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1 – 10 of over 42000Yeojin Kil, Margaret Graham and Anna V. Chatzi
Provisions for the minimisation of human error are essential through governance structures such as recruitment, human resource allocation and education/training. As predictors of…
Abstract
Purpose
Provisions for the minimisation of human error are essential through governance structures such as recruitment, human resource allocation and education/training. As predictors of safety attitudes/behaviours, employees’ personality traits (e.g. conscientiousness, sensation-seeking, agreeableness, etc.) have been examined in relation to human error and safety education.
Design/methodology/approach
This review aimed to explore research activity on the safety attitudes of healthcare staff and their relationship with the different types of personalities, compared to other complex and highly regulated industries. A scoping review was conducted on five electronic databases on all industrial/work areas from 2001 to July 2023. A total of 60 studies were included in this review.
Findings
Studies were categorised as driving/traffic and industrial to draw useful comparisons between healthcare. Certain employees’ personality traits were matched to positive and negative relationships with safety attitudes/behaviours. Results are proposed to be used as a baseline when conducting further relevant research in healthcare.
Research limitations/implications
Only two studies were identified in the healthcare sector.
Originality/value
The necessity for additional research in healthcare and for comparisons to other complex and highly regulated industries has been established. Safety will be enhanced through healthcare governance through personality-based recruitment, human resource allocation and education/training.
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Sheng Xu, Mengge Zhang, Bo Xia and Jiangbo Liu
This study aimed to identify driving factors of safety attitudinal ambivalence (AA) and explore their influence. Construction workers' intention to act safely can be instable…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aimed to identify driving factors of safety attitudinal ambivalence (AA) and explore their influence. Construction workers' intention to act safely can be instable under conflicting information from safety management, co-workers and habitual unsafe behaviour. Existing research explained the mechanism of unsafe behaviours as individual decisions but failed to include AA, as the co-existence of both positive and negative attitude.
Design/methodology/approach
This study applied system dynamics to explore factors of construction workers' AA and simulate the process of mitigating the ambivalence for less safety behaviour. Specifically, the group model building approach with eight experts was used to map the causal loop diagram and field questionnaire of 209 construction workers were used to collect empirical data for initiating parameters.
Findings
The group model building identified five direct factors of AA, namely the organisational safety support, important others' safety attitude, emotional arousal, safety production experience and work pressure, with seven feedback paths. The questionnaire survey obtained the initial values of the factors in the SD model, with the average ambivalence at 0.389. The ambivalence between cognitive and affective safety attitude was the highest. Model simulation results indicated that safety experience and work pressure had the most significant effects, and safety experience and positive attitude of co-workers could compensate the pressure from tight schedule and budget.
Originality/value
This study provided a new perspective of the dynamic safety attitude under the co-existence of positive and negative attitude, identified its driving factors and their influencing paths. The group model building approach and field questionnaire surveys were used to provide convincible suggestions for empirical safety management with least and most effective approaches and possible interventions to prevent unsafe behaviour with tight schedule and budget.
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Naif Alzahrani, Russell Jones, Amir Rizwan and Mohamed E. Abdel-Latif
The purpose of this paper is to perform and report a systematic review of published research on patient safety attitudes of health staff employed in hospital emergency departments…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to perform and report a systematic review of published research on patient safety attitudes of health staff employed in hospital emergency departments (EDs).
Design/methodology/approach
An electronic search was conducted of PsychINFO, ProQuest, MEDLINE, EMBASE, PubMed and CINAHL databases. The review included all studies that focussed on the safety attitudes of professional hospital staff employed in EDs.
Findings
Overall, the review revealed that the safety attitudes of ED health staff are generally low, especially on teamwork and management support and among nurses when compared to doctors. Conversely, two intervention studies showed the effectiveness of team building interventions on improving the safety attitudes of health staff employed in EDs.
Research limitations/implications
Six studies met the inclusion criteria, however, most of the studies demonstrated low to moderate methodological quality.
Originality/value
Teamwork, communication and management support are central to positive safety attitudes. Teamwork training can improve safety attitudes. Given that EDs are the “front-line” of hospital care and patients within EDs are especially vulnerable to medical errors, future research should focus on the safety attitudes of medical staff employed in EDs and its relationship to medical errors.
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Matthew A. Douglas and Stephen M. Swartz
The purpose of this paper is to develop a measurement scale to assess over‐the‐road commercial motor vehicle operators' attitudes toward safety regulations.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to develop a measurement scale to assess over‐the‐road commercial motor vehicle operators' attitudes toward safety regulations.
Design/methodology/approach
A literature review of the current USA motor carrier safety literature and general safety literature is conducted to determine the existence of a construct and measurement scale suitable for assessing truck drivers' attitudes toward regulations. As no existing construct is found, a new construct needs to be developed. A rigorous construct development process is conducted to establish the content domain, reliability, and validity of a new construct to measure truck drivers' regulatory attitudes.
