Safety leaders’ perceptions of safety culture in a large Australasian construction organisation

This paper reports safety leaders’ perceptions of safety culture in one of Australasia’s largest construction organisations. A modified Delphi method was used including two rounds of data collection. The first round involved 41 semi-structured interviews with safety leaders within the organisation. The second round involved an online quantitative perception survey, with the same sample, aimed at confirming the key themes identified in the interviews. Participants included Senior Executives, Corporate Managers, Project Managers, Safety Managers and Site Supervisors. Interview data was analysed using qualitative thematic analysis, and the survey data was analysed using descriptive statistics. Leaders’ definitions and descriptions of safety culture were primarily action-oriented and some confusion was evident due to the sometimes implicit nature of culture in organisations. Leadership was identified as a key factor for positive safety culture in the organisation, and there was an emphasis on leaders demonstrating commitment to safety, and being visible to the project-based workforce. Barriers to safety culture improvement were also identified, including the subcontractor management issues, pace of change, and reporting requirements. The survey data provided a quantitative confirmation of the interview themes, with some minor discrepancies. The findings highlight that safety culture is a complex construct, which is difficult to define, even for experts in the organisation. Findings on the key factors indicated consistency with the current literature; however the perceptions of barriers to safety culture offer a new understanding in to how safety culture operates in practice.

Behavioural changes add validity to the construct of posttraumatic growth

The research aimed to identify positive behavioural changes that people may make as a result of negotiating the aftermath of a traumatic experience, thereby extending the current cognitive model of posttraumatic growth (PTG). It was hypothesised that significant others would corroborate survivor’s cognitive and behavioural reports of PTG. The sample comprised 176 participants; 88 trauma survivors and 88 significant others. University students accounted for 64% of the sample and 36% were from the broader community. Approximately one third were male. All participants completed the Posttraumatic Growth Inventory [PTGI] and open ended questions regarding behavioural changes. PTGI scores in the survivor sample were corroborated by the significant others with only the Appreciation of Life factor of the PTGI differing between the two groups (e.g., total PTGI scores between groups explained 33.64% of variance). Nearly all of the survivors also reported positive changes in their behaviour and these changes were also corroborated by the significant others. Results provide validation of the posttraumatic growth construct and the PTGI as an instrument of measurement. Findings may also influence therapeutic practice for example, the potential usefulness of corroborating others.

Examination of relationships and mediating effects of self-efficacy, locus of control, coping and the practice environment on caring efficacy and job satisfaction in Australian registered nurses

Background to the Problem: Improving nurses' self-efficacy and job satisfaction may improve the quality of nursing care to patients. Moreover, to work effectively and consistently with professional nursing standards, nurses have to believe they are able to make decisions about their practice. In order to identify what strategies and professional development programmes should be developed and implemented for registered nurses in the Australian context, a comprehensive profile of registered nurses and factors that affect nursing care in Australia needs to be available. However, at present, there is limited information available on a) the perceived caring efficacy and job satisfaction of registered nurses in Australia, and b) the relationships between the demographic variables general self-efficacy, work locus of control, coping styles, the professional nursing practice environment and caring efficacy and job satisfaction of registered nurses in Australia. This is the first study to 1) investigate relationships between caring efficacy and job satisfaction with factors such as general self-efficacy, locus of control and coping, 2) the nursing practice environment in the Australian context and 3) conceptualise a model of caring efficacy and job satisfaction in the Australian context. Research Design and Methods: This study used a two-phase cross-sectional survey design. A pilot study was conducted in order to determine the validity and reliability of the survey instruments and to assess the effectiveness of the participant recruitment process. The second study of the research involved investigating the relationships between the socio-demographic, dependent and independent variables. Socio-demographic variables included age, gender, level of education, years of experience, years in current job, employment status, geographical location, specialty area, health sector, state and marital status. Other independent variables in this study included general self-efficacy, work locus of control, coping styles and the professional nursing practice environment. The dependent variables were job satisfaction and caring efficacy. Results: A confirmatory factor analysis of the Brisbane Practice Environment Measure (B-PEM) was conducted. A five-factor structure of the B-PEM was confirmed. Relationships between socio-demographic variables, caring efficacy and job satisfaction, were identified at the bivariate and multivariable levels. Further, examination using structural equation modelling revealed general self-efficacy, work locus of control, coping style and the professional nursing practice environment contributed to caring efficacy and job satisfaction of registered nurses in Australia. Conclusion: This research contributes to the literature on how socio-demographic, personal and environmental variables (work locus of control, general self-efficacy and the nursing practice environment) influence caring efficacy and job satisfaction in registered nurses in Australia. Caring efficacy and job satisfaction may be improved if general self-efficacy is high in those that have an internal work locus of control. The study has also shown that practice environments that provide the necessary resources improve job satisfaction in nurses. The results have identified that the development and implementation of strategies for professional development and orientation programmes that enhance self-efficacy and work locus of control may contribute to better quality nursing practice and job satisfaction. This may further assist registered nurses towards focusing on improving their practice abilities. These strategies along with practice environments that provide the necessary resources for nurses to practice effectively may lead to better job satisfaction. This information is important for nursing leaders, healthcare organisations and policymakers, as the development and implementation of these strategies may lead to better recruitment and retention of nurses. The study results will contribute to the national and international literature on self-efficacy, job satisfaction and nursing practice.

