Rewarding safety belt usage at an industrial setting: Tests of treatment generality and response maintenance

An incentive program to motivate seat belt use was implemented at a large munitions plant. Seat belt usage was assessed daily at an entrance/exit gate of the industrial complex when employees arrived for work in the morning and departed in the afternoon. During treatment incentive fliers, which prompted seat belt usage and gave belt wearers opportunities to win prizes, were distributed only in the afternoon. Seat belt wearing increased from baseline means of 20.4% and 17.3% during the morning and afternoon, respectively, to averages of 55.5% during afternoon departures and 31.1% during morning arrivals. During follow-up, mean belt use dropped almost to baseline levels. Categorizing vehicles according to driver sex and license plate number enabled a study of belt wearing practices of individuals, and revealed that the incentive program influenced some drivers to wear their seat belts during morning arrival when incentives were not distributed (i.e., treatment generalization) and during a follow-up period after the incentives were withdrawn (i.e., response maintenance).     

Training public-speaking behavior: an experimental analysis and social validation

The effect of an instructional package on public-speaking behaviors was analyzed in two experiments. The instructional package was designed to teach public-speaking trainees to look at the audience, make gestures, and perform a number of speaking behaviors. The results of Experiment I, with a university student serving as the trainee, showed that the percentage of each category of public-speaking target behavior increased only after the instructional package was introduced for that category. The results of Experiment 2, with three low-income paraprofessional staff members of a neighborhood service center serving as trainees, showed that the percentage of target behaviors increased after the instructional package was introduced for the respective trainee. Audience ratings of public-speaking performance were correlated with direct observations of target responses. All trainees showed marked improvements in audience ratings from pretraining to posttraining. This study demonstrated an effective procedure for training public-speaking behaviors.     

A behavioral analysis of incentive prompts for motivating seat belt use

The seat belt usage of drivers was observed at the entrance to two campus parking lots during morning arrival times. After 11 days of baseline, fliers which prompted seat belt wearing were handed to drivers of incoming vehicles. At one parking lot all fliers offered a chance to win a prize (noncontingent rewards); while at the second lot only those fliers given to seat belt wearers included a chance to win a prize (contingent rewards). After 24 consecutive observation days, these interventions were removed for 14 days of withdrawal. The recording of vehicle license plates enabled an analysis of belt usage per individual over repeated exposures to the experimental conditions. At the lot with the contingent reward intervention, mean belt usage was 26.3% during baseline, 45.7% during treatment, and 37.9% during withdrawal. At the noncontingent reward lot, the mean percentage of belt wearing was 22.2% during baseline, 24.1% during treatment, and 21.8% during withdrawal. The analysis of repeated exposures per individual verified that only contingent rewards influenced substantial increases in belt wearing, and showed that most of the influence occurred after the initial incentive prompt.     

TRAINING COUNSELING SKILLS: AN EXPERIMENTAL ANALYSIS AND SOCIAL VALIDATION

A community development perspective suggests the value of using local resources to solve local problems. Two low-income staff of a community service center served as nonprofessional counselors after receiving a training program consisting of written instructions, practice, and performance feedback. The effects of the 40-hour training program were positive for both counseling and problem-solving skills. There was also evidence of generalization of counseling performance across clients, problems, and time. In addition, expert judges' ratings of performance were obtained as a measure of social validity. These findings suggest that the training procedures are effective in enhancing the counseling and problem-solving skills of low-income nonprofessionals.     

"Flash for life": Community-based prompting for safety belt promotion

A community-based strategy for promoting safety belt use was field-tested in two adjacent rural communities, one populated by a preponderance of students, faculty, and staff of a major university. The intervention involved the front-seat passenger of a stopped vehicle displaying to the driver of an adjacent, stopped vehicle an 11 x 14 inch flash card that read, "PLEASE BUCKLE UP-I CARE." If the driver buckled up, the "flasher" flipped over the card and displayed the message, "THANK YOU." This flash card was shown to 1,087 unbuckled drivers; 82% of these drivers looked at the flash card and 22% of these complied with the buckle-up request. Compliance was not influenced by the age or gender of the "flasher" (young child vs. college student), nor by the gender of the driver; but significantly more drivers in the university town buckled up following the flash card presentation (25% mean compliance in the college town vs. 14% in the other community). To date, over 2,000 individuals have received a buckle-up flash card for their own use.     

LARGE-SCALE REDUCTIONS IN SPEEDING AND ACCIDENTS IN CANADA AND ISRAEL: A BEHAVIORAL ECOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE

We assessed the effects of posted feedback and warning ticket programs on speeding and accidents in two cities. In Experiment 1, speeding feedback signs were effective even when 10 were used in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, and reductions in speeding were associated with reductions in accidents. The effectiveness of the signs was correlated with the number of intersections and residences within 0.5 km beyond them, and the signs had no effect on untreated streets. In Experiment 2, posted feedback and a warning program reduced speeding and accidents on 14 streets in Haifa, Israel.     

社区卫生服务——体现效率与公正特征的改革之路

社区卫生服务比较全面地体现了公正与效率的原则,是卫生改革的一项重大举措。它公正有效地突破了固有的卫生体制;公正有效地实现了“人人享有初级卫生保健”的目的;公正有效地推进了医学模式的转移;公正有效地抓住了纠风的症结;公正有效地解决了医疗费居高不下的顽症。     

派遣制员工对雇用形式的认知与其工作态度的关系研究

采用派遣制员工对雇用形式的认知等5项问卷,对270名派遣制员工进行测查。结果发现:(1)派遣制员工组织认同、工作投入和工作满意度均处较高水平,离职倾向相对较低。(2)78.9%知道自已的派遣制身份;33.1%愿意作为派遣制员工;对于派遣制存在模糊认识和矛盾心态。(3)知道派遣制身份者组织认同、工作奉献、工作意义和工作乐趣等显著高于不知道者;愿意作为派遣制员工者工作满意度、工作意义和工作奉献显著高于不愿意者。对雇用形式的认知在一定程度上决定派遣制员工的工作态度。     

体验病人痛苦:医学力量的源泉

通过对两个叙事医学案例的详细分析试图表明,叙事医学兼具理论与实践的双重特性,它所企图构建的“医患共同体”不仅可以通过促进医患沟通而使患者在当下获得更有尊严、更高质量的医疗服务,在更深意义上,它可以帮助医者“看见真实之人:从恻隐之心到相互成就”、“看见平等之人:从视域融合到人格认同”。通过体验病人的痛苦从而超越技术主义与“知识-权力”的认知局限,弥合医患分裂,提升甚至成就医者自身,推动实现医学的至高价值。     

社区临终关怀服务的经验借鉴与路径选择

采用政策分析法和比较分析法,梳理典型国家和地区在社区临终关怀服务体系和运行机制方面存在的先进做法,并依据我国国情,围绕项目规划、床位设置、服务对象准入条件、服务标准等方面,分析我国社区临终关怀体系的不足;提出加强政府政策引导、动员社会多主体参与、细化社区临终关怀服务标准、完善配套措施等方面的建议。期望在老龄化背景下,为有效提升我国临终关怀服务能力、推动老年服务体系的完善提供有力的智力支持。