18 research outputs found
Warning against Critical Slopes in Agriculture: Comprehension of Targeted Safety Signs in a Group of Machinery Operators in Italy
Steep slopes are the main cause of rollover incidents in agriculture. Targeted safety signs have been developed to warn machinery operators against risky slopes. However, machinery user’s manuals and road signs report information regarding slope steepness in two different ways, by using the tilt angle in degrees and the slope percentage, respectively. In this study, we investigated the comprehension of safety signs depicting critical slopes, either in degrees or as percent values in a group of Italian agricultural machinery operators while considering the possible influence of previous experience with agricultural machinery, previous incidents, and on-farm occupation. Eighteen tractor and self-propelled machinery operators were administered graphical representations of seven slope angles in a randomized order and then were asked to estimate the slope steepness as both a tilt angle and a slope percentage. The participants tended to overestimate slope steepness in degrees, whereas the opposite was true for percentages. Farmers who were previously involved in a machinery-related incident were more accurate in their estimates. The present results raise some considerations regarding the need to redesign safety communication and to promote targeted training interventions
Factors Influencing Adoption of Compost Made from Organic Fraction of Municipal Solid Waste and Purchasing Pattern: A Survey of Italian Professional and Hobbyist Users
Composting represents an alternative for the management of the organic fraction from municipal waste. However, the adoption of compost made from municipal waste is not yet widespread across all European countries, including Italy. Being âprofessionalâ (i.e., farmers and gardeners) and âhobbyistsâ the most representative categories of compost buyers in Italy, this study investigated their attitude toward municipal waste compost adoption and their purchasing pattern, pointing out criticalities and strategies to promote a wider use of this kind of compost. For the two categories of users, frequency of use of different information, buying habits, opinions on marketing issues, and factors which encourage compost utilization were investigated. The âprofessionalsâ and âhobbyistsâ reported different purchasing behaviors in terms of quantity, frequency, and preferred packaging format. The capability of compost from municipal waste to improve soil characteristics and its low environmental impact were identified as the most significant aspects for users, while availability of economic subsidies was not a determining factor for municipal waste compost adoption. With regard to the information sources, the broader use of personal communication channels like peersâ suggestions may have influence on compost adoption pointing out how social influence can promote sustainable behavior and influence usersâ purchasing choices
The Role of Social Interaction and Personal Characteristics in Affecting the Adoption of Compost from Organic Fraction of Municipal Solid Waste in Italy
The composting process allows one to minimize quantities of the organic fraction of municipal solid waste (OFMSW) disposed through landfills. Compost obtained from OFMSW is not yet widespread across all European countries, including Italy. Even though previous studies emphasized the role that social interaction and socio-demographic usersâ characteristics may have toward the adoption of sustainable practices, to our knowledge, few studies have specifically addressed OFMSW compost. Considering the need to integrate the social perspective in sustainable agriculture literature, further research is required regarding the intention to adopt this organic product, especially among potential users. A questionnaire was used to investigate potential usersâ level of interest in using OFMSW compost and their a priori perceptions on its fertilizing properties, if anyone ever suggested using OFMSW compost, as well as the participantsâ socio-demographic characteristics. Fifty-eight participants were involved. The results demonstrated a significant association between education level and received suggestions from peer or social networks in the interest of adopting OFMSW compost. In addition, participants who received suggestions had higher odds of being highly interested in adopting OFMSW compost versus those who did not receive it. In conclusion, institutions, where formal knowledge has a place, and agricultural policy makers should be engaged with the aim to facilitate knowledge exchange and connections among different actors, supporting local-level initiatives
Non-Profit Organizations as Facilitators of the Sustainable Social Innovation of Firms: An Italian Case Study
Non-profit organizations (NPOs) are becoming top players in the business arena and can
significantly contribute to socially sustainable development by leading several open innovation (OI)
processes. The present study investigated the functioning of an NPO (ELIS, based in Rome, Italy), that
acts as an open innovation intermediary in a large consortium of enterprises. By adopting a mixedmethod
approach, key aspects related to the NPOâs organizational culture, the OI management
process within the consortium, as well as leadership skills and values were investigated among
77 employees and 8 managers of the NPO. Results showed that the managersâ approach to OI,
teamwork, and market challenges significantly affected the NPOâs ability to produce OI among
