Quantification of risk perception: Development and validation of the construction worker risk perception (CoWoRP) scale

Are virtual reality applications effective for construction safety training and education? A systematic review and meta-analysis

INTRODUCTION

Virtual reality (VR) gains attention in construction safety training because it allows users to simulate real activities without the risks of real activities. However, a literary work comprehensively describing the effectiveness of VR in construction safety training and education (CSTE) is lacking.

METHOD

This study provides a systematic review of the research related to VR applications for CSTE over the past decade using meta-analysis techniques. Standardized mean differences between traditional training methods and VR training were grouped by measurement. Potential moderators possibly affecting the effectiveness of VR in CSTE were analyzed.

RESULTS

Results showed that VR is significantly more effective in construction training and education than traditional methods. The effectiveness of VR was 0.593, 0.432, and 0.777 higher than that of traditional methods for behaviors, skills, and experience measurements, respectively. The training context and mean work experience of trainees were two important moderators that significantly affected the effectiveness of VR in CSTE (p < 0.001).

PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS

The presented results suggested the need for targeted development and management of VR technology in the construction industry and the early promotion of VR for general safety training among young, inexperienced construction workers.

Occupational risk perception of construction workers: a cross sectional study

Introduction

Construction workers are often exposed to significant injury risk. The aim of our study is to assess their occupational hazards and injury risk perception.

Methods

We administered 256 questionnaires to construction workers. The survey was aimed at collecting information regarding occupational risk and hazard exposure perception, risk control and behavioral self-assessment. We analyzed the data obtained in order to highlight any associations between injury risk perception and anamnestic, occupational, behavioral or perceptual factors.

Results

Participants were prevalently males (92.37%) aged 21-60 years (94%). They showed a job seniority level of 21.3 (11.51) on average and, ranging from a 1 to 10 score, a danger awareness of 6.8 (2.9), a lack of prevention measures 6.0 (3.3), an improper behavior of 7.3 (2.7), an unpredictable fate of 6.0 (2.9). These factors resulted significantly associated with the injury risk perception. Multivariable analysis highlighted that the injury risk perception was associated with the lack of prevention measure and unpredictable fate. On the other hand, we found a negative association with the workers' improper behaviors.

Conclusion

Workers' perception showed fairly uniform average values even when occupational risk was demonstrated. Our analysis suggests a positive correlation between injury risk perception and the idea that injuries are due both to fate and to chance; it also shows a negative correlation between injury risk perception and the idea that injuries are due to improper behavior. A lack of fully comparable studies confirms the need for further studies on the injury risk perception of construction workers.

Risk Perception Scale of Disease Aggravation for older patients with non-communicable diseases: Instrument development and cross-sectional validation study

AIM

The present study aimed to develop the Risk Perception Scale of Disease Aggravation for older patients with non-communicable diseases and evaluate its psychometric properties.

DESIGN

Instrument development and cross-sectional validation study were conducted.

METHODS

This study contained four phases. In phase I, a systematic literature review was conducted to identify the conception of disease aggravation and risk perception. In phase II, a draft scale was formulated from face-to-face semi-structured in-depth interviews by Colaizzi's seven-step qualitative analysis method and group discussions among the researchers. In phase III, domains and items of the scale were revised in accordance with the suggestions from Delphi consultation and patient feedback. In phase IV, psychometric properties were evaluated.

FINDINGS

Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses determined four structural factors. Convergent and discriminant validities were acceptable because the average variance extracted coefficients ranged from .622 to .725, and the square roots of the average variance extracted coefficients for the four domains were larger than those of bivariate correlations between domains. The scale also exhibited excellent internal consistency and test-retest reliability (Cronbach's alpha coefficient = .973, intraclass correlation coefficient = .840).

CONCLUSIONS

Risk Perception Scale of Disease Aggravation is a new instrument that measures the risk perception of disease aggravation for older patients with non-communicable diseases, including possible reason, serious outcome, behaviour control and affection experience. The scale contains 40 items that are scored on a 5-point Likert scale, and it has acceptable validity and reliability.

IMPACT

The scale is applied to identify different levels of risk perception of disease aggravation for older patients with non-communicable diseases. Clinical nurses can provide targeted interventions to improve older patients' risk perception of disease aggravation based on levels of risk perception during hospitalization and the period before discharge.

PATIENT OR PUBLIC CONTRIBUTION

Experts provided suggestions for revising the scale dimensions and items. Older patients participated in the scale revision process to improve the wording of the scale.

