The effects of cure time, cure temperature, and air circulation on the release of 4-phenylcyclohexene (4-PCH) in tufted carpet backed with carboxylated styrene-butadiene rubber (SBR) latex were examined in this research project. 4-PCH is a suspect cause of certain "building-related" illnesses such as headache, upper respiratory and eye irritation, and fatigue. A standardized method for preparing carpet backed with SBR latex and analyzing its 4-PCH content was developed. The cure parameters investigated included three cure temperatures (225, 250 and 275°F), six cure times (0, 5, 10, 20, 40 and 60 minutes), and three air circulation rates (zero, three air exchanges per minute, and ten air exchanges per minute with 1500 linear feet per minute airflow). Increased airflow (1500 linear feet per minute) over the carpet surface produced the greatest impact on 4-PCH release from carpet. Increasing the cure temperature and cure time also significantly increased the release of 4-PCH.

Shipping is a fragmented, global industry operating in a culturally diverse environment. As a result of rising maritime accident rates and pollution incidents in the 1970s and 1980s, the International Maritime Organisation introduced two conventions that entered fully into force in 2002: the International Management Code for the Safe Operation of Ships and Pollution Prevention (ISM Code), and the 1995 revision of the 1978 Convention on Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for Seafarers (STCW Code). Introduction of the conventions served to focus the attention of the international maritime community on the need to raise industry-wide safety standards, but questions were raised about whether it was possible to develop a safety culture in a fragmented, global industry and what effects the diversity of cultures might have upon implementation of the ISM Code. This study explores those questions. Subsequent to a review of the literature, a model of the working of the ISM Code is developed and used to identify the constraints and pressures, particularly those that might be influenced by cultural values and attitudes, that impact upon the development and implementation of a Safety Management System in individual shipping organisations, which is the essence of the ISM Code. A comparative case study methodology is adopted for the empirical research and a number of investigative techniques are used to test the ISM Code model and obtain both qualitative and quantitative data to determine whether the impact of culturally influenced constraints and pressures would be best addressed by stricter enforcement of existing regulatory provisions or greater emphasis on education and training. From analysis of the data collected, the study concluded that: • Professional, vocational and safety training correctly utilised are effective in harmonising culturally influenced safety perspectives, thus improving safety performance; and • Culturally influenced constraints and pressures can be dealt with by the application of standard management techniques which, in a multi-cultural environment requires good cross-cultural management skills. The most common method of determining how effective a company has been in dealing with the various constraints and pressures affecting safety performance is to evaluate the efficacy of the organisation's Safety Management System by analysis of accident records, lost time incidents and hazardous occurrences (ACNSI, 1993). These data, reported under the provisions of Clause 9 of the ISM Code, are therefore analysed and compared with an industry sector benchmark. The study however, goes beyond such a purely quantitative approach and establishes the relative safety climate of the case study companies by means of perceptual audit of salient, safety-related factors. This qualitative technique draws together all the main research elements of the study and a Safety Climate Comparator is developed that provides a useful indicator of the relative status of those culturally influenced factors that ultimately affect a company's safety performance. By extension, the technique may be used to provide a Relative Safety Culture Maturity Model to measure the safety climate of other shipping companies relative to a benchmark standard.

This dissertation consists of three papers relating to the field of Law and Economics. The first two papers examine the impact of increased judicial discretion on both racial disparities and inter-judge disparities in the federal criminal justice system. The third paper analyzes the effects of OSHA programs on workplace safety, wages, and employment. The common thread throughout this work is a focus on how legal actors and institutions affect substantive outcomes of individuals. / Economics

Peach harvester exposure to azinphos-methyl (AZM) residues estimated by the Transfer Factor (TF) ratio of Dislodgeable Foliar Residue (DFR) to Daily Dermal Exposure (DDE) was compared to estimates based on the relationship between dermal exposure and dialkylphosphate metabolite excretion. DFR was monitored in four orchards from the time of pesticide application through harvest. Eleven male harvesters wore cotton tee-shirt dosimeters and provided area-specific skin washes and wipes for DDE monitoring during work operations. Urinary dialkylphosphate metabolites of AZM were also monitored and compared to DDE results. During a later harvest for which DDE was not determined, the dermal exposure estimated by the TF (1,310 μg) was comparable to the estimates based on dialkylphosphate excretion (1,456-1,534 μg). A repeated measures ANOVA showed that harvesters' cholinesterase levels were significantly lower than 'non-harvesters'. No significant reductions in cholinesterase levels were detected over time.

