A qualitative cross-level investigation of safety climate perceptions

ver the last few decades occupational health and safety research has shifted its focus away from engineering and ergonomics as a means of improving workplace safety, and has given greater attention to examining the role played by organisational factors, such as safety climate. One factor constraining the advancement of our understanding of the safety climate construct is the tendency of researchers to remain steadfastly bound to the notion that safety climate is measured via a quantative measurement tool. Researchers in the area (e.g., Frone & Barling, 2004; Zohar, 2003) are now arguing for better triangulation of methodologies, in particular better qualitative research, to advance our knowledge and understanding. The present study extends the present body of safety climate literature in two ways; firstly, it addresses this methodological issue via the utilisation of a semi-structured interview methodology and secondly it examines the qualitative structure of safety climate perceptions across different levels (organisation, supervisor and co-worker) and different groups (managers vs. employees). Examination of the interview transcripts revealed qualitative differences and similarities between the different safety climate levels (organisational, supervisor and co-worker) and between manager and employee safety climate perceptions. Implications of these findings for safety climate theory and measurement are discussed.

A multilevel analysis of team climate and interpersonal exchange relationships at work

This study advances research on interpersonal exchange relationships by integrating social exchange, workplace friendship and climate research to develop a multilevel model. Data were collected from 215 manager-employee dyads working within 36 teams. At the individual level, LMX was positively associated with TMX and workplace friendship. Further, workplace friendship was positively related to TMX, and mediated the LMX-TMX relationship. At the team level, HLM results demonstrated that the relationship between LMX and workplace friendship was moderated by affective climate. Findings suggest that high-quality LMX relationships are associated with enhanced employees' perceptions of workplace friendship when affective group climate was strong.

Numerical investigation of seawater intrusion at Gooburrum, Bundaberg, Queensland, Australia

Seawater intrusion in coastal agricultural areas due to groundwater abstraction is a major environmental problem along the northeastern coast of Australia. Management options are being explored using numerical modelling, however, questions remain concerning the appropriate level of sophistication in models, choice of seaward boundary conditions, and how to accommodate heterogeneity and data uncertainty. The choice of seaward boundary condition is important since it affects the amount of salt transported into the aquifers and forms the focus of the present study. The impact of this boundary condition is illustrated for the seawater-intrusion problem in the Gooburrum aquifers, which occur within Tertiary sedimentary strata. A two-dimensional variable-density groundwater and solute-transport model was constructed using the computer code 2DFEMFAT (Cheng et al. 1998). The code was tested against an experiment for a steady-state freshwater-saltwater interface and against the Elder (Elder 1967) free-convection problem. Numerical simulations show that the imposition of the commonly-used equivalent hydrostatic freshwater heads, combined with a constant salt concentration at the seaward boundary, results in overestimated seawater intrusion in the lower Gooburrum aquifer. Since the imposition of this boundary condition allows water flow across the boundary, which subsequently takes salt into the aquifer, a careful check is essential to estimate whether too much mass of salt is introduced.

Do rural consumers expect a prescription from their GP visit? Investigation of patients' expectations for a prescription and doctors' prescribing decisions in rural Australia

Objective: To assess patients’ expectation for receiving a prescription and GPs’ perceptions of patient expectation for a prescription. Design: Matched questionnaire study completed by patients and GPs. Setting: Seven general practices in rural Queensland, Australia. Subjects: The subjects were 481 patients consulting 17 GPs. Main outcome measures: Patients’ expectation for receiving a prescription and GPs’ perceptions of patients’ expectation. Results: Ideal expectation (hope) for a prescription was expressed by 57% (274/481) of patients. Sixty-six per cent (313/481) thought it was likely that the doctor would actually give them a prescription. Doctors accurately predicted hope or lack of hope for a prescription in 65% (314/481) of consultations, but were inaccurate in 19% (93/481). A prescription was written in 55% of consultations. No increase in patients’ expectation, doctors’ perceptions of expectation, or decision to prescribe were detected for patients living a greater distance from the doctors. Conclusions: Rural patients demonstrated similar rates of hope for a prescription to those found in previous urban studies. Rural doctors seem to be similarly ‘accurate’ and ‘inaccurate’ in determining patients’ expectations. Rates of prescribing were comparable to urban rates. Distance was not found to increase the level of patient expectation, affect the doctors’ perception or to influence the decision to prescribe.

Investigation of recombinant Schistosoma japonicum paramyosin fragments for immunogenicity and vaccine efficacy in mice

Schistosoma japonicum paramyosin, a 97 kDa myofibrillar protein, is a recognized vaccine candidate against schistosomiasis. To improve its expression and to identify protective epitopic regions on paramyosin, the published Chinese Schistosoma japonicum paramyosin cDNA sequence was redesigned using Pichia codon usage and divided into four overlapping fragments (fragments 1, 2, 3, 4) of 747, 651, 669 and 678 bp, respectively. These gene fragments were synthesized and expressed in Pichia pastoris (fragments 2 and 3) or E. coli (fragments 1 and 4). The recombinant proteins were produced at high level and purified using a two-step process involving Ni-NTA affinity chromatography and gel filtration. BALB/c mice were immunized subcutaneously three times at 2-week-intervals with the purified proteins formulated in adjuvant Quil A. The protein fragments were highly immunogenic, inducing high, though variable, ELISA antibody titres, and each was shown to resemble native paramyosin in terms of its recognition by the anti-fragment antibodies in Western blotting. The immunized mice were subjected to cercarial challenge 2 weeks after the final injection and promising protective efficacy in terms of significant reductions in worm burdens, worm-pair numbers and liver eggs in the vaccinated mice resulted. There was no apparent correlation between the antibody titres generated and protective efficacy, as all fragments produced effective but similar levels of protection.