Findings
The results of this paper shows a reliable and valid construct to measure truck drivers' perceptions of the general attitude, effectiveness, and enforcement of safety regulations.
Research limitations/implications
This effort is the initial construct development process and use of the construct in theory testing studies is necessary.
Practical implications
The regulatory attitude construct is developed in support of a larger investigation into the behavioral aspects of truck driver safety. The broader study seeks to inform theory and practice as to how the trucking industry's regulatory environment influences truck drivers' safety‐related decisions and behaviors. By identifying the impact of the regulatory environment, safety program managers should be able to direct their educational and training efforts to influence factors that will result in better decisions and safer driving behaviors.
Originality/value
This construct development process marks the first attempt to comprehensively measure truck drivers' attitudes toward safety regulations.
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Matthew A. Douglas and Stephen M. Swartz
The purpose of this paper is to determine whether or not early, mid, late career stage truck drivers view the safety regulations differently and how drivers’ regulatory attitudes…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to determine whether or not early, mid, late career stage truck drivers view the safety regulations differently and how drivers’ regulatory attitudes influence their compliance attitudes and intentions.
Design/methodology/approach
This survey study is designed to evaluate the differences in truck drivers’ attitudes toward safety regulations across career stages. Moreover, the study applies ordinary least squares path analysis to determine the influence of drivers’ regulatory attitudes on compliance attitudes and intentions.
Findings
Results revealed that drivers in early and late career stages harbor different perceptions of the burden safety regulations place on driving operations, the effectiveness of driver-focused safety regulations in maintaining road safety, and the acceptability of certain unsafe acts. Moreover, drivers’ attitudes toward regulations directly and indirectly influenced compliance attitudes and intentions.
Research limitations/implications
The participant sample was taken from employees of four large motor carriers operating refrigerated and dry box trailers over the road in interstate commerce. While the sample is roughly representative of this segment, the authors recommend caution in generalizing the findings across the diverse US trucking industry as a whole.
Practical implications
Findings suggest that motor carrier management should tailor safety and regulatory familiarization training across career stages. Moreover, carriers should provide targeted communication regarding the effectiveness of regulations and impact of regulations on driving operations in order to alleviate drivers’ negative attitudes toward regulations where possible.
Originality/value
This study marks the first application of career stage theory to the motor carrier safety context. This study also provides further evidence as to the efficacy of drivers’ attitudes toward safety regulations in predicting drivers’ compliance attitudes and intentions. A better understanding of these phenomena may lead to improved compliance and safety.
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Harold Van Andaya Aquino, Tyron Yap, Jean Paolo Gomez Lacap, Gertrude Tuazon and Maribel Flores
The study examines the interrelationships of food safety knowledge, attitudes and practices, and the moderating effect of food safety training on the said interrelationships.
Abstract
Purpose
The study examines the interrelationships of food safety knowledge, attitudes and practices, and the moderating effect of food safety training on the said interrelationships.
Design/methodology/approach
Predictive-causal was the primary research design used and partial least squares – structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) was the statistical technique applied.
Findings
Results showed that food safety knowledge significantly and positively influences attitudes towards food safety. It was further revealed that attitudes toward food safety and food safety practices are also significantly and positively related. Moderation analysis indicated that food safety training moderates the significant and positive relationship between attitudes towards food safety and food safety practices.
Research limitations/implications
The present study has limitations. First, the unit of analysis is focused on food handlers in fast-food restaurants in Angeles City, Philippines. Other researchers may come up with similar studies on a larger scale – provincial, regional or national. Second, only food safety training as a construct was used as a moderator on the hypothesized relationships of the structural model. Other studies may expand and explore other moderating variables and/or mediating constructs that may affect the said hypothesized relationships.
Practical implications
Based on the present study, food safety knowledge was found to have a huge significant and direct influence on attitudes of fast-food restaurant food handlers towards food safety, as evidenced by the computed effect size. In short, knowledge on food safety is an integral factor when it comes to enhancing food safety attitudes of fast-food restaurant food handlers. When fast-food restaurant food handlers are well-equipped with the right food safety knowledge, they become more aware of the different food safety protocols and other pertinent food safety guidelines and procedures which can lead to favorable food safety attitudes.
Social implications
The present study highlighted the moderating effect of food safety training on the relationship between attitudes toward food safety and food safety practices. Therefore, regular attendance of food handlers to food safety training is crucial in developing acceptable attitudes toward food safety, which in turn, favorably affect their food safety practices in fast-food restaurants.
Originality/value
The current study utilized PLS-SEM, a second-generation statistical technique, to measure the hypothesized relationships as compared to correlation tests performed by prior studies on the interrelationships of food safety knowledge, attitudes toward food safety and food safety practices. PLS-SEM is suitable for this type of research design – predictive-causal – since this study involves model development and prediction. Furthermore, it employed moderation analysis to measure the moderating effects of food safety training on the identified hypothesized relationships of the structural model. Hence, methodologically, the present study employed new ways and insights in measuring the interrelationships of food safety knowledge, attitudes and practices.
