The acceptance of personal protective equipment among Hong Kong construction workers: An integration of technology acceptance model and theory of planned behavior with risk perception and safety climate

Introduction: The phenomenon that construction workers do not use personal protective equipment (PPE) is a major reason for the high occurrence frequency of accidents in the construction industry. However, little efforts have been made to quantitatively examine the factors influencing construction workers’ acceptance of PPE. Method: In the current study, a PPE acceptance model for construction workers (PAMCW) was proposed to address the noted need. The PAMCW incorporates the technology acceptance model, theory of planned behavior, risk perception, and safety climate for explaining construction worker acceptance of PPE. 413 construction workers participated in this study to fill out a structured questionnaire. The PAMCW was analyzed using structural equation modeling. Results: Results provide evidence of the applicability of the technology acceptance model and theory of planned behavior to the PPE acceptance among construction workers. The positive influence of safety climate and risk perception-severity on attitude toward using PPE was significant. Safety climate positively influences perceived usefulness. Risk perception-worry and unsafe was found to positively affect intention to use PPE. Practical Applications: Practical suggestions for increasing construction workers’ use of PPE are also discussed.     

Ensuring social acceptance of the energy transition. The German government’s ‘consensus management’ strategy

This study deals with the German Federal Government’s approach of ensuring public support for its ‘Energiewende’, the swift and complete transition to an energy system based on renewable sources. First, the government’s ‘consensus management’ strategy is described as consisting of four elements: the setup of stakeholder deliberation fora; the funding of organisations dedicated to the public promotion of the energy transition; public campaigns that appeal to people’s commitment and the support of research on energy technologies. The study then traces the need for a strong social mandate of the energy transition back to the scope of the regulatory challenge and the recently growing conflicts around implementation, to institutional constraints of a consensus democracy and to the narrative of ‘Energiewende’ as the ‘grand national task’.     

Wastewater reclamation and reuse in China: Opportunities and challenges

The growing water stress both in terms of water scarcity and quality deterioration promotes the development of reclaimed water as a new water resource use. This paper reviewed wastewater reuse practices in China, and the opportunities and challenges of expanding reclaimed water use were analyzed. Rapid urbanization with the increasing of water demand and wastewater discharge provides an opportunity for wastewater reuse. The vast amount of wastewater discharge and low reclaimed water production mean that wastewater reuse still has a great potential in China. Many environmental and economic benefits and successful reclamation technologies also provide opportunities for wastewater reuse. In addition, the overall strategy in China is also encouraging for wastewater reuse. In the beginning stage of wastewater reclamation and reuse, there are many significant challenges to expand wastewater reuse in China including slow pace in adopting urban wastewater reuse programs, the establishment of integrated water resources management framework and guidelines for wastewater reuse programs, incoherent water quality requirements, the limited commercial development of reclaimed water and the strengthening of public awareness and cooperation among stakeholders.     

制氧企业安全评价方法探讨

本文针对制氧行业的生产特点以及安全管理情况,对作业过程中存在的危险、有害因素进行了分析,综合运用安全检查表法(SCL)与故障模式、影响及危险度分析法(FMECA)对制氧企业安全现状进行了评价,并提出了相应的对策措施.结果表明:安全检查表法简便、易于掌握、较为实用;故障模式、影响及危险度分析法对评价人员的要求较高,但可得...     

浅析建设项目试运行期的环境监理

介绍了项目试运行期环境监理的涵义、环境监理的主要内容和常用方法,说明环境监理的重要性,促进建设项目顺利通过竣工环境保护验收.     

几何距离在群组AHP排序中的应用

层次分析法(AHP)巳在环境科学研究中得到广泛应用。为了科学地应用群组AHP进行环境科学研究,本文提出一种几何距离最小二乘方法(GLSM)用于解决群组AHP排序问题。鉴于不同专家所给判断矩阵质量上的差异,GLSM排序方法对群组AHP进行不同程度的加权处理,并进行群组一致性检验。      

Cars on crutches: How much abatement do smog check repairs actually provide?

Not as much abatement as has been presumed. Smog check programs aim to curb tailpipe emissions from in-use vehicles by requiring repairs whenever emissions, measured at regular time intervals, exceed a certain threshold. Using data from California, we estimate that on average 41% of the initial emissions abatement from repairs is lost by the time of the subsequent inspection, normally two years later. Our estimates imply that the cost per pound of pollution avoided is an order of magnitude greater for smog check repairs than alternative policies such as new-vehicle standards or emissions trading among industrial point sources.     

