs. 61%; p=0.666). Conclusion This study provides the first empirical study on patient safety culture in Oman which is similar to those rates reported elsewhere. It highlights the specific strengths and weaknesses which may stem from the specific milieu prevailing in Oman. PMID:25170407

  5. Patient safety culture assessment in oman.

    PubMed

    Al-Mandhari, Ahmed; Al-Zakwani, Ibrahim; Al-Kindi, Moosa; Tawilah, Jihane; Dorvlo, Atsu S S; Al-Adawi, Samir

    2014-07-01

    To illustrate the patient safety culture in Oman as gleaned via 12 indices of patient safety culture derived from the Hospital Survey on Patient Safety Culture (HSPSC) and to compare the average positive response rates in patient safety culture between Oman and the USA, Taiwan, and Lebanon. This was a cross-sectional research study employed to gauge the performance of HSPSC safety indices among health workers representing five secondary and tertiary care hospitals in the northern region of Oman. The participants (n=398) represented different professional designations of hospital staff. Analyses were performed using univariate statistics. The overall average positive response rate for the 12 patient safety culture dimensions of the HSPSC survey in Oman was 58%. The indices from HSPSC that were endorsed the highest included 'organizational learning and continuous improvement' while conversely, 'non-punitive response to errors' was ranked the least. There were no significant differences in average positive response rates between Oman and the United States (58% vs. 61%; p=0.666), Taiwan (58% vs. 64%; p=0.386), and Lebanon (58% vs. 61%; p=0.666). This study provides the first empirical study on patient safety culture in Oman which is similar to those rates reported elsewhere. It highlights the specific strengths and weaknesses which may stem from the specific milieu prevailing in Oman.

  6. Aviation Safety: FAA Generally Agrees With But is Slow in Implementing Safety Recommendations

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    1996-09-23

    The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), within the Department of : Transportation (DOT), is responsible for promoting safety in civil air : transportation. General Accounting Office (GAO) and DOT's Office of Inspector : General review FAA's safety...

  7. Internet safety education for youth: stakeholder perspectives.

    PubMed

    Moreno, Megan A; Egan, Katie G; Bare, Kaitlyn; Young, Henry N; Cox, Elizabeth D

    2013-06-05

    Internet use is nearly ubiquitous among US youth; risks to internet use include cyberbullying, privacy violations and unwanted solicitation. Internet safety education may prevent these negative consequences; however, it is unclear at what age this education should begin and what group is responsible for teaching this topic. Surveys were distributed to key stakeholders in youth safety education including public school teachers, clinicians, parents and adolescents. Surveys assessed age at which internet safety education should begin, as well as experiences teaching and learning internet safety. Surveys of adults assessed willingness to teach internet safety. Finally, participants were asked to identify a group whose primary responsibility it should be to teach internet safety. A total of 356 participants completed the survey (93.4% response rate), including 77 teachers, 111 clinicians, 72 parents and 96 adolescents. Stakeholders felt the optimal mean age to begin teaching internet safety was 7.2 years (SD = 2.5), range 2-15. Internet safety was regularly taught by some teachers (20.8%), few clinicians (2.6%) and many parents (40.3%). The majority of teachers, clinicians and parents were willing to teach internet safety, but all groups surveyed identified parents as having primary responsibility for teaching this topic. Findings suggest agreement among key stakeholders for teaching internet safety at a young age, and for identifying parents as primary teachers of this topic. Clinicians have a unique opportunity to support parents by providing resources, guidance and support.

  8. Exposure-safety and efficacy response relationships and population pharmacokinetics of eslicarbazepine acetate.

    PubMed

    Gidal, B E; Jacobson, M P; Ben-Menachem, E; Carreño, M; Blum, D; Soares-da-Silva, P; Falcão, A; Rocha, F; Moreira, J; Grinnell, T; Ludwig, E; Fiedler-Kelly, J; Passarell, J; Sunkaraneni, S

    2018-05-06

    Eslicarbazepine acetate (ESL) is a once-daily (QD) oral antiepileptic drug (AED) for focal-onset seizures (FOS). Pharmacokinetic (PK) and pharmacodynamic (PD) models were developed to assess dose selection, identify significant AED drug interactions, and quantitate relationships between exposure and safety and efficacy outcomes from Phase 3 trials of adjunctive ESL. Eslicarbazepine (the primary active metabolite of ESL) population PK was evaluated using data from 1351 subjects enrolled in 14 studies (11 Phase 1 and three Phase 3 studies) after multiple oral doses ranging from 400 to 1200 mg. Population PK and PD models related individual eslicarbazepine exposures to safety outcomes and efficacy responses. Eslicarbazepine PK was described by a one-compartment model with linear absorption and elimination. The probability of a treatment-emergent adverse event (TEAE; dizziness, headache, or somnolence) was higher with an initial dose of ESL 800 mg than with an initial dose of ESL 400 mg QD. Body weight, sex, region, and baseline use of carbamazepine (CBZ) or lamotrigine were also found to influence the probability of TEAEs. Eslicarbazepine exposure influenced serum sodium concentration, standardized seizure frequency, and probability of response; better efficacy outcomes were predicted in patients not from Western Europe (WE; vs WE patients) and those not taking CBZ (vs taking CBZ) at baseline. Pharmacokinetic and PK/PD modeling were implemented during the development of ESL for adjunctive treatment of FOS in adults. This quantitative approach supported decision-making during the development of ESL, and contributed to dosing recommendations and labeling information related to drug interactions. © 2018 The Authors. Acta Neurologica Scandinavica Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  9. Evaluation of Gusset Plate Safety in Steel Truss Bridges

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    2011-10-01

    Failure of the I-35 truss bridge in Minneapolis has been attributed to failure of a gusset plate, necessitating : evaluation of gusset plate safety on bridges across the county. FHWA Publication IF-09-014 provides state : DOTs with important guidance...

  10. Multilevel model of safety climate for furniture industries.

    PubMed

    Rodrigues, Matilde A; Arezes, Pedro M; Leão, Celina P

    2015-01-01

    Furniture companies can analyze their safety status using quantitative measures. However, the data needed are not always available and the number of accidents is under-reported. Safety climate scales may be an alternative. However, there are no validated Portuguese scales that account for the specific attributes of the furniture sector. The current study aims to develop and validate an instrument that uses a multilevel structure to measure the safety climate of the Portuguese furniture industry. The Safety Climate in Wood Industries (SCWI) model was developed and applied to the safety climate analysis using three different scales: organizational, group and individual. A multilevel exploratory factor analysis was performed to analyze the factorial structure. The studied companies' safety conditions were also analyzed. Different factorial structures were found between and within levels. In general, the results show the presence of a group-level safety climate. The scores of safety climates are directly and positively related to companies' safety conditions; the organizational scale is the one that best reflects the actual safety conditions. The SCWI instrument allows for the identification of different safety climates in groups that comprise the same furniture company and it seems to reflect those groups' safety conditions. The study also demonstrates the need for a multilevel analysis of the studied instrument.

  11. Measuring safety climate in elderly homes.

    PubMed

    Yeung, Koon-Chuen; Chan, Charles C

    2012-02-01

    Provision of a valid and reliable safety climate dimension brings enormous benefits to the elderly home sector. The aim of the present study was to make use of the safety climate instrument developed by OSHC to measure the safety perceptions of employees in elderly homes such that the factor structure of the safety climate dimensions of elderly homes could be explored. In 2010, surveys by mustering on site method were administered in 27 elderly homes that had participated in the "Hong Kong Safe and Healthy Residential Care Home Accreditation Scheme" organized by the Occupational Safety and Health Council. Six hundred and fifty-one surveys were returned with a response rate of 54.3%. To examine the factor structure of safety climate dimensions in our study, an exploratory factor analysis (EFA) using principal components analysis method was conducted to identify the underlying factors. The results of the modified seven-factor's safety climate structure extracted from 35 items better reflected the safety climate dimensions of elderly homes. The Cronbach alpha range for this study (0.655 to 0.851) indicated good internal consistency among the seven-factor structure. Responses from managerial level, supervisory and professional level, and front-line staff were analyzed to come up with the suggestion on effective ways of improving the safety culture of elderly homes. The overall results showed that managers generally gave positive responses in the factors evaluated, such as "management commitment and concern to safety," "perception of work risks and some contributory influences," "safety communication and awareness," and "safe working attitude and participation." Supervisors / professionals, and frontline level staff on the other hand, have less positive responses. The result of the lowest score in the factors - "perception of safety rules and procedures" underlined the importance of the relevance and practicability of safety rules and procedures. The modified OSHC

  12. Review of quality assessment tools for the evaluation of pharmacoepidemiological safety studies

    PubMed Central

    Neyarapally, George A; Hammad, Tarek A; Pinheiro, Simone P; Iyasu, Solomon

    2012-01-01

    Objectives Pharmacoepidemiological studies are an important hypothesis-testing tool in the evaluation of postmarketing drug safety. Despite the potential to produce robust value-added data, interpretation of findings can be hindered due to well-recognised methodological limitations of these studies. Therefore, assessment of their quality is essential to evaluating their credibility. The objective of this review was to evaluate the suitability and relevance of available tools for the assessment of pharmacoepidemiological safety studies. Design We created an a priori assessment framework consisting of reporting elements (REs) and quality assessment attributes (QAAs). A comprehensive literature search identified distinct assessment tools and the prespecified elements and attributes were evaluated. Primary and secondary outcome measures The primary outcome measure was the percentage representation of each domain, RE and QAA for the quality assessment tools. Results A total of 61 tools were reviewed. Most tools were not designed to evaluate pharmacoepidemiological safety studies. More than 50% of the reviewed tools considered REs under the research aims, analytical approach, outcome definition and ascertainment, study population and exposure definition and ascertainment domains. REs under the discussion and interpretation, results and study team domains were considered in less than 40% of the tools. Except for the data source domain, quality attributes were considered in less than 50% of the tools. Conclusions Many tools failed to include critical assessment elements relevant to observational pharmacoepidemiological safety studies and did not distinguish between REs and QAAs. Further, there is a lack of considerations on the relative weights of different domains and elements. The development of a quality assessment tool would facilitate consistent, objective and evidence-based assessments of pharmacoepidemiological safety studies. PMID:23015600

  13. Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    2002-01-01

    This Annual Report of the Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel (ASAP) presents results of activities during calendar year 2001. The year was marked by significant achievements in the Space Shuttle and International Space Station (ISS) programs and encouraging accomplishments by the Aerospace Technology Enterprise. Unfortunately, there were also disquieting mishaps with the X-43, a LearJet, and a wind tunnel. Each mishap was analyzed in an orderly process to ascertain causes and derive lessons learned. Both these accomplishments and the responses to the mishaps led the Panel to conclude that safety and risk management is currently being well served within NASA. NASA's operations evidence high levels of safety consciousness and sincere efforts to place safety foremost. Nevertheless, the Panel's safety concerns have never been greater. This dichotomy has arisen because the focus of most NASA programs has been directed toward program survival rather than effective life cycle planning. Last year's Annual Report focused on the need for NASA to adopt a realistically long planning horizon for the aging Space Shuttle so that safety would not erode. NASA's response to the report concurred with this finding. Nevertheless, there has been a greater emphasis on current operations to the apparent detriment of long-term planning. Budget cutbacks and shifts in priorities have severely limited the resources available to the Space Shuttle and ISS for application to risk-reduction and life-extension efforts. As a result, funds originally intended for long-term safety-related activities have been used for operations. Thus, while safety continues to be well served at present, the basis for future safety has eroded. Section II of this report develops this theme in more detail and presents several important, overarching findings and recommendations that apply to many if not all of NASA's programs. Section III of the report presents other significant findings, recommendations and supporting

  14. Multiple-attribute group decision making with different formats of preference information on attributes.

    PubMed

    Xu, Zeshui

    2007-12-01

    Interval utility values, interval fuzzy preference relations, and interval multiplicative preference relations are three common uncertain-preference formats used by decision-makers to provide their preference information in the process of decision making under fuzziness. This paper is devoted in investigating multiple-attribute group-decision-making problems where the attribute values are not precisely known but the value ranges can be obtained, and the decision-makers provide their preference information over attributes by three different uncertain-preference formats i.e., 1) interval utility values; 2) interval fuzzy preference relations; and 3) interval multiplicative preference relations. We first utilize some functions to normalize the uncertain decision matrix and then transform it into an expected decision matrix. We establish a goal-programming model to integrate the expected decision matrix and all three different uncertain-preference formats from which the attribute weights and the overall attribute values of alternatives can be obtained. Then, we use the derived overall attribute values to get the ranking of the given alternatives and to select the best one(s). The model not only can reflect both the subjective considerations of all decision-makers and the objective information but also can avoid losing and distorting the given objective and subjective decision information in the process of information integration. Furthermore, we establish some models to solve the multiple-attribute group-decision-making problems with three different preference formats: 1) utility values; 2) fuzzy preference relations; and 3) multiplicative preference relations. Finally, we illustrate the applicability and effectiveness of the developed models with two practical examples.

  15. [Disability attributable to excess weight in Spain].

    PubMed

    Martín-Ramiro, José Javier; Alvarez-Martín, Elena; Gil-Prieto, Ruth

    2014-08-19

    To estimate the disability attributable to higher than optimal body mass index in the Spanish population in 2006. Excess body weight prevalence data were obtained from the 2006 National Health Survey (NHS), while the prevalence of associated morbidities was extracted from the 2006 NHS and from a national hospital data base. Population attributable fractions were applied and disability attributable was expressed as years life with disability (YLD). In 2006, in the Spanish population aged 35-79 years, 791.650 YLD were lost due to higher than optimal body mass index (46.7% in males and 53.3% in females). Overweight (body mass index 25-29.9) accounted for 45.7% of total YLD. Males YLD were higher than females under 60. The 35-39 quinquennial group showed a difference for males of 16.6% while in the 74-79 group the difference was 23.8% for women. Osteoarthritis and chronic back pain accounted for 60% of YLD while hypertensive disease and type 2 diabetes mellitus were responsible of 37%. Excess body weight is a health risk related to the development of various diseases with an important associated disability burden and social and economical cost. YLD analysis is a useful monitor tool for disease control interventions. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier España, S.L. All rights reserved.

  16. Responsibility among bachelor degree nursing students: A concept analysis.

    PubMed

    Ghasemi, Saeed; Ahmadi, Fazlollah; Kazemnejad, Anoshirvan

    2018-01-01

    Responsibility is an important component of the professional values and core competencies for bachelor degree nursing students and has relationships with nursing education and professionalization. It is important for providing safe and high-quality care to the clients for the present and future performance of student. But there is no clear and operational definition of this concept for bachelor degree nursing students; however, there are extensive contents and debates about the definitions, attributes, domains and boundaries of responsibility in nursing and non-nursing literature. To examine the concept of responsibility among bachelor degree nursing students using the evolutionary approach to concept analysis. A total of 75 articles published between 1990 and 2016 and related to the concept of responsibility were selected from seven databases and considered for concept analysis based on Rogers' evolutionary approach. Ethical considerations: Throughout all stages of data collection, analysis and reporting, accuracy and bailment were respected. Responsibility is a procedural, spectral, dynamic and complex concept. The attributes of the concept are smart thinking, appropriate managerial behaviours, appropriate communicational behaviours, situational self-mandatory and task-orientation behaviours. Personal, educational and professional factors lead to the emergence of the responsible behaviours among bachelor degree nursing students. The emergence of such behaviours facilitates the learning and education process, ensures nursing profession life and promotes clients and community health level. Responsibility has some effects on nursing students. This concept had been changed over time since 1990-2016. There are similarities and differences in the elements of this concept in disciplines of nursing and other educational disciplines. Conclusion The analysis of this concept can help to develop educational or managerial theories, design instruments for better identification

  17. African-American Undergraduates' Perceptions and Attributions of Child Sexual Abuse

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hestick, Henrietta; Perrino, Carrol S.

    2009-01-01

    This study examined perceptions of child sexual abuse and attributions of responsibility in a cross-sectional convenience sample of 384 African-American undergraduates using a scenario manipulating the age of the victim, gender of the victim, and gender of the perpetrator. Multiple interactions of respondent, victim, and perpetrator gender on…

  18. The Impact of Q-Matrix Designs on Diagnostic Classification Accuracy in the Presence of Attribute Hierarchies

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Liu, Ren; Huggins-Manley, Anne Corinne; Bradshaw, Laine

    2017-01-01

    There is an increasing demand for assessments that can provide more fine-grained information about examinees. In response to the demand, diagnostic measurement provides students with feedback on their strengths and weaknesses on specific skills by classifying them into mastery or nonmastery attribute categories. These attributes often form a…

  19. 10 CFR 830.202 - Safety basis.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-01-01

    ... 10 Energy 4 2011-01-01 2011-01-01 false Safety basis. 830.202 Section 830.202 Energy DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY NUCLEAR SAFETY MANAGEMENT Safety Basis Requirements § 830.202 Safety basis. (a) The contractor responsible for a hazard category 1, 2, or 3 DOE nuclear facility must establish and maintain the safety basis...

  20. 10 CFR 830.202 - Safety basis.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-01-01

    ... 10 Energy 4 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Safety basis. 830.202 Section 830.202 Energy DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY NUCLEAR SAFETY MANAGEMENT Safety Basis Requirements § 830.202 Safety basis. (a) The contractor responsible for a hazard category 1, 2, or 3 DOE nuclear facility must establish and maintain the safety basis...

  1. Exploring Work-Related Causal Attributions of Common Mental Disorders.

    PubMed

    Olsen, Ingrid Blø; Øverland, Simon; Reme, Silje Endresen; Løvvik, Camilla

    2015-09-01

    Common mental disorders (CMDs) are major causes of sickness absence and disability. Prevention requires knowledge of how individuals perceive causal mechanisms, and in this study we sought to examine work-related factors as causal attribution of CMDs. A trial sample of n = 1,193, recruited because they struggled with work participation due to CMDs, answered an open-ended questionnaire item about what they believed were the most important causes of their CMDs. The population included participants at risk of sickness absence, and participants with reduced work participation due to sickness absence, disability or unemployment. We used thematic content analysis and categorized responses from 487 participants who reported work-related factors as causal attributions of their CMDs. Gender differences in work-related causal attributions were also examined. The participants attributed their CMDs to the following work-related factors; work stress, leadership, reduced work participation, job dissatisfaction, work conflict, social work environment, job insecurity and change, workplace bullying, and physical strain. Women tended to attribute CMDs to social factors at work. Findings from this study suggest several work-related risk factors for CMDs. Both factors at the workplace, and reduced work participation, were perceived by study participants as contributing causes of CMDs. Thus, there is a need to promote work participation whilst at the same time targeting aversive workplace factors. Further, our findings indicate that work-related factors may affect women and men differently. This illustrates that the association between work participation and CMDs is complex, and needs to be explored further.

  2. Root attributes affecting water uptake of rice (Oryza sativa) under drought.

    PubMed

    Henry, Amelia; Cal, Andrew J; Batoto, Tristram C; Torres, Rolando O; Serraj, Rachid

    2012-08-01

    Lowland rice roots have a unique physiological response to drought because of their adaptation to flooded soil. Rice root attributes that facilitate growth under flooded conditions may affect rice response to drought, but the relative roles of root structural and functional characteristics for water uptake under drought in rice are not known. Morphological, anatomical, biochemical, and molecular attributes of soil-grown rice roots were measured to investigate the genotypic variability and genotype×environment interactions of water uptake under variable soil water regimes. Drought-resistant genotypes had the lowest night-time bleeding rates of sap from the root system in the field. Diurnal fluctuation predominated as the strongest source of variation for bleeding rates in the field and root hydraulic conductivity (Lpr) in the greenhouse, and was related to expression trends of various PIP and TIP aquaporins. Root anatomy was generally more responsive to drought treatments in drought-resistant genotypes. Suberization and compaction of sclerenchyma layer cells decreased under drought, whereas suberization of the endodermis increased, suggesting differential roles of these two cell layers for the retention of oxygen under flooded conditions (sclerenchyma layer) and retention of water under drought (endodermis). The results of this study point to the genetic variability in responsiveness to drought of rice roots in terms of morphology, anatomy, and function.

  3. Outbreaks of Salmonella infections attributed to beef --United States, 1973-2011.

    PubMed

    Laufer, A S; Grass, J; Holt, K; Whichard, J M; Griffin, P M; Gould, L H

    2015-07-01

    Non-typhoidal Salmonella is estimated to be the most common bacterial cause of foodborne illness in the United States, causing an estimated one million domestically acquired foodborne illnesses annually. Recent, large outbreaks have highlighted the importance of ground beef as an important source of multidrug-resistant Salmonella. We analysed the epidemiology of salmonellosis outbreaks that were attributed to beef in the United States reported to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) from 1973 to 2011. During 1973-2011, of the 1965 outbreaks of Salmonella where a food vehicle was implicated, 96 were attributed to beef, accounting for 3684 illnesses. We observed a shift in the type of beef implicated in salmonellosis outbreaks, from roast to ground beef. Delicatessen-style roast beef cooked in commercial processing establishments was the predominant type during the 1970s and early 1980s; regulations on cooking and processing essentially eliminated this problem by 1987. Ground beef emerged as an important vehicle in the 2000s; it was implicated in 17 (45%) of the 38 beef-attributed outbreaks reported during 2002-2011. Although this emergence was likely due in part to increased participation in CDC's PulseNet, which was established in 1996, and proactive decisions by the United States Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service, stronger measures are needed to decrease contamination of ground beef with Salmonella.

  4. An overview of patient safety climate in the VA.

    PubMed

    Hartmann, Christine W; Rosen, Amy K; Meterko, Mark; Shokeen, Priti; Zhao, Shibei; Singer, Sara; Falwell, Alyson; Gaba, David M

    2008-08-01

    To assess variation in safety climate across VA hospitals nationally. Data were collected from employees at 30 VA hospitals over a 6-month period using the Patient Safety Climate in Healthcare Organizations survey. We sampled 100 percent of senior managers and physicians and a random 10 percent of other employees. At 10 randomly selected hospitals, we sampled an additional 100 percent of employees working in units with intrinsically higher hazards (high-hazard units [HHUs]). Data were collected using an anonymous survey design. We received 4,547 responses (49 percent response rate). The percent problematic response--lower percent reflecting higher levels of patient safety climate--ranged from 12.0-23.7 percent across hospitals (mean=17.5 percent). Differences in safety climate emerged by management level, clinician status, and workgroup. Supervisors and front-line staff reported lower levels of safety climate than senior managers; clinician responses reflected lower levels of safety climate than those of nonclinicians; and responses of employees in HHUs reflected lower levels of safety climate than those of workers in other areas. This is the first systematic study of patient safety climate in VA hospitals. Findings indicate an overall positive safety climate across the VA, but there is room for improvement.