Role of Trust, Risk Perception, and Perceived Benefit in COVID-19 Vaccination Intention of the Public

COVID-19 vaccination is an effective method for dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic. This study proposed and validated a theoretical intention model for explaining the COVID-19 vaccination intention (CVI) of the public. The theoretical intention model incorporated trust in vaccines, two types of risk perception (risk perception of COVID-19 and risk perception of COVID-19 vaccination), and perceived benefit into a theory of planned behavior (TPB). Structural equation modeling was utilized to test the theoretical intention model with data collected from 816 Chinese adults in China. The results confirmed the crucial role of trust in vaccines, risk perception, and perceived benefit in shaping the CVI of the public. In addition, TPB was found to be applicable in a research context. The theoretical intention model accounted for 78.8% of the variance in CVI. Based on the findings, several practical recommendations for improving COVID-19 vaccination rates were discussed.

Development and validation of the intellectual property services scale in China

Existing studies have emphasized the crucial role of intellectual property services (IPS) in the advancement of science and technology, but there was still a lack of a valid scale for assessing IPS. Accordingly, this study aimed to develop a reliable instrument to fill this gap. A three-step process of scale development was described: item generation through grounded theory research (n = 14), scale development through exploratory factor analysis (n = 219) and scale assessment through confirmatory factor analysis (n = 191). By analyzing and coding the interview data drawn from IPS agencies in China, the study verified that IPS could be represented as a three-dimensional construct consisting of vocational skills services (VSS), commercial operation services (COS), and value-added business services (VBS). The subsequent exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis were conducted to test and modify the IPS scale with 11 items was shown to have acceptable internal consistency reliability, as well as convergent and discriminant validity. The IPS scale could serve as an operational tool for IPS practitioners to measure and identify the problems of service quality and service mode. Additionally, it held significant theoretical value and practical implications for the advancement of intellectual property services industry in China.

Study of risk perception consumption behavior of sports tourism in China

In order to further implement the "Healthy China 2030 Planning Outline" and actively develop the sports tourism industry, this study analyzed the independent variables and dependent variables that affect the urban residents' sports tourism risk perception consumption behavior.Finally, the simultaneous regression, stepwise regression and hierarchical regression models of sports tourism risk perception consumption behavior of urban residents are constructed. The purpose is to help people effectively screen all kinds of risks in the process of sports tourism, promote the growth of sports consumption, and provide theoretical and practical guidance for the development of sports tourism.

Development and validation of Chinese form Short Dark Tetrad (C-SD4)

The Short Dark Tetrad (SD4) was developed as a brief measure of the Dark Tetrad, which comprises narcissism, Machiavellianism, psychopathy, and sadism. Previous research suggests the possibility of cultural differences in these traits in Western and Eastern cultures. We developed and validated the Chinese form of SD4 (C-SD4) cross four studies in a large sample (total N = 3181) to assist in solving problems caused by these differences. In study 1, we adjusted the item pool on the basis of the original form of SD4. In Study 2, we trimmed the scale to generate a 28-item version of C-SD4 and examined correlations with Big-5. In study 3, we examined the internal structure, measurement invariance, and criterion validity of the C-SD4. In study 4 we examined C-SD4 test-retest reliability and compared item content to standard measures. This package of studies suggests that the C-SD4 is a reliable and valid measure of the Dark Tetrad in Chinese participants.

Risk perception in the construction industry: A literature review and future research directions

BACKGROUND

Risk perception is an intuitive risk about hazards to which people are exposed daily and is related to several factors. In the construction context, there is a need to identify and understand how risk perception is related to these factors; construction companies can implement this information to develop measures for effective risk management.

OBJECTIVE

This literature review aims to identify recommendations for future research about factors that may be related to risk perception in construction workers.

METHODS

We used the SPIDER tool and searched available electronic databases for the most recent research articles published on risk perception in the construction area.

RESULTS

We identified main recommendations for future research: Behavior, environment and working conditions, risk assessment methods, culture, individual and demographic factors, and knowledge.

CONCLUSION

Safety behavior is the primary variable of concern in studies related to risk perception in the construction area. Therefore, further research is needed to identify the factors that intervene and impact risk perception to reduce accident rates among construction industry workers.

Modeling the occupational health risk of workers caused by environmental release during the production of PC components

Prefabricated construction is one of the solutions to the problem of balancing environmental improvements with the new buildings in the construction industry. Some work originally done on site is transferred to the front end, and the occupational health risks to industrial workers during the production of prefabricate concrete components are thus aggravated. This study aims to propose a framework to simulate the occupational health risks of workers in prefabricate concrete component plants from the perspective of risk identification, risk assessment, and risk control. Through the following 4 steps, including environmental release monitoring, diffusion and human inhalation mechanism analysis, occupational health risk evaluation, and full-path health risk simulation, this study maps physical entities to virtual reality. The proposed method tends to address the root causes behind occupational health risks, such as the lack of measurement, assessment and prevention criteria, and providing new ideas for theoretical research and innovative practice of HSE management and risk management in the construction industry.