Patient-practitioner relationships desired by overweight/obese adults

Objective: This study investigated the characteristics of the patient-practitioner relationship desired by overweight/obese individuals in weight management. The aim was to identify characteristics of the relationship which empower patients to make lifestyle changes. Methods: Grounded theory was used inductively to build a model of the patient-practitioner relationship based on the perspectives of 21 overweight/obese ¬adults. Results: Emerging from the match between patient and practitioner characteristics, collaboration was the key process explicitly occurring in the patient-practitioner relationship, and was characterised by two subcategories; perceived power dimensions and openness. Trust emerged implicitly from the collaborative process, being fostered by relational, informational, and credible aspects of the interaction. Patient trust in their practitioner consequently led to empowering outcomes including goal ownership and perceiving the utility of changes. Conclusion: An appropriate match between patient and practitioner characteristics facilitates collaboration which leads to trust, both of which appear to precede empowering outcomes for patients such as goal ownership and perceiving the utility of changes. Collaboration is an explicit process and precedes the patient trusting their practitioner. Practice implications: Practitioners should be sensitive to patient preferences for collaboration and the opportunity to develop trust with patients relationally, through information provision, and modelling a healthy lifestyle.

Envisaging alternatives for practice : a study into the way concepts of sustain-ability can be explored within an interactive media arts practice

This practice-led study explores different ways the subject of sustain-ability can be addressed within an Interactive Media Arts practice. The exploration encompasses three creative projects, Charmed, Distracted and e. Menura superba. Grounded in an ecological philosophy inspired by vegetarianism and the critical design philosophy of defuturing, the work shows how such a philosophical position can guide the redirection of practice. The concern for sustain-ability within my practice, and more generally the question of Interactive Media Arts and sustain-ability, I refer to as a problématique. The objective of this study is not one of finding an answer or a truth to an instrumentally posed question, but to explore the complexities of the problématique through a program of practice and intellectual investigation. The aim being to redirect my practice and to find a renewed raison d’être for practice through a process of opening up, encountering, and discovering otherwise unknown possibilities for practice. In the context of sustain-ability, this opening up of possibilities can be considered a form of futuring. A futuring I argue is only possible if the things we take for granted as integral aspects of our being, practices and life worlds, are revealed in ways that estrange them, rendering them visible in ways that allow questioning and change.

Beyond the inner city : real and imagined places in creative place policy and practice

As the economic and social benefits of creative industries development become increasingly visible, policymakers worldwide are working to create policy drivers to ensure that certain places become or remain ‘creative places’. Richard Florida’s work has become particularly influential among policymakers, as has Landry’s. But as the first wave of creative industrial policy development and implementation wanes, important questions are emerging. It is by now clear that an ‘ideal creative place’ has arisen from creative industries policy and planning literature, and that this ideal place is located in inner cities. This article shifts its focus away from the inner city to where most Australians live: the outer suburbs. It reports on a qualitative research study into the practices of outer-suburban creative industries workers in Redcliffe, Australia. It argues that the accepted geography of creative places requires some recalibration once the material and experiential aspects of creative places are taken into account.