  5. Belief attribution despite verbal interference.

    PubMed

    Forgeot d'Arc, Baudouin; Ramus, Franck

    2011-05-01

    False-belief (FB) tasks have been widely used to study the ability of individuals to represent the content of their conspecifics' mental states (theory of mind). However, the cognitive processes involved are still poorly understood, and it remains particularly debated whether language and inner speech are necessary for the attribution of beliefs to other agents. We present a completely nonverbal paradigm consisting of silent animated cartoons in five closely related conditions, systematically teasing apart different aspects of scene analysis and allowing the assessment of the attribution of beliefs, goals, and physical causation. In order to test the role of language in belief attribution, we used verbal shadowing as a dual task to inhibit inner speech. Data on 58 healthy adults indicate that verbal interference decreases overall performance, but has no specific effect on belief attribution. Participants remained able to attribute beliefs despite heavy concurrent demands on their verbal abilities. Our results are most consistent with the hypothesis that belief attribution is independent from inner speech.

  6. Systems Thinking and Patient Safety

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2005-01-01

    1 Prologue Systems Thinking and Patient Safety Paul M. Schyve Patient safety is a prominent theme in health care delivery today. This should... patient safety and a willingness to invest in patient safety research. This volume—published by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ...The recent advent of the health care field’s emphasis on patient safety came at a favorable time. One or two decades earlier, our response would have

  7. States Respond to School Safety Concerns with 2013 Legislation. School Safety: 2013 Legislative Session

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Wixom, Micah Ann

    2014-01-01

    School safety policies are constantly evolving, often in response to fatal events. After several high-profile and tragic shootings over the past 15 years, school safety has become a major focus for parents, school officials, policymakers and the public nationwide. ECS [Education Commission of the States] conducted a scan of school safety-related…

  8. Older Adults' Outdoor Walking: Inequalities in Neighbourhood Safety, Pedestrian Infrastructure and Aesthetics.

    PubMed

    Zandieh, Razieh; Martinez, Javier; Flacke, Johannes; Jones, Phil; van Maarseveen, Martin

    2016-11-25

    Older adults living in high-deprivation areas walk less than those living in low-deprivation areas. Previous research has shown that older adults' outdoor walking levels are related to the neighbourhood built environment. This study examines inequalities in perceived built environment attributes (i.e., safety, pedestrian infrastructure and aesthetics) and their possible influences on disparities in older adults' outdoor walking levels in low- and high-deprivation areas of Birmingham, United Kingdom. It applied a mixed-method approach, included 173 participants (65 years and over), used GPS technology to measure outdoor walking levels, used questionnaires (for all participants) and conducted walking interviews (with a sub-sample) to collect data on perceived neighbourhood built environment attributes. The results show inequalities in perceived neighbourhood safety, pedestrian infrastructure and aesthetics in high- versus low-deprivation areas and demonstrate that they may influence disparities in participants' outdoor walking levels. Improvements of perceived neighbourhood safety, pedestrian infrastructure and aesthetic in high-deprivation areas are encouraged.

  9. Older Adults’ Outdoor Walking: Inequalities in Neighbourhood Safety, Pedestrian Infrastructure and Aesthetics

    PubMed Central

    Zandieh, Razieh; Martinez, Javier; Flacke, Johannes; Jones, Phil; van Maarseveen, Martin

    2016-01-01

    Older adults living in high-deprivation areas walk less than those living in low-deprivation areas. Previous research has shown that older adults’ outdoor walking levels are related to the neighbourhood built environment. This study examines inequalities in perceived built environment attributes (i.e., safety, pedestrian infrastructure and aesthetics) and their possible influences on disparities in older adults’ outdoor walking levels in low- and high-deprivation areas of Birmingham, United Kingdom. It applied a mixed-method approach, included 173 participants (65 years and over), used GPS technology to measure outdoor walking levels, used questionnaires (for all participants) and conducted walking interviews (with a sub-sample) to collect data on perceived neighbourhood built environment attributes. The results show inequalities in perceived neighbourhood safety, pedestrian infrastructure and aesthetics in high- versus low-deprivation areas and demonstrate that they may influence disparities in participants’ outdoor walking levels. Improvements of perceived neighbourhood safety, pedestrian infrastructure and aesthetic in high-deprivation areas are encouraged. PMID:27898023

  10. Effect of crisis response planning vs. contracts for safety on suicide risk in U.S. Army Soldiers: A randomized clinical trial.

    PubMed

    Bryan, Craig J; Mintz, Jim; Clemans, Tracy A; Leeson, Bruce; Burch, T Scott; Williams, Sean R; Maney, Emily; Rudd, M David

    2017-04-01

    To evaluate the effectiveness of crisis response planning for the prevention of suicide attempts. Randomized clinical trial of active duty Army Soldiers (N=97) at Fort Carson, Colorado, presenting for an emergency behavioral health appointment. Participants were randomly assigned to receive a contract for safety, a standard crisis response plan, or an enhanced crisis response plan. Incidence of suicide attempts during follow-up was assessed with the Suicide Attempt Self-Injury Interview. Inclusion criteria were the presence of suicidal ideation during the past week and/or a lifetime history of suicide attempt. Exclusion criteria were the presence of a medical condition that precluded informed consent (e.g., active psychosis, mania). Survival curve analyses were used to determine efficacy on time to first suicide attempt. Longitudinal mixed effects models were used to determine efficacy on severity of suicide ideation and follow-up mental health care utilization. From baseline to the 6-month follow-up, 3 participants receiving a crisis response plan (estimated proportion: 5%) and 5 participants receiving a contract for safety (estimated proportion: 19%) attempted suicide (log-rank χ 2 (1)=4.85, p=0.028; hazard ratio=0.24, 95% CI=0.06-0.96), suggesting a 76% reduction in suicide attempts. Crisis response planning was associated with significantly faster decline in suicide ideation (F(3,195)=18.64, p<0.001) and fewer inpatient hospitalization days (F(1,82)=7.41, p<0.001). There were no differences between the enhanced and standard crisis response plan conditions. Crisis response planning was more effective than a contract for safety in preventing suicide attempts, resolving suicide ideation, and reducing inpatient hospitalization among high-risk active duty Soldiers. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  11. Attribution of somatic symptoms in hypochondriasis.

    PubMed

    Neng, Julia M B; Weck, Florian

    2015-01-01

    The misinterpretation of bodily symptoms as an indicator of a serious illness is a key feature of the criteria and the cognitive-behavioural models of hypochondriasis. Previous research suggests that individuals suffering from health anxiety endorse attributions of physical disease, whereas persons with elevated general anxiety have the tendency to attribute psychological causes to their symptoms. However, whether a somatic attribution style is specific to patients with hypochondriasis, as opposed to those with anxiety disorders, has not yet been investigated and is therefore part of the present study. Fifty patients with hypochondriasis, 50 patients with a primary anxiety disorder and 50 healthy participants were presented with nine common bodily sensations and had to spontaneously attribute possible causes to the symptoms. Patients with hypochondriasis differed from patients with anxiety disorders and healthy controls in giving significantly fewer normalizing explanations, but attributing more often in terms of moderate or serious diseases. Patients with anxiety disorders also made significantly fewer normalizing attributions and more somatic attributions to a severe illness than healthy controls. There were no differences between the groups in the frequency of psychological attributions and somatic attributions concerning mild diseases. The present study demonstrates that hypochondriasis is associated with a disorder-specific attribution style connecting somatic symptoms primarily with moderate and serious diseases. By contrast, normalizing attributions are largely omitted from consideration by patients with hypochondriasis. The findings conform with the cognitive conception of hypochondriasis and support the strategy of modifying symptom attributions, as practiced in cognitive-behavioural therapy. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  12. An observational survey of safety belt and child safety seat use in Virginia : the 1989 update.

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    1991-01-01

    The report has been prepared in response to a request from the Transportation Safety Administration of the Department of Motor Vehicles for data concerning the use of safety belts and child safety seats by the occupants of vehicles bearing Virginia l...

  13. Addressing the implementation gap in global road safety: exploring features of an effective response and introducing a 10-country program.

    PubMed

    Hyder, Adnan A; Allen, Katharine A; Di Pietro, Gayle; Adriazola, Claudia A; Sobel, Rochelle; Larson, Kelly; Peden, Margie

    2012-06-01

    Yearly, more than 1.2 million people are killed by road traffic injuries (RTIs) around the globe, and another 20 to 50 million are injured. The global burden of RTIs is predicted to rise. We explored the need for concerted action for global road safety and propose characteristics of an effective response to the gap in addressing RTIs. We propose that a successful response includes domains such as strong political will, capacity building, use of evidence-based interventions, rigorous evaluation, increased global funding, multisectoral action, and sustainability. We also present a case study of the global Road Safety in 10 Countries project, which is a new, 5-year, multipartner initiative to address the burden of RTIs in 10 low- and middle-income countries.

  14. Addressing the Implementation Gap in Global Road Safety: Exploring Features of an Effective Response and Introducing a 10-Country Program

    PubMed Central

    Allen, Katharine A.; Di Pietro, Gayle; Adriazola, Claudia A.; Sobel, Rochelle; Larson, Kelly; Peden, Margie

    2012-01-01

    Yearly, more than 1.2 million people are killed by road traffic injuries (RTIs) around the globe, and another 20 to 50 million are injured. The global burden of RTIs is predicted to rise. We explored the need for concerted action for global road safety and propose characteristics of an effective response to the gap in addressing RTIs. We propose that a successful response includes domains such as strong political will, capacity building, use of evidence-based interventions, rigorous evaluation, increased global funding, multisectoral action, and sustainability. We also present a case study of the global Road Safety in 10 Countries project, which is a new, 5-year, multipartner initiative to address the burden of RTIs in 10 low- and middle-income countries. PMID:22515864

  15. 42 CFR 137.368 - Is the Secretary responsible for oversight and compliance of health and safety codes during...

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-10-01

    ... compliance of health and safety codes during construction projects being performed by a Self-Governance Tribe... SERVICES TRIBAL SELF-GOVERNANCE Construction Roles of the Secretary in Establishing and Implementing Construction Project Agreements § 137.368 Is the Secretary responsible for oversight and compliance of health...

  16. Population attribute compression

    DOEpatents

    White, James M.; Faber, Vance; Saltzman, Jeffrey S.

    1995-01-01

    An image population having a large number of attributes is processed to form a display population with a predetermined smaller number of attributes that represent the larger number of attributes. In a particular application, the color values in an image are compressed for storage in a discrete look-up table (LUT). Color space containing the LUT color values is successively subdivided into smaller volumes until a plurality of volumes are formed, each having no more than a preselected maximum number of color values. Image pixel color values can then be rapidly placed in a volume with only a relatively few LUT values from which a nearest neighbor is selected. Image color values are assigned 8 bit pointers to their closest LUT value whereby data processing requires only the 8 bit pointer value to provide 24 bit color values from the LUT.

  17. Probing the Relative Importance of Different Attributes in L2 Reading and Listening Comprehension Items: An Application of Cognitive Diagnostic Models

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Yi, Yeon-Sook

    2017-01-01

    The present study examines the relative importance of attributes within and across items by applying four cognitive diagnostic assessment models. The current study utilizes the function of the models that can indicate inter-attribute relationships that reflect the response behaviors of examinees to analyze scored test-taker responses to four forms…

  18. Impact of Active Control on Passive Safety Response Characteristics of Sodium-Cooled Fast Reactors: II-Model Implementation and Simulations

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Ponciroli, Roberto; Passerini, Stefano; Vilim, Richard B.

    Advanced reactors are often claimed to be passively safe against unprotected upset events. In common practice, these events are not considered in the context of the plant control system, i.e., the reactor is subjected to classes of unprotected upset events while the normally programmed response of the control system is assumed not to be present. However, this approach constitutes an oversimplification since, depending on the upset involving the control system, an actuator does not necessarily go in the same direction as needed for safety. In this work, dynamic simulations are performed to assess the degree to which the inherent self-regulatingmore » plant response is safe from active control system override. The simulations are meant to characterize the resilience of the plant to unprotected initiators. The initiators were represented and modeled as an actuator going to a hard limit. Consideration of failure is further limited to individual controllers as there is no cross-connect of signals between these controllers. The potential for passive safety override by the control system is then relegated to the single-input single-output controllers. Here, the results show that when the plant control system is designed by taking into account and quantifying the impact of the plant control system on accidental scenarios there is very limited opportunity for the preprogrammed response of the control system to override passive safety protection in the event of an unprotected initiator.« less

  19. Impact of Active Control on Passive Safety Response Characteristics of Sodium-Cooled Fast Reactors: II-Model Implementation and Simulations

    DOE PAGES

    Ponciroli, Roberto; Passerini, Stefano; Vilim, Richard B.

    2017-06-21

    Advanced reactors are often claimed to be passively safe against unprotected upset events. In common practice, these events are not considered in the context of the plant control system, i.e., the reactor is subjected to classes of unprotected upset events while the normally programmed response of the control system is assumed not to be present. However, this approach constitutes an oversimplification since, depending on the upset involving the control system, an actuator does not necessarily go in the same direction as needed for safety. In this work, dynamic simulations are performed to assess the degree to which the inherent self-regulatingmore » plant response is safe from active control system override. The simulations are meant to characterize the resilience of the plant to unprotected initiators. The initiators were represented and modeled as an actuator going to a hard limit. Consideration of failure is further limited to individual controllers as there is no cross-connect of signals between these controllers. The potential for passive safety override by the control system is then relegated to the single-input single-output controllers. Here, the results show that when the plant control system is designed by taking into account and quantifying the impact of the plant control system on accidental scenarios there is very limited opportunity for the preprogrammed response of the control system to override passive safety protection in the event of an unprotected initiator.« less

  20. Understanding Driver Anger and Aggression: Attributional Theory in the Driving Environment

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Wickens, Christine M.; Wiesenthal, David L.; Flora, David B.; Flett, Gordon L.

    2011-01-01

    Two studies tested the applicability of Weiner's (1995, 1996, 2001, 2006) attributional model of social conduct to roadway environments. This model highlights the role of inferences of responsibility after making causal judgments for social transgressions. Study 1 employed written scenarios where participants were asked to imagine themselves…

  1. Intergroup threat and experienced affect: the distinct roles of causal attributions and in-group identification.

    PubMed

    Costarelli, Sandro

    2009-06-01

    Research shows that under manipulated conditions of intergroup threat, individuals experience greater negative affect to the extent that low in-group identifiers make an in-group-internal attribution rather than an out-group-internal attribution, and high in-group identifiers make an out-group-internal attribution rather than an in-group-internal attribution for outcomes of intergroup comparison that threaten their social identity. The author predicted and found that under conditions of making an out-group-internal attribution, such an effect of in-group identification is mediated by the general proneness to perceiving in-group-out-group differences, or intergroup distinctiveness, at high, but not low, levels of in-group identification. Combining the findings of 2 different literatures, the author provides new insights into the distinct roles played by intergroup attributions as a predictor, in-group identification as a moderator, and intergroup distinctiveness as a mediator of the affective responses produced under conditions of social identity threat instantiated by individuals' making out-group-internal attribution for the in-group unfavorable outcomes of intergroup comparison.

  2. Classification of antecedents towards safety use of health information technology: A systematic review.

    PubMed

    Salahuddin, Lizawati; Ismail, Zuraini

    2015-11-01

    This paper provides a systematic review of safety use of health information technology (IT). The first objective is to identify the antecedents towards safety use of health IT by conducting systematic literature review (SLR). The second objective is to classify the identified antecedents based on the work system in Systems Engineering Initiative for Patient Safety (SEIPS) model and an extension of DeLone and McLean (D&M) information system (IS) success model. A systematic literature review (SLR) was conducted from peer-reviewed scholarly publications between January 2000 and July 2014. SLR was carried out and reported based on the preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses (PRISMA) statement. The related articles were identified by searching the articles published in Science Direct, Medline, EMBASE, and CINAHL databases. Data extracted from the resultant studies included are to be analysed based on the work system in Systems Engineering Initiative for Patient Safety (SEIPS) model, and also from the extended DeLone and McLean (D&M) information system (IS) success model. 55 articles delineated to be antecedents that influenced the safety use of health IT were included for review. Antecedents were identified and then classified into five key categories. The categories are (1) person, (2) technology, (3) tasks, (4) organization, and (5) environment. Specifically, person is attributed by competence while technology is associated to system quality, information quality, and service quality. Tasks are attributed by task-related stressor. Organisation is related to training, organisation resources, and teamwork. Lastly, environment is attributed by physical layout, and noise. This review provides evidence that the antecedents for safety use of health IT originated from both social and technical aspects. However, inappropriate health IT usage potentially increases the incidence of errors and produces new safety risks. The review cautions future

  3. Social identity, attribution, and emotion: comparisons of Americans, Korean Americans, and Koreans.

    PubMed

    Park, Hee Sun; Yun, Doshik; Choi, Hye Jeong; Lee, Hye Eun; Lee, Dong Wook; Ahn, Jiyoung

    2013-01-01

    The social identity of another person, in addition to the social identity of self, can be an important factor affecting the types of attribution judgments and emotions that individuals indicate for the other person. In April 2007, the perpetrator of the shooting incident on the Virginia Tech University campus was identified as a person who emigrated to the USA from Korea at a young age. The current study compared non-Korean Americans, Korean Americans, Koreans in the USA, and Koreans in Korea in terms of their attributions and emotions concerning the perpetrator and the shooting incident. Participants were asked to indicate (1) the extent to which they attributed the cause of the incident to either American society or the perpetrator, (2) their emotions (e.g., upset), and (3) the extent to which they categorized the perpetrator as an American, a Korean American, or a Korean. The results indicated that non-Korean Americans were most likely to attribute the cause of the incident to the perpetrator as opposed to American society. Non-Korean Americans, Korean Americans, and Koreans in the United States had more negative emotions (e.g., unhappy, sad, and upset) about the incident than Koreans in Korea did. The results also indicated that individuals differed in their attributions and emotions depending on how they categorized the perpetrator. For example, categorizing the perpetrator as being a Korean was positively related to Americans' tendency to hold the perpetrator responsible, while categorizing the perpetrator as being an American was negatively related to the tendency to hold the perpetrator responsible among Koreans in Korea. The findings may imply that social identity theory, intergroup emotion theory, and cultural orientations (e.g., individualism and collectivism) can provide insights into people's reactions to a tragic incident.

  4. Occupational Safety and Health Act: A Responsibility for Science Teachers

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Science Teacher, 1974

    1974-01-01

    Presents implications of the Occupational Safety and Health Act for science teachers both as workers and as they encourage, in students, the development of positive safety attitudes for future occupations. (PEB)

  5. Does response evaluation and decision (RED) mediate the relation between hostile attributional style and antisocial behavior in adolescence?

    PubMed

    Fontaine, Reid Griffith; Tanha, Marieh; Yang, Chongming; Dodge, Kenneth A; Bates, John E; Pettit, Gregory S

    2010-07-01

    The role of hostile attributional style (HAS) in antisocial development has been well-documented. We analyzed longitudinal data on 585 youths (48% female; 19% ethnic minority) to test the hypothesis that response evaluation and decision (RED) mediates the relation between HAS and antisocial behavior in adolescence. In Grades 10 and 12, adolescent participants and their parents reported participants' antisocial conduct. In Grade 11, participants were asked to imagine themselves in videotaped ambiguous-provocation scenarios. Segment 1 of each scenario presented an ambiguous provocation, after which participants answered HAS questions. In segment 2, participants were asked to imagine themselves responding aggressively to the provocateur, after which RED was assessed. Structural equation modeling indicated that RED mediates the relation between HAS and subsequent antisocial conduct, controlling for previous misconduct. Findings are consistent with research on the development of executive function processes in adolescence, and suggest that the relation between HAS and RED changes after childhood.

  6. Does Response Evaluation and Decision (RED) Mediate the Relation between Hostile Attributional Style and Antisocial Behavior in Adolescence?

    PubMed Central

    Tanha, Marieh; Yang, Chongming; Dodge, Kenneth A.; Bates, John E.; Pettit, Gregory S.

    2013-01-01

    The role of hostile attributional style (HAS) in antisocial development has been well-documented. We analyzed longitudinal data on 585 youths (48% female; 19% ethnic minority) to test the hypothesis that response evaluation and decision (RED) mediates the relation between HAS and antisocial behavior in adolescence. In Grades 10 and 12, adolescent participants and their parents reported participants’ antisocial conduct. In Grade 11, participants were asked to imagine themselves in videotaped ambiguous-provocation scenarios. Segment 1 of each scenario presented an ambiguous provocation, after which participants answered HAS questions. In segment 2, participants were asked to imagine themselves responding aggressively to the provocateur, after which RED was assessed. Structural equation modeling indicated that RED mediates the relation between HAS and subsequent antisocial conduct, controlling for previous misconduct. Findings are consistent with research on the development of executive function processes in adolescence, and suggest that the relation between HAS and RED changes after childhood. PMID:20186477

  7. Health, Safety, and Environment Division

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Wade, C

    1992-01-01

    The primary responsibility of the Health, Safety, and Environmental (HSE) Division at the Los Alamos National Laboratory is to provide comprehensive occupational health and safety programs, waste processing, and environmental protection. These activities are designed to protect the worker, the public, and the environment. Meeting these responsibilities requires expertise in many disciplines, including radiation protection, industrial hygiene, safety, occupational medicine, environmental science and engineering, analytical chemistry, epidemiology, and waste management. New and challenging health, safety, and environmental problems occasionally arise from the diverse research and development work of the Laboratory, and research programs in HSE Division often stem from thesemore » applied needs. These programs continue but are also extended, as needed, to study specific problems for the Department of Energy. The results of these programs help develop better practices in occupational health and safety, radiation protection, and environmental science.« less

  8. Safety recommendations and responses availability. [Training of shipmasters in automated radar plotting

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Not Available

    1980-09-25

    The U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has recommended that the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) and Exxon Co. USA require shipmasters assigned to a vessel equipped with an automated radar plotting aid to complete an approved training course before assignment to avoid the recurrence of accidents similar to the collision of the Exxon Chester tankship and the Regal Sword Liberian freighter in the Atlantic Ocean near Cape Cod, Massachusetts, on 6/18/79. Following the explosion, burning, and sinking of the Liberian tankship, Seatiger, at a Sun Oil Terminal Inc. berth in Nederland, Texas on 4/19/79, NTSB also urged USCG to requiremore » foreign and domestic crude oil tankers of 20,000 dwt and above that are equipped with inert systems to place these systems in operation while in US waters, except when cargo tanks are gas-free; instructed Sun Oil Terminals Inc. to provide an emergency communication system between berthed vessels and its terminal office during communication system between berthed vessels and its terminal office during cargo discharging; and recommended that the American Bureau of Shipping instruct tanker surveyors to examine flame screens. Other safety recommendations and responses by federal agencies are also discussed.« less

  9. Attribution of negative intention in Williams syndrome.

    PubMed

    Godbee, Kali; Porter, Melanie A

    2013-05-01

    People with Williams syndrome (WS) are said to have sociable and extremely trusting personalities, approaching strangers without hesitation. This study investigated whether people with WS are less likely than controls to attribute negative intent to others when interpreting a series of ambiguous pictures. This may, at least partially, explain their hypersociability toward strangers. Twenty-seven individuals with WS and 54 typically developing controls (27 matched to WS participants on sex and chronological age and 27 matched on sex and mental age) viewed 10 ambiguous pictures, where one person in the picture may be seen as having a negative objective. Participants were asked to describe what was happening in the picture. Responses were scored for negative intention attribution (NIA). NIA was reduced in WS individuals relative to typically developing controls of the same chronological age, but was similar to typically developing controls of the same mental age. Findings are discussed in relation to possible underlying neurological and cognitive mechanisms and practical implications for understanding and teaching stranger danger to people with WS. Crown Copyright © 2013. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  10. Missouri Secondary Science Safety Manual.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Lemons, Judith L.