Improving the Safety Performance of Construction Workers through Individual Perception and Organizational Collectivity: A Contrastive Research between Mainland China and Hong Kong

Considering the increasing number in construction accidents in Mainland China and Hong Kong, research on improving the safety performance of construction personnel is important, given the essential role it plays in occupational safety development in industries. The present study aimed to assess the improving channels of safety performance through individual perception and organizational collectivity in a quantitative way by integrating safety motivation as the transition role between individual and organizational levels. The questionnaire survey was conducted with 180 participants from Hong Kong and 197 responses from Mainland China. Structural equation modeling was applied to investigate and compare the direct, indirect, and mediating effects among different safety constructs. This study is unique, as it firstly integrates the theories of personal cognition and group interaction together with the mechanism of safety performance development. Such integration can increase the effectiveness of reducing the unsafety of construction workers at both individual and organizational levels, thereby reducing the numbers of construction accidents, and promoting healthy occupational development of the personnel.

Modeling important factors on occupational accident severity factor in the construction industry using a combination of artificial neural network and genetic algorithm

BACKGROUND: Many occupational accidents annually occur worldwide. The construction industry injury is greater than the average injury to other industries. The severity of occupational accidents and the resulting injuries in these industries is very high and severe and several factors are involved in their occurrence. OBJECTIVE: Modeling important factors on occupational accident severity factor in the construction industry using a combination of artificial neural network and genetic algorithm. METHODS: In this study, occupational accidents were analyzed and modeled during five years at construction sites of 5 major projects affiliated with a gas turbine manufacturing company based on census sampling. 712 accidents with all the studied variables were selected for the study. The process was implemented in MATLAB software version 2018a using combined artificial neural network and genetic algorithm. Additional information was also collected through checklists and interviews. RESULTS: Mean and standard deviation of accident severity rate (ASR) were obtained 283.08±102.55 days. The structure of the model is 21, 42, 42, 2, indicating that the model consists of 21 inputs (selected feature), 42 neurons in the first hidden layer, 42 neurons in the second hidden layer, and 2 output neurons. The two methods of genetic algorithm and artificial neural network showed that the severity rate of accidents and occupational injuries in this industry follows a systemic flow and has different causes. CONCLUSION: The model created based on the selected parameters is able to predict the accident occurrence based on working conditions, which can help decision makers in developing preventive strategies.

An integrative fuzzy Delphi Decision Making Trial and Evaluation Laboratory (DEMATEL) study on the risk perception influencing factors

PURPOSE

Risk perception is one of the factors that can guide human behavior in the workplace. The resent study aimed to identify the most important factors affecting risk perception.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

This cross-sectional study had three phases. In the first, factors affecting risk perception were extracted based on librarian resources and studies. Then, using the fuzzy-Delphi method and based on the expert's opinion, the most important factors affecting risk perception were identified. Finally, using the fuzzy-DEMATEL technique and relying on the opinions of experts, the relationships between these factors were analyzed and their role as cause or effect was determined.

RESULTS

Eleven variables were identified as the most important factors influencing risk perception, among which safety knowledge, quality, and quantity of safety training, and safety climate had the greatest effect on risk perception with defuzzified scores of 0.826, 0.817, and 0.808, respectively. Seven of the variables had the role of cause and four of them had the role of effect. Experience of Accident along with safety climate had the highest interaction with other variables.

CONCLUSION

Precise investigation of risk perception influencing factors can play an important role in improving risk perception and safe behaviors.

Opt-out policy and its improvements promote COVID-19 vaccinations

Rationale

Vaccination uptake is a major strategy to prevent infection with SARS-CoV-2 and curb the transmission of COVID-19. However, many people remain unwilling to receive the COVID-19 vaccine.

Objective

Using default nudges, the present study examines (a) whether opt-out policy and its improvements could increase intention and attitude to get vaccinated and (b) whether these default effects differ across diverse risk-perception groups.

Method

An online experiment with 1926 unvaccinated Chinese respondents was conducted in February 2021. We measured willingness to be vaccinated after informing opt-in policy, standard opt-out policy, and its five improvements (opt-out education, opt-out opportunity, opt-out social norm, opt-out feedback, and opt-out opportunity). Risk perception of the pandemic of COVID-19 and vaccination were also measured.

Results

(a) Opt-out policy and its improvement (except the opt-out transparency) increased intentions to be vaccinated. Policies with a vaccination default did not weaken people's attitude toward policy and policymakers compared with the opt-in policy, but participants in the transparent improvement group reported lower freedom of choice than those in the opt-out group. (b) Further latent profile analysis revealed four classes underlying risk perception: risk exaggerators, risk deniers, disease-specific risk perceivers, and vaccine-specific risk perceivers. But there was no conclusive evidence that the effect of risk perception differs as a function of defaults.

