The Demographics of Non-motor Vehicle Associated Railway Injuries Seen at Trauma Centers in the United States 2007 - 2014

Introduction The majority of railway injury studies are limited by small sample size, restricted to a small geographical distribution, or located outside the United States (US). The aim of our study was to assess the demographic patterns associated with non-motor vehicle railway injuries in the US using a national trauma center database. Materials and Methods Data from the National Trauma Data Bank data from 2007 - 2014 were used; 3,506 patients were identified. For all statistical analyses, a p-value < 0.05 was considered significant. Results The patients were 81% male with an average age of 38.6 + 17.1 years and an Injury Severity Score (ISS) of 16.8 + 13.8. Males compared to females were younger (37.7 vs 42.5 years, p = 0.000002), had greater length of stays (12.7 vs 9.8 days, p = 0.000006), and higher ISS scores (17.1 vs 15.4, p = 0.0007). The geographic distribution within the US was most common in the South (32.0%) and least in the Northeast (18.9%). The racial composition was 67.5% White, 19.1% Black, 11.5% Hispanic/Latino, and 1.9% others. The most common mechanisms of injury were hitting/colliding with rolling stock (38.6%), followed by a fall in or from a train (19.5%), and collision with an object (13.5%). The majority of patients were pedestrians or passengers (68.5%); employees accounted for 12.5%. Although the majority were pedestrian/passengers for all regions, the Midwest had a greater proportion of employees (22.0%) compared to the other regions (7.8% to 12.2%) (p < 10-6), and thus injuries were more commonly work-related (24.6% vs 6.7% - 13.7%, p < 10-6). Work-related injuries were less severe (ISS 11.2 vs 17.3 - p < 10-6) and more commonly occurred due to a fall (32.8% vs 17.9%, p < 10-6). Alcohol and/or drug involvement was present in 40.7% and was less in those with work-related injuries (2.2%). Overall mortality was 6.4% and was less in those having a work-related injury (2.0 vs 6.6% p = 0.000004). Conclusion For non-motor vehicle USA railway injuries, the average age was 38.5 years; 80.6% were male. The injuries were least common in the Northeast and most common in the South. Racial distribution mirrored that of the US population. Alcohol involvement was present in 29%, lower than in previous studies. Mortality was 6.4%, also lower than previously reported

Working hours and common mental disorders in English police officers

Background: There is a paucity of evidence on working hours and their psychological correlates in police officers of the federated ranks in England. Aims: An exploratory study to establish the extent to which a sample of English police officers worked long hours and the association between long working hours and common mental disorder (CMD). Methods: Officers of the federated ranks (constable, sergeant, inspector) from two English county forces completed a questionnaire to report their typical weekly working hours and symptoms of CMD. We also collected socio- and occupational demographic data. We defined long working hours as ≥49 hours in a typical week in accordance with 48-hour weekly limit specified in the 1993 European Directive on the Organisation of Working Time. We established associations between long working hours and self-reported CMDs using binary logistic regression to generate ORs and 95% CIs adjusted for potential confounding variables. Results: 27% (N=327/1226) of respondents reported long working hours. The odds ratios for psychological distress (OR 2.05, 95% CI 1.57-2.68), emotional exhaustion (OR 1.99, 95% CI 1.52-2.59), and depersonalisation (OR 1.30, 95% CI 1.00-1.71) were significantly increased for long working hours after adjustment for socio- and occupational-demographic characteristics. Conclusions: More than one quarter of sampled police officers reported working long hours, and were significantly more likely to report CMD. National and longitudinal research is required to confirm these findings, which suggest management of working hours may effectively promote psychological wellbeing

The importance of employee participation and perceptions of changes in procedures in a teamworking intervention

The powerful positive results of implementing teamwork are not always achieved. It has been suggested that attempts to implement theories regarding teamwork do not always lead to those theories being put into practice, and as a result positive outcomes are not always found. The participation of employees in the development and implementation of an intervention may help to ensure that changes take place. In this longitudinal study (N = 583) of teamwork implementation in Denmark we examined the links between pre-intervention working conditions and well-being, levels of participation in planning and implementation, employees’ reports of changes in procedures, and intervention outcomes. Pre-intervention levels of autonomy and job satisfaction predicted the degree of employee participation in the planning and implementation of the intervention. Pre-intervention well-being and social support were linked directly to the degree to which employees reported changes in existing work practices concerning teamwork. In addition, participation and changes in work procedures were significantly associated with post-intervention autonomy, social support and well-being. The results indicate that employee participation in intervention processes is crucial in what appears to be an important association with perceived changes in procedures and, therefore, in intervention outcomes