the consortium members. Moreover, empowering leadership, and a culture of trust and mistake
acceptance were highly valued by the NPO in view of an effective OI performance. The study
contributes to the current literature by highlighting the conditional factors of the NPOâs capability to
create open innovation with enterprises, and push them toward societal change. Implications for OI
development have been discussed
Innovating Occupational Safety Training: A Scoping Review on Digital Games and Possible Applications in Agriculture
Digital games have been successfully applied in different working sectors as an occupational
safety training method, but with a very limited application in agriculture. In agriculture and
other productive sectors, unintentional injuries tend to occur with similar dynamics. A literature
review was carried out to understand how occupational risks are addressed during game-based
safety training in different productive sectors and how this can be transferred to agriculture. Literature
about âserious gameâ and âgamificationâ as safety training methods was searched in WEB OF
SCIENCE, SCOPUS, PUBMED and PsycINFO databases. In the forty-two publications retained, the
computer was identified as the most adopted game support, whereas âpointsâ, âlevelsâ, âchallengesâ
and âdiscoveryâ were the preferred game mechanics. Moreover, an association can be detected
between the game mechanics and the elements developed in the game. Finally, during the game
assessment, much positive feedback was collected and the games proved to be able to increase the
operatorsâ skills and safety knowledge. In light of the results, insights are provided to develop an
effective, satisfying and engaging safety game training for workers employed in agriculture. Games
can be best used to learn and they are certain to improve over the next few years
Discomfort in Use and Physical Disturbance of FFP2 Masks in a Group of Italian Doctors, Nurses and Nursing Aides during the COVID-19 Pandemic
Face masks represent an effective COVID-19 mitigation strategy; this study investigated the quality in use of FFP2 masks in a group of 156 frontline HCWs recruited through a snowball procedure in northwest Italy. Participants filled out an online questionnaire (January 2022) on FFP2 sources of discomfort, physical disturbance at different anatomical points and suggestions for improvement. Most of the participants (69%) reported a feeling of protection and safety, but they also reported episodes of dyspnea (70%). The majority of glasses wearers (62%) reported fogging and displacement of their glasses. Humidity and heat were the main discomfort sources (39%), followed by elastic bands (32%). Physical disturbances were frequent and heavier on the ears, nose and cheekbones. Nursing aides and nurses perceived significantly more discomfort compared to doctors and nursing aides had the highest rate of physical disturbance. To address these issues, following participantsâ suggestions, FFP2 masks should be redesigned to be more adjustable, with different sizes and softer fabrics. The investigation pointed out criticalities in the use of FFP2 masks related to different professional roles within the overall group of HCWs and stressed the need for an FFP2 human-centered design that accounts not only for physical needs but also for workload and task variability
User-centred design to promote the effective use of rear-mounted foldable roll-over protective structures (FROPSs): prototype evaluation among novice and expert farmers
Aim of study: We tested the perceived quality in use of a prototype of a handling supporting device, developed through a user-centred design process intended for rear-mounted foldable rollover protective-structures (FROPSs).Area of study: The study was performed in the Province of Cuneo, which has the largest number of farms and the highest share of utilized agricultural area (UAA) in Piedmont Region, NW Italy.Material and methods: Three groups of users, novice-novice (NN), novice-expert (NE) and expert-expert (EE) were asked to raise two rear-mounted FROPSs: a traditional one and a second one equipped with a supporting device which consisted of a gas spring and a rod. A questionnaire has been used to record the perceived quality in use of both FROPSs (effort, physical discomfort, temporal demand and ease of use) and perceived usefulness and attitudes toward the adoption of the supporting device.Main results: All groups reported less physical effort, more stable postures, higher ease of use in handling the FROPS equipped with the supporting device; NN users, in particular, declared to be willing to adopt the supporting device in the future on their tractors when commercially available.Research highlights: Previous studies reported discomfort in operating the FROPS as the main cause of its improper use. A solution to improve FROPS reachability was developed and tested with users. Benefits were perceived by both novice users and expert users
Health and Safety Risks in Hop-Picking Activities: An Analysis of the State of the Art
In the last decade, hop cultivation has seen greater interest in small
and medium-sized farms due to the rising importance of craft beer microbreweries
requiring local raw materials. However, high investments are needed
for mechanized harvesters. Small-scale farms cannot face these costs; thus,
manual harvesting of hop cones is frequently adopted. The study investigated
the risks for the health and safety of operators during manual and mechanized
harvesting, also examining musculoskeletal disorders the workers can incur.