Conclusions

These findings provide new psychological evidence for formulating more targeted vaccination policies and highlight the importance of risk perception to understand vaccination intentions.

How Do Psychological Cognition and Institutional Environment Affect the Unsafe Behavior of Construction Workers?-Research on fsQCA Method

The frequent occurrence of safety accidents is a global problem, and unsafe behavior is the main cause of accidents, which has been unanimously recognized by academia and industry. However, the previous research on unsafe behavior focused on analyzing the linear effects of variables on the results, and it was difficult to systematically analyze the complex mechanism of the results generated by the coupling of each variable. The problem of how to avoid unsafe behavior of construction workers has not been effectively solved. Based on the configuration perspective, on-site observation is organized, 164 construction workers are taken as case samples, the traditional regression analysis method is abandoned, and the fuzzy set qualitative comparative analysis method is used to integrate the theoretical framework of social cognition. From the perspective of psychological cognition and institutional environment, this paper discusses the differential matching of construction workers' safety attitude, safety motivation, institutional control, safety training, and safety climate, and exploring the causal complex mechanisms that improve unsafe behavior among construction workers. The results show that: (1) The unsafe behavior of construction workers is the result of multiple factors. A single influencing factor does not constitute a necessary condition for the unsafe behavior of construction workers; (2) the path leading to the unsafe behavior phenomenon is not unique. Therefore, the high and unsafe behavior configuration of construction workers is summarized as "psychological cognition scarcity type," "institutional environment scarcity type," and "attitude-climate scarcity type"; (3) compared with "psychological cognitive scarcity type" and "institutional environment scarcity type," "attitude-climate scarcity type" is more likely to cause unsafe behavior of construction workers; (4) a lower level of safety attitude or safety climate is more likely to cause high and unsafe behavior of construction workers; and (5) the non-high and unsafe behavior driving mechanism for construction workers is "comprehensive," and there is an asymmetric relationship with the driving mechanism of the unsafe behavior of high construction workers. The research conclusions of this paper can help to broaden the theoretical framework of social cognition and provide new ideas and methods for how to improve unsafe behavior.

Perceived Risk of COVID-19 and Employee Decision-Making: How Psychological Distress during the Pandemic Increases Negative Performance Outcomes among Healthcare Workers

In this research, we examined how COVID-19 impacts employee decision-making and performance, knowing that this virus has negatively affected public health, crippled economies, and transformed social and business environments across the globe. To quantitatively test our specific hypotheses regarding the effects of employees’ perceived risk of COVID-19 and psychological distress on negative performance outcomes, we surveyed 443 healthcare workers who were employed by a group of private hospitals in Zimbabwe. These essential workers were delivering day-to-day frontline services with high exposure to COVID-19 during the pandemic. We find that employees’ perceived risk of COVID-19 increases their disengagement, turnover intention, burnout, and low morale at a p < 0.05 significance level. These latter relationships are mediated by employees’ psychological distress at a p < 0.05 significance level. Our findings shed light on how the COVID-19 pandemic is affecting the cognitions and behaviors of the frontline workers who are vulnerable to this contagious disease. Turnover intentions are amplified among healthcare employees, due to their perceived risk of COVID-19 and the resulting psychological distress. Similarly, burnout becomes predominant as these workers worry about contracting the coronavirus due to the poor working conditions they face. As such, our research confirms that the pandemic has intensified the precariousness of work and challenge of managing employee performance, especially for frontline healthcare workers.

Study on the Influence of Low-Price Bid Winning and General Subcontracting Management on the Unsafe Behavior Intention of Construction Workers

In recent years, there are many reasons for the frequent safety accidents in the construction field. The most controversial and typical one that firmly correlated with China's national condition is the low-price bid winning and the general subcontracting management, which probably have a great impact on the unsafe behavior intention of workers on the construction site. In order to figure out their internal relation, a quantitative statistical analysis of the unsafe behavior intentions of construction workers in the Beijing area was conducted through the on-site questionnaire considering three main variables, namely, general subcontract management, reasonable low-cost bid winning, and construction experiences. Meanwhile, the correlation, regression, and mediating effects of different influencing factors were analyzed through a regressive model to quantify the impact of each variable on the unsafe behavior intention of construction workers. The results showed that the influence of low-price bid winning on the unsafe behavior intention of on-site workers is faint. This is mainly because, in the case of labor buyer's market, the actual salary of workers is not relevant to whether the project is awarded at a low price. However, the general subcontracting management has a great impact on the unsafe behavior intention of on-site workers. At the same time, low-price bid winning also indirectly affects the strength of general subcontracting safety management, which has an indirect impact on the unsafe behavior intention of on-site workers. Generally, it is of greater significance to enhance the strength of the general subcontracting management and to formulate relevant regulations to guarantee the safety of construction workers.

