Work Outcomes of Occupational Health and Safety: The Role of Transformational Leadership and Public Service Motivation

Safety culture and unsafe behavior have been considered to be important factors in operational safety in various fields, including transportation systems. The study sought to analyze the relationship between occupational health and safety and employee work outcomes, the moderating role of public service motivation and employee work outcomes, and transformational leadership and employee work outcomes. A cross-sectional survey using convenience sampling technique was adopted with a sample of 300 public transport bus drivers from Takoradi Market Circle, Ghana. A five-point Likert scale integrated questionnaire was used. The study use SmartPLS software 3.2.8 to analyze the data. The study found Occupational Health and Safety to have direct positive and significant relationship with Employee Work Outcomes. Furthermore, the study found public service motivation also have positive and significant connection with Employee Work Outcomes. Also, the study found support for the relationship between Transformational Leadership and Employee Work Outcomes. Again, transformational leadership moderates the relationship occupational health and safety and employee work outcomes. In a similar fashion, public service motivation was found to moderate the relationship between occupational health and safety and employee work outcomes. It is recommended that workshops and training sessions on safety to enhance the alignment of safety practices for drivers as industrial employees responsible for transport operations. Also, employers should implement safety reward programs that enable drivers to follow good levels of health and safety. DOI: 10.7176/EJBM/14-23-06 Publication date: December 31st 202

Cardinal interpolation and spline fucntions V. The B-splines for cardinal Hermite interpolation

AbstractIn the third paper of this series on cardinal spline interpolation [4] Lipow and Schoenberg study the problem of Hermite interpolation S(v) = Yv, S′(v) = Yv′,…,S(r−1)(v) = Yv(r−1) for allv. The B-splines are there conspicuous by their absence, although they were found very useful for the case γ = 1 of ordinary (or Lagrange) interpolation (see [5–10]). The purpose of the present paper is to investigate the B-splines for the case of Hermite interpolation (γ > 1). In this sense the present paper is a supplement to [4] and is based on its results. This is done in Part I. Part II is devoted to the special case when we want to solve the problem S(v) = Yv, S′(v) = Yv′ for all v by quintic spline functions of the class C‴(– ∞, ∞). This is the simplest nontrivial example for the general theory. In Part II we derive an explicit solution for the problem (1), where v = 0, 1,…, n

Are we on the same page? Exploring construction professionals' mental models of occupational health and safety

Photographic Q-methodology was used to explore construction professionals' mental models of occupational health and safety (OHS). Sixty Australian construction professionals participated in the research, including 15 architects, 15 engineers, 15 constructors and 15 OHS professionals. Participants were asked to sort photographs depicting different building systems into a grid based upon their judgement of the likelihood of accidental injury resulting from the construction of each of the building systems depicted. Responses ranged from Rare (-2) to Almost certain (+2). Sorting patterns relating to eight photographs of different façade systems were analysed using Q factor analysis. Three distinct sorting pattern types were identified in the data, representing clusters of participants whose sorting patterns were similar. These sorting pattern types cut across occupational/professional groups. Interpretation of the factors revealed substantial differences between the OHS judgements made by participants in the three clusters. Qualitative explanatory information revealed participants in the three clusters used different attributes when considering the likelihood of accidental injury. These attributes shaped their sorting patterns. The results suggest shared mental models (SMMs) are unlikely to exist in construction project teams, as each individual uses their own frame of reference to understand OHS. Opportunities exist to understand these different frames of reference and create more consistent team mental models of OHS. However, incorporating a diversity of viewpoints into project decision-making is recommended in order to produce effective decision-making in the choice or specification of building systems

Evaluation of an Experiment After Analysis of Variance

If experimental data are obtained according to an experimental design for which analysis of variance (AOV) is appropriate, the result of the analysis is one of the following decisions: 1. A significant difference exists among treatment effects. 2. No significant difference exists. Interpretation in the first case has been studied very thoroughly by many statisticians resulting, for example, in the multiple comparison procedure. Too often, in the second case, the AOV analysis is thought to be completed with no further attempt to interpret a nonsignificant outcome. Of the many possible explanations for significance in the first case, the multiple comparison procedure seeks to find the most plausible explanation. Similarly, there are two possible explanations for the non-significant result: 1. There is truly no meaningful difference among the treatments. 2. The experimental design did not offer sufficient precision to detect differences which may be of interest. In this paper a method is sought which gives some indication of the most plausible explanation for a non-significant result. There are two main objectives For developing this report. 1. To develop an analysis following a non-significant AOV result that provides a plausible interpretation of the reason for non-significance. 2. To present the analysis procedure in such a way that experimenters not highly trained in statistics can easily perform the calculation

Beyond the harmonic approximation in the theoretical study of flexible molecules. Application to chemical reactions and tunneling splittings

During this project a new theoretical method will be developedin order to obtain accurate partition functions for molecular systems that present two internal rotations.Such method will be applied to a bunch of different molecules and the results will be thoroughly analyzed and compared with those obtained with the other methods available such as Pitzer-Gwinn, Ayala-Schlegel or Chuang-Truhlar. The convenience of the application of the different methods (one dimensional methods will also be included) in relation with the nature of the molecule considered will be widely discussed throughout this work. Moreover, a qualitative and quantitative interpretation of the tunneling splitting phenomena present for some molecules will be offered, bringing some insight for an adequate understanding of the results found in practice. Finally, a kinetic study for a reaction that involves an hydrogen abstraction will be carried out, for doing this we will use the transition state theory considering variational effects, tunneling effects and the different possible reaction paths. The anharmonicity due to the torsional motion will also be included

Efficiency and frontier analysis with extension to strategic planning.