Usefulness of heart measures in flight simulation

The results of three studies performed at the NASA Langley Research Center are presented to indicate the areas in which heart measures are useful for detecting differences in the workload state of subjects. Tasks that involve the arousal of the sympathetic nervous system, such as landing approaches, were excellent candidates for the use of average heart-rate and/or the increase in heart-rate during a task. The latter of these two measures was the better parameter because it removed the effects of diurnal variations in heart-rate and some of the intersubject variability. Tasks which differ in the amount of mental resources required are excellent candidates for heart-rate variability measures. Heart-rate variability measures based upon power spectral density techniques were responsive to the changing task demands of landing approach tasks, approach guidance options, and 2 versus 20 second interstimulus-intervals of a monitoring task. Heart-rate variability measures were especially sensitive to time-on-task when the task was characterized by minimal novelty, complexity, and uncertainty (i.e., heart-rate variability increases as a function of the subjects boredom)

Working hours and common mental disorders in English police officers

Background: There is a paucity of evidence on working hours and their psychological correlates in police officers of the federated ranks in England. Aims: An exploratory study to establish the extent to which a sample of English police officers worked long hours and the association between long working hours and common mental disorder (CMD). Methods: Officers of the federated ranks (constable, sergeant, inspector) from two English county forces completed a questionnaire to report their typical weekly working hours and symptoms of CMD. We also collected socio- and occupational-demographic data. We defined long working hours as ≥49 hours in a typical week in accordance with 48-hour weekly limit specified in the 1993 European Directive on the Organisation of Working Time. We established associations between long working hours and self-reported CMDs using binary logistic regression to generate ORs and 95% CIs adjusted for potential confounding variables. Results: 27% (N=327/1226) of respondents reported long working hours. The odds ratios for psychological distress (OR 2.05, 95% CI 1.57-2.68), emotional exhaustion (OR 1.99, 95% CI 1.52-2.59), and depersonalisation (OR 1.30, 95% CI 1.00-1.71) were significantly increased for long working hours after adjustment for socio- and occupational-demographic characteristics. Conclusions: More than one quarter of sampled police officers reported working long hours, and were significantly more likely to report CMD. National and longitudinal research is required to confirm these findings, which suggest management of working hours may effectively promote psychological wellbeing

The impact of rater agreeableness and rating context on the evaluation of poor performance

We tested the effects of rater agreeableness on the rating of others’ poor performance in performance appraisal (PA). We also examined the interactions between rater agreeableness and two aspects of the rating context: ratee self-ratings and the prospect of future collaboration with the ratee after the feedback of PA ratings. Participants were government employees (N = 230) allocated to one of six experimental groups (a 3 × 2 between-groups design) or a control group (n = 20). Participants received accurate, low-deviated or high-deviated self-ratings from the ratee. Half were notified they would collaborate with the ratee in a future task. High rater agreeableness, positive deviations in self-rating, and the prospect of future collaboration were all independent predictors of higher PA ratings. The interactions between rater agreeableness and rating context were very small and inconsistent. We argue that conflict avoidance is an important motivation for those rating the performance of others

Raster Metafile and Raster Metafile Translator

The intent is to present an effort undertaken at NASA Langley Research Center to design a generic raster image format and to develop tools for processing images prepared in this format. Both the Raster Metafile (RM) format and the Raster Metafile Translator (RMT) are addressed. This document is intended to serve a varied audience including: users wishing to display and manipulate raster image data, programmers responsible for either interfacing the RM format with other raster formats or for developing new RMT device drivers, and programmers charged with installing the software on a host platform

Drivers of change in the UK Fire Service: an operations management perspective

The UK Fire and Rescue Service is subject to reform, along with other public sector services, resulting in later retirement age and budget limitations; the fire service is also subject to other societal changes such as shifts in fitness levels and a reduction in call outs. This chapter reviews these changes and considers them from an operations management perspective. A method for how to measure operational effectiveness is proposed and its use in informing changes to operating practice in the fire service is advocated

Refugee entrepreneurship survey 2023

Refugee entrepreneurship initiatives (REIs) play a significant role in rebuilding livelihoods and fostering positive social impacts among displaced communities. REIs provide a variety of activities that support people with refugee experiences to create and pursue new business opportunities. REIs have been deployed in camps[i] and host country settings[ii] around the world, gaining traction with global agencies, including UNHCR[iii] and the World Bank[iv]. Interest in these initiatives has been heightened by the intuitive connection between the global focus on refugee self-reliance and the process of starting a business. However, growth in interest masks the reality that business support for individuals with refugee backgrounds can be complex to bring to life and difficult to scale. Little is known about the collective reach and impacts of these initiatives, both on business related outcomes and on refugees’ personal development. The extent to which REIs typically monitor or estimate reach and impact is also unknown.</p