Work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WMSDs) continue to occur despite an increasing understanding of the risk factors that initiate these disorders. Ergonomics is commonly seen as a health and safety approach that has no influence on performance, a perspective potentially hindering intervention proposals in practice. Highlighting potential performance benefits can facilitate intervention cost-justification, along with the traditional focus on reducing exposure to injury risk. The main objective of this research was to examine the dual influences (i.e., on performance and injury risk) of two distinct types of interventions: adding adjustability, as a commonly advocated approach when considering ergonomics early in the (re)design phase to change task demands; and using exoskeletons to enhance worker capacity. A simulated drilling task was used, which was considered informative as it entailed diverse demands (precision, strength, and speed) and permitted quantifying two dimensions of task performance (productivity and quality). The dual influences of three levels of workstation adjustability were examined first; increasing adjustability improved performance, with this benefit occurring only when a given level of adjustability also succeeded in reducing ergonomic risk. Across examined conditions, several significant linear associations were found between risk (e.g., Strain Index score) and performance metrics (e.g., completion time), further supporting an inverse relationship between these two outcomes. The dual influences of three distinct passive exoskeletal designs were investigated/compared subsequently, in a simulated overhead drilling task and considering the potential moderating effects of tool mass and precision requirements. Specific designs were: full-body (Full) and upper-body (Arm) exoskeletons with attached mechanical arms; and an upper-body (Shl) exoskeleton providing primarily shoulder support. Both designs with mechanical arms increased static and median total muscle activity while deteriorating quality. The Shl design reduced shoulder loading while increasing dominant upper arm loading and deteriorating quality in the highest precision requirements. Influences of both increasing precision and tool mass were fairly consistent across the examined designs. As such, no single design was obviously superior in both physical demands and performance. Although future work is needed under more diverse/realistic scenarios, these results may be helpful to (re)design interventions that achieve dual benefits on performance and injury risks. / PHD

abstract: This study examined the effects of an intensive remedial program, Wilson Reading System (WRS), on 43 struggling readers from second to twelfth grade. The students, who attended a large southwestern urban school district, were all at least two grade levels below their peers in reading. Participants received 20 hours of WRS instruction over the course of one month as part of a WRS teacher certification course. Using the Woodcock-Johnson III Tests of Achievement, students were evaluated prior to and following their participation in the intensive summer program using five subtests (Letter-Word Identification, Reading Fluency, Spelling, Word Attack, and Spelling of Sounds) and two clusters (Basic Reading and Phoneme/Grapheme Knowledge) to assess gains in students' reading achievement. Since the intervention was delivered for such a brief period, this study was designed to provide a snapshot measure of initial reading skill gains. While a failure to perform significantly better was observed on the Letter-Word Identification, Reading Fluency, and Spelling subtests, students demonstrated significant improvement on Word Attack and Spelling of Sounds subtests following WRS instruction. Furthermore, students significantly improved on the Basic Reading and Phoneme/Grapheme Knowledge clusters. Study limitations and implications for future research and practice are discussed. / Dissertation/Thesis / Ph.D. Educational Psychology 2013

Sports research in behavior analysis is becoming increasingly popular. As the proliferation of research continues, multiple interventions have been shown to help enhance sports-related performance. However, different intervention components are rarely if ever used alone, which has created a limitation with the current body of research. To begin to address this limitation, this study had three experiments to evaluate some different components of video recording procedures and behavioral skills training (BST) to facilitate performance enhancement. Experiment 1 separated video modeling and video feedback to see which component best improved pitching form in Little League baseball players. Experiment 2 evaluated video self-evaluation and video feedback to evaluate which component best improved swing form of recreational golfers. Experiment 3 separated the different antecedent and consequence components of BST (instruction and feedback) to see which component best improved safe-tackling form in Pop-Warner football players. Results showed that consequent interventions were more effective than antecedent interventions. We discuss the importance of the results to current literature, and how they might guide future research.

