This paper attempts to use the work of Peter Marris on loss and change to provide a theoretical perspective on the role of resistance in the process of professional growth. Nurse education is highlighted as an area of radical change with the implementation of Project 2000 in the United Kingdom. Early data generated by exploratory work in one Project 2000 demonstration district are used to illustrate the potential emergence of areas of resistance to major educational reform. It is argued that resistance to change has an adaptive function and is a necessary precursor to professional growth. It is not necessarily indicative of intransigence but rather should be seen as part of any process of adaptation to changes which might undermine the validity of past systems of understanding the world in which we live.
The term warning is applied to a variety of stimuli. From a safety standpoint, the most appropriate definition of warning ties it to any information that has the potential to change behavior and prevent accidents. The results of an extensive literature review suggest that warnings are unlikely to be effective unless a series of conditions are met. The failure of many intended warnings, including most on-product warning labels, to reduce accidents reflects the difficulty of overcoming the problems inherent in their use.
A variety of potential hazards can be identified for nearly any consumer product, often more than can be practically or effectively addressed with warning labels. Published standards and guidelines for warnings do not offer a reasonable basis for limiting the number and length of warning labels. This paper proposes criteria for the use and design of warning labels based on effectiveness research, accident data, and product-associated risk.
Beginning with several empirical papers in the late 1970's, there has been considerable research concerned with assessing the effectiveness of such attempted safety interventions as on-product warnings and safety signs. The focus of research on warnings has shifted from a debate on whether warnings work to systematic investigation of the factors that do or could influence safety-related product-user behavior. From the perspective of safety, the logical test of a warning must be reduction of the frequency and/or severity of accidents and injuries. A taxonomy of available research methods is described; strengths and problems associated with each method are discussed. Although research on topics related to warnings may legitimately address a wide variety of psychological issues, informed safety policymaking should rely primarily on well-controlled real-world studies. Within the restricted aim of making unambiguous contributions to generalizations that can inform safety policy, some methodological cautions are appropriate for both researchers and practitioners.
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