Informal Safety Communication of Construction Workers: Conceptualization and Scale Development and Validation

Existing studies have highlighted the importance of informal safety communication among workers at construction sites. However, there is still a lack of empirically tested theoretical models with valid and reliable scales for describing and measuring construction workers' informal safety communication (CWISC). Accordingly, this study aimed to fill this need by developing an instrument to assess the communication performance of construction workers. Four stages of scale development were described: construct formation, item generation, factor extraction through the exploratory factor analysis (EFA) (n = 219), and scale assessment through the confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) (n = 156). Using questionnaire data drawn from construction workers in China, the CWISC was verified to be a three-dimensional construct including citizenship safety communication (CSC), self-needed safety communication (SSC), and participatory safety communication (PSC). The corresponding CWISC scale with 12 items was shown to have acceptable internal consistency reliability, as well as content, convergent, and discriminant validity. The CWISC scale could serve as an instrument to assess and identify the weaknesses in informal safety communication performance of construction workers. In turn, this information could help supervisors implement appropriate management practices to those workers to enhance workplace informal safety communication. Related studies taking a multidimensional CWISC into account were expected to be carried out.

How Optimism Bias and Safety Climate Influence the Risk-Taking Behavior of Construction Workers

Risk taking among construction workers is a critical topic in construction safety research. The aim of this study was to empirically investigate how optimism bias and safety climate influence construction worker risk-taking behavior. A survey with a designed questionnaire was conducted to collect data from construction workers. A total of 183 construction workers participated in this study and completed the designed questionnaire. The collected data were subjected to statistical analysis by using structural equation modeling. Results show that optimism bias related to work risks positively influences construction worker risk-taking behavior, whereas safety climate and optimism bias related to hazard perception skills negatively affect the risk-taking behavior. These findings can enrich the literature on construction worker risk-taking behavior from the perspective of optimism bias and safety climate. Practical implications are provided for discouraging construction workers from taking risks at work.

Green construction practices: ensuring client satisfaction through health and safety performance

Studies have proven that client satisfaction (CS) is greatly affected by the nature of construction practices on site. However, not much attention has been given to CS in projects that adopt green construction practices (GCPs). This study examines the effect of GCPs on CS, and the means by which CS can be achieved through health and safety performance (HSP). This study also analyses how the relationship between HSP and CS could vary depending on the level of GCPs adopted. A questionnaire with 27 items drawn from literature was used in collecting data from class A contractors in Nigeria. The study's hypotheses were tested using the partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) technique. The findings of the study reveal that GCPs have a positive effect on CS. HSP proved to only partially mediate the relationship between GCPs and CS. The findings also show that the effect of HSP on CS is moderated by GCPs with the stronger effect from projects with low adoption of GCPs. The study's findings highlight the pivotal role of HSP in ensuring CS in construction projects that adopt GCPs. This study makes practical contributions to the body of existing knowledge by highlighting the need for concerted efforts by contractors such as investing in health and safety training and ensuring site workers wear personal protective equipment aimed at adhering to acceptable health and safety standards. This can be achieved through provision of funds for safety activities, monitoring, and supervision of workers to guarantee HSP which translates to CS while adopting GCPs. However, the obstacles to these are the lack of safety culture by construction organizations, lack of enlightenment on the part of construction site workers, and poor safety climate on the construction project site. Additionally, the study provides greater insight on the practice of green construction among contractors by showing that the effect of HSP on CS would differ considerably on account of the level of GCPs adopted.

The acceptance of personal protective equipment among Hong Kong construction workers: An integration of technology acceptance model and theory of planned behavior with risk perception and safety climate

INTRODUCTION

The phenomenon that construction workers do not use personal protective equipment (PPE) is a major reason for the high occurrence frequency of accidents in the construction industry. However, little efforts have been made to quantitatively examine the factors influencing construction workers' acceptance of PPE.

METHOD

In the current study, a PPE acceptance model for construction workers (PAMCW) was proposed to address the noted need. The PAMCW incorporates the technology acceptance model, theory of planned behavior, risk perception, and safety climate for explaining construction worker acceptance of PPE. 413 construction workers participated in this study to fill out a structured questionnaire. The PAMCW was analyzed using structural equation modeling.

RESULTS

Results provide evidence of the applicability of the technology acceptance model and theory of planned behavior to the PPE acceptance among construction workers. The positive influence of safety climate and risk perception-severity on attitude toward using PPE was significant. Safety climate positively influences perceived usefulness. Risk perception-worry and unsafe was found to positively affect intention to use PPE. Practical Applications: Practical suggestions for increasing construction workers' use of PPE are also discussed.

