May 18, 2005—Analyzing upper management decisions to learn the concerns and limitations facing occupational safety is the study by Ph.D. student Sarah DeArmond of Fort Collins, CO, selected for the 2005 American Society of Safety Engineers (ASSE) Foundation / Liberty Mutual Safety Research Fellowship.
The ASSE Foundation/Liberty Mutual Safety Research Fellowship promotes research in occupational safety, expands upon current safety practices, and creates the groundwork for fellows to further pursue safety research. This summer, DeArmond will spend four weeks at the Liberty Mutual Research Institute for Safety in Hopkinton, MA; where she will have access to current research projects, equipment, and research scientists onsite.
Through the research fellowship, DeArmond will receive a stipend from the ASSE Foundation to cover expenses, and she will write an article on the research results.
From this research project DeArmond will attempt to determine whether injury rates are lower in industries where company financial leaders believe in a greater return on investment in safety, and if their workplace safety concerns match current injury trends.
The project will tap into data from the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Information Network (O*NET) and the Liberty Mutual 2004 Risk Management Survey, which collected corporate decision makers’ perceptions of workplace safety benefits and return on investment.
Applications and guidelines for next year’s fellowships will be available on the ASSE Web site.