    The purpose of this safety manual is to provide a resource to help manage and minimize potential risks in science classrooms where students spend up to 60% of instructional time engaged in hands-on activities. This manual contains information on standards, legal aspects, and responsibilities for science safety; general laboratory safety for…

  11. Application of Bayesian Techniques to Model the Burden of Human Salmonellosis Attributable to U.S. Food Commodities at the Point of Processing: Adaptation of a Danish Model

    PubMed Central

    Guo, Chuanfa; Hoekstra, Robert M.; Schroeder, Carl M.; Pires, Sara Monteiro; Ong, Kanyin Liane; Hartnett, Emma; Naugle, Alecia; Harman, Jane; Bennett, Patricia; Cieslak, Paul; Scallan, Elaine; Rose, Bonnie; Holt, Kristin G.; Kissler, Bonnie; Mbandi, Evelyne; Roodsari, Reza; Angulo, Frederick J.

    2011-01-01

    Abstract Mathematical models that estimate the proportion of foodborne illnesses attributable to food commodities at specific points in the food chain may be useful to risk managers and policy makers to formulate public health goals, prioritize interventions, and document the effectiveness of mitigations aimed at reducing illness. Using human surveillance data on laboratory-confirmed Salmonella infections from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Salmonella testing data from U.S. Department of Agriculture Food Safety and Inspection Service's regulatory programs, we developed a point-of-processing foodborne illness attribution model by adapting the Hald Salmonella Bayesian source attribution model. Key model outputs include estimates of the relative proportions of domestically acquired sporadic human Salmonella infections resulting from contamination of raw meat, poultry, and egg products processed in the United States from 1998 through 2003. The current model estimates the relative contribution of chicken (48%), ground beef (28%), turkey (17%), egg products (6%), intact beef (1%), and pork (<1%) across 109 Salmonella serotypes found in food commodities at point of processing. While interpretation of the attribution estimates is constrained by data inputs, the adapted model shows promise and may serve as a basis for a common approach to attribution of human salmonellosis and food safety decision-making in more than one country. PMID:21235394

  12. Calibration of Seismic Attributes for Reservoir Characterization

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Pennington, Wayne D.; Acevedo, Horacio; Green, Aaron

    2002-01-29

    This project has completed the initially scheduled third year of the contract, and is beginning a fourth year, designed to expand upon the tech transfer aspects of the project. From the Stratton data set, demonstrated that an apparent correlation between attributes derived along `phantom' horizons are artifacts of isopach changes; only if the interpreter understands that the interpretation is based on this correlation with bed thickening or thinning, can reliable interpretations of channel horizons and facies be made. From the Boonsville data set , developed techniques to use conventional seismic attributes, including seismic facies generated under various neural network procedures,more » to subdivide regional facies determined from logs into productive and non-productive subfacies, and developed a method involving cross-correlation of seismic waveforms to provide a reliable map of the various facies present in the area. The Teal South data set provided a surprising set of data, leading us to develop a pressure-dependent velocity relationship and to conclude that nearby reservoirs are undergoing a pressure drop in response to the production of the main reservoir, implying that oil is being lost through their spill points, never to be produced. The Wamsutter data set led to the use of unconventional attributes including lateral incoherence and horizon-dependent impedance variations to indicate regions of former sand bars and current high pressure, respectively, and to evaluation of various upscaling routines.« less

  13. Relational vs. attributive interpretation of nominal compounds differentially engages angular gyrus and anterior temporal lobe

    PubMed Central

    Boylan, Christine; Trueswell, John C.; Thompson-Schill, Sharon L.

    2018-01-01

    The angular gyrus (AG) and anterior temporal lobe (ATL) have been found to respond to a number of tasks involving combinatorial processing. In this study, we investigate the conceptual combination of nominal compounds, and ask whether ATL/AG activity is modulated by the type of combinatorial operation applied to a nominal compound. We compare relational and attributive interpretations of nominal compounds and find that ATL and AG both discriminate these two types, but in distinct ways. While right AG demonstrated greater positive task-responsive activity for relational compounds, there was a greater negative deflection in the BOLD response in left AG for relational compounds. In left ATL, we found an earlier peak in subjects’ BOLD response curves for attributive interpretations. In other words, we observed dissociations in both AG and ATL between relational and attributive nominal compounds, with regard to magnitude in the former and to timing in the latter. These findings expand on prior studies that posit roles for both AG and ATL in conceptual processing generally, and in conceptual combination specifically, by indicating possible functional specializations of these two regions within a larger conceptual knowledge network. PMID:28236762

  14. Key attributes of expert NRL referees.

    PubMed

    Morris, Gavin; O'Connor, Donna

    2017-05-01

    Experiential knowledge of elite National Rugby League (NRL) referees was investigated to determine the key attributes contributing to expert officiating performance. Fourteen current first-grade NRL referees were asked to identify the key attributes they believed contributed to their expert refereeing performance. The modified Delphi method involved a 3-round process of an initial semi-structured interview followed by 2 questionnaires to reach consensus of opinion. The data revealed 25 attributes that were rated as most important that underpin expert NRL refereeing performance. Results illustrate the significance of the cognitive category, with the top 6 ranked attributes all cognitive skills. Of these, the referees ranked decision-making accuracy as the most important attribute, followed by reading the game, communication, game understanding, game management and knowledge of the rules. Player rapport, positioning and teamwork were the top ranked game skill attributes underpinning performance excellence. Expert referees also highlighted a number of psychological attributes (e.g., concentration, composure and mental toughness) that were significant to performance. There were only 2 physiological attributes (fitness, aerobic endurance) that were identified as significant to elite officiating performance. In summary, expert consensus was attained which successfully provided a hierarchy of the most significant attributes of expert NRL refereeing performance.

  15. Biological Weapons Attribution: A Primer

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2007-06-01

    attacks are very difficult: (1) the nature of biological weapons, (2) the unique restrictions the international environment places on BW attribution, and...provides a basic epistemological framework for analysis for successful BW attribution, detailing the nature , methods, and limits of current BW...difficult: (1) the nature of biological weapons, (2) the unique restrictions the international environment places on BW attribution, and (3) the

  16. 33 CFR 151.1512 - Vessel safety.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-07-01

    ... 33 Navigation and Navigable Waters 2 2011-07-01 2011-07-01 false Vessel safety. 151.1512 Section... River § 151.1512 Vessel safety. Nothing in this subpart relieves the master of the responsibility for ensuring the safety and stability of the vessel or the safety of the crew and passengers, or any other...

  17. 33 CFR 151.1512 - Vessel safety.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-07-01

    ... 33 Navigation and Navigable Waters 2 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Vessel safety. 151.1512 Section... River § 151.1512 Vessel safety. Nothing in this subpart relieves the master of the responsibility for ensuring the safety and stability of the vessel or the safety of the crew and passengers, or any other...

  18. Engineering and Safety Partnership Enhances Safety of the Space Shuttle Program (SSP)

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Duarte, Alberto

    2007-01-01

    Project Management must use the risk assessment documents (RADs) as tools to support their decision making process. Therefore, these documents have to be initiated, developed, and evolved parallel to the life of the project. Technical preparation and safety compliance of these documents require a great deal of resources. Updating these documents after-the-fact not only requires substantial increase in resources - Project Cost -, but this task is also not useful and perhaps an unnecessary expense. Hazard Reports (HRs), Failure Modes and Effects Analysis (FMEAs), Critical Item Lists (CILs), Risk Management process are, among others, within this category. A positive action resulting from a strong partnership between interested parties is one way to get these documents and related processes and requirements, released and updated in useful time. The Space Shuttle Program (SSP) at the Marshall Space Flight Center has implemented a process which is having positive results and gaining acceptance within the Agency. A hybrid Panel, with equal interest and responsibilities for the two larger organizations, Safety and Engineering, is the focal point of this process. Called the Marshall Safety and Engineering Review Panel (MSERP), its charter (Space Shuttle Program Directive 110 F, April 15, 2005), and its Operating Control Plan emphasizes the technical and safety responsibilities over the program risk documents: HRs; FMEA/CILs; Engineering Changes; anomalies/problem resolutions and corrective action implementations, and trend analysis. The MSERP has undertaken its responsibilities with objectivity, assertiveness, dedication, has operated with focus, and has shown significant results and promising perspectives. The MSERP has been deeply involved in propulsion systems and integration, real time technical issues and other relevant reviews, since its conception. These activities have transformed the propulsion MSERP in a truly participative and value added panel, making a

  19. Vaccines and Internet: characteristics of the vaccine safety net web sites and suggested improvements.

    PubMed

    Martínez-Mora, Marta; Alvarez-Pasquín, María José; Rodríguez-Salvanés, Francisco

    2008-12-09

    The Internet contains a large amount of useful information on many subjects, but also information of doubtful quality. To help identify Web sites on vaccine safety that fulfil good practice, the Global Advisory Committee on Vaccine Safety of the World Health Organization (WHO) has published criteria to which sites should adhere and a listing of Web sites that fulfil them. There are no studies describing the common attributes of these sites. To examine the attributes, design characteristics and resources of Web sites belonging to the Vaccine Safety Net (VSN) of the WHO. A cross-sectional, descriptive observational study using an evaluation questionnaire was carried out applied to the VSN web sites listed in March-April 2007. Twenty-six Web sites accredited by the VSN by April 2007 were analysed. With respect to design and quality, all sites contained information about the site manager. Postal and Email addresses were available for 84.6% of the sites. About privacy and personal data processing, 73.1% of sites specified the data protection procedure used and stated that data were not sold or passed third parties. The most-used language was English (76.9%). 96.3% of sites had links to other pro-vaccination sites and 19.2% provided the addresses of vaccination centres. 63.6% of webs were aimed at general public and health care workers but there was no clear separation of documents or different entry routes. With respect to information on vaccine safety, 84.6% of sites had information on adverse effects. In the general information section, 92.3% of sites had a new developments section. Some sites had multiple sources of financing and in 57% of sites, the financing was public. The most-important plus factors found were the transparency of financing, the lack of links to the pharmaceutical industry, the transparency of site management and responsibility and the proven scientific quality and constant updating of contents.

  20. Attributing Human Mortality During Extreme Heat Waves to Anthropogenic Climate Change

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Mitchell, D.; Heaviside, C.; Vardoulakis, S.; Huntingford, C.; Masato, G.; Guillod, B. P.; Frumhoff, P. C.; Bowery, A.; Allen, M. R.

    2015-12-01

    Climate change is the biggest global health threat of the 21st century (Costello et al, 2009; Watts et al, 2015). Perhaps one of the clearest examples of this is the summer heat wave of 2003, which saw up to seventy thousand excess deaths across Europe (Robine et al, 2007). The extreme temperatures are now thought to be significantly enhanced due to anthropogenic climate change (Stott et al, 2004; Christidis et al, 2015). Here, we consider not only the Europe-wide temperature response of the heat wave, but the localised response using a high-resolution regional model simulating 2003 climate conditions thousands of times. For the first time, by employing end-to-end attribution, we attribute changes in mortality to the increased radiative forcing from climate change, with a specific focus on London and Paris. We show that in both cities, a sizable proportion of the excess mortality can be attributed to human emissions. With European heat waves projected to increase into the future, these results provide a worrying reality for what may lie ahead. Christidis, Nikolaos, Gareth S. Jones, and Peter A. Stott. "Dramatically increasing chance of extremely hot summers since the 2003 European heatwave." Nature Climate Change (2014). Costello, Anthony, et al. "Managing the health effects of climate change: lancet and University College London Institute for Global Health Commission." The Lancet 373.9676 (2009): 1693-1733. Stott, Peter A., Dáithí A. Stone, and Myles R. Allen. "Human contribution to the European heatwave of 2003." Nature 432.7017 (2004): 610-614 Watts, N., et al. "Health and climate change: policy responses to protect public health." Lancet. 2015.

  1. The challenges for global harmonisation of food safety norms and regulations: issues for India.

    PubMed

    Prakash, Jamuna

    2014-08-01

    Safe and adequate food is a human right, safety being a prime quality attribute without which food is unfit for consumption. Food safety regulations are framed to exercise control over all types of food produced, processed and sold so that the customer is assured that the food consumed will not cause any harm. From the Indian perspective, global harmonisation of food regulations is needed to improve food and nutrition security, the food trade and delivery of safe ready-to-eat (RTE) foods at all places and at all times. The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) put forward to transform developing societies incorporate many food safety issues. The success of the MDGs, including that of poverty reduction, will in part depend on an effective reduction of food-borne diseases, particularly among the vulnerable group, which includes women and children. Food- and water-borne illnesses can be a serious health hazard, being responsible for high incidences of morbidity and mortality across all age groups of people. Global harmonisation of food regulations would assist in facilitating food trade within and outside India through better compliance, ensuring the safety of RTE catered foods, as well as addressing issues related to the environment. At the same time, regulations need to be optimum, as overregulation may have undue negative effects on the food trade. © 2013 Society of Chemical Industry.

  2. Perceptions of adolescent bullying: attributions of blame and responsibility in cases of cyber-bullying.

    PubMed

    Morrow, Allison; Downey, Christina A

    2013-12-01

    Cyber-bullying (where victims are targeted via online social networking or other electronic means) has gained increased attention in research and the broadcast media, but previous research has not investigated attribution of blame in such cyber-bullying events. This experiment hypothesized that participants would assign higher ratings of blame to bullying perpetrators when the bullying situations were depicted as having highly foreseeable outcomes (vs. unforeseeable outcomes), and as occurring in school (vs. online). In addition, a significant interaction was predicted between outcome foreseeability and bullying situation, with highly foreseeable in-school events being rated as the most predictable and attributable to the bully's actions. One-hundred sixty-three participants completed surveys containing demographic items, items regarding their past experiences of victimization, and one of four randomly-assigned vignettes detailing a bullying situation (which participants rated). While hypotheses regarding outcome foreseeability were supported, no cyber-bullying vs. in-school main effects (or corresponding interaction effects) were detected. Implications for future research and practice, as well as study limitations, are discussed. © 2013 The Scandinavian Psychological Associations.

  3. The Kuleshov Effect: the influence of contextual framing on emotional attributions.

    PubMed

    Mobbs, Dean; Weiskopf, Nikolaus; Lau, Hakwan C; Featherstone, Eric; Dolan, Ray J; Frith, Chris D

    2006-09-01

    Filmmakers have long recognized the importance of editing techniques to guide the audiences' perceptions and enhance the impact of a scene. We demonstrate behaviorally that pairing identical faces with either neutral or emotionally salient contextual movies, an editing technique referred to as the 'Kuleshov Effect', results in both altered attributions of facial expression and mental-state. Using functional neuroimaging (fMRI), we show that faces paired with emotional movies enhance BOLD responses in the bilateral temporal pole, anterior cingulate cortices, amygdala and bilateral superior temporal sulcus relative to identical faces juxtaposed with neutral movies. An interaction was observed in the right amygdala when subtle happy and fear faces were juxtaposed with positive and negative movies, respectively. An interaction between happy faces and negative context was also observed in bilateral amygdala suggesting that the amygdala may act to prime or tag affective value to faces. A parametric modulation of BOLD signal by attribution ratings indicated a dissociation between ventrolateral and the ventromedial prefrontal cortex for negative and positive contextually evoked attributions, respectively. These prefrontal regions may act to guide appropriate choices across altering contexts. Together, these findings offer a neurobiological basis for contextual framing effects on social attributions.

  4. Root attributes affecting water uptake of rice (Oryza sativa) under drought

    PubMed Central

    Henry, Amelia

    2012-01-01

    Lowland rice roots have a unique physiological response to drought because of their adaptation to flooded soil. Rice root attributes that facilitate growth under flooded conditions may affect rice response to drought, but the relative roles of root structural and functional characteristics for water uptake under drought in rice are not known. Morphological, anatomical, biochemical, and molecular attributes of soil-grown rice roots were measured to investigate the genotypic variability and genotype×environment interactions of water uptake under variable soil water regimes. Drought-resistant genotypes had the lowest night-time bleeding rates of sap from the root system in the field. Diurnal fluctuation predominated as the strongest source of variation for bleeding rates in the field and root hydraulic conductivity (Lp r) in the greenhouse, and was related to expression trends of various PIP and TIP aquaporins. Root anatomy was generally more responsive to drought treatments in drought-resistant genotypes. Suberization and compaction of sclerenchyma layer cells decreased under drought, whereas suberization of the endodermis increased, suggesting differential roles of these two cell layers for the retention of oxygen under flooded conditions (sclerenchyma layer) and retention of water under drought (endodermis). The results of this study point to the genetic variability in responsiveness to drought of rice roots in terms of morphology, anatomy, and function. PMID:22791828

  5. Attribute importance segmentation of Norwegian seafood consumers: The inclusion of salient packaging attributes.

    PubMed

    Olsen, Svein Ottar; Tuu, Ho Huu; Grunert, Klaus G

    2017-10-01

    The main purpose of this study is to identify consumer segments based on the importance of product attributes when buying seafood for homemade meals on weekdays. There is a particular focus on the relative importance of the packaging attributes of fresh seafood. The results are based on a representative survey of 840 Norwegian consumers between 18 and 80 years of age. This study found that taste, freshness, nutritional value and naturalness are the most important attributes for the home consumption of seafood. Except for the high importance of information about expiration date, most other packaging attributes have only medium importance. Three consumer segments are identified based on the importance of 33 attributes associated with seafood: Perfectionists, Quality Conscious and Careless Consumers. The Quality Conscious consumers feel more self-confident in their evaluation of quality, and are less concerned with packaging, branding, convenience and emotional benefits compared to the Perfectionists. Careless Consumers are important as regular consumers of convenient and pre-packed seafood products and value recipe information on the packaging. The seafood industry may use the results provided in this study to strengthen their positioning of seafood across three different consumer segments. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  6. Measuring and improving patient safety through health information technology: The Health IT Safety Framework

    PubMed Central

    Singh, Hardeep

    2016-01-01

    Health information technology (health IT) has potential to improve patient safety but its implementation and use has led to unintended consequences and new safety concerns. A key challenge to improving safety in health IT-enabled healthcare systems is to develop valid, feasible strategies to measure safety concerns at the intersection of health IT and patient safety. In response to the fundamental conceptual and methodological gaps related to both defining and measuring health IT-related patient safety, we propose a new framework, the Health IT Safety (HITS) measurement framework, to provide a conceptual foundation for health IT-related patient safety measurement, monitoring, and improvement. The HITS framework follows both Continuous Quality Improvement (CQI) and sociotechnical approaches and calls for new measures and measurement activities to address safety concerns in three related domains: 1) concerns that are unique and specific to technology (e.g., to address unsafe health IT related to unavailable or malfunctioning hardware or software); 2) concerns created by the failure to use health IT appropriately or by misuse of health IT (e.g. to reduce nuisance alerts in the electronic health record (EHR)), and 3) the use of health IT to monitor risks, health care processes and outcomes and identify potential safety concerns before they can harm patients (e.g. use EHR-based algorithms to identify patients at risk for medication errors or care delays). The framework proposes to integrate both retrospective and prospective measurement of HIT safety with an organization's existing clinical risk management and safety programs. It aims to facilitate organizational learning, comprehensive 360 degree assessment of HIT safety that includes vendor involvement, refinement of measurement tools and strategies, and shared responsibility to identify problems and implement solutions. A long term framework goal is to enable rigorous measurement that helps achieve the safety

  7. The Role of OSHA in Safety and Health. Module SH-02. Safety and Health.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Center for Occupational Research and Development, Inc., Waco, TX.

    This student module on the role of OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Act) in Safety and Health is one of 50 modules concerned with job safety and health. This module looks at the OSHA Act, its aims, and the rights and responsibilities of employers and workers under the Act. Following the introduction, 16 objectives (each keyed to a page in the…

  8. 41 CFR 102-80.125 - Who has the responsibility for determining the acceptability of each equivalent level of safety...

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-01-01

    ... departments or other local authorities for use in developing pre-fire plans. ... Fire Prevention Equivalent Level of Safety Analysis § 102-80.125 Who has the responsibility for... acceptability must include a review of the fire protection engineer's qualifications, the appropriateness of the...

  9. 41 CFR 102-80.125 - Who has the responsibility for determining the acceptability of each equivalent level of safety...

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-01-01

    ... departments or other local authorities for use in developing pre-fire plans. ... Fire Prevention Equivalent Level of Safety Analysis § 102-80.125 Who has the responsibility for... acceptability must include a review of the fire protection engineer's qualifications, the appropriateness of the...

  10. 41 CFR 102-80.125 - Who has the responsibility for determining the acceptability of each equivalent level of safety...

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-07-01

    ... departments or other local authorities for use in developing pre-fire plans. ... Fire Prevention Equivalent Level of Safety Analysis § 102-80.125 Who has the responsibility for... acceptability must include a review of the fire protection engineer's qualifications, the appropriateness of the...

  11. 41 CFR 102-80.125 - Who has the responsibility for determining the acceptability of each equivalent level of safety...

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-01-01

    ... departments or other local authorities for use in developing pre-fire plans. ... Fire Prevention Equivalent Level of Safety Analysis § 102-80.125 Who has the responsibility for... acceptability must include a review of the fire protection engineer's qualifications, the appropriateness of the...

  12. 41 CFR 102-80.125 - Who has the responsibility for determining the acceptability of each equivalent level of safety...