Associations of COVID-19 Knowledge and Risk Perception with the Full Adoption of Preventive Behaviors in Seoul

This study explores the levels of COVID-19 knowledge, risk perception, and preventive behavior practice in Seoul, to determine whether knowledge and risk perception are significantly associated with the full adoption of preventive behaviors, for the delivery of a customized public campaign to Seoul's citizens. A total of 3000 Seoul residents participated in this study through an online questionnaire survey. They had a mean score of 84.6 for COVID-19 knowledge (range: 0-100 points) and 4.2 (range: 1-7 points) for risk perception. Of the participants, 33.4% practiced full adoption of all three preventive behaviors: hand hygiene, wearing a face mask, and social distancing; wearing a face mask was practiced the most (81.0%). Women significantly adopted these three preventive behaviors more often compared with men. Both COVID-19 knowledge and risk perception were found to be significantly associated with the full adoption of preventive behaviors; however, this association differed by the type of preventive behavior. This indicates that city-level information on the levels of COVID-19 knowledge, risk perception, and preventive behaviors should be clearly and periodically communicated among public officers and healthcare professionals to continually raise the public's awareness of the full adoption of non-pharmaceutical preventive behaviors.

Effect of educational intervention on safe traffic behaviors of high school male students in Iran, using the theory of planned behavior: a quasi-experimental study

BACKGROUND

Behavior change interventions in tackling road traffic injuries are a public health concern. Thus, this interventional research was to survey the effect of safe traffic behaviors among male students in Hamadan, Iran, utilizing theory of planned behavior.

METHODS

In this quasi-experimental study, 204 students were randomly selected through multistage sampling from male high school students of Hamadan city, west-central of Iran, and non-randomly allocated to control and intervention groups (102 students in every group). The self-administrate questionnaire was used for data collection in this research. Frequency (percentage) and mean (SD) were used for description. Cronbach alpha coefficient, content validity ratio (CVR) and content validity index (CVI) were used for psychometric evaluation of questionnaire and paired/independent sample t-test was used for data analysis. All statistical analyses were done in SPSS 19 and significant level was considered 0.05.

RESULTS

In both groups, more than 50 % of students walked to school. The two study groups were homogeneous in terms of confounding variables (p >  0.05). The validity of the questionnaire was confirmed and the total Cronbach's alpha value was equal to 0.97. There was no significant difference in the score of safe traffic behaviors between the two groups before the intervention (p >  0.05). But after the intervention, the score in the intervention group was significantly increased (p < 0.05). Intragroup comparison also showed that only in the intervention group the score was significantly changed (p < 0.05).

CONCLUSION

Theory of planned behavior is a suitable conceptual framework for planning the interventions to increase safe traffic behaviors in students.

Relationships among COVID-19 Prevention Practices, Risk Perception and Individual Characteristics: A Temporal Analysis

The effectiveness of public health measures in containing an infectious disease largely depends on how the general public is taking the prevention practices in daily lives. Previous studies have shown that different risk perceptions and sociodemographic characteristics may lead to vastly different prevention behaviors. This paper applies a temporal perspective in examining the changing patterns of prevention practices over time and their dynamic relationships with the perceived risk towards COVID-19 and its individual characteristics. Three key timelines (February, April, and June of 2020) were identified to represent the early, lockdown, and reopening stages of the first wave. Data were drawn from an online survey conducted in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) of Canada (n = 470). Chi-square tests and logistic regression models revealed important temporal patterns in practicing different hygienic and mobility-related prevention measures and the respondents' risk perceptions during the three timelines. The factors predicting the level of prevention practices vary across the three timelines, based on the specific type of prevention, and within the changing public health contexts. This study contributes to the literature on COVID-19 by incorporating a temporal perspective in conceptualizing prevention predictors. It provides crucial insights for developing timely public health strategies to improve infectious disease prevention at different stages and for individuals with varying backgrounds.

Smoking Behaviors, Mental Health, and Risk Perceptions during the Beginning of the COVID-19 Pandemic among Mexican Adult Smokers

Mexico is one of the countries most affected by COVID-19. Studies have found that smoking behaviors have been impacted by the pandemic as well; however, results have varied across studies, and it remains unclear what is causing the changes. This study of an open cohort of smokers recruited from a consumer panel (n = 2753) examined changes in cigarettes per day (CPD), daily vs. non-daily smoking, recent quit attempts, perceived stress, depression, and perceived severity of COVID-19 at two points during the pandemic: March and July 2020. Differences in CPD between waves were estimated with Poisson regression using generalized estimating equations (GEE). Differences in perceived stress were estimated with linear regression using GEE, and differences in recent quit attempts, depression, and perceived severity of COVID-19 were estimated using separate logistic regression GEE models. Rates of depression were higher in July compared to March (AOR = 1.55, 95% C.I. 1.31-1.85), and the likelihood of recent quit attempt was lower in July compared to March (AOR = 0.85, 95% C.I. 0.75-0.98). There was no statistically significant change in CPD, daily smoking, or perceived stress. Perceived COVID-19 severity for oneself increased significantly (AOR: 1.24, 95% C.I. 1.02-1.52); however, the perceived COVID-19 severity for smokers remained constant. Our study suggests that as the COVID-19 pandemic expanded in Mexico, smoking frequency remained stable, and quit attempts decreased, even as adult smokers increasingly perceived infection with COVID-19 for themselves as severe. These results can aid in the development of health communication strategies to educate smokers about their risk for COVID-19, potentially capitalizing on concerns that stem from this syndemic of communicable and smoking-related non-communicable disease.