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D. LANGFORD, S. ROWLINSON and E. SAWACHA
This paper identifies the critical factors that influence the attitudes of construction workers towards safe behaviour on construction sites. It studies these attitudes by using a…
Abstract
This paper identifies the critical factors that influence the attitudes of construction workers towards safe behaviour on construction sites. It studies these attitudes by using a research model that links three themes: safety management implementation strategies, attitudes of workers about safety and behavioural factors displayed by construction workers. This model is used to frame the responses of 126 directly employed construction workers in 10 companies. Some 56 variables were identified as having a potential influence upon attitudes to safety. The initial data analysis found that 12 technical factors significantly correlated to the development of strong positive attitudes towards safety management. Second‐order analysis, using factor analysis, isolated five variables that had a major influence on safety attitudes. The five factors were: organizing for safety supervision and equipment management, industry norms and culture, attitudes to risk taking and management behaviour.
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Determine the elements of young adult consumers' attitudes toward food safety using a food safety attitude (FSA) questionnaire and identify the factors influencing them.
Abstract
Purpose
Determine the elements of young adult consumers' attitudes toward food safety using a food safety attitude (FSA) questionnaire and identify the factors influencing them.
Design/methodology/approach
This study adopts a descriptive and explanatory perspective to the research problem. Determination of students' attitudes was carried out by direct survey using a questionnaire. The ABC model of attitude was used to construct the statements in the questionnaire. The respondents' answers were analyzed using statistical methods.
Findings
The proposed questionnaire has proven to be a useful tool for assessing food safety attitudes and has identified important new elements in consumers' attitudes. Students' attitudes toward food safety are shaped by sociodemographic and psychosocial factors such as customer type, attitude toward risk, and how they make food purchasing decisions.
Research limitations/implications
Information about students' attitudes was obtained only from surveys. The survey results provide valuable insights for business practice.
Practical implications
Findings can be used to increase the effectiveness of efforts by various organizations aimed at changing consumer attitudes and behavior and to help understand why consumers implement some food safety behaviors and not others.
Social implications
The research results will help more effectively target efforts to change consumer attitudes, which could translate into a reduction in cases of illness caused by eating unsafe food or following proper practices when shopping and at the home preparation stage.
Originality/value
Development of a reliable tool for the study of attitudes. Identify the new elements of young adult consumers' attitudes and the factors that shape them.
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Joan Harvey, Helen Bolam, David Gregory and George Erdos
An attitude survey developed by Harvey et al. was used to measure responses from employees in the nuclear industry before and after a safety training intervention which all…
Abstract
An attitude survey developed by Harvey et al. was used to measure responses from employees in the nuclear industry before and after a safety training intervention which all employees attended in their work teams. The first administration of the survey yielded 417responses, and the second, administered 16 months later following the training intervention, yielded 460 responses, representing response rates of over 69 per cent in both cases. Using six factors derived earlier from the survey, significant improvements in attitudes and beliefs were found for two of the factors (and a further three factors showed rises in the same direction) for management/professional employees. For shop floor employees, only one factor showed a significant change, which was a reduction in job satisfaction over the same time period. It was concluded that the hypotheses that management would respond to the safety initiative but that shop floor would not were supported. A further hypothesis concerning grade differences in culture and attitudes was also supported. These findings are discussed in terms of culture and risk, risk taking and training, where the implications for safety training are crucial.
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A. Cheyne, A. Oliver, J.M. Tomás and S. Cox
This study examines the relationships between components of organisational safety climate, including: employee attitudes to organisational and individual safety issues;…
Abstract
This study examines the relationships between components of organisational safety climate, including: employee attitudes to organisational and individual safety issues; perceptions of the physical work environment and perceptions of workplace hazards; and relates these to self‐reported levels of safety activity. It also attempts to replicate the explicative model derived by Cheyne et al. in a similar study within the manufacturing sector. Data were collected from a large manufacturing organisation using a questionnaire. A total of 708 valid questionnaires were returned and formed the basis for the subsequent analyses. These data showed that a common structure of attitudes to safety issues and perceptions of the work environment can be constructed in line with the previous model, with a few differences, providing some evidence of a sector‐wide safety culture. The strength of employees’ attitudes with regard to safety management and individual responsibility once again played central roles in the model and are consistent with earlier findings. Comparisons are made between the two organisations and mean scores on each of the model components show that there are differences between the two organisations in terms of individual responsibility and personal involvement, as well as levels of safety activity and perceived levels of workplace hazards. The results are discussed in terms of generating general models of attitudes to safety, which in turn may facilitate climate change.
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