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-07-01

    ... departments or other local authorities for use in developing pre-fire plans. ... Fire Prevention Equivalent Level of Safety Analysis § 102-80.125 Who has the responsibility for... acceptability must include a review of the fire protection engineer's qualifications, the appropriateness of the...

  13. Attributional bias and reactive aggression.

    PubMed

    Hudley, C; Friday, J

    1996-01-01

    This article looks at a cognitive behavioral intervention designed to reduce minority youths' (Latino and African-American boys) levels of reactive peer-directed aggression. The BrainPower Program trains aggressive boys to recognize accidental causation in ambiguous interactions with peers. The objective of this research is to evaluate the effectiveness of this attribution retraining program in reducing levels of reactive, peer-directed aggression. This research hypothesizes that aggressive young boys' tendency to attribute hostile intentions to others in ambiguous social interactions causes display of inappropriate, peer-directed aggression. A reduction in attributional bias should produce a decrease in reactive physical and verbal aggression directed toward peers. A 12-session, attributional intervention has been designed to reduce aggressive students' tendency to infer hostile intentions in peers following ambiguous peer provocations. The program trains boys to (1) accurately perceive and categorize the available social cues in interactions with peers, (2) attribute negative outcomes of ambiguous causality to accidental or uncontrollable causes, and (3) generate behaviors appropriate to these retrained attributions. African-American and Latino male elementary-school students (N = 384), in grades four-six, served as subjects in one of three groups: experimental attribution retraining program, attention training, and no-attention control group. Three broad categories of outcome data were collected: teacher and administrator reports of behavior, independent observations of behavior, and self-reports from participating students. Process measures to assess implementation fidelity include videotaped training sessions, observations of intervention sessions, student attendance records, and weekly team meetings. The baseline data indicated that students who were evenly distributed across the four sites were not significantly different on the baseline indicators: student

  14. Patient Safety Executive Walkarounds

    PubMed Central

    Feitelberg, Steven P

    2006-01-01

    The KP Patient Safety Executive Walkarounds Program in the KP San Diego Service Area was developed to provide routine opportunities for senior KP leaders, staff, and clinicians to discuss patient safety concerns proactively, working closely with our labor partners to foster a culture of safety that supports our staff and physicians. Throughout the KP San Diego Service Area, the Walkarounds program plays a major part in promoting responsible identification and reporting of patient safety issues. Because each staff member has an equal voice in discussing patient safety concerns, the program enables all employees—union and nonunion alike—to engage directly in discussions about improving patient safety. The KPSC leadership has recognized this program as a major demonstration that the leadership supports patient safety and promotes reporting of safety issues in a “just culture.” PMID:21519438

  15. Ecological resistance in urban streams: the role of natural and legacy attributes

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Utz, Ryan M.; Hopkins, Kristina G.; Beesley, Leah; Booth, Derek B.; Hawley, Robert J.; Baker, Matthew E.; Freeman, Mary C.; Jones, Krista L.

    2016-01-01

    Urbanization substantially changes the physicochemical and biological characteristics of streams. The trajectory of negative effect is broadly similar around the world, but the nature and magnitude of ecological responses to urban growth differ among locations. Some heterogeneity in response arises from differences in the level of urban development and attributes of urban water management. However, the heterogeneity also may arise from variation in hydrologic, biological, and physicochemical templates that shaped stream ecosystems before urban development. We present a framework to develop hypotheses that predict how natural watershed and channel attributes in the pre-urban-development state may confer ecological resistance to urbanization. We present 6 testable hypotheses that explore the expression of such attributes under our framework: 1) greater water storage capacity mitigates hydrologic regime shifts, 2) coarse substrates and a balance between erosive forces and sediment supply buffer morphological changes, 3) naturally high ionic concentrations and pH pre-adapt biota to water-quality stress, 4) metapopulation connectivity results in retention of species richness, 5) high functional redundancy buffers trophic function from species loss, and 6) landuse history mutes or reverses the expected trajectory of eutrophication. Data from past comparative analyses support these hypotheses, but rigorous testing will require targeted investigations that account for confounding or interacting factors, such as diversity in urban infrastructure attributes. Improved understanding of the susceptibility or resistance of stream ecosystems could substantially strengthen conservation, management, and monitoring efforts in urban streams. We hope that these preliminary, conceptual hypotheses will encourage others to explore these ideas further and generate additional explanations for the heterogeneity observed in urban streams.

  16. Semantic attributes based texture generation

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Chi, Huifang; Gan, Yanhai; Qi, Lin; Dong, Junyu; Madessa, Amanuel Hirpa

    2018-04-01

    Semantic attributes are commonly used for texture description. They can be used to describe the information of a texture, such as patterns, textons, distributions, brightness, and so on. Generally speaking, semantic attributes are more concrete descriptors than perceptual features. Therefore, it is practical to generate texture images from semantic attributes. In this paper, we propose to generate high-quality texture images from semantic attributes. Over the last two decades, several works have been done on texture synthesis and generation. Most of them focusing on example-based texture synthesis and procedural texture generation. Semantic attributes based texture generation still deserves more devotion. Gan et al. proposed a useful joint model for perception driven texture generation. However, perceptual features are nonobjective spatial statistics used by humans to distinguish different textures in pre-attentive situations. To give more describing information about texture appearance, semantic attributes which are more in line with human description habits are desired. In this paper, we use sigmoid cross entropy loss in an auxiliary model to provide enough information for a generator. Consequently, the discriminator is released from the relatively intractable mission of figuring out the joint distribution of condition vectors and samples. To demonstrate the validity of our method, we compare our method to Gan et al.'s method on generating textures by designing experiments on PTD and DTD. All experimental results show that our model can generate textures from semantic attributes.

  17. The Effect of Attributional Style Change on Self-Esteem and Depression.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Layden, Mary Anne

    Low self-esteem and depressed individuals tend to have an attributional style of externalizing success and internalizing failure. To evaluate a program developed to help reverse this pattern of responses to be more similar to high self-esteem and nondepressed individuals, subjects were first tested for self-esteem, depression, and attributional…

  18. 78 FR 63019 - Safety Standard for Bassinets and Cradles

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2013-10-23

    ... directly attributable to product stability, the instability of the product, in many incidents, was to blame... stability test procedure, and (2) the addition of new provisions for a segmented mattress flatness test and a removable bed stability requirement. In this document, the Commission is issuing a safety standard...

  19. Relationship of School-Based Attributions to Depression

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Bell, Sherry Mee; McCallum, R. Steve; Doucette, Janette A.

    2004-01-01

    Relationships among attributions for success and failure and depression were investigated for 63 5th-grade students. Significant relationships were found among school-based attributions, as measured by global scale scores from the Student Academic Attribution Scale (SAAS) and the Student Social Attribution Scale (SSAS), general attributions as…

  20. Privacy Protection on Multiple Sensitive Attributes

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Li, Zhen; Ye, Xiaojun

    In recent years, a privacy model called k-anonymity has gained popularity in the microdata releasing. As the microdata may contain multiple sensitive attributes about an individual, the protection of multiple sensitive attributes has become an important problem. Different from the existing models of single sensitive attribute, extra associations among multiple sensitive attributes should be invested. Two kinds of disclosure scenarios may happen because of logical associations. The Q&S Diversity is checked to prevent the foregoing disclosure risks, with an α Requirement definition used to ensure the diversity requirement. At last, a two-step greedy generalization algorithm is used to carry out the multiple sensitive attributes processing which deal with quasi-identifiers and sensitive attributes respectively. We reduce the overall distortion by the measure of Masking SA.

  1. Environmental attributable fractions in remote Australia: the potential of a new approach for local public health action.

    PubMed

    McMullen, Cheryl; Eastwood, Ashley; Ward, Jeanette

    2016-04-01

    To determine local values for environmental attributable fractions and explore their applicability and potential for public health advocacy. Using World Health Organization (WHO) values for environmental attributable fractions, responses from a practitioner survey (73% response rate) were considered by a smaller skills-based panel to determine consensus values for Kimberley environmental attributable fractions (KEAFs). Applied to de-identified data from 17 remote primary healthcare facilities over two years, numbers and proportions of reasons for attendance directly attributable to the environment were calculated for all ages and children aged 0-4 years, including those for Aboriginal patients. Of 150,357 reasons for attendance for patients of all ages, 31,775 (21.1%) were directly attributable to the environment. The proportion of these directly due to the environment was significantly higher for Aboriginal patients than others (23.1% v 14.6%; p<0.001). Of 29,706 reasons for attendance by Aboriginal children aged 0-4 years, 7,599 (25.6%) were directly attributable to the environment, significantly higher than for non-Aboriginal children aged 0-4 years (25.6% v 18.6%; p<0.001). By addressing environmental factors, 20% of total primary healthcare demand could be prevented and, importantly, some 25% of presentations by Aboriginal children. KEAFs have potential to monitor impact of local environmental investments. © 2015 Public Health Association of Australia.

  2. Is chondroitin sulfate responsible for the biological effects attributed to the GC protein-derived Macrophage Activating Factor (GcMAF)?

    PubMed

    Ruggiero, Marco; Reinwald, Heinz; Pacini, Stefania

    2016-09-01

    We hypothesize that a plasma glycosaminoglycan, chondroitin sulfate, may be responsible for the biological and clinical effects attributed to the Gc protein-derived Macrophage Activating Factor (GcMAF), a protein that is extracted from human blood. Thus, Gc protein binds chondroitin sulfate on the cell surface and such an interaction may occur also in blood, colostrum and milk. This interpretation would solve the inconsistencies encountered in explaining the effects of GcMAF in vitro and in vivo. According to our model, the Gc protein or the GcMAF bind to chondroitin sulfate both on the cell surface and in bodily fluids, and the resulting multimolecular complexes, under the form of oligomers trigger a transmembrane signal or, alternatively, are internalized and convey the signal directly to the nucleus thus eliciting the diverse biological effects observed for both GcMAF and chondroitin sulfate. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  3. Attributions of Cancer ‘Alarm’ Symptoms in a Community Sample

    PubMed Central

    Whitaker, Katriina L.; Scott, Suzanne E.; Winstanley, Kelly; Macleod, Una; Wardle, Jane

    2014-01-01

    Background Attribution of early cancer symptoms to a non-serious cause may lead to longer diagnostic intervals. We investigated attributions of potential cancer ‘alarm’ and non-alarm symptoms experienced in everyday life in a community sample of adults, without mention of a cancer context. Methods A questionnaire was mailed to 4858 adults (≥50 years old, no cancer diagnosis) through primary care, asking about symptom experiences in the past 3 months. The word cancer was not mentioned. Target 'alarm' symptoms, publicised by Cancer Research UK, were embedded in a longer symptom list. For each symptom experienced, respondents were asked for their attribution (‘what do you think caused it'), concern about seriousness (‘not at all’ to ‘extremely’), and help-seeking (‘did you contact a doctor about it’: Yes/No). Results The response rate was 35% (n = 1724). Over half the respondents (915/1724; 53%) had experienced an ‘alarm’ symptom, and 20 (2%) cited cancer as a possible cause. Cancer attributions were highest for ‘unexplained lump’; 7% (6/87). Cancer attributions were lowest for ‘unexplained weight loss’ (0/47). A higher proportion (375/1638; 23%) were concerned their symptom might be ‘serious’, ranging from 12% (13/112) for change in a mole to 41% (100/247) for unexplained pain. Just over half had contacted their doctor about their symptom (59%), although this varied by symptom. Alarm symptoms were appraised as more serious than non-alarm symptoms, and were more likely to trigger help-seeking. Conclusions Consistent with retrospective reports from cancer patients, ‘alarm’ symptoms experienced in daily life were rarely attributed to cancer. These results have implications for understanding how people appraise and act on symptoms that could be early warning signs of cancer. PMID:25461959

  4. Emergency medical services responders’ perceptions of the effect of stress and anxiety on patient safety in the out-of-hospital emergency care of children: a qualitative study

    PubMed Central

    Hansen, Matthew; O'Brien, Kerth; Dickinson, Caitlin; Meckler, Garth; Engle, Phil; Lambert, William; Jui, Jonathan

    2017-01-01

    Objective Prehospital emergency medical services (EMS) providers report anxiety as the second most common contributor to paediatric patient safety events. The objective of this study was to understand how EMS providers perceive the effect of stress and anxiety on paediatric out-of-hospital patient safety. Setting This was a nationwide study of EMS providers from 44 of 50 (88%) US states. Participants A total of 753 eligible EMS professionals, including emergency medical technicians, emergency department physicians and nurses (general and paediatric), and respiratory therapists who participate in out-of-hospital transports. Primary and secondary outcome measures Outcomes included responses to: (1) clinical situations where heightened stress or anxiety was likely to contribute to safety events, (2) aspects of these clinical situations that cause stress or anxiety and (3) how stress or anxiety may lead to paediatric safety events. Results EMS providers reported that the clinical situations where stress and anxiety were more likely to contribute to paediatric patient safety events were trauma, respiratory distress and cardiac issues. Key themes were: (1) provider sympathy or identification with children, (2) difficulty seeing an innocent child hurt and the inherent value of children and (3) insufficient exposure to paediatric emergencies. Conclusions Caring for paediatric emergencies creates unique stresses on providers that may affect patient safety. Many of the factors reported to cause provider stress and anxiety are inherent attributes of children and therefore not modifiable. Tools that support care during stressful conditions such as cognitive aids may help to mitigate anxiety in the prehospital care of children. Further research is needed to identify opportunities for and attributes of interventions. PMID:28246139

  5. Perceptions of sexual partner safety.

    PubMed

    Masaro, C L; Dahinten, V S; Johnson, J; Ogilvie, G; Patrick, D M

    2008-06-01

    Many individuals select sexual partners based on assumed partner STI/HIV safety, yet few studies have investigated how these assumptions are formed. The objective of this research was to determine the extent to which partner safety beliefs were used to evaluate partner safety, and whether these beliefs influenced perceptions of personal STI/HIV risk. Participants (n = 317) recruited from an STI clinic completed a structured self-report questionnaire. A Partner Safety Beliefs Scale (PSBS) was developed to determine the factors that most influenced perceived partner safety. Exploratory factor analysis showed that a single factor accounted for 46% of the variance in the PSBS; with an internal consistency of 0.92. Linear regression was used to determine factors predictive of perceived personal STI/HIV risk. Participants endorsed statements indicating that knowing or trusting a sexual partner influences their beliefs about their partner's safety. Linear regression analysis indicated that education, income, number of sexual partners, and PSBS scores were significant predictors of perceived personal STI/HIV risk. The results of this study indicate that many individuals are relying on partner attributes and relationship characteristics when assessing the STI/HIV status of a sexual partner, and that this reliance is associated with a decreased perception of personal STI/HIV risk. Prevention campaigns need to acknowledge that people are likely to evaluate sexual partners whom they know and trust as safe. Dispelling erroneous beliefs about the ability to select safe partners is needed to promote safer sexual behavior.

  6. Line-scan Raman imaging and spectroscopy platform for surface and subsurface evaluation of food safety and quality

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    Both surface and subsurface food inspection is important since interesting safety and quality attributes can be at different sample locations. This paper presents a multipurpose line-scan Raman platform for food safety and quality research, which can be configured for Raman chemical imaging (RCI) mo...

  7. Qualitative analysis of patient-centered decision attributes associated with initiating hepatitis C treatment.

    PubMed

    Zuchowski, Jessica L; Hamilton, Alison B; Pyne, Jeffrey M; Clark, Jack A; Naik, Aanand D; Smith, Donna L; Kanwal, Fasiha

    2015-10-01

    In this era of a constantly changing landscape of antiviral treatment options for chronic viral hepatitis C (CHC), shared clinical decision-making addresses the need to engage patients in complex treatment decisions. However, little is known about the decision attributes that CHC patients consider when making treatment decisions. We identify key patient-centered decision attributes, and explore relationships among these attributes, to help inform the development of a future CHC shared decision-making aid. Semi-structured qualitative interviews with CHC patients at four Veterans Health Administration (VHA) hospitals, in three comparison groups: contemplating CHC treatment at the time of data collection (Group 1), recently declined CHC treatment (Group 2), or recently started CHC treatment (Group 3). Participant descriptions of decision attributes were analyzed for the entire sample as well as by patient group and by gender. Twenty-nine Veteran patients participated (21 males, eight females): 12 were contemplating treatment, nine had recently declined treatment, and eight had recently started treatment. Patients on average described eight (range 5-13) decision attributes. The attributes most frequently reported overall were: physical side effects (83%); treatment efficacy (79%), new treatment drugs in development (55%); psychological side effects (55%); and condition of the liver (52%), with some variation based on group and gender. Personal life circumstance attributes (such as availability of family support and the burden of financial responsibilities) influencing treatment decisions were also noted by all participants. Multiple decision attributes were interrelated in highly complex ways. Participants considered numerous attributes in their CHC treatment decisions. A better understanding of these attributes that influence patient decision-making is crucial in order to inform patient-centered clinical approaches to care (such as shared decision-making augmented

  8. Real-time product attribute control to manufacture antibodies with defined N-linked glycan levels.

    PubMed

    Zupke, Craig; Brady, Lowell J; Slade, Peter G; Clark, Philip; Caspary, R Guy; Livingston, Brittney; Taylor, Lisa; Bigham, Kyle; Morris, Arvia E; Bailey, Robert W

    2015-01-01

    Pressures for cost-effective new therapies and an increased emphasis on emerging markets require technological advancements and a flexible future manufacturing network for the production of biologic medicines. The safety and efficacy of a product is crucial, and consistent product quality is an essential feature of any therapeutic manufacturing process. The active control of product quality in a typical biologic process is challenging because of measurement lags and nonlinearities present in the system. The current study uses nonlinear model predictive control to maintain a critical product quality attribute at a predetermined value during pilot scale manufacturing operations. This approach to product quality control ensures a more consistent product for patients, enables greater manufacturing efficiency, and eliminates the need for extensive process characterization by providing direct measures of critical product quality attributes for real time release of drug product. © 2015 American Institute of Chemical Engineers.

  9. Safety Outreach and Incident Response Stakeholder Strategy

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Rosewater, David Martin; Conover, David

    2016-06-01

    The objective of this document is to set out a strategy to reach all stakeholders that can impact the timely deployment of safe stationary energy storage systems in the built environment with information on ESS technology and safety that is relevant to their role in deployment of the technology.

  10. Attribution Theory and Family Therapy: Attributional Impediments to Research on Family Behavior Change.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Blechman, Elaine A.

    Three folk psychology predispositions towards group behavior were proposed: (a) The folk psychologist breaks group behavior down into the actions of individuals; (b) He attributes group and group member behavior to causes internal to the group, and ignores situation causes; and (c) He attributes behavior to fixed rather than alterable causes. It…

  11. The new structure and contents of employers' juridical responsibility for workers' health and safety in the post-industrial system.

    PubMed

    Ichino, P

    2006-01-01

    1. The enlargement of the labour law application area in the post-industrial system. 2. The enormous growth of differences in productivity between workers and its consequences on the employer's safety obligation. 3. Depressive disorders as a typical professional risk in the post-industrial system and the employer's prevention responsibility. 4. Harassment in the work-place as a typical pathologic consequence of the de-standardization of jobs. The specific employer's prevention responsibility in this field. 5. A conclusive remark.

  12. An observational survey of safety belt and child safety seat use in Virginia : final report : the 1990 update.

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    1992-01-01

    This report was prepared in response to a request from the Transportation Safety Administration of the Virginia Department ofMotor Vehicles for data concerning the use of safety belts and child safety seats by the occupants of vehicles bearing Virgin...

  13. Staff in Services for People with Intellectual Disabilities: The Impact of Stress on Attributions of Challenging Behaviour

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Rose, D.; Rose, J.

    2005-01-01

    Background: There is a lack of a conceptual framework as to how stress and attribution variables interact and influence staff behaviour in response to challenging behaviour. To address this, a model is tested examining the impact of stress on attributions of challenging behaviour within Weiner's model of helping. Method: A total of 107 staff…

  14. Efficacy and safety of tofacitinib following inadequate response to conventional synthetic or biological disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs

    PubMed Central

    Charles-Schoeman, Christina; Burmester, Gerd; Nash, Peter; Zerbini, Cristiano A F; Soma, Koshika; Kwok, Kenneth; Hendrikx, Thijs; Bananis, Eustratios; Fleischmann, Roy

    2016-01-01

    Objectives Biological disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (bDMARDs) have shown diminished clinical response following an inadequate response (IR) to ≥1 previous bDMARD. Here, tofacitinib was compared with placebo in patients with an IR to conventional synthetic DMARDs (csDMARDs; bDMARD-naive) and in patients with an IR to bDMARDs (bDMARD-IR). Methods Data were taken from phase II and phase III studies of tofacitinib in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Patients received tofacitinib 5 or 10 mg twice daily, or placebo, as monotherapy or with background methotrexate or other csDMARDs. Efficacy endpoints and incidence rates of adverse events (AEs) of special interest were assessed. Results 2812 bDMARD-naive and 705 bDMARD-IR patients were analysed. Baseline demographics and disease characteristics were generally similar between treatment groups within subpopulations. Across subpopulations, improvements in efficacy parameters at month 3 were generally significantly greater for both tofacitinib doses versus placebo. Clinical response was numerically greater with bDMARD-naive versus bDMARD-IR patients (overlapping 95% CIs). Rates of safety events of special interest were generally similar between tofacitinib doses and subpopulations; however, patients receiving glucocorticoids had more serious AEs, discontinuations due to AEs, serious infection events and herpes zoster. Numerically greater clinical responses and incidence rates of AEs of special interest were generally reported for tofacitinib 10 mg twice daily versus tofacitinib 5 mg twice daily (overlapping 95% CIs). Conclusions Tofacitinib demonstrated efficacy in both bDMARD-naive and bDMARD-IR patients with RA. Clinical response to tofacitinib was generally numerically greater in bDMARD-naive than bDMARD-IR patients. The safety profile appeared similar between subpopulations. Trial registration numbers (NCT00413660, NCT0050446, NCT00603512, NCT00687193, NCT00960440, NCT00847613, NCT00814307, NCT

  15. Functional deficit of the medial prefrontal cortex during emotional sentence attribution in schizophrenia.

    PubMed

    Razafimandimby, Annick; Hervé, Pierre-Yves; Marzloff, Vincent; Brazo, Perrine; Tzourio-Mazoyer, Nathalie; Dollfus, Sonia

    2016-12-01

    Functional brain imaging research has already demonstrated that patients with schizophrenia had difficulties with emotion processing, namely in facial emotion perception and emotional prosody. However, the moderating effect of social context and the boundary of perceptual categories of emotion attribution remain unclear. This study investigated the neural bases of emotional sentence attribution in schizophrenia. Twenty-one schizophrenia patients and 25 healthy subjects underwent an event-related functional magnetic resonance imaging paradigm including two tasks: one to classify sentences according to their emotional content, and the other to classify neutral sentences according to their grammatical person. First, patients showed longer response times as compared to controls only during the emotion attribution task. Second, patients with schizophrenia showed reduction of activation in bilateral auditory areas irrespective of the presence of emotions. Lastly, during emotional sentences attribution, patients displayed less activation than controls in the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC). We suggest that the functional abnormality observed in the mPFC during the emotion attribution task could provide a biological basis for social cognition deficits in patients with schizophrenia. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  16. School Safety Handbook. A Handbook for School Business Officials and School Safety Supervisors. Research Bulletin No. 23.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Haering, Franklin C.

