Safety in the making: Australian product safety for the year 2020

Abstract

This paper is a summary of a report prepared by the author for the Australian Consumers Council that advises the Australian Minister for Consumer Affairs. The purpose is to consider the state of play in product safety management around the world and to suggest a strategy which Australia might implement considering international developments. The inter-nationalisation of product safety matters, the creation of global markets and the harmonisation of standards are key factors which must be taken into account when developing a product safety management system.

A small country like Australia will need to develop effective ways of interacting with the researchers and policy makers of the world to avoid duplication of effort and to contribute to international standards and policies. In the short term the following key recommendations are made:

? the establishment of a Consumer Safety Institute with a research and development role but no enforcement role,

? a review of the technical merit, currency, coverage and mechanisms for development of standards relating to product safety,

? routine reporting of product safety complaints and actions taken by manufacturers,

? the development of efficient mechanisms for assessing the safety of imports into Australia and

? an active strategy for managing and participating in international responsibilities related to product safety.     

Parental perceptions of child placement within vehicles: a focus group study

Although rear-seating children in motor vehicles results in fewer injuries and fatalities in motor vehicle crashes, many children continue to be front-seated. This study seeks to identify parental barriers to rear-seating children in motor vehicles and strategies to increase child rear seat placement. Focus groups were conducted with parents of children 12 or younger to determine barriers to rear seating and strategies to increase child rear seat placement. Barriers to rear seat placement identified include the logistics of transporting multiple children with limited rear seat availability, the potential of children to harm themselves if rear-seated, and peer pressure. Parents felt there should be no option to sit elsewhere within the vehicle to help normalize rear-seating. Successful interventions to increase child rear seat placement should focus on parental barriers to rear-seat their children in vehicles, including normalizing rear seat placement, and determining approaches to make rear-seat placement with multiple children uncomplicated.     

Car child safety seats use among Iranian children in Mashad

Despite the strong evidence of child safety seats (CSSs) effectiveness in reducing injuries, it is still rarely used in some societies. The purpose of this study was to determine prevalence and predictors of CSS use in Mashad, Iran. Five hundred ninety kindergarten children whose parents owned a car were enrolled in the study. Parents were asked about using CSS for their children, reasons for CSS use/non-use, demographics, history of road traffic injuries and receiving any advice on CSS. Of families, 25.5% expressed that they used CSS for their child at present or any time in the past, but only 6.3% of children travelled restrained in CSS at the time of study. Age-appropriate CSS use was reported in 14.5% of infants and 2.3% of 1–5-year-old children. A significant relationship was observed between lower child age, higher maternal education and high family income with CSS use. The main reasons for CSS none-use were reported as not feeling the need (42%), followed by its high price (22%). Use of CSS was uncommon. The financial concerns and information gap about the essential need for CSS should be considered as priorities for action especially among lower socio-economic groups of society.     

Keeping our children safe in motor vehicles: knowledge,attitudes and practice among parents in Kuwait regarding child car safety

Child safety restraints can reduce risk of death and decrease injury severity from road traffic crashes; however, knowledge about restraints and their use in Kuwait is limited. A cross-sectional, self-administered survey about child car safety was used among a convenience sample of parents of children aged 18 years or younger at five Kuwaiti university campuses. Of 552 respondents, over 44% have seated a child in the front seat and 41.5% have seated a child in their lap while driving. Few parents are aware of and fewer report using the appropriate child restraint; e.g., 36% of parents of infants recognised an infant seat and 26% reported using one. Over 70% reported wearing seat belts either “all of the time” (33%) or “most of the time” (41%). This new information about parents' knowledge and practice regarding child car seat use in Kuwait can inform interventions to prevent child occupant injury and death.     

我国成人高等教育教学评估体系构建中引入ISO9000标准的必要性和可行性分析

ISO9000标准体系科学地总结了世界各国对质量管理的基本规律．已成为国际上通用的质量管理标准体系。该标准体系在我国企业质量管理中发展迅速、研究甚多,但在我国教育质量管理中发展很慢,研究甚少。为了促进我国成人高等教育教学质量的快速提高,对我国成人高等教育教学评估体系构建中引入ISO9000标准的必要性和可行性进行了分析。     

A review of national arrangements for consumer influence in product safety standardization in the EEA

Abstract

Cooperation between the EC and the EFTA countries in the European Economic Area (EEA) should, among other things, enable consumers to participate in and influence standardization. The EC New Approach presupposes the elaboration of standards to interpret or fill out the special safety provisions of various directives. The notion of safe products according to the Product Safety Directive can be supported by drafting relevant safety standards. Swedish experiences in some product fields show that results can be achieved through expert consumer participation. Consumer influence on standardization is a matter of great importance for product safety in the future.     