In the following thesis the administrative strategies in occupational health and safety regulation form the primary focus of discussion. / The initial approach for ensuring acceptable work conditions had been through direct state intervention and the use of coercive power. In view of the limitations of this approach, over time, state regulation was replaced by the "self-regulation" or "internal-responsibility system" under which participants at the workplace were given an enhanced say in the regulatory process. Recent trends have continued to favour this shift towards deregulation of the state's administrative structures. / The self-regulation strategy, however, also has limited applicability and can only prove effective if applied in combination with the state's enforcement strategies. The two approaches need to be viewed as being complimentary to one another and not mutually exclusive. This being the case the state's role in the regulatory process would require re-examination and alteration to ensure an effective and efficient regulatory structure.

There are increasing numbers of preterm children of very low and extremely low birth weights surviving due to advances in neonatal care. The majority of these children attend mainstream classrooms and perform in the low average range on cognitive measures compared to peers. However, outcome studies document a range of subtle, clinically important impairments in their motor, visual-motor and visual perceptual performance compared to peers. The impact of these impairments on a complex, occupational task such as handwriting performance has never been investigated in the preterm population using an objective measure, except through parent or teacher questionnaires. / The primary objective of this doctoral thesis was to characterize and compare handwriting performance in preterm children (birth weight of ≤1250 grams) attending Grade One, to typically developing peers matched by age, gender and classroom. Standardized outcome measures were used to examine handwriting performance, sensorimotor component skills and psychosocial factors. Preterm survivors demonstrated significantly lower handwriting legibility and slower speed scores compared to matched peers. Visual perception and motor accuracy were identified as predictors of legibility; and in-hand manipulation (translation) and finger identification were associated with handwriting speed in preterm children. However, in typically developing children, legibility was associated with upper extremity steadiness, visual motor control and in-hand manipulation (rotation); and speed was associated with in-hand manipulation (translation) and upper limb speed and dexterity. These findings have important implications for clinical practice in guiding both evaluation approaches and intervention strategies. Clearly, preterm survivors are at high risk for developing handwriting difficulties at school-age. Increasing awareness may help with early identification and intervention with a view towards minimizing the negative effects on self-esteem and academic achievement often documented in children with handwriting difficulty.

<p> This safety research project explores the key factors that contribute to world-class safety programs for firms in the construction industry. A world-class safety program for this study is defined as a safety culture supported by all employees, and a work environment where accidents are not tolerated; zero accident mentality. This study used the Delphi methodology to identify the leadership qualities and safety processes that a company's leadership employs to influence an overall successful safety program in their organizations. The Delphi methodology obtained subjective judgments from the Delphi expert panel (55 members participated) to create objective safety information through an iterative process that is beneficial to the entire construction industry. The Delphi panel members were composed of 75% from subcontractor trades, 18% from construction managers, and 7% from construction trade associations. The Delphi expert panel reached consensus on 67 leadership qualities and 85 safety processes that improve safety performance. The 67 leadership qualities were consolidated to eight major leadership quality categories which include commitment, integrity, accountability, competence, value people, visionary, lead by example, and culture. The 85 safety processes were consolidated to four major safety process categories which include learning organization, structure, measurement and culture.</p>

<p>Using data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics and Current Population Survey, this work will examine under-reporting of nonfatal workplace injuries and illnesses in construction for Hispanics from 1976-2008 at the national level. Previous research implemented different methods and techniques to examine the reasons behind under-reporting of workplace injuries and illnesses, concluding that the current surveillance system suffers from a problem of chronic under-reporting. By focusing on Hispanics working in construction, and by using different methods to examine to what degree the presence of Hispanics at the worksite contributes to the under-reporting of nonfatal occupational injuries and illness, our findings suggest that the presence of Hispanic construction workers significantly reduces the number of reported injuries. </p><p> A lagged fixed effect model will be used to investigate the under-reporting issue in construction with regard to Hispanics. Usage of this model constituted the first departure from previous research that studied under-reporting in which capture-recapture and face-to-face interviews were used. The second departure was implementing this method in the construction industry. This is the first time a lagged fixed effect model has been used to study this phenomenon (under-reporting in construction), while most literature about under-reporting has been restricted to manufacturing with some covering the overall economy. Lastly, this work is different in its duration and scope: It covers the years from 1976 up to 2008 and includes all 50 states and the District of Columbia. </p><p> From a base model (without inclusion of Hispanics) we can see that the real workers&rsquo; compensation rate negatively impacted all types of injury reporting except light-duty, while union rates, unemployment, wages, and firm size correlate negatively with all types of injuries. When Hispanics and their interactions with union rate and workers&rsquo; compensation rates were included and summed as independent variables, we see that the presence of Hispanics leads to a decrease in the incident rate for all types of injuries except for light-duty. In other words, the presence of Hispanics leads to lower reporting and, therefore, the appearance of lower rates of all types of injury rates except for light duty which indicates that Hispanics are under-reported. </p>