    A wide variety of school safety guidelines are included in this handbook. The introduction provides guidelines for delegating responsibility to school personnel. Procedures for developing safety policies and for establishing school safety councils and committees are outlined. A chapter on traffic control specifies procedures for pavement marking…

  17. Helicopter pilots' views of air traffic controller responsibilities: a mismatch.

    PubMed

    Martin, Daniel; Nixon, Jim

    2018-02-21

    Controllers and pilots must work together to ensure safe and efficient helicopter flight within the London control zone. Subjective ratings of pilot perception of controller responsibility for five key flight tasks were obtained from thirty helicopter pilots. Three types of airspace were investigated. Results indicate that there is variation in pilot understanding of controller responsibility compared to the formal regulations that define controller responsibility. Significant differences in the perception of controller responsibility were found for the task of aircraft separation in class D airspace and along helicopter routes. Analysis of the patterns of response suggests that task type rather than the airspace type may be the key factor. Results are framed using the concept of a shared mental model. This research demonstrates that pilots flying in complex London airspace have an expectation of controller responsibility for certain flight tasks, in certain airspace types that is not supported by aviation regulation. Practitioner Summary: The responsibility for tasks during flight varies according to the flight rules used and airspace type. Helicopter pilots may attribute responsibility to controllers for tasks when controllers have no responsibility as defined by regulation. This variation between pilot perceptions of controller responsibility could affect safety within the London control zone.

  18. When is "good enough"? The role and responsibility of physicians to improve patient safety.

    PubMed

    Goode, Leslie D; Clancy, Carolyn M; Kimball, Harry R; Meyer, Gregg; Eisenberg, John M

    2002-10-01

    In September 2001, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) and the ABIM Foundation jointly sponsored an invitational conference entitled "The Role and Responsibility of Physicians to Improve Patient Safety." The goal of the conference was to begin a national conversation focusing on the individual clinician's role and strategies physicians might employ to advance patient safety. The authors summarize the main themes and issues that emerged at the conference. The authors draw from work by the Institute of Medicine (IOM) to support the need for greater emphasis on quality improvement. To date, most of the work in this area has involved a systems-level approach, and physicians are often viewed as obstacles to improvement programs. By contrast, physicians may view population- or systems-based approaches to health care as interfering with the delivery of care to specific patients. The authors argue that physicians, individually and collectively, have a key role in quality improvement efforts, albeit a role that is yet fully defined. After reviewing successful examples involving physicians, the authors explore the major levers to achieve change-removing barriers, creating incentives, emphasizing collaboration, increasing education, and promulgating regulation-and summarize ten recurring themes, including both current and near-term opportunities, for physicians to exercise leadership in quality improvement and patient safety. Finally, they assert that even modest change can lead to substantial improvements, particularly if medical societies and the profession's standard-setting bodies work together.

  19. Recognizing and Responding to the "Toxic" Work Environment: Worker Safety, Patient Safety, and Abuse/Neglect in Nursing Homes.

    PubMed

    Pickering, Carolyn E Z; Nurenberg, Katie; Schiamberg, Lawrence

    2017-10-01

    This grounded theory study examined how the certified nursing assistant (CNA) understands and responds to bullying in the workplace. Constant comparative analysis was used to analyze data from in-depth telephone interviews with CNAs ( N = 22) who experienced bullying while employed in a nursing home. The result of the analysis is a multistep model describing CNA perceptions of how, over time, they recognized and responded to the "toxic" work environment. The strategies used in responding to the "toxic" environment affected their care provision and were attributed to the development of several resident and worker safety outcomes. The data suggest that the etiology of abuse and neglect in nursing homes may be better explained by institutional cultures rather than individual traits of CNAs. Findings highlight the relationship between worker and patient safety, and suggest worker safety outcomes may be an indicator of quality in nursing homes.

  20. Concept analysis of safety climate in healthcare providers.

    PubMed

    Lin, Ying-Siou; Lin, Yen-Chun; Lou, Meei-Fang

    2017-06-01

    To report an analysis of the concept of safety climate in healthcare providers. Compliance with safe work practices is essential to patient safety and care outcomes. Analysing the concept of safety climate from the perspective of healthcare providers could improve understanding of the correlations between safety climate and healthcare provider compliance with safe work practices, thus enhancing quality of patient care. Concept analysis. The electronic databases of CINAHL, MEDLINE, PubMed and Web of Science were searched for literature published between 1995-2015. Searches used the keywords 'safety climate' or 'safety culture' with 'hospital' or 'healthcare'. The concept analysis method of Walker and Avant analysed safety climate from the perspective of healthcare providers. Three attributes defined how healthcare providers define safety climate: (1) creation of safe working environment by senior management in healthcare organisations; (2) shared perception of healthcare providers about safety of their work environment; and (3) the effective dissemination of safety information. Antecedents included the characteristics of healthcare providers and healthcare organisations as a whole, and the types of work in which they are engaged. Consequences consisted of safety performance and safety outcomes. Most studies developed and assessed the survey tools of safety climate or safety culture, with a minority consisting of interventional measures for improving safety climate. More prospective studies are needed to create interventional measures for improving safety climate of healthcare providers. This study is provided as a reference for use in developing multidimensional safety climate assessment tools and interventional measures. The values healthcare teams emphasise with regard to safety can serve to improve safety performance. Having an understanding of the concept of and interventional measures for safety climate allows healthcare providers to ensure the safety of their

  1. Exploring the social brain in schizophrenia: left prefrontal underactivation during mental state attribution.

    PubMed

    Russell, T A; Rubia, K; Bullmore, E T; Soni, W; Suckling, J; Brammer, M J; Simmons, A; Williams, S C; Sharma, T

    2000-12-01

    Evidence suggests that patients with schizophrenia have a deficit in "theory of mind," i.e., interpretation of the mental state of others. The authors used functional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to investigate the hypothesis that patients with schizophrenia have a dysfunction in brain regions responsible for mental state attribution. Mean brain activation in five male patients with schizophrenia was compared to that in seven comparison subjects during performance of a task involving attribution of mental state. During performance of the mental state attribution task, the patients made more errors and showed less blood-oxygen-level-dependent signal in the left inferior frontal gyrus. To the authors' knowledge, this is the first functional MRI study to show a deficit in the left prefrontal cortex in schizophrenia during a socioemotional task.

  2. An Overview of Patient Safety Climate in the VA

    PubMed Central

    Hartmann, Christine W; Rosen, Amy K; Meterko, Mark; Shokeen, Priti; Zhao, Shibei; Singer, Sara; Falwell, Alyson; Gaba, David M

    2008-01-01

    Objective To assess variation in safety climate across VA hospitals nationally. Study Setting Data were collected from employees at 30 VA hospitals over a 6-month period using the Patient Safety Climate in Healthcare Organizations survey. Study Design We sampled 100 percent of senior managers and physicians and a random 10 percent of other employees. At 10 randomly selected hospitals, we sampled an additional 100 percent of employees working in units with intrinsically higher hazards (high-hazard units [HHUs]). Data Collection Data were collected using an anonymous survey design. Principal Findings We received 4,547 responses (49 percent response rate). The percent problematic response—lower percent reflecting higher levels of patient safety climate—ranged from 12.0–23.7 percent across hospitals (mean=17.5 percent). Differences in safety climate emerged by management level, clinician status, and workgroup. Supervisors and front-line staff reported lower levels of safety climate than senior managers; clinician responses reflected lower levels of safety climate than those of nonclinicians; and responses of employees in HHUs reflected lower levels of safety climate than those of workers in other areas. Conclusions This is the first systematic study of patient safety climate in VA hospitals. Findings indicate an overall positive safety climate across the VA, but there is room for improvement. PMID:18355257

  3. Texas curve margin of safety.

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    2013-01-01

    This software can be used to assist with the assessment of margin of safety for a horizontal curve. It is intended for use by engineers and technicians responsible for safety analysis or management of rural highway pavement or traffic control devices...

  4. Dispositional Empathic Concern, Gender, Level of Experience, Teacher Efficacy, Attributions of Controllability and Teacher Affect

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Panik, Meredith Anne

    2010-01-01

    Teachers' pity and anger responses to students who fail often are interpreted by the students as indicative of the teachers' attributions for the cause behind the student failure. Students' interpretations of these emotional responses can affect their self-esteem and expectations for future success. The present study explored variables that may…

  5. Assessment of safety and interferon gamma responses of Mycobacterium bovis BCG vaccine in goat kids and milking goats.

    PubMed

    Pérez de Val, Bernat; Vidal, Enric; López-Soria, Sergio; Marco, Alberto; Cervera, Zoraida; Martín, Maite; Mercader, Irene; Singh, Mahavir; Raeber, Alex; Domingo, Mariano

    2016-02-10

    Vaccination of domestic animals has emerged as an alternative long-term strategy for the control of tuberculosis (TB). A trial under field conditions was conducted in a TB-free goat herd to assess the safety of the Mycobacterium bovis BCG vaccine. Eleven kids and 10 milking goats were vaccinated with BCG. Bacterial shedding and interferon gamma (IFN-γ) responses were monitored throughout the study. Comprehensive pathological examination and mycobacterial culture of target tissues were performed. BCG vaccine strain was only isolated from the draining lymph node of the injection site of a kid euthanized at week 8 post-vaccination. The remaining animals were euthanized at week 24. Six out of 20 showed small granulomas at the injection site. BCG shedding was not detected in either faeces or in milk throughout the study. All vaccinated kids showed BCG-induced IFN-γ responses at week 8 post-vaccination. BCG vaccination of goats showed no lack of biological safety for the animals, environment and public health, and local adverse reactions were negligible. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  6. Application of Bayesian techniques to model the burden of human salmonellosis attributable to U.S. food commodities at the point of processing: adaptation of a Danish model.

    PubMed

    Guo, Chuanfa; Hoekstra, Robert M; Schroeder, Carl M; Pires, Sara Monteiro; Ong, Kanyin Liane; Hartnett, Emma; Naugle, Alecia; Harman, Jane; Bennett, Patricia; Cieslak, Paul; Scallan, Elaine; Rose, Bonnie; Holt, Kristin G; Kissler, Bonnie; Mbandi, Evelyne; Roodsari, Reza; Angulo, Frederick J; Cole, Dana

    2011-04-01

    Mathematical models that estimate the proportion of foodborne illnesses attributable to food commodities at specific points in the food chain may be useful to risk managers and policy makers to formulate public health goals, prioritize interventions, and document the effectiveness of mitigations aimed at reducing illness. Using human surveillance data on laboratory-confirmed Salmonella infections from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Salmonella testing data from U.S. Department of Agriculture Food Safety and Inspection Service's regulatory programs, we developed a point-of-processing foodborne illness attribution model by adapting the Hald Salmonella Bayesian source attribution model. Key model outputs include estimates of the relative proportions of domestically acquired sporadic human Salmonella infections resulting from contamination of raw meat, poultry, and egg products processed in the United States from 1998 through 2003. The current model estimates the relative contribution of chicken (48%), ground beef (28%), turkey (17%), egg products (6%), intact beef (1%), and pork (<1%) across 109 Salmonella serotypes found in food commodities at point of processing. While interpretation of the attribution estimates is constrained by data inputs, the adapted model shows promise and may serve as a basis for a common approach to attribution of human salmonellosis and food safety decision-making in more than one country. © Mary Ann Liebert, Inc.

  7. Maternal attributions and expressed emotion as predictors of attendance at parent management training.

    PubMed

    Peters, Sarah; Calam, Rachel; Harrington, Richard

    2005-04-01

    The effectiveness of parent management training (PMT) as a treatment for child behaviour problems is reduced by high attrition rates. One difficulty with engaging mothers is that, by definition, PMT is directed at the parent, yet many parents believe the cause of the problem lies within the child. Hence the model of therapy offered contradicts their understanding about the cause and nature of the problem. Moreover, the emotional consequence of holding child-responsibility causal attributions is associated with high expressed emotion (EE), a known predictor of poor compliance with therapy in other child psychiatric disorders. Seventy-five consecutive referrals of mothers to a PMT programme were recruited. EE was assessed using the Camberwell Family Interview methodology. Spontaneous causal attributions about their child's problem behaviour were collected from the same interview material and independently coded using the Leeds Attributional Coding System. Attendance data at the PMT programme was collected following completion of programmes. Contrary to expectations, mothers who made child-responsibility attributions and were highly critical about their child's behaviour were no more likely than non-blaming, low EE parents to drop out prematurely from a course of PMT. However, expressing an understanding of their own role in managing their child's behaviour was predictive of attendance. Two factors were, however, more closely associated with greater attrition: having been offered a clinical diagnosis and being from a lower socio-economic family. Socio-economic factors should be viewed as barriers to uptake of services and successful strategies for increasing engagement of families are likely to be economical rather than psychological. However, although the causal attributions mothers make about their child's behaviour did not predict whether they were likely to attend PMT, an exploratory analysis found evidence to suggest that successful engagement with PMT begins

  8. Moral reasoning and emotion attributions of adolescent bullies, victims, and bully-victims.

    PubMed

    Perren, Sonja; Gutzwiller-Helfenfinger, Eveline; Malti, Tina; Hymel, Shelley

    2012-11-01

    This study investigated different facets of moral development in bullies, victims, and bully-victims among Swiss adolescents. Extending previous research, we focused on both bullying and victimization in relation to adolescents' morally disengaged and morally responsible reasoning as well as moral emotion attributions. A total of 516 adolescents aged 12-18 (57% females) reported the frequency of involvement in bullying and victimization. Participants were categorized as bullies (14.3%), bully-victims (3.9%), and victims (9.7%). Moral judgment, moral justifications, and emotion attributions to a hypothetical perpetrator of a moral transgression (relational aggression) were assessed. Bullies showed more morally disengaged reasoning than non-involved students. Bully-victims more frequently indicated that violating moral rules is right. Victims produced more victim-oriented justifications (i.e., more empathy) but fewer moral rules. Among victims, the frequency of morally responsible justifications decreased and the frequency of deviant rules increased with age. The findings are discussed from an integrative moral developmental perspective. ©2011 The British Psychological Society.

  9. Attribution Theory and Crisis Intervention Therapy.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Skilbeck, William M.

    It was proposed that existing therapeutic procedures may influence attributions about emotional states. Therefore an attributional analysis of crisis intervention, a model of community-based, short-term consultation, was presented. This analysis suggested that crisis intervention provides attributionally-relevant information about both the source…

  10. Urban transport safety assessment in akure based on corresponding performance indicators

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Oye, Adedamola; Aderinlewo, Olufikayo; Croope, Silvana

    2013-03-01

    The level of safety of the transportation system in Akure, Nigeria was assessed by identifying the associated road safety problems and developing the corresponding safety performance indicators. These indicators were analysed with respect to accidents that occurred within the city from the year 2005 to 2009 based on the corresponding attributable risk measures. The results of the analysis showed the state of existing safety programs in Akure town. Six safety performance indicators were identified namely alcohol and drug use, excessive speeds, protection system (use of seat belts and helmets), use of day time running lights, state of vehicles (passive safety) and road condition. These indicators were used to determine the percentage of injury accidents as follows: 83.33% and 86.36% for years 2005 and 2006 respectively, 81.46% for year 2007 while years 2008 and 2009 had 82.86% and 78.12% injury accidents respectively.

  11. Potential or problem? An investigation of secondary school teachers' attributions of the educational outcomes of students with specific learning difficulties.

    PubMed

    Woodcock, Stuart; Hitches, Elizabeth

    2017-10-01

    Despite strong support for inclusive education in principle, many teachers and administrators still demonstrate mixed responses to the inclusion of certain students in their classrooms. Students with specific learning difficulties (SpLD) form a large group of students in inclusive classrooms yet some provincial, state and national jurisdictions fail to acknowledge the existence of these students. Not acknowledging and understanding these students can deny them the recognition and resources necessary for their genuine participation in education and, in turn, society. The aim of this study was to examine British in-service secondary teachers' attributional responses to students with and without specific learning difficulties. The participants included 122 British secondary school teachers who were surveyed in response to vignettes of hypothetical male students who had failed a class test. The study found that while teachers attributed more positive causes towards students without SpLD, they exhibited more negative causes towards students with SpLD. Teachers' causal attributional outcomes of students' level of achievement can impact upon the students' own attributions, with teachers' responses for students with SpLD having the potential to, unintentionally, influence students' own sense of self-efficacy and motivation. The paper concludes with a consideration of the implications of the research and recommendations for practice.

  12. 1986 eruption of Augustine Volcano: Public safety response by Alaskan volcanologists

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kienle, J.; Davies, J. N.; Miller, T. P.; Yount, M. E.

    Although, in a general sense, all scientific work on hazardous natural phenomena such as weather, earthquakes, and volcanic eruptions can advance the public safely, we wish to describe some specific actions that were motivated by direct considerations of safety. These kinds of actions are normally at the fringes of scientific research and become important only during some crisis; in this instance, the crisis was the eruption on March 27, 1986, of Augustine Volcano (Figure 1). The agencies involved were the Geophysical Institute of the University of Alaska (UAGI), the Division of Geological and Geophysical Surveys of the State of Alaska (DGGS), and the Alaska Branch of the United States Geological Survey (USGS). The central theme of our mutual effort during the crisis was to communicate to response agencies and the public, in the most meaningful way possible, a prediction of what could happen next and how it would affect the public.

  13. The Kuleshov Effect: the influence of contextual framing on emotional attributions

    PubMed Central

    Mobbs, Dean; Weiskopf, Nikolaus; Lau, Hakwan C.; Featherstone, Eric; Dolan, Ray J.; Frith, Chris D.

    2006-01-01

    Filmmakers have long recognized the importance of editing techniques to guide the audiences' perceptions and enhance the impact of a scene. We demonstrate behaviorally that pairing identical faces with either neutral or emotionally salient contextual movies, an editing technique referred to as the ‘Kuleshov Effect’, results in both altered attributions of facial expression and mental-state. Using functional neuroimaging (fMRI), we show that faces paired with emotional movies enhance BOLD responses in the bilateral temporal pole, anterior cingulate cortices, amygdala and bilateral superior temporal sulcus relative to identical faces juxtaposed with neutral movies. An interaction was observed in the right amygdala when subtle happy and fear faces were juxtaposed with positive and negative movies, respectively. An interaction between happy faces and negative context was also observed in bilateral amygdala suggesting that the amygdala may act to prime or tag affective value to faces. A parametric modulation of BOLD signal by attribution ratings indicated a dissociation between ventrolateral and the ventromedial prefrontal cortex for negative and positive contextually evoked attributions, respectively. These prefrontal regions may act to guide appropriate choices across altering contexts. Together, these findings offer a neurobiological basis for contextual framing effects on social attributions. PMID:17339967

  14. Safety culture among pediatric surgeons: A national survey of attitudes and perceptions of patient safety.

    PubMed

    Berman, Loren; Rangel, Shawn; Goldin, Adam; Skarda, David; Ottosen, Madelene; Bliss, David; Valusek, Patricia; Fallat, Mary; Tsao, KuoJen

    2018-03-01

    Improving the culture of safety within health care is an essential component of preventing errors and improving overall health care quality. The purpose of this study was to characterize the attitudes and perceptions of patient safety among pediatric surgeons. We conducted a cross-sectional online survey of American Pediatric Surgery Association members. Survey items assessed surgeons' knowledge, attitudes, and perceptions of patient safety. We performed descriptive statistics and evaluated associations between respondent characteristics and survey responses. Response rate was 38% (353/928). Surgeons in academic practice (96% vs 83% private, P=0.01) and in leadership positions (98% vs 92%, P=0.03) were more likely to feel actively engaged in patient safety initiatives. Surgeons in private practice were less likely to feel safe having their own children undergo surgery at their institution (80% vs 96% academic, P<0.005). Pediatric surgeons have disparate attitudes and perceptions of patient safety within their hospitals. Significant variation exists based on surgeon characteristics. These findings underscore the need to identify barriers to surgeon engagement and develop educational initiatives to empower surgeons as leaders in improving patient safety culture. V. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  15. Attribution of UK Winter Floods to Anthropogenic Forcing

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Schaller, N.; Alison, K.; Sparrow, S. N.; Otto, F. E. L.; Massey, N.; Vautard, R.; Yiou, P.; van Oldenborgh, G. J.; van Haren, R.; Lamb, R.; Huntingford, C.; Crooks, S.; Legg, T.; Weisheimer, A.; Bowery, A.; Miller, J.; Jones, R.; Stott, P.; Allen, M. R.

    2014-12-01

    Many regions of southern UK experienced severe flooding during the 2013/2014 winter. Simultaneously, large areas in the USA and Canada were struck by prolonged cold weather. At the time, the media and public asked whether the general rainy conditions over northern Europe and the cold weather over North America were caused by climate change. Providing an answer to this question is not trivial, but recent studies show that probabilistic event attribution is feasible. Using the citizen science project weather@home, we ran over 40'000 perturbed initial condition simulations of the 2013/2014 winter. These simulations fall into two categories: one set aims at simulating the world with climate change using observed sea surface temperatures while the second set is run with sea surface temperatures corresponding to a world that might have been without climate change. The relevant modelled variables are then downscaled by a hydrological model to obtain river flows. First results show that anthropogenic climate change led to a small but significant increase in the fractional attributable risk for 30-days peak flows for the river Thames. A single number can summarize the final result from probabilistic attribution studies indicating, for example, an increase, decrease or no change to the risk of the event occurring. However, communicating this to the public, media and other scientists remains challenging. The assumptions made in the chain of models used need to be explained. In addition, extreme events, like the UK floods of the 2013/2014 winter, are usually caused by a range of factors. While heavy precipitation events can be caused by dynamic and/or thermodynamic processes, floods occur only partly as a response to heavy precipitation. Depending on the catchment, they can be largely due to soil properties and conditions of the previous months. Probabilistic attribution studies are multidisciplinary and therefore all aspects need to be communicated properly.