Perceived hazardousness of child-care products and the effectiveness of safety information

Abstract

In the present study, the hazardousness of child-care products as perceived by parents of young children between o and 4 years of age was investigated. Some related factors, such as perceived likelihood of injury, perceived severity of injury, and familiarity with the product, were also studied. Perceived hazardousness is strongly related to the effectiveness of safety information. The results indicate that parents do not think of child-care products as hazardous, and they appear to be very familiar with most of the products investigated. Perceived hazardousness was found to be most strongly related to perceived likelihood of injury and somewhat less strongly to perceived severity of injury. No relationship was found between either perceived hazardousness and familiarity or between perceived hazardousness and objective accident frequencies. It was concluded from this study that, because the perceived hazardousness of child-care products is low, the effectiveness of safety information provided with these products will also be low. Recommendations for improving the effectiveness of safety information are provided.     

The use of seatbelts and child restraints in three Mexican cities

Seatbelts and child restraints can reduce deaths resulting from road traffic crashes, and are one of the risk factors being targeted by the Road Safety in 10 Countries project in Mexico. This study quantifies the prevalence of restraint use in two of the intervention sites (Guadalajara-Zapopan and León) and one comparison site (Cuernavaca). Three rounds of roadside observations were conducted between November 2010 and January 2012. The overall prevalence of seatbelt use was 45.0% (95% CI = 44.3–45.7) amongst all occupants ≥10 years of age in the three cities. Child restraint use in children <5 years of age ranged from 7.9 to 17.4%. Two rounds of surveys were administered to all road traffic injury (RTI) victims presenting at a tertiary hospital in each city; RTI victims had lower seatbelt use than the general population (31% vs 42%, p = 0.037). This study demonstrates the need for further targeted intervention to increase use of these highly efficacious safety devices in Mexico.     

The role of supervision in child injury risk: definition,conceptual and measurement issues

The purpose of this paper was to examine caregiver supervision and its role as an active strategy in childhood injury prevention. Through a review of the literature, the authors addressed conceptual and methodological issues related to supervision, such as the question of how to define ‘adequate supervision.’ Three critical dimensions (attention, proximity and continuity) of caregiver supervisory behaviors are identified as important areas for measurement. Presented is a framework for understanding the role of passive and active supervisory behaviors within the social context. The framework includes family and community characteristics and policies/regulations that may be important in caregiver decisions to use active or passive injury prevention strategies. Future research directions are discussed.     

Product liability and product safety-complementary approaches to consumer safety. Some observations of the situation in the EEA

Abstract

In this paper the author asserts that product liability and product safety are complementary instruments to achieve a safer environment for consumers. Whereas legislation on product liability has a remedying function, legislation on product safety has a preventive one. The present situation in the EEA countries as regards the implementation of the Council Directives on Product Liability and Product Safety is summarized as well as the basic content of the Directives. It seems that almost all EEA countries have implemented the Liability Directive. The EFTA countries probably have-in comparison with the EU countries-to some extent a more positive implementation approach. It is too premature to foresee how the EEA countries will implement the Product Safety Directive of June 29, 1994. However, for many years most West European countries have had rules regulating product safety. The product safety policy in the EEA countries has been enhanced by co-operation within the OECD, the EU and the EFTA. Market control co-ordination will be an important part of the EEA efforts in the future to increase safety for consumers.     

Preventing drowning through design – the contribution of human factors

A number of routes can be followed towards the prevention of drowning, such as educating on water safety, installing barriers between non-intended users and water, mitigating the consequences of submersion incidents, and design. The human factor approach to safety is that design should always be the primary route. Human factors can be applied to the design of personal protective equipment such as buoyancy aids, barriers such as pool fencing, ancillary equipment such as swimming pool covers through to information and organisational factors such as safety signs and swimming campaigns. Design should consider all potential drowning scenarios and accommodate the characteristics of those at risk. A framework is presented with examples on how human factor principles can be applied to the design of potential drowning sites and products, with suggestions for methods and techniques that can be used in the key stages of predicting potential hazards and assessing risk.     

Consumer awareness and willingness to pay for safety of street foods in developing countries: a review

Street food vending is still popular in developing countries despite the giant stride recorded in the areas of food processing and global food supply in the last century. Its contribution to the socio‐economic development of the countries is evidenced by the volume of trade involved and provision of employment for significant portion of rural and urban populace. However, there has been persistent global concern on the risks of street food to the health of consumers because of the attitudes of practitioners throughout the chain. This review summarizes the findings of studies on awareness and perceptions of street food consumers to the hazards involved in street food, and their willingness to pay (WTP) premium for safety intervention. The major limitation to WTP is the extra cost that could result from the implementation of reports of WTP studies which could disenfranchise those consumers that may not be able to afford the premium. This review, therefore, recommends the formulation and enforcement of appropriate public policies that would cover the entire chain of street food vending for the safety of everybody along the chain and the protection of the health of the consumers.     