Multiscale Factors Affecting Human Attitudes toward Snow Leopards and Wolves

The threat posed by large carnivores to livestock and humans makes peaceful coexistence between them difficult. Effective implementation of conservation laws and policies depends on the attitudes of local residents toward the target species. There are many known correlates of human attitudes toward carnivores, but they have only been assessed at the scale of the individual. Because human societies are organized hierarchically, attitudes are presumably influenced by different factors at different scales of social organization, but this scale dependence has not been examined. We used structured interview surveys to quantitatively assess the attitudes of a Buddhist pastoral community toward snow leopards (Panthera uncia) and wolves (Canis lupus). We interviewed 381 individuals from 24 villages within 6 study sites across the high‐elevation Spiti Valley in the Indian Trans‐Himalaya. We gathered information on key explanatory variables that together captured variation in individual and village‐level socioeconomic factors. We used hierarchical linear models to examine how the effect of these factors on human attitudes changed with the scale of analysis from the individual to the community. Factors significant at the individual level were gender, education, and age of the respondent (for wolves and snow leopards), number of income sources in the family (wolves), agricultural production, and large‐bodied livestock holdings (snow leopards). At the community level, the significant factors included the number of smaller‐bodied herded livestock killed by wolves and mean agricultural production (wolves) and village size and large livestock holdings (snow leopards). Our results show that scaling up from the individual to higher levels of social organization can highlight important factors that influence attitudes of people toward wildlife and toward formal conservation efforts in general. Such scale‐specific information can help managers apply conservation measures at appropriate scales. Our results reiterate the need for conflict management programs to be multipronged. Factores Multi‐Escala que Afectan las Actitudes Humanas hacia Leopardos de las Nieves y Lobos     

两种垃圾焚烧炉灰渣的重金属成分与放射性检测

对8种重金属As、Hg、Mn、Cr、Cu、Cd、Co、Ni和Pb在两种垃圾焚烧炉灰渣中的浓度分布,浸出毒性及放射性进行检测.样品(炉渣和飞灰)分别取自北京(循环流化床焚烧炉CFBI)和深圳(炉排焚烧炉)两台不同燃烧方式的垃圾焚烧炉.研究表明,CFBI炉渣及飞灰中的重金属As、Mn、Cu、Cd、Co含量在炉渣中含量最低,中灰次之,飞灰中含量最高.重金属Hg在炉渣和飞灰中的含量相当,在中灰中的含量最低;Cr和Ni在炉渣中的含量也偏高,在中灰和飞灰中的含量相当Pb含量依中灰、炉渣和飞灰的顺序逐渐升高.浸出毒性检测结果显示,循环流化床垃圾焚烧后炉渣及飞灰中的重金属浸出毒性远低于国家标准1～2个量级,重金属总体排放量较低.炉排炉垃圾焚烧的炉渣及飞灰中的重金属含量却高很多,尤其是Cr、Pb、Cd和Cu.放射性检测结果表明,两种焚烧所产生的灰渣放射性均低于国家标准.在排放时无需作任何放射性方面的处理.最后,对焚烧灰渣的稳定化技术进行了讨论.     

Place attachment and public acceptance of renewable energy: A tidal energy case study

Efforts by many governments to mitigate climate change by increasing deployment of renewable energy technologies have raised the importance of issues of public acceptance. The ‘NIMBY’ (Not In My Backyard) concept, although popular, has been critiqued as an appropriate and valid way to explain local opposition. This study applies an alternative approach, empirically investigating the role of place attachment and place-related symbolic meanings in explaining public responses to a tidal energy converter in Northern Ireland, said to be the first grid-connected device of its kind in the world. 271 residents in two nearby villages completed questionnaire surveys, three months post-installation, following up preliminary qualitative research using focus groups. Although results indicated predominantly positive and supportive responses to the project, manifest by emotional responses and levels of acceptance, significant differences between residents in each village were also observed. Contrasting patterns of association between place attachment and emotional responses suggest that the project enhanced rather than disrupted place attachments only in one of the two villages. In regression analyses, place attachment emerged as a significant, positive predictor of project acceptance in both places, affirming its value in explaining public response. Place-related symbolic meanings also emerged as significant, with contrasting sets of meanings proving significant in each context. Implications of the findings for research on place attachment and responses to land-use changes, as well as for developers seeking to engage with residents affected by energy projects are discussed.