A literature review and secondary data analysis investigated risk factors associated
with the manual and mechanized harvesting process. Furthermore, the
operatorâs workload related to the hop cones picking time was analyzed based
on international standards. The results showed that operators face several critical
issues during the different tasks of the manual harvesting of hops (e.g. cutting
and removing the bines from the field and the manual cones picking). Some of
the operations are carried out at height with the risk of falling and assuming bad
postures that can pose risks to the operatorâs health. Furthermore, the study
points out major health concerns for the workers because of the repetitiveness of
the operations they have to carry out. The mechanization of harvesting involves
a significant increase in efficiency by reducing the number of operators involved.
This results in an improvement in operatorsâ health conditions. However, the
harvesting equipment can represent a safety risk for the operators because of
their interaction with the moving parts of the machinery
Improving Tractor Safety: A Comparison between the Usability of a Conventional and Enhanced Rear-Mounted Foldable ROPS (FROPS)
Tractor rollover is the main cause of both fatal and non-fatal injuries in agriculture. The foldable rollover protective structure (FROPS) can help to prevent these injuries. However, in many cases, the FROPS is left in a folded-down position. Human factor and rear-mounted FROPS technical characteristics influence operators' behavior in roll-bar handling. To improve the FROPS's comfortable use, the prototype of an enhanced handling system was developed, and its usability was tested and compared with a conventional FROPS. Usability was assessed with 93 novice tractor users through an ad hoc questionnaire (investigating perceived effort, time demand, the posture adopted and satisfaction) and observations (investigating effectiveness and efficiency) during lowering and raising tasks. For both tasks, the participants perceived significantly less effort, less physical discomfort, a higher level of satisfaction and less time demand while operating the enhanced FROPS. Observations showed that the critical issues that emerged for the conventional FROPS were eliminated by adopting the developed and implemented handling system. The developed handling system showed itself to be usable and effective in making the FROPS easier and safer to be operated
Developing a more engaging safety training in agriculture: Gender differences in digital game preferences
Digital games have been effectively used in different working sectors as an occupational safety training method but they are still overlooked in agriculture, despite the high hazardousness of this industry. At the same time, the gender issue is becoming more and more relevant both in the digital game and agricultural fields because of an increasing number of females, both among the agricultural operators and the game players . Based on these considerations, our study aimed at investigating gender differences in the preference for different game characteristics to point out which aspects of a new game for safety training purposes in agriculture may appeal to both male and female operators and which aspects need instead a careful design and high levels of customization, to be equally appreciated by both genders. An online questionnaire was administered to a group of Italian Agricultural Science university students (N = 137, 65% males and 35% females) to investigate their game preferences, in terms of game characteristics, genre and graphic style. Some clear differences (in tasks, quests, rules, and goals, colors and variety), and similarities (in graphics, drama, better rewards and game genre) emerged in males' and females' preferences. Based on these results, some practical guidelines are provided for the design of a gamified safety training tool which can appeal to and be considered engaging by both genders