Whatever the economic entity, firm, industry, or nation, intensified worldwide competition has increased the need for effective competitive strategies and renders more pressing the need for methods to analyze swelling volumes of information prior to making any decision. A successful strategy is the equivalent of an efficient production plan, allowing a player to operate on the frontier of its feasible achievements. In practice however, such frontiers are not known and have to be estimated empirically. Locating an empirical frontier is at the core of Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA), a mathematical programming technique developed by Charnes, Cooper et al. in 1978 to evaluate the relative performance of decision-making units (DMUs). Several models have since emerged, all aiming at the identification of which of n DMUs, each characterized by s outputs and m, determine an envelopment surface. DEA therefore represents a methodological opportunity for the strategy field. The viability of DEA rests on its ability to foster sound economic decisions and the economic principles embedded in DEA performance evaluations must be clearly enunciated. The overall purpose of this research is hence twofold: (1) the integration of DEA with production theory via the concepts of efficiency; (2) the formalization of DEA as a tool for strategic planning. This dissertation develops a new measure of efficiency that is shown to be superior to existing measures in terms of the number of properties it satisfies and also with respect to the economic interpretation it affords. A unifying perspective of DEA models is offered by means of a taxonomy which affords systematic connections between the various models and production theory, hence providing a consistent interpretation of all models and their limitations. A new model, called the Frontier model, is developed which strengthens the bridge between DEA and economics and addresses the measurement of economic efficiency. All developments are supported by numerical illustrations. Finally a new model, the Comparative Advantage model, is developed that adapts the methodology of DEA to identify a DMU\u27s competitors and derive information regarding the DMU\u27s comparative strengths and weaknesses to assist the unit in formulating its strategy. An application to regional economics using Census of Manufactures data is presented

Psychological capital and orientation to happiness as protective factors in coping with stressors among first year psychology students, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, South Africa.

M. Soc. Sc. University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban 2014.Psychological Capital, a recently developed, higher-order construct, and happiness applied to the environment of work have been hypothesized to aid employees cope with stressors and job satisfaction in the workplace. The current study extends these concepts to investigate their applicability in the academic environment. Psychological capital is hypothesized to empower students with the necessary mental strength to cope up with adverse circumstances. This study aims to explore the use of Psychological capital (PsyCap) and Happiness among first year students in the context of coping with stressors. University no doubt provides a platform on which academic achievements can be made, and authentic human formation realized. Its role in the growth of individuals and development of a nation cannot be underestimated. However, this life transition for the first year students can be stressful and requires some coping strategies to deal with academic stressors in order to savor a happy career and more so maintain general well-being. Drawing from the emerging field of positive organizational behaviour, and using the theoretical framework of the Broaden-and–Build Theory, this study aimed to investigate the association between Psychological capital, happiness and coping styles as well as the demographic differences on the measures. It determined the extent of students’ PsyCap, happiness and ways of coping. It also explored the predictors for productive and non-productive coping styles. The study used a quantitative research design with two hundred and seven (N=207) completed survey packages from first year psychology students of University of KwaZulu-Natal Howard College. The following measures were used namely the Demographic Survey, The Psychological Capital Questionnaire (PCQ), the Orientation to Happiness Scale (OHS) and Adolescent Coping Scale (ACS). Data analysis included exploratory factor analysis and descriptive statistics which was conducted on the statistical program SPSS 21. Independent samples T- tests were used to compare means. Correlational statistics (Pearson’s product moment) was used to explore relationships between pairs of variables. Standard multiple regression analyses were applied to assess and explain the factor(s) that predict productive and non-productive coping. The results indicated that there was a statistically significant positive relationship between PsyCap and Happiness, and productive coping. Africans reported a significant difference in mean scores of resilience and meaningful-engagement than other race groups. This was explained on the basis of “African connectedness.” The age groups showed similar results on the measures while the t-test result on gender reported statistically significant difference in resilience between male and female, with female showing a relatively higher score than male. The results of standard multiple regressions showed that psychological capital and happiness are predictors of productive coping as well as hope, pleasure and meaningful-engagement, while resilience was a predictor of non-productive. In essence, a more positively oriented appraisal of the psychological capital resources and happiness along with productive coping styles may shield protective effects of well-being on students who might be facing stressors on campus. This provides important windows of action for prevention and intervention programs to foster students’ well-being. This study has furthered our insight into the role of positive psychology constructs such as the role of PsyCap and happiness in adapting a constructive coping style in dealing with stressors, an important finding not previously explored. There seems thus a need to begin to cultivate psychological capital and positive emotions i.e. feelings of happiness in fostering academic progress and general well-being among students