Participants indicated high levels of personal motivation to work in a safe manner but tended to underestimate workplace hazards and expressed widely varying levels of co-worker trust. Am. J. Ind. Med. 60:58-68, 2017. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

In contrast to the broader literature, research linking occupational health outcomes to work organization in the AgFF Sector is limited and weak. A systematic program of research and intervention is needed to develop strategies that eliminate or substantially mitigate the deleterious health effects of occupational exposures whose origins likely lie in the organization of AgFF work.

Forest management workers, H-2B guest workers, Undocumented workers, Legal status, Labor conditions, Latinos, Southeast, Pacific Northwest, Alabama, Oregon,

Although it is often assumed that food pantries are managed by middle-class directors whose social background differs significantly from that of their target populations, no systematic empirical evidence concerning this issue exists to date. Moreover, scholarship has yet to explore the extent to which the presumably distinctive social positions of pantry directors and clients might result in the stigmatization of poverty, social welfare programs, and the poor by agency directors. Drawing on insights from attribution theory, this study seeks to shed light on demographic and attitudinal differences between pantry directors and food-needy persons. The study begins by comparing the demographic characteristics of food pantry directors in a two-state region of the South (Alabama-Mississippi) with those of the food-needy population in the region. It then moves on to contrast attitudinal disparities between these directors and food-needy persons related to such issues as the causes of poverty, the effects of social welfare programs, and the character of those who utilize food assistance programs. Noteworthy differences in race, education, and religiosity emerge when comparing directors with the populations they serve; however, directors did not differ markedly from their potential clients in key social attitudes. When asked specifically about food pantry clients, directors responded with a mix of sympathy and suspicion. While a substantial portion of directors attribute poverty to structural causes, a significant number also characterize clients seeking food assistance as possibly having unsavory motivations for doing so. The study concludes with a discussion of the implications of these findings.

Background: Logging is recognized as one of the most dangerous industries in the United States (US), ranking among those with the highest occupational injury and fatality rates. Although logging operations in the Southeastern US have lower rates of injuries and fatalities compared to other regions of the US, due in part to the use of large machinery to fell timber as opposed to chainsaw felling, safety hazards continue to persist. The hazards present in the logging cut sites in which loggers operate may result in worker injury, illness, or fatality. Our objective was to develop, deliver, and evaluate a safety management and leadership training among logging contractors and supervisors using mobile tablets as a personal learning environment.Methods: A safety leadership and management training vignette was developed based on previously collected focus group needs assessment data. A non-random sample of 31 male logging supervisors received the safety leadership and management training on a mobile tablet. Kirkpatrick Levels 1, 2, and 3 training effectiveness evaluations were performed.Results: A statistically significant large effect size suggests safety knowledge was gained among training participants when comparing post-test scores to pre-test scores (Level-2). Participants rated their training experience favorably (Level-1), and applied knowledge gained from the training throughout their weekly work activities three months after training (Level-3).Conclusion: Our findings suggest the utilization of mobile learning techniques can be an effective means to deliver safety management and leadership training content to logging contractors and supervisors. Future trainings should be linguistically and literacy-level appropriate, as well as comprehensive in nature, including meaningful and relevant content. Our observations support the use of mobile devices as just one component of a more comprehensive health and safety management program for workers in the logging industry.