ABSTRACT There has been a change in the nature of work over recent decades with an increase in the use of non-standard forms of work. Non-standard work includes for example the use of contractors and sub-contractors. These forms of employment lead to a greater vulnerability of the workforce. These workers are missing out on union representation, training opportunities and basic employment protection. This directly impacts the safety of the workers due to the confusing legislation over duty of care. It is often unclear who is responsible for providing occupational health and safety (OHS) training for these workers. It is for this reason the following report will attempt to gain a better understanding of the policies and regulations surrounding OHS in two countries. Sweden and New Zealand have been chosen as a focus for this research because they represent two different governing systems. The aim of this research was to describe what structures and policies regulate occupational health and safety matters in Sweden and New Zealand comparatively. It was also the aim of this research to seek insight into the policy conversation around OHS training in both Sweden and New Zealand. Three research questions have been used throughout the report to guide the researcher when selecting relevant documents collating the main themes and overall ensuring that the research stays on track. The questions are as follows: What structures and policies regulate occupational health and safety matters in Sweden and New Zealand? What characterises both the Swedish and the New Zealand work environment? What is the policy conversation around OHS training in Sweden and New Zealand? The methodology choosen for this research was a qualitative approach because greater in-depth  understanding for OHS matters were sought after. The research was focused around policy documents from both Sweden and New Zealand. The documents from each country were chosen because of their current and topical relevance to each country. The main findings from this research were grouped into five themes based on key termes identified in both countries documents. The five themes are as follows:  Work Environment and Regulation OHS Training and Attitudes Worker Participation OHS Research Longer Working Life Conclusions were made based on these themes. OHS regulation was found to be adequate in Sweden in contrast to New Zealand. In New Zealand there is a call for major reforms to be made to the OHS legislation because due to its lack of adequate coverage for the current workforce. The term work environment is used in Sweden and includes a more holistic view, compared to the term occupational health and safety which is used in New Zealand and focuses more on safety and the prevention of work-related harm. Inadequate training for safety representatives were found to be an issue both in Sweden and New Zealand. In Sweden safety representatives are entitled to sufficient paid leave to fulfill their duties including training, in contrast to New Zealand where the safety representatives are entitled to only two days paid leave annualy. OHS training was suggested to be a necessary component in many tertiary education programs both in Sweden and New Zealand. The suggestion was made to better prepare prospective managers who will have OHS responsibilities. Worker participation was found to be a necessary component of a well functioning OHS scheme in both the countries. It was not adequately regulated in New Zealand until the implementation of the Health and Safety in Employment Amendment Act 2002. In both Sweden and New Zealand new OHS research functions were suggested to be established. The changing nature of work is highlighted as a concern in both countries, because legislation does not adequately cover the new forms of work and is not conducive to OHS.

The objectives of this thesis are to identify key safety concerns related to the introduction of automated underground mining machines. Second, a synthesis of existing standards, and guidelines is required to identify what existing safety standards or parts of standards could apply to mining machine automation systems. Finally, a framework is required for the development of a safety standard or guideline for automated mining machine systems. / Two workshops were organized and facilitated by the author to document as many identified safety concerns as possible from a range of parties with a vested interest. Workshop participants included mine operators, automated mining equipment suppliers, safety professionals, students, and academics. In addition, an analysis of underground mining equipment accidents for the province of Ontario was completed. A review of European, and North American safety standards was performed to identify those safety standards which could be used for mining machine automation systems. A synthesis of applicable safety standards is provided. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)