Communicating Air Quality Index Information: Effects of Different Styles on Individuals' Risk Perception and Precaution Intention

Air Quality Index (AQI) is information about atmospheric pollutants, which is essential for governments to inform the public about the current air quality and potential health risks. By analyzing the AQIs from 11 countries (regions), we discovered considerable variations in the design of AQI information, which may open up room for unintended interpretation from the public. Therefore, as an attempt to address the inefficiency of some common styles of AQI information in promoting the public's precaution against bad air and better design such information, an online experiment with a 2 (descriptor: neutral vs. negatively valenced) × 2 (target groups in AQI warning messages: vague vs. specific) factorial design was conducted to test the effects of such information on individuals' risk perception and precaution intention. The results indicated that AQI information with a neutral descriptor was associated with lower self-risk perception and precaution intention levels than with a negatively valenced one. Among the individuals not included in the at-risk groups, those who read the warning messages with vague target groups had a higher third-person perception toward smog risk than those targeting specific population groups. Practical and theoretical implications are discussed.

Risky scenario identification in a risk perception scale for construction workers in Thailand

INTRODUCTION

Construction sites exhibit unique hazardous characteristics. Hence, investigating the causes of fatal and nonfatal accidents is extremely important to promote safety on construction sites. Literature shows a risk perception (RP) scale for construction workers; to expand the existing research, this study aims to identify risky scenarios for assessing the RP of Thai construction workers, with the goal of reducing workplace incidents.

METHOD

The scale development process consists of four phases. Item development was also performed, followed by factor analysis. Reliability and validity assessments were finalized in the process. A survey of 500 construction workers in Thailand was conducted to investigate risky scenarios. Through the process, a total of 17 items remained in the final RP scale, and the reliability and validity of these items were confirmed.

RESULTS

The RP scale was affirmed to have four dimensions (probability, severity, worry, and unsafe). These dimensions of workers' RP were negatively correlated with the workers' risk-taking behaviors. This study further showed that participants with a high level of affective RP were more likely to have a high level of cognitive RP. Hence, those with a high level of RP tended to be involved in fewer risk-taking behaviors. Practical Applications: The final version of the scale was reliable and valid in determining the RP and risk-taking behaviors of construction workers in Thailand.

Differences in Workplace Risk Perception between Foreign-Born and First-Generation Mexican American Construction Workers

Risk perception is used to quantify risks in the industry and is influenced by different socio-demographic variables. This work aims to determine significant differences in the risk perception between Mexican American migrants and first-generation Mexican American construction workers. This study used a sample of 112 construction workers. A guided questionnaire was applied to collect socio-demographic information. For workplace risk behaviors, we used a 21-item questionnaire adapted from the previous instrument. Each question asked the participant's perception of the frequency with which they carried out risky activities during routine work activities and the severity of the possible injuries, using a five-level Likert scale. Then, an inferential analysis was carried out using analysis of variance (ANOVA). The main results highlight that time of residence in the United States had a significant influence (p = 0.012) on risk perception in the surveyed construction workers. On the other hand, the age and time they have been working for the organization did not significantly influence risk perception. Finally, risk perception can vary in construction workers according to different variables. It is essential to investigate the factors that influence it, to prevent risky behaviors that can lead to accidents.

How Does Metro Maintenance Staff's Risk Perception Influence Safety Citizenship Behavior-The Mediating Role of Safety Attitude

The accident rate is high in subway maintenance work, and most of the accidents are caused by human factors, especially the lack of sensitivity to risk perception, the lack of rigorous attitude towards safety and the lack of safe citizenship behavior (SCB). Therefore, it is very important to study the risk perception (RP), safety attitude (SA) and SCB of metro maintenance staff in order to reduce the accident rate. In order to reduce human errors and accidents, this study analyzed the influence of metro maintenance staff’s RP on their SCB and the mediating role of SA. Based on previous studies, this paper uses the risk perception scale, safety attitude scale and safety citizenship behavior scale as research tools. A survey was administered at the Subway Company, and altogether 268 valid questionnaires were used, and the data were analyzed by SPSS19.0 (IBM, Armonk, NY, USA) and AMOS 24.0 (IBM, Armonk, New York, NY, USA). The result reveals that SA plays a complete mediating role between metro maintenance staff’s RP and their SCB; and SA has a positive influence on SCB; RP has a positive influence on SA; and SA positively predicts SCB.