  16. Measuring and improving patient safety through health information technology: The Health IT Safety Framework.

    PubMed

    Singh, Hardeep; Sittig, Dean F

    2016-04-01

    Health information technology (health IT) has potential to improve patient safety but its implementation and use has led to unintended consequences and new safety concerns. A key challenge to improving safety in health IT-enabled healthcare systems is to develop valid, feasible strategies to measure safety concerns at the intersection of health IT and patient safety. In response to the fundamental conceptual and methodological gaps related to both defining and measuring health IT-related patient safety, we propose a new framework, the Health IT Safety (HITS) measurement framework, to provide a conceptual foundation for health IT-related patient safety measurement, monitoring, and improvement. The HITS framework follows both Continuous Quality Improvement (CQI) and sociotechnical approaches and calls for new measures and measurement activities to address safety concerns in three related domains: 1) concerns that are unique and specific to technology (e.g., to address unsafe health IT related to unavailable or malfunctioning hardware or software); 2) concerns created by the failure to use health IT appropriately or by misuse of health IT (e.g. to reduce nuisance alerts in the electronic health record (EHR)), and 3) the use of health IT to monitor risks, health care processes and outcomes and identify potential safety concerns before they can harm patients (e.g. use EHR-based algorithms to identify patients at risk for medication errors or care delays). The framework proposes to integrate both retrospective and prospective measurement of HIT safety with an organization's existing clinical risk management and safety programs. It aims to facilitate organizational learning, comprehensive 360 degree assessment of HIT safety that includes vendor involvement, refinement of measurement tools and strategies, and shared responsibility to identify problems and implement solutions. A long term framework goal is to enable rigorous measurement that helps achieve the safety

  17. Laboratory Safety and Chemical Hazards.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Journal of Chemical Education, 1983

    1983-01-01

    Toxicology/chemical hazards, safety policy, legal responsibilities, adequacy of ventilation, chemical storage, evaluating experimental hazards, waste disposal, and laws governing chemical safety were among topics discussed in 10 papers presented at the Seventh Biennial Conference on Chemical Education (Stillwater, Oklahoma 1982). Several topics…

  18. Review Guidelines for Software Languages for use in Nuclear Power Plant Safety Systems

    DTIC Science & Technology

    1997-10-01

    desirable to segregate base classes from derived classes. Review is facilitated and safety is enhanced if project-specific guidance is provided on the... Segregate base from derived classes. In C++, it is desirable to segregate base classes from derived classes. 4.4.1.8 Minimizing Use of Literals...memory utilization. At the lowest level are base attributes, i.e., attributes xv NUREG/CR-6463 Rev. 1 sufficiently specific to define guidelines. An

  19. Global and regional trends in particulate air pollution and attributable health burden over the past 50 years

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Butt, E. W.; Turnock, S. T.; Rigby, R.; Reddington, C. L.; Yoshioka, M.; Johnson, J. S.; Regayre, L. A.; Pringle, K. J.; Mann, G. W.; Spracklen, D. V.

    2017-10-01

    Long-term exposure to ambient particulate matter (PM2.5, mass of particles with an aerodynamic dry diameter of < 2.5 μm) is a major risk factor to the global burden of disease. Previous studies have focussed on present day or future health burdens attributed to ambient PM2.5. Few studies have estimated changes in PM2.5 and attributable health burdens over the last few decades, a period where air quality has changed rapidly. Here we used the HadGEM3-UKCA coupled chemistry-climate model, integrated exposure-response relationships, demographic and background disease data to provide the first estimate of the changes in global and regional ambient PM2.5 concentrations and attributable health burdens over the period 1960 to 2009. Over this period, global mean population-weighted PM2.5 concentrations increased by 38%, dominated by increases in China and India. Global attributable deaths increased by 89% to 124% over the period 1960 to 2009, dominated by large increases in China and India. Population growth and ageing contributed mostly to the increases in attributable deaths in China and India, highlighting the importance of demographic trends. In contrast, decreasing PM2.5 concentrations and background disease dominated the reduction in attributable health burden in Europe and the United States. Our results shed light on how future projected trends in demographics and uncertainty in the exposure-response relationship may provide challenges for future air quality policy in Asia.

  20. Understanding how rapid response systems may improve safety for the acutely ill patient: learning from the frontline.

    PubMed

    Mackintosh, Nicola; Rainey, Helen; Sandall, Jane

    2012-02-01

    Rapid response systems (RRSs) have been introduced to facilitate effective 'rescue' of seriously ill patients on hospital wards. While research has demonstrated some benefit, uncertainty remains regarding impact on patient outcomes. Little is known about the relationship between social contexts and the application of the RRS. This comparative case study of the RRS within the medical services of two UK hospitals used ethnographic methods over a 12-month period in 2009, including observation (ward work and shadowing medical staff = 150 h), interviews with doctors, ward and critical care nurses, healthcare assistants, safety leads and managers (n=35), documentary review and analysis of routine data. Data were analysed using NVivo software. The RRS reduced variability in recording, recognition and response behaviour. The RRS formalised understandings of deterioration and provided a mandate for escalating care across professional and hierarchical boundaries. However, markers of deterioration not assimilated into risk scores were marginalised and it was harder for staff to escalate care without the 'objective evidence' provided by the score. Contextual features (eg, leadership, organisational culture and training) shaped implementation, utilisation and impact of the RRS. Reporting and feedback of audit data enabled learning about 'selected' escalation work on the wards. Difficulties with referral upwards and across medical boundaries were reported by junior medical staff. Locating a RRS within a pathway of care for the acutely ill patient illustrates the role of these safety strategies within the social organisation of clinical work. There is a need to broaden the focus of inquiry from detection and initiation of escalation (where the strategies are principally directed) towards team response behaviour and towards those medical response practices which to date have escaped scrutiny and monitoring.

  1. Moral Reasoning and Emotion Attributions of Adolescent Bullies, Victims, and Bully-Victims

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Perren, Sonja; Gutzwiller-Helfenfinger, Eveline; Malti, Tina; Hymel, Shelley

    2012-01-01

    This study investigated different facets of moral development in bullies, victims, and bully-victims among Swiss adolescents. Extending previous research, we focused on both bullying and victimization in relation to adolescents' morally disengaged and morally responsible reasoning as well as moral emotion attributions. A total of 516 adolescents…

  2. Avian community composition associated with interactions between local and landscape habitat attributes

    Treesearch

    Andrew J. Kroll; You Ren; Jay E. Jones; Jack Giovanini; Roger W. Perry; Ronald E. Thill; Don White; T. Bently Wigley

    2014-01-01

    As human demand for ecosystem products increases, managers of landscapes used for commodity production require information about effects of management regimes on biological diversity. Landscape attributes, however, may moderate ecological responses to local-scale conservation and management actions. As a result, uniform application of local management prescriptions may...

  3. South Carolina Industrial Arts Safety Guide. Administrator and Instructor Section.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    South Carolina State Dept. of Education, Columbia.

    This administrator and instructor section of a South Carolina industrial arts safety guide includes sections on responsibility for school safety, safety programming for the teacher, emergency action, suggested forms and outlines, and facility design and layout. School board and superintendent, administrator, and teacher responsibilities for school…

  4. Gender Attributions of Science and Academic Attributes: AN Examination of Undergraduate Science, Mathematics, and Technology Majors

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Hughes, W. Jay

    Questionnaire data (n = 297) examined the relationship between gender attributions of science and academic attributes for undergraduate science, mathematics, and technology majors from the perspective of gender schema theory. Female and male respondents perceived that (a) the role of scientist was sex typed as masculine, (b) their majors were more valuable for members of their gender than for those of the opposite gender, (c) their majors were more valuable for themselves than for members of their gender in general. Androgynous attributions of scientists and the value of one's major for women predicted value for oneself, major confidence, and career confidence, and masculine attributions of scientists predicted class participation for female respondents. Feminine attributions of scientists predicted graduate school intent; value for women predicted major confidence and subjective achievement, and value for men predicted value for oneself, course confidence, and career confidence for male respondents.

  5. Years of life lost (Yll) attributable to alcohol consumption in Mexico City.

    PubMed

    Pérez-Pérez, Eduardo; Cruz-López, Leonardo; Hernández-Llanes, Norberto Francisco; Gallegos-Cari, Andrea; Camacho-Solís, Rafael Edgardo; Mendoza-Meléndez, Miguel Ángel

    2016-01-01

    The aim of this study was to estimate the YLL attributable to alcohol consumption in Mexico City from 2006 - 2012. Vital statistics on mortality attributable to alcohol consumption from the INEGI (Instituto Nacional de Estadística y Geografía) were used to determine YLL as well as the average age of death in relation to different age ranges by sex. A total estimate of 168,607 YLL was obtained, with an average loss of 18.32 years being observed for men and 17.54 years for women. Men accounted for a higher proportion of the YLL than women. According to the ICD-10 (Tenth Revision of International Classification of Diseases), liver disease attributable to alcohol consumption was found to be responsible for more than 80% of the total YLL. There was a cyclical trend in YLL from 2006 to 2012. The YLL attributable to alcohol suggest that alcohol consumption is a public health problem that involves losses in productivity and economic costs, and the decline in YLL could be explained by the decrease in income caused by the economic crisis of 2008, just as the increase could be explained by economic improvement in 2012.

  6. Pennsylvania Industrial Arts Safety Guide.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Stoudt, John Y., Ed.; And Others

    Safety education information is provided in this guide designed for Pennsylvania industrial arts teachers. Twelve sections and section topics include the following: introduction (policy statement on safety); responsibility (school board and superintendent, principal and/or department head, the teacher); emergency action (primary concerns,…

  7. Paranormal belief and attributional style.

    PubMed

    Dudley, R T; Whisnand, E A

    2000-06-01

    52 college students completed Tobacyk's 1988 Revised Paranormal Belief Scale and Peterson, Semmel, von Baeyer, Abramson, Metalsky, and Seligman's 1982 Attributional Style Questionnaire. Analysis showed significantly higher depressive attributional styles among high scorers on paranormal phenomena than low scorers.

  8. Evidence-based safety (EBS) management: A new approach to teaching the practice of safety management (SM).

    PubMed

    Wang, Bing; Wu, Chao; Shi, Bo; Huang, Lang

    2017-12-01

    In safety management (SM), it is important to make an effective safety decision based on the reliable and sufficient safety-related information. However, many SM failures in organizations occur for a lack of the necessary safety-related information for safety decision-making. Since facts are the important basis and foundation for decision-making, more efforts to seek the best evidence relevant to a particular SM problem would lead to a more effective SM solution. Therefore, the new paradigm for decision-making named "evidence-based practice (EBP)" can hold important implications for SM, because it uses the current best evidence for effective decision-making. Based on a systematic review of existing SM approaches and an analysis of reasons why we need new SM approaches, we created a new SM approach called evidence-based safety (EBS) management by introducing evidence-based practice into SM. It was necessary to create new SM approaches. A new SM approach called EBS was put forward, and the basic questions of EBS such as its definition and core were analyzed in detail. Moreover, the determinants of EBS included manager's attitudes towards EBS; evidence-based consciousness in SM; evidence sources; technical support; EBS human resources; organizational culture; and individual attributes. EBS is a new and effective approach to teaching the practice of SM. Of course, further research on EBS should be carried out to make EBS a reality. Practical applications: Our work can provide a new and effective idea and method to teach the practice of SM. Specifically, EBS proposed in our study can help safety professionals make an effective safety decision based on a firm foundation of high-grade evidence. Copyright © 2017 National Safety Council and Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  9. Onboard Safety Systems/Trucking Industry Demographics.

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    2016-11-01

    Research sponsored by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) in 2008 documented discrete : safety technology investment differences that exist across motor carrier fleet sizes. In response, this research : analyzed the use of onboard...

  10. The role of safety signals in fear extinction: An analogue study.

    PubMed

    Restrepo-Castro, Juan C; Castro-Camacho, Leonidas; Javier Labrador, Francisco

    2017-12-01

    Safety signals are conditioned inhibitory stimuli that indicate the absence of unconditioned stimuli. It is not clear whether the presence of safety signals is detrimental or beneficial in extinction-based interventions. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of safety signals on autonomic and expectancy fear-related responses. Following the conditional discrimination paradigm (AX +, BX-), undergraduate students (N = 48) underwent an aversive conditioning procedure, while safety signals were experimentally created. Participants were randomly assigned to one of two conditions during extinction: presence or absence of safety signals. Significant reductions of fear-related responses were found in both groups. Expectancy measures showed that the presence of safety signals did not interfere with reduction of fear related responses at follow-up. The analogue nature of the study affects its ecological validity. There are some methodological issues. Safety signals did not interfere with extinction learning. Attention may be a mechanism associated with the maintenance of fear responses. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  11. Outbreaks of Salmonella Infections Attributed to Beef – United States, 1973–2011

    PubMed Central

    Laufer, A.S.; Grass, J.; Holt, K.; Whichard, J.M.; Griffin, P.M.; Gould, L.H.

    2015-01-01

    Summary Nontyphoidal salmonella is estimated to be the most common bacterial cause of foodborne illness in the United States, causing an estimated one million domestically-acquired foodborne illnesses annually. Recent, large outbreaks have highlighted the importance of ground beef as an important source of multidrug resistant salmonella. We analysed the epidemiology of salmonellosis outbreaks that were attributed to beef in the United States reported to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) from 1973 through 2011. During 1973–2011, of the 1965 outbreaks of salmonella where a food vehicle was implicated, 96 were attributed to beef, accounting for 3684 illnesses. We observed a shift in the type of beef implicated in salmonellosis outbreaks, from roast to ground beef. Delicatessen-style roast beef cooked in commercial processing establishments was the predominant type during the 1970s and early 1980s; regulations on cooking and processing essentially eliminated this problem by 1987. Ground beef emerged as an important vehicle in the 2000s; it was implicated in 17 (45%) of the 38 beef-attributed outbreaks reported during 2002–2011. Although this emergence was likely due in part to increased participation in CDC’s PulseNet, which was established in 1996, and proactive decisions by the United States Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service, stronger measures are needed to decrease contamination of ground beef with salmonella. PMID:25427978

  12. Statistical attribution of mid-term droughts in central Europe

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Mikšovský, Jiří; Trnka, Miroslav; Brázdil, Rudolf

    2017-04-01

    Occurrence and intensity of meteorological droughts are determined by a number of factors, both anthropogenic and natural. Besides the trend-like components, often attributable to local or global man-induced changes to the climate system, manifestations of internal climate oscillatory modes are also of great importance in establishing the hydrological regime. In this presentation, we focus on identification and quantification of factors responsible for central European drought variability at seasonal time scales. Using multivariable regression analysis applied to predictands reflecting various definitions of meteorological droughts (based on Standardized Precipitation Index, Standardized Precipitation Evapotranspiration Index and Palmer's Z-index, over the 1883-2010 period), components attributable to external and internal climate-forming agents are extracted and evaluated with regard to their statistical significance. Our results confirm presence of strong links of central European droughts to the anthropogenic radiative forcing and to the phase of the North Atlantic Oscillation, but also existence of connections to the climate oscillations originating from the Pacific area. In this context, we demonstrate that prominence of components related to the phase of the Pacific Decadal Oscillation generally surpasses that of El Niño - Southern Oscillation, although the related transfer mechanisms still remain unclear. Finally, it is shown that noteworthy deviations from linearity exist in some of the drought responses, particularly for the effects of the North Atlantic Oscillation.

  13. Emergency medical services responders' perceptions of the effect of stress and anxiety on patient safety in the out-of-hospital emergency care of children: a qualitative study.

    PubMed

    Guise, Jeanne-Marie; Hansen, Matthew; O'Brien, Kerth; Dickinson, Caitlin; Meckler, Garth; Engle, Phil; Lambert, William; Jui, Jonathan

    2017-02-28

    Prehospital emergency medical services (EMS) providers report anxiety as the second most common contributor to paediatric patient safety events. The objective of this study was to understand how EMS providers perceive the effect of stress and anxiety on paediatric out-of-hospital patient safety. This was a nationwide study of EMS providers from 44 of 50 (88%) US states. A total of 753 eligible EMS professionals, including emergency medical technicians, emergency department physicians and nurses (general and paediatric), and respiratory therapists who participate in out-of-hospital transports. Outcomes included responses to: (1) clinical situations where heightened stress or anxiety was likely to contribute to safety events, (2) aspects of these clinical situations that cause stress or anxiety and (3) how stress or anxiety may lead to paediatric safety events. EMS providers reported that the clinical situations where stress and anxiety were more likely to contribute to paediatric patient safety events were trauma, respiratory distress and cardiac issues. Key themes were: (1) provider sympathy or identification with children, (2) difficulty seeing an innocent child hurt and the inherent value of children and (3) insufficient exposure to paediatric emergencies. Caring for paediatric emergencies creates unique stresses on providers that may affect patient safety. Many of the factors reported to cause provider stress and anxiety are inherent attributes of children and therefore not modifiable. Tools that support care during stressful conditions such as cognitive aids may help to mitigate anxiety in the prehospital care of children. Further research is needed to identify opportunities for and attributes of interventions. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://www.bmj.com/company/products-services/rights-and-licensing/.

  14. Professional and interprofessional differences in electronic health records use and recognition of safety issues in critically ill patients

    PubMed Central

    Sakata, Knewton K.; Stephenson, Laurel S.; Mulanax, Ashley; Bierman, Jesse; Mcgrath, Karess; Scholl, Gretchen; McDougal, Adrienne; Bearden, David T.; Mohan, Vishnu; Gold, Jeffrey A.

    2018-01-01

    During interprofessional intensive care unit (ICU) rounds each member of the interprofessional team is responsible for gathering and interpreting information from the electronic health records (EHR) to facilitate effective team decision-making. This study was conducted to determine how each professional group reviews EHR data in preparation for rounds and their ability to identify patient safety issues. Twenty-five physicians, 29 nurses, and 20 pharmacists participated. Individual participants were given verbal and written sign-out and then asked to review a simulated record in our institution’s EHR, which contained 14 patient safety items. After reviewing the chart, subjects presented the patient and the number of safety items recognised was recorded. About 40%, 30%, and 26% of safety issues were recognised by physicians, nurses, and pharmacists, respectively (p = 0.0006) and no item recognised 100% of the time. There was little overlap between the three groups with only 50% of items predicted to be recognised 100% of the time by the team. Differential recognition was associated with marked differences in EHR use, with only 3/152 EHR screens utilised by all three groups and the majority of screens used exclusively only by one group. There were significant and non-overlapping differences in individual profession recognition of patient safety issues in the EHR. Preferential identification of safety issues by certain professional groups may be attributed to differences in EHR use. Future studies will be needed to determine if shared decision-making during rounds can improve recognition of safety issues. PMID:27341177

  15. Security of statistical data bases: invasion of privacy through attribute correlational modeling

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Palley, M.A.

    This study develops, defines, and applies a statistical technique for the compromise of confidential information in a statistical data base. Attribute Correlational Modeling (ACM) recognizes that the information contained in a statistical data base represents real world statistical phenomena. As such, ACM assumes correlational behavior among the database attributes. ACM proceeds to compromise confidential information through creation of a regression model, where the confidential attribute is treated as the dependent variable. The typical statistical data base may preclude the direct application of regression. In this scenario, the research introduces the notion of a synthetic data base, created through legitimate queriesmore » of the actual data base, and through proportional random variation of responses to these queries. The synthetic data base is constructed to resemble the actual data base as closely as possible in a statistical sense. ACM then applies regression analysis to the synthetic data base, and utilizes the derived model to estimate confidential information in the actual database.« less

  16. sourceR: Classification and source attribution of infectious agents among heterogeneous populations

    PubMed Central

    French, Nigel

    2017-01-01

    Zoonotic diseases are a major cause of morbidity, and productivity losses in both human and animal populations. Identifying the source of food-borne zoonoses (e.g. an animal reservoir or food product) is crucial for the identification and prioritisation of food safety interventions. For many zoonotic diseases it is difficult to attribute human cases to sources of infection because there is little epidemiological information on the cases. However, microbial strain typing allows zoonotic pathogens to be categorised, and the relative frequencies of the strain types among the sources and in human cases allows inference on the likely source of each infection. We introduce sourceR, an R package for quantitative source attribution, aimed at food-borne diseases. It implements a Bayesian model using strain-typed surveillance data from both human cases and source samples, capable of identifying important sources of infection. The model measures the force of infection from each source, allowing for varying survivability, pathogenicity and virulence of pathogen strains, and varying abilities of the sources to act as vehicles of infection. A Bayesian non-parametric (Dirichlet process) approach is used to cluster pathogen strain types by epidemiological behaviour, avoiding model overfitting and allowing detection of strain types associated with potentially high “virulence”. sourceR is demonstrated using Campylobacter jejuni isolate data collected in New Zealand between 2005 and 2008. Chicken from a particular poultry supplier was identified as the major source of campylobacteriosis, which is qualitatively similar to results of previous studies using the same dataset. Additionally, the software identifies a cluster of 9 multilocus sequence types with abnormally high ‘virulence’ in humans. sourceR enables straightforward attribution of cases of zoonotic infection to putative sources of infection. As sourceR develops, we intend it to become an important and flexible

  17. Taking up national safety alerts to improve patient safety in hospitals: The perspective of healthcare quality and risk managers.

    PubMed

    Pfeiffer, Yvonne; Schwappach, David

    2016-01-01

    National safety alert systems publish relevant information to improve patient safety in hospitals. However, the information has to be transformed into local action to have an effect on patient safety. We studied three research questions: How do Swiss healthcare quality and risk managers (qm/rm(1)) see their own role in learning from safety alerts issued by the Swiss national voluntary reporting and analysis system? What are their attitudes towards and evaluations of the alerts, and which types of improvement actions were fostered by the safety alerts? A survey was developed and applied to Swiss healthcare risk and quality managers, with a response rate of 39 % (n=116). Descriptive statistics are presented. The qm/rm disseminate and communicate with a broad variety of professional groups about the alerts. While most respondents felt that they should know the alerts and their contents, only a part of them felt responsible for driving organizational change based on the recommendations. However, most respondents used safety alerts to back up their own patient safety goals. The alerts were evaluated positively on various dimensions such as usefulness and were considered as standards of good practice by the majority of the respondents. A range of organizational responses was applied, with disseminating information being the most common. An active role is related to using safety alerts for backing up own patient safety goals. To support an active role of qm/rm in their hospital's learning from safety alerts, appropriate organizational structures should be developed. Furthermore, they could be given special information or training to act as an information hub on the issues discussed in the alerts. Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier GmbH.