The objective of the three studies in this dissertation was to improve methods to prevent musculoskeletal disorders among workers in high-risk occupations. The first two studies, Strain Index (SI) Studies I & II, addressed this problem by better characterizing the performance of a commonly used observational method of estimating potentially hazardous biomechanical exposures, the SI. The SI combines measures of several biomechanical risk factors into a single value (SI score). Strain Index scores are usually categorized into four ordinal SI "risk categories." In Strain Index Study I, multivariate survival analysis models were compared to evaluate the predictive validity of the original SI risk category cut-points to a new set of empirically derived cut-point values among 276 manufacturing workers. The results from this prospective study indicated that the empirically derived cut-points were a better predictor of incident hand-arm symptoms than the original cut-points, especially among women. In Strain Index Study II, Aim 1, exposures to forceful exertions, repetition and non-neutral wrist posture estimated with SI methods were compared to analogous exposures estimated with alternate methods. Statistically significant associations between separate methods designed to assess specific risk factors were observed only for those measuring non-neutral wrist posture. In Aim 2, a multivariate survival analysis model examining associations between incident hand-arm symptoms and biomechanical exposures estimated with the SI was compared to a model examining associations between incident hand-arm symptoms and biomechanical exposures estimated with separate estimates of biomechanical risk factors. Results favored the SI risk category metric to characterize biomechanical exposures compared to separate measures of exposure. he third study, light-weight block (LWB) Intervention Study, was a repeated measures laboratory study of 25 bricklayers performed to estimate the effect of block weight (LWB vs. standard-weight block (SWB)) and course height on low back disorder (LBD) risk factor exposure. Mixed-effect models showed that LWB was associated with reduced exposure for percent time spent in sagittal flexion >30°, lifting rate, LBD risk probability score, and non-dominant upper trapezius muscle activity. Bricklaying at ankle or chest heights was generally associated with higher exposure to risk factors than bricklaying at knuckle height.

Introduction: This article outlines a dog owner–focused social marketing pilot program implemented in 2017, which aimed to reduce koala and domestic dog interactions in one local city council in Australia. Literature: Dog attacks and predation are the third most common cause of death in koalas after habitat loss and vehicle strikes. Programs aiming to reduce wildlife and domestic pet interactions frequently neglect human dimensions, and social sciences have been called upon to complement conservation efforts. Methods: Developed in consultation with dog training experts and the local regional council Leave It was based on input from 41 dog owners. Leave It was a 4-week training program priced at AUD$150 that was delivered by local dog trainers who had previously received specialized koala aversion training. Findings: Co-design results indicated that the social marketing pilot program needed to emphasize training, be positive, and be dog and not koala-focused. A fun, positive dog-focused event, supported by dog retailers, entertainers, and food service providers, was held in June 2017 to launch the Leave It program. Outcome evaluations for Leave It indicated a statistically significant increase in wildlife aversion–related behaviors (stay, come back every time/some of the time, and stay quiet on command). Process evaluation indicated that people enjoyed the do-focused event and the opportunity to seek training and obedience advice. Conclusions: Co-designing the program with dog owners in the local council area engaged community members, making them contributors rather than program participants. The program had a dog focus rather than wildlife focus as recommended by dog owners.

Aim: The overall aim is to assess the appropriateness of Lay Health Worker (LHW)programmes as a public health intervention in South Africa by considering the effectivenessof LHW programmes across the world and the experience of LHW programmeimplementation and policy making in South Africa. Methods: This thesis comprises 4 papers that explore the issue of LHWs: (I) A systematicreview of randomised controlled trials (RCTs) of LHW interventions in primary andcommunity health care for maternal and child health and the management of infectiousdiseases; (II) A study of the experiences of farm dwellers trained to be LHWs, as exploredthrough focus group discussions; (III) A study of three LHW supervisors who worked on anintervention to support infant feeding mothers, as explored through individual interviews;and (IV) A study of the process of LHW policy development from the perspective of 11 keyinformants who were individually interviewed. Findings: LHWs were found to be effective in promoting breastfeeding and in improvingpulmonary TB cure rates (I). There was also some indication that LHWs could be effective inreducing child morbidity and child and neonatal mortality, and in increasing the likelihood ofcaregivers seeking care for childhood illness (I). The experience of LHWs and LHWsupervisors suggests that LHW programmes need adequate support and supervision,especially in protecting the LHWs themselves (II, III). The care and protection of LHWs wasconsidered by policy makers (IV), but policy redevelopment processes did not link the needto ensure that LHWs were not exploited to concerns about gender exploitation. Conclusions: LHW interventions can be effective but implementing them in developingcountries such as South Africa needs to be approached with caution

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