Speech production in Parkinson's disease: II. Acoustic and electropalatographic investigation of sentence, word and segment durations

Previous investigations employing electropalatography (EPG) have identified articulatory timing deficits in individuals with acquired dysarthria. However, this technology is yet to be applied to the articulatory timing disturbance present in Parkinson's disease (PD). As a result, the current investigation aimed to use EPG to comprehensively examine the temporal aspects of articulation in a group of nine individuals with PD at sentence, word and segment level. This investigation followed on from a prior study (McAuliffe, Ward and Murdoch) and similarly, aimed to compare the results of the participants with PD to a group of aged (n=7) and young controls (n=8) to determine if ageing contributed to any articulatory timing deficits observed. Participants were required to read aloud the phrase I saw a ___ today'' with the EPG palate in-situ. Target words included the consonants /1/, /s/ and /t/ in initial position in both the /i/ and /a/ vowel environments. Perceptual investigation of speech rate was conducted in addition to objective measurement of sentence, word and segment duration. Segment durations included the total segment length and duration of the approach, closure/constriction and release phases of EPG consonant production. Results of the present study revealed impaired speech rate, perceptually, in the group with PD. However, this was not confirmed objectively. Electropalatographic investigation of segment durations indicated that, in general, the group with PD demonstrated segment durations consistent with the control groups. Only one significant difference was noted, with the group with PD exhibiting significantly increased duration of the release phase for /1a/ when compared to both the control groups. It is, therefore, possible that EPG failed to detect lingual movement impairment as it does not measure the complete tongue movement towards and away from the hard palate. Furthermore, the contribution of individual variation to the present findings should not be overlooked.

Self-efficacy and task performance: An investigation from two levels of analysis and specificity

This research adopts a resource allocation theoretical framework to generate predictions regarding the relationship between self-efficacy and task performance from two levels of analysis and specificity. Participants were given multiple trials of practice on an air traffic control task. Measures of task-specific self-efficacy and performance were taken at repeated intervals. The authors used multilevel analysis to demonstrate dynamic main effects, dynamic mediation and dynamic moderation. As predicted, the positive effects of overall task specific self-efficacy and general self-efficacy on task performance strengthened throughout practice. In line with these dynamic main effects, the effect of general self-efficacy was mediated by overall task specific self-efficacy; however this pattern emerged over time. Finally, changes in task specific self-efficacy were negatively associated with changes in performance at the within-person level; however this effect only emerged towards the end of practice for individuals with high levels of overall task specific self-efficacy. These novel findings emphasise the importance of conceptualising self-efficacy within a multi-level and multi-specificity framework and make a significant contribution to understanding the way this construct relates to task performance.

The role of team identification in the dissimilarity-conflict relationship

This study examined the role of team identification in the dissimilarity and conflict relationship. We tested competing predictions that team identification would either mediate or moderate the positive associations between visible (age, gender and ethnic background), professional (background) and value dissimilarity and task and relationship conflict. Data was collected from 27 MBA student teams twice during a semester. Multilevel modelling and a longitudinal design were used. Results showed that value dissimilarity was positively associated with task and relationship conflict at Time 2. Its effects on relationship conflict at Time 1 were moderated by team identification. Team identification also moderated the effects of gender, age and ethnic dissimilarity on task conflict at Time 2, and the effects of gender and professional dissimilarity on relationship conflict at Time 2. No support was obtained for the mediating role of team identification on the associations between dissimilarity and conflict, or for changes in the effects of dissimilarity over time.

Workplace diversity: The moderating role of work context on the relationship between surface and deep level diversity and group functioning

This research examines the relationship between perceived group diversity and group conflict, and the moderating role of team context. Currentiy, diversity research predominantly focuses on surface and job-related dimensions, largely to the neglect of deep-level diversity (in terms of values, attitude and beliefs). First, this research hjfpothesised that all three dimensions of diversity would be positively related to group conflict, with deep-level diversity the strongest predictor of task. conflict. Second, it was hypothesised that team context would moderate the relationship between deep-level diversity and group conflict. Team context refers to the extent to which the work performed (1) has high consequences (in terms of health and well being for team members and others); (2) is relatively isolating, (3) requires a high reliance upon team members; (4) is volatile; and (5) interpersonal attraction and mutual helpfulness is essential. Two studies were conducted. The first study employed 44 part-time employees across a range of occupations, and the second study employed 66 full-time employees from a mining company in Australia. A series of hierarchical multiple regressions and moderated multiple regressions confirmed both hypotheses. Practical implications and future research directions are discussed.