  18. Population-attributable causes of cancer in Korea: obesity and physical inactivity.

    PubMed

    Park, Sohee; Kim, Yeonju; Shin, Hai-Rim; Lee, Boram; Shin, Aesun; Jung, Kyu-Won; Jee, Sun Ha; Kim, Dong Hyun; Yun, Young Ho; Park, Sue Kyung; Boniol, Mathieu; Boffetta, Paolo

    2014-01-01

    Changes in lifestyle including obesity epidemic and reduced physical activity influenced greatly to increase the cancer burden in Korea. The purpose of the current study was to perform a systematic assessment of cancers attributable to obesity and physical inactivity in Korea. Gender- and cancer site-specific population-attributable fractions (PAF) were estimated using the prevalence of overweight and obesity in 1992-1995 from a large-scale prospective cohort study, the prevalence of low physical activity in 1989 from a Korean National Health Examination Survey, and pooled relative risk estimates from Korean epidemiological studies. The overall PAF was then estimated using 2009 national cancer incidence data from the Korea Central Cancer Registry. Excess body weight was responsible for 1,444 (1.5%) and 2,004 (2.2%) cancer cases among men and women, respectively, in 2009 in Korea. Among men, 6.8% of colorectal, 2.9% of pancreatic, and 16.0% of kidney cancer was attributable to excess body weight. In women, 6.6% of colorectal, 3.9% of pancreatic, 18.7% of kidney, 8.2% of postmenopausal breast, and 32.7% of endometrial cancer was attributable to excess body weight. Low leisure-time physical activity accounted for 8.8% of breast cancer, whereas the PAF for overall cancer was low (0.1% in men, 1.4% in women). Projections suggest that cancers attributable to obesity will increase by 40% in men and 16% in women by 2020. With a significantly increasing overweight and physically inactive population, and increasing incidence of breast and colorectal cancers, Korea faces a large cancer burden attributable to these risk factors. Had the obese population of Korea remained stable, a large portion of obesity-related cancers could have been avoided. Efficient cancer prevention programs that aim to reduce obesity- and physical inactivity-related health problems are essential in Korea.

  19. Characterization of Chinese rice wine taste attributes using liquid chromatographic analysis, sensory evaluation, and an electronic tongue.

    PubMed

    Yu, HaiYan; Zhao, Jie; Li, Fenghua; Tian, Huaixiang; Ma, Xia

    2015-08-01

    To evaluate the taste characteristics of Chinese rice wine, wine samples sourced from different vintage years were analyzed using liquid chromatographic analysis, sensory evaluation, and an electronic tongue. Six organic acids and seventeen amino acids were measured using high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Five monosaccharides were measured using anion-exchange chromatography. The global taste attributes were analyzed using an electronic tongue (E-tongue). The correlations between the 28 taste-active compounds and the sensory attributes, and the correlations between the E-tongue response and the sensory attributes were established via partial least square discriminant analysis (PLSDA). E-tongue response data combined with linear discriminant analysis (LDA) were used to discriminate the Chinese rice wine samples sourced from different vintage years. Sensory evaluation indicated significant differences in the Chinese rice wine samples sourced from 2003, 2005, 2008, and 2010 vintage years in the sensory attributes of harmony and mellow. The PLSDA model for the taste-active compounds and the sensory attributes showed that proline, fucose, arabinose, lactic acid, glutamic acid, arginine, isoleucine, valine, threonine, and lysine had an influence on the taste characteristic of Chinese rice wine. The Chinese rice wine samples were all correctly classified using the E-tongue and LDA. The electronic tongue was an effective tool for rapid discrimination of Chinese rice wine. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  20. The temporal stability and predictive validity of pupils' causal attributions for difficult classroom behaviour.

    PubMed

    Lambert, Nathan; Miller, Andy

    2010-12-01

    Recent studies have investigated the causal attributions for difficult pupil behaviour made by teachers, pupils, and parents but none have investigated the temporal stability or predictive validity of these attributions. This study examines the causal attributions made for difficult classroom behaviour by students on two occasions 30 months apart. The longitudinal stability of these attributions is considered as is the predictive validity of the first set of attributions in relation to teachers' later judgments about individual students' behaviour. Two hundred and seventeen secondary school age pupils (114 males, 103 females) provided data on the two occasions. Teachers also rated each student's behaviour at the two times. A questionnaire listing 63 possible causes of classroom misbehaviour was delivered to pupils firstly when they were in Year 7 (aged 11-12) and then again, 30 months later. Responses were analysed through exploratory factor analysis (EFA). Additionally, teachers were asked to rate the standard of behaviour of each of the students on the two occasions. EFA of the Years 7 and 10 data indicated that pupils' attributions yielded broadly similar five-factor models with the perceived relative importance of these factors remaining the same. Analysis also revealed a predictive relationship between pupils' attributions regarding the factor named culture of misbehaviour in Year 7, and teachers' judgments of their standard of behaviour in Year 10. The present study suggests that young adolescents' causal attributions for difficult classroom behaviour remain stable over time and are predictive of teachers' later judgments about their behaviour.

  1. Challenging patient safety culture: survey results.

    PubMed

    Hellings, Johan; Schrooten, Ward; Klazinga, Niek; Vleugels, Arthur

    2007-01-01

    The purpose of this paper is to measure patient safety culture in five Belgian general hospitals. Safety culture plays an important role in the approach towards greater patient safety in hospitals. The Patient Safety Culture Hospital questionnaire was distributed hospital-wide in five general hospitals. It evaluates ten patient safety culture dimensions and two outcomes. The scores were expressed as the percentage of positive answers towards patient safety for each dimension. The survey was conducted from March through November 2005. In total, 3,940 individuals responded (overall response rate = 77 per cent), including 2,813 nurses and assistants, 462 physicians, 397 physiotherapists, laboratory and radiology assistants, social workers and 64 pharmacists and pharmacy assistants. The dimensional positive scores were found to be low to average in all the hospitals. The lowest scores were "hospital management support for patient safety" (35 per cent), "non-punitive response to error" (36 per cent), "hospital transfers and transitions" (36 per cent), "staffing" (38 per cent), and "teamwork across hospital units" (40 per cent). The dimension "teamwork within hospital units" generated the highest score (70 per cent). Although the same dimensions were considered problematic in the different hospitals, important variations between the five hospitals were observed. A comprehensive and tailor-made plan to improve patient safety culture in these hospitals can now be developed. Results indicate that important aspects of the patient safety culture in these hospitals need improvement. This is an important challenge to all stakeholders wishing to improve patient safety.

  2. 10 CFR 830.203 - Unreviewed safety question process.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-01-01

    ... 10 Energy 4 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Unreviewed safety question process. 830.203 Section 830.203 Energy DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY NUCLEAR SAFETY MANAGEMENT Safety Basis Requirements § 830.203 Unreviewed safety question process. (a) The contractor responsible for a hazard category 1, 2, or 3 DOE...

  3. Undergraduate Students' Attributions of Depicted Adult-Adolescent and Adolescent-Adolescent Sexual Interactions

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Sherrill, Andrew; Renk, Kimberly; Sims, Valerie K.; Culp, Anne

    2011-01-01

    The grayest areas of defining child sexual abuse appear to involve the age and sex of the individuals involved, resulting in a potential for different attributions regarding child sexual abuse across individuals. As a result, this study examines the responses of 262 male and female college student participants after viewing a series of…

  4. Sun safety measures among construction workers in Britain.

    PubMed

    Madgwick, P; Houdmont, J; Randall, R

    2011-09-01

    Relative to other occupational groups in Britain, construction workers have a high incidence of skin cancer attributable to sun exposure. The importance of sun safety measures to minimize the risk of skin cancer is recognized in the literature; however, little is known about the factors associated with their use by construction workers. Knowledge in this area could help inform interventions to encourage sun safety behaviour within the sector. To investigate socio-demographic and occupational characteristics associated with the use of sun safety measures among construction workers in Britain. Data collection was by means of a self-administered questionnaire, which was sent to 360 construction workers. Information collected included socio-demographic and occupational characteristics and the use of sun safety measures. Participants worked outdoors for an average of 6.6 h/day. Three specific sun safety measures were used by the majority of respondents. Logistic regression analyses showed that certain socio-demographic and occupational factors were associated with the use of sun safety measures. In particular, receipt of sun safety training was positively associated with the wearing of long sleeved, loose fitting tops and trousers (OR, 1.69; 95% CI, 1.02-2.80) and sunglasses (OR, 1.85; 95% CI, 1.10-3.13). The results highlight the importance of employer-led sun safety interventions in the British construction industry. Interventions that take account of demographic and occupational characteristics are likely to have a positive impact in terms of improving workers' use of sun safety measures.

  5. Attention and attribute overlap in preferential choice.

    PubMed

    Bhatia, Sudeep

    2017-07-01

    Attributes that are common, or overlapping, across alternatives in two-alternative forced preferential choice tasks are often non-diagnostic. In many settings, attending to and evaluating these attributes does not help the decision maker determine which of the available alternatives is the most desirable. For this reason, many existing behavioural theories propose that decision makers ignore common attributes while deliberating. Across six experiments, we find that decision makers do direct their attention selectively and ignore attributes that are not present in or associated with either of the available alternatives. However, they are as likely to attend to common attributes as they are to attend to attributes that are unique to a single alternative. These results suggest the need for novel theories of attention in preferential choice.

  6. Fire Safety in Extraterrestrial Environments

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Friedman, Robert

    1998-01-01

    Despite rigorous fire-safety policies and practices, fire incidents are possible during lunar and Martian missions. Fire behavior and hence preventive and responsive safety actions in the missions are strongly influenced by the low-gravity environments in flight and on the planetary surfaces. This paper reviews the understanding and key issues of fire safety in the missions, stressing flame spread, fire detection, suppression, and combustion performance of propellants produced from Martian resources.

  7. Six Tips for College Health and Safety

    MedlinePlus

    ... Emergency Preparedness & Response Environmental Health Healthy Living Injury, Violence & Safety Life Stages & Populations Travelers’ Health Workplace Safety & Health Features Media Sign up for Features Get Email Updates To ...

  8. SAFETY IN THE CHEMICAL LABORATORY.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    STEERE, NORMAN V.

    MONTHLY ARTICLES ON LABORATORY SAFETY THAT APPEARED IN THE "JOURNAL OF CHEMICAL EDUCATION" BETWEEN JANUARY 1964, AND JANUARY 1967, ARE COMBINED IN THIS MANUAL FOR HIGH SCHOOL AND COLLEGE CHEMISTRY TEACHERS. A GENERAL SECTION DEALS WITH (1) RESPONSIBILITY FOR ACCIDENT PREVENTION, (2) SAFETY CONSIDERATION IN RESEARCH PROPOSALS, (3) A…

  9. Perceptions of the impact of depression and anxiety and the medication for these conditions on safety in the workplace.

    PubMed

    Haslam, C; Atkinson, S; Brown, S; Haslam, R A

    2005-08-01

    The number of people taking prescribed medication for anxiety and depression has increased greatly, but little is known of how this medication impacts on safety at work. To examine the relation between anxiety and depression, prescribed medication, performance, and safety in the workplace. The research involved nine focus groups with sufferers of anxiety and depression to investigate experiences of mental health problems and the impact of psychotropic drugs. A further three focus groups were conducted with staff in human resources, personnel, occupational health, and health and safety departments, to explore organisational perspectives. The sample comprised 74 individuals drawn from a wide range of occupational sectors. Finally, the results were presented to a panel of experts from occupational medicine, general practice, psychology, health and safety, and psychiatry, to consider the implications for practice. Workers reported that both the symptoms and the medication impaired work performance. Participants described accidents which they attributed to their condition or to the medication. Workers with responsibilities for others, such as teachers, healthcare workers, and managers appeared to present a particular safety risk. Healthcare workers believed that they placed themselves and their patients at risk when carrying out medical procedures. Respondents in this study felt that their symptoms of anxiety and depression and the medication they took to treat these conditions placed them at risk with respect to safety in the workplace. Drawing on the results, the authors outline areas for improvement in the management of mental health problems at work.

  10. Reconciling justice and attribution research to advance climate policy

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Huggel, Christian; Wallimann-Helmer, Ivo; Stone, Dáithí; Cramer, Wolfgang

    2016-10-01

    The Paris Climate Agreement is an important step for international climate policy, but the compensation for negative effects of climate change based on clear assignment of responsibilities remains highly debated. From both a policy and a science perspective, it is unclear how responsibilities should be defined and on what evidence base. We explore different normative principles of justice relevant to climate change impacts, and ask how different forms of causal evidence of impacts drawn from detection and attribution research could inform policy approaches in accordance with justice considerations. We reveal a procedural injustice based on the imbalance of observations and knowledge of impacts between developed and developing countries. This type of injustice needs to be considered in policy negotiations and decisions, and efforts strengthened to reduce it.

  11. Performance Feedback Processing Is Positively Biased As Predicted by Attribution Theory.

    PubMed

    Korn, Christoph W; Rosenblau, Gabriela; Rodriguez Buritica, Julia M; Heekeren, Hauke R

    2016-01-01

    A considerable literature on attribution theory has shown that healthy individuals exhibit a positivity bias when inferring the causes of evaluative feedback on their performance. They tend to attribute positive feedback internally (e.g., to their own abilities) but negative feedback externally (e.g., to environmental factors). However, all empirical demonstrations of this bias suffer from at least one of the three following drawbacks: First, participants directly judge explicit causes for their performance. Second, participants have to imagine events instead of experiencing them. Third, participants assess their performance only after receiving feedback and thus differences in baseline assessments cannot be excluded. It is therefore unclear whether the classically reported positivity bias generalizes to setups without these drawbacks. Here, we aimed at establishing the relevance of attributions for decision-making by showing an attribution-related positivity bias in a decision-making task. We developed a novel task, which allowed us to test how participants changed their evaluations in response to positive and negative feedback about performance. Specifically, we used videos of actors expressing different facial emotional expressions. Participants were first asked to evaluate the actors' credibility in expressing a particular emotion. After this initial rating, participants performed an emotion recognition task and did--or did not--receive feedback on their veridical performance. Finally, participants re-rated the actors' credibility, which provided a measure of how they changed their evaluations after feedback. Attribution theory predicts that participants change their evaluations of the actors' credibility toward the positive after receiving positive performance feedback and toward the negative after negative performance feedback. Our results were in line with this prediction. A control condition without feedback showed that correct or incorrect performance

  12. Performance Feedback Processing Is Positively Biased As Predicted by Attribution Theory

    PubMed Central

    Rodriguez Buritica, Julia M.; Heekeren, Hauke R.

    2016-01-01

    A considerable literature on attribution theory has shown that healthy individuals exhibit a positivity bias when inferring the causes of evaluative feedback on their performance. They tend to attribute positive feedback internally (e.g., to their own abilities) but negative feedback externally (e.g., to environmental factors). However, all empirical demonstrations of this bias suffer from at least one of the three following drawbacks: First, participants directly judge explicit causes for their performance. Second, participants have to imagine events instead of experiencing them. Third, participants assess their performance only after receiving feedback and thus differences in baseline assessments cannot be excluded. It is therefore unclear whether the classically reported positivity bias generalizes to setups without these drawbacks. Here, we aimed at establishing the relevance of attributions for decision-making by showing an attribution-related positivity bias in a decision-making task. We developed a novel task, which allowed us to test how participants changed their evaluations in response to positive and negative feedback about performance. Specifically, we used videos of actors expressing different facial emotional expressions. Participants were first asked to evaluate the actors’ credibility in expressing a particular emotion. After this initial rating, participants performed an emotion recognition task and did—or did not—receive feedback on their veridical performance. Finally, participants re-rated the actors’ credibility, which provided a measure of how they changed their evaluations after feedback. Attribution theory predicts that participants change their evaluations of the actors’ credibility toward the positive after receiving positive performance feedback and toward the negative after negative performance feedback. Our results were in line with this prediction. A control condition without feedback showed that correct or incorrect

  13. Predictors of attributional style change in children.

    PubMed

    Gibb, Brandon E; Alloy, Lauren B; Walshaw, Patricia D; Comer, Jonathan S; Shen, Gail H C; Villari, Annette G

    2006-06-01

    A number of studies have supported the hypothesis that negative attributional styles may confer vulnerability to the development of depression. The goal of this study was to explore factors that may contribute to the development of negative attributional styles in children. As hypothesized, elevated levels of depressive symptoms and hopelessness at the initial assessment predicted negative changes in children's attributional styles over the 6-month follow-up period. In addition, elevated levels of verbal victimization occurring between the 2 assessments, as well as that occurring in the 6 months preceding the initial assessment, prospectively predicted negative changes in children's attributional styles over the follow-up. Further, initial depressive symptoms and verbal victimization during the follow-up continued to significantly predict attributional style change even when the overlap among the predictors was statistically controlled. Contrary to the hypotheses, however, neither parent-reported levels of overall negative life events nor parents' attributions for their children's events predicted changes in children's attributional styles.

  14. Safety, pharmacokinetics, and antitumor response of depatuxizumab mafodotin as monotherapy or in combination with temozolomide in patients with glioblastoma.

    PubMed

    Gan, Hui K; Reardon, David A; Lassman, Andrew B; Merrell, Ryan; van den Bent, Martin; Butowski, Nicholas; Lwin, Zarnie; Wheeler, Helen; Fichtel, Lisa; Scott, Andrew M; Gomez, Erica J; Fischer, JuDee; Mandich, Helen; Xiong, Hao; Lee, Ho-Jin; Munasinghe, Wijith P; Roberts-Rapp, Lisa A; Ansell, Peter J; Holen, Kyle D; Kumthekar, Priya

    2018-05-18

    We recently reported an acceptable safety and pharmacokinetic profile of depatuxizumab mafodotin (depatux-m), formerly called ABT-414, plus radiation and temozolomide in newly diagnosed glioblastoma (arm A). The purpose of this study was to evaluate the safety and pharmacokinetics of depatux-m, either in combination with temozolomide in newly diagnosed or recurrent glioblastoma (arm B) or as monotherapy in recurrent glioblastoma (arm C). In this multicenter phase I dose escalation study, patients received depatux-m (0.5-1.5 mg/kg in arm B, 1.25 mg/kg in arm C) every 2 weeks by intravenous infusion. Maximum tolerated dose (MTD), recommended phase II dose (RP2D), and preliminary efficacy were also determined. Thirty-eight patients were enrolled as of March 1, 2016. The most frequent toxicities were ocular, occurring in 35/38 (92%) patients. Keratitis was the most common grade 3 adverse event observed in 6/38 (16%) patients; thrombocytopenia was the most common grade 4 event seen in 5/38 (13%) patients. The MTD was set at 1.5 mg/kg in arm B and was not reached in arm C. RP2D was declared as 1.25 mg/kg for both arms. Depatux-m demonstrated a linear pharmacokinetic profile. In recurrent glioblastoma patients, the progression-free survival (PFS) rate at 6 months was 30.8% and the median overall survival was 10.7 months. Best Response Assessment in Neuro-Oncology responses were 1 complete and 2 partial responses. Depatux-m alone or in combination with temozolomide demonstrated an acceptable safety and pharmacokinetic profile in glioblastoma. Further studies are currently under way to evaluate its efficacy in newly diagnosed (NCT02573324) and recurrent glioblastoma (NCT02343406).

  15. Atezolizumab in Metastatic Urothelial Carcinoma Outside Clinical Trials: Focus on Efficacy, Safety, and Response to Subsequent Therapies.

    PubMed

    Barata, Pedro C; Gopalakrishnan, Dhrmesh; Koshkin, Vadim S; Mendiratta, Prateek; Karafa, Matt; Allman, Kimberly; Martin, Allison; Beach, Jennifer; Profusek, Pam; Tyler, Allison; Wood, Laura; Ornstein, Moshe; Gilligan, Timothy; Rini, Brian I; Garcia, Jorge A; Grivas, Petros

    2018-04-06

    Little is known about the outcomes, safety, and response to subsequent therapies of patients with metastatic urothelial carcinoma (mUC) treated with atezolizumab outside clinical trials. The objectives of the study include to report the clinical efficacy and safety of atezolizumab, and the response to future therapies in clinical practice outside clinical trials. This is a retrospective, single-center study including consecutive patients with confirmed mUC who received at least one dose of atezolizumab 1200 mg every 3 weeks between May 2016 and April 2017. Seventy-nine patients, median age 72 years (range 29-93), 71% men and 76% ECOG PS 0-1, were identified. Most patients (79%) had primary cancer in the bladder, 62% had prior surgery, and 75% received at least one prior line of treatment (34 patients had prior cisplatin-based chemotherapy). Best response included 18% partial response, 29% stable disease, and 53% progressive disease. Patients were on atezolizumab for a median of 2.7 months (95%CI, 1.8-3.6) and median PFS was 3.2 months (95%CI, 1.6-4.8). A total of 33 (42%) patients had significant (any cause) AEs, including grade 4 hyperbilirubinemia in two patients; no toxic deaths were reported. At time of data analysis, only 18% of patients received at least one subsequent line of treatment for a median of 1.8 months (95%CI, 0.0-5.0) while 42% were referred to palliative care/hospice or died. Patients with mUC who progressed on atezolizumab were unlikely to receive subsequent systemic treatments and the benefit of those treatments appeared limited in our cohort. The findings may impact timing and designs of clinical trials in mUC.

  16. The Impact of Transformational Leadership on Safety Climate and Individual Safety Behavior on Construction Sites.

    PubMed

    Shen, Yuzhong; Ju, Chuanjing; Koh, Tas Yong; Rowlinson, Steve; Bridge, Adrian J

    2017-01-05

    Unsafe acts contribute dominantly to construction accidents, and increasing safety behavior is essential to reduce accidents. Previous research conceptualized safety behavior as an interaction between proximal individual differences (safety knowledge and safety motivation) and distal contextual factors (leadership and safety climate). However, relatively little empirical research has examined this conceptualization in the construction sector. Given the cultural background of the sample, this study makes a slight modification to the conceptualization and views transformational leadership as an antecedent of safety climate. Accordingly, this study establishes a multiple mediator model showing the mechanisms through which transformational leadership translates into safety behavior. The multiple mediator model is estimated by the structural equation modeling (SEM) technique, using individual questionnaire responses from a random sample of construction personnel based in Hong Kong. As hypothesized, transformational leadership has a significant impact on safety climate which is mediated by safety-specific leader-member exchange (LMX), and safety climate in turn impacts safety behavior through safety knowledge. The results suggest that future safety climate interventions should be more effective if supervisors exhibit transformational leadership, encourage construction personnel to voice safety concerns without fear of retaliation, and repeatedly remind them about safety on the job.

  17. The Impact of Transformational Leadership on Safety Climate and Individual Safety Behavior on Construction Sites

    PubMed Central

    Shen, Yuzhong; Ju, Chuanjing; Koh, Tas Yong; Rowlinson, Steve; Bridge, Adrian J.