煤炭企业安全文化建设研究

煤炭企业的安全文化建设,是煤炭企业文化建设的重要内容,也是安全管理的重要组成部份。我国煤炭企业尚存在着安全管理手段落后,相关规章制度不完善等问题。应加大安全责任落实和追加力度,健全安全管理法制保障体制,强化素质教育与安全培训,引进先进管理机制,利用多种方式推动安全文化建设的不断进步。     

Epidemiology of unintentional child injuries in the South-East Asia Region: a systematic review

All the 11 members of the South-East Asia Region (SEAR) of the World Health Organization are categorised as low- and middle-income countries. This region has over a quarter of the world's total population but comprises about one-third of the world's unintentional injury-related deaths. There is a paucity of good-quality mortality and morbidity data from most of these countries. This is the first systematic review of community-based surveys on child injuries that summarises evidence from child injury studies from the SEAR countries. The included papers reported varying estimates of overall non-fatal unintentional injury rates across the countries, from 15/1000 children in Thailand to as high as 342/1000 children in India. The fatal injury rates were also found to be varying. This review revealed a need for strengthening child injury research using standard methodologies across the region and for promoting the dissemination of the results.     

关于中外产品责任法中农产品问题的思考

由于各国立法宗旨的不同以及对消费者保护的政策等具体国情的差异,各个国家对产品责任法中产品范围的规定各不相同,其中对农产品是否可以适用产品责任法分歧较大.文章在比较分析的基础上指出,根据我国的国情,应将农产品纳入产品责任法律制度,对农产品缺陷的侵权责任实行严格责任与过错责任结合的归责原则,以确保农产品生产安全.     

中国农产品贸易现状及对策分析

农产品贸易是我国对外贸易的重要组成部分,加快农产品贸易的发展至关重要。近年来,我国农产品贸易的总体规模不断扩大,不仅在总量上取得了巨大的成就,在出口额和进口额方面也是名列世界前茅,但还存在出口深加工和技术创新不足、附加值低、非关税壁垒严重、出口管理体制不完善等问题。我国应加快建立农产品加工管理体系,加大农产品质量标准体系建设力度,完善农产品出口管理体制,从而更好的适应现代农产品贸易的国际环境,促进其在国际市场的进一步发展。     

Road safety impacts of the motorcycle in Brazil

Brazil has had high indices of traffic injuries and deaths since the 1950s, mostly related to the increasing and irresponsible use of the automobile. Upon approval of the Brazilian Transit Code (CTB) in 1997, traffic injuries and deaths began to diminish, despite an increase in vehicle fleet size, a phenomenon that had never occurred previously. Concurrently, starting in 1991 and with a great intensity after 1996, there has been a sizeable increase in motorcycle production and use, facilitated and encouraged by public officials. Between 1995 and 2000 annual sales figures for motorcycles doubled and reached 2 million units in 2008. Traffic deaths associated with motorcycles increased exponentially, rising from 725 in 2006 to 10,143 in 2010, eliminating the advances gained by the CTB in reducing auto-related injuries. This article analyses the process and its impacts on road safety. The first part summarises the main public policy decisions related to the theme. Part two analyses changes in traffic safety after the introduction of this new technology. Part three looks at the possible political, economic and social motives that lie behind this process. The final part suggests solutions to the great prejudice caused to society and the nation.     

农产品质量安全中道德风险产生的原因及对策研究

保障食品安全、提高食品质量是保障人类生命安全、提高人类生活质量的重要前提。农产品质量安全中道德风险产生的原因主要是在农产品市场中存在大量不对称信息;农产品生产者和经营者在利益的驱动下,为了获取暴利,欺骗消费者。有效规避农产品质量安全中道德风险要加强农产品质量安全培训,提高生产技术和质量安全意识;加强伦理道德教育,提高生产者的道德意识和社会责任感;构建完善农产品质量安全法律体系,以法保障农产品的质量安全;加强政府监督管理,以严格监管保障农产品的质量安全。     

Radials,Rollovers and Responsibility: An Examination of the Ford-Firestone Case

In August of 2000, Firestone executives initiated the second largest tire recall in U.S. history. Many of the recalled tires had been installed as original factory equipment on the popular Ford Explorer SUVs. At the time of the recall, the tires and vehicles had been linked to numerous accidents and deaths, most of which occurred when tire blowouts resulted in vehicle rollovers. While Firestones role in this case has been widely acknowledged, Ford executives have managed to deflect much of the attention away from themselves, mainly by claiming that the Firestone tires were not its product, and therefore not its responsibility. In this paper, we examine the extent to which Ford can be held morally responsible for the incidents at issue. In so doing, we develop an approach for determining when an item is a product in its own right, as opposed to a component of another product. We argue that such an analysis not only provides a better understanding of this case, but also more properly accounts for the extent to which evolutions in technology and business relationships can affect issues of moral responsibility in business contexts.     

新产品市场安全的可拓物元评价模型及应用

新产品进入市场的安全问题是目前众多企业非常关心的实际操作问题,同时营销评价问题是以营销工程为主要支撑的市场营销科学研究之一,但传统的评价方法过于粗糙且不够全面。本文在其他学者的研究结果基础之上通过调查统计分析构建了比较客观全面的市场安全风险因素指标体系,运用可拓理论中的优度评价法建立了新产品入市的市场安全评价模型。实证研究结果表明这种评价方法具有较高的准确性,对于深入研究产品的营销安全评价问题有一定借鉴意义。