Trust in high-reliability organizations

Dieser Beitrag ist mit Zustimmung des Rechteinhabers aufgrund einer (DFG geförderten) Allianz- bzw. Nationallizenz frei zugänglich.This publication is with permission of the rights owner freely accessible due to an Alliance licence and a national licence (funded by the DFG, German Research Foundation) respectively.The present article aims to highlight the effects of trust on safety performance in high-reliability organizations (HROs) like nuclear power plants, chemical plants or hospital emergency departments. The author claims that not only beneficial but also detrimental effects have to be considered in the analysis of trust within these socio-technical systems. Potential safety outcomes of trusting behavior are discussed in the light of two types of interaction underlying task management in HROs: trust in human interactions vs. trust in human—system interaction. Trust is further specified according to the constraints and requirements that may interfere with the beneficial role of trusting behavior. In particular, three distinct types of trust beliefs moderating the effect of trust on safety performance are addressed: beliefs based on shared values and norms, institution-based beliefs, and beliefs based on system reliability. Finally, the author highlights organizational factors that emerge as crucial for the development and maintenance of safe work settings in which the beneficial aspects of trust are brought to bear

Digging deeper! Insights from a multi-method assessment of safety culture in nuclear power plants based on Schein’s culture model

This article describes the development, application and validation of a safety culture assessment approach for nuclear power plants based on Schein's culture model. The developed multi-method approach aimed to unfold deeper levels of culture, and, at the same time, to be applicable by practitioners and transparent in producing meaningful results. In Study 1 we describe the development of the method and its application in a German nuclear power plant. Study 2 presents a crossvalidation of the approach in a second German nuclear power plant. The evaluation results of the approach reveal adequate validity with regard to the obtained results and its perceived congruence to safety culture in both plants. It becomes evident that the approach allows for deriving basic assumptions of plant members and demonstrating their significance for safety performance. Moreover, it can be shown that it is worthwhile to go beyond the assessment of artifacts and espoused values in understanding cultural dynamics on a plant level. Finally, insights and limitations of the developed approach are discussed and reflected.BMWi, 1501340, Entwicklung einer Analysemethodik von Sicherheitskultur (SIKUMETH

Effectively incorporating selected multimedia content into medical publications

Until fairly recently, medical publications have been handicapped by being restricted to non-electronic formats, effectively preventing the dissemination of complex audiovisual and three-dimensional data. However, authors and readers could significantly profit from advances in electronic publishing that permit the inclusion of multimedia content directly into an article. For the first time, the de facto gold standard for scientific publishing, the portable document format (PDF), is used here as a platform to embed a video and an audio sequence of patient data into a publication. Fully interactive three-dimensional models of a face and a schematic representation of a human brain are also part of this publication. We discuss the potential of this approach and its impact on the communication of scientific medical data, particularly with regard to electronic and open access publications. Finally, we emphasise how medical teaching can benefit from this new tool and comment on the future of medical publishing

Der Mediensport Olympia - ein globales Integrationsritual?

Die Olympischen Spiele wirken als ein Integrationsritus in einer sich globalisierenden Welt. Der Sport überwindet die Länder-, Kultur- und Rassengrenzen und vereint die Öffentlichkeit mithilfe der Medien. Diese inszenieren die Sportarten gemäß ihrer Wirkungslogik, und verändern somit den Sport selbst. Trotz Skandalen nimmt die Bedeutung der Spiele stetig zu, sie erreichen mit der Eröffnungsfeier das weltweit größte (Fernseh-)Publikum. Diese Feier ist ein globaler sakraler Ritus. Besonders das Fernsehen lässt alle um Ritus teilhaben. Der Sport als soziales Handeln vermittelt einen Glauben an Fortschritt durch Leistung, und die Zuschauer können mithilfe der Medien auch teilnehmen. In Zeiten des Wandels wird der Ritus wichtig für die Gemeinschaft.The Olympic Games appear to be a rite of integration in a world of increasing globalization. Sport overcomes national, cultural und racial boundaries, und unites the public with the help of the media. The media (re)produce the different sports according to the functional logic of their medial presentation und therefore change the sports itself: Economy has replaced morality as the highest precept. Despite certain scandals, the Games become more und more significant. The opening ceremony reaches the largest (TV-)audience worldwide. This ceremony is a global religious rite which could have never been accomplished without the media. It is especially television that enables everyone to be a part of the rite. Sport as social action educates a belief in Progress through achievement, and the audience can participate with the help of the media. In times of constant changes, this rite becomes highly important to the community

Managing Competencies of Safety Leaders: Some Promises and Shortcomings

This chapter aims to explore the potential of identifying and managing leadership competencies that contribute to safer workplaces. The importance of competencies for safety leadership also varies with regard to situational contingencies. The designated competencies describe a leader’s behavior aimed at organizing and coordinating co-workers’ safe task fulfillment, which involves clarifying work roles and providing the necessary resources in terms of technical support and knowledge. All in all, monitoring and developing safety leadership competencies is prone to the difficulty in reliably monitoring and therefore tracing leaders’ competencies and their impact on safety. The competency itself contains several behavioral aspects of providing leadership and supervision and deciding and initiating action. The competencies were mainly derived from the transformational and empowering leadership model. The designated competencies describe a leader’s behavior aimed at organizing and coordinating co-workers’ safe task fulfillment, which involves clarifying work roles and providing the necessary resources in terms of technical support and knowledge

Social Influences in Sequential Decision Making_Raw_Data

Raw Data from PlosOne Paper: <br>Social Influences in Sequential Decision Making<br

Paper "Size Matters" Excel Data prepared for SPSS

The present excel file includes all data used for the study and it is prepared to be fed into SPSS. First column shows a number. Every car got number as it was collected during experiment. In the second column the pairs of legally and illegally parked cars are counted. In the third column and fifth column brand and model of each car are coded. The fourth column shows the values of a car brand status, retrieved from a questionnaire. The sixth column codes, if a car was legally or illegally parked. the next columns show the spatial measurements of each car. The last column shows the product for Driver Seat Space playing a crucial role for the study. Due to the big numbers, you need to transform the measurements and the driver seat space to Z-values. Summary of study: In cockpits, ergonomists thus far mainly re-design interfaces to help drivers improve traffic safety. We replicate evidence showing that increasing physical space surrounding the driver relates to an increased probability of parking violations. These findings suggest that spatial design should be added to the ergonomist's toolbox for reducing traffic violations