The utility of a safety climate scale among workers with a work-related permanent impairment who have returned to work.

BACKGROUND: Safety climate (SC) is a robust leading indicator of occupational safety outcomes. There is, however, limited research on SC among workers who have returned to work with a work-related permanent impairment. OBJECTIVE: This study examined three propositions: (1) a two-level model of SC (group-level and organization-level SC) will provide the best fit to the data; (2) antecedent factors such as safety training, job demands, supervisor support, coworker support, and decision latitude will predict SC; and (3) previously reported associations between SC and outcomes such as reinjury, work-family conflict, job performance, and job security will be observed. METHOD: A representative cross-sectional survey gathered information about experiences during the first year of work reintegration. About one year after claim closure, 599 interviews with workers were conducted (53.8% response rate). Confirmatory factor analyses were conducted to test the factor structure of the SC construct. Further, researchers used correlation analyses to examine the criterion-related validity. RESULTS: Consistent with general worker populations, our findings suggest the following: (1) the two-factor structure of SC outperformed the single-factor structure in our population of workers with a permanent impairment; (2) correlations demonstrate that workplace safety training, decision latitude, supervisor support, coworker support, and job demands could predict SC; and (3) SC may positively impact reinjury risk, work-family conflict, and may increase job performance and job security. CONCLUSIONS: Our study validated a two-factor SC scale among workers with a history of disabling workplace injury or permanent impairment who have returned to work. Practical applications of this scale will equip organizations with the necessary data to improve working conditions for this population.

Mindful Learning Experience Facilitates Mastery Experience Through Heightened Flow and Self-Efficacy in Game-Based Creativity Learning.

This study was performed within the limited framework of computer-game-based educational programs designed to enhance creativity. Furthermore, the utilization of mindful learning and moderators such as flow, mastery experience, and self-efficacy, brings this research to the forefront of modern educational practices. The present researchers developed a comprehensive game-based creativity learning program for fifth and sixth grade pupils. Further analyses presented relationship trends between mindful learning experience, flow experience, self-efficacy, and mastery experience. Eighty-three 5th and 6th grade participants undertook the six-week game-based creativity learning program. Upon completion of the experimental instruction, self-evaluation revealed that participants with higher scores on the concerned variables improved more in both creative ability and confidence than their counterparts. Additionally, path model analysis revealed that mindful learning experience was a powerful predictor of both mastery experience and flow experience; it also influenced mastery experience through flow experience and self-efficacy. The findings support the effectiveness of the game-based learning program developed in this study. Moreover, this study contributes to the theoretical construction of how game-based learning can be designed to facilitate mindful learning experience, flow experience, self-efficacy, and mastery experience during creativity. Some additional enhancement mechanisms utilized in the program were: rewards for high-quality performance, challenging tasks, a variety of design components, immediate feedback, and idea sharing. The theoretical design of this study provides support for the ongoing scientific investigation of new applications of mindful learning in educational programs concerning the learning of creativity.