Integration of Theory of Planned Behavior, Sensation Seeking, and Risk Perception to Explain the Risky Driving Behavior of Truck Drivers

Truck-related accidents account for a substantial portion of traffic accidents. Risky driving behavior is a main cause of traffic accidents. Understanding the risky driving behavior of truck drivers is therefore important in reducing truck-related accidents. This study aimed to propose and validate a research model that integrated a theory of planned behavior, sensation seeking, and risk perception to explain the risky driving behavior of truck drivers. A total of 471 valid data were collected from Chinese truck drivers in this study. Structural equation modeling and mediation analysis were used to examine the influence of factors in the research model on the risky driving behavior of truck drivers. Results showed that sensation seeking and risk perception of truck drivers were influential in shaping their intention to drive riskily with the mediation of attitude toward risky driving. Risk perception and attitude toward risky driving also had a negative influence and positive influence on the intention, respectively. On the basis of the findings, practical recommendations for reducing the risky driving behavior of truck drivers were provided for concerned parties.

Critical Success Factors for Safety Training in the Construction Industry

Construction is a hazardous industry. The project-based nature and fragmentation in the industry lead to change and uncertainty requiring special expertise. To handle those, construction firms must develop strategies and action plans along with the experience gained from lessons learned. Among the risks, safety risks are of critical importance leading to accidents. Hence, firms need to strengthen their safety programs, review their strategies for safety management, and develop effective safety training sessions to protect their workers. This study focuses on the success factors promoting safety performance. In this respect, a questionnaire was designed and administered to the Engineering News-Record (ENR) 2020 Top 400 Contractors. The questionnaire data was utilized in conducting a factor analysis to group and name the factors considering the total variance. The analysis of the factors resulted in six-factor groups; namely, project and firm-related factors, demographic factors, practical factors, motivational factors, organizational factors, and human-related factors. Project and firm-related factors were found to be the most essential factor group in terms of promoting the effectiveness of safety training. The results of this study are expected to guide industry practitioners in terms of reviewing and revising their safety training programs.

Influencing Factors, Mechanism and Prevention of Construction Workers' Unsafe Behaviors: A Systematic Literature Review

Unsafe behaviors of construction workers are one of the main causes of accidents at construction sites. The research on unsafe behaviors of workers helps to reduce the incidence of accidents and has attracted much attention. However, a systematic literature review in this field is still lacking, which hinders stakeholders' comprehensive understanding of the unsafe behaviors of construction workers. Therefore, the aim of this study is to address this research gap based on retrieved literature from the Web of Science. First, the study conducted a descriptive analysis of the year, quantity, publishing organization, and keywords of the literature. In addition, three research topics were identified and discussed, including the influencing factors of construction workers' unsafe behaviors, the formation mechanism of unsafe behaviors, and the pre-control methods of unsafe behaviors. Moreover, a research framework was proposed and future research directions were also suggested. The research findings promote stakeholders' understanding of the influencing factors, formation mechanism, and pre-control methods of construction workers' unsafe behaviors, and lead to future research directions in the studied field.

Quantifying Risk Perception: The Entropy Decision Risk Model Utility (EDRM-U)

Risk perception can be quantified in measurable terms of risk aversion and sensitivity. While conducting research on the quantization of programmatic risk, a bridge between positive and normative decision theories was discovered through the application of a novel a priori relationship between objective and subjective probabilities and the application of Bernoulli’s expected utility theory. The Entropy Decision Risk Model (EDRM) derived using the Kullback–Liebler entropy divergence from certainty serves as a translation between objective and subjective probability, referred to as proximity, and has proven its applicability to various positive decision theories related to Prospect Theory. However, EDRM initially assumes the validity of the standard exponential power utility function ubiquitous to positive decision theory models as the magnitude of a choice to isolate and validate proximity. This research modifies the prior model by applying Daniel Bernoulli’s expected utility as the measure of choice magnitude in place of power utility. The revised model, EDRM Utility (EDRM-U), predicts the subject choices for both small and large ranges of values and shows that Prospect Theory’s neutral reference point is actually centered about an assumed initial wealth value, called neutral wealth, that correlates to a power utility exponent value. This hypothesis is confirmed by demonstrating that EDRM-U presents an equivalent or better correlation with prior research in eleven landmark studies of college students spanning more than 26 years and comprising over 300 problems, including those with widely varying values. This research contributes to the fields of risk management and decision engineering by proposing a decision model that behaves according to both positive and normative decision theories and provides measures of risk perception.