# Intent to Adopt Location Sharing for Logging Safety Applications
## 4 Discussion
Due to the prevalence of smartphones in the Idaho logging community, recreational-grade, smartphone-based receivers may offer an affordable and accessible LS solution, addressing previously cited concerns about cost and difficulty learning a new technology [26]. Small and light-weight, these RF receivers could be especially appealing to hand fallers, who already carry saws and other gear throughout the work day. Many of the perceived LS benefits (e.g., knowing when coworkers might need help and finding injured coworkers faster) are especially valuable for ground workers, particularly those who are visually isolated and may not have regular interaction with crew members. Correspondingly, the LS practice with the highest intent (i.e., most \"very likely\" responses) was using PLDs with local, automatic LS for hand fallers. These results are consistent with previous studies in which loggers discerned higher injury risks for individuals working outside of machine cabs, particularly tree fallers and hookers, who are more vulnerable to being struck by branches, logs, or equipment [18; 19; 26; 52]. Although ground workers are most likely to benefit from LS devices, our completed sample included few individuals (less than 3%) employed solely as hand fallers, chasers, or hookers. Our sample also had few participants with less than nine years of logging experience, a bracket which includes those workers most likely to be injured on logging operations (i.e., individuals with less than one year of logging experience) [15; 17; 18]. These two groups may have distinctive LS opinions underrepresented in this study, which is a potential limitation. Meanwhile, about half of the sample encompassed loggers identifying as owners, either solely or in conjunction with other positions. Correlating response by profession was beyond the scope of this study, but future studies may compare safety perceptions by job title. For instance, owners may vary from ground crew in their opinions regarding worker privacy or the day-to-day idiosyncrasies of carrying a PLD. The advantage of surveying a large number of company owners is gaining the perspective of those most likely to purchase devices and introduce LS-based safety practices to logging operations. Accordingly, nearly half of surveyed loggers felt that they have a lot of influence on whether PLDs would be used. The effects of nonresponse error on the results are unknown but likely minimal due to the high response rate. Considering the pervasive emphasis on ground worker safety established throughout the logging literature and reaffirmed in the current study, future research might also explore how LS perceptions vary by logging system (i.e., mechanized, partially-mechanized, cable). Mechanized systems use machines for all tasks, including tree filling, whereas partially mechanized and cable yarding systems rely on manual tree filling by hand fallers (sawyers). Cable yarding operations frequently employ additional ground workers as well, such as hookers who fasten logs to cables for transport and chasers who detach the logs at the landing. Operation type is determined largely by terrain, and therefore varies by region. For instance, cable systems are more common in the Pacific Northwest of the United States (e.g., Idaho, Washington, and Oregon) than in the South (e.g., Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Arkansas, and Texas) and Southeast (e.g., Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida). In focus groups conducted by [PERSON] et al., loggers distinguished between safety issues in the Pacific Northwest and the South, remarking that injury risks were lower in the South due to mechanization [52]. Logger reception of LS could potentially vary geographically, depending on regional perceptions of safety needs related to operations. Lastly, our study contributes to the body of literature on the TPB, demonstrating that the theory can be used as a lens to understand how loggers make behavioral decisions about workplace safety.