Examining the effects of an eco-driving message on driver distraction

This paper examines the effects of an eco-driving message on driver distraction. Two in-vehicle distracter tasks were compared with an eco-driving task and a baseline task in an advanced driving simulator. N = 22 subjects were asked to perform an eco-driving, CD changing, and a navigation task while engaged in critical manoeuvres during which they were expected to respond to a peripheral detection task (PDT) with total duration of 3.5 h. The study involved two sessions over two consecutive days. The results show that drivers’ mental workloads are significantly higher during navigation and CD changing tasks in comparison to the two other scenarios. However, eco-driving mental workload is still marginally significant (p ∼ .05) across different manoeuvres. Similarly, event detection tasks show that drivers miss significantly more events in the navigation and CD changing scenarios in comparison to both the baseline and eco-driving scenario. Analysis of the practice effect shows that drivers’ baseline scenario and navigation scenario exhibit significantly less demand on the second day. Drivers also can detect significantly more events on the second day for all scenarios. The authors conclude that even reading a simple message while driving could potentially lead to missing an important event, especially when executing critical manoeuvres. However, there is some evidence of a practice effect which suggests that future research should focus on performance with habitual rather than novel tasks. It is recommended that sending text as an eco-driving message analogous to the study circumstances should not be delivered to drivers on-line when vehicle is in motion.

Children and the environment

Children and the environment cover a broad, interdisciplinary field of research and practice. The social sciences often use the word “environment” to mean the social, political, or economic context of children’s lives, but this bibliography covers physical settings. It focuses on a place-based scale that children can see, hear, taste, smell, touch, and navigate: not large, abstract scales such as national identities or population dynamics, or small scales such as environmental impacts on genes or cell functions. Attention to the everyday settings of children’s lives grew in the 18th century, when Romantic literature introduced the theme of children and nature. In the 19th century, concern for children’s welfare included an interest in conditions for children in burgeoning industrial cities, and justifications for early streetcar and railroad suburbs included claims that they would save children from the dangers of cities and provide the healthful benefits of natural surroundings. In the 20th century, academic disciplines developed different lines of inquiry about the impact of the physical environment on children and how children relate to places: ethnographic studies of children in different parts of the world in the fields of anthropology and geography; sociological studies of different populations of children in different settings; educational research on the learning opportunities that different school and out-of-school settings afford; medical research to understand disease vectors and the impact of pollutants on children; and efforts in the field of environment and behavior research more broadly, to understand how built and designed environments affect children physically, cognitively, socially, and emotionally. At the beginning of the 21st century, children and the environment is an active area of inquiry seeking to understand rapidly changing conditions for children as the world urbanizes, opportunities for free play outdoors and independent mobility erode in many parts of the world, media environments consume more of children’s time, and awareness grows that children need opportunities to contribute to creating sustainable societies.

Pandemic (H1N1) Influenza 2009 and Australian emergency departments : implications for policy, practice and pandemic preparedness

Objective: To describe the reported impact of Pandemic (H1N1) 2009 on EDs, so as to inform future pandemic policy, planning and response management. Methods: This study comprised an issue and theme analysis of publicly accessible literature, data from jurisdictional health departments, and data obtained from two electronic surveys of ED directors and ED staff. The issues identified formed the basis of policy analysis and evaluation. Results: Pandemic (H1N1) 2009 had a significant impact on EDs with presentation for patients with ‘influenza-like illness’ up to three times that of the same time in previous years. Staff reported a range of issues, including poor awareness of pandemic plans, patient and family aggression, chaotic information flow to themselves and the public, heightened stress related to increased workloads and lower levels of staffing due to illness, family care duties and redeployment of staff to flu clinics. Staff identified considerable discomfort associated with prolonged times wearing personal protective equipment. Staff believed that the care of non-flu patients was compromised during the pandemic as a result of overwork, distraction from core business and the difficulties associated with accommodating infectious patients in an environment that was not conducive. Conclusions: This paper describes the breadth of the impact of pandemics on ED operations. It identifies a need to address a range of industrial, management and procedural issues. In particular, there is a need for a single authoritative source of information, the re-engineering of EDs to accommodate infectious patients and organizational changes to enable rapid deployment of alternative sources of care.