    2017-01-01

    Unsafe acts contribute dominantly to construction accidents, and increasing safety behavior is essential to reduce accidents. Previous research conceptualized safety behavior as an interaction between proximal individual differences (safety knowledge and safety motivation) and distal contextual factors (leadership and safety climate). However, relatively little empirical research has examined this conceptualization in the construction sector. Given the cultural background of the sample, this study makes a slight modification to the conceptualization and views transformational leadership as an antecedent of safety climate. Accordingly, this study establishes a multiple mediator model showing the mechanisms through which transformational leadership translates into safety behavior. The multiple mediator model is estimated by the structural equation modeling (SEM) technique, using individual questionnaire responses from a random sample of construction personnel based in Hong Kong. As hypothesized, transformational leadership has a significant impact on safety climate which is mediated by safety-specific leader–member exchange (LMX), and safety climate in turn impacts safety behavior through safety knowledge. The results suggest that future safety climate interventions should be more effective if supervisors exhibit transformational leadership, encourage construction personnel to voice safety concerns without fear of retaliation, and repeatedly remind them about safety on the job. PMID:28067775

  18. Worldwide burden of cancer attributable to HPV by site, country and HPV type

    PubMed Central

    Plummer, Martyn; Vignat, Jerome; Franceschi, Silvia

    2017-01-01

    HPV is the cause of almost all cervical cancer and is responsible for a substantial fraction of other anogenital cancers and oropharyngeal cancers. Understanding the HPV‐attributable cancer burden can boost programs of HPV vaccination and HPV‐based cervical screening. Attributable fractions (AFs) and the relative contributions of different HPV types were derived from published studies reporting on the prevalence of transforming HPV infection in cancer tissue. Maps of age‐standardized incidence rates of HPV‐attributable cancers by country from GLOBOCAN 2012 data are shown separately for the cervix, other anogenital tract and head and neck cancers. The relative contribution of HPV16/18 and HPV6/11/16/18/31/33/45/52/58 was also estimated. 4.5% of all cancers worldwide (630,000 new cancer cases per year) are attributable to HPV: 8.6% in women and 0.8% in men. AF in women ranges from <3% in Australia/New Zealand and the USA to >20% in India and sub‐Saharan Africa. Cervix accounts for 83% of HPV‐attributable cancer, two‐thirds of which occur in less developed countries. Other HPV‐attributable anogenital cancer includes 8,500 vulva; 12,000 vagina; 35,000 anus (half occurring in men) and 13,000 penis. In the head and neck, HPV‐attributable cancers represent 38,000 cases of which 21,000 are oropharyngeal cancers occurring in more developed countries. The relative contributions of HPV16/18 and HPV6/11/16/18/31/33/45/52/58 are 73% and 90%, respectively. Universal access to vaccination is the key to avoiding most cases of HPV‐attributable cancer. The preponderant burden of HPV16/18 and the possibility of cross‐protection emphasize the importance of the introduction of more affordable vaccines in less developed countries. PMID:28369882

  19. Wavefront attributes in anisotropic media

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Vanelle, C.; Abakumov, I.; Gajewski, D.

    2018-07-01

    Surface-measured wavefront attributes are the key ingredient to multiparameter methods, which are nowadays standard tools in seismic data processing. However, most operators are restricted to application to isotropic media. Whereas application of an isotropic operator will still lead to satisfactory stack results, further processing steps that interpret isotropic stacking parameters in terms of wavefront attributes will lead to erroneous results if anisotropy is present but not accounted for. In this paper, we derive relationships between the stacking parameters and anisotropic wavefront attributes that allow us to apply the common reflection surface type operator to 3-D media with arbitrary anisotropy for the zero-offset and finite-offset configurations including converted waves. The operator itself is expressed in terms of wavefront attributes that are measured in the acquisition surface, that is, no model assumptions are made. Numerical results confirm that the accuracy of the new anisotropic operator is of the same magnitude as that of its isotropic counterpart.

  20. Attributional Style and Depression in Multiple Sclerosis

    PubMed Central

    Arnett, Peter A.

    2013-01-01

    Several etiologic theories have been proposed to explain depression in the general population. Studying these models and modifying them for use in the multiple sclerosis (MS) population may allow us to better understand depression in MS. According to the reformulated learned helplessness (LH) theory, individuals who attribute negative events to internal, stable, and global causes are more vulnerable to depression. This study differentiated attributional style that was or was not related to MS in 52 patients with MS to test the LH theory in this population and to determine possible differences between illness-related and non-illness-related attributions. Patients were administered measures of attributional style, daily stressors, disability, and depressive symptoms. Participants were more likely to list non-MS-related than MS-related causes of negative events on the Attributional Style Questionnaire (ASQ), and more-disabled participants listed significantly more MS-related causes than did less-disabled individuals. Non-MS-related attributional style correlated with stress and depressive symptoms, but MS-related attributional style did not correlate with disability or depressive symptoms. Stress mediated the effect of non-MS-related attributional style on depressive symptoms. These results suggest that, although attributional style appears to be an important construct in MS, it does not seem to be related directly to depressive symptoms; rather, it is related to more perceived stress, which in turn is related to increased depressive symptoms. PMID:24453767

  1. Desired Characteristics for MSW Students and Social Work Employees: Cognitive versus Personal Attributes

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Seipel, Michael M. O.; Johnson, Jennifer D.; Walton, Elaine

    2011-01-01

    Selecting the best students and hiring the best social workers are important professional responsibilities. Findings from this exploratory study identify personal attributes that are significant in enabling MSW students and social work employees to succeed. Social work educators and agency administrators generally agree that personal attributes…

  2. Long-term plant responses to climate are moderated by biophysical attributes in a North American desert

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Munson, Seth M.; Webb, Robert H.; Housman, David C.; Veblen, Kari E.; Nussear, Kenneth E.; Beever, Erik A.; Hartney, Kristine B.; Miriti, Maria N.; Phillips, Susan L.; Fulton, Robert E.; Tallent, Nita G.

    2015-01-01

    Synthesis. Our results emphasize the importance of understanding climate-vegetation relationships in the context of biophysical attributes that influence water availability and provide an important forecast of climate-change effects, including plant mortality and land degradation in dryland regions throughout the world.

  3. Attributions in Rape: Effects of Type of Rape and Victim Power Strategy.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    DeLamarter, William A.; Westervelt, Karen E.

    Recent trials have brought the issue of date rape into public awareness. It is appropriate to examine the impact of variables such as the appearance of the accuser, the relationship between the accuser and the defendant, and the behavior of the accuser and defendant on attributions of responsibility in a rape situation. This study manipulated…

  4. The Department of Energy Nuclear Criticality Safety Program

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Felty, James R.

    2005-05-01

    This paper broadly covers key events and activities from which the Department of Energy Nuclear Criticality Safety Program (NCSP) evolved. The NCSP maintains fundamental infrastructure that supports operational criticality safety programs. This infrastructure includes continued development and maintenance of key calculational tools, differential and integral data measurements, benchmark compilation, development of training resources, hands-on training, and web-based systems to enhance information preservation and dissemination. The NCSP was initiated in response to Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board Recommendation 97-2, Criticality Safety, and evolved from a predecessor program, the Nuclear Criticality Predictability Program, that was initiated in response to Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board Recommendation 93-2, The Need for Critical Experiment Capability. This paper also discusses the role Dr. Sol Pearlstein played in helping the Department of Energy lay the foundation for a robust and enduring criticality safety infrastructure.

  5. Efficacy and safety of tofacitinib following inadequate response to conventional synthetic or biological disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs.

    PubMed

    Charles-Schoeman, Christina; Burmester, Gerd; Nash, Peter; Zerbini, Cristiano A F; Soma, Koshika; Kwok, Kenneth; Hendrikx, Thijs; Bananis, Eustratios; Fleischmann, Roy

    2016-07-01

    Biological disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (bDMARDs) have shown diminished clinical response following an inadequate response (IR) to ≥1 previous bDMARD. Here, tofacitinib was compared with placebo in patients with an IR to conventional synthetic DMARDs (csDMARDs; bDMARD-naive) and in patients with an IR to bDMARDs (bDMARD-IR). Data were taken from phase II and phase III studies of tofacitinib in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Patients received tofacitinib 5 or 10 mg twice daily, or placebo, as monotherapy or with background methotrexate or other csDMARDs. Efficacy endpoints and incidence rates of adverse events (AEs) of special interest were assessed. 2812 bDMARD-naive and 705 bDMARD-IR patients were analysed. Baseline demographics and disease characteristics were generally similar between treatment groups within subpopulations. Across subpopulations, improvements in efficacy parameters at month 3 were generally significantly greater for both tofacitinib doses versus placebo. Clinical response was numerically greater with bDMARD-naive versus bDMARD-IR patients (overlapping 95% CIs). Rates of safety events of special interest were generally similar between tofacitinib doses and subpopulations; however, patients receiving glucocorticoids had more serious AEs, discontinuations due to AEs, serious infection events and herpes zoster. Numerically greater clinical responses and incidence rates of AEs of special interest were generally reported for tofacitinib 10 mg twice daily versus tofacitinib 5 mg twice daily (overlapping 95% CIs). Tofacitinib demonstrated efficacy in both bDMARD-naive and bDMARD-IR patients with RA. Clinical response to tofacitinib was generally numerically greater in bDMARD-naive than bDMARD-IR patients. The safety profile appeared similar between subpopulations. (NCT00413660, NCT00550446, NCT00603512, NCT00687193, NCT00960440, NCT00847613, NCT00814307, NCT00856544, NCT00853385). Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited

  6. Learning from error: leading a culture of safety.

    PubMed

    Gibson, Russell; Armstrong, Alexander; Till, Alex; McKimm, Judy

    2017-07-02

    A recent shift towards more collective leadership in the NHS can help to achieve a culture of safety, particularly through encouraging frontline staff to participate and take responsibility for improving safety through learning from error and near misses. Leaders must ensure that they provide psychological safety, organizational fairness and learning systems for staff to feel confident in raising concerns, that they have the autonomy and skills to lead continual improvement, and that they have responsibility for spreading this learning within and across organizations.

  7. Properties and Performance Attributes of Novel Co-Extruded Polyolefin Battery Separator Materials. Part 1; Mechanical Properties

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Baldwin, Richard S.; Guzik, Monica; Skierski, Michael

    2011-01-01

    As NASA prepares for its next era of manned spaceflight missions, advanced energy storage technologies are being developed and evaluated to address future mission needs and technical requirements and to provide new mission-enabling technologies. Cell-level components for advanced lithium-ion batteries possessing higher energy, more reliable performance and enhanced, inherent safety characteristics are actively under development within the NASA infrastructure. A key component for safe and reliable cell performance is the cell separator, which separates the two energetic electrodes and functions to prevent the occurrence of an internal short-circuit while enabling ionic transport. Recently, a new generation of co-extruded separator films has been developed by ExxonMobil Chemical and introduced into their battery separator product portfolio. Several grades of this new separator material have been evaluated with respect to dynamic mechanical properties and safety-related performance attributes. This paper presents the results of these evaluations in comparison to a current state-ofthe-practice separator material. The results are discussed with respect to potential opportunities to enhance the inherent safety characteristics and reliability of future, advanced lithium-ion cell chemistries.

  8. A Case Study of Dynamic Response Analysis and Safety Assessment for a Suspended Monorail System

    PubMed Central

    Bao, Yulong; Li, Yongle; Ding, Jiajie

    2016-01-01

    A suspended monorail transit system is a category of urban rail transit, which is effective in alleviating traffic pressure and injury prevention. Meanwhile, with the advantages of low cost and short construction time, suspended monorail transit systems show vast potential for future development. However, the suspended monorail has not been systematically studied in China, and there is a lack of relevant knowledge and analytical methods. To ensure the health and reliability of a suspended monorail transit system, the driving safety of vehicles and structure dynamic behaviors when vehicles are running on the bridge should be analyzed and evaluated. Based on the method of vehicle-bridge coupling vibration theory, the finite element method (FEM) software ANSYS and multi-body dynamics software SIMPACK are adopted respectively to establish the finite element model for bridge and the multi-body vehicle. A co-simulation method is employed to investigate the vehicle-bridge coupling vibration for the transit system. The traffic operation factors, including train formation, track irregularity and tire stiffness, are incorporated into the models separately to analyze the bridge and vehicle responses. The results show that the coupling of dynamic effects of the suspended monorail system between vehicle and bridge are significant in the case studied, and it is strongly suggested to take necessary measures for vibration suppression. The simulation of track irregularity is a critical factor for its vibration safety, and the track irregularity of A-level road roughness negatively influences the system vibration safety. PMID:27834923

  9. A Case Study of Dynamic Response Analysis and Safety Assessment for a Suspended Monorail System.

    PubMed

    Bao, Yulong; Li, Yongle; Ding, Jiajie

    2016-11-10

    A suspended monorail transit system is a category of urban rail transit, which is effective in alleviating traffic pressure and injury prevention. Meanwhile, with the advantages of low cost and short construction time, suspended monorail transit systems show vast potential for future development. However, the suspended monorail has not been systematically studied in China, and there is a lack of relevant knowledge and analytical methods. To ensure the health and reliability of a suspended monorail transit system, the driving safety of vehicles and structure dynamic behaviors when vehicles are running on the bridge should be analyzed and evaluated. Based on the method of vehicle-bridge coupling vibration theory, the finite element method (FEM) software ANSYS and multi-body dynamics software SIMPACK are adopted respectively to establish the finite element model for bridge and the multi-body vehicle. A co-simulation method is employed to investigate the vehicle-bridge coupling vibration for the transit system. The traffic operation factors, including train formation, track irregularity and tire stiffness, are incorporated into the models separately to analyze the bridge and vehicle responses. The results show that the coupling of dynamic effects of the suspended monorail system between vehicle and bridge are significant in the case studied, and it is strongly suggested to take necessary measures for vibration suppression. The simulation of track irregularity is a critical factor for its vibration safety, and the track irregularity of A-level road roughness negatively influences the system vibration safety.

  10. 75 FR 17641 - Updating Fire Safety Standards

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2010-04-07

    ... DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS 38 CFR Parts 17 and 59 RIN 2900-AN57 Updating Fire Safety Standards... for VA approval of such facilities, including standards for fire safety and heating and cooling... submitted in response to ``RIN 2900-AN57--Updating Fire Safety Standards.'' Copies of comments received will...

  11. Analyze This! Thematic Analysis: Hostility, Attribution of Intent, and Interpersonal Perception Bias.

    PubMed

    Karadenizova, Zhana; Dahle, Klaus-Peter

    2017-11-01

    Research suggests that aggressive individuals exhibit a strong tendency to attribute hostile intent to the behavior of others when confronted with an ambiguous social situation. The vignettes method has become a standard procedure to assess hostile attributions. Vignettes represent incomplete ambiguous social stories, in which the subjects experience a negative outcome and are asked to attribute intent to the provocateur's action. This article explores the ways in which subjects perceive ambiguous social situations and other people's intentions, their tendency to refer negative outcome to oneself, and the components defining hostility in the interpersonal relationships. The sample consisted of male adolescent violent offenders ( N = 45) recruited from the Social Therapy Department of the German correctional facility for juvenile offenders in Berlin. All offenders were incarcerated for a violent or sexual crime and were currently undergoing individual and group psychotherapy. The five hypothetical vignettes used in this study were originally designed to assess hostile attributions in both institutional and noninstitutional social situations. Participants' responses were analyzed using thematic analysis. Thematic analysis revealed three key themes regarding the social perception-positive, negative, and neutral-and two themes regarding the components of hostility-provocateur-related personality features and relationship type. Although the vignettes were originally developed to detect hostility-prone perception bias, they seem to be able to reveal a wider set of different attributions of intent, both positive and negative. Thus, vignettes are not limited to assessment of hostility specifically. They much rather seem to be a measure which is sensitive to diverse attributions of intent in general. The diagnostic qualities of the vignettes, their area of application, limitations of the study, and future perspective are discussed.

  12. Achieving compatibility of State and Federal safety requirements

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    1990-08-01

    The Commercial Motor Vehicle Safety Regulatory Review Panel (Safety Panel) has prepared this report in response to Sections 207, 208, and 209 of the Motor Carrier Safety Act of 1984 (Public Law 98-554). This report provides the Secretary of Transport...

  13. Fundamental(ist) attribution error: Protestants are dispositionally focused.

    PubMed

    Li, Yexin Jessica; Johnson, Kathryn A; Cohen, Adam B; Williams, Melissa J; Knowles, Eric D; Chen, Zhansheng

    2012-02-01

    Attribution theory has long enjoyed a prominent role in social psychological research, yet religious influences on attribution have not been well studied. We theorized and tested the hypothesis that Protestants would endorse internal attributions to a greater extent than would Catholics, because Protestantism focuses on the inward condition of the soul. In Study 1, Protestants made more internal, but not external, attributions than did Catholics. This effect survived controlling for Protestant work ethic, need for structure, and intrinsic and extrinsic religiosity. Study 2 showed that the Protestant-Catholic difference in internal attributions was significantly mediated by Protestants' greater belief in a soul. In Study 3, priming religion increased belief in a soul for Protestants but not for Catholics. Finally, Study 4 found that experimentally strengthening belief in a soul increased dispositional attributions among Protestants but did not change situational attributions. These studies expand the understanding of cultural differences in attributions by demonstrating a distinct effect of religion on dispositional attributions.

  14. Ambiguous data association and entangled attribute estimation

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Trawick, David J.; Du Toit, Philip C.; Paffenroth, Randy C.; Norgard, Gregory J.

    2012-05-01

    This paper presents an approach to attribute estimation incorporating data association ambiguity. In modern tracking systems, time pressures often leave all but the most likely data association alternatives unexplored, possibly producing track inaccuracies. Numerica's Bayesian Network Tracking Database, a key part of its Tracker Adjunct Processor, captures and manages the data association ambiguity for further analysis and possible ambiguity reduction/resolution using subsequent data. Attributes are non-kinematic discrete sample space sensor data. They may be as distinctive as aircraft ID, or as broad as friend or foe. Attribute data may provide improvements to data association by a process known as Attribute Aided Tracking (AAT). Indeed, certain uniquely identifying attributes (e.g. aircraft ID), when continually reported, can be used to define data association (tracks are the collections of observations with the same ID). However, attribute data arriving infrequently, combined with erroneous choices from ambiguous data associations, can produce incorrect attribute and kinematic state estimation. Ambiguous data associations define the tracks that are entangled with each other. Attribute data observed on an entangled track then modify the attribute estimates on all tracks entangled with it. For example, if a red track and a blue track pass through a region of data association ambiguity, these tracks become entangled. Later red observations on one entangled track make the other track more blue, and reduce the data association ambiguity. Methods for this analysis have been derived and implemented for efficient forward filtering and forensic analysis.

  15. [A multi-measure analysis of the similarity, attraction, and compromise effects in multi-attribute decision making].

    PubMed

    Tsuzuki, Takashi; Matsui, Hiroshi; Kikuchi, Manabu

    2012-12-01

    In multi-attribute decision making, the similarity, attraction, and compromise effects warrant specific investigation as they cause violations of principles in rational choice. In order to investigate these three effects simultaneously, we assigned 145 undergraduates to three context effect conditions. We requested them to solve the same 20 hypothetical purchase problems, each of which had three alternatives described along two attributes. We measured their choices, confidence ratings, and response times. We found that manipulating the third alternative had significant context effects for choice proportions and confidence ratings in all three conditions. Furthermore, the attraction effect was the most prominent with regard to choice proportions. In the compromise effect condition, although the choice proportion of the third alternative was high, the confidence rating was low and the response time was long. These results indicate that the relationship between choice proportions and confidence ratings requires further theoretical investigation. They also suggest that a combination of experimental and modeling studies is imperative to reveal the mechanisms underlying the context effects in multi-attribute, multi-alternative decision making.

  16. Early conversational environment enables spontaneous belief attribution in deaf children.

    PubMed

    Meristo, Marek; Strid, Karin; Hjelmquist, Erland

    2016-12-01

    Previous research suggests that deaf children who grow up with hearing parents display considerable difficulties in understanding mental states of others, up to their teenage years when explicitly asked in a verbal test situation (Meristo et al., 2007). On the other hand, typically developing pre-verbal infants display evidence of spontaneous false belief attribution when tested in looking-time tasks, although verbal tests are typically not passed before the age of 4years (Onishi & Baillargeon, 2005). The purpose of the present study was to examine whether deaf children of hearing parents are able to demonstrate spontaneous belief attribution in a non-verbal eye-tracking task. Thirty 4- to 8-year-old, deaf and hearing children, completed a non-verbal spontaneous-response false-belief task and a verbal elicited-response false-belief task. The deaf children were either children with cochlear implants or children with hearing aids. Comparative analyses were also carried out with a previous sample of deaf and hearing 2-year-olds (reported in Meristo, Morgan, et al., 2012). We found that in the non-verbal spontaneous-response task typically hearing children, but not deaf children, were able to predict that a person with a false belief about an object's location will search erroneously for the object. However, hearing children and deaf children with implants, but not deaf children with hearing aids, passed the verbal elicited-response task. Language development was significantly correlated with both types of false-belief tasks for the whole sample. Our findings strengthen the hypothesis that the emergence of the ability to recognize others' beliefs needs to be supported initially by very early conversational input in dialogues with caregivers. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  17. NASA aviation safety reporting system

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    1979-01-01

    The human factors frequency considered a cause of or contributor to hazardous events onboard air carriers are examined with emphasis on distractions. Safety reports that have been analyzed, processed, and entered into the aviation safety reporting system data base are discussed. A sampling of alert bulletins and responses to them is also presented.

  18. Safety Training for the Supervisor.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Gardner, James E.

    Emphasizing causation and motivation, this guide to safety training for foremen and supervisors in industry provides a method for correcting an employee, whether after an accident or after detection of an unsafe act, through an interview designed to find the reasons behind the act. Supervisory responsibility for safety is indicated, together with…

  19. Authorship Attribution of Source Code

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Tennyson, Matthew F.

    2013-01-01

    Authorship attribution of source code is the task of deciding who wrote a program, given its source code. Applications include software forensics, plagiarism detection, and determining software ownership. A number of methods for the authorship attribution of source code have been presented in the past. A review of those existing methods is…

  20. Four Pillars for Improving the Quality of Safety-Critical Software-Reliant Systems

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2013-04-01

    Studies of safety-critical software-reliant systems developed using the current practices of build-then-test show that requirements and architecture ... design defects make up approximately 70% of all defects, many system level related to operational quality attributes, and 80% of these defects are