Disaster triage : evidence, consistency and standard practice

Triage has military origins, with the initial purpose being to direct care to those most likely to be able to return to the battlefield. Conversely, modern disaster triage attempts to ensure both the prioritisation of care for those who need it most and a fair distribution of resources, so that health responders are able to ‘do the most for the most’...

An exploratory study to examine the phenomenon and practice of ambulance ramping at hospitals within the Queensland Health Southern Districts and the Queensland Ambulance Service

Background: Ambulance Ramping, defined anecdotally as a practice where patients brought to emergency departments by ambulance experience delays to admission, has become more frequent in Australian emergency departments over the last few years. Previous research has shown a link between emergency department overcrowding, ambulance diversion and adverse outcomes for patients. However, there is very little research about Ambulance Ramping. The literature has no consistent definition of Ambulance Ramping, no description of how it is managed, and limited research on the effects it has on patient and service delivery outcomes...

Explicit, latent and meta-criteria : types of criteria at play in professional judgement practice

This paper engages with debates about whether comprehensive prior specification of criteria and standards is sufficient for informed professional judgement. A preoccupation has emerged with the specificity and explication of criteria intended to regulate judgement. This has resulted in criteria-compliance in the use of defined standards to validate judgements and improve reliability and consistency. Compliance has become a priority, the consequence being the prominence of explicit criteria, to the lack of acknowledgement of the operation of latent and meta-criteria within judgement practice. This paper examines judgement as a process involving three categories of assessment criteria in the context of standards-referenced systems: explicit, latent and meta-criteria. These are understood to be wholly interrelated and interdependent. A conceptualisation of judgement involving the interplay of the three criteria types is presented with an exploration of how they function to focus or alter assessments of quality in judgements of achievement in English and Mathematics.

Professional development in the contemporary educational context : encouraging practice wisdom

Preparing social work students to be effective practitioners is a complex and challenging task undertaken in a dynamic environment both in terms of the field of social work and the higher education sector. There have been recommendations that self knowledge, empirical knowledge, theoretical knowledge and procedural knowledge are the keys to high standards of social work practice. This paper suggests that the concept of practice wisdom is a useful focus for integrating these different aspects of informed practice and for focusing educational programmes for social work. As practice wisdom is more about process than possessed characteristics then there are important motivational and value-based considerations in developing wise practitioners. This discussion considers motivational and personal narrative aspects of practice wisdom so that it can be integrated into social work teaching.

Joined-up practice : five areas of exemplary practice for social workers and educators to re-engage homeless youth

Young people seen as ‘at risk’ are a substantial focus across a wide range of policy and practice fields in national and international contexts. This article addresses two of those fields, youth homelessness and youth failing to obtain a basic education that will give them access to employment and full community participation as active citizens. By comparing solutions to the problems of youth homelessness and youth educationally at risk, the article distils key meta-characteristics useful for both social workers and educators in mutually supporting some of the most at risk young people in our communities today. This is what the authors term ‘a joined-up practice’.

Intuitive interaction and older people

Older people often struggle with using contemporary products and interfaces. They show slower, less intuitive interaction with more errors. This paper reports on a large project designed to investigate why older people have these difficulties and what strategies could be used to mitigate them. The project team found that older people are less familiar with products that they own than younger ones, while both older and middle aged people are less familiar with products that they do not own than younger ones. Age related cognitive decline is also related to slower and less intuitive performance with contemporary products and interfaces. Therefore, the reasons behind the problems that older people demonstrate with contemporary technologies involve a mix of familiarity and capability. Redundancy applied to an interface in the form of symbols and words is helpful for middle aged and younger old people but the oldest age group performed better with a words only interface. Also, older people showed faster and more intuitive use with a flat interface than a nested one, although there was no difference in errors. Further work is ongoing in order to establish ways in which these findings can be usefully applied in the design process.